Erin felt like she could cut the tension in her living room with a knife, and she absently stroked her baby bump as she looked between Aaron and David, willing one of them to say something. Ever since Aaron had stormed out of the prison, the mocking laughter of Karl Arnold following his back, the man had been driven, along with the rest of the team, to finally find George Foyet, knowing that he was far closer than any of them had realized. "Oof," she quietly exclaimed when the baby kicked out at her hand particularly firmly, and instantly the two men were looking at her in concern. "She's kicking up a storm right now. I think that she knows we're all balancing on the edge of a knife, and is trying to remind me that I have to look out for her, too."
Aaron nodded as he cleared his throat. "I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I forgot that you were pregnant for a moment, Erin. My attention just is so divided right now."
"I understand that," she said, wanting to say more, but then Bruce strode into the room, an easy smile on his face, as if he was deliberately ignoring the vibe Erin was certain was as loud as a jet engine. "What is it, honey?"
"Karen sent me in to tell you that supper's ready, and we're just waiting for you to join us at the table." He helped Erin to her feet, and she found it easy to smile at her son as she rested her head on his chest. He had undergone a growth spurt recently and was now three inches taller than she was. The new height lent him a new maturity, and she wondered where her little boy had gone. Letting out a short sigh, Erin looked up at him and felt her eyes fill with tears when he grinned in response. "Everything is going to be okay, Mom," he whispered as he led her into the dining room and over to her chair.
"Yeah, Mom, we're all going to chip in a little more around the house so that you have less to worry about here." Tabitha gave her a toothy grin, seeming much older than her twelve years. "We're old enough now to start pulling our share."
That was the moment she knew that her kids had picked up on the underlying tension of the past few months, and she felt her heart crack a little as she took her seat, picking up her water glass and taking a long sip, wishing desperately that it was wine. She needed something to take the edge off these feelings, but that would still be a year or two away, since she was planning on breastfeeding this last daughter of hers. "Don't feel like you have to sacrifice your lives to make things easier on me. If anything, we can hire someone to come in and clean. In fact, I think I might as Penelope to look into that once this whole debacle ends."
"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea, stellina. Now, what did you kids make for supper tonight?" he asked as he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to the top of Elise's head before taking his seat at the head of the table, Aaron sitting between him and Elise as Tabitha answered. Bruce took the last empty seat before they all joined hands as David said grace. "So, Thanksgiving is next week, are we all ready for everyone to descend upon us?"
"I thought they were all staying at the cabin?" Karen asked as she started to pass around the dishes, and David nodded. "So we only have to be overrun for a few hours out of the days that they're here." He nodded and Karen gave Erin a secretive smile, letting her know that she wasn't looking forward to all the extra people. That didn't surprise her, since Karen was her most introverted child, and she gave her a small nod as the regular mealtime conversations started to take place. "But I wouldn't mind if you were here, Aaron, and Jessica. You two fit into this little branch of our family tree so well."
"I'll keep that in mind, Karen." Erin's heart lurched in her chest at how kind Aaron sounded when addressing her eldest daughter, and she rubbed her lips together in an effort to keep from crying. This wasn't what she had been expecting when she had found out about Elise, but a part of her couldn't help but feel so happy at the fact that through hard work on all their parts, Aaron had been integrated as a full member of their family.
Just as the last dish was set back on the table, their phones all buzzed, and Erin groaned a little, knowing that meant it was a work text. Fumbling around in her jacket pocket, she pulled out her phone, watching from the corner of her eye as David and Aaron followed her lead, their faces taking on the same shocked, drawn, look. "I'm sorry, we need to have a conference about this in the living room. We'll be back shortly," David said, quickly rising to his feet and coming to her side, helping her to rise before slinging an arm around her waist and following Aaron out of the room.
"Do you really think this is a credible lead?" Erin asked as she paced slowly in front of the windows, needing to work off some of her nervous energy as they talked.
"JJ is quite levelheaded, and if she thinks that she has something, I am fully inclined to believe her. Of course, we'll find out more in the morning…"
Erin stopped and fixed her eyes on Aaron, shaking her head quickly. "No. We all know that Foyet moves quickly, and if we're going to have any hope in stopping him before he hurts us, we need to jump on it now. Go to the office, start the searches you need to run, and don't worry about the overtime. I'll make certain the Director signs off on it after we've caught him. But if I'm asked, right now, I have no idea where you are, or what you're doing. But if I might give you a word of advice and caution."
"What?" Aaron asked softly.
"Do everything by the book as much as you can. This has the potential to go south very quickly, and I don't know if I will be able to save you, any of you, if the people above the Director raise a fuss. I know you all hate the politics game, but the only reason you've been able to run as freely as you have been is that I am good at the game, and can be cutthroat when necessary." She took a deep breath as she looked between the two of them. "Stay safe, keep me informed, and catch that son of a bitch."
"Yes, Erin," David answered as he came over to her side and pulled her into a tight hug. She melted against him as best she could, wishing that she wasn't quite so far along in her pregnancy so that she could be closer to him. Raising her face, Erin looked up at him, giving him a wobbly smile as he lowered his lips to hers, kissing her delicately before stepping away from her. "I love you," he whispered as he caressed her face.
"I love you, too," she whispered, wishing that she could go with them. It wouldn't help matters, but she was still loathe to send them off alone, without her, when things could very quickly get out of hand. "Now go before I do something stupid and ask to tag along."
Aaron nodded as he joined David by her side, reaching out to rest his hand on her shoulder. "I know that you're an adult, Erin, but stay safe here, too. Keep an eye out for any weird activity. Now that we have a credible lead on Foyet, things will come to a head quickly."
"I will, I promise." He nodded before tugging her close to his chest, his warm embrace seeming to be that much more desperate than David's had been, as if he was trying to imagine it was Haley he was hugging, and she blinked back the tears, knowing they would do nothing for any of them. "Call me as soon as you know anything." Both men nodded, and then they were headed out the door, Erin feeling like her heart was leaving with them.
