Chapter Two

If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?

-Alexander Pope

Dave rolled over and buried his face in the pillow, he gave it a few hard thunks and closed his eyes again. And just like every other time, thoughts of babies and a bitch woke him up. If only he had worn the condom. Only his Catholic upbringing combined with his own stupidity could be blamed. He'd been with enough women in his fifty-seven years to know how to avoid conception. His avoidance ruined his first marriage.

"Only lay down with a woman, Davie, if you're really sure about her. Then you don't have to worry about birth control," his mother's warning resounded in his mind. A little too late, in his humblest of opinions.

He scrubbed his eyes with his hand, his head was spinning with the events of yesterday. After Hotch dropped him off, he helped himself to another half bottle of Scotch and fell into a restless sleep. Now that the initial shock was gone, he needed a good plan.

Or just a plan.

It was still early when Dave got to Quantico, but it was no surprise that the light in Hotch's office was on while the rest of the team probably weren't even out of their beds. In the time it took to start another pot of coffee, Dave decided what he needed to do.
He had to approach Erin head on if he was going to get anywhere. Even though the idea of never knowing his child made his chest ache, he would be surprised if Erin so much as looked at him after the way he spoke to her. But there was one thing David Rossi was good at, winning the hearts of woman everywhere.

He filled two mugs and headed towards Erin's office. His heart pounded restlessly as he approached the door. Sitting a one mug on the table outside, he knocked twice and let himself inside and closed the door.
"Can I help you with something?" Erin asked, barely flicking her gaze away from the paperwork that cluttered the desk.
Dave kept his voice even, but inside his organs trembled with apprehension,"I have something important to tell you. And I want you to listen. Just give me one minute."

She didn't lift her head to give him so much as a glance. "You have thirty seconds." She was dismissing him before he had even taken a stand.
"Will you look at me, Erin please. This is hard enough already."

She kept writing, her eyes trained on the report in front of her. "Forty-five seconds. What do you want, vacation time? A raise? Last I heard, you were still a best-selling author."
"This isn't about work, Erin. I'm here to talk about-"

"Fifteen-" she cut him off, reminding him he was on borrowed time.
Dave's voice rose in his throat, "Stop playing games with me. Put that pen down and look me in the eye."
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that he could go on a one way trip to hell on the fastest train, if it meant she never had to see him again. She continued to scribble for a few more seconds, but she could feel his eyes burrowing into her. There was only one way to make him go away, she told herself, let him have his say.

Affronted, she stabbed the pen into its holder. With the mental image of Dave's face at the bottom. "Make it quick, as you can see I'm very busy."

"Marry me, Erin. Let me give my child a name," he stated evenly and concise. But he promised himself that he wouldn't plead and make a fool of himself.
Years of raising children and dealing with subordinates had taught her to conceal her emotions. But his request still hit her in the gut. Her eyes leveled with his, and her tone was cool. Inside she was shaking. "Now I know I'm not the only one playing games here, Dave."

"I'm serious-" Screw his promise not to plead, he was ready to go down on his knees - anything to make her see that he meant every word.
"No, you're not, you're still drunk," she scoffed. According to the security guards, he left the building reeking of Single Malt.
Dave stepped forward and placed one of the mugs on her desk, "I'm as serious as a heart attack."

Erin picked up her pen again, signaling that his time was up, "Let me think about it...No. And while you're on your way to hell, you can take that coffee with you."