"Did you enjoy your morning with Rossi?" Spencer asked as they summited the hill they had been climbing for the last fifteen minutes. Breathing heavily, she nodded as she spread out the blanket they had brought with them and then took a seat, leaning back on her elbows as she stared up at him through her sunglasses. "That's good. Your selfies were nice to see."

"Yes, he's much better at that sort of thing than I am. Even though we only explored the caves, it was still good to be able to talk to him again. His friendship will always be dear to me. I, I hope that won't be a problem?"

He shook his head as he collapsed onto the blanket next to her, staring up at the sky as he breathed heavily. A part of her was glad that he was having a bit of a hard time catching his breath as well, since she didn't like to feel so unfit. "No, I like that there's harmony between us all. It will make things easier when we're home, and I'm out in the field. And we can swap stories about you, as I'm certain you've probably told him some good ones, and experienced some things with him that might be nice to hear about."

Erin smacked his chest lightly as she shook her head, stretching out along his body before resting her head on his shoulder, joining in him to stare at the sky. "It's beautiful here. I'm glad that you found it."

"Alex was the one who told me about it, since she remembers how much you loved nature. Everyone knows more about you than I do, it seems."

"Ask me anything, and I'll be an open book to you. I trust you."

His hand closed around the ball of her shoulder, his thumb rubbing back and forth absently as he hummed atonally. "Did you sleep with Alex?"

"Going for the hard questions first, I see. Yes, I did. It was only two times, but it was so sweet. Then everything went to hell with the Amerithrax case, and I lost my closest friend for a very long time."

"I thought that there might have been something more to the past between the two of you," he murmured before turning his head and kissing her cheek softly. "Would you have married Rossi?"

"If he hadn't married Krystall and I had had the courage to leave Alan, maybe. But I could have just as easily fallen into a relationship with Alex. I loved them both, in their own way, and if life had been different, who knows what path I would have taken. As it was, I ended up pregnant with Tabitha right around the time that the shit hit the fan, and so I clung to what I knew, even though it wasn't the healthiest relationship. Especially since it resulted in Alan getting fully custody of my children."

There was a brief pause, and Erin frowned as she turned onto her side and slid closer to him, resting her head on his chest in order to listen to his heart. "When we get home, and establish ourselves as a couple, that will be the first thing that we change. You deserve to have your children with you, and I'll need to get to know them."

"That certain of us?"

"Yes," he murmured, and she sighed deeply as she nodded. "You're that certain of me, aren't you?"

"I am. It's crazy, but I am. Alan will try to throw every dirty trick in the book at us, since he's a lawyer, and a damn good one, so he knows how to work the system in his favor. He'll use our age difference against us, and the fact that we work together. There will be a lot of obstacles."

"I can handle that, and besides, we have Hotch. He was a prosecutor, and from all that I've heard, one of the best. Alan won't know what he's come up against when he tries to mess around with a team united with you. And I will lead the way, because you're my partner." The vehemence in his voice took her aback, and she struggled not to cry at how loved that made her feel in that moment. "That's the thing that no one understands about us, though you've learned it in the last year. We're a family, and we protect and look out for each other. That extends to you, too, ever since you started seeing Rossi."

"Thank you," she murmured as she buried her face in the crook of his neck in order to hide herself away while she got control over her emotions.

"So, did you want to ride a camel? I thought that I saw that that was an option."

"I did that once, at the zoo, with my children and vowed never again. It's one thing to ride a horse, that feel natural, but I could not settle in on the gait of a camel. Why? Do you want to?" she asked as she sat up, drawing her knees to her chest as she looked down at him.

"No, I was just hoping to put a smile on your lips, and it looks like I succeeded. I know that our conversation got a little heavy, which is good, but I didn't want it to be the entirety of our afternoon together. Those were the most important questions I had to ask. Is there anything that you want to know about me?"

"Just one thing. We're both recovering from addiction. If I slip, if I make a mistake, will you support me as I struggle my way back to sobriety?"

"Yes." The fact that his answer was so quick, so strong, filled her heart with a gladness beyond description, and she gave him a wide smile as she sighed with pleasure. "There was a time, back when I thought Emily was dead and that I had failed her in some way, when I considered taking dilaudid to ease the pain. JJ was helpful in making certain I didn't fall off the trail, but she had no idea how close I came, because I didn't confide that with her. I also threw that in her face after Emily returned to us, because I was so very angry for a time. Anger, for both of us, has been a good mask."

She let a little scoff of a laugh as she nodded. "Less than two weeks together, and you know that about me. I think that you'll see my entire soul before we head home."

"Would you mind if I did?"

Erin drew in a long breath as she turned her face up to the sky, watching clouds pass by before giving him an answer. "No, I don't think that I will. When we're open books to each other, there seems to be an honesty that we can't refuse to acknowledge. Well, I suppose that I do have one more question, one that we've been dancing around since we first made love. This is going to be something we pursue when we return home, yes?"

"Yes, Erin. The connection that we've formed in this short time deserves to be explored more fully, and I know that the spark is quickly turning into a flame that isn't soon to burn out." He rested his hand on her shoulder and gave her a long look. "Fires like this need to be fed."

"And it will, tonight, after we've had supper with Penelope and Derek. And before you say it, I've already told everyone that tomorrow is ours. Much though I adore my newfound friendships with the team, they can be a bit much, and I need time to be with you, so that we can make this relationship work and last." She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before getting to her feet. "Now, we still have so much of this place to explore, and a finite amount of time to do it in. So let's go see what there is to see." Spencer nodded as he took hold of her outstretched hand and vaulted himself to his feet, never releasing her hand as they picked up the blanket and began to make their way through the park once more.