DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN CRIMINAL MINDS OR THE CHARACTERS.
AN - All non Criminal Minds characters are my own.
Sorry I haven't updated sooner but had to deal with a major plumbing emergency. Hope you enjoy.
All typo's are my own fault, so thank you to shannon for picking up my mistake.
CHAPTER 4 - the director
As Erin made her way past her assistant, Sara Murphy, she gave her a genuine smile and headed straight into her office.
"Good morning ma'am. There is nothing urgent this morning apart from Director Shephard asked to see you in his office as soon as you got in."
"Thank you Sara. Please let Agent Rossi know where I am as I am planning on meeting with A team this morning."
"Of course ma'am. Shall I inform the Director that you are on your way?"
"Certainly. I'm just going to put these files in their trays and I will be on my way." replied Erin as she took off her coat.
Once Erin had put her bag down and sorted the files she gathered her wits and decided to just get this over with.
On the way up to the Director's office she couldn't help but think about how amazing her weekend had been. Finding out about the baby had only just been the start. They had both decided to tell the kids once they had all arrived and their reactions could not have been better. All the kids, especially Lizzy (Anna's twin sister), were really happy for both of them. Although they were all worried about their mother, they all agreed to help if needed and with Lizzy being a doctor at the local hospital, she agreed to keep a regular eye on her mothers health.
The Director's secretary stood as Erin approached and opened the door for her to go straight in.
"Morning ma'am." was all she said as Erin made her way into the big corner office.
"Ah. Good morning Erin." said the Director as he stood and came to greet Erin.
"Good morning Eric. I was planning on coming to see you this morning anyway. I think there are a few things we need to discuss."
"Oh. I hope everything has been sorted out now. I still can't believe things got so out of hand." said the Director as they both sat down on the couch.
"Yes. Well all that has been sorted now but it did bring some health issues to light."
"Oh, I thought you and David both passed you physicals. They were only a couple of months ago. I hope we didn't miss something that could have been caught earlier?" replied the Director with a concerned look on his face.
He knew he wasn't allowed to favour any of his employees but he had been impressed with both David and Erin's performances for years. The buzz was starting to circulate that the Assistant Director was retiring and he knew that Erin was a shoe in for the position. Erin still had her sights set on his job and his goal was for her to take over after him anyway.
"No. David is fine. It's me I came to talk to you about." began Erin. She still wasn't sure how to tell him but decided to just tell him straight.
"Over the past couple of weeks I have been feeling a bit more run down than normal and have been having an awful time trying not to rip someone's head off for no reason, mainly David's." started Erin. As she was about to continue the Directors phone buzzed signalling that his secretary needed his attention.
"Sorry about this Erin. Give me two minutes while I deal with this." said the Director as he made his way to his desk.
"Yes? I thought I asked not to be disturbed?"
"Sorry Sir. Agent Rossi is here and says that he should be present as well. Shall I tell him no Sir?" asked the secretary. She did not need the Director annoyed with her this early on a Monday morning.
"No. Send him in." replied the Director as he made his way back over to the couch.
"Good morning Eric. Sweetheart." said David as he entered the room and sat down beside Erin.
"Good morning David. Erin was just informing me of some recent health issues I should be aware of."
"Ah. I thought I could make it up here in time to see your reaction to our news. It would have been hilarious." said Dave as he turned to face his wife.
"You still might. I haven't told him yet as we were rudely interrupted." said Erin as she sent David a playful glare.
With a smile on his face David held up his hands to surrender to his wife. "Don't let me stop you then."
As Erin turned back to face their friend and boss she decided to be blunt about it.
"We're pregnant." she said as she sat back and watched Eric's shocked face.
"Pardon?"
"Well actually I'm pregnant, obviously."
"Pardon?"
"I don't think he's getting it sweetheart. Show him the picture." said David. He loved that they had been able to see and hear the baby so quickly.
"I'm four and a half months pregnant, see." said Erin as she removed the ultrasound picture from her pocket and passed it to Eric.
"Oh my god... Wow. I mean congratulations to both of you. I didn't realise you were trying. I thought with your ages that you had put that part of your lives behind you and were just preparing to be the doting grandparents." replied Eric as he stared at the picture in his hands.
"So did we but we couldn't be happier." said David as he put his arm round Erin and pulled her closer.
"I admit is was a bit of a shock but we have the support of our family and we can't wait to welcome this child into the world." said Erin as she beamed at Eric and gave David a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Well I would like to say congratulations again but this could have come at a better time." said Eric as he handed the picture back. He was happy for the couple but with the Assistant Director planning on retiring in two months he was worried about how Erin would cope with the added stress the position would cause.
Both Erin and David's smiles faded at this. They thought that their friend would be happy for them even if it was very unexpected.
"Don't get me wrong, as your friend I am very happy for you but as your boss this might affect your career Erin." clarified Eric. He would support his friends anyway he could as he knew this pregnancy was dangerous not only for the baby but Erin as well.
"I know having a baby at this time in our lives would be difficult but I don't see how it could affect my career so much." said Erin. With all the worrying about Anna and her pregnancy she hadn't heard any of the rumours about the Assistant Director retiring.
"I thought you would have heard before now. Michael has decided to retire which leaves his job open. The word is that you are first choice to replace him." said Eric as tried to read Erin's reaction to the news.
"Wow. I hadn't heard. Wait... I'm in the running to succeed him?" questioned Erin. She had always been determined to make it to the top but she felt that because of some of the BAU's past indiscretions it would mean she would always just be a Section Chief. She had come to except this as it meant she could do her bit to keep David safe, even if it was from behind a desk.
"Yes. You are more than in the running Erin. That was actually why I wanted to speak with you this morning. I was planning on asking you if you wanted the job. I don't want an answer right now, by the end of next week is fine but I want you to really think it through, both of you. This job will be very stressful sometimes and if you do accept I will do everything I can to keep the stress to a minimum." said Eric.
After a few moments of silence David realised it was now after 9. He hoped the team hadn't been waiting long.
"I think we have a lot to talk about sweetheart but we are supposed to be meeting the team just now. I can tell Hotch to leave till tomorrow if you want?" suggested David. He didn't want Erin to stress out about all these changes to their lives at once.
"No. We should tell them while you are all here as you could be called out at any moment." replied Erin. There was so much to think about now. Could she become the Assistant Director and not put her baby's life at risk?
"Don't worry. I knew you two would need to talk this through so A team is grounded for the next week. I sent a memo out this morning saying that you all needed a break." said Eric. He knew A team had had a few really tough cases lately and they deserved a break for all the horrors they had to see.
"Thank you Eric. I think we should go see the team then now sweetheart. Best to get this over with." replied David as he stood and offered Erin his hand.
As the couple thanked Eric and left his office, both were too engrossed in their own worlds to realise that they were still holding hands once they had reached the elevators.
"Don't worry sweetheart." said David as he pulled Erin in for a quick hug in the elevator. "Everything will work out."
"I hope so David." replied Erin.
As the elevator dinged the couple broke apart and headed straight to the conference room. They noticed that the team were already sitting waiting for them. Erin only hoped that the team would be semi accepting of the bomb they were about to drop on them. She knew she wasn't their favourite person but hopefully David would be able to convince them that there was another side to her that a group of profilers had missed.
Cheers for reading. Reviews welcome.