"You knew what Erin did."

She looked up into her partner's eyes and shook her head slowly before turning back to the dishes in the sink in an effort to avoid his accusing gaze. "What makes you think that?" she asked quietly as he came up to her side and took hold of her wrist gently.

"Because of the way that you reacted. Or, I should say, didn't react. So, all along you knew that Erin had allowed her to be taken by the State Department, and you didn't say anything to me? That's a rather large breach of trust."

She frowned as she pulled her arm out of his light grasp, turning so that she could glare up into his face. "That's so rich, Aaron. I was asked to keep this confidence, because she knew that if I was blindsided by it, I would have been even angrier than Emily is! Erin needed to let someone know, and she knew that not only could she trust me, she also knew it would hurt me and that there was the likelihood that I might do something reckless. Or do you not remember my temper?"

Aaron nodded a little as he gestured towards the kitchen table, and she let out a deep sigh as she stepped away from the sink and dried her hands off before taking a seat. "How about we share a glass of wine and talk about things, before it gets too out of hand. I don't like fighting, not when time is so limited."

"Are you planning on breaking up with me?" she teased, needing some levity to clear out the lingering tension in the room. He shook his head, and Penelope flashed him a quick smile as she watched him grab a bottle out of the wine rack and poured them each a glass before coming over to her side and taking a seat next to her.

"That did sound more ominous than I wanted it to, Penny. I was more thinking of the fact that we're only allotted so many days in our lives, and it's a waste to spend them angry at the people we love."

She nodded as she took her glass from his hand, sipping at the shiraz before letting out a deep sigh. "I think that we could go one step further and say that it's a waste to spend any waking minute angry at anyone longer than necessary."

He raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged a little as she took another sip. "If you mean that I should be nicer to Strauss, I think that you know that will be a cold day in Hell, darling. Even if you were to become her best friend, I don't think I'd ever be anything more than cordial to her. There's too much bad blood between us to be nice."

"Never say never, Aaron. You know that I can work magic on anyone." She winked at him as she swirled her wine around in her glass. "And that is why I am so glad that you're going to be home tomorrow, because I'll get to work my magic on you."

He blushed a little, which made her chuckle, before nodding and taking a large drink of his wine. "We still have to get Jack down to sleep before that can happen."

"Anticipation is the best aphrodisiac, Aaron," she practically purred out as she dipped her finger into her glass and then sucked off the few drops that clung to her skin. "Now, I'm going to join him and Jess in the living room, I'm certain they think we've been kidnapped by pirates right about now." Getting up, she bent down and pressed her lips against the top of his head before ruffling his hair a little, wishing that he had a little more so that she could truly muss it up. He let out a small snort before joining her, taking hold of her free hand as they went into the living room.

Jessica looked up at them, a small smirk dancing on her face, and Penelope shrugged as she plopped down onto the sofa next to her, watching Hotch take a seat in his comfortable chair. It didn't take Jack more than three minutes to get up from his spot on the other side of Jessica and rush over to Aaron's side, clambering up into his lap and resting his head against Aaron's chest. That move told Penelope that he was much closer to falling asleep than she had realized, but that fit in perfectly for their future plans. "So, anything new going on at work?"

Penelope's nostrils flared a little as she quickly glanced at Hotch, wondering if he would be the one to tell Jessica, or if she should. He gave her a small shrug and she nodded before taking a small sip of wine. "Well, we're about to be down a member, as Jayje was headhunted from our team. Her last case was this one, before she goes to join the State Department. I'm going to miss her like crazy, but it will be better for her, in the long run, since this means that she'll be home more often for Henry. And getting to spend more time with our children is always the dream, isn't it?"

"You had to point out the other thing I didn't think of, didn't you?" Aaron asked, and she nodded, smiling sweetly before taking a deep breath. "That is the one thing I do miss, watching Jack grow up. Thankfully, Jess sends me enough pictures to keep me in the loop, but it still aches." He hugged his son close, and Penelope sighed as she noticed that Jack had quickly fallen asleep in his father's arms. "I'm going to run him up to bed, and then we can finish this show?"

"Sounds good, Aaron. But bring him here so I can kiss him goodnight," she replied as he set aside his wine glass and awkwardly got to his feet, maneuvering Jack onto his shoulder before coming over to the couch. Penelope leaned up and kissed Jack's cheek, then watching as Jessica copied the gesture. Once he was gone from the room, Penelope turned to Jessica and frowned a little. "Aaron's upset with me, and even though we talked about it just a few minutes ago, I feel like this might become a larger issue between us. Did, did Haley ever talk to you about how to go about things when he's upset?"

Jessica clucked her tongue a little as she scooted closer to Penelope and picked up her hand, squeezing it a little as she took a few moments before answering. "He gets quiet. Things seem okay, because you've discussed it, but he's still ruminating on it in the back of his mind, and will come around to it later on. Haley was a lot like you, quick to anger, quick to get it out of her system, but she loved Aaron so much that she could overlook that slow burn of his. Have patience when he returns to the subject, he was a lawyer after all, and trained to deal with things methodically and in a thorough manner. But why is he upset with you?"

"I knew about JJ leaving us a full week before anyone else found out. Erin wanted me to know, so that I wouldn't do anything rash when it came out. I mean, she does know me quite well, it seems, since I would have tried to find a way to stop it, like I did for Aaron and Emily during that awful Milwaukee case. But while our hands are tied now, we're committed to finding a way to get her back from the State Department. Even if it takes a few months to do so."

"I should have known that you had a plan in place," Jess said as she chuckled a little, squeezing her hand softly. "Though I know that Strauss is a sore spot between the two of you, it seems like your friendship with her has been good for both of you. I won't tell Aaron that, though. Some things should be kept between friends."

They giggled together before Penelope finished off her glass of wine and set it aside. "I just want everything to be fine between all of us. I guess I'm just a natural peacemaker, and once I'm friends with someone, it takes a lot to lose that friendship. Erin's been really open and honest with me about so much that she didn't have to reveal that I can't help but find my heart soft when it comes to her. I know that no one else gets it, not really, but if I'm truly the miracle worker I claim to be, well, I'll eventually get everyone to come around to my way of thinking."

"Good luck with that, Penny," she said as they heard Aaron come back into the living room, and she nodded as they all scooted down to make room for him on the end of the sofa, settling in to finish watching the movie that was currently playing. From the way that Jessica said that, Penelope knew that there was definitely going to be a larger fight coming in the future and she shivered a little before snuggling close to Aaron's side, trying desperately not to think of Erin's words to her when she had received the greenlight to begin a relationship with him. She knew that there was no way that she could even start to think about losing her love with Aaron, not when she felt more and more like he was the one.