Erin's arm still ached, but she had forgone the sling, since she found it so limiting to her movements. David wouldn't be happy with her when he found out what she was doing, but she knew that it had to be done, since she didn't have time to get everything accomplished that she needed to get done before the inquest was held. Drawing in a deep breath, she raised her good arm and knocked out a pattern on Aaron's door before adjusting the sling the held Catherine and then taking hold of Elise's hand as she waited for the door to open.
"Erin, thank you for coming here. I know, I should have come to your house, but I just couldn't get Jack moving this morning."
"I get it, I had a difficult time getting Elise out the door. She misses her Papa, and doesn't quite understand everything that's happening."
He nodded as he guided her over to the sofa, taking Catherine from her arm so that she could take a seat, while Elise went over to where Jack was playing at the table. "Hi, Aunt Erin!"
"Hello, Jack. It's good to see you today."
"Uh huh," he answered absently as he and Elise began to play. She gave Aaron a small, relieved, smile as she set her briefcase down on the coffee table in front of them.
"He crawled in with me last night, and I didn't have the heart to put him back in his own bed."
"Elise did the same with me, and it was difficult to find a spot to sleep in the bed after Catherine's middle of the night feeding." He gave her a sympathetic look, and Erin shrugged a little before wincing. "Don't ask, I slept on my bad arm wrong after feeding Catherine. I suppose that you know why I'm here today?"
"I have a small inkling. But why don't you explain it."
Erin fought to keep from rolling her eyes as she leaned forward and opened her briefcase, slipping out the folder that contained the offer for his retirement package. They had both been offered quite generous packages, and she assumed that the extra was to compensate for what had happened to them in the course of their job, but still it had been more than she was expecting. "I know that we still have to get through the inquest, but this might change the direction of things, depending on your answer. And for full disclosure, I have been offered a similar, just as generous, package."
"They want me to retire."
"The Director feels that what we when through was such that we don't need to return to work, should we decide that there's just too much trauma to return to our jobs."
He took the folder from her hands and began to scan the documents, his eyes widening a little as he reached the part the said what the financial compensation would be. "This is a lot of money."
"You lost your wife to an unsub that we failed to catch before he hurt her."
"And you."
Erin pursed her lips a little as she looked away from him, not wanting to start crying again that morning. "I was collateral damage."
"Dave wouldn't view it that way. He loves you, and the little family that you've created."
That caused her to snap her head over to look at him, seeing that he was giving her a tender look. "And I love the family that we've created together, too. And the fact that we're growing it. Jessica has been an immense help to me, and I know that she's been dividing her time between our two households. I appreciate her so much."
Aaron nodded absently as he continued to look over the documents, and that was when she remembered that he had once been a prosecutor, which meant that he could parse some of the language contained there more efficiently than she could. "When would you like my answer, Erin?"
She had to blink a few times in order to hide her expression of confusion before she drew in a deep breath. "I thought that I would be leaving with one, honestly. What's holding you back?"
Erin wanted to hear his answer, since she knew that her own decision would be affected by his. She was waffling in her decision, not knowing if she should return. A part of her would miss Helen dearly, since she had come to think of her more as a friend than an assistant over the years since Elise had been born. "I don't want to rush into anything that I might regret. I have to think about Jack's future, along with what makes me happy. I know that you understand that delicate balance."
She nodded. "I understand. That's why I'm wrestling with my decision as well. It would be nice to stay home and raise Catherine, but I wouldn't be satisfied. I was hoping that you would have a fast, easy, decision, so that my own would be made easier."
"Have you talked this over with Dave yet?" She shook her head. "Well, that might be a good place to start."
"He'll just tell me to make the decision that my heart is telling me to do. There's just one small problem with that, which is the fact that my body is trying to get the hormone regulation back in balance, so the decisions I might make are not the most balanced. Which was why I was hoping that you would have a snap decision."
"Stay."
She was taken a bit aback by that small word, and she cocked her head to one side as she looked at him, still cradling Catherine with one arm as he read through the papers. "I'm sorry?"
"Look, despite the fact that you can be a complete bitch at work, I get why you are the way you are. You need to be in control and show that you're fair and impartial. Those are the leadership qualities that your teams need in a section chief, especially right now. What's happened to our team, what's happened to us, means that we're going to need strong leadership in the coming weeks and months. So, I say stay." She nodded as she settled back in the sofa, her eyes closing heavily. "Look, you're clearly exhausted, and I don't blame you, you shouldn't even be out of the hospital. Go into my room and sleep, Jessica is coming by in a few hours to have lunch with us, and two extra people at the table won't be that much of a hardship. If Catherine fusses, I'll wake you up, but I know my way around a baby."
"Are you certain?"
"Yes. I wouldn't let you drive home like this." Aaron rose to his feet and held out his hand, which she gratefully accepted, leveraging herself to her feet. "And give me your cellphone. I won't answer it, but it shouldn't be in the same room as you, as you need to rest without interruption."
She nodded a little as she followed him down the hall to his room. "If Leelee starts fussing, she's probably overtired, so a nap might be in order for her, too. Catherine is a potato until she gets hungry." He gave her a small smile as he opened the bedroom door, and she stumbled over to the bed, stepping out of her shoes before slipping beneath the covers as her head heavily hit the pillow. "And if David calls, please answer. He worries when I don't answer him, and after what happened, I know that will be even worse." Aaron gave her a small nod as her eyes closed once more, easily falling into a deep sleep, knowing that she was somewhere safe.
