Derek woke up alone, and he frowned as he reached over to rub his hand over Erin's spot. There was still some warmth there, which told him that she hadn't been gone long, and he let out a long breath as he turned his head to look at the beside clock. It was two in the morning, far earlier than they should be up, and his frown deepened as he got out of bed and pulled on the robe Erin had gotten him for Christmas, intent on finding his wife.
Stepping into the hallway, he first thought was to check the bathroom. Though she hadn't been sick much so far in her pregnancy, he knew from experience with JJ that a woman didn't necessarily get sick in the mornings. Opening the door, he peeked his head in, but she wasn't there. His frown deepened as he went to the stairs and climbed down them, making his way to the kitchen. Again, she wasn't there, but he could see steam rising from the tea kettle, which gave him another clue as to where she might be. Turning on his heel, he quickly made his way to the living room, sighing with relief to find her sitting on the sofa, curled up in the corner with her mug in hand.
"Hey," he said lowly, not wanting to startle her, and she turned her head back to look at him, a tired smile coming to her lips. "I woke up and you were gone. It's too early to be awake."
"I couldn't sleep." She patted the spot next to her, and he nodded as he stepped forward and then took a seat on the sofa. Derek wasn't surprised when she carefully adjusted how she was sitting so that she could lean against him. "I know that we've been extra vigilant, all of us, when it comes to being alone, when you're in the field, when we're out doing things, because of that person who's replicating our past cases. And don't think I haven't noticed that we've given him a name. We don't name them, that gives them more power than they deserve, and yet here we are, bandying about some cute little nickname for him, as if he was something to underestimate. I, I was at the doctor yesterday, while you were still out in the field."
He stiffened a little at those words, trying not to let his fear show on her face. Hesitantly, Derek reached out and pressed his hand to her torso, trying to determine if she was about to deliver bad news to him. Clearing his throat, he looked at her face, trying to read what had her so flustered. "Is everything okay?"
Erin blinked tears as she shrugged. "Everything is on track with the fetus's growth. It's me that that doctor is worried about. I'm not maintaining my weight, my blood pressure was a little higher than she'd like to see at this point in the pregnancy, and she fast tracked a few of the blood tests that she normally does at this time and found some levels that are concerning. My cortisol is getting dangerously close to being a serious problem that we would have to discuss with Director Shepperd."
"I'm sorry?"
"I have two weeks to stop worrying so much about the fact that there is someone out there stalking our team, and we don't know why, to see if that lowers my cortisol levels. She's given me supplements to take, suggested a few good meditation leaders on YouTube to check out, and suggested that I journal. I'm fifty years old, Derek. I'm not about to start keeping a diary at my age. I'm not a teenager."
He watched her roll her eyes a little before she let out a long breath. "And you're unlikely to destress as long as he's out there, without us knowing who is behind these replications. So what else can we do to make your life easier?"
"Stop kicking down doors for one thing," she quipped, and he let out a loud laugh. "You think it's funny, but I have to find money in the budget to pay for the repairs. And there are quarters where that is no easy feat." She arched her eyebrow upwards as she sipped at her tea.
"Sometimes there isn't time to try and open the door by the handle. My foot can be much faster." He tried to sound teasing, since he wanted to lift her spirits, and he caught the smirk on her lips before she took another drink. "Now, I think that we should head back to bed, and try to sleep some more. The morning comes far too quickly."
Erin nodded as she drew in a deep breath, clutching the mug to her chest once more as she sat up, allowing him to stand. Looking down at her, Derek held out his hand, and she grasped it with her free hand, allowing him to gently pull her to her feet. It was so easy to wrap his arm around her waist as they made their way to the stairs. Somehow, they managed to figure out how to climb the stairs side by side, and he relished the way her hips brushed against his on the climb up.
Gently, he turned them into the bedroom and she stepped out of his embrace to drift over to her side of the bed, setting the mug on the nightstand before slipping beneath the covers and turning on her side to watch him. He kept a smile on his lips as he joined her. "I don't want to go on bedrest, Derek, and I don't want to lose this baby."
Derek nodded as he brought their foreheads together, breathing in the delicate scent of her. "I can't begin to imagine your fear, Pretty Lady, as I've never faced losses like that before. But I promise you here, in our bedroom, that I will do whatever you need in order to lessen your stress levels. Hell, I seem to remember Hotch doing your paperwork while you were in rehab. We could do something like that again, and I'm certain that your assistant would help us out, as well. I am more than willing to spend lunch breaks in your office, doing the thing I hate the most, if it ensures that our baby arrives on time, and you aren't forced to do something that you hate."
She dipped her head and closed her eyes, allowing tears to slip down her cheeks as she took a few deep breaths. "If you could get Aaron to agree to that, I would not say no. I've learned that I need to let go of my stranglehold of control, otherwise I'll fall back into destructive habits. Many hands make for light work, yes?"
"Yes." Derek tipped her chin upwards with his finger so that he could look into her eyes once more. "We'll keep you on your feet until the end." Leaning in, he brushed his lips against hers, and she smiled before kissing him again, a little firmer, her arm draping across his waist. She pulled him closer to her, and Derek curved his body to fit around hers. "I love you," she whispered.
"I love you, too," he replied just as softly before giving her a third kiss. "Now close those beautiful eyes of yours, and drift back to sleep. I'll hold you until I've fallen asleep myself." Erin nodded as her eyelids slowly closed, soon deep asleep. It took him a little longer to feel tired again, but soon enough, his own eyes closed heavily, and he gave himself over to sleep once more.
When their alarm went off the next morning, he reached out and smacked the button to turn it off, feeling like he hadn't gotten any sleep. Erin was still curled up against him, though she'd flipped over to face the other direction at some point, allowing him to spoon her. Smiling, Derek pressed his lips against her shoulder before gently shaking her awake. "You couldn't give me five more minutes, darling? I was having the sweetest dream of us and our baby."
"I wish that I could, but we should probably get ready for the day. Hotch is always early, and if I want to talk to him before we have our briefing, I'll need to get there as early as he does." She nodded before scooting backwards a little. "I've learned that move, Erin. We need to get moving." He loosened his grip around her waist and slipped out of bed, looking down at her. "If you don't want to shower this morning, I'll take one, and then come back to wake you up."
"That would be heavenly," she murmured, already falling back asleep as he went over to the closet and pulled out clothes for the day. Knowing that he wanted to match Erin that day, he chose something that went with his outfit and set it on the foot of the bed before going into the bathroom and hopping in the shower. He didn't take too long showering, since he knew that Erin truly needed to get a start on the morning so that they weren't on time.
Hurriedly, he dried off before dressing and taking care of his needs. Once he was certain that he looked presentable, Derek smiled at his reflection and made his way back into the bedroom. To his surprise, Erin was just finishing getting dressed, and he chuckled a little as he went to her side. "So you are awake after all."
"You only hit snooze, darling," she said with a little bit of disgust. "Would you please make me oatmeal while I take care of my face and hair?"
"Of course." They went into the hall together, and he continued downstairs while she slipped into the bathroom. The rest of their morning routine passed quickly, and then they were headed out into the garage, Erin slipping behind the wheel of her car. Derek got into the passenger seat and as she pulled out of the garage, he took out his phone and sent off a quick text to Hotch. We need to discuss something when I arrive. We're headed in now, so hopefully I'll catch you before the briefing?
Derek put the phone back into his pocket as Erin continued the drive in. "I wish that we lived normal lives," she murmured as she stopped for a light.
"And I wish that people would not commit heinous crimes. I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't part of the BAU, and putting those creeps behind bars." He turned his head to look at Erin. "Though I can see you being a lawyer, like Hotch was. You have that analytical mind and coolness under pressure that seems to go hand in hand with a successful attorney."
She lifted her eyebrows wryly, and he knew that she was pleased with what he said by that move. "It was something that I had considered. Fate, it seems, had other plans." They felt quiet for the rest of the drive to work, but it was a tender silence, as if they were communing without worlds. He could easily grow used to silences like this, and he hoped that there would be more of them in the future.
"All right, go up and talk to Aaron. I'll make my way to my office."
"We'll head up together."
Erin shook her head. "I need to take the stairs this morning, since we've been using the elevator a little too often lately. You get all your exercise in the field, I need to keep moving." She leaned over and kissed his cheek before slipping out of the car and heading into the building. Derek was a few steps behind her, shaking his head a little as he quickly caught up with her, sliding his arm around her waist as they finished the walk inside.
The elevator doors were just opening as she pulled away from him, and he frowned at the way she pushed him towards it. "Erin."
"I'll be fine, go, before the doors close."
Reluctantly, he nodded and jogged over to the elevator, slipping inside just as the doors started to close. Still, he was able to see Erin enter the stairwell, and he tried not to worry as the elevator started upwards. Stepping out of the elevator on their floor, he paused a moment, wondering which floor she was currently on.
"You wanted to talk?"
Derek looked over at Hotch, and he nodded, giving one last look towards the stairwell before following Hotch up to his office. He took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk, watching Hotch lower himself into his chair before letting out a long sigh. "Long night?"
"Jack was having nightmares, and it took me a while to get him settled. His counselor said that this was normal, for what he's been through, but I still worry."
Derek nodded, knowing that in a few short months he'd understand entirely. "Well, that sort of dovetails into what I wanted to talk to you about. We had a rough night, too, and Erin finally opened up to me a little more. She has to return to her OBGYN in two weeks to check her cortisol levels, and there's talk of her having to go on bedrest if those levels haven't decreased."
"I don't blame her for being stressed, there's so much happening with our team lately, and we're not the only ones she has to worry about. But how does that involve me?"
Derek took a deep breath as he steadily met Hotch's gaze. "When she was in rehab, you did her paperwork for her, and I helped you out a few times, so you could spend time with Jack. I would like to propose that we use the lunches that we're home to help take some of that burden off her. I can help her more at home, but if there are three of us knocking it out, that's one less stressor that's solely on her shoulders. Things won't be truly stress free until we can put the Replicator behind bars, but this is one small way I can help her."
There was a brief pause before Hotch cleared his throat. "You do realise that Dave will not be happy with me, since it will seem like I'm taking sides."
"You can't be neutral, Hotch. No one can. And even if he doesn't want to have anything to do with this baby, it is still his."
"That is a good point." Hotch leaned back in his chair. "All right, what will I get if I sacrifice my lunches?"
"My undying thanks?" Hotch chuckled as he shook his head. "I'm certain that Erin could probably expense out lunch for us, since we will be doing FBI business."
"That sounds more appropriate, yes. But even if she can't source that, I will help her out. After everything that she's been through since Christmas, we can take some of the weight off her shoulders."
"Thank you," he said as he rose to his feet. "I'm going to get tell her the good news, and if I'm not back in time for the briefing, shoot me a text." Hotch nodded, a rare smile on his lips, and Derek left the office with a lighter step, his heart lifting at the thought that they were going to help Erin out so that her pregnancy continued to be as smooth as possible.