"There was a weird letter for you in the mail today, Erin."

Those were words that she didn't want to hear the moment she entered the kitchen, and Jessica looked like she felt bad even saying anything as she handed over a large manilla envelope. "There's no return address," she murmured as she sank down onto one of the kitchen stools and turned the envelope over and over in her hands. "I know what that means, more than likely, and it shouldn't surprise me, but I just feel sick about this."

"I know. You've put so much work into deflecting attention away from Agent Morgan on this case, this is the last thing that you need. But better to know about it now?" She nodded absently as she slipped her thumbnail beneath the seal on the envelope and broke it, letting out a long breath when she saw that the contents were simply two sheets of paper, though one was heavier than the other. Sliding them out of the envelope, Erin glanced over the letter, noticing that the handwriting was the same crabbed, small, writing she had quickly come to associate with John, and she set it aside to turn the heavier sheet over in her hands. "That's me," Jessica whispered as she allowed her chin to thump down on Erin's shoulder.

"And Jack and the girls. He's taunting me, Jessie, since he knows that we're not allowed to hunt him. Those rules don't apply to him, and so he wants to see if he can get me to break the rules and track him down. But I suppose that this also means that he doesn't know that we're still working the case behind the scenes." Jessica nodded as she ran her hand down Erin's arm to cover her hand, curling her fingers tightly around it as she copied Erin's breathing pattern. "Suddenly, I feel like heading into the living room, curling up on the sofa, and just losing myself in a stupid movie. I know that you've probably prepared a great meal, but I honestly don't think that I could eat anything."

"We'll eat, and then join you. Here, take this mug of tea in with you, you need something to warm you up while you wait for us."

Erin nodded absently as she closed her hand around the proffered mug and held it tightly to her chest as she slipped off the stool. Clutching the letter in her hand, she turned and gave Jessica a sad smile before leaving the room and going to the living room. Tabitha and Bruce were playing with the younger kids, and she fought to keep her expression happy, not wanting them to know that anything was wrong. "Aunt Jess said that it's time to eat, darlings. When you're done, we're going to watch a movie together, and stay up late. Elise doesn't have a lesson tomorrow, so we can all sleep in a little."

The younger kids quickly got to their feet and raced from the room, while Bruce and Tabitha were a little more reticent to leave her. "Something's upset you," Bruce said as she took a seat on the sofa, and she nodded a little as she looked up at him. "Is there anything that we can do?"

"Keep the little ones in line while you eat. I don't have an appetite this evening, so Aunt Jess is going to need you all to step up a little. I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Mum." Tabitha leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before hurrying from the room. Once she and Bruce were alone, her son leaned in and gave her a hug that seemed to fill her with the warmth that she had been lacking since she had seen the photograph.

"We'll take care of you, Mom. Just like you took care of us." He got up and left the room, and Erin let out a long breath as she curled up in the corner of the sofa, taking a sip of the tea before setting the mug aside and smoothing out the letter. Hurriedly, her eyes scanned the words written there, seeing that it was just more mad ramblings from John, and how he was going to eventually get closer than he had been to her and her family, and that someone was not going to survive. The intimation that he would be the one coming out of their conflict alive was more than clear to her, and Erin shivered a little as she balled up the sheet of paper and tossed it onto the coffee table before tugging down the blanket from the back of the sofa and wrapping it around her body.

Unable to find anything funny on television, Erin dropped the remote next to her before closing her eyes and quickly falling asleep. There was something healing about sleep, though she knew that David would also admonish her that she couldn't escape from the world by choosing to be unconscious for most of her day. Still, she allowed herself to find solace in her dream world, since she knew that she would be spending time with her children very soon.

Feeling a warm hand on her upper arm, Erin fluttered her eyes open as she looked up, finding Elise staring down at her. "Mommy, make room for me?"

She nodded as she lifted her arm, allowing her daughter to burrow in close to her, her little head coming to rest on her upper arm as the rest of the kids trooped into the room. "Oof," she exclaimed as Catherine plopped down on top of her, her head thunking against Erin's as she squirmed a little in an effort to get comfortable. "So, I'm just going to be the mattress tonight?" she teased, feeling a little lighter in spirit now that her family was with her.

Jessica giggled a little, which caused Erin to look up at her, seeing that she had her phone out. "I will send these on to you and Dave," the younger woman said before taking a seat on the other end of the sofa. "Karen, do you want to choose something for us to watch? Somehow, I have the feeling that your mom isn't able to work the remote right now."

Karen nodded, grinning at Erin as she pulled the remote out from under Elise. "I actually heard about this really good movie on Netflix, and I think that it would be appropriate for us all. Are you going to spend the night, Aunt Jessie?"

"I think so, since Dave isn't home yet."

Erin could feel the look that they shared, and she tried not to roll her eyes as everyone made themselves comfortable around the sofa. Jack climbed into Bruce's lap as the movie started, and this was what helped Erin to find her center once more. About ten minutes into the movie, Erin felt Catherine's weight grow extra heavy and knew that her youngest child had fallen asleep. "Jessie, would you take Cathy, just in case she starts to move in her sleep? I'd hate for her to fall off."

Jessica did as asked, and Erin contorted her head enough so that she could smile at Jessica, grateful to have the support of a dear friend in that moment as she waded through the uncertainty and apprehension of John's stalking of her family, and she prayed that they would be able to find him before his taunts became reality.