Dave disconnected the phone violently as a slew of curse words, both in English and Italian left his mouth. As Dave was busy damming Tommy Yates to the deepest, darkest pits of hell, his phone rang again. He started to ignore it, fearing it was Yates, calling back to yank his chain again, but a niggling feeling in the back of his mind, told him he needed to pick up the phone, or he would regret it. He stabbed the button, not wanting to miss the call, because he waited too long to command Siri to pick up.

It was a good thing Dave was already pulled off to the side of the road because the news he received would have caused him to crash his car. He heard the words Hotch was saying yet his brain couldn't process what he was hearing. All he was really cognizant of was his brain screaming, NO, NOT AGAIN! Dear God, in Heaven, not again. He threw the car in gear and slammed on the gas pedal. He couldn't lose them, he wouldn't be able to take it.

Somehow Dave made it to the hospital in one piece. For once, he didn't even worry about the valet scratching his car. He threw him the keys and rushed towards the entrance. Rossi stumbled through the Emergency Room doors, looking every bit of the lost soul, he felt like he was. When the receptionist caught his attention, Dave had to swallow a couple times to wet his throat enough to croak out that he received a call that his pregnant wife had been brought to the ER about thirty five minutes ago.

After she asked his wife's name, she asked for his ID and took his picture before issuing him a visitor's badge and directing him to the room where Erin was being treated.

"What are you guys doing here?" Dave asked as Reid and Hotch rushed towards him. He and Reid stood together in the waiting room of the Maternity floor.

Hotch directed his attention to the nurse. "I'll show him where to go."

"I wanted to see if I was right," Reid said, overly enthusiastic about the situation.

"Right about what!" Dave spat, suddenly frustrated. "This isn't a game show where you get a prize at the end!"

"That's not what I-meant…"

"Save it," Dave said, directing his attention to Hotch. "Where is my wife?"

"She's fine," Hotch said, leading Dave by the arm towards Erin's room.

"That's not what I asked-"

"I know," Hotch said, "but she is fine."

"I don't like this, Hotch." Dave turned towards his friend. "She should have never been alone like that-I should have been with her. I should have known Tommy Yates was screwing with me."

"Seriously, Dave," Hotch caught his friend by the shoulder. "She'll be fine. She's in the third room to the left."

"Are they going to let me see her?"

"You can see her," Hotch said, trying to comfort his friend. "But not if you don't calm down."

Hotch was his best friend, but every time something happened to Erin, Hotch was right there to play the hero. He put his nose where it didn't belong and Dave was sick of it.

"Hotch, you know I love you, but you need to figure out a way to get your ass back in the field. I'll take care of my wife." Dave fired back, jamming a thumb in his breastbone to emphasize the point. Then, he took off on a run towards Erin's room.

"I told Aaron not to call you," Erin said. Her voice was muffled from behind the oxygen mask.

"Why not?" Dave hurried to her side and caught her hand pulling at the mask, "and stop messing with that, you need it. Let it help you."

"I'm pretty sure that's my line," Erin said thinking back to when David was recovering from his heart attack. To answer your question, serial killers trump one episode of high blood pressure. They're running some tests and then sending me home."

"You're too blase about this," he said, suddenly anxious. "I knew something was wrong. I told you weeks ago that something was wrong." He said, pacing the room.

"And I'm telling you that I got this." Erin said, from behind the oxygen mask, before he could further spin out. "You either need to calm down or get out."

"Erin-"

She gave him a nasty glare, "I mean it, David. If you're going to panic you can do it in the hallway. Nobody is more upset at me than me and I don't want to listen to it." The last thing she needed from him was a guilt trip.

"Okay, fine." He held his hands up, "maybe I do need to take a minute." He turned on his heel and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Shit," Erin whispered. When she stopped to think about it, she understood his anxiety. She didn't know for sure, but James couldn't have been much bigger than her twins when he was born. When she thought about it, she understood her husband. "I hope he knows I get it," Erin said, resting her palm against her bump. "He was right," she admitted, "I should have asked him for the Tylenol this morning." Maybe the high blood pressure was her fault. No, she pushed that thought aside. All the Tylenol would have done is mask the symptoms and she probably wouldn't have gotten the help she needed.

The door swung open, Erin expected to see her husband on the other side. "What broke him?" Mary asked, jabbing her thumb towards the door where Dave stood.

"What do you mean?" Erin asked, alarmed.

"Your mild-mannered man is on the phone yelling at someone," Mary explained as she picked up Erin's chart.

"That's my fault," Erin said. "I sent him out of here."

"Do you think he's alright?" Mary asked.

"He will be."

"Well, you don't need the stress," Mary said, patting Erin on the arm. "From the trend in your blood pressure, I'd say you're on the border of Pre-eclampsia."

Erin shook her head, "That's not right. I had Preeclampsia with Paige. I thought you couldn't get it a second time."

"Your risk goes down after your first pregnancy, but I promise, you can get it again. I want you to hang out here while I run some more tests. Frankly, I'm not surprised to see you in here."

"What makes you say that? I swear, I've been doing everything right. All I did was sit in Dave's office waiting for a meeting-"

"It's nothing you did, Erin." Mary tried to comfort her friend, "But let's talk about it, it's been 10 years since your youngest's birth, you're over 35 and you're carrying twins. This is expected, for your situation." She said, surveying the fetal monitors around Erin's abdomen."It's going to be fine," Mary said gently.

"I can't take any more time off." Erin argued. Her career that she worked so hard to build was slowly circling the drain.

"Just relax for a little while." Mary said.

"I need to go back to the office, I have meetings and appointments-"

"Stop." Mary said, "call in and ask for help. You're not going back to work today."
"Are they okay?" Dave asked, from the doorway, looking distraught.

"Everyone is fine." Mary said. "We're running more tests to see if there's a pattern in your blood pressure," Mary said. "I want her to hang out here for awhile."

"Come back in here," Erin said, reaching for him.

Dave did as she said and took her hand.

"So, this is par for the course?" He asked, hoarsely.

"Yes," Mary said, ever the expert. "I'll be back in a little bit." The good doctor turned on her heel and walked out.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," Erin said quietly. "I'm glad you're here. Wait," She thought back to the last time she saw him. He was supposed to be with Yates. "Why are you here?"

He sat down heavily in the chair beside her bedside. "Yates was screwing with me. The prison is on lockdown for a flu outbreak. I got on the interstate and turned around."

"Well, at least you get to put off your visit for awhile." Silently, she hoped Yates caught the flu and died from it.

"That is the upside. Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll forget about it." Even as he said it, he knew that wasn't going to happen. Yates never had visitors, the only thing he had to look forward to was torturing Rossi.

He knew he should tell Erin what Yates said about seeing their wedding announcement in the paper. A convicted serial killer knew about their family, that thought alone was enough to scare Dave to death. Yates was in a maximum security prison, he couldn't come within 100 miles of Dave's house, but the thought ate at him. He knew he should say something to Erin, but she didn't need the stress. Not right now, not if he could help it.

"Who were you yelling at?" She asked, pulling him away from his thoughts.

"Huh?" His head jerked up. "Oh-uh- no one-" He said, shaking his head.

"Tell that tale to someone else," she said. "I know you too well to believe that."

"Okay, fine." He settled back in his seat. "I was lighting into the prison warden."

"Were you trying to convince him to reimburse you for the gas you wasted driving halfway there?" She teased him.

He barked a laugh, "No, smart-ass, but I should have."

"Then what was it?" She asked, her forehead knotted with worry. Dave thought she sounded less like his wife and more like his section chief. "Tell me what happened."

Dave exhaled slowly, he didn't want to tell her, but he knew she could handle it. "Some ass clown gave Yates a newspaper with our wedding announcement."

"He's in a maximum security prison," Erin reminded him. "Your boogie man isn't coming for us." Even as she said it, she felt her blood pressure rise.

"I know that." He said, playing with her fingers, "I'm a little shook up, that's all."

"Everything's okay," She said and patted his hand. "You heard what Mary said, this is normal."

Dave gave her a look, "Aren't I supposed to be comforting you?"

"I'm fine," she said. "You don't have to stay if-"

He planted himself in the chair, "Woman, I'm staying. Don't get to scare the hell out of me and then kick me out of the room."

"Okay," she said, "but don't expect me to keep you entertained." She said, letting her eyes close. "Go for a walk or something."

Dave got up from his chair, "Take a nap, I'll go find a book," He said.

"Figure out what to call your son-" She said at his back.

He paused with his hand on the doorknob, "What's the rush? We have months to decide."

"We have to call him something-"

"You don't ever call them anything."

"So? He still needs a name."

Dave shrugged, "Well, you can't rush perfection."

Erin rolled her eyes. "Whatever, David. While you're walking, can you call my assistant and tell her to cancel my meetings.

Dave pulled out his phone, he had several messages from Hotch.

"Whatever you were doing with Hotch, he's handled it." Dave said, passing her his phone. "Look."

She read the messages. "He rescheduled all of our meetings."

Just then, another text came through.

"For video conferences." Erin said, reading the message.

"Problem solved." Dave said, "you can interrogate our replacements from the comfort of our couch."

She heard the door close quietly behind him. God, she just wanted to relax, but her mind raced. What the hell were they going to do? Her reputation didn't need to take another hit, preeclampsia would make her look weak. With Linda Barnes taking Andy's position and running the FBI, Erin had one foot out the door. Getting fired from the FBI wasn't attractive on a resume.

While Erin tried and failed to relax, Dave wandered the hospital corridors. Relief swept through him, his wife and children were safe. Still the green eyed monster roared in his chest, he should have been with her to help her. She was his wife. He meant every word he'd said to Hotch, he needed to get his ass back in the field and away from Erin. He knew Hotch meant well, but the man never missed an opportunity to ride in like a knight in shining armour. Dave was ready to put Aaron's white horse out to pasture and let it feed somewhere else.

When he reached the end of the hall, he turned around and went back to his wife. Finally, he knew how to help her keep her head above water at the office, without Hotch.

Erin woke up and smiled in amusement. She watched Dave pace the small space between her bed and the door. His head was bent in concentration, she assumed he was looking at the notepad he kept in his pocket. When the toe of his shoe touched the door, he turned around and started the process over again.

She watched his mouth move as he muttered quietly to himself.

"Keep that up and I won't be the only one admitted into the hospital, except you will be wearing a straight jacket and staring at padded walls," Strauss teased.

"Um huh," a distracted Rossi responded.

Really? Erin thought… She tried again to get his attention. "I think we should name our son Jasmine Louise and our daughter Lucious Merriweather Antelope. Is that okay with you, Sweetheart?"

"Whatever you want, Love. I think those are… wait a minute. What in the hell did you say you want to name our kids?" the profiler questioned her now that she had his attention.

Erin laughed, "now that I've got your attention, what are you working on?"

"I like Stella." He said flatly, turning towards her. "I want to name our daughter, Stella."

"Well, that's pretty." Erin mulled it over.

"You said you wanted names," he shrugged. "When the kids get out of school I want to get their input-" months ago, he would have given his left arm for Erin to connect with their babies the way she had. He wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"We're going to pull names out of a hat," she said.

He nodded, "that might be the best way. I also think-" he stopped himself. She would never agree to it.

"What?" She asked, raising up slightly.

"I think-" He shook his head. "Nevermind."

"Okay, whatever you say, Dear. Ah..oh something's not right." She groaned, rubbing her bump.

"What's the matter?" He didn't miss the furrow in her forehead.

She shook her head, and tried to smile. She didn't want to panic or upset him. Shifting to her side, the pain happened again. Stronger, radiating towards her back. "Get a nurse."

He froze, his feet might as well have been nailed to the floor. "What's wrong?"

She winced, trying to breathe through the sudden pain in her lower abdomen. "Please go."

He took off at a run for the Nurse's station, leaving the door wide open.

"Come on, you two. Hang in there," she begged. "Stay with me."

A perky nurse peeked her head in the door. "What's going on here?"

"Contractions." Erin breathed out. "They feel real this time."

The nurse checked the paper running from the fetal monitor, "probably just Braxton Hicks."

Erin shook her head, "I've had Braxton Hicks throughout this pregnancy. That's not what this is."

"Okay," the nurse strapped her blood pressure cuff around Erin's arm and waited for the machine to stop. "A little high." She said, writing the results in the chart. "I'm going to call your doctor and I'll be right back." She said, patting Erin's hand.

Dave paced the room, with his phone in his hand, poised and ready to dial Mary's number directly. "Do you think this is it?" He asked, anxiously, when the door closed behind the nurse.

"I hope not."

"If it is, they'll make it, won't they?"

Erin blew out a breath, "according to Google. They'll need a lot of time in the NICU."

"Shit." Dave said. Just then, the nurse knocked on the door, with Mary on her heels.

"Don't you have other patients?" Erin asked, as Mary lifted her hand off the bed.

"I'm on the floor today," Mary answered, pinching the skin on the back of Erin's hand. "Uh huh.." Mary said, watching the skin slowly return to normal.

"Do you think this is it?" Erin asked.

"No. I'm not bringing 26 week old twins into the world if I don't have to." Mary said, assessing the paper on the monitor. She pulled on a pair of gloves and felt Erin's abdomen. "Baby A is still breech... but you feel very tight. I want to do an exam and put you on some IV fluids."

"Sounds good," Erin nodded.

"What's wrong with her?" Dave asked, he stood next to Erin's head.

Mary unfolded the stirrups from the side of the bed and changed her gloves, before starting the exam.

"There's no change in your cervix." Mary surmised, pulling off her gloves.

"Thank God," Erin sighed in relief. "That doesn't explain the pain-"

"What's going on?" Dave tried again to get the doctor's attention. Everything she was saying sounded like a foreign language to him.

"You have an irritable uterus-"

"Okay!" Dave clapped his hands together, "I think I understood that."

"I didn't," Erin said.

Mary cleared her throat. "Your run of the mill Braxton Hicks contractions, don't facilitate labour. Those are practice contractions. With an irritable uterus, your contractions can kickstart your labour. They feel real, because they are."

"What can we do about it?" Dave asked, before Erin had the chance.

"Rest." Mary said simply, "An extra three to four hours a day."

"I can handle that…" Erin said. As Mary swabbed the crook of Erin's arm with an alcohol pad and started the IV.

"Hang out here and we'll keep monitoring your blood pressure."

"Thank you," Erin said, as Mary walked out the door.

"How are you feeling?" Dave asked, keeping a death grip on her hand.

"Resting sounds good in theory," she admitted. "In practice, I might lose my mind. There's too much going on-"

"And we'll deal with it," Dave said. There wasn't another choice.

"I should call Mark and ask him to take the kids-"

"I'll do it," Dave volunteered.

"Dave, you don't have to-"

"We have to interact sometime," He said, with the phone in his hand. "Don't worry," he flashed a smile over his shoulder. "I won't be long." He stepped inside the hallway and dialed Mark's number.

"Who is this?" Mark asked , he sounded confused but pleasant enough.

"It's David Rossi...listen...do you mind keeping the kids tonight?"

"Is Erin ok? Your kids?

Dave nodded, "she's fine, but she needs to take it easy-"

Mark cleared his throat uncomfortably. "She had a lot of problems when she was pregnant with Mackenzie. We were in and out of the hospital, trying to keep the kid in. I always thought it was her job, keeping her stressed out-"

Dave didn't like the other man's tone. He wasn't resentful, or drunk and angry like he'd been the last time Dave saw him.

Dave cut him off before he could wander too far down memory lane."She's fine, Mark. Thanks. Can you get the kids tonight? We don't want them home alone if things get dicey."

"I got it-" Mark said and checked his watch. "I'll call the schools and go get 'Kenzie. Paige and Paul will probably meet me at my house."

"Thanks." Dave said, grateful that the other man didn't put up an argument.

"They're my kids." Mark said and ended the call.

"Easy enough." Dave said to himself, putting his phone in his pocket. He walked back in the room and closed the door.

"Did he answer?" Erin asked, sitting up.

"He's picking up Mackenzie and calling Paige and Paul."

"Good." Erin let out a breath."One less thing to worry about."

Dave had the nervous energy of a nine tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. He'd called the prison warden and got a guarantee that Yates wouldn't receive any more personal information from the newspaper, came up with baby names and dispatched the kids to their father. Still, it didn't seem like enough. "What can I do? Are you hungry? Cold? I could-"

"Stop," Erin said, sitting up. "I'll tell you what you can do."

She waited a beat and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Come sit with me. Just hold me."

"Are you asking me to get in bed with you?" Dave teased her, grinning mischievously.

"I'm not asking."

"Yes, Ma'am."

He went around to the side of the bed and toed off his loafers before getting in bed. He sat up, reclining against the mattress and held the pillow against him. "Come here."

Erin sat between his legs with her head, against his chest.

"Better?" He asked, with his arms around her shoulders.

"Much." He held her close, enjoying the warmth of her body against him.

"Good. Do you want to see my list?" He pulled his notepad from his pocket.

"Yes!" She took it, greedily. "You've kept me waiting long enough-"

"Okay, but you're not allowed to criticize my creative process." He said, turning to the correct page.

On the page, Dave had written classic baby names and experimented with the spellings. "We're not putting a Y in the middle of Jamison," Erin said, "and I'm pretty sure that's a whiskey."

He dug around in his pocket until he found a pen. "Cross it out," he said, handing it to her.

Erin bit her lip, staring at the list. "I don't think Massimo is going to go over well when he gets to kindergarten."

"It was my great-grandfather's name."

"And in the old country, it's a great name-"

"It sounds regal!" Dave boasted, excitedly. "Picture it, Massimo David Rossi, Attorney at Law. Better yet, Massimo D. Rossi, for senator! Doctor Massimo Rossi-"

"He would get shoved in a locker the first day of middle school," Erin argued. "I can't do that to him-"

"Kids get shoved in lockers," he shrugged. Remembering his high school experience, "but schools are different now. By the time he's old enough, who knows what Catholic school will be like-"

"They're going to school-" Erin said flatly. "He'll just need a nickname."

She could feel Dave chuckling against her. "I take it you're not homeschooling."

"Not on your life," Erin said. "But who said they're going to Catholic school?"

"I did," He responded, leaving no room for argument.

"I never agreed to that-"

Dave leaned his head back and smiled. " Let's talk about something else. What color do you want in the nursery? If we're going to have it painted, I need to book it now."

"Hmm… We're not done talking about Catholic school."

"I know that, but this is more relevant-"

"Fine." Erin paused to think. "I hadn't really thought about it. I got so caught up in the worst case scenario. I never planned on them actually coming home with us."

"Either way it goes, we're bringing them home." Dave said, whether that's two days after they're born or two months. We need to get everything together."

"I like yellow." Erin said, "pale, butter yellow."

"I like green," Dave said, tightening his arms around her.

"A nature themed nursery?" Erin asked. "Maybe a big tree painted on the wall?" She said as the ideas formed in her mind.

"Nice!" He didn't care what she said, if she wanted polka dots on one wall and stripes on the other. As long as she was engaged in the process. "What else?"

"Hmm..she bit her cheek, thinking. "I don't like the thought of being home alone with both babies and carrying them down the stairs."

"We can fix that." Dave said, "we'll put bouncers and swings in all the rooms if we have to. Do you think we should consider hiring help?"

"No." Erin said flatly, "I can take care of them-"

"I know you can. You'll be great with them, but don't you think you'll want some company?"

"I'm not paying someone to hang out with me-"

"Well that is not something you have to worry about for the first few weeks, because if I can sweet talk my Section Chief into approving it, I plan to take Paternity leave".

"Good luck with that," Erin said glibly. "I heard she's a real hard ass."

Dave held her close and whispered in her ear. "I heard she's hot-"

"Liar," Erin said, smiling.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, abruptly changing the subjects.

"Ready to go home."

He picked up her hand and inspected it, "your hands look smaller than they have in weeks." He said, grateful for the miracle of modern medicine. "We'll have the house to ourselves…Whaddya say we order in and cuddle on the sofa?"

"All the damn trauma-pizza is probably why my blood pressure is so high," Erin grouched, rolling her eyes. They needed to consider healthier take-out options.

"Trauma pizza?" he repeated, chuckling. "Is that what we're calling it when no one wants to cook?"

She snorted and laughed, "that's what I'm calling it."

"Then I guess that means we order Max's when good things happen?" Dave deduced.

"Does that mean I'm getting steak for dinner?"

Dave took his phone from his pocket. "I'll call him now."

Erin sat up and moved towards the end of the bed so he could get up.

"Dave-"

He turned around. "Yes, Dear?"

"Steak-"

He cut her off. "Prime rib, medium rare. Salad, ranch on the side and… chocolate cake?" He added hopefully. "I do have a birthday coming up."

Erin laughed at her husband's sudden sweet tooth. She waved him off, "We just had wedding cake."

"I had one piece!" He argued.

"Go on." Erin relented, laughing at his sweet tooth.

"Wait-" she stopped him, with his hand on the doorknob.

"Yes, Love?"

"Don't you have classes to teach? You need to go back to work-"

Dave furrowed his brow in annoyance, "I don't have to go anywhere I don't want to, and right now, I'm not going anywhere without you...and since you're going home…" he let the sentence hang, "that's where I'm going."

"You need your job…"

"Not more than you need me-" he said and disappeared into the hallway, before she could argue with him.

She grabbed her phone to look at the movie listings, when she noticed that she had a voicemail. The sharp voice of Linda Barnes graced her ears.

"This is Assistant Director, Linda Barnes. We need to discuss your new position. I'll come to you. Call me to discuss."

"Shit." Erin said, what the hell was Barnes talking about?

Dave came back in the room, with Mary behind him.

"How do you feel?" Mary asked, checking Erin's IV line and fetal monitor.

"Much better," Erin said and checked her watch. "If there's nothing else…" Erin sat up and put her feet on the floor. "I need to get back to the office."

"You need to go home." Mary said, digging in her heels.

"I can't-" Erin argued, "there's too much on the line-"

"They can't fire you, Erin. You have a doctor's note and FMLA."

"I know they can't fire me. That's not the point. I don't want them to even consider trying to fire me."

Mary planted her hand on her hips. "This is not the time to try and make a political point, Erin. Unless of course, you want to give birth at your desk. If that's your birth plan, I can't say I recommend it." Mary said, dripping with sarcasm.

"I see your point, Mary."

"Oh good." Mary said, rolling her eyes. "I want you to go home, put your feet up and let your husband take care of you."

"I can do that!" Dave said, walking into the room. "Dinner is waiting for us at Max's."

"Whose side are you on?" Erin asked, glaring at him.

"Only yours, my dear. Only yours." He responded and kissed his wife's hair. "Let's get out of here."

Mary handed Erin her discharge papers, "I want you to take it easy. Rest as much as you can and stay hydrated."

"She's not going any further than the couch-" Dave said. "What's the verdict, Doc? Am I going to have to share my statins?"

Mary chuckled, and pulled a prescription pad from her lab coat. She scribbled something on the paper and tore it off. "She gets her own supply of baby aspirin. Once a day until delivery. Call if you have any problems-" Mary said.

"I'm pretty sure my husband has your number on speed dial," Erin said as they followed Mary out of the room.

Dave passed his ticket to the valet and turned to Erin. "I called the restaurant and had dinner delivered. It will be there by the time we get home."

"Can he do that?" Erin asked, surprised that they hadn't used that option before.

"He'll do it if your last name is Rossi." Dave bragged as the valet handed over the keys to the Audi.

"How much clout do you think you have?" Erin asked cheekily as she opened the passenger door.

"Sweetheart, I don't brag about things I'm not sure of."

"You can't ask the chef and owner of the restaurant to stop everything to deliver your dinner, when you're driving past the restaurant-"

"We only drive past the restaurant when we take the long way home." Dave explained, pulling onto the highway.

"Then take the long way home-"

"Max wouldn't agree to it if the restaurant was too busy, don't worry, he never leaves the kitchen. His wife will bring it to us."

"We still could have picked it up," Erin said. "You know I hate it when you throw your money around."

"I just want to go home," Dave said, settling the argument.

They rode the rest of the way home in silence, enjoying the scenery of the drive. Autumn had finally come to Virginia, the leaves on the trees boasted their colorful foliage and there was a chill in the air. The holidays were right around the corner.

"What do you want to do about Thanksgiving?"

Dave shrugged and pulled into their subdivision, "I don't know. What do you guys normally do?"

"Thanksgiving is Mark's holiday," Erin explained. "He gets Thanksgiving and Halloween, I have Christmas and New Years."

Dave chuckled, "what about Memorial Day and Labour Day? Do you split the Jewish holidays too? Who gets Kwanza?"

Erin rolled her eyes at her husband. "We split the Summer holidays. I get July Fourth, he gets Labour Day. Memorial Day goes to whomever is celebrating."

"You didn't mention Kwanza-" Dave teased, pulling into the driveway.

"Would you shut up?" she asked, giggling.

"Let me guess, you get Easter and Mardi Gras, he gets Fat Tuesday and Saint Patrick's day."

"Do you realize that you just named at least six holidays my family has never celebrated?" She said, as he parked the car.

He got out of the car and went around to her side, "that's my point," he said, holding the door open. "You could make his life a living hell if you split hairs on the custody agreement."

"Why would I want to do that? He barely sees his children as it is, why throw up more roadblocks?"

"You're a good mother, but I meant it when I said I wouldn't divorce you-"

"All I asked was what you wanted to do for Thanksgiving," Erin said, exasperated. "Can we get back on task here?"

"Okay, fine. Just dinner."

"Do you want a dinner party or just the two of us?"

Dave thought for a moment, "I'd like to invite the team if they don't have plans-"

"That's all you had to say-"

"So, you're okay with it?" He asked hopefully.

"Of course I am," she said, walking up the front steps and onto the porch. "But we keep the booze to a minimum and the cigars on the porch." Erin said, poking him in the chest, reminding him of the last time the team spent time at their house.

"Yes, Ma'am." He relented, opening the door.

Mudgie raced up to them and bolted out the front door, barking his head off when a car he didn't recognize, pulled into the driveway.

"Mudgie!" Dave growled, "IN now!" He said, stabbing his finger in the direction of the house. The dog slunk back onto the porch, with his head down. Dave stepped off the porch as Max's wife got out of her car, with a bag in her hand.

"Thanks, Grace." Dave said, signing the receipt and taking the food.

"We were out of chocolate cake, so my husband sent this. Free of charge." She said, with a smile and handed him a bottle of wine.

"That's uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Very kind, but we don't drink-"

"It's a gift," Grace insisted, shoving the bottle towards him. "To toast the babies. One glass won't hurt. It's good for the labour pain-"

Dave winced internally, the old world cure for contractions would likely do more harm than good.

"We appreciate the sentiment-" Dave said, "but please... tell Max to keep it-" But his protests fell on deaf ears, Grace Price was a formidable woman. When she wanted something, the word 'no' wasn't in her vocabulary.

"Take it, Dave. It's a gift-"

Erin stayed inside, washing the dishes from breakfast. She got some plates down from the cabinet and watched her husband through the kitchen window. She watched him shift uncomfortably from foot to foot as Max's wife shoved a bottle of wine at him. Erin dried her hands on a kitchen towel and went to rescue her husband.

Dave didn't want to tell Grace that her expensive bottle of red was going right down the kitchen sink, but the woman wouldn't let up. He hoped Erin would get the hint and come rescue him.

Erin stepped onto the porch just in time to hear Grace say, "There she is! Max wanted you to have this." Grace held the bottle towards Erin, waiting for her to take it.

Erin stepped off the porch with a smile, "Thank you. We'll put it away, for later." She said, patting her bump.

"Oh no.." Grace insisted, beaming, "open it now and have a glass with dinner. You'll feel better."

"Thank you," Erin said, shaking the other woman's hand,and taking the bottle.

Grace beamed, "enjoy!" she said and got back in her car.

"Why did you do that?" Dave whispered, as he and Erin walked up the porch.

"She thought she was doing something nice for us." Erin shrugged, "why take that away just because I don't drink?"

"I wanted them to keep it," Dave explained. "They could sell it in the restaurant-"

"Well, it's their wine. It's probably pretty good too…" She said, reading the label.

"Oh no, you don't-"

"What?" Erin snapped, glaring at him. "I was only saying that our friends wouldn't give us a bad gift."

Dave snatched the bottle from her,"and we're not about to find out."

"I never said we were…" Erin pushed the door and went to the kitchen to set the table.

"I didn't know how to tell Grace that a bottle of wine was probably the worst gift idea possible. Max didn't start plying me with booze until you came along."

"She didn't mean anything by it…"

"Seriously," Dave said, his brow furrowed, "every single time we see them, they try to give us booze. I had dinner at the restaurant 3 times a week, when I came out of retirement and never once, did he entertain the idea of giving me free liquor. Now, that's all he knows how to give me. All you had to do was walk through the front door. And they're dumping the stuff all over you."

"To be fair, the first time was an accident, Erin said, patting her husband on the shoulder. "Think about the good parts of our first date."

"Oh, like the anchovies on pizza?" He grouched. As they both worked their way around the table, Dave laid their take-out boxes in the middle.

"Not just that…If the waitress hadn't spilled that wine on me, we probably would have sat through that dinner…" She said, laying silverware and plates on the table.

"Yeah, so?" He needled, filling their water glasses.

"And we wouldn't have come back here…" She said wistfully.

"Annd?" Dave pressed…"How do you think it would have turned out?"

"We got to talk...David...we had a real conversation, that wouldn't have happened sitting in that restaurant. We don't have to drink the wine to appreciate what it did for us."

"Are you saying you fell in love with me that night?" He teased.

She stuck her tongue out at him, "Don't let your ego get in your way. I'm saying that I saw what kind of man you are...and I liked it." She said, hugging him from behind.

"Well, I liked you too…" He chuckled. "A lot."

"Good to know." She said, sitting down at the table.

He pulled the takeout boxes towards him and started loading their plates, with salad and steaks "I didn't think you were so sentimental…" Dave said, passing Erin her plate.

Erin cut off a bite of her steak and took a bite. "We have a lot to be thankful for…"

He reached across the table and took her hand. "We sure do…"

"What movie do you want to watch?" She asked, pushing away from the table.

He shrugged, "Something cheesy."

Erin arched her eyebrow, doubtfully. "Seriously? If I said I wanted to watch the Hallmark channel, you would be okay with it?"

"Whatever you want," he shrugged, and pulled away from the table. I'm pretty sure I'll fall asleep during the opening credits."

Erin got up from the table and hugged his neck from behind. "My poor husband…"

"You laugh, now but it's not easy throwing a wedding together in less than 24 hours."

"We got married three days ago," Erin pointed out. "You can't blame the wedding-" She said as he leaned his head against her.

She pulled his hand, "Come on."

"To the couch!" He said, pushing his chair back.

Erin glanced down at her pants-suit and tugged off her blazer, throwing it over her arm. "Meet me there, I'm going to change."

Dave stood up and picked up the bottle of wine."I'll go put this away."

"You know," Erin said pointedly, "just because I don't drink, doesn't mean you can't."

He went into the living room and sat down on the sofa, "But, I'd rather not."

Erin felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, and checked the screen...she hit the button on the side, sending the caller right to voicemail.

"As long as you know you have the option," she called and disappeared into the bedroom. She ditched her suit set in the hamper, planning to fish it out and have it dry-cleaned later. She grabbed her phone and played the voicemail.

She'd completely forgotten about Dave's birthday present, she ordered it weeks ago and it was finally ready for her to pick it up. Just in time for her to forget about it again. She tossed her phone on the bed, pulled on a pair of sweatpants and went to be with her husband.

"What if we call him Max?" She sat down on the sofa and curled her arm around Dave's bicep.

"You came up with that awfully fast…" He said suggestively, wagging his eyebrows. "Is there something I should know?"

"Absolutely not," she said. rolling her eyes toward the ceiling.

"Hmm.." He chewed his lip, considering the idea. "Max Rossi...I like the sound of that."

"Me too…Max and Mia. It has a nice ring to it."

"But we don't tell Max Price…" Dave said, shaking his finger at the thought "The last thing he needs is a bigger ego."

Erin laughed, "deal. If we told him, he might send us scotch…"

Dave laid his hands on Erin's abdomen. "Or enough wine to pay for their college."

"I don't know where we would put it," she said, laughing at the idea. "As it stands, we might have to put Paige or Paul in the basement…."

"I never thought I would outgrow the mansion…" He said, half wistful and half in disbelief. He stretched his legs out on the chaise sofa and stuffed a throw pillow behind his head. Life couldn't get any sweeter.

"When you say, mansion most people expect there to be an elevator and at least 12 bathrooms."

"Well, it is a mansion," Dave defended his position. "6, well..now 7 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a finished basement and an office upstairs. That's as close to a mansion as I ever thought I would get."

"The houses are massive on Long Island, David."

"Heh, not the way I grew up," he said pointedly. "We had 3 bedrooms, and 8 kids. I slept in a bottom bunk till I moved out at 21."

"I see…" she said, stretching her legs onto the sofa, with her head in his lap. A long moment of comfortable silence passed, when Erin finally asked,"Why weren't they at the wedding?"

He scoffed, "It's my fourth wedding, Erin. You can only cry marriage so many times…"

She sat up enough to look him in the eye, "What if I wanted to meet your family?"

"You don't need the stress…" he dismissed the idea immediately, shaking his head. "They'll have you pissed off and in labour on the first day."

"David, they can't be that bad."

"What about your family, huh?" He turned the tables on her. "Why weren't your parents there? Did you tell them about the twins?"

"Did you know you fight dirty?" She asked, laying back down.

"Well..you didn't answer my question."

"Of course they know." She said, finally. "They just chose not to come."

"Are you telling me that you didn't think having your mom here would be helpful?" Most women relied on their mothers when they were pregnant, he couldn't imagine Erin's mother not jumping for joy at the idea of new grandchildren. "Is she sick?"

"No."

"Gotta warrant?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Erin scoffed, "of course not-"

"Then why can't she fly out here and help you-" He wouldn't say it out loud, but having another person in the house, would be helpful before and after the babies came.

"I'm trying to keep my family out of Virginia. The same way you deliberately choose not to go to Italy, every year for annual leave."

"Fine." Dave yawned, ending the conversation. "Whatever you say, Dear." His eyelids dropped closed, snores echoed off the walls of the mansion. Erin got up, pulled his shoes off his feet and covered him with a blanket.

She never thought she would be thankful for the flu, but Dave didn't have to visit the prison this year. At the very least, the prison wouldn't allow visitors again until after his birthday. Dave could finally be celebrated, the way he deserved, starting with the chocolate cake and a a returned call to the owner of the gift shop. For an extra fee, she could have his present delivered. Maybe Dave was onto something, throwing money around wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Standing at the oven, Erin held the cake pan between dish towels. She sat it down on the counter and stared at it. The top of the cake rose above the rim of the pan in an ugly dome. She turned off the oven and sat the dish towels on the counter, icing could fix anything. Grabbing a bowl from under the counter, she heard her husband speak from the bedroom.

"Bella? What are you doing?" When he left to go take a shower, she was resting on the sofa. What was it going to take to get her to listen to her doctor?

"Shit," she whispered under her breath. He was going to have a fit, even if she wasn't doing anything strenuous.

She turned away from the cake and opened the bedroom door, far enough to stick her head in. "Yes?"

She found him sitting on the bed, with a towel slung around his waist. " What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be resting?" He asked pointedly.

"I will…" she said, "but I'm not finished…."

"No." He said sharply. "No buts. You know what the doctor said…"

She stepped further into the room, "you know as well as I do, that neither one of us can sit still for very long." Erin said, defending herself. "Do you want to be the pot or the kettle? You had a heart attack less than 6 months ago-"

"That's different…" he shrugged her off.

"How so?" She asked, chin held high.

"I'm as healthy as I'm going to be," he explained. He got up from the bed and pulled on his bathrobe. He couldn't have this argument naked, she wouldn't take him seriously naked and cold. "Erin, this isn't about us."

"I was just…"

His favorite thing about his wife was her self confidence, but recently she bordered on egotistical. She ignored her doctor's advice, it was selfish and reckless, but she didn't need to hear that. "No. Listen to me." He held up his hand, letting her know he was serious. "You know I would shake Heaven to keep you and the babies healthy."

"Come on, David please...don't send me on a guilt trip."

"I need you to pay attention. I can get you the best medical team money can buy, I'll fly doctors in from Timbuktu, if I have to; but it won't do any good if you're not giving them the best chance to help you."

Erin held her ground, her hands on her hips, tears in her eyes. "Only my husband could say something so serious and heartfelt, with his ass hanging out."

His face split into a grin, "can you please take me seriously, here?"

"Not in that robe…" She said, with a wink and flounced out of the room.

He stood up and yanked on a pair of sweatpants. "What the hell was so important?"

"Cake and frosting." Erin said, digging through the refrigerator for the necessary ingredients to frost the cake.

He went behind her, staring at the cake pan on the counter. "What's this for?" He asked, pointing to the cake pan.

She shut the refrigerator and crossed her arms, "You said you wanted chocolate cake."

He sighed, what could he say? 'Thank you for not listening to your doctor and putting our children's health at risk…. At the same time, it was the first time they could celebrate his birthday and Erin felt like she had done something nice for him. He didn't want to take that feeling from her.

"Erin…"

"Don't fuss at me." She commanded, unwrapping a stick of butter in a pyrex bowl. "I didn't stress myself. I mixed the batter sitting at the kitchen table, so the least you could do is say thank you."

"Thank you." He said, placatingly. "Now please go sit down."

"Are you going to make the frosting?" She asked, pointedly.

He chuckled, "are you going to put your feet up?" He asked, glaring at her swollen ankles.

"Only if you make the frosting-" She threw back with a grin.

"Oh, I'll make the frosting …" He caught her by the elbow and drew her close to him. His arms wrapped around her waist. "I'll even frost the cake."

Erin giggled and pecked him on the lips. "Are you going to let me sing to you before you cut it?" She asked, with her palm against his chest.

"No." He teased, running his hands down her back. "Absolutely not. Last time you sang to me, the neighbors thought two alley cats were fighting and called animal control."

"Rude," she giggled, swatting him in the chest.

"I prefer to call it honesty...after all, that was part of our wedding vows." He teased, pecking her lips. They had known each other for over a decade, they knew each other's secrets. Now, two decades later, they were able to enjoy each other. As a married couple and more importantly, as newlyweds. The honeymoon didn't last as long as they would have liked, but the beds in their house were more comfortable than any hotel. It didn't matter, as long as they were together.

To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.

David Viscott