There were already a number of cars in the parking lot when Dave pulled in, and he frowned a little at the sight, wondering just who all was there. Pulling up to the door, he slid the car into park, letting the women out before parking himself. He jogged up to the sidewalk just as they were starting to head inside, and he nodded to the young man who opened the door for them. The first person that came up to their side was the funeral director, and Dave nodded to his as he casually wrapped his arm around Erin's waist, holding her steady as she weaved on her feet a little.

"Good morning, Erin, David, Penelope. It's good to see you here so soon. Erin, your parents are already in the prayer room, and I'll be directing the rest of the family that way when I see them. I thought that you might like some time with them before everyone starts to arrive, however."

"That would be nice. David, would you come with me? Penelope, would you go to my parents and tell them that we're here, and I'll be there in a little bit?"

"Whatever you want, Erin." Penelope gave them a pained smile before following after the funeral director and then Erin was stepping out of his arm to take hold of his hand and lead him to where the caskets were lined up in the narthex of the church.

"I'm not certain I can do this, David," she whispered as she looked at the closed caskets. "Do you have a tissue?"

"Here, use my handkerchief." He pulled the fresh white square of lawn to her, and she started to worry it between her fingers as she touched each casket in turn before turning and looking up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks already. "I'm here," he said simply, and she nodded, stepping close to him and letting her forehead thump against his chest as she drew in a few shuddering breaths. "What do you need?"

"For Alan to call and say there was a horrible mistake? But I know that's not true, and I have to deal with the pain of my shattered heart. And don't think I don't know that I am being clingy and allowing the barrier between us to become a bit nebulous. I know. But you and Penelope were there and didn't judge me when I tried to end it all. You just held me, and that is all that I want right now." Her words cut off abruptly as she began to cry in earnest, and he rubbed her back in slow, soft, circles as he hummed her favorite song beneath his breath. "All right, I want to see who sent flowers now. There are a number of arrangements here, more than I thought there would be."

Nodding, Dave wrapped his arm around her waist once more as they went along the line of arrangements. "Derek sent another one," he said as he pointed to the potted peace lily.

"And he sent me something living. Something that will last beyond a week and that will remind me of his kindness. What did I do to change his mind about me? Why would he be so kind?"

"Because you lost so much, Erin. Derek's a good man, who knows about tragic loss himself, what with how his father died." She nodded before letting out a small gasp. "What?"

"Agent Anderson sent a potted plant as well. Has it gone around the office, then?"

"I don't think so, Erin. He did ask after you, when he saw me in your office gathering your bonsai tree and pictures, and I told him to pray for you. From there, he might have drawn his own conclusion, but I don't know how he knew where to send something."

"Maybe he asked Derek," she whispered as they continued to look at the flowers that had been sent. "They're all so lovely, but I don't think they'll all fit in your car to bring home."

"Perhaps your parents will agree to bring some home in their rental car? And if there's still not room, perhaps Alan's parents could do so, too?"

"You think of everything, David. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Topalina."

He had to refrain from kissing her temple, since it wasn't appropriate for him to do that now, instead hugging her a little closer. "I think that we should head to the prayer room now, before people start arriving. I know, there's the visitation beforehand, but I don't want to face them yet. It will be hard enough to do that when I have to deliver my eulogy for the graveside service."

"That's fine, we'll send out the parents to do the greetings."

Erin nodded as they turned into the large prayer room, and he was slightly surprised to see that there was a small array of snacks and drinks set out for them there. "Alan's parents thought that we might want something to nosh on as we waited for the service to start," Penelope said as he guided Erin over to her side, helping her to take a seat before picking up two bottles of water and giving one to her. "We were talking just now, and wondered if it might be easier if they went out to greet the mourners, since this is already such a difficult day for Erin."

"I had the same thought, Kitten." She gave him a fleeting smile before letting her arm come to rest around Erin's shoulders, letting her rest against her chest as she whispered something in her ear. "I don't believe that we met. I'm David Rossi, and I've worked with Erin for too many years to count," he said as he held his hand out to Alan's father.

"I'm Karl Strauss, and this is my wife, Sophia. Thank you for all the strings that you pulled to make certain that our son and grandchildren were brought home with honor. And for making certain that the burden of paying for something like that did not fall on Erin's shoulders. She's been through so much in the last eighteen months, and any ease is better for her."

Dave nodded as he shook Karl and Sophia's hands. "Erin deserves to have people look out for her. Penelope and I are trying our best to make certain that she has a soft place with us."

"And we appreciate that. Come, Soph, we should get out there and see who's here." He helped his wife to her feet and left the room, Erin's parents close at their heels. Once the door was closed, leaving the three of them alone, he took a seat on the sofa across from Erin and Penelope, reaching out to grab a bottle of water and a bunch of grapes.

"It's such a beautiful day, you know."

He focused on Erin, seeing that she was staring into her lap, twisting a bit of her skirt between her fingers in an effort to self-soothe. "It is, and beautiful days are an affront when you're feeling devastated. I completely understand that, because I buried Carolyn on a beautiful day, too." A small voice whispered in his ear that Aaron had also laid Haley to rest on a gorgeous day, so he would also understand Erin's sorrow, if he could only see beyond the end of his nose. Penelope looked up at him, giving him a knowing smile, and he was almost certain that she knew what he was thinking.

"Though I think it would be worse if it was a rainy day. Because it would just bring everything down around my ears. At least with the sun shining so prettily, I can think of them enjoying Heaven and wanting me to find some measure of comfort in this awful day."

He nodded as Erin looked up at him, the hollow stare shaking him to the core. "That is a beautiful way of thinking about today, Erin." They shared a quick, sad, smile before she looked back down at her lap and then leaned over to rest her head on Penelope's upper arm. "I'm going to see if the pastor is here yet, and find out when he's going to join us here for prayer. Do you want me to do anything while I'm out there?"

"Prepare me for how many people showed up? I don't know what will be worse, having no one here or having a full sanctuary." He nodded as he got to his feet once more, eating the last few grapes before tossing the stem in the trash as he left. Striding down the hall, he heard the buzz of voices grow louder, telling him that a number of people were already there, and he suddenly knew that the church would be completely full.

"Agent Rossi!" He turned his head to see Anderson coming over to his side, a pensive look on his face. "I hope that I'm not overstepping any boundaries, but I wanted to be here, to show my support for Chief Strauss. I just can't imagine what she's going through."

Dave nodded as he shook the younger agent's hand. "I'm glad that you're here, Anderson. And other than you and the Director, I don't think anyone else from the Bureau will be here. That's what Erin wanted, after all. Come, I'll want you and the Director seated behind us, and with the amount of people here, I'm starting to wonder if that will be possible."

Anderson nodded as they started to make their way through the clumps of people, until Dave had reached the funeral director's side. "Is everything all right?" he asked, and Dave nodded.

"I was just bringing Agent Anderson over to you, because I know that you'll be seating the mourners soon, and I want to make certain that he and the Director are seated directly behind our pew."

"I can arrange that, Dave, just leave it to me. Here, before you head back into the prayer room, you should take one of the pamphlets that Penelope designed in to Erin." He nodded and accepted two from the man, wanting a copy for himself. "I'll be sending Pastor Miller to you in about fifteen minutes."

"Well, you just answered the other question I had, thank you. I'll make my way back to Erin and Penelope now, and let them know that a good number of people are here already. I don't think Erin was planning on there being quite this many people who would want to attend." The funeral director nodded a little before shaking Dave's hand once more and then Dave turned and started to make his way back to Erin and Penelope, his heart heavy in his chest to know that so many people could turn out for a tragedy like this, but were never there to support Erin when she really needed it. And he vowed that he and Penelope would be there for her, no matter what came next.