It figured she had to get stuck on the cranky elevator with her long time sparring partner. Ever since she had returned to the FBI, nothing in her life had gone right. And they were stuck listening to the most awful muzak ever. Sighing, she tapped her foot anxiously, looking at her watch.
"They're not going to be rescuing us any time soon, Erin. One, it's after eleven, and two, this is the cranky elevator. Most people know enough not to use it at night."
"Then why are we on it?" she huffed out.
"Because I needed to talk to you about the team and what you want us to do now that we're a member down again. I even brought you one of those awful 85% cacao Lindt bars that you're so fond of to smooth things over."
"They're not awful, David, they're delicious." She sighed a little, somehow happy that he had remembered her favorite type of chocolate. Holding out her hand expectantly, Erin waited for him to deposit her candy into her hand.
"No, I don't think so. Now you're going to have to earn this little peace offering."
She went to stamp her foot and then realized he would hear that and just tease her unmercifully if she did so. "That is not fair, David. I'm hungry and cranky and you look like a good target for my anger right about now."
He smirked at her and spread out his trench coat on the floor. "Have a seat, my dear Erin."
She wanted to spite him and stay standing, but her feet ached and so she reluctantly sat on his coat. "So, what hoops do I have to jump through to earn my chocolate?"
"A simple game of twenty questions. I ask twenty simple little questions that you have to answer honestly."
"Like the television show? Where I think of something and you have to guess it?" That wouldn't be so bad, she supposed, and it would be a rather good way to pass the time.
"No, Erin, twenty questions about you. And to be fair, you can ask twenty questions about me. Same rules, total honesty, no weasling out of anything." She stared at him, trying to see where he was going to go with this. "If we fall asleep, we'll pick up in the morning where we left off, if we can remember."
Sighing deeply, she nodded. "This is stupid, but I suppose it will keep my mind off being stuck in here. Fine, ask your first question."
"Why do you hate Hotch so much?"
She glared at him. "So much for simple. I don't hate him, not really. He just upsets me, that's all. He always claims that he walks the straight and narrow and yet he lets you and the others on your team run around half-cocked all the time. And I'm the one left cleaning up the mess. And it did not help matters when he went to the EAP on my 'behalf'. Yes, it helped me, but not in the way that he wanted, I think." Dave nodded. "Now, my question. Why do you hate me?"
He arched an eyebrow as he looked at her. "I never hated you, Erin. I may not have respected some of the decisions that you had to make, but I understood them. We just seem to act like oil and water, never mixing, always separated. And we spar so well, I guess I just became accustomed to arguing with you, since we could do that so very eloquently. I'm sorry if I hurt you because of that." She found herself smiling at his honesty. "Now, my next question. Why did you marry that asshat Alan?"
"Because I got pregnant. I couldn't abort the baby or put it up for adoption, I was ecstatic I was pregnant. I had been told that children were not in my future. And he wanted to do the right thing by me, even though we were both in our mid-twenties at the time." She thought for a moment. "Why did you marry Carolyn?"
"I loved her with all my heart."
"Then why did you divorce her?"
He chuckled a little. "I get two back to back questions next, then. We separated because sometimes grief brings us together and sometimes it drives us apart. When we lost James, a deep gulf suddenly opened up between us that I couldn't span." His eyes looked so sad, and she felt her heart thump a little harder in sympathy. Hesitantly, she patted the spot next to her, wanting, for some strange reason, to comfort him.
He joined her and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Oh, Dave."
"It's been years, but sometimes it still cuts a little close." He brought his arm up around her shoulders, rubbing her arm slowly. "Now, my two questions, since you skipped a turn. Why did you take the profiling classes if you were never going to go out in the field?"
"I like psychology. My doctorate is in clinical psychology, so taking the classes was a breeze. And it helped me to understand you all better. I know more than I let on, David. You, of all people, should know that of me."
"True, true, cara."
"And yet, there are still hidden chambers in my heart. For all I knew about what made the criminals tick, I could never separate my feelings from my objective mind. I always thought that by staying here, analyzing their motives, I could separate myself from the horror. It didn't, by the by."
"One of us could have told you that, Erin, if only you had asked. But why did you fight so hard to keep us together during the Senate subcommittee meeting?"
Erin knew they couldn't lie, that had been one of the rules of the game. Pursing her lips, she sighed. "Your team gets wonderful results. I can no longer deny that. Despite everything that life has thrown at you – Haley's murder, Emily's death, Agent Hotchner's assignment overseas – you've always come together and become stronger. I needed that, David, since I was falling apart at the seams." He squeezed her arm gently and she yawned, snuggling into him a little.
"Tired already?"
"Yes. I don't sleep well these days, David. And that counts as your fourth question."
She heard him chuckle a little and she smiled. "You got me there, cara. Ask away."
"Will you tell me a happy memory?"
"Of course. One of my happiest memories is when Carolyn and I found out we were going to be parents. I had always wanted to have a child, you see, and we had tried for three years to have a baby. Finally, the stars aligned and she was pregnant. I don't think my heart could have been any happier than in that moment."
She sighed and turned her face into his chest. "Do you think I'll ever be happy again?"
"Yes, I do, Erin. Would you like some help with that?"
"Yes, I would. Are you offering?"
"I am."
"Can I fall asleep on your shoulder?"
"Of course, cara. Lay all your burdens down for the evening and rest on me." She nodded and let her eyes flutter closed, relaxing under the gentle rubbing of his hand on her arm. Faintly, she felt his lips caress her forehead before she totally fell asleep.
She woke up rather suddenly to the curious sensation of movement. Erin's eyes flew open and she pressed her palm over her heart as she tried to get her bearings once more. "David?" she asked questioningly, remembering that she had been with him before she had fallen asleep.
"You're all right, cara. The elevator's been fixed, though, so we should be able to get home soon."
"What time is it?"
"A little after five in the morning. Do you want me to run you home?"
"Yes, please. And may I have my chocolate bar now? I may not be cranky any longer, but I am still starving." He nodded and pulled out the candy bar, handing it to her. She broke it in half and handed him the larger piece, knowing he had to be hungry as well; they'd been stuck in the elevator for the same amount of time.
"Sharing with the enemy?"
"I've already slept with him, why not share as well?" she quipped back, a smile on her face. He laughed loudly and took the proffered chocolate. Their fingers touched and she pulled her hand back quickly as she felt an electric shock course through her body.
"Did you feel that, too?"
"Yes, I did." She still kept with the honesty of their game and watched him smile as he helped her to stand, picking up his trench coat as he nibbled at the chocolate. "I think I know of something a little sweeter than what you're eating."
"I think I do, too, cara. And she's standing right in front of me." Closing an arm around her waist, he pulled her close, bending to kiss her hungrily. "Are you going to take today off?"
"What would be in it for me?"
"A happy memory."
"Oh, David," she whispered, snuggling into him all the more closely. "That sounds absolutely perfect. My home is closer than yours is. I think it is high time I excised the ghosts of the past." She looked up at him and lifted her lips for another kiss. "Kiss me?"
"With pleasure." He kissed her sweetly this time, and she tasted the bitter taste of chocolate on his tongue as he teased her lips. The doors opened up and they stepped out, still wrapped up in each other, heedless of their surroundings.
"Rossi?" a soft, feminine voice asked and they looked up into Penelope's incredulous face. "Chief Strauss?" They nodded and she suddenly smiled. "I knew it! You two spar way too much to not be anything other than a couple! And a cute one at that!"
"Ms. Garcia, could you do us a favor and not tell anyone what you've seen here?"
"Oh, of course, Ma'am, that goes without saying. But it is nice to see you smile. And if you two ever need me to erase certain camera feeds, just let me know." She reached out and squeezed Dave's shoulder tightly. "Now, you have to take care of her, my Italian Stallion. We just got her back and I do not want to see her leave again."
"Kitten…"
"What, Dave? She's telling you to take care of me. Shouldn't you listen to the Oracle of All Knowing?" He grinned at her, tightening his arm around her waist.
"Yes, we should. Now, are we going home?"
"Yes." Penelope stepped forward to hug Erin quickly and then took off for the elevator. "Don't use that one, Penelope. We were stuck in there all night."
"Thanks for the heads up. And I'll tell Hotch you're taking a personal day, Rossi. See you later!" She waved to them and they continued on their way to Dave's Mercedes.
"Erin, one last question." She nodded as he opened the door for her. "Could we try to make a relationship work? I miss having a companion."
"I would more than love that, David. One last question from me. Will you be patient with me?"
"As long as you're patient with me, cara." He ducked his head down to kiss her once more and she sighed, happiness filling her heart. "And I promise to leave you with as many happy memories as you want."
"I'm going to hold you to that promise, David." She slipped into the car and settled back in the seat, a tender smile spreading across her face. This was the next step in the rest of her life and she couldn't be happier.