There was only five weeks until Jack and Elise turned three, and Erin didn't quite know where the time had gone, as it seemed like when last she had looked, it had been May, and they were all worried about how Aaron would recover, and if it would affect his work at all. But he had been insistent that he could head back to work shortly after his injury, and had proceeded to irritate his ruptured eardrum to the point where Erin had just grounded the team for three weeks in order to force him to stay home and heal.
Things had just started to get back to normal, or as normal as it could be with Alpha, when they had been called in to assist with a cult suspected of child grooming and sexual abuse , and while she had agreed that Doctor Reid and Agent Prentiss were the best candidates to assist, since they could look the least Bureau out of the entire team, there was still a sense that she had sent them into a lion's den. Nothing good had ever happened in Colorado, and after the disaster case in New York, she just hoped that there wouldn't be something equally as horrifying there.
Erin was just settling down to work after lunch when Helen came into her office, a tight, drawn, look on her face. "You, you need to see what's happening in Colorado."
Nodding, she turned to her computer and waved her hand so that Helen would come over to her side as she tried to figure out what was going on. She immediately went to ZNN and felt her heart drop into her stomach as she saw what was happening. It was worse than she could have possibly imagined, and she reached out blindly for Helen's hand. "How did it go wrong so quickly?" she managed to breathe out as she tightly squeezed her assistant's hand.
"We're still trying to work that out, Erin. Apparently, someone leaked information that they shouldn't have, and everything's gone tits up." Turning, she saw David standing in the doorway to her office and she nodded a little as she pushed away from her desk, meeting him halfway as she threw her arms around his torso. "I'll be safe, Erin. It's the others I'm worried about."
"I know, darling. But I can still be worried about you. Colorado is one of those states, along with Florida, that I don't like sending you all to. Because bad things happen out there." Pulling back a little, Erin looked up into his eyes, trying to smile a little as she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and gave him a fierce kiss. "Keep your head down, keep Aaron's head down, and bring them home whole."
"I will do my best, stellina," he murmured in her ear before giving her another, softer, kiss. "Hug Elise tight when you pick her up from daycare. I don't have time to stop by and see her before we leave."
Erin nodded as he stepped away from her, giving her a cautious smile before he turned on his heel and strode from the room. Her heart cracked a little as she watched him go, feeling like there was not going to be a satisfactory outcome to this case, and it took everything in her to not go rushing after him, to give him one more hug. But she knew that she didn't want to appear hysterical in front of the rest of her colleagues. "What do you need right now, Erin?" Helen finally asked as she took a seat behind her desk once more, burying her face in her hands as she shrugged. "You need to take your mind off the disaster in Colorado."
"I know, but all I'd really want to do is cuddle Elise and curl up close to David. He's on his way to Colorado, and I am in the middle of my workday."
"There is nothing stopping you from heading down to the daycare facility and hold your daughter for a few minutes. I won't tell anyone that's where you are, if they come to talk to you. I'll just tell them to come back in forty minutes or so. Okay?"
Erin knew that Helen wouldn't back down from her current position, and she was extremely grateful for that, since she truly needed the comfort of her child to help calm her spirit. "All right. I will be back shortly." Helen gave her a warm smile as she nodded and left the office. While she took a few deep breaths, Erin opened her desk drawer and took her cell phone out of her purse and slipped it onto her jacket pocket before getting up and heading out to the elevators, sparing a smile for Helen as she left.
The ride down to the second floor didn't take too long, and then she was smoothing her skirt before she entered the facility. Giving a brief smile to the young woman working the check in desk, Erin made her way over to her side and took a deep breath. "I know that it's a bit unusual, but I need to have about thirty minutes with Elise."
"Of course, Erin. Come on in," she replied as she handed her a visitor badge which Erin promptly attached to her jacket, following her into the daycare. Once they were in Elise's room, Erin leaned against the doorway as she watched her daughter play with her friends, not really certain that she wanted to interrupt her daughter. That option was taken away from her when Elise turned and gave her a wide grin and wave.
"Mama!" she cried out as she got up and ran over to her side, throwing her arms around her in reckless abandon. "Pick me up!" Laughing, Erin did just that, cuddling her close to her chest as she breathed in deeply. "Mama?"
"It's okay, sweetie. Mama just needed to hold you close for a little bit. Do you think your friend will mind if we cuddle together in the rocker?" Elise shook her head, and Erin smiled at her as she brought her over to the gliding rocker by the window, sinking down onto it and holding Elise closer to her chest as she rocked them back and forth. "Daddy had to go to Colorado unexpectedly, so he'll be gone for a few days."
"Okay. Can we have mac and cheese for supper?"
Erin laughed a little as she nodded. "I think that we can have that, yes." She kissed Elise's head softly as her daughter burrowed closer to her chest, as if she knew that Erin needed that sweet comfort at that moment. "Are you having fun here?"
"Always! But Miss Karen doesn't like when I call out what the next word is in our book."
Erin felt her brow wrinkle a little. "How do you know what the next word should be?" she asked as she started to rub her daughter's back lightly.
"I don't know, I just do. And Miss Karen reads the same books a lot."
"I see." Erin had the feeling that there was more to this conversation than what her daughter had said, almost as if she thought she'd be in trouble if she really could read already. It wouldn't surprise her if Elise could, since Haley had mentioned that Jack was also quite ahead of the curve, she just hoped that they would be able to keep Elise from getting bored when she actually went to school. Maybe, just maybe, David could convince Doctor Reid to help them out as Elise got older, if she was still showing signs of being preternaturally bright, and she let out a little sigh as she began to hum beneath her breath as she felt Elise start to fall asleep against her chest. Somehow, this thirty minute visit might turn out to be a little longer, but she found that she really didn't care, as it gave her more time with Elise.
