Erin felt like she had been entirely right to bide her time over the last two and a half months, watching as Alpha team became more and more contentious. There was never a moment where they stepped out of line large enough for her to even broach the topic of splitting them up, and she knew that David found her increasing tension grow by the day as she waited for one of them to make a mistake that would necessitate drastic measures. And then, she received the phone call she had least wanted, after already changing into more comfortable clothing for the evening. Frowning, she handed David her glass of red wine and picked up her work phone, the frown deepening when she saw that it was Director Shepperd on the other end of the line.
"Hello?" she asked shortly as she rose to her feet and slipped out of the living room, ruffling Bruce's hair as she walked past him and headed towards the study, needing the empty space to talk, somehow knowing that it was not a pleasure call for the Director. "Director Shepperd?"
"There's been an incident that you need to be aware of, Erin. Apparently, Agent Gideon has been accused of murdering a friend, and the police are currently looking for him. I believe that Alpha already has knowledge of this crime and are doing all that they can to protect a member of their team, but I have no means of proving that supposition. As of this moment, there's nothing that you can do, as I've already contacted the correct police precinct and have told them not to work with the BAU. This needs to be a completely independent investigation, as anything other than that would smack of interference. They've also agreed to a gag order, and will be keeping all information away from the press for the entirety of the investigation."
"What do you need me to do?"
There was a long pause, and Erin held her breath as she awaited his answer, somehow knowing that she was not about to like his answer. "I need you to do the opposite of what you want to do at this moment. You need to be patient and play the long game. If there is any whiff of scandal, then I will seriously give consideration to your proposal of shifting Agent Gideon to a teaching role and Agent Hotchner to White Collar Crimes. Do you have any idea who you'd like to see fill that power vacuum, should it come?"
"There are a few people that I can think if who would fill their roles quite nicely, but I'll have to do some background research before I come to you with my shortlist of candidates. Do you really think that it might come to that?" She tried to keep the anticipation out of her voice at the thought that Jason might soon be out of her hair, one way or another.
"I want you to be prepared, just in case it is." She nodded as her mind began to spin through possibilities of who to insert into those key positions. "All right, I need to go touch base with Agent Hotchner once more, and find out if he knows where Agent Gideon is holed up and how the team is doing with staying away from the case."
Erin let out a quick little laugh as she shook her head. "There is no way that they've taken themselves off the case, no matter what you've told them. Aaron has the tenacity of a bulldog, and the team follows his lead. Which, normally, would be all right, as it leads to them getting the results they've always gotten. In this case, however, it could be have quite the detrimental effect."
"I know, that is precisely what I'm worried about. I'll touch base with you tomorrow morning, and we'll go from there."
"All right, thank you, Director Shepperd." They hung up, and Erin rubbed her face with her hand, knowing that she was in for a long day tomorrow, whatever happened. Heading over to the oversized leather chair that was David's, she curled up in it and tried to get her bearings about her once more. This was a far bigger issue than she had been expecting, and she couldn't begin to see a way out of it. Picking up her phone once more, she called Helen, knowing that her assistant would arrive before she did in the morning, since she was always early.
"Erin! Is everything all right?"
She cleared her throat as she lifted her eyebrows a little. How to properly answer that question? she thought as she rubbed her stomach with her free hand. "With me, yes. However, there is an issue that is arising in the Alpha team, and we might be facing a few personnel changes in the coming weeks. I would like you, please, to pull the files on Katie Cole and Andi Swann. My shortlist is going to begin with those two women, even though they're not attached to the BAU at the moment."
"I can do that, yes. Do you have any idea what is going on?"
"I do, but I don't think that I can say anything at the moment. We'll talk more tomorrow, when I have a better handle on the situation. Also? Do not expect anyone from Alpha to be in tomorrow, which means that Beta and Red Cell will be looking at heading out on any cases that need our immediate attention. I just know that that is going to be a clusterfuck."
"Agent Hotchner seems to be good at creating those."
"If only it was him that was causing this mess, Helen. Like I said, I'll touch base with you tomorrow as soon as I get in. Have a good evening."
"You as well, Erin! Try not to dwell on the fact that they're creating headaches for you." Before she could say another word, Helen had hung up, and Erin shook her head a little as she tossed the phone onto the table and made herself more comfortable in the chair. A few minutes later, the door to the study opened, and she listened to see who had decided to join her, smiling when she recognized the sound of David's footfalls on the floor as he made his way over to her, carrying Elise.
"What was that about?"
She scooted over in the chair, making room for her partner to sit before taking hold of her daughter, bringing her close to her chest as she took a few deep breaths. "Jason is in trouble, and it looks like it could be rather serious. From what the Director told me, he's looking at a murder charge."
"Jason?"
"I know, I was surprised, too. Director Shepperd is doing as much damage control as he possibly can right now, but if this blows up in our faces, I'm looking at replacing two agents in the team. I've asked Helen to pull the personnel files on Katie Cole and Andi Swann. I think that either of them would be a good addition to the team."
"And who would fill the other hole that you think might appear?"
She glanced at him and gave him a small smile. "I'd like it to be you. You don't have to give me an answer right away. This could come to nothing. But I'd like you to keep it in mind, just in case I need you to step up?"
He drew in a long breath as he curled his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his chest. "I will think about it, Erin. Though it would be hard to give up all this time with Elise. This has been one of the happiest times of my life, stellina, because you've given me the gift of raising a child. Even though I know that you want to be here with us more. If we're both working, we're going to miss out on some things."
"I know, and that was what I missed with the older kids, too. I just, I'm not ready to give up this job, not when I can still do some good." She lifted her face and pressed a tender kiss against her lips. "Just tell me that I'm not crazy for this little plan, to have you back with me. We didn't exactly work well together the last time."
David chuckled as he nodded. "Well, last time, we weren't sleeping together. I think that will make a small difference." She nodded and kissed him once more, resting her head on his chest as they began to breath in unison. "But if it comes to that, I will step up into that role once more." As he pressed his lips to the crown of her head, Erin sighed, wondering just where the team would go from here.