Her fears were proven right three weeks later when the team had gone to Flagstaff to deal with a serial killer on a small college campus. Erin had had a feeling that the case would not go well from the very beginning, and as she had watched the way events had unfolded, she felt that sinking feeling in her heart grow and grow. Everything leading up to the arrest of Tubbs had been too easy, as if everything had just fallen into place like a neat line of dominoes, and that never boded well. Which is exactly what happened when the man had lawyered up and been released. Only for both Tubbs and the young woman acting to get his attention to end up dead with two of their best agents looking on and not stepping in before things went to Hell in a handbasket.

She hadn't slept well that night, knowing that she would be walking into a shitshow the next morning. Director Shepperd had already contacted her at home to let her know that she was expected in his office at eight, a full hour earlier than her normal start time. Which, in turn, had led to her being lectured for a full hour on how she needed to get control of her teams, otherwise he would step in, and she would not like the results. It had been draining on her, and she trudged back down to her office, feeling like she was on the knife's edge between tears and rage.

"I know that you don't want to hear this, Erin, but Flagstaff's Chief of Police is on the phone, waiting to talk to you. And yes, I realise that it is six in the morning there, but he specifically woke up early to talk with you before the team arrived home. Have you heard from anyone else?"

"If you mean Aaron, then no. I think that he's assuming that we haven't heard about how badly this case went, and will try to spin it in a way that won't result in the team being reprimanded. As soon as I've finished this call with him, I'm going to need either a large cup of coffee, a large glass of wine, or both."

"We'll go with coffee, that will be healthier for you here at work. I'll even go to your favourite cafe and get you one of those delicious pastries that you adore so much to go along with your usual coffee order."

"I suppose that you're right. Wish me luck for this conversation, I do not believe that it will go well, given the direction my talk with the Director went." Helen nodded, giving her a tiny smile as Erin slipped into her office and sank down into her chair, rubbing her face briefly before picking up her phone and holding the receiver to her ear as she touched the flashing light. "This is Section Chief Erin Strauss. Please, let me first apologise for the appalling behaviour that my team exhibited on this case and that I completely understand your rightful anger at the way this was handled."

That seemed to mollify the man somewhat, since the tenor of their conversation was much less tense than she had thought it might be before she had started the conversation. Still, they were in discussions for over three hours, and she felt thoroughly exhausted by the time it was finished. "I have more bad news, Erin," Helen said as she bustled into her office.

"What could possibly make this day worse?" she asked as she rubbed her forehead, trying to stave off the stress headache she could feel building.

"We have one hour to get lunch and be back here. While you were on the phone with Flagstaff, the Director called and informed me that Agent Hotchner's team is due to arrive back shortly after one, and that he has been told to see you first."

Erin groaned as she pressed her hands against her face. "I have to be the heavy. Great. He's going to hate me even more for this."

"Are you firing him?"

She let out a mirthless laugh as she shook her head, pulling her purse out of the bottom drawer before standing up and joining Helen in the doorway. "I wish that I could. But no, that would raise more issues than I want to deal with at this time. I'll be suspending him for two weeks without pay while I review where the best place for him in the FBI might be. At least Haley will be happy with me, since I fully intend to recommend him for White Collar Crimes, and that will see him home more often to help take care of Jack."

"And what about the others?"

She shook her head. "Aaron is squarely taking the blame for this fiasco, since he was the one in charge." They stepped into the elevator and Erin fell quiet, not wanting to discuss this matter in front of any gossiping ears. Helen seemed to understand as she directed the conversation into more mundane work issues as they made their way down to the canteen, since there was no time for her café now. By the time their meal was finished, Erin felt more anger than sadness, knowing what she had to do, and as soon as they were back upstairs, she shut herself in her office and prepared to confront Aaron. She knew that it was imperative that she remain calm and collected, since she didn't want him to run to Director Shepperd and accuse her of impropriety.

"Agent Hotchner is here, ma'am."

She looked up to see Helen in her doorway, giving her a tight nod before smoothing her skirt down her thighs and drawing in a deep breath as he stalked over to her desk. "Erin, listen…"

"No, Agent Hotchner, you listen. I have been on the phone with the Flagstaff Arizona Chief of Police all morning, discussing everything that went wrong there on this case. Is it true that you allowed a mentally unstable young woman to confront the man you believed to be the unsub?" He nodded. "And then, even with two agents right there, you allowed her to stab him before taking her own life?"

"It was not the outcome that we were hoping for, no, ma'am."

"It wasn't the outcome you were hoping for?" she asked incredulously, watching him flinch. "I had hoped that I would hear a much different explanation than that. Give me your badge, you're suspended for two weeks without pay."

"Erin?"

"You heard me. And if it were solely up to me, Aaron, you would never get these credentials back," she said lowly as he tossed the leather wallet onto her desk in disgust. "Use the next two weeks to think about where you'd like to go from here, as it won't be with the BAU any longer."

"Always a pleasure, Erin," he muttered as he turned on his heel and stomped from the room, slamming the door behind him. She shook her head as she picked up the credentials and slipped them into her desk drawer. That had gone a little better than she had thought it would, since he hadn't truly gotten angry at her, but she knew that she would never see the end of it, now that she had directly taken action against Alpha Team, and she wondered just what this might mean for the future.