"Are you almost ready to head out, dearest?" Erin looked up from her iPad to see Penelope standing in front of her, a warm smile on her lips. She nodded and held out her hand, letting her lover pull her to her feet and then wrap her in a tight hug. "You've made it a whole decade."
"I did. I wouldn't have, had you not been by my side. Through it all, you stuck with me, pushed me to make the best of my situation. I love you, Penny."
"I love you, too, Erin." She clasped her hand and they went out to the garage. "Let's take Esther. It's so gorgeous outside, and we can let the wind whip through our hair." Erin nodded and climbed into the car. Penelope started it up and they drove to the restaurant.
She smiled at the familiar cars in the parking lot, a deep peace settling over her soul. This was really happening; she had been an entire decade without a drop of alcohol. Taking Penelope's hand once more, she stepped out of the car and thought back to that glorious month of May in 2012 when everything had changed in her life for the better.
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"Chief Strauss, you're here! Director Shepperd mentioned that you might be joining me here, rather than going elsewhere. I'm really glad that you chose me. And if you feel like this isn't helping, just let me know and I'll hook you up with another group. We don't start for another half hour, but you're more than welcome to help me set up."
Ms. Garcia smiled brilliantly at her and she nodded hesitantly, feeling like a deer in headlights. This was a little overwhelming, she'd been out of rehab for a month now, and had relapsed twice. It had shamed her to no end that she hadn't found a therapy group in time to stop a relapse, and that she had been weak enough to relapse in the first place. Director Shepperd had suggested she see Ms. Garcia, that she had great success with keeping people on the straight and narrow.
A comfortable silence fell over them and she found herself smiling as the minutes passed. "A penny for your thoughts, Ma'am?"
"Call me Erin, while we're here. I suppose there's no hierarchy at meetings like this. And I'm thinking that this might actually be the first step towards a new life for me. I relapsed twice, I don't know if Shepperd told you that when he talked to you."
"He did. I wasn't going to mention anything, though. I wanted you to be comfortable enough with me, with us, to tell us that." Penelope led them over to the chairs and sat, pointing to the chair next to her. "You'll sit next to me, Erin. I always keep the tissues handy."
Erin found herself laughing and covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm glad for that, Penelope. I will probably need a dozen by the end of the night. I'd forgotten how much alcohol dulled my emotions." The others began to file and she fell silent once more, paying attention to the new faces and trying to figure out what their stories were.
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"You know, I never spoke at that first meeting, I was too afraid of rejection."
"I knew that. You weren't that hard to read, once you let yourself become open to me." Penelope kissed her sweetly and led her inside the door. The first person to come up to her was her oldest daughter, Megan.
"Momma! You're finally here! Grace has been wanting her Grandmas for the last half hour!" She found herself dragged over to the family table, where her other children were sitting with their significant others.
"Up, Grandma Penny!" She raised her little arms up and Penelope lifted her up so that Erin could kiss her granddaughter's cheek. "I love you!"
"I love you, too, my Gracie-love." She took the toddler from Penelope's arms and held her close as she sat down. Penelope was next to her and they shared a warm smile. "So, I'm the last one to arrive."
"The guest of honor should always be the last one to the party," Penelope said, looking up towards the podium. Erin followed her gaze and saw Aaron stepping up to the mic.
"Good afternoon. I want to welcome you all here today as we honor the achievement that Erin Strauss has accomplished. Ten years of sobriety is nothing to scoff at, as it is a hard battle to fight against something that is so prevalent in our society. I know that having Penelope by her side for these last ten years was an immense help. Erin's sponsor has asked me to present her with the decade coin, since we have worked together for so long. Would you please come up here, Erin?"
She rolled her eyes to keep from crying and handed Grace back to her mother, smoothing her skirt as she approached the podium. In the crowd, she could hear a rumble of applause begin. Stepping up next to Aaron, she shook her head, letting her tears fall. "Thank you, Aaron."
He nodded and rested his hand on her back. "You are most welcome, Erin. The team all chipped in to get the best coin for you. Congratulations." He kissed her softly on the cheek and handed the small box to her. "Now, we'd like to hear a few words from you."
"I'll try." She adjusted the mic to her height and looked out at the people gathered to honor her. "Thank you all for coming here to honor me. Like Aaron intimated, I could not have done this without the support and love of my family. For many years, my children were angry with me for choosing alcohol over them and sided with their father in the divorce. That hurt, and made me drink worse. It wasn't until Aaron and Derek frog-marched me to rehab that my eyes were opened to the truth of my situation.
"Through the support of my sweet Penelope, I began to see a new side of myself. What began as a great friendship slowly deepened into a great love. Neither of us expected to find that in the other, and I know I fought against the truth for many months. It all came to a head when Spencer found out that his mother had died. Penelope was so distraught, and she came to me first. That was the night we shared our first kiss and everything sort of fell into place. Together, we've seen the birth of four future BAU members, our first grandchild, and made it last. I would not be the woman I am today were it not for her."
Erin had to stop speaking, as her tears were threatening to choke out her words. Once more, the people who had come out to honor her applauded and she went back to her seat, leaning against her lover. "I love you, Erin Strauss, so fraking much," she whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek.
"I'm just so glad you chose me, Penny." Moments later, the meal came out and she dug in, needing to focus on something that wouldn't make her cry.
"Grandma Erin, why you sad?"
She smiled at her granddaughter. "I'm not sad, I'm emotional. I have so much love in my heart for so many people here today, especially you, Gracie." The little girl nodded and began to devour her macaroni and cheese as the other adults ate with a little more restraint.
Once the meal was over, she mingled with the guests, watching them leave until it was just the BAU family and her family. "Erin, would you come sit next to me?" She stared at Penelope, noticing the tears that were clouding her eyes.
Erin walked over and sat beside her lover, watching the others come around the table. "Penny-love?"
"We've been together as lovers for the last eight years and I kind of want to put a ring on that finger of yours." Erin's eyes welled up again as she realized everyone had been in on this. "Erin Strauss, will you do me the wonderful honor of becoming my life partner?"
"Yes, Penelope, until the end of time." She leaned over and kissed her passionately, wrapping her arms around her waist.
"You didn't even see the ring I picked out."
"I don't need a ring to know what my answer is, my love."
"Well, you're still going to get one." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a velvet ring box. "I didn't go with the traditional diamond, since we're not in the most traditional of relationships."
Opening the box, she gasped as she looked at the amber heart. "This is so beautiful."
"I knew you'd like it. Here, hold out your hand." Erin did as told and watched Penelope slip the ring on her finger. "I had the hardest time keeping this from you. I wanted to pop the question from the moment I picked this ring out."
Erin smiled and leaned into her lover, kissing her softly. "Does this mean we plan the wedding next?"
"If you want that. I don't need a marriage certificate to know that you're my life partner."
"But we do need the legalities of it. If anything should ever happen to me, you need to be able to make decisions."
Penelope nodded and they turned to smile at their friends and family. "Six months from today, we are going to make this official. Everyone keep Thanksgiving weekend free."
All Erin could do was shake her head, knowing that once her lover had an idea in her mind, she would run with it. David clapped her shoulder lightly, and she looked up at him. "Do you want to use the cabin? There are enough rooms for everyone, even if we might have to double up on sleeping arrangements."
"That would be lovely, Dave! I love it when a plan comes together." Penelope grinned up at him and the others nodded. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take my intended home and we are going to have a private celebration."
A faint blush appeared on the cheeks of her children and she just smiled at them as her BAU team laughed heartily. "Even after all this time, you're still my little babies who get embarrassed thinking about what happens behind closed doors. Even when you do that yourselves." She held out her hand to Penelope and they stood, the others following suit. "Have a good afternoon."
She was surprised when Aaron pulled her into a tight hug. She hadn't been embraced by him since his wedding to Jessica four years ago. Penelope had known it was coming, had said so ever since the woman had moved in to better look after Jack. While it was odd that he had married his ex-wife's sister, they seemed to be a perfect match. "Congratulations, Erin. You deserve every happiness this life has to offer you." He tenderly kissed her cheek before taking Jessica's hand and going out.
Penelope led Erin out after them and they went to the car. "I cannot wait until I have you alone, my sweet, sweet, Erin."
"Even after eight years, you can't keep your hands off of me."
"And you wouldn't have it any other way, now would you?"
"No, my love." She smiled at Penelope and got in the car, humming along to the song on the radio. Adele's newest album had just gone triple platinum and Erin found herself relating to it, as she sang about her own happiness. "Could this day get any better?"
"Tell me after we're home for a while. You might change your mind."