Penelope was almost glad that the team had had to go out on another case so quickly, as that would allow her to go see Erin without comment from Aaron. She waited until they were on their lunch hour, knowing that the team wouldn't expect her to call them with updates unless it was truly important during that time. Taking a deep breath, Penelope pushed away from her desk and slipped her phone into her pocket before heading out of the bullpen. Anderson gave her a knowing smile as she walked past his desk, and she rolled her eyes a little before smacking his shoulder lightly. "Hey!"

"Hey, yourself. What do you have to smirk about?"

He lifted a shoulder before patting his desk with his hand. Knowing that she had to get the story out of him, Penelope sank down on the corner and fixed a stern gaze on him. "You know, when you do that, you look like her. Which isn't surprising, seeing as how you keep spending more and more time with our Section Chief. But you only do that when the team is gone. Is she your dirty little secret?"

She wasn't certain that she liked the implication behind those words, and her glare deepened as she thought about what she's like to say to him in rebuttal. "There is nothing dirty about friendship, Agent Anderson."

They both looked up quicky to see Erin standing behind Penelope, a placid look on her face. It was easy for Penelope to see that she wasn't quite so calm, based on her eyes, and she took a deep breath before nodding a little. "Exactly, Chief Strauss. And I am so glad that you came to see me, since I was about to head into your office and ask if you had some time to discuss an important work-related matter with me. Would you have a moment now?"

Erin gave her a small nod. "Yes, I do. Are you certain that you wouldn't prefer to speak in your office?"

"No! You have the better couch."

Anderson laughed, and they both glared at him in unison. "All right, let's head over to my office, then. Have a good day, Agent Anderson." He nodded as Penelope rose to her feet and followed after Erin, trying to ignore the people who were staring at them. She knew that those agents didn't truly matter, since she was the only one who had to deal with her relationship with Erin and Aaron. Soon enough, they were entering her office, and Helen gave Penelope a small smile before they disappeared behind the inner door. "What did you wish to discuss?" Erin asked, her voice sounding low and lifeless.

Penelope took a seat on the sofa, patting the spot next to her in hopes that Erin would join her, and moments later, she did just that. "So, Aaron and I went out on a date the night after I spent the night at your place. And don't worry, he doesn't know that I slept on your sofa, he thinks I fell asleep on my own. Anyway, too much information, I know, but I tend to babble when I get nervous. And I'm not nervous about being in your office, because you're my friend, and I trust you. And I hope that you trust me. A little?"

"Penelope, if I didn't trust you, there is no way that I would allow you to spend time with my children. You've given me a wonderful gift of time with them. And I know that you're also manipulating Dawn in order to get me more alone time with them, for which I am grateful."

She smiled as she reached out to pick up Erin's hand, threading their fingers together before taking a deep breath. "I'm glad that you've found me trustworthy. Now, I get to trust you as much as you trust me. On that date, Aaron asked me something, and I don't know how to feel about the entire situation."

"Oh?" Erin asked, cocking her head to one side. It was a gesture that Penelope recognized from the inquest, one that let her know she was truly listening to Penelope, and she smiled shakily and nodded. "All right, please, share."

"He and Jack are moving back into their home soon. And he told me that there's a room there for me, should I want to move in with him."

Erin blinked a few times before she nodded. "That is the natural progression of relationships, yes. Do you want me to listen, or would you like advice?"

"Advice! I trust you to give me good advice, and I have no idea what I want to do." She tightened her hold on Erin's hand as she blinked back tears. "I'm not one to settle down. I don't like to be beholden on other people. And now, he wants me to give up my autonomy and stay with him and Jack."

Erin nodded once more before tapping her thumb against Penelope's hand. "That is a tricky place to be in. Because it is natural to create one household after a time, once you've entered into a committed relationship. Alan and I followed tradition and did not cohabitate until after we were married, because that was what was expected of us at that time. However, if we were to start a relationship now? I feel like we would probably move in after dating exclusively for six months. You and Aaron haven't quite reached that place in your relationship, which is probably why it does feel so rushed to you. If you were my friend outside of work," Penelope frowned at those words, and Erin shook her head a little, giving her hand a sharp squeeze, "and only knew about Aaron from what you have told me of your relationship thus far, I would counsel you not to move in with him quite so soon. Since I have a different perspective on the issue at hand, I really must counsel you to not rush into this."

"Oh," she breathed out, kicking herself for not allowing Erin to finish her thought before wanting to interrupt. "So I'm not being weird, for lack of a better word, for wanting to press pause on how fast this is going?"

Erin shook her head. "No. I imagine that you're probably intimate with him, and as your boss, I do not want those details, and that needs to be enough said on that matter." Penelope gave her a small nod, watching the way that Erin's face flushed a quick red before she had willed away that reaction. She wondered why she had reacted like that, but knew that she couldn't ask, since she didn't want to draw attention to the fact that she had noticed the weird reaction. "Just, take care of your heart and listen to that still small voice that speaks to you. I wasn't always careful in listening to that voice, which is what led me to this problem that I currently have."

"But you're trying to get a handle on things, and I know that you're going to come out on top."

She listened to Erin let out a long sigh, trying to ignore the way that the grip on her hand tightened painfully. "Sometimes I wonder if I will win, since Alan seems so hellbent on humiliating me and seeing me pay for leaving him. And that makes my heart hurt, which leads to me wanting to drink, and I imbibe a little more than necessary. It's not quite so bad at the moment, but I know that I can do better."

Penelope knew that it must have taken a lot for Erin to share that information with her, since she was such a private woman. And so she waited to respond, wanting to give Erin a few beats to collect her composure. "I've told you, my ear is always open to you, if and when you need to talk. You've texted me a few times, so I know you have my number. If I have to, I'll start texting you every night as a check in with you."

A soft chuckle slipped out from Erin's lips, which was a positive reaction in Penelope's mind, before she let go of Penelope's hand and smoothed her hair down a little. "I don't think that you'll need to go quite that far, but it might be nice to have you check in every once in a while, like you do with Tabitha."

"Then that is what I will do." She gave Erin a sunny smile as she tapped her hands against her thighs. "I know that the team is going to start reaching out to me for details soon, but I enjoy spending time with you way too much to want to leave right now."

"Be that as it may, I actually do have a budget meeting to prepare for, and I need to be up in the Director's office in an hour. Though I will escort you back to your office, since I need some information from Agent Anderson."

"I suppose that I can live with that, Erin. Hopefully we can get together soon for lunch, or more time with your kiddos. I am always up for playing chaperone, especially when the team is away, because then I don't have to feel guilty about telling Aaron we're spending time together. And not because it's you, but because he can't get over his animosity towards you. I don't want to cause you more hurt or difficulty because we work well as friends."

Penelope didn't quite know why her tongue tripped over the word friends, but she noticed that Erin hadn't picked up on the hitch. "Penny…"

"No, don't say it, Erin. I am an adult who can make her own choices, I just hate to see anyone get hurt because of me." Before the woman could respond, Penelope leaned in and hugged Erin tightly before getting to her feet and leaving the office, feeling her thoughts swirl around how she was going to deal with Aaron and his weird hang-ups regarding Erin, because there was no way that they could even think about moving in together when he still disapproved of her choice in friends.