In the morning, Erin woke up alone, the covers pulled up around her shoulders. On Dave's pillow lay a piece of paper and she picked it up, reading the note he'd left.

Erin, like I suspected, I woke up this morning angry. Angry at you, angry at me, and angry at the situation we found ourselves in all those years ago. I love you, never doubt that, but I have to work out some of this anger before I took it out on you. So, I'm taking a walk around the property. When I get back, we'll talk some more. I love you, David.

She felt her heart break a little as she read his note, thankful that he hadn't decided to leave her in the cold light of morning. Getting out of bed, she saw that he had laid out clothes for her on the chest and she padded over and tugged on the jeans and sweater before heading downstairs. Dave had made coffee for them before he had headed out and she poured herself a cup before heading to the library, determined to lose herself in a good book.

"Good morning, Erin." She turned her body to look up at him, feeling her lower lip quiver. "May I sit with you?"

"Of course you may, David." She set the book aside and patted the space next to her. He sat heavily and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close. "Where's your heart right now?"

"I'm still upset. And wondering what I could have done differently so that you wouldn't have felt like you had to give our baby away, even if it was to family. Why?"

"I was so young, and already accepted to college. I wanted to be free of the shadow of my sister, my family, and so I took the only option I felt available. I'm so sorry." She began to cry once more and he held her close. "What are we going to tell Spencer? I mean, we have to tell him, there's no way you can live with this knowledge and not tell him. He's going to hate me even more than he already does."

"Shh, honey, we'll make him understand. Now, I know Diana never talked about you, he would have mentioned something like that over the years I've known him. It's safe to assume that he is in the dark about his true parentage. Do you think sooner would be better to break this news to him?"

She took a deep breath. "I have no idea, David. I really would have went to my grave with this knowledge, had we not gotten back together. And I know how unfair that is to you. Alan doesn't even know I have another child, you know. I never told him that."

Dave kissed the side of her head and she sighed, pulling his free arm around her waist. "We can't have regrets in our life, bella. It holds us back. And before you say it, I know that I don't listen to my own advice." He rubbed her stomach absently. "Was it an easy pregnancy?"

"I suppose. I only put on about twenty five pounds, but it seemed like it all went to my breasts. My best friend was the only one who stuck by me." She sighed and nestled closer to his heart, listening to the steady beating. "I had hardly any morning sickness, which Momma said was a blessing. I didn't realize that I would lose them so quickly after Spencer was born."

His hand stilled on her stomach and she covered it, holding on. "When did they pass?"

"Six months after he was born. I was still missing him so badly, even though I was at college and throwing myself into schoolwork and my sorority. I knew when the RA came to my room that something bad had happened. My professors gave me an extension on everything, but I didn't need it."

"Oh, Erin," he whispered as he kissed her cheek. "I missed so much by being such a jackass. I don't know why you let me back into your life."

"Because I love you. A small piece of my heart never stopped loving you." She looked up into his brown eyes and saw that he was crying. "And now, you're still here with me."

"And I always will be, Erin. You know, the petty part of me is still raging that you dared to give up our child without even telling me. I wish that I could drown that part of me out."

"Don't bury those feelings, look at what happened to me." She snuggled closer, letting him pull her into his lap. "Yell at me, shake me, but let it all out. Please."

Instead, he kissed her forehead softly, gently, and Erin started to cry, feeling overwhelmed by emotion. "If I start to yell, I won't stop. Why would Diana never mention you to Spencer? How did you create that rift?"

"By not answering her calls, her letters. I changed my name, fell off the face of the planet to her. And then I met Alan, got married, and my name changed again. And as I had my children, I fought harder and harder to forget about the one I had given away. Yet he still danced through my mind."

"Aaron mentioned something once, about how he thought you favored your son. He couldn't seem to figure it out."

"And now you know why. I guess I wasn't that hard to read, as I look back at myself and my actions. I just missed my son so." She lifted her head and looked at his jaw, trying to determine his mood. The muscles weren't clenched, which was a good sign, and she lifted her fingers to brush against his cheek. "And I missed you."

"I missed you, too." His hand slid up to cup her breast and she adjusted how she was sitting so that he could more easily hold her. "Perhaps we should talk to Hotch first about this kettle of fish we find ourselves in. He's a good listener, you know."

"So I've heard." She closed her hand around his, tightening his grasp on her breast. "Maybe we could invite him over for supper tonight?"

"And who would be making this supper?"

"You, of course. You've always been the better cook. You learned it from your mother. I remember these delicious little pastries that she used to make, filled with lemon." Her stomach growled at the mere thought of them and he laughed lowly. "Does she still make them?"

"Bella, she's nearing ninety. She doesn't bake anymore."

"Oh." Her heart hurt to think about how time had passed without her noticing it. It had made sense, Mrs. Rossi was older when they had met, but she had just assumed it was like her parents version of older. "Time sometimes slips past me, you know."

"Me, too." He pulled her further onto his lap so that she straddled him, kissing her gently. "We should probably get us breakfast, though. I'm a bit hungry myself." She nodded and then leaned in to kiss him once more.

"I love you, David." She brought her forehead to rest against his. "And I know how much control you have. Thank you."

"I'd forgotten how well you could read me, bella." He stole another kiss from her before wrapping her up in a tight hug. "I'll probably take another walk after breakfast. The quiet of the woods tends to absorb my voice."

"I'll have to remember that, darling." She stood and held out her hand to him, wanting him to clasp it. The moment his hand slid into hers, she felt a little of the burden she was carrying lift off her heart.