"I am your chariot home, my dear Italian Stallion!" Penelope called out as she entered his room bright and early Thursday morning. "I know, you were hoping to be released sooner than this, but better safe than sorry."

He gave her a small smile as he adjusted his shirt. "I was wondering when you'd get here, Penny. I'd appreciate it if you wheeled me down to Helena's room so that I can see her before we head out. I already asked Doctor Brody if that would be all right, and she said that it would."

"How's she doing?" she asked as she brought the wheelchair over to his side. He didn't really want to ride in one, but it was hospital rules, and he knew that he wouldn't hear the end of it if he didn't follow the rules.

"Much better, but not well enough to leave yet. It makes sense, since babies are more medically fragile than adults, but I know that Erin doesn't like to see our granddaughter hooked up to so many monitors. Not that I can handle it much better. The only time I get to see her is when the kids aren't here, which isn't very often."

"They're still not speaking to you?" she asked as she wheeled him towards the elevators, since they'd have to ride up a floor to the PICU.

"Harriet is, but Greg isn't quite so forgiving, and neither are Bruce and Karen. I completely understand, but I hope that some of these next seven weeks can be spent building bridges." They fell quiet as they rode up. It was a strange feeling, being wheeled by a close friend, and he let out a small sigh as they came closer and closer to Helena's room. A small smile crossed his lips when he saw that it was just Harriet and Erin there, and he got out of the wheelchair and gingerly made his way into the room, up to the incubator where Helena rested. "Good morning, ladies."

"Dave," Harriet said softly before turning to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. It was a tender hug, and he was patted her back softly as she clung to him. "I am so thankful to you for the gift you gave Helena. I know, we've been awful to you, but there's been so much stress lately that I reacted very badly. And it didn't help how Da…how Alan told us. He deliberately chose an emotionally fraught time to do the most damage, and it worked. I'm trying to get everyone to see the light, but it will take time."

"I know, Harriet. But I'm glad that you're reaching out, I really am." Turning his head, he kissed her temple lightly before looking down at Helena. "Her color is much better today."

"That's what the nurse was saying. We're not allowed to hold her yet, but maybe tomorrow." He gave Erin an encouraging smile and she smiled back before stepping closer to him, her arm joining Harriet's around his waist. "Who is taking care of you?"

"I have a nurse service set up already, and you've seen the rotation that Penelope devised. She'll be with me for the rest of today, but I wouldn't say no to more visitors this evening."

Erin shrugged a little before looking away from him. "I could bring some food with me."

"That would be nice." They looked at each other once more, and Dave felt something in his chest lurch as he leaned down to kiss her softly. There was a breath of a moment before she relaxed into the embrace, and he knew that they would have to talk more about how things were going in their relationship. "I should probably head out now. I don't want to take up too much of your time, ladies."

"You're more than welcome to stay, Dave. I won't let my husband or siblings make you feel unwelcome at your granddaughter's side."

He nodded. "I know, but I'm also starting to feel tired. We'll catch up soon, I promise." Harriet nodded before kissing his cheek and then pushing him closer to Erin. "I love you, bella."

"I love you, too, Davie." She leaned up and wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling him in close for a yearning kiss. "I know that we need to talk, and if you're not too tired, we could start that tonight?"

"I look forward to that, Erin." He caressed her face before stepping back to the wheelchair and sitting heavily, feeling a bone deep weariness settle over his body. This was the longest he had been standing in a week, and it was taking more of a toll on him than he had thought it would, and he gave Penelope a grateful look as she nodded to him before hugging Harriet and Erin quickly. "Home, Penelope."

"A please would be nice," she teased as she wheeled him out of the room and back down to the elevators. "That went better than I thought it would."

"It did. Harriet has a good head on her shoulders, and she's a lot more like Erin than I realized. I love my children, but I think that I'll end up closest to her."

"Just try not to let your favoritism show too much."

He looked up into Penelope's face and nodded, seeing the small look of pain that resided in her eyes. "I take it that's what happened with you and your stepbrothers?"

"Yeah. And it sucked at times. Even though I was the only girl, I still felt like I couldn't measure up at times. And since your children are inevitably going to feel weird about their relationship towards you, you're going to have to work hard to make certain that you keep everything as equal as possible."

He nodded as they went into the elevator and the rest of the ride down was spent in a comfortable silence, and he didn't begrudge having Penelope's hand on his shoulder as the elevator slowly made its way down to the ground floor. "Do you think I would have been a good dad?" he suddenly asked as Penelope handed in the valet parking stub.

"I think you would have made an amazing father, Dave. I mean, you've been the de facto dad to me and JJ and Reid over the years, after all." Quick tears stung his eyes as he looked up at her. "What? Didn't you know? Maybe you just slip so easily into that role that you didn't ever notice. But yeah, I do think of you like that."

"Oh, Kitten, you are going to make my heart ache in the best way, aren't you?" She shrugged, giving him an innocent look before quickly bending in and kissing his cheek softly. "We're going to talk tonight, and I promise that I will do my best to make things right between us. I miss her so much."

"She misses you, too. I swear, the two of you are so obstinate, though. I suppose that that's what makes you work so well together, though. The sparks that you give off probably light more than a few fires."

"That they do, Kitten." He chuckled deeply at the blush that spread across her face. "You were the one who brought it up! I mean, Erin did tell me that you were the one who asked her to talk dirty to her, right before I came out of retirement. I would have loved to have been there to see her face when you said that."

"That was before we became friends, and she got to know my sense of humor, okay? I swear, no one is going to let me live that one down, are they?"

"Probably not," he replied as her car was brought around, and they climbed inside the vehicle. It was going to be a good day, he could just feel it deep in his bones as Penelope started to drive away from the hospital.