Erin pulled down the visor on the passenger side of Dave's Ford F150 to glance at the backseat. Cassie and Matthew were sound asleep, blanket's in hand, their heads tilted backwards against their carseats. Ave's infant seat sat between them, facing the rear of the car, so far everyone was quiet and the ride was smooth. The interior of the truck still had the new car smell. She felt a little guilty that the brand new floor mats would soon be covered in apple juice and Goldfish cracker were only an hour into the 6 hour drive.
"Everything okay, back there?" Dave asked, flipping on the high beams. It was well past dark when Erin was officially discharged, against medical advice. As hard as Dave tried, he couldn't convince her to stay. Her stuff was tied down in the bed of the truck and covered with a tarp. They would find somewhere to put it, when they got to New York. For now, he was relieved to be on the road.
"Everything's fine." She answered, "they're sound asleep."
"When do we need to stop?"
"Ava should be full for the next three hours…"
He pointed to the glove compartment, where she would find the travel guide if she wanted it. "Find us somewhere to stop at then."
"I can drive-"
"Are you crazy?" He asked, staring at her from the corner of his eye. For all he knew, she fainted trying to go to the bathroom. He wasn't about to put her behind the wheel.
"I'm just trying to help," she said, holding her hands up in surrender.
"Then find us a hotel-"
"Yes, Sir." She snarked back, rolling her eyes.
"Actually, I'll find one on the exit. Take a nap or something," he grouched. "I'll wake you when we stop."
"In three hours," she reminded him.
"If I forget, I'm sure one of the kids will remind me."
She leaned forward and pulled a blanket from the bag at her feet, "are you sure you don't need me to hold the map?"
"Honey, I could drive to my mother's house blindfolded, with both hands tied behind my back-"
"If the kids get up-"
Dave shook his head, cutting her off. "If they get up, we'll find a drive thru, I'll buy 20 chicken nuggets, they'll eat 12 and throw the rest out the window. Then they'll go back to sleep."
"They better not throw anything out the window."
He chuckled, the two toddlers couldn't roll down the windows, from their carseats if he begged them to. "Relax, the worst that can happen is, Ava gets whacked with a Happy Meal toy-"
"You're not helping-" she said, glaring at him.
"I'm joking, Erin."
"It's not funny," she warned.
"Goodnight."
"Fine, whatever." She rested her head against the window, wrapped in a blanket. She was safe, her children were safe. That sense of security and the soft hum of the truck's engine lulled her to sleep.
"Erin," Dave nudged her shoulder. Exactly four hours since leaving the hospital, he pulled into the parking lot of a decent looking motel. "Erin, open your eyes."
"Huh?" She blinked, halfway between sleep and awake.
"I'll be right back, I'm going to check us in."
"Okay," she mumbled as he got out of the truck, locking the doors behind him. Ten minutes later, he was back in the parking lot. They had two beds, a crib and late check-out, that's all he could ask for. "Erin, Bella wake up."
"Huh?" Erin forced her eyes open, "where are we?" She asked, sitting upright.
"New Jersey," he answered. He reached across the bench seat and pulled his gun from the glove compartment and stuck it in the holster on his hip. "Come on."
He got out of the truck and closed the door. Leaving the high beams to illuminate the front of the building. So far, everyone slept through the trip. He went around to the passenger side and opened Erin's door. She was still half asleep, she stared at him, blindly. "Let me help you," he reached around her and unstrapped her belt.
"I got it," she muttered, pushing his hand away.
"It's a jump," he reminded her, as she lowered her foot out of the truck. He held her by the waist, to keep her steady.
"You got it?" He asked, setting her on her feet.
"Yeah," she caught his eye, in the dim light of the street lamps, his hands still around her waist. "I got it." She cleared her throat, but didn't pull away. They were in an unfamiliar place, but his arms around her were familiar. There was nowhere else she would rather be. "We should…"
"Get the kids inside...right." He dropped his hands and opened the door to the Super Cab, he unbuckled Cassie, robotically, lifting her arms out of the straps.
"Take the key," he passed Erin their room key card and she went to unlock the door.
. He wasn't thrilled to be on the ground floor, it left them more susceptible to criminal activity, but he would take what he could get. He lifted Cassie into his arms, letting her bounce against his shoulder and carried her into the room. The two queen beds were a welcome sight, he didn't realize how tired he was until he saw them. With one hand, he pulled back the blankets, took off her shoes and laid her down. Then went back to the truck, Erin stood at the backseat, one knee on the floorboard, her hands grabbing for the edge of the bench seat.
"Are you trying to fall out of my truck?" Dave asked, grabbing her waist to backstop her.
"I'm trying to get my kids!" She bit out through clenched teeth. "It's not my fault this thing is huge!" She groaned, pushing herself up on the seat, but her foot slipped. Her shin collided with the edge of the truck. Tears stung her eyes, "dammit, that hurt!" She hissed, as Dave sat her back on her feet.
"That could have been your head," he reminded her. He reached around her and unbuckled Matthew from his seat and passed him to Erin.
"Good point."
"Go inside, I'll get the baby and lock up."
Thanks," she threw her bag over her shoulder adjusting Matthew in her arms. She pushed the motel door open, it wasn't as bad as she thought….the room smelled fresh and it looked clean. She laid Matthew on the foot of the bed, below Cassie and found a fresh Pull-up in her bag. He was almost potty-trained during the day, but the nights were a different story. She changed his pants, tossed the Pull-Up in the trash can and laid him next to Cassie.
"I didn't know what you would need," Dave bumped the door with his hip and it swung closed. "I grabbed the first suitcase I saw." He said, leaning the suitcase against the wall. He sat Ava's seat on the floor and threw the security latch across the door.
"Thanks," Erin made a beeline for the infant seat, as Ava started to squirm. Acting quickly, she unbuttoned the top buttons of her shirt and took the baby out of the car seat. Dave's gaze drilled holes in her back.
"What?" Erin sat down in a chair in the corner, feeding the baby. "Why are you staring?"
"Nothing," Dave said, shaking his head, "I just…never mind." He sat down on the edge of the empty bed and pulled his shoes off. "Do you want some privacy? I could..uh," he jabbed his thumb towards the bathroom, "I'll go take a shower."
Erin scoffed,shaking her head in amusement. Men were incredible, sometimes. "After the things we've been through do you really think I care if you see my tits?"
"You make a valid point," he said, holding up one hand. "Truth be told, I didn't think about it like that, until you brought it up."
"Sorry…" she shrugged and glanced around the room. She only planned to stay at the cabin long enough to say goodbye. How the hell did she end up in a motel in New Jersey, with all three of her kids and David?
"It's not like I had a lot of time to be grossed out," he said. "You needed me, what was I supposed to do?"
"Boy, I really shot your weekend to hell." She said, laughing slightly.
"It's been interesting," Dave lay back across the foot of the bed, staring at the ceiling with his hands folded over his stomach. "Not that I'm complaining, I went to Little Creek to clear my head and left with...well." He stopped abruptly
"What?" Erin pressed.
"Nothing," he said. "Forget about it."
"Just tell me," she pressed.
"I'm a romantic with my heart on my sleeve and what I was about to say, isn't something I'm not ready for you to hear."
"You don't have to mean it-" she offered. "I just want to hear what's on your mind."
"Ha!" He stood up, shaking his finger at her. "I'm not falling for that," he chided. "We always say it doesn't mean anything, but look where we are."
"You've made your point," she said, standing up and adjusting the baby in her arms. A slight draft blew through a crack in the window, where the window and the rubber seal didn't completely meet, it was warped from years of drastic temperature fluctuations. The draft sent shivers down her spine and goosebumps sprung up on her arms. Suddenly, they were both cold, she planned to sleep in the recliner with the baby in the crib beside her.
"I'll take her," Dave offered. Over the last two days, before their rescue from the cabin, they fell into a natural routine of caring for Ava. Erin made sure she was full as a tick and Dave kept her clean, dry and alive. Admittedly, he seemed to be enjoying it more than Erin.
She shook her head, "She's still eating, I just need a blanket-"
"You're not sleeping over there," he argued. He grabbed her blanket off the bed, it laid next to Cassie, but nobody was using it. Both kids were sprawled out across the mattress, fighting each other for space.
"You're right," she stared pointedly at the queen bed across the room. "I'll lay with the kids-"
"I'll sleep in the chair," he offered. "Take the bed-"
"Dave, I said I'm fine."
"I'm not," he countered. "You gave birth on my rug and then passed out in the hospital, now, I'm dragging you on a six hour roadtrip to meet my mother. Holy shit, woman, would you please make this easy and take the damn bed?"
.Erin swallowed nervously. "Hold on, wait just a minute, you-uh.." she cleared her throat. "We're going to your mom's house?"
"Well, yeah, of course," he grinned, suddenly bursting with enthusiasm. "You'll have a great time, the kids can play with my nieces and nephew-"
"Wait, hold on." Erin drew in a sharp breath, "we're meeting your whole family,now? Oh God, there was no classy way to explain that she and David had an affair and eight months later, he delivered their child alone in a cabin in the woods. Now, she and her other two children were on the run from her abusive husband, whom she was technically still married to. Oh yeah, that was sure to make a great first impression.
"We don't have to, I just thought it would help you adjust if you knew some people. My sister lives right down the street-"
"How many siblings do you have? I need to know what I'm walking into."
"I have two younger sisters and a brother."
She nodded, "and they'll all be there?"
"I can thin out the crowd if you really want me to. My brother's married and it wouldn't kill him to see his mother-in-law every once in a while."
"You don't have to do that-" she protested, "I don't want to come between you and your family, I just-" She stopped talking. Heat crept up her neck, "this isn't the way I wanted things to go between us. I never thought we would be at this point. If I was going to meet your family, I thought it would be-"
"What?" Dave pressed, eyebrows raised as he waited for a response.
"Nothing."
"You wanted this to be more romantic," he said.
"Well...yeah." She dropped her shoulders. " Anything is better than our current circumstances. Can't you see how bad this looks? It's bad enough we had an affair, now I'm dragging my problems into your family-" She was in over her head, nothing good could come out of this.
"I don't have a problem with this, why should you?"
"Because-"
"You're embarrassed," he accused.
"It's not you-" she said quickly.
"Then what is it?" He crossed his arms, waiting for her answer.
She bit down on the inside of her cheek, "It's me." She admitted. "I'm the one who got my ass kicked, I'm the one who sent my kids away and got pregnant outside my marriage. Forgive me if I don't want to air my dirty laundry in front of your entire family," she hissed through clenched teeth, mindful of the children asleep across the room.
"I don't know if you know this, but it takes two to tango," Dave said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I don't feel any guilt, why should you?"
"It wasn't your marriage-"
Dave gave a sardonic laugh, "mine was dead long before you came on the scene."
"What do you mean?"
"That's not important," he said, brushing her off, "Listen, if you're going to beat yourself up about something, at least make it interesting. Feel guilty for staying in your shitty marriage, for putting my baby at risk every time your ball and chain had a bad day. Berate yourself for showing your kids that violence is a normal occurrence, don't hate yourself for leaving."
"Screw you." She hissed, eyes filled with unshed tears. "I never hurt Ava-"
"You let Peter hurt you and for eight and a half months, the two of you were one in the same."
His words hit her like a bucket of cold water, he was right and she knew it. She stood up, tossing the blanket aside. "Take your baby." She spat, handing her over. Glaring at him like he was dirt on the bottom of her shoe. "I'm exhausted," she said, coldly, ticking off the list. "I'm hormonal and my body hurts. I'm not having this fight with you." She disappeared into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She flipped the switch, the whirling of the fan, plus the shower, would drown out the sound of her crying. She wasn't a bad mother, no matter what David thought. He had no right to criticize her. She turned on the shower, as hot as she could stand and stepped over the edge of the tub. Letting the water beat against her body, shoulders shaking as she tilted her head back against the shower's spray.
"Cara Mia…" Dave huffed, holding Ava against his chest. "I think I blew it this time." He sat up as she stirred, rubbing her face against his shirt, she let out a squeak.
"Not a fan of the cologne? You're the only female in America, who isn't." He got up, keeping her in the football hold as he dug through the diaper bag until he found what he was looking for. No amount of swaying stalled her cries. "Hang on a second, I'm coming." He glanced frantically towards the bathroom door, but he could hear the shower running. Mommy was not coming to the rescue.
Armed with a diaper, wipes and a clean outfit, he laid her down on the mattress and got to work. He unsnapped the hospital issued onesie with deft fingers, by now, he was a pro. "Is that better, Bella Mia?" The italian terms of affection, fell easily off his tongue as he carefully maneuvered Ava's fragile arms out of the onesie with trembling fingers. His heart hitching in his chest, she was tiny, was he being too rough? She didn't seem to mind, in fact her dark blue eyes just stared at him. Until it was time to pull the onesie off completely. Dave bunched the fabric on either side of the newborn's head and slid it over her forehead. Ava let out an ungodly scream, her body tensed, fists shaking.
"Well, you definitely have my temper," Dave muttered, maneuvering her feet into the footie pajamas. "Stop fighting me." He guided her arms into the sleeves and zipped the outfit.
"We're done." He assured her, picking her up. He liked that football hold, that way they could look at each other. He stood up, keeping her in front of him he swayed slightly to a beat only he could hear.
"I really blew it with your momma…" He admitted, "She's right though...this isn't how it was supposed to go...just..uh don't tell her I said she was right." He didn't know he wanted a family, until there was one in front of him, but how do you collect the lottery money, when you didn't buy the ticket? Every time he looked at his newborn daughter, he knew he was the luckiest guy in the world...he wasn't about to give that up. Ava's dark blue eyes stared back at him, he was sure she was absorbing every word he said. "Alright, Pretty. We know you're not a fan of Drakkar Noir, let's see how you feel about Dean Martin." He cleared his throat and tested his voice. "I don't want to be the one to say I'm gonna miss you but I will."
He had no idea what would happen once Erin came out of the bathroom. For all he knew, she was planning to pack their stuff and run away from him too.
"I don't want to say I'm gonna cry my eyes out baby but I will."
When the water ran cold, Erin turned the tap and stepped out of the shower. Her feelings still smarted, but she wasn't about to hide in a motel bathroom all night to avoid him. She wrapped a towel around her body and flipped off the fan. Faint sounds drifted through the shower's steam. She inclined her head against the door, listening.
"I'm not ashamed for you to know how much I really love you so. Cuz it was such a thrill."
He was melody was slower than the original song and he was slightly off key but overall, it wasn't unpleasant.
"And just remember when you're gone there'll be that someone sad who loves you still."
Dave stopped singing, he racked his brain for the next verse of the song, but it wouldn't come. Ava wouldn't notice if he skipped a verse anyway.
"Don't wonder if you want to come back just come running home to me…"And let me feel that thrill."
Erin stepped lightly out of the bathroom, careful not to intrude on the moment between father and daughter. Dave had his back to her, his white shirt was wrinkled. She noticed his empty belt loops as he swayed, still carrying the tune. He'd tossed his belt across the dresser.
"Cuz I'm the one who told you. I would love you dear forever and I will...Oh, I will...Don't wonder if you want to come back just come running home to me."
Dave turned around, but never lost a step. His eyes landed on Erin, he could have turned away, instead he directed the last verse to her.
"Cuz I'm the one who told you I would love you dear forever and I will. I would love you dear forever and I will."
"You have a nice voice," Erin said, watching him lay Ava in the crib.
"Only in the shower," Dave deflected, without looking up from the baby. The back of his thumb glided across her soft cheek, but she didn't stir. "Down for the count," he said, standing upright.
"Good," Erin grabbed her bag off the bed and went to the bathroom to put on clothes. She emerged a few minutes later, with her hair pulled back. The towel was replaced by a pair of flannel pajama pants and a cotton t-shirt.
"The Cardinals? Really?" Dave asked, eying her up and down, from his seat in the recliner.
"Better than the Cubs." She shot back, sitting back against the headboard of the bed, crossing her legs at the ankles.
"You're killin me."
"Next time, pick a decent team-"
"Ouch!" He groaned, pressing his palm against his chest. "Kickin' me when I'm down." His tone turned serious, "Can we talk?"
"I don't know," she dropped one shoulder, staring at him with red eyes. "Can we?"
"Okay, I'll talk. You just listen."
She nodded. "Okay. Talk."
The mattress creaked as he sat down at her feet. "I crossed a line," he admitted, sitting with her feet in his lap. He worked his way around her foot and ankle. "I don't want you to feel guilty for any of this. Peter is the bad guy here. He's our unsub and he's to blame for all of it. If you were happy at home, you and I wouldn't have...well..I don't have to explain that. I'm just as guilty as you are….I know that. The difference is, I don't care." He really didn't. His marriage was over long before he hooked up with Erin, the only difference between his marriage and a divorce, was the fact that they couldn't afford to live separately. Dave ended up paying the bills on the house, but alternating between the cabin at Little Creek and the apartment on his mom's property. He concentrated on Erin's ankle as he spoke, "We saw what we wanted and we took it and if anybody has anything to say about it, they can say it to me."
He picked up her other foot, working his way around the muscles. "Here's the thing, I already told my family about you, long before now. I'm not about to throw you to the wolves-"
"What did you tell them?" She asked, curious.
He shrugged, "we work together, we hook up on major holidays….in fancy hotels...and bad motels." He said, gesturing to their surroundings. "She knows you're hot."
"You're a dog!" She scoffed, laughing, "I can't believe you said that to your mother-"
"Mama got the PG version, I said that to Lucy."
"Who's Lucy?"
"My favorite sister." He boasted, "she'll love you."
Erin shook her head, she wasn't even sure Dave loved her. Why did it matter if his sister did? "Are you sure we won't try to kill each other?"
"Positive." He said, puffing out his chest. "But she might kill me."
"Why?"
"She's in a hurry to meet her niece. However, I think we should stretch this trip out another day….you said, you're exhausted, so…" He patted her leg affectionately. "We'll take it slow until you feel more like yourself."
"Are you sure?" She glanced toward the kids, how would they handle being stuck in one room? "We can just go- we only have three hours." She said, shaking her head. "I'm fine-" she tried to argue, but Dave put his foot down.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "We're staying another day, if anyone asks, it's because I don't want to drive," he said, leaving no room for argument.
"Fine, whatever." She waved him off, "if you really want to stay another day, we can."
"How's the shin?" He asked, patting her leg.
"It's fine, thanks." She pulled her legs off his lap and crossed them. "Hey Dave?" She whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks." That one syllable was loaded with implications, she could never repay him for the things he'd done for her. No amount of money would come close to covering her debt.
"Don't thank me," he said. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her, she gave him Ava. After that, she could have everything he would ever have.
The first rays of sunlight filtered through the heavy curtains on the motel room window. Dave opened his eyes and glanced around the room. The half of the mattress beside him was cold and untouched, his eyes fell on the bed beside his, only separated by a table and a lamp. He saw Cassie first, sprawled out on the foot of the bed, her arms thrown over her face, her feet dangled off the edge of the bed. Matthew was curled under Erin's arm at the top of the bed, all three of them, were still sound asleep.
He glanced at the alarm clock on the table beside him, the red LED numbers didn't disappoint him. 8am wasn't terrible, still he closed his eyes and bunched the pillow under his head. A little extra sleep wouldn't hurt. Just when he started to drift off, a faint squeak came from the other side of the bed. He opened one eye and waited….maybe...the rustling continued from the corner….never mind. Dave rolled over and tossed the blankets aside. He padded over to the crib, racking his hand through his hair. He scooped Ava into his arms, frowning at the warm, wet sensation against his arm. "I'd be crying too," he grumbled and grabbed a diaper from the pile on the corner of the dresser, next to the crib. Overnight, they turned the top of the dresser into a makeshift changing table. So far, it worked like a charm. He laid her on the blanket and unzipped her outfit. "Bella, Bella, Bella…" He tsked, shaking his head.
"I should have just named her Isabella." Erin groaned, untangling herself from her toddlers. She rolled into a sitting position, with her feet on the floor. Prepared to whip out a tit at any moment, the sooner she fed the baby, the sooner they could all go back to bed.
Dave finished the diaper change and turned around with Ava in his arms. "Did you give up on clothes completely?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. At some point between feedings, Erin tossed her pajamas in a heap across the room in favor of a sports bra and a giant pair of gym shorts. He looked at her, trying to ignore the way the fabric of the gym shorts rode up, giving him a view of the hem of her Depend. It was the least amount of sexy he had ever seen.
She shrugged, looked around the room and deadpanned, "Everyone in this room has been in me at one point or another, you've all seen worse."
"Fair point," Dave dropped his shoulder and transferred the baby into her arms. "Want some breakfast?" He offered, looking for something to do. Once he was up, he couldn't go back to sleep.
Erin didn't answer, instead, she leaned back against the headboard, eyes closed. On a good day, she needed half a pot of coffee to get moving. It was not a good day. She hadn't slept for longer than 20 minutes at a time, her body ached and her lady bits were tender, she'd sooner go 12 rounds with Ali than give birth again. "No more kids." She mumbled, eyes still closed.
"Give her to me," Dave slid his hand underneath Ava's head.
Erin's eyes popped open, alarmed, "What are you doing?"
"I'm awake," he answered. "You're not. I'll give her a bottle." She didn't need to hear that he was afraid Erin would fall asleep and drop the baby.
"I can do it-" Erin protested, she slapped his hand, instinctively shrinking away from him.
He dropped his hand, "Go to bed." He demanded, shaking his head, digging through the diaper bag for a bottle of formula from the hospital. He unwrapped the plastic nipple and secured it to the rim of the bottle.
"She doesn't need a bottle!" Erin snapped, curling her body around the baby, a sudden lump in her throat. "I told you, I got it!"
Dave knew, if he took another step in their direction, he'd be pulling back a nub where his hand used to be. The sudden vision of a David Rossi shaped chalk line, filled his head. He'd never feared for his life with any of the women in his life, but he was fairly sure Erin wouldn't hesitate to drop his body in the woods and take off in his truck if necessary.
He sat the bottle on the edge of the table beside her. "I'm just trying to help." He said evenly, stepping away from her.
Erin swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "Are you still sleeping?"
He shook his head in the negative and sat down in the recliner in the corner.
Erin got up and laid down on the empty bed, she laid Ava flat on the sheet beside her, she tossed any extra pillows on the floor and brought her knees up, curling into a 'C' around the baby. She didn't want his help, what happened when he realized that he didn't like playing house? She had to learn how to do it on her own, or they would never make it.
Dave stretched out in the recliner. They needed food and the supply of diapers from the hospital was dwindling. Still, his stomach clenched as Erin laid the baby on the bed. He knew plenty of people who slept with their babies, but the whole thing bothered him. Anything could happen during sleep, as soon as Erin fell asleep he would transfer Ava back to the crib, if he pulled back a nub, so be it. He kept a watchful eye on Erin, her blonde hair hung in her face as she slept, one hand rested on Ava's back, the other hand hung on the edge of the mattress, away from the baby. She'd tossed every pillow on the bed, on the floor, the blankets and flat sheet were in a heap on the foot of the bed, regardless of her lack of clothing and he was sure if she could handle sleeping on a bare mattress, the fitted sheet would be gone too. He would never admit to staring, but he was, intently. She was the mother of his child and from what he'd witnessed in the last few days, she was as close to super human as a person could get. Erin's chest rose and fell, her hair fluttering away from her face and falling back into place with each breath, her arms were covered in goosebumps, the wind howled outside, the gap in the window dragged the cold air inside.
He got up, carefully padding over to the bed. Ava's pink lips parted as she slept, flecks of drool dripped on the sheets. He slid his hand under her downy head and scooped her into his arms, as if she was made of glass, he transferred her into the crib beside the bed.
Instead of sitting back down or going to the lobby to call his sister, Dave went back to Erin. He pulled up the fabric of her bra to cover her nipple and pulled the comforter up to her chin. If he screwed this up...nah...he wouldn't screw it up, he realized that everything he cared about was contained in the space of one really crappy motel room. The sooner they realized that, the better.
"Shh…" Dave pressed his finger to his lips as Cassie groaned, one eye opened, hands stretched over her head.
"Good morning," Dave said quietly.
She glared at him, without a word. Clearly the four year old was not a morning person. She rolled over, slid out of bed, wrinkling her nose in disgust and turned to Matthew, who was still asleep. "My brother pooped," Cassie accused, pointing at him, then walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Dave kept a cautious eye on the door, crossing his fingers that she could handle her business alone. if she fell in, he would pull her out, but outside of an emergency he wasn't stepping foot in that bathroom. There were societal rules between single men and other people's daughters in the bathroom. He knew she was safe with him, but the rest of the world did not. He'd seen and put away enough child predators to know that.
What in the hell had he gotten himself into with two more kids that didn't belong to him. He loved taking care of Ava, but two toddlers left him at a loss. Should he wake Matthew and change him? Was it okay to let him sleep covered in shit? Did it really bother him if he was asleep? Dave dismissed that idea immediately, if Erin left Ava like that for any amount of time, he'd be covering up a crime scene. With that in mind, Dave grabbed a pull-up from the bag and a pile of wipes from the container. He sat down at the edge of the bed and got to work, it wasn't as bad as he thought, but the sooner the kid learned to leave it all in the toilet, the happier they would all be. One kid in diapers was the perfect number of kids in diapers.
A minute later, the bathroom door swung open, "hey." Cassie poked her head around the doorframe, fully clothed.
Dave didn't look up as Matthew whimpered when the cold wipe touched his skin. "Shh...don't wake up."
"Hey!" Cassie tried again, "I need some help in here."
Dave yanked the clean pull-up as far as it would go and pulled Matthew's pajama pants back into place.
"What is it?" Dave looked up and tossed the pull-up and wipes in the trash and tied off the bag.
"There's a mess!" Cassie said,eyes wide in fear, pointing behind her. "I didn't mean to-" she cried, with tears in her eyes.
"Shit!" Dave jumped to his feet, just as the toilet gurgled, seconds from exploding. Potentially sending a cascade of filth onto the floor and the children's bare feet. Shit. literally. On instinct, he snatched Cassie up with one arm and sat her in the bathtub. "Stay right there!" He demanded, pointing at her.
"I didn't mean to-" Cassie cried, with tears in her eyes. "It just happened."
He scrambled through the cabinets and the bathroom closet until he found a plunger, he worked it in the bowl, hard. Forcing the filthy water down the drain sweat broke out on his forehead, his palms cold and clammy, from exertion. Water splashed onto the toilet seat, he was absolutely disgusted. He hadn't planned to light into the motel's management, but he hadn't planned on a lot of things this week. Suddenly, like an answered prayer, the toilet gurgled again, the mess slowly circled the drain and disappeared. Leaving clean water in its wake. He sat the plunger to the side, breathing a relieved , having kids in diapers didn't seem so bad.
He grabbed a towel off the rack and tossed it on the floor, wiping up the spray of water. It was nothing, compared to the flood that could have been. He tossed the towel in a garbage bag and scrubbed his hands, as he turned the water off he turned toward the bathtub. What he saw damn near broke his heart. Cassie sat at the furthest end of the ugly green bathtub, arms wrapped around her knees, head down like she was trying to disappear.
"Hey," Dave knelt in front of her. "Are you cold in there?" He asked, her little hands clasped tightly around her knees as she trembled. "You can come out of there now."
She shook her head, looking at him with wide eyes, tears clung to her dark lashes.
He reached for her, but she shrank away, hoping to disappear into the tub. "I didn't mean to do it." She said, stubborn but fearful, "it just happened."
Dave nodded, patiently. "It was an accident. We fixed it," he assured her, he put his hand on her arm to comfort her. "Come out of there, let's go get some breakfast-"
"Daddy! No!" Cassie yanked away from him, covering her head with her arms, trembling harder."I want my mommy!"
He noticed, too late that the child wasn't afraid of being in trouble, she was scared of being beat, by someone who was supposed to protect her. "I'm not Daddy, Honey." Dave whispered with a knot in his throat and fire in his stomach. "I'm not going to hurt you." If the Gods blessed him with the chance to get Peter Strauss alone in a room, one of them wasn't coming out.
He stood up and got some toilet paper off the roll. "No tears," he instructed, passing her the wad. "Can I help you out of there?"
She nodded, still skittish, but she accepted his offering and stood up.
Dave wanted to yank Erin out of bed and shake her, how could she not know how her children were treated when she wasn't around? His fists clenched at his sides, he needed to keep some physical distance between them before he did something he would regret. His shoulders dropped when he exhaled, acting on his temper would make him no better than Peter.
"Is mommy here?" Cassie asked, eyes flat on the green tub, studying it.
"She is." He held her elbow as she stepped over the edge of the tub. "She's sleeping, do you want to sleep or go with me to get pancakes?" There was a diner around the corner, it was the selling point to this shitty motel. A 24 hour diner guaranteed they could eat breakfast, lunch and dinner whenever they felt like it while still supporting a small business.
Cassie shook her head and crawled into bed next to Erin.
He turned on the TV and flipped through the channels until he found the Saturday morning cartoons. Laying the remote aside he took a sheet of paper from the pad on the table and wrote a note.
"Cassie, I'm taking Matthew with me," he scooped the boy into his arms, blanket and all. If he didn't go now, Ava would wake up Erin and nobody had eaten since last night. Better to leave now, while the most vocal members of his new family were still asleep. "If Mommy wakes up, tell her I went to get pancakes."
Dave strapped Matthew in the car seat and slammed the door, he climbed in the driver's seat, hands clenched tightly around the steering wheel as he started the engine and backed out of the lot. His mind churned with unanswered questions, was Erin around when Peter went after Cassie? There was no way Erin hadn't protected her kid, but that didn't answer the question of what happened to Cassie. He pulled into the parking lot of the diner, cut off the engine and got out.
'The Pinky and The Brain...the Pinky and the brain…' Erin's eyes popped open, something wasn't right. Cassie sat next to her, blankets pulled up to her chin. Erin glanced around the room. She let out a relaxed sigh at the momentary peace and closed her eyes again, prepared to go back to sleep, when she suddenly became aware of her surroundings. The queen bed beside her was empty, "Where's Matthew?" Her heart lurched in her chest, why were there so many blankets on the bed? She threw the blankets onto the floor frantically searching for her newborn. "Cassie!" Erin yelled, jumping off the bed. Visions of her four year old, smashing Ava, flooded her mind. "What are you doing up here? Where's your sister?"
Cassie pointed to the crib across the room, wedged between the nightstand and recliner. "She's in there, Silly."
"Did you move her?" Erin accused, even as she said it, she knew that wasn't possible. She went to the door and pulled the handle, the safety latch wasn't on. Matthew could easily turn the handle and get out.
"No, Momma…" Cassie said, shaking her head.
Erin ducked into the bathroom, with her heart in her throat. There was no sign of her son. "Where's Matthew?" She asked, teetering on the edge of panic. "Cassie, do you know where your brother is?"
Cassie shrugged and went back to the cartoons. "Pancakes."
"What?" She asked blankly, surely she was dreaming. She had to be, she would have heard the door close.
Erin scooped Ava into her arms, prepared to call the cops, her son was missing from a motel room in a strange city, just off the freeway. Anything could have happened to him. He could be in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland. She had no idea how long he'd been gone. She should have never gone to sleep...if she'd been awake her son wouldn't have gotten out. She sat down on the edge of the bed, her foot rested against the side of the crib, lifting the phone to her ear. Her fingers hovered over the numbers. A folded piece of paper laid on the carpet in front of the crib. She picked it up, unfolding the note with numb fingers. I took Matthew to get breakfast. -Dave.
Her fear turned to anger, who the hell was he to take her child without telling her first? David didn't know it yet, but he was a dead man. She laid Ava in the crib. Then pulled back the curtain on the window, just in time to see Dave's truck pull into the space in front of their room. He had the nerve to smile at her before getting out of the truck. A minute later, the door to the motel room swung open. "Are you an idiot?" She snarled, stalking in front of David. "I almost called the police!"
"You were asleep-" he said, laying their food on the table. "I picked up food and went to the store, we were out of Pull-ups-"
"David, I couldn't care less where you went, that's not the point- I woke up and my newborn who can't move by herself was no longer where I left her. My first thought was that she had been crushed by one of the other kids. And if that is not bad enough, my son was missing! David, what was I supposed to think?"
"Mommy!" Matthew squealed, interrupting Erin's diatribe. His chubby arms wrapped around her leg, she reached down and ruffled his hair, relieved that all of her children were safe.
"I thought he'd gotten out," she said, shaking her head. "I was terrified he'd been kidnapped-"
"I left a note-" Dave tried to explain, "I didn't think-" How was he supposed to know she would wake up before he got back.
"No, you didn't!" She snapped, backing away from him. "You can't take off with my kids without telling me."
"Are you going to keep yelling at me or can we eat breakfast?" Dave asked, unboxing their meal on the table.
"I can do both." She deadpanned, adding a spoonful of eggs to a paper plate.
"I really wish you wouldn't." He countered, "I'm sorry for not waking you up to tell you where we were going."
"Thank you," she said cooly.
"You didn't say, 'it's okay.' He observed, cutting up a sirloin into manageable pieces with a plastic knife. "That's what most people say when accepting an apology."
"Because it's not okay." She said, tearing a pancake in pieces with her fingers. "I forgive you and I appreciate that you let me sleep, but taking off with my kid without telling me, is not okay. I thought he'd been kidnapped, David and I thought that you of all people would understand that!" She said the undercurrent of rage, rapidly bubbled over. "I thought everything I cared about in the world was gone."
"Did it cross your mind to think that he was with me?" Dave bit out, frustrated. Her children were safer with him than with their own father, he bit his tongue to keep from saying just that.
"Don't look at me like I'm crazy-" she wanted to wipe that smug look off his face. "I thought he got out while I was asleep. I thought I left him unattended and he got outside. We're in a motel off the interstate in the middle of New Jersey, He could have been anywhere!"
"He wasn't-" Dave cut in and laid his hands on her shoulders. "He was with me, around the corner and across the street."
"I know that now."
"Take a breath. Don't spin out on me now," he demanded. "I'm sorry," he relented. "It won't happen again."
Her head snapped up to meet his eyes. "Look, I know they're safe with you. It's not you. It's this whole situation. I just got them back, the thought of losing them again-" she stopped speaking, she knew Dave would never hurt her or her children. Matter of fact, he'd always come to her defence even when she wasn't in the room. Nobody was better for her little family than David Rossi, he just needed to see her point of view.
"I get it…" he shrugged, "we've had an eventful few days," he wanted to reach out and hug her. That's what he might have done, if they nailed down the terms of their relationship. When he thought about, he might have been scared too, if the tables were turned. As it stood, he didn't know how to comfort her or if she wanted comforted, he dropped his hands off her shoulders. "I guess we should feed them, before they mutiny," he suggested.
"Right." Erin nodded, watching the kids play on a beach towel on the floor in front of the TV. Erin sat the plate in front of her with a plastic fork. Dave sat Matthew in a chair, with a plate of pancakes and eggs in front of him.
"Want some food?" Dave asked, sitting a plate on the table beside Erin.
"I'm a little busy, here." Erin said, looking from Ava to Dave and back again. With any luck, she could push his buttons just enough to get him to leave for a while. Just long enough to give her some time to get her head together, the first thing she had to do, once they got to New York, was put in for a transfer to the New York field office. It wasn't a guarantee, but with Dave on her side, maybe they could sway the higher-ups to rule in her favor.
Dave glanced around the room, both the kids were planted in front of the TV, glued to the cartoons, eating their breakfast. "I'll take her," he demanded, holding out his hands. "She needs to learn how to use a bottle anyway." He thought of how his nieces and nephew were passed around the family from the time they were born until they could walk. He wanted Ava to have the same experience. "My sisters are going to have a field day with her," he boasted. Fully expecting Erin to pass him the baby in the middle of her meal. When she didn't, he stood up and got the newspaper off the table with one hand and a piece of toast in the other.
"Dave…"
"Uh huh?" He questioned, without paying attention. He skimmed the sports section and flipped to the classifieds, they needed a bigger car….
"How long are we going to keep doing this?"
"Doing what?" He asked, turning the page.
"You, me, the kids...this Ward and June Cleaver act, we've got going on."
"I dunno," he shrugged without looking up from the paper. "How about the next eighteen years?"