Erin smiled as she looked around at those who had gathered for her fifty fifth birthday. David had managed to invite a good number of people, and she was surprised to see that even Alan had come, though he had brought his new wife, Alice. And not only was this party celebrating the most important birthday to happen in her life, when she and her soulmate would have a full twenty four hours to be on their own, doing whatever they wished without interruption, but they were also celebrating the fact that she had managed to survive the attack in New York City. It had been a harrowing week, where she had been in the hospital, praying to recover and come home. And now that she was strong enough to enjoy a party, especially one as special as this, it was definitely time to celebrate.
"Are you ready, bella?" David asked as he approached her side, slipping his arm around her waist before pressing a soft kiss to the side of her head.
"I think that I am. I mean, we did take a nap to make certain that we were able to go for as long as possible during our special day. Though I hope that we can get away with just another short nap before the stroke of midnight once more." Erin turned her head and gave him a soft kiss on the lips as she looked around at their guests. She was so happy to see that James had been able to make it after all, since Alex had mentioned that his work schedule might preclude his attendance. "It's going to be so weird to be the only two moving amongst our friends. And I'm not entirely certain that I can believe the reports about what happens on this birthday."
"I completely understand that feeling. I didn't have a partner for my fifty fifth, so I can't tell you if I did experience what others report, but I hope."
"It's always good to have hope," she murmured as she watched Penelope leave Agent Morgan's side and approach them, a wide grin on her lips. "Looks like we have company, darling."
He nodded as they stepped apart a little, as if they were still trying to keep their relationship under wraps, and that caused the younger woman to giggle a little as she came to a stop in front of Erin. "So, are you two ready for what's about to happen?"
"As much as we can be, Penelope. And I'll tell you as much as I can remember once our twenty four hours are over, because I can just see on your face that you want all the details."
"Am I that obvious?" Erin nodded, and Penelope rolled her eyes a little. "I thought that I was starting to develop a poker face around you."
"I've raised three children, your face is an open book to me. Now, Aaron, on the other hand, is inscrutable, even after all these years of working with him." The man looked up at the sound of his name, raising his glass towards them as he grinned. "We only have fifteen minutes until our day together."
"That means you have time enough to come chat with me and Jayje before we freeze like statues. I wonder if we'll remember what that feels like, or if it's some great mystery?"
"I have no idea," Erin murmured as the younger woman led her away from her lover. She was still a little shy around the other members of Alpha team, since it had truly only been a year since she had started thawing towards them, allowing them to see behind the mask that she wore at work, which she had always through necessary. "Good evening, Agent Jareau."
"Good evening, Chief Strauss."
"Oh, don't be so formal, you two! It's going to be her birthday in a few minutes, there's no need to stand on formality, is there?"
Penelope nudged her side with her elbow, and Erin chuckled as she shook her head a little. "If Jennifer feels comfortable calling me Erin, that is perfectly fine. Did your son come, too?"
Jennifer shook her head as they made their way over to the refreshment table. "No, we wanted to have a night where we could get a little tipsy as we celebrated. Thankfully, our nanny was more than willing to spend the night with him."
"That's good," she replied as she sipped at the fresh glass of juice she'd grabbed from the table. "I've never managed to say thank you for helping in my rescue in New York. It's been such a whirlwind of recovery and renewal, that some things have been pushed to the backburner. I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Erin. We're all just glad that we could stop that man in his tracks. Though I won't deny that it felt good to take the kill shot."
"This is the second head shot that you've successfully completed, isn't it?" Erin asked as they drifted back over to David, and Jennifer nodded. "Those are incredibly rare to pull off."
"Thank you. But I've heard that you're just as deadly a shot. Alex couldn't stop talking about your accomplishments while you were in the hospital, almost as if she was trying to keep you with us by anchoring the memories of you to the rest of the world."
Erin blushed as she shrugged. "I'm a pretty good shot, yes."
"Well, after your time with your soulmate, how about you and I plan a date at the shooting range? I think that I would really enjoy going toe to toe with you."
She nodded as the rest of their guests made their way over towards her and David. Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was five minutes to midnight, and a thrum of excitement filled her bones. She looked over the crowd, her eyes finding Alex, and she gave her friend a small smile as she snuggled closer to David. "It's almost time, bella."
"And I am more nervous than I have cause to be?" He chuckled a little before turning his head and kissing her temple. "I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that it will be just us two for twenty four whole hours."
"Well, you and forty million other people, give or take a few million. Given the current population of the world, and allowing for the fact that some people haven't met their soulmates by the time they've reached this milestone, of course." Doctor Reid gave her a sheepish smile, and she nodded, grateful for his analytic brain in that moment. For some reason it was enough to calm her nerves, and she stepped closer to her partner, resting her head on his chest as the others began to count down the seconds until the clock struck midnight. And then, as if someone had pressed the mute button, all voices fell silent before their guests could finish saying one.
All voices, that is, except for one that she had never anticipated, and Erin pulled her head away from David's too still chest to look over at Alex in shocked silence. Slowly, the other woman's mouth closed before she pressed her hand to her lips as her eyes widened, and Erin slowly nodded as she stepped away from David to turn and look into his face. Just like in all the stories she had heard in this moment, he was frozen, his lips stuck in a warm smile, and Erin felt herself begin to shake a little as she stumbled her way over to the closest table.
As Erin sat heavily, Alex followed after her, her steps just as fumbling, and that was something she was grateful for. If Alex had been sure, certain, of this outcome, Erin thought that she might have screamed. "We're soulmates?" she murmured as Alex took a seat in the chair next to her, and Alex nodded slowly, as if she was still trying to process what was happening to them. "And now we have a full day to talk about everything that went unsaid when you dropped me off at the hotel."
"There is that." Alex cleared her throat as she looked around the backyard. "I, I don't know what I'll tell James. My special birthday is in a month, and this will break his heart."
"It's going to break David's heart, too. I love him, Alex. But then there's you. I trained my heart to not think of you like that, after what happened with the whole Amerithrax incident. I didn't deserve to love you, not after what…"
"Shh," Alex whispered before she leaned in and pressed a tender kiss against Erin's lips. "That is firmly water under the bridge, because I know how much you tore yourself to pieces this last year trying to make amends. I don't want you to feel like you have to do that now, not when we have this time to be together." The other woman then reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind Erin's ear before kissing her once more. "I know, I shouldn't be doing this, but these are our hours together, no one will know that we've kissed."
"I won't tell anyone about these busses," she whispered. "Let's head inside and make ourselves a little more comfortable on the sofa. It's hard to believe that we're the only ones in the area that can move. Even the bats that fly around at night are just hovering in the sky."
"It is a little unnerving, yes," Alex replied as they got to their feet, and though she didn't know why, Erin took hold of Alex's hand, leading her into the living room and pulling her down to sit next to her. "I think that we should talk about the elephant in the room first, don't you?"
"Probably, yes."
Alex chuckled a little as she scooted closer to Erin, never letting go of her hand. "I love James, and you love David. But we also love each other, otherwise we wouldn't be considered soulmates. We're going to have to tell them about this turn of events, as they're going to know that something is wrong when we head back out to the yard and then they start moving again."
"Trust you to get to the heart of the matter." Erin let out a soft sigh as Alex nodded. "I didn't want to keep loving you, but you always had a place in my heart. There was always room for you here. I don't want to hurt David or James. Do you, do you think that we could just keep this under wraps?"
"No, I don't think that we can, Erin," Alex said softly as she squeezed her hand. "I would love to keep this a secret, but you're coming to my birthday party next month, and it will become quite obvious there what happened here. Remember, Dave will ask what happened because he won't remember this liminal period."
She let out a long breath as she nodded. "I know, I was just grasping at straws. Can I tell you something personal?" Alex nodded. "David and I were planning on walking over to the neighbour's yard and making love there, beneath the night sky, because no one would know. The moonlight would caress my skin just like his lips, and it would have felt hedonistically glorious. And while there is a part of me that would love to do the same with you, because these are our hours, I know that neither of us could do that to our partners. Because we love them too dearly to betray the bonds of fidelity that we have with them."
Alex gave her a sad smile as she let go of Erin's hand and reached up to cup her face. It was so easy to allow the woman to lean in and press another kiss there, to fill her senses with the love and passion that she had once experienced with Alex long ago, and Erin let out a soft cry when Alex pulled back to look into her eyes. "You're right, you're always right."
"Not always."
"Often enough, though. So, by the end of these hours, we're going to have to make some difficult decisions." Erin nodded as she leaned her head in, and Alex responded by pressing their foreheads together. It was reminiscent of the ways that they had communed together in college, when they had just been very close friends, neither wanting to admit that those feelings ran a little deeper than mere friendship, since that was something that neither of them really could afford to admit. "Do you have any idea what you'll do?"
"I wish that I could say that I did." Erin glanced at her wrist and saw that nearly an hour had passed by already. "I don't think that cars work right now, since everything is put on pause. That means we can only go as far as our feet can take us, but there is a park that I like to walk in after work, or on Saturdays, within walking distance. Would you like to go there with me?"
"I'd love nothing more, Erin."
She let out a shaky breath as she popped to her feet. "Stay here, I'm going to grab us better shoes to walk in, since it is a bit of a hike." Alex gave her a small nod as Erin left the room, and she hurried quickly over to the shoe closet and pulled out two pairs of walking shoes before going back to Alex's side. "I'm glad that we wear the same size."
"I am, too. You never noticed when I wore your shoes in college."
"Oh, I did. I just never commented on it, because it was nice to have someone to share with. You know that it was just me and my brother growing up, so I didn't have anyone to swap clothes with or other normal things like that. You never noticed when I borrowed your sweaters."
"I did, actually. I just loved the scent of your perfume too much to comment, and I didn't want you to feel embarrassed enough to stop borrowing them."
Erin laughed as she shook her head. "What a fine pair we are."
"We were perfect for each other back then, and life got in the way." Alex let out a long breath as she slipped her feet into the shoes, tying them quickly before getting to her feet and watching Erin follow suit. "We're all going to end up hurting, no matter what path we choose. Aren't we?"
"Most likely, yes," she replied as she finished tying her shoes. Holding her hand out, Erin allowed Alex to pull her to fer feet and it was so easy to close the distance between them and hug her friend tightly. "But I don't know what I'd do if you hadn't been there to get John's attention, and allow Jennifer the opening she needed to take that shot. Because then we wouldn't have this time together right now."
Pursing her lips together, Erin stepped away from Alex and made her way to the front door of David's home. It was so odd to see a few cars just stopped on the road, their drivers staring straight ahead unblinking. She shivered a little until Alex caught up with her and took hold of her hand once more. "Why are you so shy about that feeling? That has nothing to do with the situation we find ourselves in."
"Because I don't want to make it seem like I'm trying to sway your decision one way or the other. While we both might have something to lose by the time my watch gets back to midnight, I can't help but feel like I have farther to fall. Because I could lose David and you. My life could implode, and I'd be left trying to stand on my own once again. There is something terrifying about that idea, because I don't think I have it in me to start over once more. Fifty five means that my life is heading towards its end, after all."
"And your grandmother lived to be one hundred two. Just because life was shit and gave your mother cancer, robbing her of so much life, just like my mother was robbed of life, doesn't mean that you're going to keel over at sixty!" Alex stopped them on the pavement, and Erin turned to look at her, an inquisitive look on her face that soon gave way to a smile when Alex kissed her harshly. "Erin, everything is a risk, every day might bring us to the brink of ruin. That doesn't mean you can give up hope, not after you've survived someone trying to kill you. And if we can't be together as partners, we can still be soulmates. Just…celibate ones."
Erin gave her a small nod as they began to walk once more. There was a truth to those words, but she knew that she wouldn't be content with a platonic relationship with the woman. Not when there was a truth singing through their veins that spoke to something more between them. The rest of the walk was silent, and Erin was grateful for that, since it meant she could allow her senses to fill with the idea of Alex, to feel the warmth of her body flow into her through their hands. There was something so comforting about these little things she noticed, and Erin filed them all away in the back of her mind, just in case the worst did happen, no matter how much Alex might protest that occurring.
It didn't take them long to reach the park, and Erin pulled them onto the path that she most frequently took on her rambles. David never joined her on these, since he claimed he got enough exercise out in the field, and it felt right to share this with someone who might understand a little better why she liked this form of communing with nature. It was a short trek to reach the pond that she loved so much, and Erin smiled as she sank down onto her bench, the one that overlooked the water.
"This is beautiful," Alex whispered as she took a seat next to Erin, stretching out her legs as she gazed at the pond. "Have you ever come here at night?"
"No, but I should. I wonder what noises we'd hear if we came here in the evening, with the moon shimmering on the water? Especially in the summer."
"Most likely it would be a lot of mosquitoes," Alex replied drolly, and Erin rolled her eyes a little before reaching out and smacking her shoulder lightly. "You wound me, lady."
"That was a love tap," she shot back before dropping her head onto Alex's shoulder as she watched the still water. "If we were to throw caution to the wind, to extricate ourselves from the love we currently experience with our partners, and try to make this soulmates thing work, do you think that it could last? Or would we end up hurting each other all over again? You have to admit that our track record is not the best."
"Because we caved to what our parents wanted of us. They meant the best, but they didn't do us any favours. And then, even our friendship was destroyed by what went down on that case. We have a lot of brokenness in our past, but sometimes those pieces can be used to build something even more beautiful."
"I haven't heard you be so romantic in years, Alex."
"There's something about this space that allows me to be so. After all, it's only the two of us here, and we can be honest with each other." Alex rested her cheek on top of Erin's head, and they let out a tandem sigh as Erin threaded their fingers together, holding on tightly as time slipped past them lightly. "I didn't think I could get cold with no wind in the air, but here we are. Do you think that we could head back to Dave's place?"
"That would be fine." They rose to their feet together, and Erin found herself smiling when Alex didn't let go of her hand the entire time to took to walk home. As they entered the doorway, Erin glanced at her watch once more and saw that it was close to three, which left them twenty one hours together, still. "What now?"
"Now I have to be a spoilsport and ask if you mind my taking a quick nap. I wasn't prepared to spend unfettered time with you in this manner, and so didn't take a nap before arriving."
Erin nodded as she led Alex over to the staircase, bringing her up to the second story of the house. She bypassed the room that she and David shared, knowing that she couldn't do that to him, ever, and instead brought Alex to the guest room. "We can rest here," she murmured as she brought the woman over to the bed. Alex sat heavily and then took off her shoes before stretching out on the mattress.
"And will you join me?"
The question was soft, hesitant, and not at all like Alex, and all Erin could do was nod in return as she pushed her shoes off with her toes before going around to the other side of the bed and crawling in next to Alex. Every fiber in her body wanted her to scoot over and spoon up against Alex as the woman slept, to hold her close and watch her in slumber. That also seemed like a step too far, but her body and heart just wouldn't listen to her brain. Instead, she did as her instincts told her, and shifted on the bed, closer to Alex as she slipped an arm around her waist, holding her close as she watched the woman drift off to sleep.
Once Erin was certain that she was sleeping, she began to run her fingers through Alex's hair as she hooked her chin over Alex's shoulder. "I wish that I could be certain that I knew what the right path to take is. But I do know that you and I have a history that keeps bringing us together. I just don't know if I'm strong enough to step away from David and rely solely on the fact that we're fated soulmates."
Letting out a soft sigh, she allowed herself to relax as she listened to Alex breathe, the sounds quickly lulling her into a light slumber. The next thing Erin knew, feather light kisses were catching her attention, and she blinked her eyes a few times before focusing on Alex's face. "I guess we both fell asleep, Erin. You're probably still exhausted from your ordeal with John, aren't you?"
"I do get overly tired, yes, but that's a result of the MDMA injection that he gave me. That was one of the most frightening moments of my life, since I knew how quickly his little concoction worked. But then you were there, distracting John and keeping him monologuing while Jennifer lined up her shot." Things were getting a little too close for her, and she looked away from Alex to glance at her watch, seeing that it was now seven. "We've slept for four hours."
"We both needed a nap." Alex leaned down and gave her another soft kiss before she slipped off Erin and planted her feet on the ground. "What should we do now? It's hard to think of things, since we weren't planning on being together for a time like this. I'm certain that you and Dave had every hour planned from the first midnight to the second midnight."
"We did, yes. I don't want to do much more talking, but I do know that we should probably work out a little more of what's between us so that we can be ready to talk with our partners once we're all able to move again."
Alex nodded as she helped Erin from the bed. Before she could control herself, Erin was leaning in and kissing Alex, relishing the feel of her lips against Alex's as her arm tightened around her waist. "Let's head back downstairs, and dance in the living room for a little while. I want to be in your arms in a chaste way."
There was another nod from Alex, and then Erin was leading her down to the living room, humming under her breath as they danced together. It was so easy to rest her head on Alex's shoulder as she continued to hum and sing a nameless song, and she felt this severe longing in her heart for something that she couldn't possess in that moment, and she began to quietly cry as she thought about the future ahead of her. The hours slipped by as they danced and then talked about the situation in front of them. By the time that it reached ten minutes to midnight, they had come no closer to an answer that satisfied both of them, and Erin walked heavily back into the yard, the damp from the ground soaking through the thin layer of her hose to make her feet entirely too cold.
Shivering a little, Erin watched as Alex shimmied into position next to James, an all too sad expression on her face as she nodded at her. "Somehow, we'll make things work, Alex. I don't know how, but everything is going to be all right."
"It is, yes. I don't know how, but I do know that that's true."
She gave a small nod before licking her lips and taking a deep breath. There was no way that she could get back into the right position, the one that they had been sharing before the clocks had stopped for everyone else, but she tried her best. Vaguely, she remembered that she had spread her hand out on David's chest, and she did so before fixing her gaze on Alex, wanting to hold her attention as the world started turning once more. "How much longer?"
Alex glanced quickly at her watch before looking back at Erin. "Three minutes."
"I love you. I don't know what kind of love it is in my heart, but I know that I do. I probably wouldn't have said anything if this hadn't happened, because you know me." Alex nodded. "And we'll be together again in a month, no matter what, and we'll plan better for that, so that we won't waste those precious hours."
"I will hold you to that, Erin. I love you, too."
With those words, Erin knew that it was almost time for the others to wake up, and she nodded as she felt tears prickle her eyes. Taking another deep breath to steady her nerves, Erin rested her head on David's chest as she felt small, subtle, signs of movement in his body. The others came to awareness alongside him, and she plastered on a thoroughly fake smile as she looked around at her friends gathered around.
"So, what sort of debauched things did the two of your get up to?" Penelope asked, giving her a broad wink.
Erin bit her lip as she pulled away to look up into her lover's face. In that moment, she knew that he knew there was something wrong, that they hadn't just spend twenty four hours of bliss together, away from the world at large, and she wondered how he would handle that question. "We had a thoroughly lovely time together, Kitten. No need to be decadent at a precious time like this."
She seemed to take that statement at face value, and Erin was grateful for that small mercy as David led her away from the group. She hated confrontation, and knowing that it was about to happen in front of all their friends just made it all the worse. "David…"
"So, we're not soulmates."
"No, but I do love you."
He nodded as he picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles delicately. It was a thoroughly romantic gesture that caused the tears trembling in the corners of her eyes to finally fall. "And I love you, bella. Was there anyone else who was awake during your twenty four hours?"
"I think that the question you really want to ask is if Alex was awake and with me." He nodded. "Yes."
"Thank you for not lying to me."
"I could never lie to you, not after what we've shared. I'm so sorry, David."
He reached out and stroked her cheek softly as he stared into her face. "You didn't do anything wrong. We're just not connected in that special way. At least you get a second day with her next month."
Erin nodded slowly as she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "But that means I have to say goodbye to you. And step out into the world without a net beneath me to catch me should I fall. After all, Alex loves James, just like I love you."
"And I love you, but I won't stand in the way of your completeness, bella. Now that you know, it will eat at you until you do something about it. And if Alex isn't ready to move on from James, we can still make this work. Somehow. I'll always be a soft landing for you." Erin gave him a wobbly smile as he leaned in and kissed her firmly, his arms wrapping around her body as he held her close. Before she closed her eyes, Erin chanced to look over at Alex, seeing that there were matching tears in her eyes, and she felt something shatter in her soul as she turned her face back into David's chest and thought about the month ahead of her.