It took the entire time to get back to his car for Dave to calm down enough to be able to drive, and he started off on autopilot, mulling over everything that had happened that afternoon. There would be no easy way to mend fences, there were so many hurt feelings, and he kept thinking about the anger with which Bruce spoke to him. He deserved that anger, since he was the reason that his children's family had imploded.

Without meaning to, he had managed to drive to Erin's house, and as he pulled into her driveway, Dave noticed that Alex was still with her. A part of him wanted to head inside, to ask Alex to leave, but he couldn't do that to her, not when they had just started getting to a spot where they were good with each other. That wasn't fair. Instead, he pulled out his phone and texted her. Harriet wanted me to tell you that she loves you, even if she is upset with us. I'm going to head to Aaron's and have a good long talk with him. Enjoy your time with Alex. I love you

Dave pressed the send button before he could second guess himself, and then he was backing out of the driveway, knowing that if he stayed much longer, his self-control wouldn't hold out, and he would barge in there, disturbing the fragile peace that she had found with Alex. He had barely reached the stop sign at the end of her street when his phone buzzed in the center console, and he glanced at it, a sad smile slipping across his face when he saw it was from her.

He didn't know how he managed to get to Hotch's place, but soon enough he was parking in the driveway, and as he made his way up the sidewalk, Dave watched the door to his house open, and he fumbled with his phone in his pocket, as if to reassure himself that Erin's message would be waiting for him whatever he and Aaron talked about. "Is everything okay?"

"Not really, no. Do you have time to talk?"

His best friend nodded, and Dave smiled in relief as he followed the man inside. "I'd offer you alcohol, but you'll need to drive home, and I don't want you impaired, not when you have something important to carry out at the end of this week."

"How did you know that is when the transplant is happening?"

"Penelope. I guess that either Erin or Blake contacted her, letting her know about the surgery. We're all going to take turns being down there, even though it's a relatively safe procedure. We just want to support you, Erin, and your kids."

"Thanks, Aaron. I don't know what I did to deserve friends like you."

Aaron cocked an eyebrow up as he shrugged. "I think you just were yourself. And let me say that I'm glad Erin and Alex buried the hatchet today. I don't know how that happened, but I know that will bring more harmony to the team now. How do you feel about that?"

"I'm glad that they're talking, but I have the feeling that I might be pushed out for a while. Erin still doesn't know what to do about this whole debacle between all of us, and to tell you the truth, I don't either. How do you wrap your mind around the fact that you've gained an entire family in the span of a week? And how do you go about building a different sort of relationship when the father they've always known tells them that their real father never wanted children, and would never love them the way a father should?"

Aaron stared at him closely, and he shrugged a little as he settled back on the sofa, feeling bereft at the fact that Erin wasn't here with him. "Did they say anything like that to you?"

"Not in so many words, but I could read it in their eyes. They wanted nothing to do with us, and I didn't realise how much that would hurt my heart, since I didn't have an inkling that they were mine until Alan informed me. And then I ran away from the issue and allowed it to spiral into a problem, and since Erin and I aren't really talking, that makes interacting with our children difficult. When did my life get so difficult?"

"When hasn't your life been difficult, Dave? You've picked up a serial killer who will only speak to you on your birthday, you lost your son at a young age, you've had three wives, you may or may not be connected to the mob back in Commack. Even having two of those things would be considered a difficult life, and yet I know that there are more things that I didn't mention that have happened to you. So, when you ask a question like that, I just have to laugh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I need to know when I'm being ridiculous and blowing things out of proportion. Why do I find myself unable to just say fuck it and call her?"

"Because you're hurting and she's hurting, and a part of you really doesn't want to rock the boat and maybe end up with her hating you, and destroying any chance that you have to make inroads with your children. Though the fact that you're literally giving a piece of yourself to save your granddaughter should ease things, it probably won't. They're going to need time to grow accustomed to the fact that you are their father, for good or bad. And you are going to need to talk to your lawyer about inheritance issues now. You have three children who deserve a piece of your estate, and that would be best taken care of soon."

"You mean before Friday, just in case something goes catastrophically wrong?" Aaron nodded. "I'm glad that one of us has a clear enough head to think about that. Would you mind coming with me to my lawyer tomorrow? I want you to be the executor of my estate, and I think that I'll need a witness for this, too."

Aaron nodded as he reached out to pat his knee. "I would be more than glad to do that. Try to make it as close to the lunch hour as you can, though, since I don't think that the Director will be too glad with us missing much time, given that you'll be off on medical leave for a few months come Friday."

Dave nodded as he pulled out his phone, finally looking at the message Erin had sent him. It was just a simple I love you, too, but it still lightened his heart to see it there. Unlocking his phone, he scrolled through his contacts before tapping on his lawyer's personal number, giving Aaron a quick smile before he heard her pick up. "Good afternoon, David. What can I do for you?"

"Cynthia! I need to ask a rather large favor of you."

She let out a deep sigh before replying, and Dave smiled a little wider at his best friend. "What would that be?"

"I've recently been informed that I have three children, and that one of my children has a seriously ill daughter. I will be undergoing surgery on Friday to give a part of my liver to my granddaughter, since I'm a perfect match for her, and my friend Aaron suggested that I update my will on the small chance I might have complications during said surgery. And since this needs to be done sooner rather than later, I was wondering if you'd like to have a working lunch with us tomorrow, so that we can get that done, and Aaron can act as the witness, since he'll be the executor of my estate."

There was a small stretch of silence, and he knew that meant Cynthia was looking through her schedule for the next day. "That will work fine," she finally replied. "Where would you like to meet?"

"Florentine's, at noon. We'll have two hours to go over everything, if we need that long, all right?"

"Works for me. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Great, until then." Hanging up, he shoved the phone back into his pocket and took a deep breath as he stood. "I will see you tomorrow, too. I'm going to head home and have a cigar and brandy as I think about what's happening this week."

"Sounds good, Dave." Aaron followed him to the door, and as Dave climbed into his car, he couldn't help but feel a shiver of doubt slide down his spine as he thought about the surgery ahead of him. Until this moment, he hadn't thought about the fact that Death could come calling for him on Friday, and he knew that it would be a long night grappling with that thought coupled with the fact that he still wasn't certain where he stood with Erin. He only prayed that nothing happened to him before they could work their issues out.