Erin had been right about one thing, this case had quickly gone to hell in a handbasket, including her major gaffe of stepping on the victim's hair, which had nearly caused her to breakdown. To her shock, Aaron had been kind in that moment, the sweet tenderness of him taking time to care for her before focusing on the case once more a balm to her wounded heart. Even the police chief had been conciliatory towards her, which had embarrassed and mollified her, though Agent Morgan had been quick to give her a look of contempt as she passed him by on her way up from the body.
The one spot of levity in the entire case had been when Penelope has asked her to talk dirty to her, and even though she had had to respond like the ice bitch she was supposed to be to them, inside, she had smiled. Still, it had been a long, quiet, plane ride back to Quantico, knowing that she had been defeated and outplayed by Aaron and Emily. The only thing that would be changing was the fact that Jason Gideon would have no role in the BAU ever again, not if she had her say, since he had refused to return any calls from herself, Helen, or the Director.
"Are we headed out for drinks after this?" Agent Morgan asked as the plane taxied down the tarmac. Erin knew, instinctively, that she was not included in that invitation, and the subtle exclusion hurt more than she cared to let on. Taking a deep breath, she began to pack up her belongings into her purse before pulling out her phone, a concerned look crossing her face when she saw that Haley had texted her.
I can't talk right now, I'm still on the jet with the others. Give me twenty minutes to get back to my office, and then I'll call you straight away.
Not bothering to wait for a reply, shoved the phone into her pocket and watched as the others got up out of their seats and made their way to the exit. She brought up the rear, only for Doctor Reid to look back and give her a small smile. Frowning a little, she caught up to him, wondering what he wanted. "Garcia texted me right before we landed, and said that you needed to catch a ride back to the BAU with us. Did you want me to grab your bag so that you can just get in the SUV? I'd suggest getting in the back, since Hotch will probably drive home, and Morgan always calls shotgun when that happens."
"Thank you for the warning, Doctor Reid," she said quietly as they stepped off the jet, and he nodded before following the men over to the cargo hold. Taking a deep breath, she followed Agents Jareau and Prentiss over to the waiting SUV and watched as they took the very back seats. Drawing in a shallow breath, she slid into the middle row of seats, leaning against the window after she'd fastened her seatbelt. It was going to be a long ride home, and she pulled out her phone to scroll through her pictures of Elise.
"Her daughter is beautiful." Erin smiled at Agent Jareau's not so subtle whisper, but didn't acknowledge what had been said, instead swiping to the next picture, sending it off to Penelope, since Elise was wearing one of the outfits the woman had bought for her.
"That is a cute baby, yeah," Prentiss responded a few seconds later, and Erin's smile grew as she listened to the men pile their bags in the back before clambering into the SUV. Doctor Reid had been correct in his supposition that Aaron would drive, and their eyes met as he started the engine. Somehow, it almost felt like he knew that Haley had reached out to her, and wanted to know what they were going to talk about, and so she looked away from him before slipping her phone back into her purse as she listened to the team pick up the conversation from the jet as she watched the scenery pass by.
Finally, they had arrived back at headquarters, and she was the first one out of the vehicle, grabbing her bag from the back before heading inside and choosing to take the stairs rather than wait for the elevator. It was a good climb up, even if she was in heels, and she sighed a little as she entered her office, sad to see that Helen had already gone home for the day, as it would have been nice to see one truly friendly face there before she went home for the day. After dropping her bag onto the sofa, she trudged over to her desk and sank down into her chair, burying her hands in her hair as she took a look at the picture of her children. She couldn't imagine David or Alan using any of them as bait to lure women to their deaths, and her heart ached for all those women who had died such a brutal death.
Letting out a long breath, Erin pulled out her phone and called Haley back, knowing that something important must have happened for her to text while they were out on a case. "Haley? What's wrong?" she asked when the call connected.
"I just wanted to give you a head's up. Aaron knew that I wanted him to leave this job behind. I know that you were encouraging him to take that position in White Collar Crimes. But the moment he chose to leave us here and go out to you on this latest case, it was my last straw. I, I packed up a few bags for Jack and me, and we're going to be staying at Jessica's until I can get things sorted out. All I know is that Jack was supposed to bring us together, and from the moment I found out I was pregnant, it drove us apart. I love him, Erin. I just can't live with the ghosts of the cases you deal with every week."
Erin could tell that Haley was crying, and she felt a stab of guilt in her heart as she thought about how Elise might have added some strain to their marriage. "Is there anything that David and I can do for you?"
"That is so kind of you to ask, but I think that Jessie will have everything in order. And please, don't feel like this was your fault. There were cracks in our marriage long before we moved back to Quantico from Seattle. Oh, that's Jackers, I have to go. And I'll contact you if there's any change in our situation. Thanks for listening to me."
Before Erin could respond, Haley had ended the call, leaving her in silence. Returning the phone to her purse, she packed up a few things that she would need for the weekend before heading home. Shaking her head a little, Erin couldn't help but feel like this entire case was a fail, even though they had successfully closed the case. There would be a lot of explaining to do to the Director when she arrived back at work on Monday, and she was not looking forward to that conversation. Still, she knew that things would have to change from there on out, if Alpha team truly wanted to stay together, and she had a few inklings on how she would make that happen.