"With our love, we could save the world."

George Harrison

Dave pulled up at the red light, lifted his phone from the cupholder and panned through his home's security footage. He'd set up cameras inside the house to compliment the ones outside. The house was empty, just as it should be. "I'll make an appointment to have your A/C fixed tomorrow, okay?" As much as he wanted her to stay, she liked being in her own house.

"Thank you," she shifted in her seat, adjusting the seat belt that cut into her waist.

"You're okay with sleeping over?" He thought he knew the answer, but wasn't sure. "I know you like having your own space after a trip."

"I'm fine sleeping over," She was just as comfortable at his place as she was at her townhouse. Anywhere was better than being in the car.

"Do you want to stop and eat?" The LED clock on the dashboard said it was after midnight and the snacks from the gas station didn't cut it. His stomach growled loudly in the small space of the car to prove the point. "Drive-thrus are the only thing open." He said, drumming his fingers on the leather steering wheel.

"I'll cook," she offered, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "I just want to get out of the car-"

"I agree," he glanced at the GPS resting on the dashboard. "The last 20 minutes are the hardest; but I like driving. Taking it slow…."

"You fly so much, I'm sure it's a nice change."

"This car's got nothing on that private jet," he deadpanned, the traffic lights cast shadows in the car windows, as she caught his smile.

"Too bad it's federally funded," she returned, rolling her eyes.

He hadn't expected that, his mouth pulled a smile. "What would you do with the jet, Chief Strauss?" He asked, emphasizing her professional title.

"With you?" She returned, "I think I'd reestablish my membership in The Mile High Club."

"Reestablish?" He repeated, raising a brow in surprise. "What does that mean?"

Her nose wrinkled in disgust at the memory of the first and last time she had sex on an airplane. "Let's just say that commercial jet bathrooms are disgusting."

He nodded, thinking back to his third 'honeymoon.' That was actually just his return flight from Las Vegas to Virginia. "Why do you think I worked so hard to get us a private jet?"

"As your boss, is that something I need to know?" She suddenly asked, speaking as a competent professional instead of his freaky girlfriend.

"Didn't say I did it." He said the picture of nonchalance, "Just that I wanted the option. Besides, he looked over as they stopped at another red light. "To me, Erin comes before Chief Strauss." His words hung heavily in the space of the car, she knew what he meant. He'd have her back, politics and regulations be damned.

"Agent Rossi's a dick, sometimes," She countered.

"I know," he commiserated. "Rossi's a mean and brutal bastard-"

"I wouldn't go that far-"

"I would." He said flatly. "At the time, I mean what I say."

"Well, either way, I think David is a wonderful person; and I'll try to keep the two seprated."

"I hate this car," Erin grumbled, balancing one foot on the running board. Parked in Dave's driveway. One misstep away from face-planting on the concrete.

"It's got enough space, but the height leaves a lot to be desired," Dave replied, with his hand on her back to keep her from tumbling out of the car. "Either way, I'm glad we drove back. It would have been faster to fly, but it wasn't worth the jet-lag."

"Me too," he face split into a wide yawn, "you'd have to drag me through the airport."

"I don't want to go to work," Erin groaned, stretching out on the mattress, letting her hips pop against the soft cotton sheets. The clock on the nightstand flashed, 5:00am, which, in her opinion, was entirely too early. She kept her eyes closed and pulled the top sheet up to her chin.

"Don't go," Dave said as if it were the simplest thing in the world. He stood in the full length mirror, buttoning his shirt, he chuckled, watching her from the reflection in the glass. "I'm meeting with the team, then coming back here."

"Why?" She rolled over just enough to face him, her voice heavy with sleep. "You don't have a case to work on? Or a curriculum to work on?"

"It's nothing I can't do here," he said, adjusting his collar. "I'm going to ask Garcia to go through the cameras from last night's hotel…" He let the sentence trail off. He wasn't even sure if that hotel had cameras. "I emailed an HVAC company, they're coming out to your house at 10:30-"

"I can handle that-"

"Nah," he shook his head, turning away from the mirror. "I got it. Hang out here, relax. Clean out the DVR."

She sat up slightly, pushing the sheets to the side. "What time are you leaving?"

"Half an hour, maybe;" he threw the tie he was considering, onto the foot of the bed; "but you don't have to come. Unless you really don't trust your assistant not to burn the place down," he teased.

"I'll just… pop in." She shrugged, in a lame attempt at nonchalance. "Pick up some files to work on at home-"

"Pop in," he repeated smugly. "Sure we'll go with that."

Hotch stood shoulder to shoulder with Dave as the team filed inside the conference room. The window was covered and the sun still hid behind the early morning clouds.

"Sorry to call you in here so early," Hotch started as everyone sat down. "This won't take long."

"First," Dave clapped his hands together, stepping forward. He made eye-contact with Reid, J.J, and Garcia. "I'm here with my hat in hand." He held up the Cubs cap that lived in his office. "I owe you guys an apology- I walked in on a conversation a while ago and jumped all over you guys. I'm sorry." He said, sincerity shone in his eyes. "I don't care if you're mad at me, I'm asking for your help."

"What is it?" Derek asked, picking up his tablet. "Where's Blake?"

"She wasn't invited," Hotch answered, simply. Which sounded more sarcastic than he intended. "We all know there's been an ongoing threat towards Strauss-"

"I wouldn't go that far-" Morgan cut in. "There's no physical evidence-"

"There is now," Dave said, annoyed at the interruption. He picked up the remote and turned on the projector. Images of the cut up ultrasound picture, scattered on the table in the hotel and the FedEx packaging popped up on the screen. "This showed up at my agent's hotel room while I was on tour. She brought it to me."

"Is that-" J.J. said, studying the tablet in front of her.

"It's my son's sonogram." Rossi pressed another button on the remote and a complete photo of the sonogram showed up on the screen. "Look at this and tell me it's not a threat."

"Before and After, creepy addition." Garcia said lowly. Then it dawned on her… "Wait!" She pepped up, suddenly vibrating with unrepressed joy. "It's a boy!" She screeched, zipping across the room.

"Thank you, Penelope." Dave grunted as she squeezed him to the point of suffocation. "Which means we're on a clock," Dave said as she released him. "I want this over before he gets here. Which is why I've asked for your help."

Nobody spoke, Dave's throat went dry as the knot in his stomach clenched tighter. "Look," he laid down the remote. "I know everyone on this team has a bias against Erin, I get it." Desperation seeped in his tone, he needed them. His family needed them. He looked around the room trying to gauge their reactions, but a profiler's poker face never slipped; "But I need you, I need your help."

"As far as I'm concerned," Hotch crossed the room and sat beside Dave. "She's one of us and if anyone on this team can't put their differences aside to help solve this case I want you to leave now. I'll assign you to other cases, but if you're not going to take this one, you're wasting time."

Hotch waited, letting the words sink in, just when he thought everyone was going to stay, J.J. stood, pushing her chair in, she grabbed her hand bag.

"J.J?" Dave spoke just above a whisper, betrayal written all over his face. "You're leaving?"

"Rossi," J.J. stared at him, trying to decide what to say. "I-I can't, Rossi. I have a bias. I didn't want to work on it before and I don't want to work on it now. I'm sorry… I just-" her shoulders slumped as she spoke. "I can't be objective."

"Okay," Dave nodded, keeping a neutral expression. "I get it." He looked around the room again, bracing for it. Someone else would stand, he just didn't know who. "Does anyone else think Erin's getting what she deserves?"

"That's not what I said," J.J. spat, from the doorway. She didn't stick around long enough for his response.

"Anyone else feel like playing judge, jury and executioner?" They all had a problem with Erin, he knew it and it didn't matter until now. He thought they would act like adults and put their feelings aside. He jumped to his feet, shoving his hands in his pockets. His voice shook as he spoke, half impassioned, half fearful. He spoke around the lump in his throat. "Half the time we don't even meet the victims. They're dead when we get to them-"

"Dave-" Hotch said, trying to pull his friend out of his internal spin-out.

"I'm in," Penelope tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm the best," she said softly, but confidently, "you guys need the best."

"You're damn right, Baby Girl. I'm in too." Derek turned to Reid, "What about you, Pretty Boy?"

"Why wouldn't I stay?"

Dave sat back down, relief spreading through him, he wasn't completely alone in this…"Then let's get to work,"

"Guys," Reid said eagerly. "Look at the edges of the pieces of the picture." Dave enlarged the photo on the screen. "It's smooth, not jagged. Ultrasounds use thermal paper, typically it's the same weight as regular copy paper, but uses heat-reactive chemicals to print the image. The chemicals make the thermal paper harder to cut. Whoever cut it probably used a straight razor."

"Or a craft machine," Penelope offered unexpectedly. "Sellers online will make displays with ultrasound pictures. Shadow boxes," Garcia shrugged, "stuff like that."

"Blake's not crafty," Reid supplied. "Seriously," He glanced around at the expressions of his team members. Ranging from surprised to amused and everything in between. "I've been to her house, everything in there is mass produced. Or gifts from her husband's international travels."

"Crafters are usually proud of their creations," Dave threw in, just to have something to add.

"Rossi, are you sure nobody knew where you would be?" Derek asked, studying the image on his tablet.

"The tour schedule was posted online, but not where I was staying."

"You didn't hold the event in the hotel?" Derek pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not that flashy-" Dave drolled.

"Crafting can be wildly expensive," Penelope said. "I can check her credit cards."

"Good," Hotch pushed his chair back and stood up, "I'll call the lab and tell them to rush the lab results on the package."

"I can do it," Penelope offered quickly.

"No offense, Garcia," Hotch said kindly, "but I don't think you have it in you to put the fear of God in a lab tech."

"I can threaten their credit score-" She replied eagerly.

"That's extortion and I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Hotch said, rushing towards his office.

"I'll get the tapes from the hotel," Derek grabbed his phone. "And call in a favor in New York, for the tapes from that hotel."

"You've tried that-" Penelope cut in. "I thought the hotel wouldn't cooperate-"

"Yeah and I'm going to try again, Baby Girl."

Erin spotted her assistant, hunched over her desk in the conference room. "Do you have space for this?" She handed over a plastic cup from the cafeteria.

Maryanne pulled away from the spreadsheet she was working on. "How did you know I would be here?" She asked, taking the cup, she plucked the paper off the straw and took a sip of the bubble tea.

"I had a hunch," Erin said, with a proud smile. Maryanne was a good assistant and Erin wanted to keep her around. She didn't mind adjusting the workload around Maryanne's school schedule. "What time is your morning class?"

"Nine. It's a virtual lecture for my Criminology class. I wanted to get a head start on things here, before I left."

"You'll want to be out of here by 8:15," she started towards her office, leaving the door open. "I won't be here long-" Erin said, sitting down at her desk.

"Do you want the most recent case files?"

"Please." Erin said, looking around her office. She usually spent so much time there that she didn't notice when things were different. "The plants are thriving," she remarked, seeing how the ivy crawled across the floor underneath the window.

"It's the humidifiers," Maryanne answered, carrying an armload of case files. "They make it smell nice in here too."

"What's in the humidifier?" Erin asked, taking the files and thumbing through them. "They weren't turned on the last time I was in here."

"Uh…" Maryanne walked over to the humidifier across the room from Erin's desk. "I'm not sure. They were turned on when I got here."

Dave's quick knock on the open door caught her attention, he didn't wait for her to answer, before crossing the threshold.

"I'm going to take the car back," he said, leaning against the doorframe. "Want to come?"

"No thanks," Erin shook her head, shoving the files in her briefcase, before checking her watch. "You're running late, if you're going to make it to my place in time-"

"I know, do you want to come back with me?"

"I'm not finished here-" she wanted to help Maryanne with the filing before she left for class, really she didn't want to lock herself up in Dave's house. She felt safer in her office.

"I'll ask Aaron," he said, with a grin. He knew she wouldn't stay away from the office for very long. "Need anything while I'm out." He asked, stepping lightly towards her.

"No, thanks." She stood up and kissed his cheek, "drive safe and I'll see you later."

"I'll try to be back by lunch, can I pick you up then?" The slow, quiet day working through the DVR, got further away by the minute.

"Sounds good."

Dave checked his watch, despite starting the day so early, the day was getting away from him. He rapped twice on Hotch's office door, before turning the knob and sticking his head inside. He found Hotch seated at his desk, flipping through a case file. "I have to return this rental car to the airport, want to come?"

Hotch frowned, pushing back from his desk. "Sure."

"Thanks for coming with me," Dave said, climbing in the front seat of the rental car. "Erin rented it when she came out to see me in New Jersey-" He didn't bother trying to pretend he wasn't boasting.

"Real subtle, Dave." Hotch smirked, pulling on his seatbelt.

"What can I say?" He shrugged, turning the key in the ignition. "I'm proud of her considering she barely wants to leave the house-"

"It says a lot that she flew out to see you." That part was true, but he knew that's what Dave wanted to hear, otherwise he wouldn't have brought it up.

"Yeah," he sighed and said, "I just hope this last package didn't set her back."

"Dammit," Dave mumbled, staring at the yellow piece of paper from the HVAC tech, watching the work van pull away. Sweat beaded down his neck as he walked down the driveway and pulled a stack of bills from the mailbox. Of course, the air compressor would go out in the middle of the hottest month of the year, while the necessary tubing was on backorder.

He flipped through the stack, frowning at the envelopes. Three from the obstetrician, five from various credit card companies. His fingers twitched towards the seal on the letter on the top of the stack. Technically, anything from the doctor affected him too. He could read it, take care of whatever was inside and throw the letter away, without anyone even noticing.

He climbed into the front seat of the Cadillac, shoved the mail under the visor and followed Hotch out of the driveway, weighing his options.

Meanwhile, back at the FBI building, Erin and her assistant were busy catching up with the filing.

"I think that's all of it," Maryanne shoved the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet closed with a metallic clang.

"Good," Erin checked her watch, "if you don't leave soon, you'll be late for class-"

"I know," Maryanne stood up. Suddenly, the floor swayed under her feet, she gripped the top of the metal cabinet to keep her balance.

"Maryanne?"

"Hey, Baby Girl?" Derek called, stepping lightly into Penelope's lair. The humidifier on her desk emitted another puff of steam as she leaned closer to her computer screen. "I got the tapes from both hotels, you should have the copies."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Penelope said, her words spewed out faster than usual. "I got 'em, D. I got 'em right here!" She pulled up the first tape, her fingers tapping lightning fast on the keyboard. "Oh crap!"

"What?" Just then, his phone pinged in his pocket.

She giggled and said, "I accidentally sent them to your phones, which is super weird since-" Another strange, laugh, "I'm not even sure if they'll play on your phones."

"You're not sure?" He repeated, watching her. Her chest rose and fell, as shallow breaths filled her lungs. "Penelope? Are you okay?"

"Sure, Agent Morgan, why wouldn't I be okay?" She asked, suddenly the epitome of professionalism. Still, something about her demeanor wasn't right.

"Something's wrong," Derek's heart stalled in his chest. A deep, other-worldly sense of dread spread through him. "Penelope!" He grabbed her chair and spun her around to look her in the eye. Her pupils were massive, overwhelming the usual color of her eyes.

"Derek-" Penelope's voice held a hard, insincere edge. "What could possibly be wrong?"

"What did you take?" He asked, his fingers biting into her shoulder, "Penelope, tell me right now." He demanded, kneeling in front of her. "What did you take?"

"Nothing, Derek. I swear…"

He looked around the room, the only thing different was the bureau issued humidifier on the desk. His mind flashed to their current case, the poison that was used on Strauss. There was no reason why the unsub wouldn't target Penelope too, since she would be the one finding most of the answers.

"Stay here!" He demanded, jogging out the door. He grabbed the office phone off the desk and called for help. Then, just to make sure someone came, he pulled the fire alarm.

"Maryanne?" Erin repeated, holding her arm and helping her back into her desk chair. "Are you alright?"

The young woman nodded, Erin didn't miss the glassy look in her eyes.

"Are you sure? Do you want some water?"

Maryanne pulled her cell phone from her desk, her medical alert bracelet dangled from her wrist. "I think I forgot to take my meds-" she said faintly. Her gaze fell on the desk, but her grip on the phone slackened. "I need to-I need to call my mom." before slipping out of the chair and dropping to the floor. Her body convulsed on the floor, as if she'd been electrocuted.

"Maryanne," Erin knelt beside her, the young woman's limbs kicked and jerked in front of her. She pushed her onto her side, keeping an eye on the clock on the wall, trying to decide what to do. She was too engrossed in her assistant, to hear the fire alarm ringing down the hall.

"I like that rental car," Hotch slid into the passenger seat of the Cadillac and pulled on his seatbelt.

"Erin hated it."

"It's a guy's car-" The screeching alert blaring from both their phones cut off any response. Hotch yanked his phone from his pocket, reading the alert. "The BAU is being evacuated. Someone pulled the fire alarm."

Dave's heart went to his throat and his foot stepped on the gas, the car pealed out of the parking lot, leaving the smell of burnt rubber in their wake.

"Erin's not out here," Dave argued from the driver's seat. Frantically searching the crowd of people in front of the FBI building. "Help me find her-" He'd put eyes on Penelope as she and Reid took off in an ambulance, J.J. left before the evacuation, he saw Derek in the crowd...Where the hell was Erin?

"Dave, I think she's still inside,"Hotch said flatly, scanning the crowd. Where traffic cones and caution tape blocked their access to the building. Uniformed police officers kept the crowd contained. HAZMAT teams directed people out of the building and through the decontamination showers.

"She wouldn't stay behind-"Dave dialed her number again, but the line wouldn't connect. "I can't get her. The phone lines are jammed. She wouldn't trap herself in there- unless-" his mind raced, as he scrambled to put the pieces together. "Something happened, she wouldn't stay behind unless she was helping someone else."

"Who?" Hotch grabbed the door handle, prepared to dive out of the car.

"She was hanging out with her assistant-" Dave threw the vehicle in park and bailed out of the car, with fire on his heels. "Erin's a leader, she wouldn't leave anyone behind, especially not a subordinate."

"I've got two agents in that building," Hotch said urgently, pushing his way to the front of the crowd. "Someone needs to go in and get them."

"All the employees in the building have been accounted for-" the police chief said, blocking the path to the building.

"No they haven't!" Dave argued, his tone rising louder by the minute. "I'm telling you, Erin Strauss and her assistant are still in there. Erin didn't clock in because she wasn't planning to stay."

"Her car's not here, my team went over every car on campus-" the police chief stated, matter-of-factly. "Her keycard wasn't swiped-"

"She rode with me, I had a meeting and she wanted to pick up her paperwork so she could work from home-" Dave yelled as if the volume of his voice would change the chief's mind. "I swiped my badge and held the door so she could walk in behind me."

"Agent Rossi's right," Hotch cut in. "Why would anyone lie about that?"

Erin froze, listening intently to the message playing on the intercom. Holy shit, the building was being evacuated, but why? She panned over to the humidifier in the corner, that still filled the room with a vapor that seemed to grow thicker by the minute… for a second, it was making sense. Of course, the humidifiers were the only things new in the building….

Slowly and carefully, she crawled to the corner where the humidifier sat, keeping her head low. The closer she got to the source of the smog, the thicker it seemed to get. She grabbed the cord and yanked it out of the wall. The smog still hung in the air.

Her mind raced, she glanced at Maryanne, who still lay unconscious on the floor. She couldn't leave her. She wouldn't leave her alone there.

Unfettered dread began to fill her stomach. Nobody knew they were here, she pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed 911, but the phone lines were blocked. The fire alarm screamed in the hallway, but the sprinklers never came on. They had to get out of there.

Even if they couldn't, she needed a plan to buy some time. If she was right, then they needed air, or rain, to cut through the fog and clear the poison from the air. She pulled herself to her feet, she wouldn't get anywhere, crawling on the floor. A small wave of relief cut through her, as heavy rain pounded against the window panes.

She hurried across the conference room and into her office, and shoved the desk chair to the other side of the room. The reflections from the lights of emergency vehicles shone through the glass. A glimmer of hope cut through the fear pumping through her veins as she lifted the orchid from the floor and hurled it through the window, glass shattered raining down onto the ground, 6 floors below. One by one, she turned her head to protect her face and smashed through the wall of windows. Littering the ground with clay pots and soil, remnants of her beloved plants.

Just as Dave's phone rang in his hand.

"Erin!" Dave put the phone on speaker, his fingers trembled against the screen, so much that he almost hung up on her.

"Are you safe?" She turned away from the window and tossed another pot at the glass. The wind and rain cut through the heaviness in the air, but it wasn't a permanent solution

"You're not. Get the hell out of there, What are you thinking!"

She shoved her air-pods into her ears and her phone in her pocket. The wind blew through the busted windows, sending paperwork flying across the room. "I can't leave Maryanne." She said, gritting her teeth. The door to the hallway sat propped open with a chair. She grabbed her assistant by the ankles and headed for the door. "She's unconscious. I have to get her out of here-"

"Let someone else-" He knew resistance was futile, but he had to try. "Please," he begged, "let us come and get her. You get out of there."

"No." She bit out, slowly maneuvering through the door. "I have to get her out of here-"

"Please, Erin. Don't do this," his voice cracked, he had to be strong. "It can't end like this-"

"David," She said as sternly as she could muster, her voice cracked, despite the adrenaline and fear pulsing through her veins. Still pulling her assistant's unconscious body into the hallway. "Either get me some help, or get off my line."

"I told you!" Dave yelled, jabbing a finger towards the building. A glimmer of pride surged through him, she wasn't going down without a fight. "I guarantee, that sound you heard was her office window. Now, let me through," demanded, trying to push his way through the crowd. A strong hand gripped him from behind. "Rossi," Morgan's stern tone broke through the noise of the crowd. "Stay here."

"No!" Dave yanked his arm away. "I'm not leaving her in there-"

The officer looked around, then studied his watch. "There was supposed to be another squad on the way. Protocol says to wait for backup."

"You're not going to let her die in there!" Dave bit out, daring the police officer to challenge him. "Don't you remember the oath we all took? I'm not telling you to run in there. I'm telling you to move out of the way-"

The police chief shrugged, weighed his options and stepped to the side. "We're on your territory, I guess. Do what you wanna do- But I'm not taking the heat for it."

"Understood," Hotch said, rushing passed the officer, towards the building.

"Me too-" Dave said, rushing passed the barricade.

"Stay here," Morgan argued, pulling him backwards, further into the crowd. "Rossi I'm going to get her," Derek tried to assure him, "stay here and wait for her-"

"Morgan!" Dave argued, "I can't just stand here-" His eyes darted from the faces of his friends to the building and back again.

"Derek's right," Hotch bit out. "She'll need you when she comes out. There won't be time for you to go through the decontamination shower too. You can stay here and hold her hand when she comes out, or be an idiot. You choose."

So Dave stood there his feet glued to the concrete, helplessly waiting for his people to come back to him.

She paused in the middle of the hallway, shifting her weight just enough to loosen her back. Her jaw locked in concentration, her arms burned, her back ached. The heels encasing her feet had turned out to be a terrible idea.

She wanted to drop to the floor. Sweat dripped down her neck, if she stopped for too long, they wouldn't make it out. "Damn you, Maryanne!" She hissed, tears of frustration dimmed her vision. They were so close to the exit, but 10 feet never felt so far away.

The air in the hallway seemed clearer, wet papers scattered the floor, sliding under her feet as she dragged Maryanne towards the bullpen. Blinking back her tears, a strange, blurry figure appeared in front of her. Dark hair, a familiar voice goaded her. "Where's your hero now? Did he leave you here, all alone?"

"No!" She answered, shaking her head, pulling Maryanne closer to the exit. "Nobody left me."

"Are you sure about that?" The figure glanced around the room, "I don't see anyone. It's just you and me, here. Alone. Just like before, just like in the hospital."

"I don't know you-" she screamed, her voice bouncing off the walls of the empty bullpen."

"Yes, you do. You know me, you felt my breath on your neck, heard my voice-"

"No." She dropped Maryanne in front of the door. It was as far as she could go. "I don't know who you are."

"Sure, we'll go with that." The figure walked towards her, reaching for her arm, turning her wrist over in his hand. "I did that," his cold thumb traced over the infinity shaped scar on her wrist.

She yanked her arm away, taking off in the opposite direction. "Get away from me!"

A maniacal cackle filled the air, "Run, Strauss, run!"

"ERIN?" Hotch bellowed, through the semi darkness of the BAU building. He and Morgan entered through the 6th floor parking garage, the air was clear and the beams of their flashlights bounced through the room, reflecting off the floor.

"Where would she go?" Morgan asked.

"If there was a hallucinogen in the air like you said, she might've gotten scared."

"She didn't leave the building and the elevators are shut down."

"If she's panicked, she'll stay somewhere she feels safe, go check her office. I'll check Dave's."

"Wait!" Morgan's light fell on Maryanne, her long black hair splayed out on the floor. A mere 2 feet from the door. He pressed two fingers to the girl's neck, feeling a strong and steady pulse. "She's alive-"

"Morgan, get her out of here, I'll find Erin." Hotch directed, leaving no room for argument.

"Are you sure? Do you want me to come back?"

"No. Get her help and get decontaminated."

With that, Derek scooped Maryanne off the floor and hurried out the door.

"Strauss?" Hotch called, shining his light, a pair of heels sat near the door, an air-pod had rolled into the corner. She had been there, he decided, as he pictured the scene. She'd dragged Maryanne to the door, dropped her headphones and kicked off her shoes, but why? She was close to the exit. Why didn't she leave? "It's Aaron, I'm here to help you."

Dave's eyes landed on Morgan, and the curtain of black hair hung over his arm. "Where's Erin?" He stood on his toes, behind the barricade, trying to get a read on Morgan. His stomach sunk to the ground, expecting the worst, "Derek, where is she?"

"Hotch is getting her-" He called out.

"Did you see her? Is she alive?"

"Rossi-" He handed Maryanne to a medic and was ushered toward the decontamination tent, before he could respond.

"Damn you," Dave bit out, his voice breaking. He needed to be strong for her, he knew that, but any strength he felt before was rapidly leaving him. His head swam with fear and grief, he couldn't let his mind go there; but he couldn't stop it. He saw her children in his head, their terrified expressions when he told them what happened, his empty house. The scream that would no doubt rip through Vera… it was all his fault.

"Erin!" Hotch rushed into her office, he searched the conference room first, looking under the assistant's desk, then opened the door to Erin's office. "It's Hotch," He called out, scanning the room, but coming up empty.

She glanced up, catching a glimpse of him as he passed by the office window, the man of her nightmares. She bit back a scream as his heavy footfalls came closer to her. She knew his voice, his smell, the way his fingers felt against her skin when he shoved her into the carpet of the motel room. With no other option, she shrinked further underneath Dave's desk.

"Erin!" Hotch called out, kneeling onto the floor. Still coming up short, the room was empty. She would have gone where she felt safe.

"Erin!" He yelled again, grabbing the doorknob of Dave's office, surprised to find it unlocked. He scanned the apparently empty room, then leaned under the desk.

He breathed a sigh of relief, she was alive and conscious, hiding under there.

"Get away from me!" She yelled, suddenly finding her strength, when her voice didn't shake.

"Erin-" Hotch didn't reach for her, "It's Aaron Hotchner. I'm here to help you,"

"No!" She shook her head violently, fear ripped through her. This is how it would end, she knew it.

"You're safe," he assured her. "I know what you did for Maryanne," He kept his tone deliberately gentle as he reached towards her. "We found her… you got her outside."

"She's alive?" Erin blinked, her vision gradually came back into focus, Aaron Hotchner's eyes met hers.

Hotch nodded, relieved that she seemed to recognize him, "you probably saved her life."

"David- I hung up on him- I didn't tell him-"

"He's outside," he assured her. "He's waiting for you." He reached for her again, this time she let him help her from under the desk and off the floor. "Come on," he put his arm around her to keep her steady as they walked through the bullpen. "Let's get out of here."

She pushed the door open, the rain still beat against the parking lot. She looked around, unsure where to go or what to do. The rain water on the parking lot soaked through her pantyhose, the noise of the crowd was overwhelming, causing her head to swim. She stumbled towards the crowd.

"Erin!" Dave screamed, waving his hands, shoving his way closer to the front of the crowd, warmth and relief spread through his chest. She was alive, off balance, pale and terrified; but she was alive.

Her head snapped up, watching Dave break away from the crowd, running towards her. As the crowd began to dissipate and HAZMAT started to pack up and leave, an announcement played out over a portable loudspeaker. The rain was as effective as the decontamination shower. Anything released into the building would dissipate with water.

He ran towards her, the closer he got the more frightened he became. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, she shook like a wet cat. Still, seeing her face again was like a glass of water after a lifetime in the desert.

"Come on," he slid off his sportscoat and held it open for her. "Let's get out of here," he said, helping her pull it on. Only when she lifted her arm, did he see the trail of blood that soaked the sleeve of her shirt.

"Erin?"

She shook her head, unsure of her surroundings. "Dave?" her voice was faint, he strained to hear her.

"I'm right here, Babe." He reached for her, just in time for her to stumble into his arms.

"I'm so dizzy," she whispered as he lowered them onto the ground, so she could lean against him. He found the handkerchief in his jacket and pressed it on her arm, unsure if it made a difference.

"It's okay," he held her tightly, as she leaned against his chest, he yelled, "We need a medic!"