Erin would be lying to herself if she said she didn't just fuck everything up royally. She knew the minute she sent the e-mail out that the shit would hit the fan and her life would be hell throughout the next few days. Things would die down, eventually, the team she just screwed over coming to an understanding of her actions, but she still braced herself for the backlash that was sure to come.
And boy did it come.
The first person to enter her office was Aaron Hotchner which surprised her; she was sure Rossi would have beat him to the punch. He didn't knock, didn't greet her, he just stood in front of her desk defiantly, she swore she could literally see the steam escaping his ears.
"Agent Hotchner, I-"
"Where exactly do you get off, ma'am?"
The question was blunt, insubordinate, and shocking to hear. Erin's eyebrows raised and her head tilted slightly to the side as if to turn her ear towards him to understand better just exactly what he said. "I beg your pardon?"
"Removing a member of my team without even discussing it with me proves your lack of courage - an easy escape, if you will - as opposed to coming to a solution upon which we agree," he told her, his glare gleaming through his brown eyes.
Erin's nose flared and she rose out of her seat, her hands resting on the desk in front of her. "Agent-"
"How long have you known about the budget cuts, ma'am? A week now?" He was out of line and he knew it, but he couldn't help but continue on. "Not once did I receive any notification. Had I received one, we possibly could have conducted a meeting, but instead you decided to fire Miss Jareau right under my nose."
"I didn't fire-"
"She is no longer apart of the bureau, correct?"
"Well, no-"
"Then her employment has been terminated, yes? I.E. - she has been fired."
Her temples pulsed and her face was hot. She was rendered speechless for a moment and then she straightened her back as if to take him on fully. "Aaron, I understand the anger, but it is not up to me where the budget cuts are placed. The director gave me a list of what needed to be done. Yes, the time of which I received that list was last Monday, but time has nothing to do with the decisions I have made and why I have made them. If you'd take care to notice this is the third time the Director has come to me, yet the first time I've had to take action within the BAU. It's out of my hands!" She calmed her voice for a moment and added, "you're lucky it's only one member of your team and not two."
Aaron's face seemed to have softened, just in the slightest, but she had caught it and felt the small sense of relief flood her chest. He was beginning to understand. "I apologize about my not discussing the decision with you, but you and I both know the decision would have been made easier if it came from someone who wasn't personally connected to the team." He nodded at her and she took a breath before continuing. "I have set up possible places of employment for Miss Jareau - both of which will provide her a steadier home life with her son and partner. I have only given the notification to you, Agent Rossi, and the Director so it is up to you on who you would like to provide Miss Jareau with the news. I can arrange a meeting myself if-"
"No," he interrupted her, his eyes glued to the floor. "I will talk to her myself."
Erin nodded and folded her hands together in front of her. "Then that will be all, Agent Hotchner."
He walked out of the room without so much of a glance in her direction and Erin collapsed into her chair. Dealing with Hotchner was one thing - dealing with David was on a whole different planet of things. She looked at her watch and timed the seconds down. Within 10 minutes of Aaron leaving her office, another force barged through her door and slammed it, the windows surrounding the office almost rattling in its wake.
"Are you kidding me with this shit, Erin?"
Once again, Erin stood and faced her enemy of 25 years, her shoulders squared and her lips pursed. "David, I have already discussed the terms with Agent Hotchner-"
"Discussed?" he spat at her. "No, you flat out told him in a goddamn e-mail that JJ was fired and there's nothing he can do about it!"
"There isn't anything anyone can do about it!" Erin screeched. With Hotch she was calm and reserved, but with David she could never keep her composure. Too many years had gone by between them to create certain boundaries. "I have orders to abide by-"
"Bullshit!" He exclaimed. "You have your reputation and your selfishness to abide by, Erin! Don't pull this "Director's orders" crap with me. I can see right through you."
Erin opened her mouth, but David continued, laying everything out on the table as if he had kept it bottled up for years on end. Which, Erin thought, he probably did.
"You know what your problem is, Strauss?" her name was spoken with such venom that she involuntarily shivered. "Your problem is that the only person you care about is yourself. You don't think about the outcome of others or how your shitty decisions in life affect those around you. As long as Erin is okay then everything else can go to shit. That's why John left, isn't it?"
The words struck deep and all she could do was bite her lip and prepare for the onslaught of pain, her heart pounding in her chest as though it were trying to escape.
"And your kids?" he laughed humorlessly. "When's the last time one of them actually spoke to you?" He took a step closer to her and lowered his voice. "You want to know why your daughter threw all her time into her studies? So she could go to a college out of the country and get away from you. And your son? How long has he been suspended from school for possession of marijuana?" He couldn't help but grin in spite. "And your youngest, Eloise..."
Erin raised her eyes from her desk to his blazing brown orbs. "17 and pregnant already - probably from the lack of maternal affection. Your affection."
She couldn't breathe. Her vision grew blurry and her lip was bleeding from her teeth biting through the skin. All of her fears were thrown straight into her face without warning and she wondered if there was anything she could have done to stop it.
"Get out." Her voice was shaky, watery from the tightness of her throat and the build up of tears behind her eyes, threatening to fall at any moment.
As if coming out of a fog, David's words began to echo in his head and the guilt settled around his chest. He watched the woman before him struggling to keep her composure. The bricks around her heart were shattered into tiny pieces. Her skin was pale, her hands held tightly to her sides and fists clenched as if they would release her emotion if she loosened her grip. He didn't want this. He wanted to strike a nerve, yes, but he didn't want to destroy her whole world. Where was her backlash? Why wasn't she fighting?
"Erin," he breathed out, his eyes softening and his hand reaching out for her. She flinched as though he had just slapped her across the face and he withdrew his hand, placing it back at his side.
"Get. Out."
This time all he could do was nod his head and oblige. He opened the door and stepped out slowly before turning to close it. In that moment he heard the most heart wrenching sobs escape from Erin's throat, the grief and the pain seeping through the cracks. He leaned his head against the closed door, his hand still clenched around the handle.
He debated for a moment before turning the handle and stepping back inside the office.