Aaron frowned a little to see two cars in the drive when he returned from Jack's soccer game, as they hadn't been expecting any visitors, and Georgia wasn't due to arrive for another four weeks. Parking in the garage, he followed Jack into the house, listening for voices, his expression softening when he recognized Penelope and Alex's voice. "Mom has friends over."
"She does, friends from work. Let's see what they're talking about." Taking hold of Jack's hand, he led him into the living room, smiling at the women as Jack let go of his hand to run over to Erin and curl up on her lap. "Good morning."
"Oh, you're home already! We thought that we would have longer, since soccer games usually take forever," Penelope said, giving him a wide smile.
"These are little kids, Penelope. It's like trying to herd cats at times, so the games can only last so long. But don't feel like you need to leave so soon as a result. It was going to be a lazy Saturday, anyway."
As all three women looked at him expectantly, Aaron began to feel like he was about to be backed in a corner, and he braced himself for whatever was about to be said, certain that he wouldn't like what he heard. "Well, since you and Jack are here so early, perhaps we could go out and do something as a group!"
Penelope sounded a little too perky for his liking, since she knew that she was asking for something that he really shouldn't agree to, not with Erin's extended bedrest. "And what would you like to do, as a group, Penelope?"
"Well, I have the day off from watching Iris, since Dave agreed that I needed to take a little girl time, and Alex doesn't have to worry about grading any papers, since her TAs are working on that, so I was thinking that we could do a little shopping with and for Erin. She needs some cute new outfits for the rest of this pregnancy, especially if she's not going to be in the office. I'm lucky, my wardrobe is flexible, because that was one of the conditions that I insisted on."
"You were lucky to get that concession," he muttered as he narrowed his eyes, looking between her and Alex, knowing that they had cooked up this little idea together. "And you're right, I don't particularly like this idea. You both know that Erin is supposed to take it easy and not have much stress."
"Shopping isn't stressful, it's fun!"
"She does have a point there, Hotch. If we go slow, and make it a fun outing, it doesn't have to be stressful. And we could all have lunch together at Pizza Express."
He turned his focus onto Alex, and she gave him an enigmatic smile. That alone told him that he would be further backed into this corner until he said yes to them. "And are you offering to pay for said lunch?"
"Of course."
Letting out a deep, long, breath, Aaron looked at his wife, seeing the gentle smile on her lips as she caressed her baby bump lightly, and knew that he couldn't really say no to them, not when she looked like that. "All right. We'll do lunch first, and then do a little bit of shopping. But the moment that Erin says she feels uncomfortable, we're headed home."
"Perfect! Alex and I will meet you at Pizza Express, then!" Penelope fairly leapt to her feet before scurrying over to his side and hugging him tightly. "And I know, she's precious cargo carrying even more precious cargo. We'll take good care of her, all you'll need to do is supply the credit card."
It was hard not to laugh at that comment, and Aaron shook his head a little as he waved her and Alex out of the room before helping Erin to her feet, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Is this your desire, too?"
"It would be nice, Aaron. And I promise to let one of you know the moment that I start to feel even the slightest twinge of pain. Please?"
He nodded before dropping a kiss to the top of Erin's head. "I suppose that we could do a quiet day together. And it is nice to spend time with friends."
She gave him a soft smile before leaning up to kiss his lips. "I'm so glad that you see it our way. So, what do you say, Jack? Ready to spend a few hours eating pizza and then helping me find new clothes for the next few months?"
Jack beamed up at them as he nodded excitedly. "Yes!" Erin laughed a little as she stepped away from Aaron and reached out for Jack's hand. There was something so sweet about the way that they interacted, and he found himself wondering if that was how things would go with Vanessa when she was born. "Come on, Daddy!"
Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, Aaron turned on his heel and made his way back out to the garage and opened the passenger door for his wife before opening the door, seeing that Alex was just backing out of the drive, Penelope in the passenger seat. "They're going to beat us there, Jackers!" he called out, finally hearing his footsteps running towards the garage. Moments later, he appeared, barreling for the backseat and his booster while Erin followed at a more sedate pace.
It wasn't hard to watch his wife come over to the car, though Aaron did feel like his heart was going to leap out of his chest when she bobbled a little on the last step, catching herself on the railing before giving him a brilliant smile. "I'm fine, Aaron." She slipped into her seat and he climbed behind the wheel and started the car, backing out of the garage and following the women to the restaurant.
The meal was chaotic and noisy, though he enjoyed watching Penelope play the games with Jack while they waited for their pizza, keeping an ear on Alex and Erin's conversation. He didn't want to admit to anyone that he wasn't too certain that he believed this sudden change of heart in Alex, even if his wife wanted to believe it, and so he took everything in and filed it away for later use, if Alex should ever have another change of heart and treat his wife with contempt once more. From the occasional looks that Alex threw his way, he knew that she knew he was always listening, and wasn't entirely happy with it. He tried to give her an encouraging smile as he reached out to rub Erin's shoulder. "Alex was saying that I should think about getting some dresses, since those will be easier on me. What do you think, darling?"
"I think that Alex has good taste and instincts. I'm glad that she has your best interests at heart." He looked right into Alex's face as he said those words, watching her nod sharply in return. That was enough to start setting his mind more at ease, and he relaxed as the pizza was dropped off at the table. Moments later, Jack was running to the table, hordes of tickets clutched in his hands.
"Look at all the tickets we won! Aunt Penelope is the best!"
Aaron nodded as he ruffled Jack's hair, letting him wriggle up in between him and Erin as Penelope slid into the booth next to Alex. "There were a few good rounds of skee-ball, and I hit the jackpot on a game. I would hardly call that being the best. Though there is a laser shooting game that Erin would probably clean up on, after the baby's here."
"Planning for the future. That's always good to hear," Erin said quietly as she passed around the pizza. "When we get back to the house, I'll have to show you the cradle that Aaron built with his bare hands for our little one. It's hard to believe that one piece of furniture has made everything seem that much more real."
"You didn't use a cradle for the older children?" Alex asked kindly, and Erin shook her head. "Why?"
"Eric didn't want them in our bedroom, and I followed his lead on that. I was still so desperate to prove that I was a good wife, that the incident in Wyoming hadn't changed everything about me, that I allowed him to make some choices that were less than correct. I don't want to think of this baby as a do-over, but that is what I feel like sometimes."
This was news to Aaron, and he slowly turned his head to look at his wife, feeling his heart crack a little at the fast, pained, look that flashed across her features. "Erin…"
"I'm learning to get over it, honestly. Especially now that I have my good friend back in my life. This is me moving forward, into a brighter future, with the people I love by my side." Erin looked around at each of them in turn before leaning down and kissing the top of Jack's head. "Now, before things get too serious, let's get this pizza eaten so that we can find some new clothes for me. And maybe a few things for the baby."
"Like a teddy bear?"
"Maybe," Aaron replied, feeling a rush of love sweep over him as he looked at his little family, knowing that this was shaping up to be the best time of his life. Erin met his eye, and they smiled in tandem as she let out a deep sigh. "Or do you have some other plush toy in mind for our daughter?"
"I was thinking a rabbit or a cat. The older children had bears, and while it would be nice to keep that tradition, I want to build something new, for the melding of our families?"
He nodded as she began to eat, and he wondered just how she was feeling, since there was so much still happening around them that could catch her attention. Penelope nudged his side, causing him to glance at her and he was rewarded with a wide grin. "Yes?"
"I think that it would be absolutely adorable if you went with a cat theme for Nessa. I mean, think of all the cute cats in media that we could use as inspiration! Chiefly, Hello Kitty. Every little girl loves Hello Kitty!"
Alex and Erin chuckled in tandem, and Aaron just shook his head a little before he nudged her back with his elbow. "Somehow, I don't think of my wife as the cutesy type, Penelope. Though you might have a good idea with the cat theme, just not Hello Kitty. Okay?"
She nodded with a poorly concealed pout, before turning her focus back on Alex and Erin, drawing them into a conversation that he was content to sit back and listen to, knowing that this was going to be a good day for Erin, even if he was still leery about letting her gallivant around like this. Still, she looked so incredibly happy that he knew he wouldn't say anything about the possibility of her overexerting herself, and instead would just keep a close eye on her as they spent the afternoon out.