It had been two weeks since she had told Aaron the truth, and it truly felt like there was an enormous weight that had been lifted from her heart. Even Helen had noticed the lightness of her attitude, and she found herself easily bringing up the fact that things were now slightly better between her and Aaron. And now, her team was out on a truly brutal case, one of the worse ones that she had seen, and she couldn't wait until he was back home.
"It's going to be a late night, Erin."
She looked up from the article she was reading in the latest linguistics journal, flushing a little from guilt even though Penelope had no idea what she was reading, nor why she was reading it, and gave her a small frown. "I'm sorry?"
Penelope let out a light, frustrated, sigh as she plopped down into the chair in front of Erin's desk. "I take it that he forgot to call you. Typical. They all get so engrossed in the case that they forget about their families, Jayje included. Except, she's at home, taking care of Henry. I know, I know, you don't have to say it, I'm rambling. This case just gives me the willies. Anyway, they think they know of a way to flush the unsub out of hiding, and that will involve them going to numerous nightclubs tonight, since this is his typical hunting night. He and Aaron have teamed up, while my Boo is dragging poor Reid around with him. That should prove to be an entertaining night for them."
Erin stifled her giggle as she scratched at her cheek. "I can only imagine the stories that will come out of tonight. And I suppose that you'll be here, guiding them the entire time?"
"Of course, that's what a good technical analyst does. Though I hope that they make progress sometime before two, because I need a little more than five hours sleep a night to function properly." Penelope shrugged a little before letting out a long breath. "I just wanted to touch base with you and see how things were going. I couldn't help but notice that things are more comfortable between you and Hotch."
Erin sat up a little straighter as she regarded Penelope closely. Even though she ostensibly knew the truth about Elise's parentage, she still wasn't certain that she could be brave enough to say that truth aloud in her presence, given how rocky things had been between them at the beginning of her pregnancy. "The birth of Agent Jareau's son led to a bit of a heart transformation for me. I found it difficult to keep carrying around so much guilt over what was between us. And so, I told him the truth. Elise is his daughter, biologically speaking. He has graciously consented to being known as Uncle Aaron, since Elise has only ever known David as her father."
The younger woman nodded solemnly. "I'm glad that you finally found the strength to tell the truth."
Erin smiled fleetingly as she looked back down at the open journal, wanting to get back to reading Alex's latest research. "It should not have taken three years to do so. Now, I hate to ask this, but I was in the middle of doing some research myself, and would like to get back to it."
"Of course, Erin." Penelope got to her feet and then stood there. Erin could feel her gaze on her, and she took a few seconds to pause before she looked up at her. "I'm really proud of you for this decision. It takes courage to tell that sort of truth when you didn't know if it would end up going well for you."
Before Erin could reply, Penelope turned on her heel and scurried from the room. Shaking her head a little, Erin smiled as she looked back down at Alex's article. There were parts of it that she didn't understand, but for the most part she found that she could easily follow the thesis that the woman was defending in her writing. Soon, it was five, and she was shutting down her computer before gathering her things, giving Helen a small nod as she shrugged into her coat and went over to the elevators, riding down to the second floor to pick up Elise. This was going to be her last year in the daycare facility, as they had already arranged for her to start pre-K the following autumn.
As she looked in at her daughter, Erin found herself strangely sad, wondering where the years had gone. Her life was so far from where she had pictured it being when she reached this age, but she didn't think that she would change a moment of it, since Elise and David had brought her so much happiness. Drawing in a shaky breath, she signed Elise out of the center and then lifted her up into her arms, snuggling her close before heading back to the elevators. She was a little surprised to run into Agents Prentiss and Todd in there, seeing that they were dressed to the nines, which she supposed was part of their tactic.
"Is this your daughter, Chief Strauss?" Agent Todd asked, and she nodded as she turned a little, allowing the women to get a better look at Elise. "She's so precious! Hi, honey!" Agent Todd reached out and stroked Elise's hand gently, and Erin listened to her daughter coo with pleasure. "How old are you?"
"I'm fwee!" she exclaimed as she held out her hand, holding up three fingers. Agent Todd nodded encouragingly, and for the rest of the short ride, Erin listened to them talk, a tender smile on her lips the entire time. Agent Prentiss gave her an odd look as they stepped out of the elevator, but she tried to take it in stride as she set Elise down on the ground, taking hold of her hand and leading her out to the car. Elise waved with wild enthusiasm to Agent Todd as she and Agent Prentiss passed them by, and she gave the woman a grateful smile when she returned the gesture before following Agent Prentiss over to her own vehicle.
"All right, darling, let's get you into your car seat," she sang out as she tossed her bag into the passenger seat before helping Elise get in the car, buckling her in tightly before slipping behind the wheel and starting the car. Before she pulled out of her spot, she checked her phone to see if David had reached out. "Daddy left us a message, Elise," she said as she turned a little, smiling at her daughter. "He wants you to know that he loves you very much, and will come in and give you a good night kiss when he gets home, since his job has him away from home tonight."
"Okay, Mama." Elise began to babble away at her as Erin started the drive home. This was one of the nightly things that she had grown to love so much, as Elise's language skills started to develop, since it allowed them to bond so much. A part of her wished that she had had this opportunity with her older children, but knew that their relationships were still just as strong, even without this extra time. And she was grateful to have this family of hers, no matter how complicated it was, since it proved to her that she had at least done four things right in her life.