David's first two weeks back with the BAU had been rougher than Erin thought they might have been, as things had changed so much for him between when he had retired and when he had rejoined. It had been rough on Elise, too, as she had had to grow accustomed to being in the daycare facility in their building. It was difficult for all of them to leave her with other people, even though she knew Elise was in good hands, and she hated to see her crying face as she left her there every morning.

But then this case in Bridgewater had come up, and every piece of her heart had filled with dread when she had looked at the preliminary file that had sent the BAU down there in the first place. She knew that it would affect David just as much as it was affecting her, given their faith, but she didn't know if he would be able to compartmentalize well, given his newness to the team. The fact that he hadn't called home during the few days they'd been down there hinted at the fact that he wasn't dealing as well with it as he'd like to pretend.

Sighing, she turned onto her side and caressed his spot on the bed, wishing that he was home already and that she could curl up close to him. It had been a real challenge to grow accustomed to the fact that they would be apart for swathes of time now, as he had to be out in the field. Letting out another sigh, she reached out and grabbed hold of his pillow, clutching it to her chest as she tried to drift off to sleep. The next thing she knew, David was shaking her shoulder and she frowned as she sat up in the bed and looked at him, trying to force her eyes to focus. "Darling? What time is it?" she croaked out as she glanced down at her wrist, seeing that it was nearly midnight. "Did you just get home?"

"Yes, stellina, and now we have to leave. I'll get Ellie ready while you dress."

For the first time that evening, she noticed that there was a look of grave concern on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked as she threw back the covers and climbed out of bed, tugging off her nightgown as she padded over to the dresser.

"I'll tell you while we're driving to the hospital, but it doesn't sound good."

Erin felt like her blood had frozen in her veins at those words, and she nodded jerkily as she pulled out fresh underwear, hurriedly tugging them on as she found a warm skirt and blouse to wear. By the time she was dressed, David was already gone, and she frowned a little as she made her way into the master bathroom, brushing her teeth and hair with as much haste as she could afford before applying a little makeup to give the hint that she was well rested, at least. Finally satisfied with how she looked, Erin turned off the light and made her way down to the kitchen, finding David there already, cradling Elise cloe to his chest as she continued to sleep.

She nodded a little as she grabbed her purse, smiling a little to see that he had already placed her phone inside. Grabbing her keys off the hook by the door, she followed him out to the garage, sliding behind the wheel as he loaded Elise into her car seat and fastened her in tightly. "I can drive."

"Nonsense, darling, you look wiped out, and it would be better for me to do this. What hospital are we headed to?"

David gave her the name f an all too familiar hospital, and she nodded as she backed out of the driveway. "I suppose that now is a good time to tell you why we're headed to the hospital."

"That would be nice, as I'm quietly freaking out here. Did something happen on the case?"

He shook his head quickly. "Thank God, no. I hate Florida cases, so much. It's a cliché stereotype that weird shit goes on there, but the amount of times we're called down there on weird cases proves that true. It is going to take me a long time to move past what happened there, Erin." David drew in a deep breath as he looked away from her to stare out the window. "No, most of the team is fine. Penelope was shot this evening. When JJ called, I was driving, but the little she told me before moving on to Reid and Morgan was enough to let me know that we shouldn't get our hopes up for a happy outcome."

Erin felt her lower lip tremble a little when he said that. She had never truly gotten onto the best of terms with the younger woman, but she also didn't wish her to die. "She has stepbrothers, somewhere. Did anyone think about contacting them?"

"I don't know, Erin. I didn't even know that she had stepbrothers, honestly. She's been more than a little standoffish with me, which makes sense. It's awkward to have someone you know outside the work environment technically be your boss, and we've never really cleaned the slate between us for the way she treated you when you found out about Elise."

"You mean, for once, I'm the nicer person in this relationship?" Her joke fell flat on her ears, belied by the slight hiccup of a sob that caught in her throat. David reached out and covered her knee with his hand, his thumb stroking back and forth as he looked at her. "I don't know why I'm so worried about her, David. We're not friends, just on somewhat friendly terms. But she's such a bright light for the team, I don't know what they'd do without her."

"I have that same feeling. I just don't get who would want to shoot her. It doesn't seem like she would have an enemy in the world."

Erin nodded as she continued the drive, looking back in the rearview mirror to see that Elise was stirring a little, and she frowned as she turned up the radio, hoping that it was jazz and that it would be soothing enough to calm Elise back to sleep. She knew that it would be irritating to the other patients if she carried a squalling baby through the halls to a waiting room where others were trying to remain calm as they awaited news of their loved ones. Finally, she pulled into the parking lot and found a spot close to the entrance, her heart racing in her chest as she wondered if they had arrived in time, if Penelope had pulled through surgery.

"Erin."

"Yes, David?"

"Thank you for not even questioning my desire to bring you here with me. I don't like the idea of being there alone, and I didn't want you to wake up and find me gone." She nodded as they got out of the car and she unbuckled their daughter from her carrier, cuddling her close to her chest. "I stuffed an extra diaper in your purse, since there wasn't really time to pack a diaper bag for her."

"That's fine." She gave him a small smile before yawning deeply. "Do you know what floor the waiting room is on?" He nodded and guided her into the building. "Lead the way then, my love." He gave her a small smile before kissing her forehead, the tender gesture failing to rid her stomach of the sick sense of dread that she felt.