"You were right."

Erin frowned as she looked up from the report she had been revising, pulling her reading glasses off her face so that she could focus on Aaron a little easier as she indicated for him to take a seat in front of her. He complied, and she took a deep breath through her nose as she tried to find the right way to respond to him. "About?" she finally asked, folding her hands together as she watched his face carefully.

"About Reid. About his problem. Things came to a head in New Orleans, and Gideon has taken things under control. He didn't explain to me what would happen next, just that we wouldn't have anything to worry about any longer. I felt it my duty to inform you so that you can stop harassing my team. We don't need you hovering over us like an angel of doom."

Her nostrils flared a little at that description, but felt like she appropriately controlled her microreactions to his hostile words. "The only reason that I had to hover was to ensure that appropriate measures were taken. I know that you feel your team is a family, that much is obvious from the evaluations that you write, but you can't make excuses for them because of your feelings. That just leads to heartbreak and issues later on down the road. And I think we both know that Jason is not adapting well to things since the Bale incident. You're just still willing to cover for him. There are a lot of talented agents in the BAU who could be filling his position with the elite team, and it might be time to suggest that he move on to a purely teaching role with the FBI."

Aaron practically glared at her for those words, and she let out a long, slow, breath as she arched her eyebrow at him. "I think that you know I will never suggest that to Jason. He is just as good an agent as he's always been, and Reid will need his mentor now more than ever. I know that you just want to split our team up, but it won't work, Erin."

She shook her head. "That is the last thing that I want to happen, Aaron. Honestly. But you need to also take an honest look at the team and their dynamic. You are perilously close to being split up by forces above my paygrade, and I am doing everything in my power to make certain that does not happen, even though you all seem to think that I am some monster hellbent on destroying you."

A guilty blush stained his cheeks briefly before he cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. "Well, it's not like you've done anything to disabuse people of that notion."

"Touché," she murmured as she leaned back in her chair, staring at him. "Is there anything else that you'd like to discuss with me?"

"Not that I can think of, Erin. Just, leave my team to me. I think that Jason and I can adequately deal with the issues that arise as long as you can act as our buffer for the Director." He rose to his feet and strode over to the door, pausing in the doorway to look at her once more. "Seriously, everything will be fine as long as you don't meddle."

Then he turned on his heel and stalked out of her office, closing the door firmly behind him, causing her to flinch a little. There was definitely a slight threat to those words, and she didn't know how to take them, since this was the first time that she had floated the idea of Jason moving laterally into a new position rather than outright retire. Erin had thought that that might go over a little better than suggesting the man retire, but it was clear that Aaron would hear nothing about shaking up their team dynamics in order to make things better for everyone.

Shaking her head a little, Erin tried to concentrate on her work, but her lower lip began to tremble a little as her mind kept replaying the intimation from Aaron that she was a monster that the entire bullpen hated because she didn't give anyone a reason to like her. She knew, deep down, that that was not completely true, but the darts of his words still stung more than she cared to admit. Finally, knowing that it was a fruitless task, she turned away from the door and picked up the latest picture of her children, rubbing her thumb over Elise's face before focusing on her Brucie. He was growing up like a weed, and she didn't know how much longer he'd be her little boy. That opened the floodgates and she allowed herself to cry as quietly as she could since she didn't want to attract any further attention on herself. She allowed herself five minutes of self-pity before she drew in a deep breath, delicately swiped away the remaining tears from her face so that she wouldn't disturb her makeup, and then sat up and turned back to her work. She was surprised at how well that had worked, and she made a mental note to make certain that she tried that in the future when she was at work.

Her email dinged with a new notification, and she focused on the monitor, calling up her emails and feeling her eyes widen as she saw that it was from the Director. Her hand shook a little as she clicked on the message, not knowing why he might be contacting her, though she tried to tell herself that if it was truly important, he would have called her. And then she let out a breath of relief she saw that he was just getting back in touch with her about the whole Doctor Reid situation, thanking her for keeping a handle on things as they navigated how to deal with what could potentially be a tinder box of scandal. She typed out a quick reply to him, thanking him for his discretion when it came to this matter, since she knew that it wasn't the easiest to relinquish control like that.

Once that was replied to, she scrolled through her personal email, seeing that she had messages from Haley, her mother, and David's sister. Glancing at her watch, she smiled to see that she was a bit ahead of schedule and would be able to take a few minutes to engage with her personal correspondence. She decided to start with the email from David's sister, since that would be a quicker email to deal with. Then she wrote her mother back, giving her an update on Elise's progress before reminding her that they were welcome to come visit at any time. Finally, she decided to tackle Haley's email.

I hate to reach out to you like this, Erin, but I have to ask. You might very well be my only hope. I am having so much trouble with these hours that Aaron is working, and I feel like I'm at the end of my rope. Jack is growing up so quickly without his father, since they're out on the road so often, and the cases just seem to be getting darker and darker. That darkness is seeping into his heart, even though I know that he is trying to tell me that he's fine. So, if it ever comes up, could you please talk to the Director about transferring him to a department that would give him more regular hours. I know, it's probably impossible, but I had to reach out, just in case.

Erin felt her heart sink a little as she read those words, hearing the pain behind them and knowing that Haley had a very valid point about Aaron and his hours. It would be difficult, but it might also just be the best thing for Alpha team to get Jason and Aaron to laterally move into different positions in the FBI and allow the rest of the team to flourish without their heavy hands. She just needed the perfect opportunity for that to happen.