It had been a long, rough, week of radio silence from everyone on the forum, not just Alex, and Erin found herself diving headlong off a cliff into the deep waters of a depressive funk. She knew that it was not a good place for her to be in, since she didn't want John to start questioning why she was feeling so down. Still, he must have noticed something, since he had started to bring her all of her favorite dishes from the past few months, and she had been grateful for the considerations, since it kept her present. Breakfast that morning had been no different, and she had relished the taste of hollandaise sauce on her lips as she brought the tray back to the door.

"Did you want to go for a walk today?"

Erin let out a soft squeak of a scream at John's sudden appearance as he took hold of her tray. "I, I would really like that. Will I need to bring a towel to sit on, or has it been dry enough not to worry about that?"

"I think you should be fine, Erin."

"All right, let me just put on some shoes, then." She stepped away from the door and went to the closet, grabbing out her tennis shoes before taking a seat at the table and pulling them on. As she tied the laces, Erin heard the lock on the door turn, and looked up to see John entering, the handcuffs hanging off his finger. "I hope that one day, I don't have to jump through that particular hoop," she said as she got to her feet.

"I suppose that we could give that a trial run today, Erin." He stuffed the cuffs into his trouser pocket, and she let out a small sigh of relief as she followed him out the door and up the stairs, watching as he dropped the tray onto the counter on his way to the front door. As soon as they were outside, John reached out his hand, and she knew that she would have to placate him, in order to gain his trust even more. Still, there was a moment of hesitation before she clasped his hand, and she gave him a tiny smile before they started down the path to the lake. "It's a gorgeous day out, made even prettier by the company I'm keeping."

John tightened his grasp on her hand, and Erin fought to keep her cool as she nodded. "The company we keep certainly does color the way we view a day. Oh, maybe I should have brought a towel with me, it's so warm I'd like to dip my toes in the water."

"You could always walk back with wet feet."

Erin shook her head as they finished up the walk. After sinking down onto the ground, Erin gazed out across the water, seeing how calm everything was, the water looking a bit like glass as it reflected back the trees and clouds. "I'd be too afraid I'd step on something, John. And I would hate to be laid up, and expecting you to wait on my hand and foot."

"It might be nice to take care of you, Erin. You've always been so independent."

She made a soft, noncommittal sound in the back of her throat as she drew her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on top of her knees. It was a comfortable position, and she allowed John to rest his hand on her back as they carried out a small conversation before an easy silence fell between them. Finally, the sun grew to be too much for her, and she glanced over at him before drawing in a deep breath. "My skin isn't used to being out in this much sun. I think that we should head back in now?"

"All right." John rose to his feet before giving her a hand up, and Erin accepted the fact that they were going to hold hands the entire way back to her prison room. Just the thought of being locked back in there, with no way of certain escape, filled her with a sense of dread and sorrow that caused each step to come slower than the one before. By the time they were back in her room, Erin felt like she was close to crying, and John noticed her sad mood as he led her over to her bed, gently pulling her down onto the mattress. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, I just feel so lost," she managed to choke out before bursting into tears. A part of her was hoping that he wouldn't touch her more, but then she realized that this was exactly the opening that she had been looking for. It had taken thirteen months, she had allowed him into her personal space, but finally it seemed like he had once more allowed his guard to drop enough. Without protest, Erin allowed him to hug her tightly to his chest as he murmured what she assumed he thought were comforting words in her ear. "Oh, John, I just don't know what to feel anymore. I'm so lonely."

He went to pull away from her, most likely to caress her face or even kiss her, but that momentary loosening of his grip was all the opening that she needed. Raising her hands to his chest, in a traditional, submissive, pose, she batted her eyelashes at him, trying to give John her most open, vulnerable look. It worked, since he relaxed even further, which in turn allowed her to spread her hands out on his chest and shove him away from her with all her strength before she got up and quickly ran for the door, slamming it shut behind her without looking back. She had sat through enough horror movies with Bruce to know that you never, ever, looked back when you were trying to escape a situation like this.

"Dammit, Erin, let me out! This will never work, you have no idea where you are! Even if you do manage to find my car keys, you still have to navigate a way out of the woods, and good luck with that. I brought you somewhere remote for a reason, just in case Dave was right, and you were stronger than I had expected you to be. And yes, before you ask, we've been working together since Alex rejoined the team. Old loyalties are hard to sever, even when your reputation has been torn to shreds by your actions."

"You two knew each other? He was in Paris when the Amerithrax debacle happened."

"You forget how much of a boys' club the BSU was back then. We didn't want anyone screwing that up, and then you were fast tracked for Section Chief, and proved how cutthroat you really were."

"And that is precisely why I'm out here and you're in there, John. I've finally won, and you'll never see me again. At least you have access to some food and water, so you won't die before I send the authorities your way." Turning on her heel, she made her way over to the stairs and slowly climbed them, finding her steps shaky as the realization of what she had just done started to dawn on her. She knew that his car keys were up here somewhere, and after she'd turned all three locks on the basement door, Erin knew that her next task would be to find them so that she could start the long journey home.