Derek was the first one to wake up the next morning, and he stretched out against Erin's body, rubbing her stomach with his hand. There were tear tracks staining her cheeks and he reached up to wipe at them with his thumb. From deep in her sleep, she nuzzled into the touches and then her eyes fluttered open. "Good morning, Pretty Lady."
"Oh, then it wasn't a dream," she murmured, turning her head to kiss his palm. "Thank you for not…"
"I wouldn't do that to you, Erin. I respect you too much for that." Leaning in, he kissed her softly, feeling her smile against his lips. "Now, about this talk we're going to have this morning. Would you like to do that on a full stomach?"
"If you're making me breakfast, then yes. And I'd like Elvis French toast."
He laughed lightly at the casual demands that slipped from her lips. "Is that you or the baby talking?"
"Maybe both." She smiled a little at him, covering her stomach with her hand.
"All right, here, take my hand." She did so, and he helped her to her feet, leading her into the kitchen. As he pulled out the ingredients for French toast, he asked, "So, how do you make this Elvis French toast?"
"You add bananas and peanut butter to it and eat it like a sandwich." He shuddered a little at the notion and she actually giggled a little. He turned to face her and saw that she was biting her lip in the effort to keep from laughing more and he shook his head. "What?"
"I never heard you giggle. I've heard your laugh, but never that." He smiled warmly at her, enjoying the blush that stained her cheeks. "So, how far along are you?"
"About six weeks. I think I got pregnant that night you returned from Oregon. That was an awful case, and we never got up from the bed once he was home." Her voice was soft and tender as she rubbed her baby bump. "I look pregnant already. The same was true when I was carrying Jessica. I think you start to show earlier the more times you're pregnant."
"And he didn't notice?"
"Neither did I until I realized I had missed my period two months in a row. I've always been like clockwork, Derek." Her blush became more pronounced as she realized that she had revealed some very intimate information about herself.
"That's always good to know, so I can have the chocolate on hand." She gasped and reached out to smack his arm and he laughed as he began to toast up the bread. "Hey, I need to keep my woman happy."
"I'm not your woman."
"Yet." Looking over his shoulder, he winked at her and she giggled once more. "So, I know you probably didn't dream about me last night, but have you given more thought about my proposal?"
He heard the deep breath that she took and focused on making their food, not wanting to see the rejection on her face. "It would be a long eighteen years, Derek. Are you ready to make such a commitment to someone that you once despised?"
"Yes," he answered quickly.
"Then I guess my answer has to be yes as well. Maybe it was time I listened to God yelling at me that the answer is right before my very eyes." He could tell that she was crying again and so, after he had flipped the bread, he went to her side and hugged her close. "You don't even need to sleep with me, you know. We can have separate rooms and you can sleep with someone else if you so choose."
"I would never step out on my lady, Erin." He cupped her chin and brought her face up to look at his. "And you are going to be my lady." She nodded and then looked away from him, wiping her cheeks with her hands.
As Derek went back to the stove, he heard her stand up and join him. "Where are the glasses? I need something to drink, to settle my stomach."
"The cupboard next to the fridge." She nodded and took down a small one, opening the fridge and looking inside.
"Ugh, there's no milk." Shutting the door, she stalked over to the sink and filled the glass with water before sitting back at the table. "We'll need to make sure there's milk in the fridge."
Derek raised an eyebrow as he plated the bread and then got out the peanut butter jar, handing it over to her along with a knife. "We do, do we?" he asked as he peeled two bananas, setting them down on the table between them.
"Yes. I happen to like milk."
"And I happen to be away from home a lot, so there wasn't really a point to keep it on hand until now." She shook her head and he leaned forward and kissed her cheek before settling back in his chair, grabbing hold of her hand. "Do you want to say the blessing, or should I?"
"You can," she replied, lowering her eyes, a smile still dancing about her lips.
"All right. Dear Lord, thank you for bringing this woman and baby into my life. Help me to take care of her and the child in a manner befitting how they should be treated. Let me do my best for them. Amen."
"Amen," she softly echoed, squeezing his hand before letting go and fixing her food. "So, we're going to need witnesses for our marriage. I assume that you'll want Ms. Garcia to be one. Who should we have as the other?"
"Hotch. He needs to know about this, so we might as well clue him in when we do the deed. Would you like a church wedding?"
"No, we can just head to the courthouse, if you don't mind." She dug into her food and he followed suit. "But when would you like to make things official?"
"Our break begins next Monday, the twenty fourth. It would be sort of romantic to do it then. That way, you have time to tell your family, and I have time to tell my family, and we could get you something pretty to wear." He smiled at her and she nodded before refocusing in her food.
As they were washing the dishes, someone knocked on his door and he went over to see who it was. "I know you're in there Derek. I need to speak with Erin."
"Do you want to speak to him?" She shook her head. "Then go into the bedroom and lock the door. I'll try and get rid of him, but if I can't, then I don't want him bothering you." She nodded and went to his side, kissing his cheek.
"Thank you, Derek," she whispered as she hugged him quickly.
"You're welcome." He waited until he heard the click of the lock before he opened the door, keeping the security chain in place. "What is going on? It's a little early for you to be up and about."
"I couldn't sleep last night, and I had to find Erin. She has to be here with you. She wasn't at home, she wasn't at Penelope's, so the last place she could be is here. Let me in so that I can talk to her." Derek undid the lock and let him inside, seething with anger.
"Why, so you can talk her into getting that abortion? Not going to happen, Rossi."
"I may have been a bit hasty in my rush to judge her last night. But we can always give the baby up for adoption. It's not like she's going to want it anyway."
"Yes, I do, David. I want this baby and I want you to get out and leave us alone." They both turned and looked to see Erin standing in the doorway of his bedroom, crying. "This is my baby, David, and we will be fine with the man who has chosen us."
Rossi looked between the two of them, his eyes narrowing. "I see. Didn't take you long to find another guy to fuck." His bitter words hit their mark, as Derek saw Erin wince, covering her stomach with her hand. "Have a nice life, you two."
He stormed out the door and Derek closed it behind him before turning and opening his arms to Erin. She stepped forward, letting him wrap her up in a tight hug as she began to cry harder. "I think my heart just broke, Derek."
"I am so sorry, Pretty Lady."
"Let's get married on Monday. I don't want to wait, since he knows that's our plan."
He rubbed her back softly as he walked them over to the couch. "Are you sure about that?" She nodded. "All right, I'll need to make some calls then. You and Baby Girl will go shopping today and I'll get the flowers ordered for Monday delivery."
She sighed, and he pulled back to look into her eyes. There was a soft smile on her lips, despite her tears, and he smiled back. "It is going to be so easy to let go and let you lead, Derek. Thank you." Erin leaned in and kissed him sweetly.
He nodded and let her curl up on the couch while he pulled out his phone and quickly called Penelope. "Hey, sweetness. I have a special assignment for you."
"And that would be?"
"Getting my lady gussied up for her special day on Monday."
"Ooh! She said yes?"
He grinned at Erin and watched her smile back at him. "Uh huh. And she needs a special outfit to wear and everything. I'll be sending my credit card along with her, too."
"Perfect. I'll make sure she gets something red, I know how much you love a lady in red."
"Thanks. I'll see you here in…"
"Like twenty minutes! I've been ready since Rossi barged in here an hour ago looking for Erin." She hung up and he set the phone aside, holding his arm up. Erin cuddled in close to him, resting her head on his chest.
"She'll be here shortly. I'm sorry that I don't have much here to help take care of your needs. Make sure that you pick some of that up while you're out today."
"Are we going to stay at your place, then?"
He nodded. "At least for a little while, if that's all right. Once we're married, we can decide if we want to live in your house, my apartment, or somewhere completely new."
"Okay." Her hand curled in his shirt and then pressed her lips to his cheek. "I suppose I should get ready if I'm going out." Standing, she made her way back to the bedroom and closed the door.
Grinning, he relaxed into the couch and pulled out his wallet, taking out his AmEx card. Erin was still in the bedroom when Penelope knocked on the door, and he let her in, handing over the credit card. "She's in the bedroom."
"I'll go check on her, Hot Stuff." She sashayed past him and slipped inside the bedroom. Derek went into the kitchen and began to put the dishes in the washer. Minutes later, they joined him there. "We'll return shortly, Der. Here's a list of people you need to call while we're gone, notice I put both your parents at the top. They should be the first to know about your upcoming nuptials. Later!"
He looked at Erin and saw that she was smiling a little and he just shook his head as he laughed. "You always have everything planned out, Baby Girl. Take your time, this is quite the list you gave me."
She just shrugged and he kissed her cheek before hugging Erin close to him, rubbing her stomach lightly. "It's early afternoon in Switzerland. Daddy's probably out on the slopes, but Momma should answer. Good luck." He nodded against her head and then felt her step back from him. "I'll see you when we get back. Derek, you have no idea how much this means to me."
"I think I might, since it means the world to me that you're letting me do this for you." He bent and kissed her sweetly and she smiled against his lips. "Erin, do not worry about how much something costs. Today is about you, and I want you to get whatever makes you happy, all right?"
She nodded and rested her hand on his heart. "This baby is going to be so very blessed," she murmured as she walked over to where Penelope waited. "See you in a few hours!"
He grinned at them before closing the door and sitting on the sofa. These first two calls were going to be the hardest to make, but he had to do them. Dialing the overseas number first, he listened to the phone ring and ring before a cultured voice answered. "Hallo?"
"Hello, Mrs. Phillips? This is Derek Morgan. I work with your daughter at the BAU."
"Has there been an accident?" There was a touch of panic in her voice, and Derek winced at the horrible way he had introduced himself to his future mother in law.
"No, no, nothing like that. It's just, I was calling with some happy news. We're getting married on Monday, and she wanted me to call and let you know."
"Oh, that girl of mine, she never could take the time to let me know things. How long have you been together?"
It was either tell the truth or lie, and he hated to lie to someone he would be related to shortly. "Um, well, you see, it's sort of a short notice thing. We've worked together for years and…"
"You decided you couldn't live without each other! How romantic! Tell Erin we'll be home for Christmas and that we cannot wait to meet you. Christmas is always the time for wonderful things like this to happen. We'll see you soon!"
Gulping, he nodded, knowing she couldn't see the gesture, and then said, "I'm sure it will be a lovely Christmas reunion."
"Oh, I can't wait to tell Dale. And you can call me Marlene until you're comfortable enough with Mom. Talk to you later!"
The woman hung up and Derek just stared at the phone. This was certainly going to be an interesting Christmas, and he hadn't even called his own mother yet. Taking a deep breath, he dialed her number from memory. "Hey, Momma."
"Derek! What has you up this early on a Saturday morning?"
"You know how you always wanted to be a grandmother?"
He heard her sharp intake of breath and winced a little. "Yes. Are you telling me you knocked some girl up? Are you doing the right thing by her?"
She was angry, and he let out a long breath. "It's not like that, Momma. You remember Rossi, right?"
"That Italian horndog who hit on Desiree? Oh, yes, I remember him."
Derek filed away that piece of information before he spoke once more. "Well, he was dating our section chief, Erin Strauss."
"That poor woman you took to rehab. Is she doing better, then?"
"Much. Hasn't even slipped an inch. I'm so proud of her achievement, Momma, you have no idea. But, well, Rossi got her pregnant and now he wants her to get an abortion, and she doesn't want that. She wants to keep the baby, but doesn't want to be a single mother. I sort of told her that I would be the Joseph to her Mary."
"Do you realize how proud your Daddy would be of you, Der? That is so sweet. When are you two getting married?"
"On Monday. Erin wants to get it done quickly, since it looks like Rossi might cause some problems for us. And even if this is a marriage of convenience, I want her to feel loved and respected. I hope this doesn't blow up in our faces. The kid deserves a stable home."
"Marriage is hard work, no matter what the circumstances. If you both work at it, you should be fine. Do you want me to come home for Christmas?"
"That might be nice. Erin's parents are coming from Switzerland, so we might as well make it a family affair for the holiday. Make sure Sarah and Desiree come, too. They might as well meet their new sister."
"All right, we'll be there." His mother hung up and he sank back against the couch. This was going to be an interesting Christmas.