They stepped off the elevator almost at the same time as Doctor Reid got out of a different car, and she gave him a small smile as they walked to the waiting room together. Elise stirred once more in her arms, and this time, she knew that there would be no getting her back to sleep and she braced herself for the wail that she was almost certain was about to come. Instead, Elise pulled her head back to look up at her, reaching up to pat her cheek gently. "Mama?"
"Shh, Elise, it's okay. We had to go to the hospital to make certain that a friend is going to be all right. Try and go back to sleep," she whispered as she entered the waiting room, watching Agent Jareau pop to her feet and hurry over to David and Doctor Reid. Knowing that it wasn't her place to say anything or interrupt, Erin made her way over to an open chair that was near where Emily was sitting. The woman glanced at her, a small frown immediately forming on her lips, which Erin tried to ignore. Instead, she began to quietly sing to her daughter as she rocked her gently in her arms.
"Daddy?"
"Daddy's talking to his friends, darling. Look," she pointed to where David was, not failing to notice that Aaron was staring at them, a flat look on his face. Erin was loathe to say what was worse, the look on his face or on Emily's, since both hurt for different reasons. David gave them a tiny smile as he ambled over to them and took a seat next to Erin, holding out his hands to Elise, who readily went to him. "Is there any news?"
"I wish that there was, Erin, but she's still in surgery. JJ said that the doctor would let us know as soon as he could what the outcome is."
By the sound of his voice, Erin knew that things were quite dire, and she sucked in a shallow breath as she nodded. Agent Jareau made her way over to Emily's side, and reached out for the woman's hand, clasping it tightly as they waited for news of Penelope's surgery. The only person missing was Agent Morgan, and she wondered why he wasn't there, knowing through office gossip, that he was quite close with Penelope. Not knowing what else to do, Erin rested her head against David's shoulder as she fell into a long, silent, prayer for Penelope's wellbeing. "She's getting so big."
Erin glanced over at Aaron, trying to keep a neutral expression on her face as she nodded. "Jack is probably growing like a weed, too."
"I think he's going to be short, like Haley's side of the family."
"There's nothing wrong with that," she replied through a yawn. "How's Jack's language acquisition? We've had to start policing our words a lot more recently, since Elise just repeats so much of what we say."
Aaron smiled a little as he nodded. "Jack babbles a lot. Haley, well, she's been really good about allowing me to see him when we're home from cases. Thank you."
"I don't know what you mean, Aaron."
He arched an eyebrow as his mouth tightened. "I've told you, I don't like lying. I know that you're in contact with her. And if that means that she's allowing me to see Jack more often, I don't mind your being friends with her. I just wish that things could have been different."
"As do I, Aaron. But I think that we all made the best decisions for our circumstances, don't you?"
A pained look crossed his face as he looked over at Elise, who was now snuggled in close to David's chest, sucking on her thumb in her sleep. "I want to believe that we did, Erin." He looked ready to say something more when a commotion in the doorway caught all their attention, and she gasped a little to see the desperate look on Agent Morgan's as he finally joined them. "Derek, where have you been?" Aaron asked as he rose to his feet and strode over to the man's side, reaching out to rest his hand on his shoulder. Agent Morgan hurriedly shrugged off the touch, which didn't surprise Erin, knowing what she knew about his background, but she was still surprised by it.
"I was in church, praying. That case in Florida, it spooked something in me, and I had to face my fears on faith." He glanced around the room, unable to hide his disdain when his gaze fell on her, and Erin tried to keep a calm look on her face as she scooted closer to David. "I didn't realise that everyone would be here already."
"It was important that we turn up as a work family to support Penelope," David answered evenly as he shifted Elise to his other arm so that he could close his hand around her shoulder in a show of solidarity. She sighed as she tilted her head down to rest against his hand.
"Yeah, we tried to call you quite a few times," Agent Jareau said hotly, and Erin saw Emily squeeze the young woman's hand tightly. "Why didn't you answer?"
"I told you, I was in church, so I had my phone turned off. How is she doing?"
"We don't know yet, she's still in surgery. JJ and I have been here for ninety minutes, and the nurse who brought us here estimated that the surgery would take a total of four hours, depending on how things go. We might hear more in the next hour, but I can't say for certain." Aaron came back over to her side and took a seat once more, surprising her, since she knew that she was persona non grata among most of Alpha team, and for him to tacitly include her seemed like a step too much, given the current high tensions that were in the air. "But it's good that you're here now. We're all here to support Penelope."
Agent Morgan nodded as he gave her another questioning look, making his way over to Doctor Reid's side and starting up a quiet conversation with him. "You don't have to defend me to your team, Aaron. I'm only here because David thought I should be." It was another lie, one that he knew she was telling, because he shook his head as a wry smile curved his lips upwards. "What?"
"You care more than you let on. I'll try not to let anyone else know."
A soft blush stained her cheeks as she looked away from him to gave down into her lap, wishing that she was holding Elise in that moment, as it would help distract her from all the feelings swirling in her breast. "I have to keep discipline, somehow. Your team is bound and determined to flout every rule in the book, and I have to put out the fires left behind. Even David is starting to pick up on your bad habits."
A soft chuckle dropped from his lips, the sound so incongruous with the somber atmosphere of the room, but it felt like a good release of tension, and Erin allowed herself to smile a little as she shrugged. "As long as we get results, can you complain?"
"Of course I can." She looked over at Elise and then back at Aaron. "She has stepbrothers, somewhere. Someone needs to contact them."
"I'll have JJ look into that, Erin. Thank you."
She nodded slowly, feeling exhaustion tug on her eyelids as she slumped against David, closing her eyes as she listened to quiet conversations build around her, falling asleep with a prayer for Penelope on her lips.
