Erin was surprised that she made it home before David and Aaron, since they had had a head start. She supposed that they had gotten to talking in Aaron's office, since they had gotten back from the case earlier than expected. She didn't mind that, however, since that gave her a chance to catch up with Jessica and Jack over their meal, something she felt had been far too long in coming, given how busy she had been on her week's suspension. So this was now her time to decompress with her loved ones, until the men arrived home.
"I overheard Daddy talking to someone named Beth over the phone the other night, and they were talking about mushy grown up stuff." Erin met Jessica's eye, seeing the woman roll her eyes a bit before nodding. "I don't want things to change. I like them how they are."
"Everything changes, sweetheart," Erin replied absently as she reached out to ruffle his hair before taking a deep breath as she finished off her glass of water. "It just matters how we respond to those changes. And who know? Maybe you'll like this Beth when you get to know her. You shouldn't judge people before you meet them, after all."
"I suppose, Aunt Erin." He gave her a small pout, which she completely understood, because she was strangely feeling like pouting herself, a reaction that she didn't quite understand. After quietly clearing her throat, Erin got to her feet and picked Catherine up, gesturing towards the door with her head. Jessica gave her a small nod as she got up from the table and followed after Erin as she headed into the living room.
She was surprised to see that they weren't followed in there, and she hoped that her older children were keeping watch over Jack and Elise as they cleaned off the table and put away the leftovers. Taking a deep breath, Erin situated herself on the sofa, cuddling Catherine close as she listened to Jessica take a seat next to her. "You're jealous."
"Am I that obvious? I always knew that Aaron would find someone to move on with, since he deserves to be happy, but I also find myself a bit like Jack. I don't want to see anyone upsetting the balance of our family, since I feel like we worked so hard to make this current dynamic work for our family. Especially since the children know the truth now."
"I completely understand that reticence, Erin. Because I have been bothered by this new development, too. I know that it's for the best, truly, but…"
"You don't want to be replaced."
Jessica nodded as her face contorted into a grief-stricken expression. Erin juggled with how she was holding Catherine, finally getting her to understand that she wanted her to snuggle on her left hand side so that she could pat the cushion next to her, allowing Jessica to move into her space and curl up enough so that she could rest her head on her shoulder. "I know that that won't happen, that I am a part of this family, no matter who else joins, but I guess that there's still this old insecurity in the back of my mind that tells me I'm going to have to say goodbye to this dynamic that we have."
Erin nodded as she allowed her head to drop against Jessica's head, humming lightly as she rubbed Catherine's back, soon lulling her youngest child to sleep. And that was how David and Aaron found them about an hour later. She gave her fiancé a grateful smile as he peeled Catherine out of her arms and snuggled her close. "I'm going to get this one settled, and then read a bedtime story to Elise, since it seems that Tabitha is giving her a bath right now. Aaron."
He nodded before taking a seat across from them in the rocking chair, moving it back and forth with the tip of his shoe. Once they were alone again, he took a deep breath and smiled at them. "I think that we need to have a little chat. My little pitcher has a very large mouth, and told you about Beth, didn't he?"
Erin sat up with a start, dislodging Jessica's head off her shoulder and startling her awake. "What?" she asked before yawning and stretching, looking between the two of them. "Oh, you're back, Aaron. Did we fall asleep here?"
"You did, and we need to have a talk about Beth."
"How did you know about what Jack said?" she murmured as she picked up a throw pillow and clutched it tightly to her chest, wanting to know what he was going to tell them.
"Because I know him. He was excited to hear a new name creep up into conversations on the phone, and he has a blabbermouth around you both, because he feels safe with you. And I wouldn't change that aspect of him for anything, because you're family. And you always will be. I met Beth while I've been training for this triathlon, and I've enjoyed getting to know her. She doesn't know quite how complicated our lives are, because I want to get to know her a little better before I even think about introducing her to the children."
"That's probably the wisest course of action, Aaron. Is she nice?" Erin asked as she started to drag her fingers through Jessica's hair as they watched him closely for the way he responded.
"I think that she is. She has a very playful, bubbly, personality, and I think that that was one of the things that drew me to her in the first place. She reminds me a little of Haley, but different enough so that it's not a carbon copy?"
Erin nodded as Jessica let out a little sigh, sitting up so that she could pull her legs up to her chest. "We're just being stupidly jealous, Aaron."
"That's not stupid, Jess. Things have been the way they are for two years now, and it took us a while to find this equilibrium, so I understand where you both are coming from. Even if you are being a little silly. Or are you trying to start your own harem, Erin? Should I be worried that you'll add Doctor Reid to our little family?"
She could tell that he was teasing her, and so she felt free enough to roll her eyes and shake her head. "I think that I'd sooner add your brother to this mix, Aaron. Spencer is far too young for me to see him as anything other than a very much younger brother."
He threw back his head as he laughed, shaking his head furiously as even Jessica began to giggle. "If you could convince Sean to come down here and play happy family with us, I would think that you're more miracle worker than Ice Queen. I know that he came for Haley's funeral, but we have not been on the best of terms since he decided his new life path."
"You mean since he rejected what you thought was best for his life. Right, Aaron?" Jessica needled at her brother-in-law, giving Erin a small wink, which caused her to giggle as well.
"Just because I know best…"
"Spoken like a true older sibling," Erin said as she yawned deeply, finding herself still tired. "But if you think that she'll be all right, and you want to get to know her better and have it be on a neutral ground, of sorts, bring her to the kids' birthday party next Saturday. And if she doesn't like the chaos of our extremely loud, blended, family, well, it's better to know that from the outset, yes?" He nodded, and Erin gave him a small smile as she turned to look at Jessica. "Now, I am going to head up to bed and try to sleep off this lingering exhaustion. We'll see you at the stable at eight?"
"Of course. I'll go rescue Bruce from Jack, since I have the feeling that he is talking your son's ear off. Are you coming, Aaron?" He nodded as they all stood up, and Erin sighed as she led them out into the foyer, turning towards the stairs as they began to show themselves out. She knew that it would take a while before she was truly comfortable with the notion of adding a new person to their family, but if this Beth made Aaron happy, then it was worth the initial worry.
