It had taken Erin the entire drive home to get her blood pressure and emotions back under control, and by the time she had arrived at her new home, she felt practically calm, even as she anticipated the weird barrage of emotions that would come with seeing her things in a new place. As she turned the car off, she watched the door to the garage open to reveal Tabitha. Smiling at her daughter, Erin gave her a small wave before she got out and went over to her side.

"You're finally home! Supper's ready, and then we can show you how well the movers did. Even though all our things are in new places, it really feels like this is home. Dave said that we're going to have Dad over in a week or so, to let him see that we're okay here, and that he doesn't feel like we're just going to forget him."

She nodded as she slung her arm around her daughter's shoulders. "I think that that is a good idea, Tabby," Erin said lowly as they entered the kitchen. A weary smile curved her lips upwards as she locked eyes with David, and he nodded a little as he held out his arm. Erin easily left her daughter's side and went to her partner, allowing him to wrap her up in a tight hug. "We have to talk after supper," she whispered in his ear before kissing him gently.

"Of course, stellina. There's something I want to discuss with you, too." He gave her one more kiss before pushing her towards the island. "This will be our last meal in here, I want to start using the dining room for meals, since it's been a while since I've had the need to regularly use it. Plus, I don't want your mom to be climbing on and off the barstools until after the baby is here. I hope you don't mind?"

"That will be fine, Dave," Bruce said, giving Erin a little smirk, as if they had all been in on this conversation before it had happened, and Erin glared at David as she climbed up on to the empty stool between Karen and Tabitha. He chuckled as he began to pass around the plates, and Erin just shook her head a little, knowing that she had been backed into a corner for the moment. The meal they had prepared for her smelled delicious, and she hungrily dug in once Karen had said grace for the meal, listening to her children chatter on happily about their new home.

"All right, kiddos, your mom and I need to talk about a few things. I'll make certain that she comes up to see your rooms before we turn in for the night, though. All right?"

They all nodded before trooping out of the kitchen, and Erin sighed a little as she watched them leave the kitchen, loading their dishes into the washer as they went. Once they were alone, she helped David to rinse out the pots and pans before adding them to the washer and then filling her glass with more water. "Let's do this in the living room. I need to be comfortable."

"What's hurting?" he asked, reaching out to rest his hand on her upper arm, looking at her in concern.

"My back. You're right about not wanting me on the barstools, but not for the reason that you think. I don't believe I'd fall, but there's no support for my back, so it's starting to ache a little." He nodded as he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before taking hold of her hand and leading her into the living room.

"Stretch out on the sofa, and I'll try to give you a bit of a back massage." Erin nodded as she shrugged out of her suit jacket, dropping it onto the coffee table before tugging her blouse out of her skirt so that he could get better access to her skin. "It might be better if you just take that off, Erin. I mean, leave your bra on, but I can rub your shoulders better without all that fabric in the way."

"You just want to get me naked," she teased as she quickly unbuttoned the garment and put it on top of her jacket. Erin couldn't help but preen a little when she noticed that David was trying to discreetly check out her chest. "Ever the gentleman," she whispered as she settled down on the sofa, pillowing her head on her arms as he approached her side and knelt down, his hands smoothly starting to rub out the kinks and knots that he found in her back.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Erin?" he asked as he continued to massage her, and she tried not to undo all the hard work he had put into her back by tensing up. "Stellina?"

"Aaron and I had a bit of a talk this evening on the way out to our cars."

David's hands stilled a little on her lower back before he helped her to sit up, taking a seat next to her as he picked up her blouse and handed it to her. She hurriedly buttoned the garment before scooting closer to him and resting her head on his chest. "What did he have to say?"

"He wanted to tell me exactly how to manage my pregnancy. I couldn't help but needle him a little, saying that we wanted to have a home water birth." David let out a loud bark of laughter at that, and she chuckled in tandem with him as she shrugged. "I know, I never would do something like that, but I also knew that it would get under his skin."

"He is easy to tease at times. What else did he have to say?"

She took a deep breath. "That he's not going to press the issue of this baby being his for the moment. He's quite correct about the fact that it would look extremely beyond the pale if he and I were to announce the fact that I was carrying his child at the same time that his wife is also pregnant."

"And you're certain he said for the moment?"

Erin nodded. "I know, that's what bothered me, too. As if he he's already planning to take further action, if he doesn't like something we're doing in raising her. But I can't think about that now. I need to focus on the immediate future, on what I can theoretically control. But, what did you want to talk to me about? Hopefully it's something a little happier than this."

He gave her a little grin as he nodded and moved away from her as he reached into his pocket. "Hold out your hand, Erin." Hesitantly, she did as told, and then he was dropping a ring onto her palm. "This isn't an engagement ring, not yet. We haven't lived together long enough to determine if we want to make things official. But it is a promise from me to you that I will do my best to take care of you, your children, and our baby. My name will be on her birth certificate, no matter how much Aaron might rail against that little fact. So while I want to make things a little more official in the future, for now, this is just me promising you that I will not walk out on you and the children."

"Oh, David," she breathed out as she began to cry, slipping the ring into place on her finger before holding her hand out to look at it in pleasure. "This is too much."

"It's just right, Erin." She leaned in and kissed him soundly before slipping into his lap and hugging him tightly. "What's this?"

"I just, I cannot thank you enough." She held him tighter, feeling a little off kilter in this emotional moment. "Just hold me for a little longer, and then I'll head up and say good night to the children?"

"As if I could ever let you go, Erin," he whispered, and she felt her heart echo back that statement as she let out a deep sigh, praying that this would finally be the relationship that would last in her life.