"Are you certain that you want to spend Valentine's Day at our home, looking after children, Aaron? We could have hired a babysitter!" Erin said as she welcomed him and Jack inside.

"Well, Beth had some work thing come up, and since it's in the middle of the week, I couldn't really run up to New York to spend a night with her. Besides, this gives me more time with Elise and Catherine, and that is never a bad thing."

She smiled sweetly at Aaron as she nodded. "Well, thank you. I'll try to get us home at a decent time, but I make no promises for David."

"Hey! We don't get much alone time, so if Hotch is willing to take on our girls while we spend a night on the town, I will take as much of it as I can." Her husband came up behind her, dropping her coat around her shoulders before kissing her cheek softly. "They're in the living room, thoroughly excited about getting to watch movies with Jack and Uncle Aaron."

"And they know that we have pizza on order, right?"

Erin nodded. "And they know that they're only allowed a small glass of soda before they have to switch to water or milk. And they're allowed to stay up thirty minutes later than normal, since it's a special night. I've made up the guest room for you and Jack, just in case we do get back too late for you to head home." Erin leaned into Aaron, pressing her cheek against his before she put on her coat and then took David's hand, letting him lead her out to the garage. "You haven't told me where we're headed, darling."

"Because I want it to be a surprise," he replied as he helped her into the car before getting behind the wheel. Erin shook her head a little as he drove, a wide smile spreading across her face when she recognized the venue that he had brought her to. "See, that reaction is why I wanted to keep it a secret. I love seeing that smile on your face, stellina."

Erin nodded as they pulled up to the valet stand, allowing the young man to help her from the car before waiting for David to join her. Together, they entered the restaurant, and the maƮtre d soon seated them at a secluded table. The candle there lent a dreamy haze to everything, and Erin sighed a little as she took a seat, expecting to find a menu on the plate in front of her. Instead, there was a small box sitting there, and she picked it up with a questioning look on her face. "David?"

"That's from me, I arranged it ahead of time. Go on, open it."

Nodding, she opened the hinged box and let out a small gasp at the sight of the delicate pendant resting on a small bed of velvet. "This is gorgeous."

"It has all our birthstones on it, Erin. Yours, mine, the children, everyone. I didn't want to go with a predictable ring, so I hope that you like this."

"I love it," she breathed out, handing the box to him. "Please, put it on me. I want to wear it now." He nodded as he pushed away from the table and settled the necklace around her before closing the clasp. "David, I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied before kissing her cheek. After taking his seat once more, their server came up to the table and dropped off their salad course. "I hope that you don't mind I took the liberty of ordering our meal beforehand, so that we would have more time for dancing. We haven't had much time for that lately, after all."

She nodded as she picked up her water glass and took a long sip before digging into her salad. While they ate, David kept her involved in a light conversation, as if he knew that they needed to not think about the too heavy reality for a few short hours. After the light meal, David led her out onto the dance floor, and she sighed as she melted into him, allowing her mind to drift away as she focused on the feel of being in her husband's arms. "There is something so delicious about floating around the floor in your arms, David," she said as she rested her head on his chest.

"I was thinking the same thing. Our jobs don't allow this to happen very often. I hope Hotch doesn't mind me saying this, but I'm glad that Beth moved to New York, since it's allowing us this time together. Plus, he gets time with Elise, too."

"That is true. And Beth and I never really found a way to get along for the children's sake, so the distance has been good for his relationship with Elise and me, too." Erin stepped closer to him, breathing in his aftershave. "But enough about others, tonight is about us and our love," she murmured as she began to hum along with the song that was playing, her smile widening when David joined in with her, adding the harmony to the song.

The hours seemed to fly by too quickly, and it was only when the band stopped playing and the lights returned to a normal setting that she realized they had managed to close the place down. "I suppose that's our cue to head home, stellina."

"I suppose," she sighed out as he led her back to the table and helped her into her coat before they went outside and he collected the car from the valet. On the drive home, Erin turned in her seat so that she could watch him closely. This had been the perfect holiday spent together, and she knew that they would have to find something special for Aaron in order to thank him for this gift of time. As David turned onto their road, she imperceptibly stiffened when she noticed the dark colored sedan that was parked close to their driveway. It was the same make and model that David had told her about earlier, and a large shiver ran through her body as she looked away from the vehicle to gaze at her husband.

"I noticed it, too, Erin. Twice is starting a pattern. If either of us see it a third time, then we're going to have to take some sort of action about it. Because I am not about to leave you in an unsafe situation, Erin. My family will always come first, and I will do anything to protect you and the children."

"I understand, David. And it creeps me out, too. I hope that it's nothing, merely a neighbour having a long term guest, which is why we're just now noticing the vehicle. Or at least, that's what I want to believe it is at this time. Because I want to end tonight on a happy note. Please, indulge me for tonight, especially since I was the one who started down this rabbit trail to begin with?"

He nodded as he turned into their driveway. After turning off the car, David turned to her and reached out to cup her face with one hand. "All right, we'll take tonight off, and pick the vigilance up again tomorrow. After all, we have Hotch to help take care of us, if anything hinky happens." Erin smiled tremulously as she nodded, tilting her head upwards to meet his lips as they tenderly kissed, knowing that she needed to relish this sweet moment if anything bad happened to them in the future.