I'm back, and here to stay! (Hopefully.) I will be starting college soon, so updates may be slow. This story will be finished, I promise.

On another note, The Power of Love-the story you are reading right now- -has been nominated in The Profilers Choice Awards in the category of Best Rossi\Strauss! Thank you all for the nomination and you can vote on the final ballot here

topic/162134/127110716/1/Final-Ballot-and-rules-for-the-last-round-of-the-ProfilersChoice-Awards-2014

On with the story

Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.

-Khalil Gibran -

"They are doing an ultrasound in the morning," Erin said as Paige pulled away and wiped her eyes."Do you want to stay and watch?"

"She can't," Mark interjected harshly.

"But Dad-"

"Mark-" Erin said sharply, "are we really going to fight about this?"

"No, Paige has school and-" he searched for a word that would suit his case, "I'm her father."

"And I'm not disputing that," Erin said calmly with a vague hint of sarcasm.

Dave bolted out of Hotch's room and back to the nurse's station. His mind reeled with questions, what was she doing in that car with Hotch?

He paused, the unmistakable sound of her voice drew him further down the hallway.

"Paige, let me talk to Dad for a minute," Erin said softly.

"I want to stay with Mom," Paige hissed, glaring darkly at her father as she brushed past him into the hallway.

"I can't believe you," Mark spat.

"She's been with me for two months without a word from you-"

"You know that isn't true!" Erin's glare grew hot, how dare him! She forced herself upward, despite the protesting of her ribs. Fuck him.

"Paige was avoiding me, and you know it and now she wants to come home and you won't let her. What the Hell is the matter with you?"

Dave listened intently as her voice carried into the hallway. Arguing with the doctors was always a good sign...he rounded the corner, so fast that he didn't notice the teenage girl with blonde and purple hair sitting in the hall- but she definitely noticed him.

"It's you!" Paige cried and leapt from her seat in the hard plastic chair.

All priorities took a flying leap out the window when her idol, a literary legend and an actual hero: was within arm's reach. It was all she could do not to burst with excitement!

Dave paused, "Excuse me?" he asked, regarding the teenager with a critical eye.

"I'm-I'm Paige-" She stammered,awestruck and embarrassed, he had no idea who she was.

"We were supposed to meet, but my mom said that you had to go out of town-" she fibbed, too ashamed to admit that she had given her mother the cold shoulder for the past two months.

Dave's brow furrowed in recognition, " Ah, Erin's your mother," he wouldn't have known if not for the teenager's high cheekbones and blonde hair, everything else must have came from Mark.

Paige nodded towards the closed door, "She's in there, arguing with my dad-" she said, and rolled her eyes.

From what she lacked in Erin's features, the kid had her mother's attitude.

"You took off for a while, huh?" Dave asked. A test to see if Paige would own up to it.

Paige swallowed tightly, "I guess my mom told you?"

"She didn't say too much."

"Yeah well, I was stupid, but," Paige shrugged, "I'm home now, my mom needs me."

"She does," Dave paused a mischievous thought crept into his mind. Let's see how much Erin shared with her first born.

"Especially with the baby coming.''

"Yeah, considering it's just us," Paige mumbled.

Her bitterness wasn't lost on Dave. He shook his head, what was it with this family and abandonment?

"I'm sure that's not true..."

"Whatever," Paige shook her head and brushed her tears away with her fingertips.

"Honestly it doesn't matter who he is- the donor-the sperm donor, I mean. We've always been fine. I don't even know why I'm talking about this-" she tried to mask her tears with a laugh, "I mean, why should you care?"

She was definitely Erin's daughter, no contest.

"Because-" the words he wanted to say, died on his tongue. It wasn't his place to tell Paige exactly who the' sperm donor' was. "Your mom's a good woman and she learns from her mistakes."

"How long have you known her?" Paige scoffed.

"The better half of my adult life," he answered ignoring Paige's attitude.

"So, you think we'll be okay?" She asked. If she could hear him say it, maybe she would believe it. Her gray eyes flicked up at him and he saw Erin's fear reflected in Paige's eyes.

"I know you will."

Suddenly, the door to Erin's room flew open. Killing the newly established camaraderie. "Come on, Paige," Mark grumbled, grabbing the girl by her shoulder.

"Dad-let go of me-" Paige protested.

Dave's eyes locked with Mark's and for a moment, neither was willing to look away. It was a battle of wills, each staking their claim to the woman in the hospital bed.

Dave patted his hip in a silent warning. The side arm rested securely in its holster. He wouldn't shoot Mark Strauss. Not here in a hospital..."Ease up on your kid, Mark," he growled. With a smile toward Paige he added, "she looks like she could take you. "

"I'll bet she could, " Mark muttered with pride and dropped his hand. "Good seeing you, David," he said and offered a tight grin.

"Sure," Dave said through gritted teeth.

This wouldn't be the last he saw of Mark Strauss, of this he was certain.

"Mr. Rossi?"

Dave turned back towards Paige.

"Thanks... for the talk," she said with Mark looming behind her.

With a nod and a smile, "Any time."

He pushed the door open and stepped inside the room, the dim lights cast an eerie glow around Erin.

"Holy Hell..." he whispered into the darkness. Stepping closer the light from the hallway shone across her face, the swelling from where the airbag slammed into her, was undeniable.

He stepped further into the room and closed the door. He took a seat at her side and gently lifted her hand off the bed. He put his lips to her knuckles, the only place he could find that wasn't bruised or broken.

"Oh God-my head," She moaned and forced her eyes open.

The room spun, even in the darkness and her stomach felt like she'd taken too many rides on The-Tilt- O'Whirl.

"What do you need?" He reached for the call- light and pressed it.

"Tylenol-" God how she wished for something stronger. "And-" she yanked her hand away from his and pressed it to her lips.

In the nick of time, he grabbed the trash can and held it under her nose.

"David," She gasped. She would know the hand on the back of her neck, anywhere. The softness of his fingertips that cleared her hair out of her face. She willed her stomach to settle and struggled to sit up.

"Yeah?"

"You're getting good at that..."

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure if that's a compliment that I want to accept. He said and tied off the bag.

"Trust me," she said and reached for the water pitcher on the table. "It isn't a compliment I'm comfortable giving," she took a sip through the straw and let the acid burn its way back down her throat. "How's Aaron?"

"I'm sure Housekeeping is going to have a field day with you two." He said dryly. "Hotch is down the hall with a mild concussion and his eardrum is one screaming match away from bursting."

She shook her head until she felt her brain slap the side of her skull. "He was just driving me home-"

"Why didn't you call me?" He asked, his gaze flicked towards her abdomen and the fetal monitor attached to it. Maybe all of this could have been avoided.

"I was up to my ears in paperwork, Dave-"

"When you got here-" he said, stemming her explaination. "I had no idea you were here until Hotch asked how you were. "

"I didn't get the chance, I'd just been put in a room when Mark walked in. Alone. I needed to bury the hatchet with Paige before anything else."

Dave swallowed hard wasn't his baby as important as Paige?

He dismissed the thought immediately.

She caught the emotions flashing in his eyes. Doubt, worry,fear. Love? But for whom? Even as she thought it she knew she wouldn't like the answer.

She squeezed his fingers and prayed he couldn't see the tears in her eyes. "Don't worry, your baby is fine."