"Hey, Tabby girl!"

"I hope I'm not interrupting your work, Penelope, but I wanted to talk to you for a little bit. Dad still thinks you're a school friend, which has allowed me a little more leeway, and he doesn't question your number popping up on the phone bill."

"I suppose that we can live with that small lie for the moment. What's up?" she asked as she propped her feet up on the desk. She was still running searches for the team while they were in Indiana, and she kept one eye on her screens as she settled in to listen to the young girl.

"Dad went off on a tantrum about Mum today, and we couldn't say anything back. He doesn't like when we defend her, but I just can't help it. I love her."

"Your mom is kind of easy to love, isn't she?"

Tabitha laughed a little. "Then you've really seen her. Most people only take her at face value."

There was a load of wisdom in the teen's voice, and Penelope sighed a little. "I think that she's someone that wears a mask to hide her true self away from the world, because she has to be so strong at work. It's hard to keep control of six adults who are hellbent on being reckless to get the results that will bring in the unsubs. The fact that you can give your mother grace is a good thing, since not many people can do that."

Her computer beeped at her, and she huffed out a little breath of frustration. "Do you need to go?"

"Unfortunately. But I will text you later, if you still want to talk."

"Thank you."

They hung up and Penelope set her phone aside as she called Aaron, waiting for him to answer. "I have new information for you, but I don't think any of it is good," she said before rattling off what she had found out, knowing that the team was taking notes. "Is there anything new that I should be looking into?"

"Yes, a few things." Aaron took the phone off speaker as he told her what they needed, which she hurriedly scrawled down onto a pad of paper, knowing that time was of the essence to reunite Stephanie with her young child. She couldn't help but make a connection between what she was doing for her team and what she was trying to do for Erin, and her eyes filled with tears as she listened to the soothing sound of her lover's voice. "And Penelope?"

"Yeah, darling?"

"How are you holding up? This case is brutal."

"No more brutal than what we've dealt with this year so far. It seems like there's something in the air and I can't shake this feeling that there's something horrible waiting for us just over the horizon. At least I have you and Erin that I can talk to, because you understand that feeling of impending doom so well."

"You're still hung up on being her friend, and I still don't get it."

"It's been months, Aaron. We're fast friends, even if it is difficult to understand. She's wonderful, behind her work persona. And I can fully recognize that the reason you're uneasy about this friendship is the fact that she's your boss, and technically mine, too. Just, try not to disparage the natural chemistry that Erin and I have."

"And that is something that I never want to hear when it comes to Erin again. It's bad enough that Dave keeps bringing her up casually, which tells me that he's interested in her. And that means both my partner and my best friend are infatuated with someone who has been in direct opposition with us for so long. It is a bit jarring to grow accustomed to, so if you could give me a little more time…"

"Of course, Aaron! I love you, and I want us to be happy. I just hope that someday, somehow, you can understand that our friendship means so much to us. She needs me, and I'm starting to learn that I need her, too. I miss Jayje so much, and there's no time for us to really get together, even though she's home so much now. I just hate losing people."

"I know that, Penny. I just wish that you hadn't latched onto Erin quite so tightly. I'm sorry, I have to go."

Before Penelope could say another word, Aaron had hung up, and she glared at her phone as she hung it up and began to dive further into the background of this case, all the while trying to keep her focus on what she was supposed to be researching. Still, her muddled thoughts drew her away from work to how much she missed JJ and how she was ever going to reconcile the fact that she loved Aaron so much, while still being drawn to Erin. She didn't want her friendship with the woman to cause a rift between them, but that seemed to be the case more and more.

Finally, knowing that she couldn't allow herself to become distracted, she decided that the best course of action would be to talk to Erin and get some of it out of her system before focusing on the case once more. Letting out a long, frustrated, breath, Penelope pushed away from her desk, slipping her phone into her pocket as she got to her feet and left her office. The rest of the bullpen was a hive of activity, which suited her just fine, since she didn't want to be spotted making her way out to Erin's office.

She smiled a little at Anderson as she passed by his desk, and he waved a little as he continued his conversation with someone on the other end of his phone. He was the only one that she truly worried about asking her questions, since he always wanted to know everything that was going on in the BAU. Slowly, she made her way over to the office, again not wanting to call attention to herself, and she reached there without fanfare.

Helen was typing away on her keyboard, and she gave Penelope a small nod before gesturing towards Erin's office with a kind gesture. She nodded in return before slipping behind the closed door and making her way over to Erin's desk. The woman was so focused on her computer work that she didn't realise Penelope was there, which gave her a few moments to just watch her, seeing how her face was soft without the mask she normally wore around other people. She didn't want to break that openness, but knew that she had to let Erin know that she was there sooner or later, so she cleared her throat before affixing a sunny smile on her face.

"Can I help you, Penelope?"

She shrugged as she leaned forward and looked into her face, watching the work mask slowly slip back into place. "I won't bite, you don't have to wear your mask around me." Erin shrugged, and she didn't allow her smile to slip as she took a deep breath. "How are you doing? I know that things are a little difficult with your ex-husband right now, and I just wanted to check in on you."

"Really?"

She nodded. "And I was talking to Tabitha a bit just a few minutes ago, and she mentioned that Alan is being more than a bit of an ass about you to them. I thought it was part of the divorce decree that you weren't supposed to disparage the other parent?"

"Normally it is, but Alan is determined to say as much as he can get away with and not be censured by the court. He knows that he basically has me over a barrel, because of my problem, and I don't know what else to do, other than love on my children when I'm allowed visits and toe the line around my babysitter." Erin took a deep breath before looking over Penelope's shoulder at the door, her expression turning wary as she spoke once more. "I have to tell you that I am so glad for your friendship with my children right now. You're the perfect buffer zone when we are together on outings, because my babysitter doesn't pay attention to what you say to my children, truly, and when she's distracted by you, I'm allowed to have a bit of freedom with them. I know that this is probably affecting your relationship with Agent Hotchner, but I am still so selfishly grateful that you've chosen to stay. Please, stay."

Penelope felt her breath stolen from her mouth at the soft sound of those words. They'd been close to speaking intimately like this before, but to hear the yearning so nakedly in Erin's voice was something new. Nodding a little, Penelope reached across the desk and held out her hand expectantly. It took a few moments, but then Erin was clasping it lightly, as if she didn't want to hold on tightly for fear of someone entering her office without warning and then she couldn't snatch her hand back in time. "As if wild horses could drag me away from you and your family! I adore spending time with them all, and you're not so bad, once a person gets to know you." Penelope gave her a small wink before squeezing Erin's hand and then letting go, knowing that there was only so far that she could push her. "Now, I don't know when our next time together will be, but the team will be gone for a few more days, so if you can finagle another family date night out of Dawn, we could enjoy an evening together. Maybe a home visit, so we could watch movies on television and just relax. It would be good to have them in your home, after all. Just let me know if we can arrange that."

"I'll see what I can arrange with her. Thank you." She nodded as she gave Erin a sunny smile, getting to her feet and leaving the office before things could get too emotional once more. She knew there was only so much that Erin could take, after all, and she didn't want to be the one to push her over the edge into a crying jag while she was at work. There would be time enough for tears later.