After Maeve's death, things had once more seemed to go into a holding pattern, as if John Curtis had somehow gotten whiff of the fact that they were on to him. It was setting him on edge, and he knew that the same thing was happening to Erin as well, since they had started bickering a little more. Harriet was acting as their buffer whenever she brought Helena over for supper or playdates, but even her nerves were starting to get a little frayed.

And then, it was May, and Hotch was ringing him in the middle of the night to tell him that Sean was in jail and that they all needed to get to the office as soon as possible. Looking over at his partner, he rubbed her shoulder to gently wake her, and she blinked her eyes open, looking at him in confusion. "What is it, Davie?" she asked, sleep making her voice low and thick.

"Curtis has decided to strike again, we think, and Hotch's brother is in jail as a result. We need to get to the BAU so that he can brief us and we can head up there."

"Of course!" His news seemed to really awaken her, and she threw back the covers before padding over to the closet and pulling out fresh clothes for them. "I hope that he's called the pilot for the jet, as that will be our fastest mode of transportation."

"I don't think he's thought of that, dear. He and Beth are in New York already, having a bit of a holiday, remember?"

She nodded as she stripped off her pyjamas, shimmying into fresh underwear before starting to tug on a skirt and blouse. "You need to get dressed. I'll make the call to the pilot while you do that, and I'll meet you in the car."

Dave marveled at how quickly she could turn on, and he nodded dazedly as he moved a little more slowly, still watching her prepare herself for seeing the rest of the team. Shaking her head a little, she set her brush aside and kissed his cheek before leaving the room. With her gone, it was a little easier to focus, and soon he was dressed as well, though he could have used a few extra minutes to groom his goatee and hair, feeling he looked like he had gone through a wind tunnel.

True enough, Erin was in the car by the time he made it into the garage, and he gratefully accepted the mug of instant coffee from her hands and sipped at it as he backed out of the garage. Their drive was quiet as Erin turned the music on lowly, giving them something to latch onto as he drove. Since it was so early in the morning, the traffic into Quantico wasn't too terrible, and he had to chuckle a little as he parked next to Alex and Penelope, seeing that they looked just as bleary as he did. "We're all heading up to New York, even me," Penelope said as rubbed at her eyes. "I just can't fathom why Hotch couldn't wait for three more hours to call us."

"Because Sean is in danger. I remember when you were shot, Kitten. We dropped everything to be at your side. That's what you do for family."

She looked at him balefully before nodding, tears starting to glisten in her eyes as she stepped closer to Alex, letting the woman wrap her arm around her waist as they fell into step. "I know, I just have to get the grumblies out this morning. Please, don't tell him that I said that?"

"I wouldn't do that to you, Penelope. We all have those moments where we say things that we might not completely mean, especially when we're overly tired." He patted her shoulder lightly and she gave him a fleeting smile as they got into the elevator and rode up to the bullpen. Stepping out of the car, Dave found himself running into JJ, and she gave him a small frown before shaking her head a little. "Hey."

"Hey. Henry woke up with Hotch's call, and he still hadn't fallen back asleep by the time I left, so if I'm a bit grumpy on the plane, that's why." He nodded and rubbed her shoulder slightly. "Thankfully, someone already called the pilot, so as soon as we're ready to head down to the airfield, we can take off."

"That would be Erin's doing. She's always one step ahead of me, it seems." JJ smirked a little before following them into the bullpen. Reid and Morgan were standing by Alex's desk, and he watched as Erin and she made a beeline for them, leaving him to follow after Penelope up to their offices. "I don't know if Erin has a go bag, so once we're in the city, I'd like you to take her shopping. You can have my credit card."

"If there's time, we'll do that, certainly. But I think that you might have missed something this morning." He followed to where she was pointing and saw that Erin was clutching a medium sized duffle in her hands. "You really aren't awake yet, are you?"

"Obviously not. I am going to have to brew some very strong coffee on the plane to wake me up before we hit the ground running." She giggled as she nodded, and they parted ways. It only took him a few moments to grab his own bag, and then he was going back to his partner's side, wrapping an arm around her waist, not caring who saw them like that. He was past the point of worrying about what would happen if their romance was found out, as they had been through so much together in the last six months that he knew he would never give her up.

"Are we ready, then?" she asked lowly and he nodded before dipping his head and pressing his lips to hers. "Davie, not in front of the others, and not before you've brushed your teeth."

The low laughter that rippled over the rest of the group set his heart a little at ease, grateful that they could find some humor on such a grim morning. "All right, I'll do that as soon as we're on the plane, Erin."

"Good." She turned and sashayed from the room, and he couldn't help but stare at her as she left, the heavy clap of Morgan's hand on his shoulder the only thing that broke him from his reverie.

"You really are whipped, aren't you?" the man teased, and he shrugged a little as they went out to the elevators once more, crowding into a single car. There was something cosy about being so tightly packed together, and he looked at Erin, smiling at her as Derek spoke once more. "Though I do hope that I find a love like this in my life. You are so very lucky."

"I know," he murmured as he slipped his phone out of his pocket and took a few candid shots of Erin talking to Alex and Penelope before he turned his attention to Derek once more. "I cannot wait to marry her, when she'll have me. Because she is literally my heart walking around in human form. Well, her and the kids." Derek nodded, a knowing look on his face, and Dave let out a soft sigh, hoping beyond hope that everything went smoothly with this case.