Erin sighed as she sat forward in her chair, cracking her back to try and relieve some of the tension that was in her spine. They had just split up the files, David judiciously dividing the stack into equal numbers for each of them, before he had settled in the chair next to her in the study. Aaron was quietly poring over his third file already, and she didn't know if that was a good thing or not, seeing as she was still on her first, uncertain if this candidate should make the shortlist or not. Finally, she knew that she had to make a decision of some sort, and she set the file on the reject pile, feeling that if she had a tough time deciding that they were the right fit for their team, they probably weren't a good candidate.
Picking up the next file from her stack, Erin let out a low gasp as she opened it. A familiar face was staring up at her from the folder, and she had to take a few deep breaths in order not to burst into tears. Thankfully, Karen chose that moment to peek her head into the study, before making a beeline for her. "What can I do for you, Karen?"
"I just wanted to see you before heading up to bed. It seems like you have a lot of work here to do before you can get to sleep. The girls are all tucked in, and I gave Cathy a glass of warm milk with lavender to help her settle in for the night, since she was a little restless after her bath. Is there anything else that any of you need before I get to work on my paper?"
"I think that we're okay, sweetie. If you run into any issues with your paper, feel free to check back in with us. I'm certain there are going to be times when we want to take a short break, after all."
Karen nodded as she leaned in and hugged Erin tightly, kissing her cheek before hugging David and waving at Aaron. The study door closed with a dull thud, and Erin found herself sad to see her daughter go, as she wanted a little more time to prepare herself for reading Alex's folder. She had known that the woman had wanted to return to the BAU ever since she had been asked to step into another role in the FBI, but every time that she had applied for an open position with the BAU, Erin had noticed that she never made the shortlist, or became the final candidate. And maybe this was her chance to see that that changed. Perhaps that was why Ron had wanted her to go through these files, since he knew that she would be a less than impartial judge of her making the short list.
"Is everything all right, Erin?"
Looking up, she saw that Aaron had noticed her hesitancy to truly look over the file currently in her hands, and she shrugged a bit. "I just received a little shock to see who has been included for the long list of hopeful candidates. Everything will be fine in a moment."
He nodded, frowning a little, and she tried to give him a confident smile in return before looking back down at the file in front of her. Eagerly, she began to pore over the information that had been provided. It was so good to find out more information about Alex, to catch up on some of the things that she had missed out in the years that they had been at odds. She wasn't surprised to see that her friend had been busy on top of teaching and publishing, and just from her accomplishments alone, Erin knew that she had to make the short list, and so she set her file on the coffee table in the middle of their group. Hers was the first person to make the shortlist, and she smiled to see that small bit of kismet.
"Well, that breaks the ice, stellina. One down, nine more to go."
She looked at David and gave him a sharp nod before picking up the next folder. "If we end up with too many, we can always vote at the end, and make this somewhat democratic."
Aaron nodded as he set aside another file. "I think that that's a good idea, Erin. Though some of these candidates are obviously trying to fluff their resumes."
"You'll always get that when people want into an elite group. Though that's why we're separating the chaff from the wheat here." She smiled at David's little wink before nodding and opening the file folder to see who their next applicant was. It was difficult, but she quickly swallowed the sharp gasp that came to her lips to see another face from her past. John Curtis's pedantic little smirk stared up at her, and she shivered a little, her immediate instinct to add him to the chaff pile. Her second thought was to carefully read what was there, knowing that she couldn't be accused of being biased against him, just in case he found out that she had been the one to decide his fate.
Taking a deep breath, she read through what was written there. It was all too clear that from what he had included in his resume that he hadn't learned anything from the Amerithrax debacle, and it was obvious to Erin that she had made the right decision to not support him when he had protested that she was being too harsh on him and Alex. Alex had never deserved to be dragged into the mess as much as she had. Erin could recognize that fact now, which was why she had been so adamant at reaching out to make amends with her. Finally, she set John's folder on the chaff pile, knowing that it was the best decision that she could make.
Finally after two hours of working, they had all narrowed down their selections to a much more manageable pile. "How do we want to go about whittling down these people to the few that Ron wants?" David asked, and she let out a little sigh of frustration. "I know. But we have twenty choices, and that means half need to go."
"I guess I'll make the final choices, since this is ultimately my responsibility. Once I've gotten it down to ten, I'll let you two read through to see if I've made the right choice or not. Though there is one name that is certain of a spot in the final ten."
"Alex?" Aaron asked kindly, and she nodded. "This might go a long way to helping mend fences between you two. I wholeheartedly agree that she belongs in the top ten."
Erin let out a relieved sigh as she flipped through the folders to find Alex's, handing it over to Aaron before reading through the remaining people. Seeing her choices compared with those from Aaron and David helped make her choices a little easier, and soon the list went from twenty to seven candidates, plus Alex. "Well, I think that Ron will be happy with this field of candidates, though I have my heart set on it being Alex rejoining us."
"Add a sticky note to the file and let him know just that. If you truly feels like she has the best credentials and would be a good fit for our team, then he needs to know that, as well. Your input is what he wants, after all."
She gave David a relieved smile as she nodded. "All right, I'll do just that. Thank you for helping us out this evening, Aaron. I truly appreciate it."
He gave her a sharp nod as they all got to their feet, moving towards the door. "It was a pleasure. And it's early than I planned, so I'll be able to spend a little time with Jack and then call Beth before going to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." As he left their house, Erin relaxed against David, hoping that she was making the right choice in putting forth Alex's name as her primary candidate, and that everything would work out for the best.