AN: I have tweaked the facts and timeline to better fit my story.

Erin was sitting in the middle of her living room floor sorting through papers, the piles in front of her seemed to be never-ending. It was getting dark, she'd been at it for hours on end without realizing day had turned into night. She gently massaged her neck as she got up and walked towards the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and browsed its contents, settling on some Ritz-crackers and a glass of ice-tea. She knew she should probably eat something, she'd been skipping meals for weeks now. She'd been loosing weight, her blouses and skirts were much more loose-fitting now than they had been just a few weeks ago. Even though she was the one that had asked her husband to move out, the whole process had taken its toll on her.

As she was walking through the dark house she battled her inner demons, she was a master at self-doubting and the voice in her head was questioning every little thing she did lately.

«Stop it!» she breathed out. The sound of her own voice startled her.

Had she been wrong for doing this, should she had stayed in her loveless marriage? She was so sure of her decision the day she sat her husband down for the talk, she'd been feeling lost for such a long time. Couldn't keep it up anymore, that's what she told him. He was a good man, he'd always stood by her and he was such a great father to their children. She almost felt ashamed for not being able to love him the way she thought a wife should love her husband. Somehow over the last few years she had lost herself. She didn't know who Erin really was anymore. She needed to get to know herself again, she wanted to be able to feel something again. But at the same time she felt guilty for putting her own needs and wants before her family. She'd always taken pride in her picture perfect family, proud of the fact that her marriage had made it past 20 years. She never wanted her children to be raised in a broken family, dividing their time between parents and houses. It certainly wasn't the outcome she had hoped for all those years ago.

She was in the shower when her phone rang, her favorite sad jazz song playing in the background. She turned the shower off and answered the phone as she ran naked across the room to turn the music off.

«Strauss.» She caught herself almost snarling into the phone. She was already in a bad mood, surely having Agent Hotchner calling her on a Saturday night wouldn't make it any better.

«I understand, I will be there.» She hung up and reached for her towel. The BAU had caught a case in Phoenix, Arizona, they were leaving in a few hours. She was in the middle of her annual review of her teams and she'd asked to join each of them on a field case. Maybe not so much asked as demanded, but then again Section Chief Strauss was not one to ask.