"So, theoretically, I'm sharing a room with Hotch, but once everyone is asleep…"
Erin chuckled a little as she set her bag on top of the dresser. "Why do you think I got an extra key to my room, darling?" she said as she slipped it out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Though you are going to have to be quiet, Alex is right next door and her hearing is quite good. Not like Aaron, who I know still has issues with his left ear."
David nodded as he leaned in and kissed her cheek softly. "All right, when you're ready to head to the precinct, meet us down in the lobby. I think that JJ and Reid are already down there, since they never take very long in dropping their bags off."
She gave him a small smile as he left the room, and then let out a deep sigh as her door closed. It was hard to keep up the act of being happy around him, of acting normal, when she was practically crawling out of her skin with the need to track John down. She knew that he was close, she could feel it deep in her bones, and the only thing she could do was sit and simper and wait. She had never done waiting well, and it seemed that her sobriety just exacerbated this tendency in her. Rummaging around in her bag, she pulled out her purse and rifled through it, making certain that her power bank was inside and that her chip was still safely nestled in the little side pocket.
A soft knock on her door caught her attention, and Erin strode over to it, opening it to find Alex standing there, an almost knowing look on her face. "Yes, Alex?" she asked, watching her face carefully.
"I heard Dave leave a few minutes ago. Are you ready to head down?"
Erin gave one last look around her room, frowning a little as she looked at the window. "One second. You'll call me paranoid, but I'm going to doublecheck and make certain that the window is locked." Alex nodded as she leaned against the jamb, and Erin gave her a tight smile before quickly crossing the room and pushing the window down as far as she could before checking to make certain the lock was tight.
"I did the same thing in my room, Erin, so you're not alone." She turned to look at Alex, relaxing a little as she nodded. Making her way back over to Alex's side, she ran her hand down her arm, squeezing her hand softly before heading to the elevator. Alex met her there seconds later, and she let out a contented sigh to feel her hand on her shoulder. "I don't think that we'll have time to stop for tea until we're home. Hopefully, the precinct has something for you to drink, because god knows the coffee is usually terrible."
"Good thing that I've taken to keeping a few sachets in my purse, then, isn't it? And if you're nice to me, I might just share." Erin deliberately kept her tone light and airy, but she could tell by the way Alex's eyes narrowed that her tone didn't math her expressions, and she forced a smile to her lips. "What?"
"You're plotting."
"No, I'm not."
Alex raised an eyebrow as she stared her down, and Erin felt a slight blush start to heat her cheeks. "See, you forget just how much I know you. Admittedly, your body has changed slightly in the intervening years, and so has mine, but again – your heart is essentially the same." She reached out and hit the emergency stop button, and Erin frowned as the woman got into her space. "This is the last time I want to tell you this, but please do not do anything foolish. Please."
Alex's eyes bored into hers, and she tried not to flinch as she licked her lips. "We could take him down together, then. It would be fitting if it were just the two of us, since he's been targeting us specifically."
She shook her head, and Erin let out a deep sigh. "We do this as a team. Every time that Curtis has done something against our team, it's because we were alone or in a pair." Letting out a deep sigh, Alex started the elevator once more, and then took firm hold of her hand. "Do you hear me?"
"Yes, Lexie," she whispered, feeling somewhat ashamed for the lie that she was telling her friend. "Together or not at all."
Alex gave her a firm nod of her head as the doors opened on the lobby, and they stepped out together, Alex almost dragging her along by her hand until they had joined the rest of the team. David gave her a look, and she shrugged the tiniest bit as she shook her hand free from Alex's grip and drifted over to his side. "All right, if we're all here, let's go meet Hotch at the precinct. Alex and Erin will be in my car. Morgan, you can take JJ and Reid. I don't want any of us to be in a group smaller than three for as long as we're here."
She knew that her partner was speaking to her more than the others, and she fought to keep from rolling her eyes. Instead, she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow as they followed after the others, allowing Alex to bring up the rear. "Did you talk to Alex about the groups of three rule?" she asked as he opened the car door for her.
"No, I actually talked about that with Hotch, and he agreed with me. There's strength in numbers, and we need that strength for this case."
"So he knows?"
David nodded as Alex climbed in the back of the car. Leaning forward, he kissed her tenderly, and she felt herself tearing up a little as she returned the kiss, wanting to remember the feel of his lips against hers, just in case things went horribly wrong. "I had to tell him, bella. He was concerned when Garcia mentioned that she was worried about the toll this case was taking on you and Alex. We all care about you, Erin, and, well, I was going to wait until after we had wrapped this up, but…I want to marry you. I don't have a ring, that can happen when we get home, but I want us to make a commitment to each other, here and now, that we are going to see the other side of this horrible situation and have our dream wedding in my backyard. We both know that it is a damn good place to get married."
She let out a watery laugh as she nodded, knowing that she couldn't refuse so sweet a proposal as that. "Fine, I promise that I will not go it alone, and that I will rely on you both to bring John down with me. And yes, I will marry you when we get home, you'll just have to allow me some time to find the right dress. Lexie?"
"Yes, Erin?" she said as she peeked her head outside the door, giving them both a peaceful smile, as if she was certain that this was going to ensure Erin's safety.
"I want you to stand up with me, when I'm in front of the officiant. And it will be an afternoon wedding, so that we can have a high tea, instead of a heavy dinner. And it will be perfect." David nodded before kissing her once more, and in that moment, Erin felt her heart break for telling the largest lie of her life.