Aaron took a seat next to Erin in the stands just as Elise was led out into the practice ring on her horse. "I'm glad that you were able to make it, Aaron. Elise loves when you're able to see her ride."

"Jack's team lost, so I thought we'd come see something that will put him in a better mood, especially if Elise lets him brush down Jeroboam after the lesson."

She nodded as she laughed a little, passing Catherine over to David so that she could pull out her phone, taking a few pictures of their daughter as she began to ride. There was something so elegant about her posture on her horse, and she knew that that had come from years of lessons at this point. "I'm certain that she would love for that to happen, Aaron. I see that you're taking a vacation next week?"

"Yes. I think that now is a good time to get away and visit with Beth. Jessica offered to keep Jack for the week, but when he heard that I was going to see Beth, well, he decided that he had to go see her, too. I just feel a little leery leaving you here alone."

"I have my husband to take care of me, and I'll be grounding the team, since there is a lot of paperwork to catch up on, custodials to do, or classes to teach. They'll be busy in a different way while you're having fun in the city."

"Gee, thanks, stellina," David muttered as he nudged her with his elbow. Erin looked at him, a little smirk curling her lips upwards as she leaned in to peck at his lips. "I'll remember this when you want me to give you a massage."

"Ah, darling, you know that I can undo you with a look," she shot back, only for Aaron to clear his throat, reminding her that he was still seated right next to her. And though she did start to blush a little, Erin still managed to give him a cool look as she turned back to stare at him. "As if you're not counting down the hours until you're with Beth."

"Yes, well, I don't like to picture my friends and what they might do in their bedroom. Especially since I know a few more details than I should already." He tempered his even, low, words with a quick wink, and Erin burst into a fit of giggles as she nodded. "Now, I was thinking that we could all go out to Pizza Express after Elise's lesson, I'll pay."

"So I'm supposed to agree to let you pay for my misery?" Erin muttered as she listened to Catherine start to make excited noises. A quick glance at her youngest showed her to be almost vibrating with excitement, and she knew that she couldn't say no to his offer. It would disappoint Catherine far too much. "Fine. But you have to bring something nice back from New York for me. Perhaps a good pen or…"

"Or a piece of Tiffany jewelry. You must remember that my wife has very expensive tastes, developed through years of living with me. But if you can't spoil the other half of your heart, who can you spoil?" Before Erin could respond, her husband leaned over and kissed her temple. Sighing a little, Erin allowed her head to come to rest on David's shoulder as they watched Tabitha go through her lesson, and she smiled to see just how strong of a rider that she was becoming. "We need to get you up on a horse again soon."

"Maybe later this summer," she replied as she curled her arm around his waist, finding her attention becoming laser focused on her daughter. That was until she felt like someone was watching them all, and she tried to ignore the way her arm hairs prickled as adrenaline flooded through her system. David noticed her change in mood, as he stiffened a little before she sat up and tried to casually look around as she stretched. There wasn't immediately anyone that stood out to her, which told her that John was far too good at blending in. That meant he very well could strike at any moment, and she'd have no clue where the attack was coming from.

"Is everything okay, Erin?" Aaron whispered in her ear as he leaned over to get Catherine's attention by scratching her back lightly. She was grateful for the discretion, and she shook her head a little, keeping the smile on her lips to make everything look normal. "What is it?"

"I think that our mutual problem is here somewhere, and I can't find him in the crowd. And before you say it, I know that I'm probably a bit paranoid right now, but I swear that I can feel him watching us."

"Don't discount your instincts, Erin. You received the same training as we did, and you also knew that there was a connection between the man replicating our cases and the man stalking you. So, I don't think you're paranoid at all. But now that we know what's going on, we can surround you and the kids when we head back to meet Elise at the stall. You have told her teacher what's going on, yes?"

"Only what she needed to know. I don't want to alarm the children."

"I felt the same way when Jack and Haley went into WitSec. I wanted to keep everything as normal as possible for him, and asked Haley to do that as much as possible. But the adults in the situation need to take care of the children as much as we can."

Erin nodded as she let out a long breath, scooting away from David to be more in the middle of the two men. She felt protected by them both, something that had taken years for her to feel comfortable with, since she had never thought that she'd be forgiven for what she did, let alone welcomed into a larger family. "I know, and I am grateful that you've been supportive."

"And that we've kept up the search for Curtis behind the Senate's backs?" David teased.

She rolled her eyes. "I would expect nothing less out of you all. You have been the thorns in my side for so many of these unsubs. I mean, there was Breitkopf, Foyet, Doyle…"

"Three unsubs isn't that many."

She snorted a little as she shook her head. "Those are the big three. There's also that senate hopeful that the team took down when you were away with Jack a few years ago. That nearly ended with my head on a platter, too. You all are so good at pushing the boundaries, and I have to clean up the messes you leave behind. You're both just lucky that I love you so much."

"Ah, Erin, you're mellowing out the longer you're with me. I have been a great influence on you." David handed Catherine over to Erin before getting to his feet. "And now I have to run to the bathroom. I'll keep an eye out for Curtis on my way there and back. Hotch."

"Understood."

Erin tried to keep from rolling her eyes once more, knowing that they meant well. Still, she let out a long-suffering sigh as Aaron rested his hand on her shoulder. "You two don't have to be quite so obvious about things. I can defend myself."

"Yes, but for this brief moment in time, please let us defend you. I couldn't do that for Haley, not to the best of my ability. While keeping you safe won't bring her back, it will allow me to make up for my failures. I won't let another unsub destroy someone precious to our team." She gave him a small nod as Catherine moved from her lap to his, snuggling in close to her Uncle Aaron as Elise continued to ride, oblivious to what was going on with the adults. These were the small miracles that she was living for right now, and Erin hoped that she could keep things that way until John was brought to justice.