"Thank you for coming on such late notice, Aaron. We really appreciate this," Erin said warmly as she opened the door for him. He nodded at her, a soft look of concern on his face. "Would you care for anything to drink? We have coffee, tea, water, and I think there's some apple juice left."
His brow furrowed a little as he continued to look at her. "Water will be fine, Erin."
She nodded. "Dave's in the study. I'll join you both in just a minute." She went into the kitchen and pulled out one of the pitchers, quickly covering the bottom of it with ice before filling it with water. Then she grabbed three glasses and carried everything into the study.
Looking around the room, she saw that Aaron had chosen to sit in Dave's chair while Dave sat on the sofa, leaving a spot on the end for her. She poured water for each of them, handing them out before sitting down next to her lover, cuddling into him. Dave's arm automatically came to rest around her shoulders and she smiled a little as she let her head come to rest on his chest. "So, you're probably wondering why we asked you to come here, Hotch."
"A little, yes. I assume it has something to do with why you both took off yesterday." They nodded in tandem. "So, what is it that we have to talk about?"
"You're going to have a hard time believing this, Aaron. I just want to tell you that upfront." Erin took a deep breath and then sipped at her water, knowing he was watching her every move. "Thirty years ago, well, closer to thirty two, but who's counting, I was in a relationship with David. He and Carolyn had moved to my hometown right before they found out they were going to have James."
As she watched, a flash of judgment passed over his face. Dave must have picked up on the look as well, as his hand tightened around her shoulder. "It wasn't until we had split that Erin and I got together. Not that you'll like me any more for how young Erin was when we first let things get physical between us."
"That's neither here nor there, David. I fancied myself in love with you and went after you. And then you left, and I found out…"
Aaron held up a hand, stopping her. "Wait, wait, you had his child?"
"That's what I'm trying to say, yes. And you know our child, you've known him for a long time."
Dave adjusted how he was holding her, pulling her closer to his body as they both watched Aaron's face. Erin knew he was an intelligent man, that it wouldn't take him long to put the pieces together and come up with… "Reid? Reid is your child? How could you have kept something like that under wraps? Did you know, Dave?"
They both drew in a sharp breath at the cutting tone of his words. "No, I only found out myself yesterday."
"That is such a dick move, Erin." His anger was justified, but she still shrank back against David, needing to be sheltered by his arms as she burst into tears. "Oh, and don't even try to make me feel sympathy for you by turning on the waterworks. That doesn't work on me."
David's hand tightened painfully on her shoulder and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. "We didn't ask you here for your condemnation. We asked you here because we needed an ear to listen to us. How do we break this to the kid?"
"You're seriously asking that of me? I have no idea where to begin here. I mean, you've been lying for most of your life, Erin. I don't let my teammates lie about even the littlest thing."
She nodded stupidly, trying to stem the flow of her tears. "I know," she whispered, pulling away from David. "If you'll excuse me, please." Getting up from the couch, she fled from the room, running up the stairs and into the bedroom, throwing herself on the bed and letting herself sob.
Erin barely registered the sound of footsteps in the room, or the dip of the bed. "I'm here, Erin," Dave whispered lovingly, spooning his body around hers. She tried to pull away from him, but he refused to let her go, holding her tightly against his body until she melted against him. "Aaron left, I thought it would be best if he did."
"He hates me, and rightfully so. You should hate me, too. I've built this relationship on a lie, one that should never have been told."
Dave pressed his lips to her cheek and began to rock her back and forth, seeking to soothe her. "You did what you thought best at the time. I may not fully understand why you kept this from me, from us, for so long, but I do know that I love you."
She gasped a little. He hadn't told her that yet, not since she had revealed her secret to him, and this made her cry all the harder. "I love you, too, David. I don't deserve this love, but here you are, offering it to me. Kiss me?"
"Yes, bella." She lifted her face and he covered her lips gently. This kiss was so different from the others that they had shared, tender, sweet, loving, and full of compassion. "I love you." He rested his forehead against hers and they sighed in tandem.
"Supper is still in the oven, isn't it?"
He chuckled lowly. "You can think of food at a time like this?"
"No. I just don't want it to burn. I'm not sure that I could eat anything right now." She drew in a long breath. "I hate myself," she whispered, burying her face in his shoulder.
His hands turned her so that she was facing him. "Erin Strauss, never let me hear you say that ever again. Your decision was made when I left you. I didn't exactly leave you a forwarding address to get ahold of me, now did I?" She shook her head. "There you go, then. You are a wonderful, vibrant, caring, woman who I love deeply. And now we share something beautiful, our son." Leaning in, he kissed her once more and Erin sank into his arms, suddenly unwilling to let go of him. "You know, we do have to get up and take care of the food. You said so yourself," he murmured against her lips.
"I know." Reluctantly, she pushed away from him and sat up, stretching. "I never heard the door close. Are you sure he went home?"
"Yes, bella, I am. How are you feeling?" He stood and held his hand out to her.
She stood, taking hold of his hand. "A little woozy, to be honest. I think it's the lingering side-effects of that drug, Davie." Her eyes filled with tears once more. "You understand now why I had to tell you. If someone should hurt us again, we might not be so lucky this time. And I couldn't die without letting you know."
The tears started falling so quickly, and he gathered her up in a tight embrace. "I know, Erin, I know." He kissed her forehead and she sighed lightly. "I think that's part of why I was so upset yesterday. I realized all that I could have lost had we been any later in getting to you." He ran his hand down to her wrist, his thumb brushing against the infinity scar on her wrist. "I love you, Erin."
"I love you, too. With all my heart." Together, they went down to the kitchen, only to see that Aaron was still there, an apologetic look on his face. "Aaron?"
"I reacted badly. I'm sorry. We're all still dealing with the fallout of the Replicator." She nodded, molding her body to David's. "So, I figured you'd be coming down to deal with the food and decided to help you out."
"Thanks, Aaron." David led her over to the table, and she sat down. "Do you want anything before we put it away, bella?"
"Maybe. I really should eat. And you can mark day twenty five on the calendar."
Aaron looked at her in shock and she shrugged. "You didn't willingly drink, Erin."
"I know. I know." She gave in to her tears once more, and this time it was Aaron who came to her side, who pulled her into a tight embrace. "He still stole my sobriety from me. I just, I lost. I let them take the fall for a mistake we all made, and it almost killed me. I can't cover up the truth any longer."
Tenderly, he rubbed her arm, letting her cry on his shoulder as David plated their food. The quiet of the room seeped into her bones and she took a deep breath, trying to quiet her soul. "And tomorrow, when you come to the office, we'll sit down with Reid and somehow, we'll get all three of you through this." She nodded, clinging to him all the more.