At the first sound of a police siren, Alex pulled away from Penelope and restarted the car. "This is it," Penelope said to herself as she watched the lights come ever closer to their location, feeling her heart start to race as she imagined them finding Erin, breaking her loose, allowing her to come home with them and start the healing process.

"It seems like this is a dream," Alex said offhandedly as she pulled out after the last vehicle had passed, quickly getting up to speed to keep up with them. Penelope could only nod as she began to tug at her sweatshirt, needing something to do with her hands as she watched the scenery fly by before they were coming to a stop behind the row of police vehicles.

A tall, thin, man in uniform came over to their car, and Alex rolled down the window, passing out her badge to him. "You're the one who called this in?" he asked as he beckoned them out of the vehicle, and Alex nodded as she followed him over to the group of officers. Penelope had to jog to keep up with their long legs, and she started to feel a little out of place amongst them, since they were accustomed to dealing with unsubs, while she was used to staying behind and guiding them to this point. "All right, what can you tell us of the house?"

"I don't know about the ground floor and up, since we didn't want to disturb anything, in case it was boobytrapped or monitored. The basement is unfinished, mostly just rough walls and cement floors, though the area where Erin is being held does have a small bit of carpet and a bed. She's wearing a chain around her left leg, and I couldn't find an easy way to get that off her when I scouted out the basement."

"Will she need…"

"Yes. Penelope will go with her to the hospital, and I'll stay back with you, closing up any loose ends that arise. I worked with Jason Gideon a long time ago, so I know a little of how his brain works. This will be difficult for us, to say the least."

"I understand. Let me radio to have an ambulance brought here. I think that it will arrive by the time we're able to bring her out."

Penelope listened as he did just that, and Alex turned to give her a tight, sad, smile. Coming up to her side, Alex bent in low so that she could whisper in her ear. "I need you to take care of Erin, she'll be more grateful for you by her side than me."

"I don't think that's true, Alexandra."

"I want to end him."

Penelope sighed as she closed her arms around Alex in a tight hug. "You will only do that if he gives you a reason to do that. You know that I hate guns, that's why you're sending me with her. Don't think I don't know that. But I know that your soul would fracture if you took his life as an act of revenge. We love you too much to see that happen."

Alex stiffened for a moment before she nodded and slowly relaxed in Penelope's embrace. "But I want to see him suffer and pay for this."

"I do, too, but that's not fair to Erin or us. Just, keep your head down and allow the police to do their jobs, okay?"

"Okay." And then, she was turning her head, kissing Penelope's cheek softly before stepping away from her. "I know that you mean the best for me, and I love you for that, but I can't promise that if an opening comes that I won't take it."

"I know," she replied gently as they went up to the front line, gazing at the still dark house. The sun was just coming up, casting a large shadow on the place, and Penelope shivered a little at the way it seemed to hulk menacingly over them. "Why am I getting a bad feeling about this?"

"Because you are so wrapped up in seeing Erin to safety, and that safety is threatened by that house and who is in it. Just stay back, and we'll head in." She watched Alex and the lead officer exchange looks before almost everyone started creeping towards the house, and then a cadre of them disappeared from view, following Alex's lead around to the basement.

Penelope so wanted to be with them, to follow them into the darkness of the basement, and wrap her arms around Erin as she brought her out of the darkness and into the light. She selfishly wanted to be the first face that Erin saw as she was rescued, even though she knew that they would be spending a lot of time together once she was safe. Biting down on her lip, she instinctively moved closer to the remaining officer, hoping that she could glean a little of what was happening inside the house from the chatter over the radio.

"How did you know to find her here?" the woman asked, glancing at her quickly before returning her focus to the house.

"I never lost faith in the fact that she was alive. The rest of my team, they wrote her off, decided that dead was dead, and that just didn't sit well with me. When she reached out to me, I knew that I had to find her, and listened to the clues that she was able to give me in order to track her down. I just wish that I was trained to wield a gun, so that I could be in that basement."

"I don't think that you do, ma'am. There are some things that you can't unsee, and while I know that you work with the BAU, it becomes a different ball of wax when it is happening to someone that you care about. It is better for you to be here, waiting to comfort her as she heads to the hospital to be checked out. You want to keep some things behind the veil, so to speak."

There was a real wisdom in her words, and Penelope nodded as she let out a deep sigh, allowing herself to watch the house intently, wishing that there would be a sign that told her Erin was being brought up from the basement. Behind her, she could hear the wail of an ambulance siren, and she tensed up again, knowing that that sound meant that they were close to bringing Erin out to her. The deputy next to her gave her a tight nod, and she drew in a deep breath, trying to gain strength from the calming presence next to her as the house lights came up. And then, nothing else seemed to matter as the man who Alex had led over to the basement came rushing over to their sides, Erin in his arms. It felt like the entire world was coming to a stop as she took in the paleness of Erin's face, the haunted look in her eyes, and the way the she shook her arms free from the blanket she was wrapped up in to reach for Penelope.

"Penny!" she cried out as she was let down, and then she was running towards Erin, trying to approach her with care so that she didn't hurt her when they finally hugged. "I knew that you would rescue me. Thank you," she choked out before bursting into sobs. Penelope just nodded against her cheek as she started to cry herself, knowing that Erin was at last free from Gideon's clutches.