Erin rubbed her face absently as she stared down at her desk. There had been too much to do and too little time to do it in, now that Penelope and Agent Morgan were over in London, on their special assignment. Penelope had been so good at letting her know what they were up to, along with sharing pictures of the adventures that she had been on during her down time, and that was so good to see. But Erin was still frustrated by the fact that with the two of them gone, there was so much more work for David to do. He was getting home later and later as the weeks went by, and even though it had only been fourteen days, she somehow knew that it would only get worse until they had their new member of the team.

And that was another worry that she had, since she hadn't heard back from Ron on who had been chosen from the shortlist that she had given him. The longer that it dragged on, the more she was convinced that he had gone completely against her recommendation of Alex rejoining them and chosen someone else. Shaking her head a little, she pushed herself away from her desk and went over to the couch, sinking down on it and then stretching out on her back to stare up at the ceiling in an effort to get her focus back in control. Instead, she felt her eyes close heavily and before she knew it, she had fallen into a deep sleep.

The next thing she was aware of, Erin could hear voices murmuring quietly near her. Sitting up, she stretched and gently rubbed at her eyes, not wanting to smudge her mascara. Blinking a few times, she saw that Helen and Ron were standing in her doorway, talking to each other. "I'm so sorry, sir. It has been an adjustment to having David gone so much more with Agent Morgan and Penelope in London."

"You're burning your candle at both ends, Erin. Do you have anyone to help you at home?" he asked kindly as he came over to her side, taking a seat on the sofa and smiling.

"Jessica has been a tremendous help, and my older children are pitching in as much as they can, but I don't want to depend too much on either resource. That wouldn't be fair to them, when they have their own lives to lead. Parentification can happen so quickly with the type of family that we've created, and I have done my best to ensure that that doesn't happen. I am the mother of Elise and Catherine, and it's up to me to ensure that I, along with David, raise them well."

He nodded before reaching out and patting her knee gently. "I understand that, Erin. I just wanted you to be the first to know that I have decided on the candidate to fill the open position. I was greatly impressed by your shortlist that you provided, as you pulled out almost all of the candidates that I also had good feelings about. I like to think that I trained you well, but I know that you have great instincts."

"Thank you."

"Yes, and yet there was one person in that list that I never expected you to include. I did include their file, just to see what you would do with that information."

"I know you're talking about Alex." He chuckled along with his nod, and she fought to keep from rolling her eyes a little. "I tried not to be biased, but from her dossier, it seemed clear that she belonged at the top of the list."

"And that was why you left me a series of sticky notes telling me why you think that we should bring her back into the fold."

"Yes."

"I noticed that John Curtis didn't make the short list."

Erin knew that Ron was teasing her, yet she still shuddered and shook her head. "Did you read his file? He is just as smarmy as when he worked for us the first time, and I couldn't in good conscience elevate his folder to the winnowing round. And if he ever finds out that I was the reason he didn't make it past the first go, so be it. He's never learned the humility that he needed after what happened with the Amerithrax incident."

"And Alex has?"

She shrugged before nodding. "From what I read in that file, I would say yes. So, who did you end up going with?"

Erin hated the fact that she felt so many butterflies starting to fly around in her stomach, since she wanted to be calm and collected in front of Ron. "I think that you will be pleased with my choice. I actually agree with you one hundred percent and will offer Alex a full position here with the BAU. Though I have to assume that you don't want her to know that you were the catalyst for her return?"

"You would be correct. I still haven't received word that my attempts at amends have been received, and I don't want her to reject this offer because she thinks that my hand was the one that tipped the scale in her favor."

He nodded, his smile somehow softening as he took a deep breath. "I will keep that mum, then. Though I think the fact that she's submitted an application every time there's been an open position in the BAU means that she wouldn't turn it down, no matter who had recommended her for the position. I was just waiting for you to realise that it was time for her to return."

"I truly hate the fact that I am becoming more obvious the older I grow."

"You were always a bit of an open book to me. Which is why I can tell that you're already starting to feel nervous about Alex rejoining the team. Would you like a spot of advice, that you don't have to take to heart?" She nodded. "Don't try hard when she returns to us. If you want to truly reconcile, you have to allow her to be the one who leads in that. I know, that's going to be difficult for you to do, since you so desperately want to be a part of her life once more, but she needs the space and time to see that you've changed since then."

"I'll try to keep that in mind," she said before giving him what she hoped was a confident smile. "Is there anything else that you want me to know?"

"Not that I can think of at the moment. Just, mull over my words, and take from them what you think will work best. I don't want this to blow up in your face, after all."

"I understand, Ron," she replied as they stood up, and then she was guiding him over to the door, the smile never leaving her lips until she saw him leave her outer office, and then she allowed her shoulders to slump as she let out a long breath.

"Was it good news or bad news? Director Shepperd wasn't quite certain how you'd react."

"It's a mixture of both, honestly. The BAU no longer has a vacancy, and Alex Blake will be returning to the fold. I wasn't certain that Ron would take my suggestion of asking her back, but now that he has, I'm not certain that I made the right decision. I don't know how I'll react to her, once she's in the same building as I am once more."

"Well, you'll probably have a few weeks to get used to the idea of her being here, since these things don't happen all at once, yes?" Helen smile encouragingly at her, and Erin quickly smiled back before answering.

"Yes. Now, I am going to take a quick walk to try and clear my thoughts. If there are any important calls, forward them to my cellphone. All right?"

"Of course." Erin gave Helen a tight nod before striding from the office and heading for the stairwell, knowing that the one place she'd truly find some clarity and peace would be on the roof, and she hoped that she would be alone once she reached her destination.