There was a moment, just before Erin came to wakefulness, that she thought that she was still trapped in her basement prison, and she cried out as she pulled away from the gentle hand on her shoulder, her eyes snapping open to look up into James's eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Agent Anderson has arrived, and I had him set up in the dining room, since it will be easier to work in there with the table."

She nodded as she let Alex's husband help her to her feet. Before she knew what she was doing, Erin leaned into him and hugged him tightly. The sob that she had been holding in since she had escaped John rose up from her diaphragm, and she pressed her face firmly against his chest in an effort to keep it inside, knowing that she couldn't afford to break down now. That would come later, when they had found Alex. James, though, seemed to understand that she needed some form of comfort, as he rubbed her back in slow, gentle circles. "I'm sorry, I know that we need to focus on finding Lexie, but I am so close to the edge."

"I know, Erin," he murmured before gently pushing her away. "When we find my wife, you're going to have all the time you need to reconnect, I promise. I know how important her friendship is with you." To her shock, James pressed a quick kiss to the middle of her forehead before leading her into the dining room. Grant was already set up there, a laptop open in front of him. Erin took a seat next to him and took a deep breath. "Do either of you want anything while you work?"

"Water would be nice, James," she replied quietly as she pulled the laptop in front of her, feeling like she didn't know where to start with things. "This is going to be an odd question, Agent Anderson."

"I like it better when you call me Grant," he replied cheekily, giving her a little wink, which caused her to roll her eyes. "But honestly, I don't think that there could be an odd question right now, since you are here and alive, and this hasn't happened since Prentiss faked her death. Only, it's worse because you didn't fake it."

She nodded as she gave him a tight smile. "All right, was David at work today?"

There was a small pause before Grant shook his head. "No, and even Agent Hotchner commented on that, since he didn't call off. Penelope said that he hadn't even said anything to her about being gone."

"Well, that settles one question. I'm going to check our forum, to see if Alex posted anything before she went missing, and then I'll have to defer to your expertise in tracking down the location of a mobile phone." Grant gave her a small smile as he nodded, and Erin quickly typed out the address of the forum that they had used, scrolling down to the latest messages. There was one from Alex there, telling her that she had narrowed down her location to Wells, Vermont, and would be heading up there as soon as she was finished with class that day. "I see why James is worried," she murmured when she saw that the message was dated shortly after David's appearance at the cabin.

"Why's that?"

"Alex has gone to look for me. But she never reached the cabin in Wells. All right, now it's time for you to work your magic. Can you try to ping Alex's current location?" she asked as she slipped the laptop over to him once more.

"I can try. It helps to know that we have a destination, as that will help us to narrow down locations. I'll just need Alex's cell number?"

James rattled off the digits as he came back with water for them all. As Grant tapped away on the keyboard, Erin picked up her glass and sipped at the cool liquid. "You look like you're going to fall back asleep already."

"I didn't realise how exhausting it can be to always be on guard for thirteen months. And it is quite late, or early, depending on how you look at it."

James nodded as he rested his hand on her shoulder. It was so easy for Erin to relax against him as they waited for Grant to work his magic on the computer, and he started to stroke her hair gently in an effort to soothe her. "Lex has told me a little of what you two discussed on the forum. She's also grown to love your children, and we've had a great time going to Tabitha's competitions."

"You've seen my baby girl ride?" He nodded. "She's grown into such an accomplished rider, and I think that she has a real chance at a spot on the Olympic team, if she puts the work in. Can you imagine that? A Strauss woman in the running for a gold medal?" Tears clouded her vision, and she let out a strangled little sound as she pressed herself deeper into the chair in an effort to use the pain to remind her of what she had escaped and what they were still looking for.

"I would hope that we'd all be invited to watch her, if she makes it that far."

"Of course!" Erin was grateful that James was trying to keep her spirits up, as it was so very much needed in that moment. "Is it odd that I cannot wait to see my darling children's faces again? I know it hasn't been that long in the scheme of things, but I still missed more than a year of their lives."

"I would be worried if you didn't want to see them, Erin. But I am so glad that you're putting off that reunion until we find Lex."

"Well, I have to keep them as safe as possible, and if David is bringing Alex to John, well, I'd never forgive myself if something happened to them as a result of my recklessness." Erin glanced up at James, seeing that he was close to tears, and she reached up to cover his hand with hers.

"And it looks like we are going to be making a trip to Vermont, you two. Because the last tower to ping her cell location was just outside Wells, and that was three hours ago. Now, even though I know that you would love to get underway right now, all three of us are exhausted, so I would suggest that we find a place to catch a few hours sleep and start fresh at eight. All right?"

Even though Grant was younger than them both, he spoke as if he knew that they wouldn't protest, and Erin gave him a small smile as she nodded. "I think that you're right. It would do no good to get into an accident on the way up there. Though I'd like to keep it to just us three, until we know more. I don't want the cops or swat or Aaron's team to go in there and end up getting Alex hurt. Once we know more, we'll call in backup."

"Exactly what I was thinking, Erin. Which is why I brought us a few things that will help." Scrounging around in the bag next to him, Grant pulled out a cellphone and a service weapon, sliding them across the table towards her. "I know it's been a year since you've been on the range, but you don't lose your talent that quickly. And the phones are encrypted, so no one will be able to trace our calls. It's good to have friends in the Marshals. James, I picked up a phone for you, too. Our numbers are saved in the contact lists already, so there's no need to waste time on that detail. Now, care to show me to the sofa? I have a feeling that Erin will be afforded the guest room tonight."

James nodded as he picked up the phone and led Grant out of the room, which allowed Erin to pick up the phone and gun. With a start, she realized that it was her gun, and a slightly feral smile spread across her face as she checked it over, seeing that it had been freshly cleaned and was fully loaded. Though she hoped not to use the weapon at all, since she didn't want to endanger Alex. Pushing away from the table, she brought her new accessories upstairs with her, hoping that she could find the guest room before she passed out.