Erin smiled softly as she looked around the dance floor, seeing all the happy couples dancing. She had sat this dance out in order to speak with the nanny that they had hired for the evening. Since her older children were with Alan that evening, she had wanted someone to care for the littles, so that everyone could feel comfortable drinking and dancing late into the evening. "That sounds good, Madeline. I think that things are going to last for a few more hours here, but if Catherine starts to get fussy, just come and get me, and I'll read a story to her."

Madeline nodded before heading back into the house and Erin let out a long breath as she tried to find her husband in the throng. She was unsurprised to find him dancing with Emily, and she could tell by the look on the woman's face that they would be receiving bad news come the next work day. Shaking her head a little, she drifted closer to the dancers as the music slowly changed into a slower tempo piece. "May I have this dance?"

She looked up to see Aaron standing in front of her, a warm smile on his lips, his hand outstretched towards her. Nodding, she accepted his hand and allowed him to bring her onto the dance floor before he wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her close as they swayed in time to the tempo. "I see that Beth has been avoiding me all evening. Am I really that much of an ogre?"

He looked over her shoulder, an uncomfortable expression on his face as he shook his head. "I didn't take her for the jealous type when we started going out, but I enjoy her company immensely. I just…I don't want her to end up hurting you or Elise in the process. I'll try to talk to her some more about how you're married to Dave now, and that you're firmly committed to him and him alone. For god's sake, you're like a sister to me!"

"That's what I was telling David. I see you as the brother I never had, just like Jess and Haley are the sisters I was never blessed with." She let out a long sigh as she let her head come to rest on his chest, breathing in deeply as she thought about how she would deal with Beth's jealousy. She knew that it would create problems for them all in the long run, but Aaron was right. He was happy with her, happier than he had been in ages, and she didn't want to deny him that happiness. "I hope the fact that Jack is staying here tonight, so that you and Beth can have a night together, will help her see that there's nothing between us."

"One would hope," he murmured as he pulled her closer to his chest. She smiled as she let the music seep into her body, feeling thoroughly content to have these few moments with him.

A loudly clearing throat caught both their attentions moments later, and Erin pulled away from Aaron to see that Beth was standing there, glaring daggers in her direction. "I think that you've danced with Aaron long enough, don't you? I mean, you are married, after all."

Erin was about to answer with a pithy comeback when she felt Beth's hand press against her arm and almost shove her away. Rather than cause a scene, Erin gave Aaron a soft smile before turning on her heel and making her way into the house. She didn't want to ruin the evening by getting into an argument with Beth, and figured that it would be best if she just left, so as not to create a scene. Slowly, she made her way upstairs, pulling out the pins in her hair as she went and shaking her head to release the locks. "I'm a little early, Madeline, but I'll make certain that you're paid for the entire time that we agreed upon. Just give me a moment to get my checkbook."

"That's fine, ma'am. Your husband's already paid and given me a generous tip. I think he wanted to get it out of the way, just in case things went later than planned."

Erin nodded as she turned her attention to the four children sharing the bed in Elise's room. It was a tight fit, but they looked so adorable in their pyjamas, all bundled up together. "All right, who wants to hear a bedtime story?" she asked as she took a seat on the foot of the bed and reached out to rub Elise's foot.

"Mommy, tell the kitty story," Catherine asked, and Elise and Jack nodded eagerly. It was clear that she had been maneuvered into telling the longest story in her repertoire, and she shook her head a little as she launched into the kitty story, making certain to use all the voices she normally did. She had almost reached the end of the story when she felt another presence enter the room. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Aaron there, and she gave him a small smile before turning her attention back to the children and finishing the story. Catherine was already asleep by the time she came to the end of the story, and it looked like Henry was well on his way to slumber land.

"And now, it's time for you all to sleep. When the morning comes, Papa Dave will make breakfast for us all, and we'll enjoy a lazy day together." Getting to her feet, Erin pulled the covers up around their shoulders before bending down and kissing her children. "Good night, darlings."

Aaron stepped into the room and said good night to Jack and Elise, giving them kisses as well before reaching out to ruffle Henry's hair. "Your mom and dad will be up in a little bit, Henry, but they're still dancing with the others. Okay?"

"Okay, Mister Hotch," he said as he snuggled down into the mattress, his eyes closing heavily. After turning on the nightlight, Aaron joined her in the doorway, reaching out to turn the overhead lights off.

"You didn't have to come up here to look in on me, Aaron. I'm fine."

"And I didn't want Beth to assume that she can pull a power move like that and get away with it. This is your home, we're the guests, and your graciousness towards her should have been her clue that she had made a social misstep. And I wanted to see goodnight to my kids before they fell asleep. I know that we said she was starting to look like a blonde me, but I really think that she's starting to look more like Sean than anything. I really hope that we can get together as a family soon, because he deserves to spend more time with his niece and nephew."

"You can tell him that he's welcome anytime, Aaron. Family is important to all of us. And Beth will come around, with time. I removed myself from the situation, rather than cause a scene, especially given that Jennifer and Will had been through so much this weekend."

Before she could react, Aaron pulled her into a tight hug, and she sighed as she allowed her body to relax against his for a brief moment. "I am so glad that we get to see the you of now, and that we've all managed to grow and move past our quarrels with each other."

"I'm glad for that, too. But I don't want to give Beth any more ammunition to hate me. I'm going to head to bed, tell my husband that if I'm asleep when he gets up here, to let me sleep. It has been a long few days." Aaron nodded as released her, and she gave him a small little wave before heading into the master bedroom, feeling the bone deep exhaustion that had been stalking her all weekend finally crash down over her as she took a seat on the bed, not bothering to get undressed as she curled up around David's pillow, quickly falling asleep.