True to his word, John was gone the next day, though he had left her a hot breakfast along with a note explaining that he would be absent from her presence for the next two weeks. Frowning, she took a look around her room and didn't notice anything that would indicate she had extra food reserves. Picking up the tray, she went over to her table and ate slowly, sipping at the orange juice to try and make the meal last as long as possible, since she didn't know how she was going to make her small stash of six chocolate bars last for fourteen days. But she was never more grateful then to have access to running water, since that meant she wouldn't die. She'd just be extremely hungry and weak when John returned.

After cleaning her plate, Erin brought the tray over to the door, even though she knew that John wouldn't be there to collect it. She had just fallen into the habit and was loathe to break it now. Hoping against hope, she pushed open the food door and looked out of it. Erin burst into relieved tears to see that there were supplies waiting for her out there, this time stacked on something so that she could more easily reach what he had left for her. A groan of pleasure escaped her lips to see that he had listened to her and brought an electric kettle for her to use. That was the first thing that she pulled into her room, hurrying over to her dresser and plugging it in before filling the reservoir with water, so that she could be ready to make herself some tea as soon as she found the teabags.

With that taken care of, she began to bring the other things in, grateful that John had put them in baskets that would fit through the door so that she didn't have to pull them in box by box. The last thing she brought into her room was another of her quilts, and she sighed a little as she buried her face in the fabric folds, breathing in the comforting scent of her home, the place that she missed more than anything. With another disconsolate sigh, Erin spread the quilt out on her bed before heading into the bathroom and taking a short shower. When she felt human once more, Erin stepped into her room and started the water to warm up while she went through what John had left her. There were enough instant oatmeal cups to last her the entire time John was gone, in different flavors, as if he didn't know what she'd prefer. Two jars of peanut butter along with two loaves of brown bread were also included, though she didn't know how fresh the bread would remain. Again, there were granola bars and Poptarts, which she knew she would eat sparingly, using as a last resort.

She was surprised to find cans of fruit included this time, and a small smile crossed her lips to see that there were two cans of cinnamon pears, which were her favorite, and she vowed to save them for towards the end of the fortnight. After getting everything sorted, Erin made her way to the bed and took a seat, picking up the start of Tabitha's cardigan and getting down to work. It was only when her stomach groaned loudly that she realized she had knitted through the entire morning. Setting the project aside, Erin went over to her supplies and made a quick sandwich before opening a can of peaches and quickly eating while nursing a fresh cup of rose tea. When she had finished eating, Erin washed her hands before making a new cup of tea and then getting back to work on Tabitha's cardigan. Even though this was a new to her pattern, it was much easier than the sweater she had made for Bruce, and by the time her stomach reminded her it was time for supper, she was almost halfway finished. A sense of accomplishment filled her heart as she ate, and then she was curling up on bed and watching more episodes of Dangerous Minds as she tried to unwind for the day.

It was weird to not have spoken with anyone that day, but Erin knew that it would only get harder as the days passed. She hadn't thought that she was a person who needed human contact, but the extended time locked up by John was telling her a much different story. "I need to keep my sanity," she said aloud as she closed out of the computer program, getting to her feet and starting her evening routine. Taking a look in the bathroom mirror, Erin noticed how shaggy her hair was getting, but there were no proper scissors to trim it with, as John had only included her tiny sewing shears in with her stash. "I suppose, if I'm here long enough, my hair might reach the middle of my back. That will be quite the change for David to get used to," she murmured as she ran the brush through her locks, winching a little when she caught it on a few snarls.

"I wonder," she said quietly, hurriedly starting to French braid her hair. "I haven't been able to do this since I was with Alex in the Academy." Holding onto the end of the braid, she went back out into the bedroom and snipped off a piece of yarn to tie around her hair, in order to keep the braid neat. If you could see me now, Alex, maybe you'd remember how good things were before everything happened. We were so close to reconciliation."

Taking a shaky breath, Erin crawled into bed and slipped beneath the covers before picking up her book and starting to read. She found her focus completely shot for some reason, and closed the book with a dull thud before setting it aside and deciding to see if she could again find any way to work round the blocks that John had in place. Unfortunately, she could find nothing there, but she was able to find a few news articles about the most recent cases the BAU had participated in, and it was so good to see the faces of people she had considered her friends once more. Drinking in the faces of Alex and David, she reached out to trace their features, feeling a deep wave of longing for them sweep over her. "The first thing I do, when I find a way out of this nightmare, is hugging Alex and then having David take me home and not leaving bed for the next four days."

With that thought in her mind, she turned the laptop off and set it aside before picking up Tabitha's plushie and cuddling it close to her chest. There was so much that she wanted to do, but it all hinged on her finding a way out of this basement. Which meant that she would have to play her cards right and drink in all the information that she could in order to help build her escape plan. And she had thirteen more days in which to do that without worrying about John paying attention to her every move. There was still the possibility of a Christmas miracle in her future, and she hoped and prayed that it would come for her.