"Mama, is there anything else that we need to pack?"

"I don't think so, MarJo." Erin came into the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "How are you feeling this morning? The baby isn't bothering you too much, is it?"

"No, the morning sickness has been tapering off for the last couple of days, just like you said it would." Martha rubbed her stomach gently, the small bump making her look so very young. "Are JJ and Will going to be at the picnic today?"

"Everyone on the team is going to be there. Even Emily."

"Ooh, I finally get to meet her?" Erin nodded. "Yes! Spencer talks so much about his overseas girlfriend I was beginning to think that she was a figment of his imagination."

"She had a job to do at Interpol, and now it's finished. She'll be back for good, now." Dave came up behind them and she leaned into his arm, letting him pull her close. "We need to get moving, ladies, if we're to get to the cabin before anyone else."

"Yes, mo chroi." She turned and kissed his cheek softly. Arm in arm, they went outside, Fiona following at her heels. Martha got in the back of the truck, patting the seat and helping the rapidly growing puppy up to join her. Erin took her seat next to Dave and he pulled out of the drive, making his way quickly up to the cabin.

JJ and Will were already there, much to Erin's surprise and she smiled and waved at them as Dave pulled into the garage. Getting out of the truck, she went up to JJ and touched her arm. "Hey, Erin. Henry was too excited to wait this morning, so he begged and bugged us until we came." Erin felt an insistent tugging on her shirt and she looked down at Henry.

"Hi, Aunt Erin! Did you bring Fiona?" She nodded. "Thank you!" He threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly before running over to Martha and the dog.

JJ and Will pulled out a basket and a carafe of iced tea. "Bring those around back. We have a few tables set up for everything." The other woman nodded and then threaded her arm through Martha's, letting her lead them around back.

Erin went up to her husband, kissing his lips softly. "We have amazing people in our lives, don't we?" He nodded and slung his arm around her waist, leading her to the backyard. Martha and JJ were in deep conversation, while Will and Henry were playing with Fiona. "I'm going to go talk with JJ and Martha. Will you greet our guests as they come?"

"Yes, my English rose." He kissed her cheek softly and she moved over to her daughter's side, clasping her hand.

"Did you tell Jennifer that we found out the sex of the baby at the last appointment?"

"I was just about to Mama. So, JJ, I hope you like having the idea of pink in your future. You're having a girl."

"We are?" Martha nodded and JJ hugged her tightly. "One of each, the perfect completion of our family. Do we need to pay for the appointment?"

"No, my insurance covers everything, didn't I tell you that?" JJ shook her head. "Well, it does. The only thing you have to worry about it getting the nursery ready for her arrival."

"Would you mind if I told the team about what's going on today? I'm really excited about this, even more so now. This is such a great gift, Martha, Erin. We cannot thank you enough." She began to cry and Erin opened her arms, surprised with the ease that JJ fell into the embrace, hugging her tightly. "I never thought…"

"I know, it's amazing to find out that no matter what I did to screw my children up, they still managed to turn out absolutely wonderful." She held out her other arm and Martha cuddled into her side.

"What's with the hug fest, guys?" Penelope asked as she joined them, resting her arm on Erin's shoulder. Erin looked up at her, smiling widely.

"Jennifer will be telling everyone once they get here."

"Okay, way to be mysterious, Erin." She kissed her cheek softly. "Martha, let's compare bumps." She rubbed her stomach as Martha giggled and bounced over to her side. "Your bump is so frakking adorable. Erin, did you look like this when you were pregnant?"

"Uh huh. It's a family trait, tiny bumps until the last six weeks. But you're just as adorable, Penny."

"Whatever, I look like I'm about to pop, and I still have two months to go with her inside me. Why couldn't I have been born in your family and had a cute bump?"

"Because I would have been about fifteen when I had you, which would have resulted in vastly different lives for us."

"You might have a point there, Erin." Penelope rubbed her stomach once more, wincing slightly. "Olivia is kicking up a storm today. She must know we're all getting together today. I'm going to pour a glass of tea. Do any of you want anything?"

Erin shook her head, then watched her friend move over to the refreshment table. While she was gone, the others arrived and Jack came running up to her, throwing his arms around her waist. "Aunt Erin! We're finally here! Daddy was talking to Beth and took a wrong turn, which made us later than he wanted to be." He gave her a sloppy kiss as she bent down to his height, returning the hug. "Do you think the water is warm enough to swim in? I brought my swimsuit just in case."

"I don't swim, honey, but I think the water would be plenty warm enough." Standing, she weaved a bit before righting herself. Martha took notice of her wobble and came over to her side, hugging her tightly.

"Is everything okay, Mama?" she asked, concern tingeing her voice.

"I think so. I just got a little dizzy there for a second." She kissed her daughter's cheek and went over to Dave, curling her arm around his waist and resting her head on his chest. Taking it as his hint to get everyone together, he cleared his throat and said a few words.

She found that her brain was still a little foggy and she put food on her plate in a rather haphazard manner before sitting heavily on the bench. "When was the last time you ate, Erin?" Penelope asked as she sat down next to her, covering her hand lightly.

"Last night? I wasn't really feeling all that hungry, so I didn't eat that much, either. Is that what this is?"

"Well, yeah. Your body doesn't like it when you forget to fuel it. Don't scare me like that again, honey."

She nodded as she dug into her food, eating hungrily. Dave brought them each a piece of pie as he sat down across from her. Once they had all eaten, JJ and Will stood, smiling widely at Martha. "Everyone, we have an announcement to make. Not many of you know this, but we've had some trouble having another baby. Martha has graciously agreed to let us adopt her baby once she arrives sometime in March."

Erin felt Penelope stiffen a little next to her and she reached out for her friend's hand. "We cannot wait to welcome this blessing into our lives," JJ said, tears making her eyes bright. "I never expected this generosity to come from someone so close to home."

Martha nodded and stood as well, hugging JJ tightly. The group broke up with the announcement and Erin stood, going down to the lakeside with Fiona. Henry and Jack followed at her heels and they sat next to her on the dock, peeling their shoes and socks off before letting their feet dangle in the water. "Are you excited to have a new sister, Henry?" she asked kindly.

"I suppose, Aunt Erin." He looked up at her, and she felt like she was staring into JJ's eyes. "But what if she doesn't like me?"

"That won't be a problem, you're a wonderful kid who is really easy to love. And you're going to be her big brother who will protect her from anyone that tries to pick on her. That's the job of big brothers, you know, to be the hero."

"Really?" Jack asked leaning against her.

"Uh huh, I wouldn't lie to you, I promise." She let her arm come to rest around his waist and he snuggled into her. "What's on your mind, honey?"

"Beth's going to have a baby, too. I overheard her and Daddy arguing about it the other night. She wants to take care of the problem, but Daddy wants to make things more official. Why would a baby be a problem?" Erin looked up at the picnic tables and could practically see the tension radiating off Beth and Hotch as they talked with the others. Catching Dave's eye, she motioned with her head for him to join them.

"Just give me one minute, okay, Jack, and I'll try to explain." He nodded gravely, so like his father, and she hugged him tightly to her. Dave joined them shortly and she smiled up at him. "Honey, I think Henry would like to go on a boat ride on the lake. Would you grab Will and take him out?"

"Sure, that will be fun. Come on, Henry, let's get your dad and find you two some lifejackets." He held out his hand and Henry clasped it, walking alongside him trustingly.

"Now, Aunt Erin?"

She nodded, hoping that Aaron wouldn't mind this discussion she and his son were about to have. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face him, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on top of them. "This is kind of a grown up conversation, Jack." He nodded. "Sometimes, babies come at a time that is not convenient for the parents. We adults like to plan for what happens in our lives, and then the plan goes awry, we can see that as a problem. And when it comes to babies, there is time to send the baby back to God if we truly think that bringing them into the world would be a problem."

"But what if we want the baby and she doesn't? It's not fair that she gets to decide for all of us."

"Oh, Jack, life is far from fair. You're not the one who has to carry the baby inside you for forty weeks, or has to go through labor. Those are really difficult things that a woman experiences and that's why she gets a little more say in the decision. And maybe your father doesn't know her medical history. There could be something that keeps her from carrying a baby to term, and she doesn't want to go through the pain of losing a desperately wanted baby."

She heard a soft cough and looked up into Beth's tear-stained face. "When did you..?"

"After Martha," she softly replied, patting the dock and hoping that Beth would choose to sit with them and talk. "Would you care to join us?"

The woman took a seat, still crying, and she reached her hand out to Erin. She clasped it tightly, knowing the woman needed comforting. "I didn't realize you had heard our conversation, Jack. I'm sorry if I upset you."

"That's okay, Beth. But why would a baby be a problem for you and Daddy?"

She took a shaky breath and squeezed Erin's hand tightly. "When I was younger, much younger, something bad happened to me and as a result I had to make a very tough decision. But something went wrong and I shouldn't have a baby now. I was trying to tell him that it would be a problem for me, no matter how much I wanted this to be happening, but he didn't want to hear that from me." Her tears began to make her words hard to understand and Jack leaned forward to hug her tightly.

"Jack, why don't you go play with Fiona for a little bit, so Beth and I can talk. Okay?" He nodded reluctantly and moved off, leaving the two of them alone. "I'm sure this was the last thing you wanted me to know about you."

"What am I going to do? The cat is out of the bag. I really was working on my past, trying to move on from the r-rape, and then I got pregnant. Would you believe two forms of birth control failed? This baby will kill me, that's what the doctors told me, any future children will threaten my life." She bit her lip and Erin slung her arm around the woman's waist, drawing her close. "But I want it, oh, how I want it. Aaron is perfect, he loves me, and I have a child in Jack. Why couldn't that be enough for him and for me? I think I would die to have this baby, to give him another child, but what would that do to him?"

She broke down into heart wrenching sobs, burying her face in Erin's shoulder. Erin rubbed her shoulder softly, letting her cry. She felt questioning eyes on her and looked up at Aaron. He was frowning and she shrugged, shooing him away with one hand. He nodded and went back over to Dave, continuing to glance their way every so often. "Do you want to stay at the cabin tonight? We have plenty of leftovers, and a comfortable guest room. Sometimes, it's easier to think when you're away from the one causing you heartache."

"You'd open your home up for me, just like that?"

"Yes."

"Maybe that would be nice. Just the two of us?" Erin pulled back to look into Beth's blue eyes. There was no malice there, only a deep trust that shocked her to the core. "I, I know you must think that I'm insane, doing such a complete about face, but you understand."

Erin nodded as Beth clung to her once more. "Just the two of us then. I'll have Dave and Martha ride home with the others." She helped the woman to her feet and they made their way up to the house. Penelope cocked her head, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out what was going on. Erin held her thumb and pinky up to her head and Penelope nodded, her face relaxing. She took Beth to the living room and had her sit on the sofa before going to the kitchen and pouring them both a glass of water.

"Mama, is everything okay?" She looked up at Martha and nodded.

"Everything is going to be fine, MarJo. I just need you to ride home with Jennifer or one of the others, honey. Beth and I have some business to take care of, and we'll be home tomorrow. Tell Dave to see me before he leaves, okay?"

"Yes, Mama." She hugged her quickly and then kissed her cheek. Erin went back to Beth and handed her one of the glasses before curling up on the other end of the sofa. As she drank the water, she began to feel a bone-deep weariness settle over her body and she set the water aside, her eyes closing heavily as sleep stole over her.