Erin knew that she was burning the midnight oil, but she wasn't quite ready to head home yet. Jessica was watching the children, had offered to do so when Aaron had decided to return to work at the same time she had. A part of her knew that her doctor would be furious with the fact that she was not only working full time so soon, but also was pulling long hours. She just felt like she was going to crawl out of her skin is she sat at home, and she didn't feel much in the Christmas mood, so had let the decorating slip her by, even as her older children had at least put up a tree and did a little bit of cheering up the house. Erin appreciated the effort, but she knew that she was basically phoning the holiday in at this point.
Sighing, she looked at her watch and realized that the team was most likely not going to be home that evening, and she pushed away from her desk with her good arm before looking at what work she still had left to do. Shaking her head, Erin decided to just leave it all for the next day, knowing that she would need something to keep her occupied the next day. Trudging over to the tree coat, she pulled off her coat and roughly managed to get into it before she slung her purse over her shoulder and made her way out of her office, locking the door behind her. Rather than wait for the elevator, Erin went over to the stairwell and made her way down to the ground floor.
It was dark and cold when she stepped outside, and Erin shivered as a brisk wind cut through the layers of her clothes to chill her to the bone. Gathering her coat closer to her chest, Erin scurried over to their car and let herself in, turning it on before cranking the heat up as high as it would go and sitting there as she willed warm air to fill the vehicle while she pulled out her phone to see if she had any messages before she carefully made her way home. Seeing nothing there that couldn't wait, Erin set the device in the center console before beginning her drive. By the time she parked in the garage, her arm was aching, and she stumbled into the house with a yawn.
"Oh, good, you're home just in time to feed Catherine," Jessica said as she padded into the kitchen with the baby cradled in her arms. Catherine was fussing, which told Erin that she was hungry, and she gave Jessica a tired smile as she nodded, slipping out of her coat and hanging it on the hook before following Jessica into the living room and lowering herself into her favorite chair as she awkwardly started to unbutton her blouse in order to feed her daughter. "You look exhausted. Are you certain that you have to go in to work tomorrow?"
"Yes. If I stay home…" Her voice trailed off as she took Catherine from Jessica's arms and brought her to her breast, smiling sadly down into her face as she started to suckle. "I need to stay busy."
Jessica clucked her tongue a little as she shook her head. "You sound too much like Aaron when you say that," she said as she stroked Erin's head lightly. "I'm going to make us some hot chocolate and then I have something to ask you."
Erin nodded absently as she gently rocked Catherine in her arms, finding a peace there that had been sorely missing during her workday. She was just switching which side Catherine was feeding from when Jessica returned with mugs for them, and Erin gratefully accepted her, sipping at it carefully as her stomach growled loudly. "Before you ask, no, I didn't eat supper. I lost track of time, and don't want to press my luck eating this late."
"At least let me get you a snack. You'll be no good for your family if you waste away."
"I suppose," she murmured as she took another sip of her drink as Jessica placed her mug on the coffee table before leaving the room once more. Moments later, she returned with a plate of cookies, which looked freshly baked, and Erin gave her a questioning look as she picked up a molasses one and nibbled at it as Jessica plopped down into the chair next to Erin. "Did you make these all today?"
"Jack and Elise wanted to bake, since we haven't really done anything to celebrate the season, and they're too little to understand that our hearts aren't in it this year. I hate to disappoint them, you know?" Erin nodded as she took another bite of cookie. "Well, I see that you've tried to get into the spirit, but this isn't like normal, and it shouldn't be. We need to remember Haley and her life, even as we want to celebrate a joyous time of year. Mom and Dad want to know if you'll celebrate Christmas with us."
"Just me?"
Jessica smiled as she shook her head. "No, your whole family. I don't know if your ex will have your older kids for Christmas Day, I'm hoping not, since we'd love to have all of them there. Dad thinks that we all need to pull together as a family, and I agree with him. Catherine helps a lot, too, since she's the hope of new life." Jessica tightly pursed her lips as she drew in a long breath through her nostrils, clearly close to tears. "And I know that you'll have to talk it over with Dave, but Mom and Dad know that Elise is Jack's sister, and family is so important to us, so they just want to have a huge gathering. It will mean you get to know my brother a little better, and there will be the other littles for Jack and Elise to play with. Please?"
Erin nodded through her tears as she adjusted Catherine onto her shoulder, burping her lightly until she fell asleep there. "I would love that, honestly. I don't feel like seeing my parents, they're just going to hover and make everything difficult, much though I love them. And David's sisters would just do the same. I think that you and your family would be the only ones who truly understand what I'm dealing with. But will Aaron be all right with that?"
"I think that he will be, Erin."
They both looked up in surprise to find David and Aaron standing in the doorway, both of them looking as exhausted as she felt. "Welcome home," she murmured softly as David came over to her side and gently picked Catherine up, cradling her close to his chest before he leaned down and kissed her softly. "So, you really don't mind seven extra people invading your family time for the holiday?"
"Elise makes us family, Erin," he quietly replied as he glanced at Jessica. "And I think that we all need to start healing from the scars that mar our past. And if we can start that this Christmas, as we all mourn Haley, then even better."
She nodded as she rose to her feet, wrapping her good arm around David's waist as she let her head come to rest against his chest. "Jack's asleep already, he was down before I got home, according to Jessica. We have the room, since the kids are still with Alan for another few days so that we can have them for the holidays this year, so why don't you two just spend the night? I'd hate to think of you getting into an accident because you driving while too tired."
"You don't have to ask me twice, Erin," Jessica replied with a soft smile. "I'll just grab my bag out of my car." Erin nodded as she watched her leave the room before she pulled away from her fiancé and looked up into his eyes.
"I'm heading up to sleep now, David. Please turn out all the lights when you join me." Leaning up, she kissed him tenderly before kissing Catherine's head and then making her way over to the stairs, sparing a smile for Aaron as she passed by him, an odd sort of happiness washing over her as she thought about the family they were building out of the ashes of their past.