"Happy New Year!" Penelope smiled as she heard her friends yell in unison. 2013 had been a difficult year for them, and she hoped that this new one would be the start of something better for them. It had to be, she supposed. There was no mad man hunting them down, now. There was no threat to them.

Her thoughts turning maudlin, she turned to face her friends, trying to smile. Only Rossi seemed to know that she was hiding her hurts, as he sidled up to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and hugging her close. "What are your plans for later on, Kitten?"

"Sleep in, go out for brunch, and then play Final Fantasy until my thumbs fall off. Why?"

"I just thought you might like to come over. I got a new racing game from Bruce for Christmas, and would love to have someone to play against." He gave her a warm smile and she found herself nodding in agreement. "Wonderful. I'll expect to see you about one, then. And bring your appetite, there are plenty of leftovers."

Rossi leaned in and kissed her cheek softly before draining his glass of champagne. "Get some sleep, then, my Italian Stallion. You are going to have your ass handed to you on a silver platter." Giving him a wink, she began to clean up some of the detritus of the party. Morgan began to help as well, and in no time, everything was looking clean. "Well, I'm heading to bed. There's room for two more of you." She waggled her eyebrows as she sashayed over to her bedroom, slipping through the curtain and climbing into bed.

JJ and Alex were quick to join her, and she shook her head a little before pulling up the covers. "The boys sent us in here, said that we deserved the most comfortable night. Rossi's heading home, for some odd reason."

"He's lonely, even in a group of people. Let him have his solitude, Jayje," she replied softly, slinging her arm around her best friend's waist. "I understand lonely."

"I noticed that Sam wasn't here this evening," Alex said as she let her arm come to rest around both of them. "Is everything all right there?"

"He got called away on some business. I sort of knew that would happen." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "But I am awfully glad that Der's girlfriend couldn't make it. At best, she tolerates me in his life. Everything's changed since they got together."

Alex's hand began to run up and down her side, and Penelope found herself crying a little. "He's the closest thing you have to a brother, of course it's going to hurt when things change." The older woman's soothing words eased her heart and she nodded, snuggling close to JJ as she let herself fall asleep.

Waking up hours later, she found that Alex was the only one left. "Morning, Alex. Why'd you stay?"

"Oh, James got called away to an emergency, and well, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay this morning. I know that you seemed a little down earlier."

She nodded as she got up and changed quickly, knowing that Alex wouldn't look, or mind. "I'm really missing Erin today. I know, it's been almost a year already, I should be over it, but I'm not. She admired me, Alex."

"You were one of the lucky ones. She admired me once, too, before we turned our backs on each other. I wish that I had accepted her amends the first time she offered them. She kept on trying, you know."

"I know." Penelope joined her in the living room and took a deep breath. "Did you make food?"

"Just pancakes. I know that you're a vegetarian, so I overlooked my craving for bacon this morning." She laughed a little at that as she took a seat at the table, reaching out for Alex's hand. "Prayer?"

"Yeah. You?"

"I don't know. Why would God take her from us?"

"I can't answer that, Alex. I just know that I find comfort in thinking that someone, anyone, out there is watching over us." She squeezed Alex's hand and said a short prayer before digging into her food. "I have to leave for Rossi's in about forty minutes. Would you want to keep me company until then?"

She nodded hesitantly as she ate, not looking at Penelope. "I'd like that, Penelope."

When they'd finished, they washed the dishes together and then Penelope dragged her out to the sofa, curling up against her warm body. "I know you don't like when I do this, but Jayje isn't here, and I need someone to anchor me to the present."

"I wasn't always like this. I used to crave touch. And then my mother died, and Amerithrax happened, and it became so easy to hold all my co-workers at arm length. Eventually, it extended to my family as well. It's been hard getting used to James being with me all the time. Just, keep working on me?"

The question was sweetly hesitant, and Penelope nodded. "I can do that, Alex." She smiled and scooted closer to the woman, resting her head on her chest and listening to her heart. "You're not good with children, or comforting victims. You're cold. Why did you choose to be a part of the BAU?"

"Because I didn't want others to be hurt any longer. I can analyze situations succinctly, I can break language down to the smallest phoneme, and I can see connections that others cannot. You don't need to be open to do that. We were going to be parents, once, at the beginning of our marriage. It, it didn't work out."

"Oh, Lexie," she murmured, reaching up to tug lightly on a piece of her hair. A soft silence fell over the room, and Penelope grew comfortable with the sound. Finally, though, it was time for her to go, and she pulled Alex to her feet and then into a tight hug. "Anytime you need a hug, my door is open, you know."

"I know." And then Penelope felt lips caress her cheek in a kiss of supplication and she tightened her arms around the older woman as her eyes began to sting with tears. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

She nodded dumbly, rooted to the spot as she watched Alex stride from her apartment. It was only noon, and already her year was shaping up to be extremely eccentric. Penelope could only imagine what her visit to Rossi's would bring.