Erin had just finished loading the dishwasher the next morning when someone knocked on the front door. Immediately, her spine stiffened, as she knew that she hadn't been expecting anyone. A small part of her wondered if David had ordered her some groceries and forgotten to tell her, as that would be typical for him, so she carefully made her way to the door, desperately wishing that she had her service weapon with her. That had been left home, in her gun safe, since she hadn't thought that she would need it.

Peeking her head out the window next to the door, she gasped to see the back of a very familiar woman, and Erin let the curtain slip back into place, her mind racing a million miles a second. And then, she felt a deep disappointment, knowing that David had told someone else about her idyll, and that she wouldn't have the opportunity to forget everything that was going on back home.

With a heavy heart, Erin opened the door, and the slight squeak of the hinges caught Alex's attention, causing her to turn and look at her. "Oh, you are here. This was the last place I was going to look before heading home and calling it a lost cause."

"I'm sorry?" Erin asked as she gestured for the woman to come inside. Alex smiled gently at her as she picked up an overnight bag and slipped past her. Erin sighed as she closed the door, wishing that Alex would tell her what was going on. "Did David tell you I was here?"

"No. Weren't you listening? I said that I came looking for you. I knew that after you left the office two days ago that you were more upset about this blind item than you were letting on. It took some time to get Hotch to agree to give me some time off so that I could look for you. I didn't tell him that was the reason, of course, but I knew that we needed to talk."

Erin's heart lurched a little in her chest as she nodded, leading the woman into the living room. Alex dropped her bag onto the floor before taking a seat on the sofa, patting the spot next to her. She was hesitant to take that spot, though, since she wasn't certain what the woman wanted. "Alex?"

"I'm not going to bite, I promise. Please, have a seat."

It rankled her a little, that Alex sounded like it was her place that she was inviting Erin into, and she frowned deeply as she sank down onto the other side of the sofa, giving the woman a wary look. "All right, the next, obvious, question is why did you seek me out? We didn't exactly part of the best of terms a few days ago. And I was rather looking forward to my time alone here."

Alex shrugged a little as she pulled her legs up to her chest. It was then that Erin noticed she was casually dressed, in leggings and an oversized burgundy blouse, and she smiled to remember a time when they were close enough to let their guards down around each other like that. "I reacted badly, I'll admit. I just wasn't ready for our past to be put on display like that. It was something that I hid away, since it caused me too much pain. When I looked beyond the tip of my own nose, however, I realized that I might have hurt you."

Erin nodded shortly as she looked down into her lap, trying to calm the rapid beating of her heart. "I hurt myself worse, Alexandra. I didn't trust Penelope enough to tell her that there was more hidden in my past, and when she found out about us, she felt betrayed. I ruined any chance of a good friendship with my stubbornness."

She started to cry and curled up into a tight ball, wanting to shut out Alex. She just didn't have the emotional resources in her at that moment to deal with another person, and she buried her face in her knees as she began to sob. Vaguely, she felt Alex scoot closer to her, then felt her arm wrap around her shoulders, tugging her against her chest. She tried to ignore how wonderful Alex's fingers running through her hair felt, but found that that was a losing battle. "If she really wants to be your friend, she'll seek you out, Erin."

"Maybe," she whispered as she grew more comfortable with Alex's arms around her. "Are you going to stay?"

"I thought that I might. After all, you should have someone here to look after you."

The notion did sound nice, and she smiled a little as she nuzzled her cheek against Alex's chest. The longer they embraced, the more comfortable she felt being in the woman's arms, and while she knew that was dangerous, a small part of her didn't really care that she was treading on thin ice. It seemed like Alex wasn't objecting, either, since her hand had moved on from Erin's hair to her back, offering her more comfort. "Why would I need someone to look after me?" she asked a bit tiredly.

"Because you've been through the wringer these last few weeks, and sometimes you just need to be taken care of, to watch over you while you sleep, and to make certain that you don't end up never coming back."

"Like anyone would really miss me," she muttered, wincing a little when Alex pinched the tender flesh of her upper arm.

"I don't ever want to hear you talk like that, Erin. There are people in this world who mourned you deeply when you were gone from us. There are people who would miss you dearly if you chose to never return to the BAU. And I would be among their number."

She pulled away a little so that she could turn and look up into Alex's face. There was a sincerity in her eyes that told Erin she had been fully forgiven, and she shook her head a little, her tears starting to flow a little harder once more. Alex reached down and wiped her cheeks free of tears, which caused Erin to reach up and close her fingers around the woman's wrist. "I'm glad that you would miss me, but we can't do this to each other. You have James, and I have my solitude. Perhaps things turned out like they always should have."

Alex shook her head as she leaned down and pressed her lips to Erin's forehead in a tenderly sweet caress. "You were not meant to live a life of solitude, Erin. You crave touch and affection too much to live alone."

"And you know me too well, still. How can you remember so much about me?"

Alex gave her a knowing smile as she caressed her hair. "Because I remember our time together so well, or at least the good parts of it. We loved each other, once, and I will always cherish those memories."

Erin fell silent, unable to rebut her words, and then she let her head slip down into Alex's lap, feeling her body relax as Alex kept running her fingers through her hair. A part of her knew, though, that if she allowed this to continue for too long, they would end up doing something they would both regret, and she didn't want to hurt her. Their fledgling friendship meant too much to her now to do that.