The first thing Erin noticed when she stepped inside the offices of WitSec that evening was the hopeful looks that everyone wore. For some reason, that both set her heart at ease and caused it to speed up in anticipation. Derek looked over at her and said something into his phone, beckoning her over to his side.

Erin fairly ran over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist as he stroked her hair. "She's alive, Erin. She's going to be okay." He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head as she burst into tears, rubbing her face against his chest.

"When are we going to go get her, then?" she asked quietly, resting her head against his heart, listening to it beat. From the corner of her eye, she watched Eleanor rush over to a voluptuous blonde, throwing her arms around her and kissing her soundly. "Oh, I just thought…well, that will be a story for my Penny."

She turned a little to watch the tableaux in front of her, her head never leaving Derek's chest. The woman gently pushed Eleanor away, a confused look on her face. Eleanor's eyebrows furrowed together in pain and she turned from the woman, pushing past Aaron and Dave to run from the room, her cheeks flushed, tears flowing from her eyes. "Should one of us go after her?"

"I will, Der." Erin let go of him and took a step towards the door, only to be passed by the woman Eleanor had so passionately kissed moments earlier. "Or, maybe she will go and fix everything. Anyway, when are we going to find my honey blossom?"

He led her over to Aaron and the others. Aaron was in an intense conversation with a tall, slim, man and she reached out to rest her hand on his upper arm. "Oh, good, you're here. We just about have the triangulation on Penelope's location. This is Marshal Mann, he's going to be leading the team in to take down the unsub and get Penelope."

"Please, call me Marshall," he said kindly, and Erin felt her brow wrinkle in confusion. "My mom's idea of a joke. She didn't think I would end up following in the family footsteps." She nodded and shook his outstretched hand, a tiny smile crossing her face. "Now, your fiancé is going to be just fine, I promise. We already are assembling a team of Marshals to head out into the desert and find her. Is there anything that we can get you while you wait?"

"Wait? I'm not waiting, I'm going with you."

Marshall sighed, meeting Aaron's eyes over her head and she stamped her foot, causing Morgan and JJ to smother a laugh. She glared at Derek and he just shook his head, shrugging a little. "Erin, we don't like putting lovers into tense situations like this. I know how keyed up you are right now, and to put all that adrenaline in the line of fire could be disastrous. Please, stay here with Mary and Eleanor. We will bring her home to you, I promise."

She turned her glare on Marshall, and he only just smiled at her. "What?"

"You need to talk to Mary about your glares, you could give her a run for her money. However, they no longer work on me. Please, tale a seat here, behind Mary's desk, and let her and Eleanor take care of you." His kind eyes begged her to agree, and her shoulders slumped as she nodded. It didn't surprise her when his arms wrapped her up in a tight hug, rubbing her back lightly, since that seemed to perfectly fit his personality.

"You had better be quick about it, then. Otherwise, I'm going to backhack all the information I need to follow after you. I've picked up enough tricks from my love to know how to do that." Marshall laughed a little as he gently pushed her away to look into her eyes.

"That does not surprise me. We'll be back soon." She nodded and looked at Derek, trying to smile. He moved to her side, hugging her quickly before following Marshall and the others out the door. Slowly, she sank into the seat behind her and rested her head on her arms, watching the door for Mary and Eleanor's return.

Finally, though, she had to use the bathroom, and so she got up and headed out the door, remembering that there was one just down the hall from the elevator. Opening the door, she gasped a little when she saw that her companion and the mysterious Mary were making out, Eleanor's back against the mirror, Mary's hands under her blouse, caressing her breasts.

Erin found herself incredibly turned on by the sight, wondering if that was how she and Penelope looked to others, but she knew she couldn't be a voyeur. Coughing discreetly, she brushed past them to enter the first stall, quickly taking care of her needs. When she stepped out of the stall, both women were gone and she washed her hands before heading back into the main room.

Eleanor blushed as she sat next to her. "Are you going home with her tonight?" Erin asked softly, desperately wanting there to be at least one happy ending that evening.

"I wish that I could. I have to fly back in the morning. At least I know that my feelings weren't going out void." A dreamy smile spread across her face. "Perhaps, when I get some vacation time, we can finish what we started."

"Or you could finish it now. You looked pretty comfortable there in the bathroom."

Eleanor shook her head. "I want our first time to be special, you know? Now that I know the spark is there, that I won't be turned away, I want to build a relationship. I guess I'm just too old-fashioned."

"There's nothing wrong with that. And I'm going to take some vacation time. You know, Norah's never been on a plane before. Maybe it was time she had her first ride. I'd like to get to know you better." They both looked up at Mary and Erin saw the hesitant, wary, expression in her eyes. It was obvious that someone had hurt her deeply in the past, that trust was not her first reaction when presented with a new situation, but that she was reaching out at all spoke volumes.

Erin nodded at Eleanor. "There's room on our jet for all of us."

A soft, bright, hope filled Eleanor's face as she nodded. "There is that. The BAU does have the best jet in the FBI. My place is kind of small, but there is a second bedroom. You wouldn't need to stay at a hotel."

"That sounds real nice." Mary sat down on the desk, holding out her hand to Eleanor, and she clasped it tightly, a few tears springing to her eyes. "Ah, Ellie, you're going to kill me with all these sissy feelings, aren't you?"

"Whatever. And if things get to the point where you move in, I am the one doing the decorating. If you even think about moving anything, you will find it moved back to its proper place." This brought a grin to Mary's face and she shook her head.

"I make no such promises." As Erin watched the tender back and forth, she sighed, wishing that Penelope were there with her, seeing the first blossoming of romance, too. Eleanor slid her eyes over to look at her, reaching out for her other hand. "Ah, hey, Marshall's the best, Erin. He'll bring your partner home without even a scratch on her."

She nodded and squeezed Eleanor's hand as she smiled, hoping beyond hope that those words were true, that Penelope would be fine. It was all she had to hold onto at that moment.