Erin's home was just as stately as he imagined it to be, though Aaron tried to ignore the vague unease at being alone in his supervisor's house alone, trying not to feel like an intruder. That feeling only grew in intensity when he reached her bedroom after looking into a few of the other rooms upstairs, and he let out a deep breath as he immediately went over to the closet and pulled out two suitcases. He knew that Haley had always been one to wear a lot of different clothes in the course of a month, so he made the decision to pack a little heavier, even though he assumed that there would be laundry facilities at the center.
Setting the bags on the bed, Aaron opened them before returning to the closet and perusing the clothes there. He didn't feel that office wear would be appropriate in Erin's current setting, so he chose to put in the more casual clothing located there, marveling a little at what their presence suggested about his boss. It was evident that she had a hard separation between work and home life, something that he had never profiled in her, but was clear in her sartorial choices. Shaking his head a little, he soon filled the larger suitcase with all the clothes that he thought she'd need, along with a few different pairs of shoes, not knowing if she'd need the variety. With that part of the task handled, Aaron realized that he would have to do the thing that he had been avoiding, which was choose her undergarments for the next three months. He knew that there wasn't anything embarrassing about bras and panties, but it was still too intimate a glimpse into Erin's personal life, and he completed that part of his task as quickly as possible before heading into the bathroom.
What he saw there tracked with the new image that he was creating of Erin in his mind, and Aaron tried to tamp down the burgeoning wave of sympathy that was starting to well up in his chest. He knew that there wasn't the need to wear a lot of makeup in a facility like Erin was in, but if she was anything like Haley had been, Erin would want her skin care regime with her, along with some basic makeup to wear in order to make herself feel and look normal. He also included her hair care products and then zipped the two bags before picking them up and heading back downstairs and out to his car, setting them in the back seat before getting behind the wheel and entering the address of the facility into his GPS and began to rather long drive there.
He knew that it was quite late when he arrived, and assumed that the time for visitors was over, as there were no other cars in visitor's parking. Swallowing thickly, he climbed out of the car and grabbed the bags before heading to the door of the facility. Before he could ring the doorbell, the door was opening, revealing a woman around his age. "Agent Hotchner, I am so glad that you managed to find it in your heart to do this for your boss."
"And you must be Lauren. How did you know it was me, though?"
She let out a little chuckle as she welcomed him inside the foyer. "You look like you talk." He didn't know if that was a compliment or not, so he decided to accept it as such, in order to keep the peace at the moment. "I'll give you a short tour of our facility on our way to Erin's room."
"Can't you just deliver the bags?" Lauren gave him a pointed look, and suddenly he knew why this woman was in charge of the facility, as it was clear that she was not accustomed to being questioned or second guessed. "All right, lead the way."
"That's better. Follow me." He gave her a short nod as they walked deeper into the center. "This is our visiting room, where family and friend come to meet with our patients. At our facility, we place a great emphasis on how a tight knit group of supporters can help our patients overcome their demons. A lot of times, the reason why they fall into addiction is an intense feeling of loneliness and isolation, especially when they're in high profile positions like Erin is. And she'll be no different, requiring people to visit her at times during her ninety days here."
Aaron didn't like the fact that Lauren was just assuming that he would be one of Erin's visitors, but he said nothing to refute that notion, not wanting to incur her wrath as she showed off the rest of the facility. While it was a nice enough place, there was something quite stark about the surroundings, as if the building was belying Lauren's words about the goals of their program. And for the first time since he had discovered Erin's problem down in Florida, he felt a wave of sympathy rise up in his chest. He knew that she needed to be here, that she needed to fix the brokenness in her body and mind before she returned to work, but he wished that IAB had chosen someplace softer for her to start that healing process.
"And this is Erin's room for the next three months."
He nodded slightly as they came to a stop, watching Lauren knock on the door insistently. It took Erin a minute to reach the door, and she focused on him almost instantly, her eyes narrowing. "Aaron."
"Erin. I was told that you needed a few things to make your stay more comfortable." He held out the bags towards her, and her glare increased as she stepped away from the door and allowed them inside. The room was quite bare and stark, and he tried not to frown as he set the suitcases at the end of the bed, suddenly wishing that he had spent a little more time in Erin's house and chosen a few pictures of her children to set up, or a few books for her to read. Turning to look at her once more, he tried not to focus on the way her shoulders slumped forward in a clear effort to protect herself from his intrusion in this place, but it was difficult not to be moved by her posture. "If you need anything else, let Lauren know, and either Helen or myself will bring it by. I don't know what you're allowed to have here, but if we can, we will get it to you."
Again, there was no answer from Erin, and he sighed a little as he turned to look at Lauren, who was frowning at Erin. "Aren't you going to at least thank Agent Hotchner for bringing you clothes? He didn't have to go out of his way to be kind to you."
Erin's shoulders stiffened at the rebuke, lifting her eyes a little to look at him. To Aaron's surprise, he could see tears pooling in her eyes, and he shook his head a little, trying to let her know that she didn't need to say anything, that it was no problem, even though he had railed against doing the task in the first place. "Thank you, Aaron. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take a shower and change into fresh clothes. It has been a long day."
Her voice was so flat that he couldn't help but shudder, though Lauren seemed to take it in stride as she nodded and then placed her hand in the middle of his back, almost pushing him from the room. And it was in that moment that Aaron knew he had to check in on Erin and her progress as the weeks went by, if only to touch base with Lauren and make certain that everything was still on track for his boss.