"I take it that you haven't found out anything more about the Replicator?" Erin asked as they set aside their menus. Penelope shook her head a little as she picked up her coffee and took a sip. "Damn! I feel like we're so close, and that the truth is just out of our grasp."
"I know, it seems like this unsub has gone underground lately, since they haven't copied a case in a week or two. I keep waiting for their next move, but it never comes." She took another sip of coffee before setting the cup aside and letting her shoulders relax a little. "But, in happier news, once Aaron is back from this case, he's spending the weekend at my apartment."
"I hadn't realized that things had progressed quite this far." There was a faint smirk on her lips, and Penelope felt herself blush as she looked down at the table. "Our first time together was when you and Doctor Reid caught us at the hotel."
"Oh!" she exclaimed as she looked up at the server. The woman just gave her a friendly smile, waiting patiently for them to put their order in. Once that was done, she focused her attention back on Erin. "So, you guys went to a hotel?"
It seemed like it was Erin's turn to blush as she looked into her cup. "I actually insisted on it. I wanted a neutral space, since I still live in the house where I raised my children, and his home is full of reminders of his past, as well. So, when I took that chance on him, I knew that we needed to be in a place where we were both on even ground."
Erin's phone began to ring, and she bent down to fumble around in her purse for it, setting a few things on the table as she dug. Penelope's eye was drawn a golden coin, about the size of a fifty cent piece. Without meaning to, she reached out and picked it up, turning it over and over in her fingers as she watched Erin carry out a conversation with Helen. The older woman was giving her an indulgent smile as she made a few notes on a napkin, rolling her eyes a little as the conversation dragged on.
"I am so sorry about that, Penelope," she said as she slipped her things back into her purse, leaving the phone near the far end of the table. "And I see that you were drawn to my chip."
"Yeah. You hit a year already?"
"I know, it doesn't feel like it's been that long, but here I am. We had quite the celebration when I received that." Tears quickly made Erin's eyes shine, and Penelope looked away from her in time to see that their server had returned with their food. She gestured for the woman to set it down, which seemed to give Erin all the time she needed to get control back. "Thank you. Anyway, I was going to say that it was an extremely difficult journey, and while I will never be sober, I can truthfully say that I am a recovering alcoholic."
Penelope nodded as she reached across the table to take hold of her hand and give it a soft squeeze. "That is actually something I wanted to talk to you about?" She hated the questioning sound of her voice, but Erin didn't seem to notice as she fixed her eyes on the plate in front of her. "Erin?"
"You think I'm too focused on the Replicator," she whispered as she pulled her hand back and picked up her fork, stabbing into her pasta viciously. "David has told me as much, too. I know I have an addictive personality, that I'm driven and focused. But I also know my limits as well. If I feel like I get too far drawn into this, I will make certain to reach out to you and David, so that you can pull me back from the brink. I promise."
Their eyes met, and Penelope nodded as she let her thumb swipe over the face of the coin. "And I will hold you to that promise," she replied softly as she handed the coin back to Erin. "There is only way we can get through this, and that's together. Okay?"
"Okay." They shared a small smile before starting to eat, and Penelope found herself almost proud for having stood up to her boss and friend. "Do you want to share a piece of pie? I know, we have to get back to work, but I like being away from there for the moment. Then I don't think about the fact that he's out there, stalking my team."
Penelope tried to ignore the fact that it sounded like Erin knew exactly who the Replicator was at this point, enough to gender them, as she nodded in response to the question. "I will always be up for a slice of pie," she finally said, hoping that she was giving Erin a warm smile as she pulled out her phone. "You know, I have all your details in my contact list, but I don't have a good, candid, picture of you. Smile?"
Erin rolled her eyes a little before pushing away her plate and clearing out the space in front of her. Then she placed her hands primly on the table, a cool smile on her lips. Penelope tilted her head to one side before shaking it a little and flipping through her pictures. "This is how Dave shows up when he calls me," she said as she held the phone out to Erin, showing the thoroughly goofy picture of her lover on the screen.
"Are you sure?" she asked, and Penelope nodded, watching her sigh deeply before she shook out her shoulders and fluffed her hair, a true smile spreading across her face as she rested her chin on her hand. "Is this better?"
"Much," Penelope replied as she took a picture and attached it to Erin's profile in her phone. "All right, and now for a selfie. Get over on my side of the booth."
"Really?"
"Do I need to show you the ones I have of all my other friends? Though JJ and Emily might just kill me if I show off that one of us partying the night before Hotch's triathlon. Those pictures are never supposed to see the light of day." Erin hesitated just a little too long, and then Penelope was getting up out of the booth and coming around to Erin's side, sliding in next to her before resting against her arm and holding the phone up. "Smile!"
"Penny," she groaned a little before resting her hand on her shoulder and looking up. "Tabitha would laugh and then congratulate you on getting me to take a selfie. I just don't do that."
"Yeah, well, you need to smile more often, Erin, and take more candid pictures. Life is way to short to not memorialize the little moments in life that make us happy or excite us or that we spend with our friends. We see it every day in the cases we work. And when we're gone, do you really want the picture that everyone remembers you for as the one that's on your badge?"
"I like that picture! I was having a great hair day," Erin responded a tad defensively. Penelope looked at her until she pursed her lips and shook her head, a small laugh escaping her lips. "I suppose that you're right. And if I die, you are to tell David that I want a closed casket, with our picture on it. He'll know the one I mean, where I'm in yellow and he's in a khaki suit. We're happy in that picture, and that is how I want to be remembered."
"See, I knew there was a romantic buried underneath all the bureaucracy that you have to deal with every day, Erin. And you aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Not if I can help it." Penelope went back to her seat and slipped her phone into her pocket before focusing on Erin once more. "So, tell me a little more about Tabitha. I know about Karen and Bruce, but you've been a little close lipped about your youngest child."
Erin's smile turned a bit dreamy as she bit her lip a little. "My baby was a complete surprise, and I wouldn't change a thing about her, even if she has been a thorn in my side from the moment she was born. She's too much like me, though she is a bit more mischievous than I am."
Penelope nodded, encouraging Erin to continue talking as their server brought by their slice of pie. It was a little larger than Penelope had expected, though she supposed that the woman was being kind, since they were sharing. As she dug in with her fork, she watched as Erin picked up her own phone and took a surreptitious picture of her. She shook her head and lifted her chin, giving her a fuller smile. "It would look better now, just saying." Erin blushed and nodded, taking another picture before putting the phone in her purse and digging into the pie as well.