Chapter 4

Dave felt as though he had held on to her for hours. He could feel her lightly breathing against him, very gently he lay her back down on the bed. He stood up and looked down at how peaceful she looked. He smiled softly as he bent down and placed a small kiss on her forehead before he left. He looked up to see Alex Blake standing outside Erin's room waiting for him, looking a little uneasy.

"Everything alright Alex."

"Yeah, sure…ofcouse it is. How is she."

Dave could have sworn he heard a slight hint of concern in her voice.

"She's doing okay, she was lucky."

"Dave, I'm sorry."

"Sorry, for what?"

"I should have taken her to her room instead of just dropping her off. Perhaps if I'd stayed…"

"Alex, this isn't your fault. We had no way of knowing that it was Erin he was after."

"I still can't believe it was John, he was such a nice guy. He had a good heart and he always had time for people. To think he caused all of this…I just can't get my head around it, you know."

"Some people aren't always as they appear…that's where we come in."

"Yeah and we did a bang up job of it on this case, didn't we."

"Why don't you go and talk to her."

"I'm probabaly the last person she wants to see right now."

"Alex…"

"No really Dave, I should let her rest."

"Okay but don't avoid her, make sure you talk to her….tell her how your feeling."

"Are you gonna stay here."

"Probabaly, knowing Curtis is here….I really don't want to leave her alone."

Dave and Alex looked up when they heard footsteps and Hotch walked towards them.

"Dave, how is she."

"Yeah she's good, thanks Aaron. I'm gonna stay here for a bit. You should all go home, get some sleep."

"I'll go and let the others know Erin's okay." Alex said.

"Thanks Blake."

Hotch watched her leave before turning back to Dave, who's eyes were firmly on Erin.

"Dr Matthews is going to try to organise a transfer to another Hospital for Curtis."

"Why, afraid I might do something."

"Yes…but more for Erin's safety than anything. How are you holding up."

"I'm just so relieved that she's okay, it could have been much worse Aaron.."

"She's a tough woman."

"I honestly don't know how I'd have coped if she's died. We take the people in our lives for granted when they're alive don't we. I knew I loved, I just didn't realise until tonight just how crazy I actually am about her."

"I think it's safe to say your secrets out now."

"The team?"

"Yeah, I overheard JJ grilling Garcia about you both."

"I guess it's better out in the open anyway. Erin's gonna need us all after this."

"She's stronger than you give her credit for you know."

"I hope so."

"Try and get some rest Dave okay."

"I'll try…I'll see you tomorrow."

Penelope was busy nursing her cold coffee while JJ was on the phone to Will, updating him on the events of the day. Reid was slumped on his seat, looking through the effects of the MDMA drug. She looked up when she felt Morgan take a seat beside her and gave him a small smile.

"You okay baby girl."

"I guess so."

"Hey come on, Strauss is gonna be okay. It's good news."

"Yes sweetie I know but she still had a tough road. He forced her to drink Derek, she'd been doing so well and now she's right back where she started. There's no use pretending it's gonna be easy when she's released from here."

"I wasn't trying to say that it would be, I know it's gonna be tough on her…we all do but we'll all be here to help her."

"You all hate."

"No baby girl. Sure, Strauss can be a pain in the butt at times but she'd only doing her job and as much as we hate her for it, we also respect her too. Whatever she had to go through, deal with…we will all be there to help her because that's what families do."

"You're a real sweetheart, you know that."

Hotch approached his team and could see from their faces how tired they all looked.

"Okay everybody, listen up. Erin is going to be okay but she's still very weak. I think it's best if we all leave and go home and try to get some rest."

"Hotch no, I have to see her for myself." Penelope said.

"Baby girl, he's right. We'll come back first thing, she might be more coherent after a good nights sleep." Morgan smiled, hugging her.

"Oh alright, first thing though."

"I promise."

"Hotch, I took the liberty of informing Strauss Children. I've let them know she's out of harms way and they'll be down tomorrow" Blake said.

"Thanks Alex. Right come on you lot, we need to get some rest."

As the others walked out, Hotch pulled Alex back for a few minutes.

"Everything alright Hotch." She asked.

"That couldn't have been easy for you."

"What?"

"Calling Erin's Children."

"It wasn't the best, her Daughter Caitlin didn't sound too happy to hear my voice."

"You knew her Children well?"

"Believe it or not Hotch, Erin and I were actually quite good friends before, well you know. Caitlin and I got on pretty well and her other Daughter Ellie and her Son Jacob were nice enough in my presence. I guess things change, anyway they'll be here tomorrow. At least we didn't have to tell them of her death, I don't think I could have managed that."

"You did a good thing Alex and we're all proud of you for that. Come on, bed time."

To Be Continued…

Okay, So I have no idea why in the hell I'm being sympathetic towards Alex Blake. I've gone mad, perhaps I'm having an off day. Hope you all enjoyed…