"Did you recognize the fact that Maeve's stalker was named Diane?"
Aaron looked up at her, an open file on his desk. "No, I hadn't. Why do you think that's important?"
Erin shook her head as she closed his office door behind her, then closing the blinds. He looked at her quizzically and she pursed her lips a little as she took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Really, I thought I paid you to be a little more observant of your surroundings than this."
The barb struck home and he closed the file, setting it aside as he steepled his fingers, his gaze hardening a little as he stared at her. "Obviously I am missing something here that you consider to be quite important. And that has me wondering two things. First, why you would presume to think you know Reid well enough to presume you know so much about him. Second, why you chose me to bring this to when if you were to know him well, you would know that his closest friend here is JJ. Care to explain yourself?"
The open hostility surprised her. They had been working towards having a friendly working relationship, even if they weren't exactly friends. Clearing her throat, she smoothed out her skirt before crossing her legs. From the corner of her eye, she caught Aaron following her move and wondered what he was thinking. "I could explain myself, if I wanted. Do you have any water?"
The question caught him off guard and he nodded before pulling open a drawer of his desk and handing her a bottle of Evian. She cracked the seal and took a sip, looking at him. It was rather late in the evening, and she was tired, so tired. Yet she knew she had to deal with this issue before it got too out of hand. "Aaron, you must understand that I'm not trying to meddle here. I know that he is close with Agent Jareau. Yet you are his boss. He respects you immensely, and I think you know that."
He nodded a little, leaning forward slightly to stare at her. "It almost sounds like you care, Erin. Explain further."
She settled back in her seat, staring at the bottle in her hands. A small part of her wished that it was gin or vodka rather than water, but the craving wasn't too bad that evening. They were getting fewer and farther between as the days went by, and she was grateful for that. "I do care. Spencer has always been on my mind. He needs someone to look after him when his friends can't or won't."
Aaron flinched at her words, and she smiled gently, wishing she could have been softer in her delivery of condemnation. "I know that some of the team went over to his house when we got back from the case and helped him get things in order once more. Obviously his friends are there for him and care about him."
She sighed, taking another sip of water. "I'm not talking about things like that, and I think you know that, too. What is Spencer's mother's name? Do you remember?"
It took a moment for him to make the connection. When he did, his eyes widened as his fingers tightened into fists. "How is it that you made this connection and none of us did the same? How do you know him that well?"
She had a ready answer for him. "Because I care about all of my teams. I know you because it is my job to know you. Just like I know that Agent Jareau is having marriage problems, and that you have broken up with Beth. Just like I know that Ms. Garcia has decided that giving her relationship with Kevin a second chance was a bad idea, and that she has no one to tell that bad idea to, since no one knew they were testing the waters. I watch you, look after you, and try to ease your way with things that are in my control. Your team gets results, you work well together. And this is the second tragedy of this nature that you have faced."
Aaron released a long breath as he looked away from her to stare at a picture on his desk. "I never wanted another person on my team to experience this pain."
"I know you didn't." Her voice was rough, tears tightening her throat. Aaron slid his eyes back to look at her and the hollowness there shocked her. "Aaron?"
"I've been missing Haley a lot, ever since Maeve was shot. My mind went back to the moment I heard Foyet pull that trigger over the phone and I felt just as helpless. I couldn't do anything, I was too slow in pulling the trigger on my weapon, I thought that Reid would be able to talk that woman down off the ledge."
"I listened to that call," she said lowly, certain that her voice betrayed how she was feeling, the roiling sea of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her coming to the forefront. Aaron nodded a little as he stood and came to her side, taking the chair next to her. "Ms. Garcia's calls are always recorded. Usually no one has the need to listen to them, but in this case, we had to. I had to listen to it over and over to form the questions that needed to be asked at the inquest."
The tears that had been so close to falling finally began to spill down her cheeks and she bit her lip as she tried to get her control back. "I didn't know that. She told me, afterwards, that you had cried when questioning her." He reached out for her hand and she clasped it tightly. "You know, I still don't like to talk to people."
"I seem to have gotten over that in the last year or so, Aaron. You're sort of forced to talk when you have a problem like mine. They say that if you keep it bottled up, it leads to more problems." A hesitant smile crossed her lips and he smiled back. "It is a little eerie that both of you should lose loved ones to a bullet."
"It is. And I couldn't save either of them. I should have better protected my team, my family. I feel like we're losing ground here and I have no idea how to stem the tide."
"Perhaps you can't, in this case. Perhaps you have to ride out the storm and see where it takes your team, your family." He nodded and lifted her hand to his lips, kissing it softly. "Sometimes, the storm is what clears out the bad, leaving behind something better in its wake. I know that full well, now."
"Even if you're not with Dave?"
She nodded. "We, we just didn't work out well, you know?" She looked away from him, biting her lips as she tried not to think about where that line of discussion had landed her a few days ago. True to his word, Spencer had kept everything quiet, never breathing a word of their sweet day of lovemaking. Though he had sent her a bouquet of flowers the following day, a bright, joyful arrangement that had made her heart sing.
"The same thing happened between me and Beth. The long distance drove us apart more than I thought it would. I've seen other people make a relationship like that work."
"Like Spencer and Maeve. They never met, and yet they found a true and deep love. I envy them that, even though Maeve ended up losing her life. Love is ephemeral, fleeting, and they grabbed on to it with both hands."
"That they did." The light hit his eyes just right, and she was able to see that he was tearing up.
"Would you care to talk about what happened between you and Beth?"
He looked almost grateful for her request and nodded a little. Never letting go of her hand, he tugged her over to his couch and they sat awkwardly. "I'm more worried about the effect it will have on Jack. She was the first serious girlfriend I had after Haley. And he got used to her being in our lives. I haven't really broken the news to him yet."
"I see. Alan took great joy in informing our children that our marriage was over, never thinking of how they felt. At least you are a caring, compassionate, father." She looked down at their hands, wondering if he had any idea how much it hurt her to say those words.
Erin was a little shocked when he reached up to stroke her hair with his free hand. "I see. He should have thought of all of you." His lips caressed her forehead and the dam holding back her tears broke. "I never thought about how you viewed us, Erin," he whispered as he pulled her into a tight embrace.
"No one really does," she replied as she let herself melt into him. It felt good to be comforted, even if only for a short moment. "Would you like to know a secret?"
"It all depends on what sort of secret it is."
She smiled against his chest. "I think this is a secret that you'll enjoy immensely, Aaron. Agent Jareau fancies you. I might be willing to turn a blind eye to that, if you decided to pursue something with her. I think you both deserve a spot of happiness in your lives."
His hand crept lower, rubbing her back in gentle circles. Their silence seemed to stretch into an eternity and still, he held her tightly. Finally, though, he took a deep breath. "Why?"
"Because I want there to be some happiness in this team. The last time we were all together and happy was at her wedding. And even that was tinged by the bittersweet knowledge that Agent Prentiss was leaving. I am tired of death and despair stalking our family."
Her tears began to fall in earnest and she adjusted how they were sitting, wrapping an arm around his waist as she scooted closer to him, rubbing her face against his shirt. "Our family, huh?" he murmured before kissing the top of her head. "That will take some getting used to, coming from your lips."
"Then maybe I need to say it more often. Until you all get the message. You might have to do some of the heavy lifting with Alex, though. There are still a lot of hard feelings there, and I can't seem to get her to see how much things have changed."
"I think that can be arranged." Once more, he kissed her head and she felt her brow furrow in confusion.
"Why do you keep kissing me?" she finally asked, unused to the spontaneous displays of affection. Both Alan and Dave had been more reserved with their kisses, their touches. Even Spencer had been coaxed along during their afternoon together. This was so different from everything she had experienced.
"I don't know. You just seem to need this at the moment." His arms tightened around her and she sighed lightly as spread her hand out on his chest. "You know, if you really think that Reid needs someone to talk to, you should go see Jayje. I know that she is looking for a way to cure him."
"That's a typical mothering instinct. It's probably why I responded the way that I did. He's the baby of the team, really, and when I think of what he's been through…" Her voice trailed off as she curled her fingers into his shirt. "Do you know if he ever hears from Jason?"
"Not a word. None of us have. I know he received a letter from him, after his resignation. Why would you ask?"
"The man was like a father to him. Everything he's ever loved has been taken from him, you realize. First his sobriety, then his father figure, then Emily, and now Maeve. Four major losses in six years is a lot for anyone to handle."
Erin felt his hand pause on her back as he nodded against her shoulder. "It is." She yawned largely and nuzzled her face into him once more. "Do you need me to give you a ride home? I wouldn't want you falling asleep as you drove."
"That might be nice," she mumbled, fighting to keep her eyes open. Gently, he pushed her up and she groaned a little. Once he had stood up, he helped her to her feet and she stumbled close to him as he guided her over to the door. Somehow, they made it over to the elevator and as soon as the doors were closed, he pulled her close to him, propping her up with his body.
The one thing she could focus on was how warm and safe he made her feel. Unconsciously, she burrowed closer to him, letting that warmth bleed into her as she fought to stay awake. It was a losing battle, she soon found out, as Aaron buckled her into his car. "I suppose I can take the sofa tonight," she heard him say, resignation clouding his voice as he started the vehicle.
The next thing she knew, they were parking and she blinked rapidly, looking up at him blearily. "Am I home now?" she asked, her voice sounding thick to her ears.
"My home, yes." He escorted her into the apartment building and without knowing how, they were soon in his apartment. Gently, he guided her over to his bedroom and tugged off her jacket, folding it and setting it on the trunk at the end of the bed. Then he pulled out an oversized sweater and came back to her side. "Here, wear this to bed. I'll run you by your place in the morning, so you can change."
She nodded a little, her head feeling so very heavy. "Thank you, Aaron."
"You're welcome, Erin." He bent and placed one last kiss on the top of her head and she sighed. "Sleep well. And tomorrow, I would talk to JJ. She'll want to know this about Reid, too."
"I'll try." He left her alone, and she quickly shed her clothes, pulling on the sweater. It was soft, and warm, and smelled like him. Crawling beneath the covers, she buried her head in his pillow, using his scent to calm her senses. It seemed like her two encounters with Alpha team were doing more for her than for Spencer, which had been her intent. It had seemed like she had not been looking for a cure for her own loneliness, and yet that was what was happening here. Sighing, she let her eyes flutter closed, smiling slightly as she heard Aaron creep back in the room and tuck her in before she fell completely asleep.