Erin grimaced a little as she rubbed her bad arm. The pain was a dull ache now, which was better than it had been, which she was thankful for. It just itched something fierce, and she wanted to have the cast off and everything whole once more. It didn't help that David was away on a case, and she'd had to allow the visiting nurse to help her with a sponge bath. There was something humiliating about that, even though she knew the woman was a professional. It was just another proof that she wasn't as strong and independent as she wanted to be, thanks to her clumsy accident.

But he was supposed to be home soon, and she couldn't wait to see her partner. Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, she bent back over her work and finished up with the file that she was working on before emailing it to Helen, letting her know that it was all set to send up to the Director and then be filed away in the correct place. Opening the next file, Erin settled back on the sofa and began to read what the agents had written about the crimes that had occurred. Though she didn't like not having paper copies of the cases, she knew that this was more efficient while she recuperated.

She'd just finished making a few notes in the file when she heard the door from the garage open and close. Erin smiled widely as she saved her changes and then tossed the tablet onto the coffee table and waited for David to appear.

"Erin's in the living room. We've sort of made it her area while she heals. Though I have the feeling that she's been using the walking cast a little more than she should in order to sleep in our bed."

"Because she's stubborn. It makes sense. I'd always thought I'd gotten that personality trait from my mother, but it looks like it's a family thing."

Her partner laughed loudly as he and Spencer came into the living room, and she tried to give them a withering look as David sat down next to her on the sofa while Spencer sat in the recliner. "I am not stubborn."

"And I'm the King of Sheba," David countered, and she rolled her eyes affectionately as she shook her head. "See, I told you she'd be in a good mood when we arrived. And we brought food!"

That was when she noticed the bags in David's hands, and the tray of drinks in Spencer's. "Why are you buttering me up?" she asked as she took the bag David held out to her.

"This was the kid's idea, Erin. Try asking him."

She turned slightly to face Spencer, accepting the chocolate malt from his outstretched hand. "This is my favourite fast food place. Why do you feel the need to be nice to me?"

"Because the further I'm away from the time you told me the truth, the more I'm starting to see that I reacted quite poorly, and that you must have had a good reason to do what you did. So, after we eat, can I ask you a few questions?"

Erin nodded, knowing that this was the right way to go about things. "I'd like nothing more than to clear the air with you. And thank you for this," she said as she dug into her food. It was slightly difficult with her bum arm, but she made do, finding herself hungrier than she had thought she'd be. When they were finished, David gathered up their trash and brought it into the kitchen while she turned her focus onto their son. "So, what would you like to know? How much has David told you about…about you?"

He met her gaze steadily, scooting forward to the edge of the chair so that he could be closer to her. "Dave could only tell me what you told him, since you also kept me a secret from him until not that long ago. He also said that I needed to go easy on you, because you were so young when you had me. How young were you?"

Erin looked away from him and drew in a shaky breath, trying to find the right words to tell him. The ones that wouldn't make her cry, because she didn't want to be seen as manipulative. "I was sixteen when I found out I was pregnant, seventeen when I had you."

"That young?"

She nodded. "I know, and I don't want you to think poorly of David. He was grieving the loss of his first child, James, and I was a starry eyed girl who wanted to feel more adult than she was. We both knew that it wasn't right for us to just fall into something physical, and I should have used protection, or made him use a condom, but I didn't. And we ended up with you."

"And why did you let my mom raise me? Didn't you want me?"

The raw pain in his voice caused her to tear up, and she shook her head as she pressed her lips together to keep her sob in. "You were desperately wanted," she finally managed to whisper. "But I had to get out of our small town. I had to make something of myself. Diana and William, they were settled in Las Vegas, she had already earned her PhD, and was teaching. They had the ability to give both of us the life we deserved, and so I gave you to her, and I finished high school with good enough grades to land a full ride scholarship to college. And I changed my last name, cut off all contact with my family, because I couldn't bear the thought of seeing you, and being unable to call you mine."

There was a soft pause before Spencer reached out and took hold of her good hand. The touch was reassuring, and she squeezed gently before taking a few deep breaths, knowing that there would be more questions to come, now that they were speaking. "And why didn't you tell Dave about me?"

She heard her partner enter the room, and she looked over at him, giving him a tender smile. He was carrying a tray with mugs and a teapot, along with some of his cannoli, and he nodded as he set the tray on the coffee table before taking a seat next to her. "I didn't want to make him feel obligated to me. He was on a career trajectory that led him to today. Saddling him with an underage bride and a child that he wasn't expecting would have changed that trajectory, and I couldn't be that selfish. At least, at least I knew you were still in the family, even if that family didn't include me. If I had known that Mama and Daddy were going to die so soon after giving you to Di, I might not have made the same decision. But you can't change the past. You can only try to fix your mistakes in the present."

He nodded sagely, giving her hand a couple of squeezes before letting go to pour the tea into their mugs. "Would you pass me one of those cannoli?" he asked as he handed over a mug to her. David nodded and held out the plate before grabbing one himself. "What about Erin?"

"She can ask," he replied, giving her a small wink.

"I could, but I don't feel up to trying to add anything more to this stomach. I think I'm going to take my tea and hobble upstairs to read this headache away."

"I could read to you for a while, if you'd like. Mom always likes listening to my voice, she said it soothed her far more than acetaminophen ever could. And I think Dave might be glad if someone followed you up the stairs with the tea and dessert."

"You got that right, kid. My lovely partner doesn't know how to take things slow, and would rather run when she's supposed to walk." He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. "I'll be up in an hour or so to check on you."

"Thank you, David," she murmured as she allowed Spencer to help her to her feet before starting for the staircase, knowing that he'd soon catch up to her, no matter how quickly she moved in her ankle boot. Still, this had gone much better than she could ever have expected, and she only hoped that this would be the tenor of their future conversations.