Erin didn't know what bothered her more, cases with children, or cases involving sadistic things happening to women. The fact that this most recent case combined both of those atrocities set her nerves on fire, and she fought the urge to keep checking in on David. She knew that he was more than capable of taking care of himself, but there was still this part of her that wanted to wrap her arms around him and have him tell her that everything would be all right. But since this was a Florida case, she knew that that was the furthest thing from the truth. Knowing that she would get nowhere on her work when she was so keyed up, she slid open the bottom drawer of her desk, unlocked her gun box and pulled out her Glock and slipped it into its holster before affixing said holster to her arm and heading out of her office.
"I'm going down to the range for a few hours, Helen. If you'd have lunch waiting for me when I return, I'd appreciate that. You choose something for today, I don't really have a preference."
"Of course, Erin. And if I need to get ahold of you?"
"Then call the range directly. I don't foresee anyone calling me, but only pass the call along if you think that it is truly important."
Helen nodded, and Erin gave her a tight smile as she left the office and made her way to the elevators, pressing the button for the basement as she entered the car, trying not to feel too keyed up by all the people who were filling it as it made its way downwards. She wasn't surprised to find that she wasn't the only one to head towards the indoor range, however, and she smirked a little at the side eye she received from a few of the people headed in that direction. Erin knew that there were stories bandied around about her, since she did have a reputation for being a crack shot. Those looks brought out her more feral, competitive, side, which was precisely what she needed in that moment as she tried to work off the horror and frustration of the case that Alpha team was currently racing to solve.
"Chief Strauss! Would you like your usual lane?" She nodded as she picked up that box of ammunition from the agent in charge of the range. His was a very familiar face, but she hated the fact that she could never remember his name, and that he didn't wear his badge in a position where she could easily see it. And at this point, having known him for six years, it would be more than awkward for her to ask for his name. "All right, it is all set for you, and enjoy your time on the range this morning."
"Thank you," she said as she took the stack of targets from his hand and made her way over to where she normally shot, setting up her space as quickly as she could before slipping the protective headphones over her ears and shoving on a pair of goggles before unholstering her weapon and making certain that she was ready to go before loading up the first target and getting her stance ready. After that, she allowed herself to space out and get into the flow with her shooting, easily getting into her usual rhythm.
By the time she was through her box of ammunition, Erin had amassed a bit of a crowd, and she gave them all a tight smile as she holstered her weapon once more, adding the final target to the stack of successful shoots and then scooped them all up before handing the empty box to the agent in charge. "You know, you really should think about teaching classes on shooting, ma'am. There are a good number of people who could learn a lot from your technique."
"I'll have to keep that in mind," she replied with a soft smile. As she left the range, Erin found that she was so much more relaxed than she had been, and she took a deep breath as she travelled back up to her office, knowing that lunch would be there shortly.
"How did things go on the range today?"
"Here, just look at these," she said proudly as she settled the stack of papers on Helen's desk.
Helen thumbed through the stack, her eyes widening appreciatively at the precision Erin had drilled the targets with. "Remind me to never get on your bad side, Erin. I don't think that it would be a good idea."
She shrugged a little as she wiped at her nose, frowning a little to see that her finger was bloody. "I need a tissue," she said offhandedly, still staring at the streak of red that discolored her finger. Helen hurriedly handed one over before getting up and coming to her side, resting her hand on Erin's shoulder. "I'll be fine." Her voice sounded a little shaky, which surprised her, and she allowed Helen to guide her back into her inner sanctuary and over to her couch, which she sank onto gratefully.
"I'll go get some orange juice from the vending machine, just to make certain that everything's okay." Helen gave her a tight smile before scurrying out of the room, and Erin stretched out on the sofa, holding the tissue to her nose as she took a few deep breaths through her mouth, tasting the metallic flavor of blood as it dripped down her throat from her nose.
Wrinkling her nose delicately and hoping that wouldn't prolong the nosebleed, she dug her phone out of her pocket and texted her fiancé. Darling, I'm certain it's nothing, but I have a bit of a nosebleed. I think that I've allowed myself to become rundown, and after lunch, I'll be heading home with work. Please call me at your earliest convenience, even if that's not until tonight, when you're back at the hotel. I love you.
After hitting the send button, Erin wiped at her nose once more, glad to find that the tissue came away clean, signaling that at least it wasn't a bad nosebleed. Balling up the tissue, she tossed it onto the table before leaning back and staring up at the ceiling, pressing her phone tightly against her breast as she waited for Helen to return with the juice. "Sorry it took me a little longer than I planned, Ms. Garcia stopped me to ask a few questions, and you know how she can prattle on." Erin nodded as she turned her head to look at plant that Aaron had given her for Christmas, finding that it gave her a small bit of peace as she pushed herself to sit up before taking the bottle from Helen's hand and shaking it a few times before unscrewing the lid and taking a long swig. To her immense relief, after the first few sips, she did begin to feel better.
"Did you answer her questions?" Helen nodded as she took a seat next to Erin. "That's good. When's lunch supposed to arrive?"
"In about ten minutes, I thought that you would be on the shooting range for a little while longer. Though it seems like it was a good thing that you finished when you did. I have the feeling that you would not have liked getting a nosebleed in front of your colleagues." She chuckled as she shrugged, frowning a little when that motion made her a little light headed. "Well, finish that juice up, and when you get food in your stomach, you might feel a little better. Did you eat breakfast this morning?"
Erin was about to snipe back that Helen was being a little overbearing, only to realise that she hadn't eaten that morning. "No, I didn't."
Without saying a word, Helen arched an eyebrow as she rose to her feet and went over to the door. "I'll be back shortly with lunch." Erin gave her a tight nod as she let out a deep sigh, knowing that she needed to take better care of herself, so that situations like this wouldn't happen again.