"You're heading out early again, Dave?" Penelope asked, frowning at him a little as she cocked her hip against the frame of her office door.

"I am, Kitten. There's been a rather difficult situation that's arisen, and I want to make certain that everyone is doing all right. I just, I need to be there for her, since everyone's failed her so badly recently."

He watched the blood drain from her face as a hand covered her chest. "Did Erin fall off…"

"No, thank God. She's been a year sober, and she's not likely to slip at this point, not so long as I remain by her side. This is going to test all of us." Penelope quirked an eyebrow at him. "There's just so much that Erin has to balance on her plate right now. And she'd kill me if she knew that I had told you that much, so please, keep it close to the vest and treat her like normal when she's in the office. Okay?"

Penelope nodded before reaching out and squeezing his upper arm gently. "I know you can't tell her who, but just let her know that someone out there is thinking about her?"

He gave her a wide smile before shaking off her hand and heading down the stairs. "Hold down the fort, Kitten. I don't know when I'll be back today."

"Of course, my fine Italian Stallion." Penelope gave him a broad wink before slipping into her office once more. Dave found the teasing to be an immense help for his attitude, since he had been brooding throughout the morning, unable to concentrate on anything other then what Erin was going through. His heart ached to think of little Helena being so ill, and he hoped that the test would find a donor from within the family, even if he wasn't a match.

The drive to the hospital didn't take too long, which was good and bad, as he had hoped to have some time to think about what he was going to do to comfort Erin and act as a buffer between her and Alan. Pulling into the ramp, he allowed valet parking to take care of his car as he walked across the street and entered the hospital. It was a quick walk to the elevators, though he found himself tapping his foot anxiously as he waited for it to arrive.

There weren't too many others on the elevator, which suited him just fine, since the more people there meant the greater chance of him being recognized. That was a circus that he did not want to bring down on Erin's family's heads. Stepping out of the elevator when it reached the pediatric floor, he turned towards Helena's room, hearing the sound of Alan's voice long before he reached the room.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to keep himself calm as he crept closer and closer to the room. "…to do this here? Now? Did you really think that this was an appropriate venue for something like this?"

The despair in Erin's voice caught him off guard, and his brow furrowed as he tried to think about what could possibly be going on. Turning into Helena's room, he was startled to find that it was just the three of them there at the moment. "Hey, I thought we were all meeting here to do the cheek swab?" he asked as he crossed the room and wrapped his arm around Erin's waist, trying to ignore the look of disgust that Alan threw their way.

"The kids all went down together, to allow us time to talk. It seems that Alan has something to say to both of us?"

"Correction, Erin, I have something to say to Dave here. If you want to head down and join the children, we'll follow you shortly."

Dave immediately felt his hackles rise as he cocked his head to one side, staring at Alan as he tried to read his body language. There was something a little more cocky about him that afternoon, as if he had finally settled into a course of action that would make him pleased, and that unsettled him for some reason. "Maybe Erin should stay here. I mean, if it affects us, we should both hear it."

"No, I rather think that this concerns just us, Dave. And once you know, you'll feel the same way that I do." Alan fixed his gaze on Erin giving her a cold smile before gesturing towards the door. "Don't worry, dearest, we'll be along shortly."

The finality in his voice chilled him to the bone, and Dave shivered a little as Erin nodded slowly, pulling away from him and heading over to the door. She opened her mouth, looking like she was going to say something before she let out a long breath and slinked from the room. "What is this about?" he bit out, wishing that he was going with Erin.

"Here, swab your cheek and place it in the sterile sleeve," Alan bit out, shoving a small package into his chest. Dave took hold of it, glaring at the man as he read the instructions on the package. It didn't take much to complete the test, and then he was sealing the sleeve and holding onto it tightly. "I'll take that. I have a feeling that you are going to be leaving here shortly after I fill you in on a few things."

"Like what?" he bit out as he shoved the sleeve at Alan, wanting to throttle him or smack the smug look off his face.

"I knew, I always knew."

"Knew what?" Dave could feel the blood start to drain from his fingers and toes, and he tried to school his features to show none of the anxiety that had suddenly popped up in him. From the look on Alan's face, a mix of triumph and revile, Dave knew that what he was about to hear was nothing good.

"Oh, don't try to play all innocent here, you know exactly what I'm talking about. How long did it take for you to seduce my wife?"

All blood swiftly drained from his face, and he took an unsteady step backwards. He couldn't deny what Alan had said, because it seemed like he knew what had happened for so long, right underneath his nose, or so they had always thought. "I won't insult your intelligence and deny that Erin and I did sleep together a few times, but it wasn't serious. She did love you."

"Until she fell in love with you. Erin knew your reputation, that you slept with anything in a skirt, so she needed someone responsible to raise your children."

It took Dave a moment to fully comprehend what Alan had just said, and then he was blankly staring at Alan, unable to come up with words to say. What he was saying was ridiculous, there was no way that he could honestly think that the children were the product of his affair with Erin. That was crazy. "I don't believe you."

"You should. In fact, I think you noticed something with Bruce yesterday, since you gave him a brief look of recognition. Almost as if he reminded you of someone. As he should, because he's so much like you. You should be proud of your son, Dave. He's turned out to be a fine young man."

Unable to take anymore, Dave made for the door, hearing Alan's mocking laugh at his back as he rushed for the elevators, needing to be anywhere but at that hospital in that moment. Erin was pacing up and down the hall, and he avoided her as well, knowing that he couldn't talk to her and still keep his cool. What he needed was his best friend, and that would mean joining the team on their case.