The first sound Erin heard next was the comforting clacking of fingers on a keyboard, and she wondered if she had fallen asleep in her office, and if Helen was there, using her computer as she watched over her. Blinking slowly, Erin turned her head and noticed that the sofa she was resting on was not her own, since this was soft upholstery, where hers was leather. Lifting her head, she carefully looked around the room to see where she was, and that was when she noticed the cozy lighting and realized that she was in Ms. Garcia's office.
Slowly, she sat up, catching hold of the knitted blanket that was covering her legs, bringing it up to her chest as she drew in a few deep breaths through her nose. "Ms. Garcia?" she said, hating the tremble in her voice. Erin watched the younger woman stiffen in her seat, though she failed to turn around or acknowledge that Erin had even said anything at all. "Ms. Garcia, how did I end up in here?"
"Hotch carried you in here after you fainted, before holing up with Haley in his office for a few hours."
"Hours?"
"Yes. David Rossi will be here shortly to take you home."
Erin shivered at the coldness in Ms. Garcia's voice, all the bubbly happiness seemingly gone from her as she addressed Erin, and she curled up into a tight ball in the corner of the sofa as she tried to keep from openly sobbing in front of the woman, knowing that it would do no good, that even though she wasn't trying to manipulate her, that was how it would come off. "I think that I'm going to head to my office, actually. I still have work to accomplish today."
This caused Ms. Garcia to spin around in her chair, fixing a harsh glare on her as Erin shrank back a little in surprise. "Hotch told me that you have to stay here. Helen has already brought by your purse and attaché case. Find something to occupy your time until this David Rossi gets here."
She didn't know why she allowed Ms. Garcia to speak to her like that, but she just couldn't find the will in her heart to correct her, believing that she deserved the derision in her voice. Letting out a deep sigh, she reached out for her purse and unzipped the main pocket to search for her phone. Alongside it, she found a folded sheet of paper, and pulled them both out, laying the phone in her lap as she opened the paper to see who had written her.
I'm here for you now, more than ever, but Agent Hotchner has refused to let me sit with you until David gets here. I was the one who told Penelope to call him, since I thought that you wouldn't want to see your husband at the moment. I can just see someone in there gleefully telling him about your pregnancy and who the father of your baby is, and I wanted you to have no part of that. It was bad enough that Mrs. Hotchner decided to make it a tawdry public affair. And I know that as you're reading this, Penelope is probably there, so you can't call me to talk this out. But as soon as you're able, my ear is open to you, and I will be squashing as many rumors flying around that I can. You will have support her, Erin. I promise you that.
Scrawled at the bottom of the hastily written note was a phone number that she assumed was her assistant's personal line, and a tremulous smile curved across her face as she hastily entered the number into her contacts list. Looking at her call log, she saw that she had missed one from Alan, and she frowned a little as she scrolled through her voicemails, not finding a corresponding message from him there. "Did David say how long he'd be?"
"No, just that he had something to wrap up before he could come."
Again, her tone was frosty, and Erin stifled the sigh that rose to her lips as she nodded, knowing that Ms. Garcia couldn't see her, as her focus was on her screens. "I see."
"Did you really sleep with Hotch? Is that why you wanted to know about the failure rates on vasectomies? Your husband deserves to know the truth, at least."
"Mistakes were made between us," she whispered as the thin filament of her control snapped, and hot tears began to roll down her cheeks. It was Ms. Garcia who let out a loud sigh, as if she could hear those silent drops rolling down her cheeks, and she turned, pulling a handkerchief out of her sleeve and handing it to her. "Thank you."
She shrugged before turning back to the computers, and Erin pursed her lips together as she brought the delicate cloth to her face and dabbed at the tears before clutching her phone to her chest and curling up in the corner of the sofa once more, her free hand drawing the blanket up around her body as a heavy silence filled every atom of the room. It seemed like time was slowing to a crawl, and she found herself praying that he would show up soon and end this misery. A firm knock on the door caught both their attention, and she watched as Ms. Garcia rose to her feet and opened the door, revealing David.
He brushed past Ms. Garcia and went right to her side, sinking down onto the sofa and wrapping an arm around her shoulder, pulling her against his chest. "I'm here now, bella. Everything will be all right."
As she started to cry a little louder, burying her face in his chest to breathe in the familiar, comforting, scent of his cologne, she heard Ms. Garcia let out a rather loud hmph, and she stiffened a little as David's embrace tightened a little too much around her. "You can quit glaring at me like that, sir."
"You can stop judging Erin right this minute, miss. She didn't get pregnant on her own, you need two parts to make a new whole."
"David…"
"No, Erin. Adults make choices, sometimes they're not the best, and sometimes they lead to the best thing in our lives. Ms. Garcia needs to realise that no one is perfect, and despite the ridiculous display that took place in the bullpen earlier this morning, Aaron is not the victim in this situation. Neither is Haley. Would you like it if someone aired your dirty laundry to all of your colleagues?"
Erin glanced over at the woman, seeing her face drain of all color before two spots of red darkened her cheeks as she silently shook her head. "David, be kind. She's loyal to her team, as she should be. I, I just want to go home. Please." Her hand tightened in the fabric of his shirt as she drew in a deep breath and pulled away from him to look up into his eyes. "Please," she whispered, feeling her eyes flood with tears once more. His expression softened as he nodded, one of his hands coming up to stroke her hair lightly as she took a few shuddering breaths, still feeling decidedly off kilter with everything that was happening in her life in that moment.
