Erin was busy working on returning emails that had piled up over the weekend when she heard Helen enter the room. Holding up one finger, she signed off on the latest one she was working on before sending it and looking up at her assistant. "What do you need?"

"I just got off the phone with Director Shepperd, and he would like to see you in his office, as soon as possible."

Erin tried not to feel like the bottom of her stomach was giving out, but she still felt like she was going to throw up for some reason. "Did he say what he wanted?" she managed to squeak out as she slid back from her computer and rose to her feet, trying not to let her assistant see that her knees were shaking.

"I'm afraid that he didn't. But if it helps any, he didn't sound angry, just a little stressed about something. So maybe it's not bad news?"

"I hope so," she murmured as she smoothed her skirt nervously down her thighs. Things had been going so well with her teams lately, there wasn't any real need for the Director to chastise her about keeping Alpha in line. Picking up her phone, she slipped it into her pocket as she let out a long breath through her lips. "I don't know what to expect, so hold all my calls until I return. And if it's David, tell him that I don't know what to tell him, but I'll return his call as soon as I can." Smiling tightly, Erin sailed past Helen and out of her office, over to the elevators, and then pressing the up button with a firm finger.

It was hard not to tap her foot against the floor of the elevator as it all too slowly rose upwards, and once more, Erin found herself wishing for a bit of liquid courage in her system when she faced whatever was coming her way. A part of her knew that this unhealthy thought was one she couldn't indulge in, but it was nice to dream. Finally, the doors slid open and Erin stepped out of the elevator, making certain to keep her footsteps even and light, as she didn't want to betray her nerves in the way she walked. Still, she felt like she was going to walk right out of her skin as she approached Director Shepperd's office, and Erin took a few deep breaths before entering the outer office, waiting to be acknowledged by Amy.

"That was quick, Chief Strauss!"

"Yes, well, Helen said that the Director wanted to see me as quick as possible. May I head right in, then?"

"Yes. He and Director Rosenthal are waiting for you."

At the sound of that name, Erin blanched a little, wondering what the Director of the State Department could possibly want with her. Nodding a little, she went over to the inner office door and slowly opened it, feeling like her nerves were going to overwhelm her. Still, she plastered on a fake smile as she entered the room and looked over at Ron. "Good morning, gentlemen."

"Good morning, Erin. I'm glad that you were able to get away so quickly. I have the feeling that we are going to be here for the rest of the morning, and maybe into lunch. Please, take a seat." Ron gestured towards the seat next to Director Rosenthal, and she nodded as she sat, again nervously smoothing her skirt down her thighs. "I need to clear one thing up, before we get started. I am not reducing the budget for the BAU, and this request was not made as a result to trim some fat off the team. You have done admirable work this past year, and as a result, have caught the attention of other institutions. Which is why Bruce is here today. Bruce?"

Director Rosenthal nodded at Ron before turning his attention to Erin. His pale blue eyes seemed to read everything about her, down to her desire to get a bit tipsy for this meeting, and it was a struggle to keep her cool, to play that political game that she knew was afoot. "I have been keeping an eye on your Alpha team for the past two years, Erin. They have been doing some amazingly good work since Dave Rossi returned to the BAU. And while I would love to be able to steal your technical analyst away from you, I know that that is completely impossible, as she is fully integrated into your team now, and to be honest, even we're a little afraid of what she might do if we pulled her way from the FBI at this point."

Erin couldn't stop the chuckle that slipped from her lips as she nodded. "Ms. Garcia is quite formidable, despite her sweet countenance. Even I am a bit in awe of her capabilities. So, if we're not here to discuss her, why am I here?"

He raised an eyebrow before clearing his throat, clearly a little put off by her impertinence, and she swallowed a groan to know that she would have to put that much more work into the next schmoozing activity that she was invited to. "While you will not be saying goodbye to Ms. Garcia, there is another rising star member of your team that quite a number of people have had their eye on. Especially for her grace under pressure."

That alone told Erin that he was not referring to Agent Prentiss, because her temper was well known throughout the Bureau. Which only left Agent Jareau. And that was when Erin knew that she would have a definite problem on her hands. Drawing in a long, slow, breath through her nostrils, she turned her attention back to Ron. "I think that it goes without saying that I do not think it is a good idea for Agent Jareau to be separated from Alpha. They act as a family, and she is the little sister that glues the team together. Without her, I fear that the team cold quite easily disintegrate."

"I'm afraid that I didn't come here to ask you to agree. I came here to hash out a plan of attack that would allow you to convince Agent Jareau that this is in her best interest. I guess that Ron forgot to inform you that when the DoD asks, it's not really a request."

She felt herself start to bristle at the tone Director Rosenthal was taking with her, but she tried to calm herself with a few deep, quiet, breaths. "And if I can't convince her to accept the offer?"

"Then Ron will be forced to step in, and there might be consequences for everyone involved. And you wouldn't want to have that happen, would you?"

Erin shook her head a little, knowing that she had been backed into a corner from which there was no real way out, at least not that she could see in the current moment. Knowing that if she appeared to agree in the moment, things might go easier for herself and Agent Jareau when she inevitably rejected Erin's offer for a new job. "All right, so, tell me some strategies that you think might work for getting Agent Jareau to agree to this transfer." Even though she knew that there would be nothing, she still had to appear like she was listening, and she only hoped that Ron wouldn't figure out she was just humoring Rosenthal in that moment, because she knew there would be hell to pay later, if he did.