"Hello?" Erin said groggily as she answered the phone. Narrowing her eyes, she saw that it was quite late, and she turned to see if David had made it home, but his spot was empty, and she let out small yawn as she tried to wake up enough to understand what was going on. "Hello? Who is it?"

"Erin, oh, god, it's so awful."

She could barely make out what Alex was saying to her, she was crying too hard to be plainly understood, and Erin sat up in bed, clutching the sheet close to her chest as she struggled to breathe. "Please, tell me that David is all right," she finally choked out, desperately waiting for Alex's answer.

"He's fine, it wasn't him. It, it was Spencer's girlfriend. Her stalker somehow found her and killed her."

Erin felt sick to her stomach and her own tears began to roll down her cheeks as she finally parsed with Alex was telling her. "My god, was it the Replicator?"

"No, not exactly. There's no way that this woman could have found Maeve were it not for inside information, which means that we need to look closer to home for who is trying to attack us. I don't think that this is the end of things, this was just to show how close the Replicator can get to us. I know, you're probably not wanting a visitor this late at night, but I don't want to go home to an empty bed. James is at a medical conference until next week…"

"I understand. Have David bring you home with him, and we'll take care of you."

"Thank you," Alex whispered before ending the call. Erin let out a deep breath as she pulled her legs tight to her chest. Moments later, another call came through, and she answered just as quickly. "Lexie?"

"No, it's Penelope. I take it that Alex called you already?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to be all right?"

Erin hadn't stopped to think about that, and she felt her breath catch in her throat as she dropped the sheet and slipped from the bed, pulling on her robe before getting her service weapon from the gun safe and making her way downstairs. There didn't appear to be any movement in the driveway, and the motion sensor lights that surrounded the house were currently dark, which told her that there most likely wasn't anyone there, but she still felt a little paranoid. "I'm going into the study to check the security feed, but I think that everything is all right."

"Okay, but are you feeling all right?"

There was another pause as she pondered that question. "No. But Lexie is coming home with David, and we're going to get through it together. I assume that Agents Morgan and Jareau will be taking care of Doctor Reid, since they're closer to him."

"Yeah, and Hotch is coming back here to work with me to try and figure out what happened. I'm looking at a long night ahead."

"You don't have to stay, Penelope."

"But I do. We have to figure out if the Replicator really did have a hand in this, and if he left behind any clues that will help us narrow in on him. We have to get ahead of him before he gets any closer to you. Well, all of you. But it seems like this Replicator has an axe to grind against Reid, Blake, and you specifically. Which is weird, because there's nothing that connects the three of you, besides the BAU. I mean, you and Reid are both in recovery, you and Blake were once quite close, Blake and Reid share a mentor/mentee relationship. There, there's nothing that connects all three of you but the BAU."

"Oh. I didn't…I don't want my past to be an open book to you, Penelope. Please, don't take that the wrong way, but I want to keep some secrets and tell you them at the right time. You, you'll hate me, because I still hate myself for some of what I did."

There was a soft sigh on the other end of the line, and she wondered if Penelope was crying, too. "I will try my best not to judge what I find out, and look at them through the lens I view you in now. But I'm going to have the take the same fine-tooth comb with Blake and Reid, so you won't be alone."

"No, but my past is probably the worst. Do what you have to, Penelope, and it was so nice to have your friendship, even if for such a short time." Erin ended the call before the woman could say another word, slipping the phone into her pocket before drifting into the kitchen and making herself a pot of tea, knowing that she would need the caffeine to stay awake. Once it was ready, she poured out a cup and took a seat at the island, allowing her legs to dangle as she waited for David and Alex to come. Her phone rang a few times, and seeing that it was Penelope each time, she declined the call, not wanting to get any more emotional than she already was.

Finally, she heard the door to the garage open, and she sat up a little straighter, her hands tightening around the mug in fear, even though she knew that it would be her partner and her friend. "Erin, it's us! Are you in the kitchen?"

"Yes, darling!" she called back, trying to relax at the sound of her David's voice. He wasn't the first one to join her, however, that was Alex, and she wrapped her arms around Erin's waist in a tight hug. "You're trembling, Lexie."

"I'm still so terrified," was the harsh whisper in her ear, and she nodded a little before looking up at David, seeing that he looked just as drawn and tired as she felt. "Erin, I don't know what to do. Spencer looked so broken."

She gave a desperate look to David, sighing a little when he pressed his lips to her forehead. "I can only imagine. Penelope has this idea in her head that the Replicator is targeting one of the three of us. She called me right after our call ended, and she's going to search for that needle in a haystack that connects you, me, and Doctor Reid."

As if on cue, her phone rang once more, and Erin set down her mug to finally take the device out of her robe pocket and answer Penelope. "They're home, and we're trying to unwind. I'm sorry, there's only so much I can handle at one time, Penelope."

"I sort of figured that out from the way you didn't answer the last few calls I made. I just wanted to make certain that you were doing all right now. I know, it's a lot for you to take in, and I don't want this to cause you to stumble. I'm nearly always here, and if you feel like you want to drink, I just want you to know that you can call me and I'll talk to you for as long as you need."

"That is so sweet," she managed to say before she cleared her throat. "I will keep that in mind, as I think that you're probably a better person to talk to, since you understand the job I do. But I need to focus on my lover and my Lexie. We will talk more tomorrow?"

"Of course. Give them my love."

"Will do." Erin almost kissed into the phone, forgetting that Penelope wasn't one of her children for a moment. After ending the call, she turned on the stool so that she could look at Alex and David. "Penelope sends her love. And I think that we should head into the living room and make ourselves a little more comfortable. I'll bring in the teapot and cups for us. Somehow, I have the feeling that none of us will be going to sleep for a long time to come." David nodded before leaning in to kiss her gently, disentangling Alex from her so that she could get up and head to the living room where they could more comfortably talk.