Aaron knew that he had been distracted throughout the last case the team had worked, as Dave had called him out when he had been too far out woolgathering. He hadn't told his best friend what he had been thinking about, since he didn't want everyone to know his personal business. It had been difficult enough to trust Garcia not to say anything about his kind treatment of Erin for Christmas, after all. And no one would know about the fact that they had kissed twice. That was something that might never be spoken about outside himself and Erin, as he didn't want to derail her progress or cause her more grief. And he knew that the only way to excise his boss from his thoughts would be to visit her.
"All right, Jack, be good for Aunt Jessica. I have to go visit a friend in hospital, all right?"
His son nodded before hugging him tightly. "Do you want me to draw a picture for them, Daddy?"
Aaron smiled as he crouched down to look into Jack's eyes. "I think that she would like that very much, Jack. Perhaps Aunt Jessica can help you with that?"
"Okay!" Jack hugged him once more before Aaron stood up and he nodded to Jessica before heading down the sidewalk and climbing into his car. He wasn't surprised that he found it much easier to drive to the facility now that he had been there a few times, but he wasn't going to dwell on that fact too much, since he didn't want to think about what the ramifications of that might be for his future.
There were a few more cars in the parking lot when he arrived, which made sense, since it was just after lunch, and he hoped that meant his arrival wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb. After signing in on the guest book, Aaron made his way to the rec room, hoping that Erin was there, as he didn't feel comfortable disturbing her personal space more often than necessary. Aaron couldn't help but notice Lauren smirking at him as she gestured towards the wall of windows that lined the southern wall, and when he allowed his head to follow her lead line, he saw that Erin was sitting at a table there, a puzzle spread out in front of her. Without saying a word to the director, Aaron made his way over to Erin and took a seat across from her.
"Are you that hard up for entertainment, Aaron?" she asked without looking up from the pieces of the puzzle, and he shrugged a little. "Well, you can at least make yourself useful and help me put this together."
"Where's the picture guide?" he asked, seeing that there wasn't a box on the table to guide them.
"There isn't one, or I should say, the picture on the box won't help. This is a gradient puzzle, after all. I had Lauren order me a puzzle to keep my mind occupied, and she thought that this damn thing would be just what I needed to learn patience and perseverance. I just want to set the whole damn thing on fire, honestly."
Aaron laughed as he looked at the pieces strewn out in front of them. "Well, two heads are better than one, right?" Erin glared at him as she continued to pick out edge pieces from the pile and set them aside. "How many pieces are in it?"
"Only a thousand. But it certainly feels like more."
He could hear the frustration in her voice, and Aaron reached across the table to touch her arm lightly, getting her attention and causing her to look up at him. The frown on her lips slowly melted away the longer they looked at each other, and Aaron found it too easy to smile at her until she was smiling back. "Well, I have a few hours to spend with you, so let's see how far we can get in that time. You continue to separate out the edge pieces, I'll start color grouping the other pieces."
"Thank you," she said, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. As they went about their tasks, Aaron made certain to keep up an easy conversation with Erin, not wanting her to feel like she had to open up to him as they worked the puzzle. There was something so relaxing about this form of companionship, something that he hadn't really found with Beth. She was higher energy, more like Garcia, whereas Erin, outside of work, was quiet and introspective. And their energies meshed well, something he was surprised to find, since they often butted heads so often while doing their jobs. "All right, I think that I have every edge piece here."
"Let's get to work then," he replied, looking up to give Lauren a grateful smile when she set two glasses of water on their table. "Thank you."
"I figured that you two wouldn't want to get up once you were underway on the puzzle. Enjoy!"
As the woman flitted away, Erin rolled her eyes, and Aaron stifled his laugh, not wanting to offend her in any way. "Oh, you can laugh! It's obvious that she assumes you're wooing me, and is doing her damnedest to set us up."
"She may have gotten that impression from the fact that we kissed, twice, on New Year's Day," he said, enjoying the even larger eye roll Erin gave him. "I know, but some people view friendship kisses as something more."
He was surprised to see a quick flash of hurt dart across her features, and Aaron wondered what he had said to upset her. Setting his puzzle piece down, he picked up his glass and took a sip of water before reaching across the table and covering her hand with his own. "I'm fine, Aaron. You don't have to worry about me."
"And if I want to?"
She met his eye, allowing her mask to drop as they stared at each other, and he felt like he was seeing her clearly for the first time in his life. "You don't want to be beholden to someone like me. You have plenty of people who wouldn't ruin your life with their drama." He noticed, however, that she had taken firm hold of his hand as her lower lip trembled, as if she was trying to control her emotions.
"This isn't drama, Erin. This is you reclaiming your life from the thief called addiction."
She nodded hurriedly before looking back down at the puzzle. He didn't fail to take notice of the fact that Erin didn't let go of his hand as she started to work the puzzle once more. It was a little awkward to put the pieces together with only one hand, but he didn't want to disturb this fragile balance that they found. Aaron picked up their easy conversation once more, drawing Erin into stories about Jack and how he was doing since Haley had died. She asked a few questions here and there, letting him know that she was paying attention to what he said, and he answered honestly. "He sounds like the dearest child. He reminds me a little of Karen. She was a brilliant child, and has grown into an intelligent young woman."
"Have they been to see you yet?"
"Yes. Alan brought them by one evening, and I was able to spend a few minutes with them. It was too short, but I still loved to see their faces and being able to hug them tight before they had to go home. I don't know if I have you to thank for that, but it was a much needed spot of happiness. Just like your visits are."
He nodded, squeezing her hand a little before focusing on the puzzle once more. They were a few pieces away from completion, and he didn't want to leave until it was finished. She seemed to feel the same way, and they hurriedly fitted the last few pieces into the puzzle, their free hands constantly brushing since the holes were clustered close together. "And we're finished, just in the nick of time. I have to go pick up Jack now."
Erin nodded as they both got to their feet, and he wasn't surprised when she followed him out to the doors. Lauren's eyes followed them the entire way, until they were alone in front of the doors, as if she knew that they needed a little privacy for the moment to come. "I don't know why you came here today, but I am grateful that you were here, since it was a rough day. And I can't think about these feelings that are bubbling up inside of me, because I don't know if they're real, or from being off kilter due to rehabilitation. Whatever happens, though, I am so grateful to you, now that I can see things a little more clearly." Before he could answer, Erin leaned up and brushed her lips against his gently before letting go of his hand and hurrying back into the recreation room, leaving him to stare after her in stunned silence, wondering where they would go from there.