The moment that Garcia pulled into their drive, the front door opened, nd everyone stepped out onto the porch. Derek felt his eyes tear up the moment he met his mother's eyes, and she nodded a little as he impatiently waited for Garcia to turn off the car. The moment he knew that it was safe, he exited the SUV and then helped Erin, kissing her cheek before stumbling over to his mother and falling into her open arms.
"You're home, sweetheart," she murmured in his ear, and he nodded as he allowed himself to cry. It felt so good to release his emotions with her, and she crooned gently in his ear as she rocked him back and forth. Vaguely, Derek could hear the other reunions taking place, and then he felt Hotch's hand on his shoulder.
"We're heading inside to eat now. Take your time, but Erin is looking a bit shellshocked."
He nodded against his mother's shoulder before pulling away from her and wiping his eyes free from lingering tears. "Okay," he replied as he took hold of his mother's hand and followed Hotch inside. Erin was waiting for him just inside the door, and Derek let go of his mother's hand in order to take hold of his wife. "Erin?"
"I thought that I was going to be all right, once I was home. But I feel like I'm going to shatter. Lexie hurried into James's arms, you went straight to your mother, and I, I wanted you. I know this is hormones and adrenaline and insecurity speaking, but I want to have just five minutes with you before we join the others?"
"Of course, Erin," he murmured into her hair as he ran his hand up and down her back. Looking up, he met Tabitha's eyes and gave her a small nod. "Tabitha will come and get us after everyone is settled in the dining room and drinks are passed around."
"Thank you," she whispered as he guided her past Tabitha and Karen, bringing her into their living room and over to the window, cuddling Erin closer to his chest as she cried into his shirt. "I loved talking to Lexie on the ride home, having that time to grow closer to her once more. But the closer we came to home, the more I wanted to be curled up in your arms as we talked with her. I almost lost you, you almost lost me, and the weight of that is finally crashing down on me."
"We'll decompress together after we eat. The others can look after cleaning up?"
"That would be amazing," she whispered as she spread her hand out on his chest. "I don't think that I want to make love, but I want to feel your skin against mine tonight." He nodded and bent his head to press his lips to the crown of her head.
"Erin, darling, we're ready for you."
He turned his head to take in Marlene's tear streaked face, and gently pushed his wife towards her mother. "I think that someone else needs to be reassured that you're still with us, Pretty Lady. I'll go in and take a seat and let the others start eating."
"Thank you, Derek," she whispered as she stumbled towards her mother, falling into her open arms and allowing the woman to hold her tightly as she started to sob quietly. As Derek stepped past them, he reached out and rubbed their shoulders softly, wanting to connect with them both. Marlene gave him a grateful smile through her tears, and he nodded as he drew in a deep breath.
The voices coming from the dining room were much more subdued compared to the last time they had all been together, and he knew that everyone was so concerned about Erin and how she was holding up. Derek looked around for Hotch, knowing that the man would have the steadiest gaze in that moment, and he drew strength from his clear eyes as he took a seat next to Tabitha. "Are Grandma and Mom having a moment?" she asked as he picked up his wine and took a long sip.
"Yeah. Listen, everyone, we're probably going to head up to our bedroom as soon as she's finished eating. We're home now, and everything is catching up to her."
"I'd be more surprised if she wasn't close to breaking down, honestly." Hotch gave him a small smile before looking at the doorway. Derek followed his gaze, and saw Marlene and Erin standing there. His wife looked so fragile in that moment, and he hurriedly got to his feet, pulling out her chair and beckoning her over. Erin nodded and came to his side, wrapping her hand around his shoulder as she let out a deep breath.
"We're going to be just fine, darling," he whispered as he pushed her chair in before taking his seat once more. She nodded as the others began to pass the food around. Derek couldn't help but notice that she took smaller than normal portions, and he made certain to catch both their mother's eyes before angling his head towards his wife. They nodded in understanding, and he let out a light breath as he dug into what he had served himself.
It didn't take too long for Erin to finish eating the little bit of food that was on her plate, and Derek looked at her expectantly. "Would you pass me the mashed potatoes?"
He relaxed into a wide smile before nodding, picking up the bowl and holding it out to her, watching as she put two more spoonfulls on her plate. It was encouraging to see, and he tucked back into his remaining food as he listened to Blake and Erin chat quietly. A part of him wondered how long it would take his wife to get used to being back home, and if she'd ever be herself again. Being held captive, being stalked, stole so much from a person, he knew that from the job. Switching his fork to his opposite hand, he covered her knee with his now free hand, needing to comfort her in some way as they finished their meal.
"I think that I'm full, Der."
"Okay. Bring your water up with you, and I'll finish the last few bites." Erin nodded before leaning over to kiss his cheek softly. She did the same to Blake before getting to her feet and caressing the shoulders of her loved ones as she passed them. "Thank you for being here to welcome us home, but I think that it's time for us to be a little quieter. Please, feel free to stay as long as you want, but we'll be up in our room."
"I'll make breakfast tomorrow, Derek. What time do you think you and Erin will be up?" Marlene asked, a tender, yearning, look on her face.
"I wouldn't expect us before nine. Erin looks exhausted, so I'm going to try and get her to sleep as long as I can." Marlene nodded, and he gave a small wave to their guests before leaving the room and heading upstairs. By the time he reached their bedroom, Erin was already undressed and making her way to the bed. "One second, Erin."
She paused as he closed the door, and then Derek was closing the distance between them. "What is it?"
"It's been a while since I truly took the time to look at you naked." He reached out and rested his hand on her bump, wondering what position their baby was in, and if he could feel him. "Your body is starting to change so quickly now, and I feel like I've missed a few steps along the way, being out on a case or worrying about Curtis hurting you. My God, woman, do you have any idea how gorgeous you look right now?"
Erin blushed as she shook her head. "I feel like I have a beach ball strapped to my body."
He shook his head at that response and took hold of her hand, leading her over to the mirror in the corner. Though he kicked himself for not undressing before he did this, Derek still hoped that he could make her see how he saw her. "I know that you might not have a smile in your heart right now, sweetheart, but that's where I'm going to start. I love your smile, especially when I catch you off-guard and you give me that wide open grin and I get to see that crooked tooth that reminds me you're really human and not an angel I've somehow managed to snooker into staying with me."
"Really?" she asked as she allowed that bright smile to spread across her lips.
"Really. And your skin is so smooth and soft, except for your laugh lines. I should have known that you weren't quite the ogre we made you out to be at work based on those lines. Your breasts have begun to fill out, and while I know that they probably make your back ache after a while, I still think they're gorgeous and lush. Your torso has begun to blossom outwards, housing our child and giving this sensuousness to your bearing that I didn't realise I would fall for all the harder. These hips of yours help cradle our son, giving him a safe space to grow."
She nodded as she leaned back against him, letting out a little moan when he slid his hand down from her bump to cover her vulva. "Derek…"
"I know, we're not going to make love, but this is another part of your body that I love dearly. I love how I can tease my fingers between the slick folds of your labia and find your clit with my thumb, driving you to higher and higher planes of pleasure as I stroke that little pearl."
"Oh," she groaned as she squirmed against his body, meeting his eyes in the mirror. He gave her a crooked smile before placing his hand back on her bump. "It's not nice to be a tease, darling."
"But you are so good at it," he said, pressing another kiss to the top of her head. She spun around and smacked him across the chest lightly before leaning up to kiss him. He smiled against her lips when he felt her hands pull his t-shirt out of his pants, pushing it upwards until he had to let go of her in order to free his arms from the sleeves. Then it was a quick break in their kiss so that she could pull the shirt off his body and let it fall to the ground before she made quick work of his jeans and boxers. "Now what?"
"I get to map out what I love about your body. Switch places with me."
He grinned at the commanding tone in her voice before doing just as she told him. In moments, she was wrapping her arms around his waist, one hand spread out over his heart, the other on his lower abdomen. "Can you see in the mirror?"
"No, you're too tall. So I'll have to do this from memory. Just like you, I love your smile. You do it more than I do, but that's because I've had to learn how to be stoic in the workplace. It's easier to smile and be free when I don't have an image to keep up. But you? You just try to keep everything light and happy at the BAU. It's as if, because you've seen the hell that people can put each other through firsthand, you need to make certain your chosen family is happy. I love your eyes, even though they can be so sad at times, because evil has touched you personally, and yet you survived and became a man that your father would be so proud of. I love how strong your body is, how well you take care of it, because that tells me that you'll stive to take just as good care of our son."
He smiled at her words, and then shivered a little as she dragged her hand down from his abdomen to close around his dick. "Is that your favourite part of my body?" he asked, needing to use a little humour to distract himself from the way his body was reacting to her touch.
"It's one of them," she teased back. "But the part of you I love the most is your heart. Because your heart is what prompted you to seek out a heartbroken woman who had no idea what she was going to do with her life when she found herself pregnant and alone at nearly fifty." Erin let go of him and placed both hands on his upper arms, turning him so that she could look into his face. "I love you, Derek Morgan. It scares me how much I love you so quickly. You have so much power over me, and the only other person who had that power was Alex."
"What? You loved Alan and Rossi."
"Yes, but I didn't let them in like I've let you in, and like how I allowed Lexie in. Both of you have had my whole soul in your hands." Erin reached up and caressed his cheek. "Derek, I nearly died," she choked out before starting to sob as she stared into his eyes.
"I know, precious." Erin stepped closer to him before collapsing, and he cradled her close to his chest for a moment before lifting her up, one arm beneath her knees, the other supporting her shoulders as he carried her over to the bed, gently placing her on it before going around to the other side and climbing in next to her. In a heartbeat, she was scooting back into his embrace, pulling his hand up to rest between her breasts. It took a few minutes for her to calm enough that she relaxed against his chest. "And when you're ready, I want you to talk to someone. I will always listen to you, but I don't think that I have the right skills to help you. Does that make sense?"
"Yes. And I will. I'm sorry that I brought everyone down this evening. I thought that I'd be ready for people. What if I'm never better?"
"Then we'll deal with that, too. I will do whatever you need me to be. I won't leave you."
Erin nodded as she turned in his arms, pulling the covers up around them as she struggled to get as close to him as she possible could. "You haven't left me since you walked into my life. I don't deserve you, but I don't ever want to lose you."
"Then we'll work hard to keep our marriage strong and healthy. I promise." She nodded and then pressed her forehead against his chest as her breathing evened out into sleep. He couldn't help but press a kiss to the top of her head before he started to settle down himself, glad that they were able to be free and open with each other like this, no matter how they were feeling.