They were on their second day in Florida, disconnected from everything, and Erin felt like she was going to crawl out of her skin since she wasn't able to get in contact as often as she'd like with Jessica, since Aaron had to talk to her as well. Plus, she was unnerved at being in the military camp, knowing that the Director's son had graduated from here a few years ago, and so that added even more pressure to how things were going to go with things. Which had led to her and David having a few drinks with lunch, though she knew that that wasn't the smartest decision to make. The two gins that she had drank seemed to have hit her much harder than normal, which she attributed to not drinking as much lately, wanting to avoid the temptations of excess.

And now, she was stuck in an interrogation with Agent Morgan, feeling the hostility radiate off him in waves, though she wasn't quite certain who he was more upset with – herself or the Colonel. Though if she had to hazard a guess, Erin assumed that it would be her. He had had a chip on his shoulder the size of Rhode Island since the Sanderson case, which didn't surprise her, though it did bother her. She knew that David tried to run interference as much as he could, but nothing seemed to break through that shell of bitterness that he wore whenever she was around. Letting out a long breath of frustration, Erin realized that both men were staring at her as if she had grown a third head, and in that moment, she just…snapped. Losing whatever small bit of control that she had over her emotions, Erin lit into the Colonel trying to force the answers that Agent Morgan wanted out of him so that they could get this farcical case over and shut the camp down for the flagrant abuses that were taking place under its flag.

Erin didn't realise quite how deep she had gotten into her diatribe until she felt Agent Morgan's hand roughly close around her arm, squeezing tightly as he made his apologies to Coloney Massey and then practically dragging her from his office. She tried to pull away, but it was no use, he was simply too strong for her, and she felt her mood blacken further until she was ready to rage at the insubordination that he was showing to her. "Just what the hell do you think that you're doing, Agent Morgan?" she hissed out once they were on the front porch of the building.

He returned the glare that she was giving him, his grip tightening all the more around her arm as his nostrils flared, as if he was trying to keep control of himself. That still didn't mean that he wasn't hurting her, though she refused to cry or show weakness to him. He didn't deserve that from her. "You are drunk! You know how delicate this case is for us all, and you show up to interrogate Colonel Massey smelling like a fucking brewery! How in the world do you think that that is even remotely appropriate?"

Erin licked her lips as she continued to stare up at him, feeling like her grip on the thread of her control was rapidly slipping. One more accusation from him would send her over the edge, and she didn't want that to happen. She wanted to remain calm and collected, even though she had not been that in front of Colonel Massey. Just as she was about to answer him, Erin heard footfalls behind them, and she looked over her shoulder to see that Aaron was approaching them, a thunderous look on his face. "Aaron?"

"Both of you, follow me. Now." There was something in his tone that told Erin he would brook no arguments, and she nodded as he touched Agent Morgan's hand on her arm. The grip instantly loosened, and Erin allowed Aaron to turn her and place his hand on the small of her back as he guided them both to their command center. As soon as they were inside their room, he gestured for her to take a seat, and then for Agent Morgan to take the seat across the table from her. "What do you think that little display was, Derek?" he bit out, and she watched the younger man blanch before he glared at her once more.

"Oh sure, take her side without even knowing the full situation, man. This is such biased bullshit. Just because she had your brat doesn't mean that you should automatically side with her."

Aaron's face never changed from the slightly stony expression, though Erin did notice the way his nostrils dangerously flared, letting her know that he was much angrier than he was letting show. "When I came upon the situation, you were gripping Chief Strauss's arm so hard that I thought you were going to break it, all while you were lambasting her loud enough to catch my attention from here. You know exactly how delicate our situation is here, and that little display may have just cost us the entire case! So no, I am not automatically taking Erin's side. I am going with things based off what I could observe. Would you like to explain yourself?"

Agent Morgan nodded harshly as he continued to glare at Erin, and she suppressed the shiver that threatened to run down her spine. "We were interviewing Colonel Massey when Strauss just started going off on him. And while she was saying everything that I wanted to say to him, it was completely inappropriate for the delicateness of this case. And then, I smelled the alcohol on her breath and realized that she had dared to come into that room drunk as a skunk."

Aaron gave her a disappointed look, and she blushed as she blinked back scalding tears of shame. "Is what he said true? Are you under the influence of alcohol?"

She looked away from him, moving over towards the window as she shook out her shoulders and tried to find an appropriate answer. "You know that David and I went to lunch this afternoon, yes?" A quick glance back at Aaron allowed her to see him nod, so she continued on. "Well, we did have drinks with our meals, but I think that the drinks must have hit me a little harder than it would have in the past, because I have been abstaining from drinking, as I'm certain you've noticed when you've been over to our home."

"She's giving you a sob story, Hotch! She admitted to drinking with lunch, and that decision has thrown this whole case in jeopardy. If you don't take care of it, I will."

Erin shuddered a little at the anger in his voice and she turned back to the window so as not to watch what would happen next. She deserved whatever happened to her, that much she knew, but she didn't want to see what came next. "Derek, you need to get yourself under control. You've said your piece, and now I need to talk to Erin alone. And I will take care of everything. Okay?"

There was a rough noise of disgust before she heard heavy footsteps stomp from the room. After a few moments, Erin noticed Aaron softly coming over to her side and she flinched when his hand touched her back. "I know that you have to go to the Director when we get home, and that I'll probably be facing a suspension, if not given the choice to quietly go into a rehabilitation facility that IAB approves of. I'm sorry."

The first sobs began to wrack her body, and then his hand spread out on her back once more before curling around her shoulder and pulling her back against his chest as his chin came to rest atop her head. "If I ask Dave, how many drinks will he say that you had?"

"Two. I had two gin and tonics. He had a whiskey and bourbon. You can look at the receipt, I have it in my purse. I wouldn't lie about that, Aaron. I just didn't think that it would hit me so hard. Or that I would lose it on Colonel Massey the way that I did." She turned into his chest, allowing him to hold her close as she continued to cry. "I'll stay here with Penelope, helping her, until we close this case, and then I'll talk with Ron, too."

"I will grant you staying here to help Garcia for the rest of this case, but you won't have to talk to the Director. I will cover…"

"No! This is my error, my lapse in judgement, and I will not allow another colleague and friend to take the fall for me. That happened already, with Lexie, and I won't do that to you." Pulling back, she looked up into his face and saw that he was near tears, and she shook her head a little as she cupped his cheek. "I need to have consequences for my actions. Please, tell me that you understand?"

"I do, even if I want to protect you."

"That should be my job, Aaron."

She looked over to see David giving them a sad smile, and she beckoned him over to their sides, easily moving from Aaron's embrace to his as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, new sobs threatening to escape her lips as he stroked her back tenderly. "He was trying to talk me out of going to the Director with my mistake when we get back. But I have to. Agent Morgan is far too furious to let this just be swept under the rug. I, I'll probably have to leave you and the children for a little while, to be in rehab…"

"Over Christmas? Do you think that I'll allow that?" he said, and she shrugged as the enormity of everything crashed down around her. "Seriously, Hotch, we can't let that happen."

"We'll talk to the Director together, and come up with a viable solution. That's all I can say for now. But I will take care of her, I promise you that. And before you protest, Erin, this is the concession that you will accept."

She nodded as she let out a watery laugh, knowing that there was no arguing with Aaron when he had made up his mind, but also feeling like this might just be the end of her world.