Fortitude

Summary: The Replicator has upped his game. David's life is hanging in the balance. Erin is hell-bent on revenge. Everything else is just collateral damage. As Erin struggles to regain balance she finds herself growing closer to one of her colleagues.

Agent Blake had offered to drive Erin back to the hotel. They decided to stop and have a cup of coffee on the way. It was a new leaf. After all if they were going to be working together they needed to put the past behind them. Completely behind them.

Alex wasn't sure how to start the conversation. She didn't want it to be about the case. But she didn't how to relax with Erin. Not with all the muddy water between them.

Erin gave her a reassuring smile. "Just breathe, Alex."

Her shoulders slouched and the grip on her oversized coffee mug slackened. "I'm sorry." she apologized. "I've never been good at taking the first step."

"Well, lucky for you, am I." she replied. "How's James?"

"Great." she smiled. "He's great. How are your kids? Teenagers now?"

"Gracie, my youngest, is eleven." she replied. "But the attitude is all teenager."

Bits and pieces of the past flooded back to her. Having it out with a very pregnant Erin Strauss in the middle of a bull pen. "You were pregnant with her during the Amerithrax case."

Erin nodded. "She was born three days after the case was over."

"I thought you still had several weeks to go before delivery?"

She shrugged. "The stress of it all I guess." she admitted. "She was a bit on the small side but healthy."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Alex sighed heavily. "I didn't mean for this conversation to come back to this. To what happened."

"It was a difficult time for everyone involved." she offered. "Decisions like that are never easy for anyone."

"I know I placed a lot of blame at your feet…"

Erin held her hand up to stop her. "It's over, Alex." she told her. "I think we've all paid enough."

"Fair enough." she agreed. "I know we're not suppose to know, but…" she trailed off. "Are things with you and Dave serious?"

She couldn't help but smile at the mere mention of his name. "Things are going very well." she replied. "He's a great guy."

"The two of you always did have explosive chemistry." she told her. "There were even rumors about the two of you."

Erin flashed a smile as she brought her cup up to her lips. "Come on, Alex, you can't always believe everything you hear."

/

The entire room was upside down. "David?" Panic immediately set in. Her heart raced. Her blood ran cold.

That was most definitely blood on the bathroom floor. And no sign of David. Erin reached for her cell phone. The service seemed slower than ever. The ringing took even longer. The ringing started to echo throughout the room. Reaching down she picked up his cell phone out from under the edge of the bed.

The next call she made was answered on the second ring. She didn't even give him the opportunity for a greeting. "Aaron." her voice heavy with worry. "Something's happened."

"Where are you?"

"In my hotel room." she replied. "It's David…"

Within moments he was in the room with her. "What happened?"

"I don't know." she barely breathed out. "I found his phone. And there's….there's blood on the bathroom floor."

Hotchner peered inside the bathroom. "It's going to be okay, Erin." his hands steadied on her shoulders. "We'll find him."

The tears were evident in her eyes. "The Replicator has him."

"Dave's a resilient agent." he tried to assure her. "He'll be okay."

/

It was from the rooftop that she spotted Hotchner and Rossi. And it was from the rooftop that she willed herself not to breakdown. She rushed down the fire escape, down the street to where Aaron was with David. Agent Morgan hot on her trail. When they arrived Aaron was administering CPR. And Morgan was doing everything in his power to hold her back.

She felt like so much time had passed before the medics arrived. And it was Hotchner that rode with him. Ordering Morgan to drive the Chief to the hospital. The ride was eerily silent. And at one point Morgan reached for her hand, gently squeezing it. Erin who had her eyes fixed on the passenger side window squeezed back wanting to let him know that she appreciated the gesture.

When the others arrived at the hospital they were met by Morgan. "Hotch is with Strauss in a private waiting room."

"How does it look?" JJ asked.

He shrugged. "Haven't heard anything yet."

Blake nodded. "And Strauss?"

"Not good."

"What does Hotch want us to do?" Reid asked. "We should go after the Replicator. We know he's here in New York."

Hotchner came down the hallway. And his entire team seemed frozen. They all moved closer together. "The doctors are working to counteract the drugs. He's stable but still critical."

JJ nodded, holding back tears. "Is he going to be okay?"

"They don't know how much damage the drugs have done." he replied, honestly. "Right now they're trying to keep his vitals stable. His temperature was very high when he was brought in."

Blake swallowed hard. "How high?"

"A hundred and five."

Reid decided that now would be a really good time to keep his profound knowledge to himself. "Rossi…he'll be fine."

"We need to get out there and look for this guy." he told his team. "But someone needs to be here with Chief Strauss. I don't want to leave her alone."

"I'll stay." Blake offered. "We have history. Not all bad."

Hotchner nodded. "I'll show you where she is."

tbc…

All thoughts are welcomed! And appreciated.