"I really think you should be the one to give her the news, Erin. She'll take it better from you."
She could almost picture his face on the other end of the line, and she shook her head in disgust. "No, what you mean is that it is perfectly okay for her to hate me for giving her news that her direct supervisor should."
"There is that, too. Look, I'm foreseeing this not going well, no matter who tells her. Perhaps it is ulterior motives that are having me ask this of you, but it needs to be done before we get back from this case. Please."
Erin sighed, knowing he spoke rightly. Emily had never really recovered from her experience with Doyle, lying to everyone that she was better. Aaron had come to her when she'd returned and told her about the situation and his concerns. Things had quickly come to a head and they had no choice but to cut her loose following this case. "Fine, Aaron. But you owe me."
"Thank you, Erin. This really does mean a lot to me."
"I can only imagine. I'll see you on your return." Erin hung up the phone and stared at her desk. How was she going to tell Ms. Garcia that her best friend, who less than a year ago had returned from the dead, had been let go? She almost had to do it here, on neutral territory.
Standing up, she smoothed her skirt and strode out of the room. It had gotten quite late, so there were few people milling around. This seemed to make it worse, since the other woman would feel so alone after this. Quickly, she scanned the bullpen for a friendly face that Ms. Garcia could turn to once she'd left her office. She saw Agent Anderson still bent over his desk and visibly relaxed.
Erin climbed the stairs and walked over to the tech office. She raised her hand to knock when Anderson's called out, "She's not her, Chief Strauss. I took her home nearly two hours ago."
She turned to face the young man. "You did? Why?"
"It seems that she found out Kevin was less than faithful to her What do you need?"
"I need to talk with her, Agent Anderson." Erin came back down the stairs and nodded to him. "Have a good evening."
"You, too, Ma'am," he said to her retreating back and she smiled slightly as she walked back to her office. Calling up the personnel file on Ms. Garcia and hurriedly copied down her current address. This made her task even more onerous and she wished fervently that Aaron'd had the balls to do this himself.
Grabbing her purse, she made her way out to her car and entered the address in her GPS. As she drove, she tried to think of what to say to Ms. Garcia so as not to upset her further. By the time she was parking, she'd still thought of nothing, and that distressed her. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the car and made her way inside.
The elevator was older, and so it seemed to take forever to get up to the third floor. Erin walked down to her door and knocked firmly. It took a minute, but soon the door opened, revealing the younger woman's tearstained face. "Chief Strauss? Do you know what time it is?"
"Yes, I'm fully aware that it's after ten, but this cannot wait. May I come in?" The woman nodded and opened the door wider, beckoning her in. A movie was paused on the television and she saw a large bowl of ice cream on the coffee table.
"Sorry, I'm having a bit of a pity party for myself. Would you like anything? Like water, tea, wine…" Her eyes grew big as she gasped. "I am so sorry! I totally forgot…"
"It's all right, Ms. Garcia. And I'll take a glass of water, please." She sat on the sofa and watched the woman go into the kitchen. Ms. Garcia returned moments later with a glass and another spoon.
"I shouldn't eat all this myself. You can help wallow in my self-pity." She plopped back down on the sofa and handed both items over. "So, why are you coming to see me?"
Erin stared into the glass clutched in her hand. "I don't know how to tell you this, especially in light of your recent break up. I know what I have to say will hurt you, and might make you cry."
Ms. Garcia picked up the bowl of ice cream and held it out to her. "Hotch sent you, didn't he?"
Erin nodded as she took a bite of the chocolate peanut butter confection. "He thought it would be easier if you hated me and not him."
"Oh god, are you firing me? I know I haven't been as focused as I should be while at work lately, but, well, I've been concerned about Emily. She's not doing well, despite what she tells us. Could you please give me a third chance? I know the Fisher King and Battle were two huge mistakes on my part, but I can do better, I promise."
Tears rolled down her cheeks and Erin found herself smiling softly at her. "No, I've not come to fire you. I think there would be a mutiny if I did that. I actually do have some distressing new for you in regards to Agent Prentiss. As you said yourself, she's not doing well. Coming back here so soon after the trauma she faced was a mistake and Agent Hotchner has had no choice but to let her go. This is her last case with the BAU." She took another bite of ice cream and stared at the table, hoping Ms. Garcia wouldn't overreact.
"Oh." It was a quiet, sad, sound and Erin looked up to see the woman crying softly. "I kind of knew this was coming, but it still hurts. A lot. May, may I hug you?" Erin nodded, knowing she couldn't say no. "Thanks."
She closed the distance between them, scooting closer to her before wrapping her arms around her waist. It seemed to open the floodgates in her and harsh sobs tore out of her throat. Erin rubbed her back in slow circles, comforting her as best she could. "Oh, Penelope, you'll still see her. It's not like she's gone like last time."
"I know. But I miss her already and she's not even gone. And Kevin's not made this day any easier." She pulled back to look at Erin. "Would you stay? We could have a girl's night, and watch sappy movies, and eat ourselves sick."
"You don't want my company, Ms. Garcia."
"A moment ago it was Penelope. And yes, I do. You're here, you cared enough to be kind, and I need someone here with me. Please stay."
"Even if I were, I have no clothes for bed or tomorrow."
"Well, tomorrow's Saturday, and neither of us are working. You never work on Saturdays, and I have it off, so you won't need fresh clothes to go home in. It's not like you'll be taking a walk of shame. And I can lend you pajamas. Please don't think you can say no to me. Not many people in this world can."
"I can believe that. Fine, I'll stay. It's not like I have anywhere to be."
Penelope smiled and stood up. "Follow me, then, and I'll get you a nightie. What do you prefer? Long, short, sleeves, no sleeves?"
"Soft and warm is all I care about." She nodded and rummaged around in a drawer before pulling out a flannel nightgown.
"The bathroom is right through that door, Erin." Penelope pointed the way and Erin nodded, heading in. Shutting the door, she quickly stripped and pulled on the nightgown. It was a little large on her, but the extra fabric helped to hide how much weight she'd recently lost.
Coming back into the living room, she joined Penelope on the sofa once more, curling her legs up under her. "What are we watching?"
"I was in the middle of Moulin Rouge!, and we can finish that, if you'd like."
"I've never seen this movie before…"
"Well, we'll just have to start from the beginning then. It's one of my favorite movies, so I don't mind." Erin nodded and Penelope cuddled close to her, wrapping a blanket around their legs. "Here, you'll need these," she said, handing her the tissue box.
"Thanks." Erin pulled a few out and set the box back on the table. "So, you know it will freak Aaron out if we show up at work on Monday thick as thieves."
"Maybe it will teach him to do his own dirty work from now on. And besides, you are nice."
Erin felt herself blush a little. "Maybe you just remind me of my daughters. They're grown now and out of the house. They don't need Mama to fix their broken hearts any longer."
"One day, they'll see they do." Erin heard the quiver in her voice and knew she was thinking of her own mother. "At times like these, I really miss my mom." She rested her head on Erin's shoulder and sighed.
"Do you think it's okay to pretend for one night?" Erin didn't know why she'd said that, but it felt right.
"I think Mom would totally understand. Thank you." Penelope pulled her arm around her shoulders, almost burrowing into her side as she closed the distance between them and started the movie.
By the time the song 'Come What May' finished, Penelope was fast asleep and Erin didn't have the heart to move her. Gently, she stroked the other woman's hair as she finished the movie. Turning the television off, she sighed and rested her head atop Penelope's, letting sleep claim her at last.