A bright light shining in her face brought Erin back to awareness, and she screwed her eyes tightly as she lifted a hand to her face to block the light before slowly cracking them open. "Lexie?" she murmured, her first thoughts immediately turning to her friend. "Where is she?"
"The paramedics are checking her over, Erin." She turned her face to look at David, trying to smile before bursting into sobs. "Curtis still had the syringe of MDMA in his hand. You saved her life."
"I could have shot her, David!" Her wail sounded so out of place in that moment, and she knew that hysteria was taking over her, now that she was awake again. "She could have died!"
"But she didn't, and you're both going to be all right. Now, the police have to ask you a few questions. Do you want to do that now, or after you've been checked out at the hospital? Alex is already giving her statement, seems she wanted to get it over with as soon as possible."
"Then that's what I want, too," she said as she curled into him, breathing in the scent of his aftershave. He nodded and then helped her to her feet. It was an effort to get control of her emotions, and Erin found herself clinging to David, craving after craving crashing against her fragile mental state as she took fast, shallow, breaths. It was only when he was helping her to sit on the bed that she took notice of the fact that Alex was still in the room as well, sitting against the headboard of the bed as she spoke with an officer. They were speaking low enough that Erin couldn't hear what was being said, but she still reached a free hand out to her friend as another officer came up to her and began to ask her pertinent questions.
"This appears to be all in order, and this John Curtis did break into your room, so I don't foresee there being any issue with you returning home, especially since this case is out of our jurisdiction. You did what you had to do to protect your colleague, and if what she's saying is true, you're an expert markswoman." She gave the officer a small smile as she tightened her grip on Alex's hand, watching the officers and paramedics leave.
"All right, since your official statement is in, Erin, what do you want to do next?"
"Curl up in a ball on the bed and sleep for a thousand years?" David chuckled a little as he let go of her hand and stroked her hair lightly. "I know, the others are probably going to want to hear what happened, and I'll need to clear out of this room since it's technically a crime scene, but I don't want to move."
"We could go to my room, Erin. I'm certain that our debriefing can wait until tomorrow when we're on the plane heading home to Quantico. Right, Rossi?"
He looked between the two of them and then focused his gaze on Erin. "I suppose that that would be all right. I'll bring your bag to Alex's room in a few minutes, if you two want to get comfortable?" She gave him a tiny nod before slipping off the bed, reluctantly letting go of Alex's hand so that she could reach up and cup his face before leaning up against him and kissing him desperately, trying to pour out all her love in that one clinch.
"I love you. Give me two weeks to find a dress."
He nodded before kissing her once more, a little more softly this time, and she melted into the embrace, feeling herself fall even more in love with him for that tenderness. "I am going to hold you to that, Erin. Now go, I know that you want to fall asleep."
Erin sighed as she dipped her head down, stepping away from him to follow Alex over to the door. She couldn't help but notice that they both deliberately looked away from the place that John had fallen, trying to ignore the bloodstain on the carpet and wall. Once they were in Alex's room, Erin watched her drift over to the bed and plop down on it. "You look like I feel."
"I feel dirty. They wouldn't allow me to wash him off my body, and it's like I can feel his vileness seeping deeper into my skin the longer it remains there. Do you think that Dave would be all right with you sitting in the bathroom with me while I take a bath? I really don't want to be alone right now."
"If he does, he won't say anything about it. I'm going to use the coffee maker in the room to brew us some tea. I still have some sachets left in my purse, and we need something comforting to drink right now."
Alex nodded a little before falling back on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling. Erin felt paralyzed in that moment, not knowing if she should comfort Alex or wait for David to drop off her bag. The soft knock on the door moments later made her decision for her, and she quietly unlocked it before opening the door, giving a small smile to her fiancé as she took her bag and purse from his hands. "Are you two going to be all right?"
"I hope so. We're going to take a bath in a few minutes, and I'm going to try and pamper her a little. Don't worry, our hearts are no longer entwined. I'm yours, and I'm marrying you in two weeks."
He smiled as he took hold of her chin gently, raising her face so that she was looking deep into his eyes. "I know, bella. And I know that you need to take care of her tonight. And…Hotch talked to the manager of the hotel, and we're going to spend another night here. We need to decompress a little, and Penelope is already on the train to join us. Seems she wants to take care of you two."
"She has a sweet soul. I love you?"
"And I love you." He kissed her tenderly before pushing her back into the room. "Take care of her, Erin. We'll see each other in the morning."
She nodded as she closed the door, making certain to lock it and slide the chain lock into place. "All right, Lexie, if you want to head into the bathroom, I'll start the tea." Her friend nodded as she slowly rose to her feet, and Erin stroked her arm as she passed her by before she went over to the coffee maker. Dropping her bag onto the floor, Erin grabbed her purse and pulled out the last two sachets of tea in her purse and dropped them into the mugs before grabbing the small pot and making her way into the bathroom to fill it.
Alex was staring at the tub, and Erin set aside the full pot before slinging her arm around the woman's waist. "I suppose that the tea can wait until after your bath. I don't think we're getting much sleep tonight, anyway." Alex nodded a little, allowing Erin to turn her so that they were facing each other. "All right, let's get this blazer off first," she murmured as she hurriedly undid the two buttons holding it closed. Erin tried not to shudder at the gore staining the collar and shoulder area, letting it drop to the floor as her fingers made nimble work of the buttons on her white blouse.
"I'm going to burn those."
"No, we'll just throw them away. All right?" she asked as she pulled the shirt from her arms, letting it join the blazer as she led Alex closer to the toilet, taking a seat before quickly divesting Alex of her jeans. "I'm still in awe of how great your ass looks."
"I thought you were in awe of my chest?"
The close to normal tone of her voice caught Erin by surprise, and she looked up into her face and chuckled at the wry expression there. "That is still amazing, too," she said with a blush as she watched Alex unhook her bra, handing it to her before slipping off her panties and stepping into the tub. "You're still so beautiful, Lexie."
"So are you," she replied as she let her head loll back against the edge of the tub. Erin gave her a small smile as she tugged off her own blouse, not wanting it to get wet while she was helping Alex get clean. "Will you wash my hair? Everything in my body still feels so heavy."
"Of course, Alex," she replied as knelt on the floor and wetted a washcloth, tenderly cleaning the ick from her face and neck before leaning in and pressing her lips to the woman's forehead. "I love you, and I am so glad that I was able to protect you, when it came down to it."
"And I'm glad that you didn't have to lose your life in order to take care of me. Now, what's this about needing to get a dress?"
"We're going to need to get dresses. You're going to be my matron of honor in my wedding in two weeks. I promised him that I would marry him if we all came out of this alive, and we did. Please, say yes."
"As if there ever was another choice." They smiled at each other, and suddenly, Erin knew that everything was finally going to be all right.