"Did you file her paperwork yet?" Dave asked, still in his place across the room, with Ave tucked in his arm. He only put her down long enough for Erin to change her diaper and feed her.

"No." Erin whispered, her two year old son was curled at her side, asleep. "I didn't know…" She didn't know if he would want to be on the birth certificate, but judging by the way he held their daughter and refused to let her go, Erin knew she was wrong.

"Right." Dave nodded, "we can finish that."

"It's in the drawer." She inclined her head toward the nightstand, "do what you want."

He crossed the room and opened the drawer, "This works out," he muttered, grabbing the clipboard with one hand. "Since you don't know my middle name."

"I know your middle name," she argued. "It's Stephen," As an afterthought, she added, after your dad." When she thought about it she owed Stephanio Rossi as much as his son. If he hadn't willed Dave the cabin, she would have never gone up there. Who knows what would have happened to her and Ava if she had to face giving birth in the storm alone.

"Show off." Dave grumbled, he laid the clipboard on the nightstand and closed the drawer, balancing the baby in his left arm.

"My baby isn't a football," Erin said, eyeing his hold on Ava.

"She likes it." He took the clipboard and went back to his seat. He adjusted so she lay in the crook of his arm and studied the paperwork. "Are we sold on her middle name?"

"I gave her the first name, it's only fair you pick the middle."

"Hmm...I like Rose, but I think she should have a family name. What's Cassie's middle name?"

"Marie, same as me." Erin kept her eyes on the door, Eli drove Dave's truck back to the cabin to clean out her car. He took Cassie with him and they'd been gone awhile.

"I can't name our kid after an opera song." He grouched, choosing a middle name was more responsibility than he realized. This decision would impact his daughter's entire life, if he made the wrong choice….he didn't want to think about that. "My mother's middle name is Claire."

"My grandmother's maiden name was Claire," Erin said. Patting Matthew on his back as he stirred against her side.

"That'll work…" Dave scrawled his name on the paperwork and glanced down at the baby. His chest was full of paternal pride. "Ava Claire, you're officially a Rossi!"

Erin sighed in relief, legally, her newest baby was safe. Whether she went to Long Island or not, Peter didn't have a claim to Ava. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat and failed. "Thank you," her shoulders shook with fresh sobs.

"For what?"

"For keeping her safe."

"It's not just Ava." With the baby in his arms, Dave went to Erin's side and passed her a box of tissues from the nightstand. "You're all going to be safe."

"How do you plan on doing that?" She asked, staring at him with bloodshot eyes. "It doesn't matter how far we run, if Peter wants to find us he will."

"I wish him good luck," Dave growled, lifting her hand from the bed and held it. "I told you, you need to trust me." He would talk to his mother and if she felt the need and he was certain she would. She would break out her little black book, make a couple calls and that would be the end of Peter Strauss.

"You're not knocking off my husband." She couldn't let him become an enforcer, an accomplice to a murder. What would that do to his life if it were discovered? He would go to prison, even if he didn't, they would both have to live with it. What would she tell her children?

"Not everything is so black and white, Erin."

"This a pretty 'black and white' scenario, It's a crime, David, it's murder!"

"And that's what the media will call it when the mailman finds your body if you go back to him!" He couldn't let that happen, he couldn't allow her children back in that situation, if he could help it. No child deserved to witness their mother getting her ass kicked. "What does it teach your kids, when they see Peter hitting you? Do you want Ava and Cassie to marry men like him? That's where we're headed-"

"That's a low blow-"

"Well," he shrugged offhandedly. "What do you want from me? I'm trying to help you and you're fighting me."

"I want an easy answer." She admitted, "I want my husband to be a good person. I wish there was a good reason for it-"

What David wouldn't give to make it so…. He covered her hand with his. "I'm sorry."

Six hours away, in Commack New York, Cassondra Rossi sat in her kitchen. Mulling things over.

"Do you think he's serious about her?" Luchia, (Lucy) Rossi asked, cups of coffee and a plate of cookies sat between her and her mother.

Mrs. Rossi eyed her eldest daughter critically, "What kind of question is that, Lucia? He said he's bringing her home. Her and her children and we're going to welcome them." Cassondra said, lifting one graying eyebrow at her daughter.

"He was damn near married to Carolyn before we even met her-"

Mrs. Rossi glared at her 30 year old daughter, "language, Young Lady."

"Did David even say why he's bringing them here?" Lucy asked, eyeing the shelves of breakable knickknacks and unsteady piles of books that lined every wall in the house. She wasn't married, but she knew her mother's house was no place for children on a long term basis.

"He couldn't say," Mrs. Rossi said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"He had to say something-"

"He didn't," Cassondra said, stubborn to a fault, she pursed her lips daring Luchia to cross her.

Luchia blew out a breath, her little brother didn't check the mail without a plan. He wouldn't ask his family for help if it wasn't important. "It's bad, isn't it."

"It doesn't matter, David trusts us with them, they're family now."

"What if she's horrible? Carolyn was-"

"Luchia, I said, it doesn't matter. This woman isn't Carolyn and I don't care if she decapitates cats in her spare time and her children are the twins from The Shining, they're family now."

Luchia pushed back from the table to refill their coffee cups. There was no changing her mind, "Yes, Ma'am."

"We're out of here, as soon as they cut you loose," Dave said.

Erin glanced at the clock on the wall. "I think they forgot about me."

She hadn't seen any medical staff except for the one nurse, one time, since the ambulance dropped her off.

"I think they're understaffed," he offered. "It's a rural hospital and the storm hit the area pretty hard."

"Tell me about it," Erin rolled her eyes, "It took us an hour just to get here."

Dave gestured to the toddler, still curled up against Erin's side, his head on her chest, wisps of blonde hair covered his forehead and his thumb was in his mouth. Norman Rockwell couldn't have painted a more wholesome picture, but that was just Dave's opinion. "Does your little guy usually sleep this much?"

"He's fine," Erin brushed her hand through Matthew's hair, moving his hair out of his eyes. "He's going through a growth spurt. I should wake him up, but he's so content-" Truthfully, she was enjoying cuddling with him. She hadn't seen him in months and it was a miracle that he remembered her. He was only two and Erin worried that he would grow up thinking she abandoned him. Cassie was old enough to understand that they were safer in Maryland, but all Matthew knew was that his mommy wasn't around anymore.

"Let him sleep," Dave agreed, "it's boring as hell in here for a toddler anyway."

"That's why I let Cassie go back to the cabin with Eli." The hospital was the least ideal place for her reunion with her children, but at least she got them back.

"How do you think they'll take Ava?" Dave asked, staring at his daughter, still in his arms. She stretched, lifting her arms out of the swaddle and over her head.

"They'll get used to her," Erin said. "I don't think Matthew is going to like sharing the attention."

"We'll see in a minute," Dave said as Ava squirmed in his arms, smacking her pink lips together hungerly. "Somebody needs a snack."

Just then, Matthew lifted his head, "All wet, Momma." He grumbled, scrubbing his chubby hand across his face.

"Oh," Erin glanced down at her chest. The hospital gown was soaked with milk. "I'm sorry, Buddy."

"Trade me," Dave offered, handing Ava to her mother. He turned to Matthew, "Do you need a snack too?"

"Uh huh…" Matthew nodded eagerly, his wide blue eyes looked up and Dave and back to Erin.

"There's a vending machine down the hall," Dave reached inside his pocket, checking for change. "Do you want to come with me to get it?" He asked and held out his hand.

Unsure, Matthew glanced from Erin to Dave and back again.

"You can go," Erin nodded, placing Ava on her breast. "I'll be here when you get back."

"Kay." Matthew clambered off the bed and grabbed Dave's hand, practically dragging him from the room.

"See you in a minute," Dave said, closing the door behind them.

"We could do worse," Erin said, glancing down at Ava. "I'd like to keep him around awhile." As expected, the newborn just stared wide eyed at her mother as if to say, 'well...that's on you.'

Erin stroked Ava's soft cheek with her finger, encouraging her to eat. "I think you like him, too…"

Dave barely sat her down, the hospital's plastic crib in the corner was nothing more than a diaper rack when he was in the room.

Ava grunted slightly, one eyebrow arched, as if to say, 'yeah, who wouldn't?'

"Are you going to eat, or sit here and judge me?" Erin asked, when the baby pulled away from the breast. Staring intently at Erin, Ava was more alert than either of her children were at her age. "It must be your father's genes," Erin laid the baby on her shoulder and patted her back until she burped. Then she laid her in the crib, she wasn't wet and David could handle the next diaper change.

Erin lowered her feet to the floor, her bladder was screaming and she needed a shirt.

She padded over to the closet, looking for her clothes….another gown, anything. She rubbed the top of her arms, the hospital was freezing and milk soaked through the fabric of her hospital gown.

She found a plastic bag of clothes she'd procured from David's dresser, a pair of sweats and a flannel shirt. Anything was better than a sopping wet hospital gown. She took another glance at Ava, dozing peacefully in the cot. Then went into the bathroom, she hung the bag on the hook on the door, when the floor shifted underneath her. Her head spun, black spots invaded her vision. She grabbed for the edge of the porcelain sink and missed, landing hard on the tile floor.

"Do you like milk?" Dave asked, leading Matthew to the hospital's cafeteria. The vending machine needed to be refilled and the cafeteria was still open, they might as well have normal food.

"Uh huh." Matthew nodded eagerly, holding tightly to Dave's hand. "Chicken nuggets?"

They stopped, long enough to look at the map of the hospital on the wall. "Chicken nuggets and milk, I'm pretty sure we can arrange that," Dave said and pressed the button on the elevator bank.

"Ice cream with mommy?" Matthew looked up hopefully, at Dave. The two of them were thick as thieves, now. All it took was a toy from the gift shop.

"She'll like that," Dave answered, adjusting the bags in his hand. "We better hurry before it melts." The cafeteria did indeed have chicken nuggets and milk, along with decent looking cheeseburgers and pizza.

They'd made a pit stop at the gift shop and picked up fresh clothes for Erin and both the kids, Matthew was still covered in breastmilk and Ava needed clothes that didn't have 'Property of Memorial Hospital,' Stamped on the ass. The sooner they got to Long Island, the better. They turned the corner and Dave pushed open the door to Erin's room. He scanned the room, the blankets were thrown at the foot of the bed and the closet door was slightly ajar. Ava's high pitched cries made him turn to the crib next to the bed.

"Erin?" He went over to the crib, laying his hand on the baby to quiet her and laid his bags on the rolling table.

"Mommy?" Matthew echoed, his little fist raised, knocking on the bathroom door.

"Hang on, Little Man. Go find that truck we bought." Dave steered Matthew away from the door, when he was sure the kid was occupied hunting for the toy, Dave turned the handle.

"Erin!" He rushed to her, her blonde hair fanned out on the gray tile floor. "Hey," he tapped her face. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty." He said, slapping her cheeks. "Come on, Erin." He stuck two fingers against her carotid, her pulse thumped, strong against his fingers. Still, her head pulled to the side, like a rag doll on the cold tile floor.

His stomach dropped like a rock, he raced back into the room and slammed on the 'call' light. "She's unconscious! We need help here."

The door burst open, medical staff swarmed into the room.

"What happened?" A nurse shouted at him, pushing him out of the way.

He blinked, but he couldn't find the words he needed. "I-I don't-I don't know." He stumbled over the words, tripping over his own tongue. His mind moved in slow-motion, unwilling to process the situation. He focused over the nurse's shoulder, watching a team lift Erin out of the bathroom.

"You need to get out of the way. Take your son and go!"

It was then, he glanced down, Matthew clung to his hand. "Mommy!" He shrieked, he tried to run to her, but Dave's grip was too tight.

"We'll take the baby to the nursery, but you need to move out of the way."

Dave stood in the hallway of the hospital, completely lost. Erin's son kept a death grip on his hand, he hadn't said a word, just stared at the doorway to the room where Erin was. Everything was going great. They were on the fast track to Long Island, now he stood alone with two little kids and no mommy. Erin's brother was still at the cabin, for all Dave knew he was on his way back. How was he going to explain this to Erin's brother? The waiting game was driving him crazy, he checked his watch, but he had no frame of reference for how long they'd been sitting in the hallway.

"When's Mommy coming out?" Matthew whispered, his bottom lip trembling as he tugged at Dave's hand.

Dave huffed, there was no good answer. He didn't know what to say, but maybe he could distract him long enough that he wouldn't have to say anything. "Come here," he sat the boy on his hip and walked down the hall. "Look." Dave turned towards the window and pointed down at the parking lot. "What do you see?"

"Red truck!" Matthew squealed, poking the window pane.

"Shh.." It wouldn't do any good to get them thrown from the hospital completely. "What about that one?"

"Yellow."

"Uh huh…"

"What's that big thing over there?" Dave asked, pointing to the corner of the parking lot.

"Tree!"
"What color is the tree?"

"Greeen!" Matthew squealed, dragging out the word.

"Where's my son?" Erin hissed, batting at the nasal cannula on her face. "Where's my baby?"

"You need to calm down, your son is with your husband-"

"My husband?" Erin repeated, "no...no!" She denied, shaking her head. If Peter had Matthew, God only knew where he was taking him. She knew exactly what she was in for, if he came back for her. She could only imagine what he thought, finding his wife in a hospital with another man's baby. "How did he get here? He can't be here!" Her heart slammed against her breastbone, fight or flight had taken over. Erin swung her legs over the side of the bed, intent on finding her children, come Hell or high water.

"Ma'am you hemorrhaged, you have to lie down and let the IV finish."

"No." She shook the nurse's hand off her shoulder. "You have to find my son and bring me my baby, now."

Dave turned sharply away from the window, relief flooded his veins. A minute later, a harried looking nurse emerged from the room. "Sir, you can't be here-"

"What happened to her?" He asked hurriedly. "Is she okay?"

"Sir, I can't discuss that with you, you can't be here."

"David!" Erin yelled, equal parts relieved and terrified. He hadn't left, Matthew was safe and Peter still didn't know where they were.

"I'm not her husband." He said, brushing past the nurse ignoring the aghast expression on her face.

"You scared the hell out of me," he accused.

She held out her hands and he laid Matthew beside her. "You?" Her eyes narrowed into slits, "She said Matthew was with my husband, I thought-oh my God, I thought Peter-I thought Peter took him."

"Matthew is fine," Dave laid his hand on her arm and grinned, the mattress sank as he sat down on the edge beside her. "We pointed at trucks in the parking lot, he's really smart Erin. He knows all his colors…"

"Thank you, for taking care of him."

He wanted to tell her that he enjoyed spending time with her son. Matthew was smart, cute and kinda funny in the weird, little-kid kind of way. Dave also wanted to tell Erin that his stomach was in knots, while he waited in the hallway. When he didn't know if she was going to live or die and that kind of fear was paralyzing, when you loved someone more than your next breath. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops, that he loved her and he was pretty hopeful that she loved him too, but, they weren't together. He couldn't tell her any of that. Instead, he said, "He's a great kid, but if you ever try to die on me again, I'll have to kill you. Capisce?

"You're so dramatic," Erin rolled her eyes. "I wasn't dead."

"Close enough," Dave grouched. "Are you ever going to tell me what happened?"

"Where's Ava?" Erin countered.

"She's in the nursery." He answered, eyeing her. She was too pale and she was hooked up to an IV pole. "What the hell happened?"

"Nothing," she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm fine, go get Ava."

"Not until I know you're not going to pass out again-"

"Then hand me that food over there," she demanded, pointing to the takeout bag on the chair.

"Here." He pulled the rolling table in front of her and sat the bag on top of it. He dug out a burger for himself and pushed the table close to her. "Help yourself. While you're doing that, you can tell me what happened." He demanded, unwrapping the burger.

"I said, I'm fine!" She said, unboxing the chicken nuggets for Matthew. She pulled the butcher paper off her burger and took a bite, even cold, it was the best thing she'd ever tasted.

"No, you're not." He said, chewing through the bun. It tasted like ketchup flavored cardboard. "I'm going to find out eventually-"

"Stop hassling me and go get our baby." She demanded, "you're not a doctor anyway so it doesn't matter."

He crushed the burger wrapper into a ball and rimmed it into the trash can across the room. "Exactly!" He jumped up from his seat. "If I did something wrong when she was born, I'd like to know about it!"

She gave him a soft look, her head tilted to the side, the way she looked at a puppy who had an accident on the rug. "There's not going to be a test, David. Let it go. Everything's fine now."

"Would it kill you to let me in every once in a while?"

"Would it kill you to go get our daughter from the nursery?" She countered, staring at him, one perfect eyebrow arched in his direction.

"Fine." He relented, "But, when I get back, we're having this conversation."

"Bet we don't," Erin said, when the door shut behind him.

Dave pushed the door open, just enough to peek inside, "I heard that."