The doorbell caught both their attentions, and Penelope reached out to grab Erin's hand, holding it tightly as they listened to Alex walk over to the front door and answer the ringing. The low murmur of voices seemed to bump up the anxiety in her stomach, and she wasn't even the one who was coming back to life. Erin looked at her, trying to smile, though her eyes were anxious and sad, darting around her face without locking into place. "Everything will be all right, Erin."

"I've been claiming that since you arranged this meeting a few days ago." She took a few shaky breaths before sitting up a little straighter, tugging at the hem of her blouse before running her hand over her hair. "Do I look all right?"

"You look perfectly alive," she quickly replied as the sound of footsteps grew closer and closer to them. Erin bobbed her head a few times before shaking out her hair and her typical neutral expression slipped over her features, leaving just her eyes to reveal how nervous she truly was. "Here we go."

There was no indication that Erin had heard her as the first of her children entered the room. If Penelope remembered correctly, this was her daughter Tabitha, and as she watched the young woman's face carefully, trying to see if she was reacting in a way that wouldn't hurt Erin. "Mama!"

That was all Penelope needed to hear to know that everything was going to be all right. As she watched, Erin got to her feet and took a few halting steps towards her youngest child, wrapping her up in a tight hug. "Oh, my Tabby girl, how you've grown!"

Those were the only words that she was able to get out before they both started crying, and Penelope surreptitiously slipped out her phone to take a few pictures of this, knowing that Erin would be grateful for them once the day was done. The rest of her children rushed in, joining the embrace, and Penelope had to swipe away a few tears herself as she shutdown the laptop and placed it on the coffee table, slipping off the sofa and taking a seat on the floor as she looked up at the reunion, taking as many pictures as she could. Alex joined her on the floor, leaning back against the wall as she let her head come to rest on Penelope's shoulder. "This is going much better than I thought it would," she whispered, and Penelope nodded, daring enough to turn her head and quickly kissed Alex's cheek before refocusing on the scene before them.

"Dad told us that you had somehow survived, when everyone assumed that you were dead. Mister Hotchner told us at the funeral that you wanted us to know that you loved us all equally, that there wasn't a favourite, and that you just wanted us to know that we were loved so much, that those were your last words. How are you here?"

"Because I have lovely friends who never gave up on me. Penelope and Lexie sought me out when everyone had thought that they were a bit crazy for thinking that I was still alive. Some things are really hard to believe, I know. But I'm here, and I hope that I have a few good decades with you, my darlings."

Alan cleared his throat to get their attention, and Penelope wondered what he wanted, knowing that he and Erin's marriage had not ended on the best of terms. "I'm sorry that I sold everything for the children. If I had known that you were still amongst the living, I would have held something back. Do you need anything?"

That was the last thing she had been expecting to hear from Alan's mouth, and she could tell by the way Erin looked at him that she hadn't been expecting it either. "I have a meeting with the Social Security Department next week, to see about getting me something, but Alex and Penelope have been graciously taking care of me, seeing that my needs are met."

Alan glanced over at them, a mix of gratefulness and sadness in his expression. "I know that you hate to be beholden to others, Erin. What do you need?"

She let out a deep sigh as she shook her head. "Honestly? After everything I've been through these last few months, I have everything that I need right here. I didn't realise that quasi-death would show me that the material things in life, while nice, can't hold a candle to the intangible things like family, love, friendship. And I am really hoping that, once I talk to David, that I'll have a permanent roof over my head."

"All right. But if you need anything, truly, do not hesitate to contact me. I know, things ended so badly between us, but I had to take stock of things when we handled your funeral, and I realized that the time for bitterness and recrimination should have ended long before your supposed death. I guess, this is the long way of saying that I want us to start building a functional friendship. We spent twenty years of our lives together, and I don't want that to end."

Penelope pursed her lips together to keep from crying at the sweetness behind the words, and she heard Alex's own sigh of happiness as they scooted closer together. She wasn't surprised when Alex grabbed hold of her hand, threading their fingers together as they watched Erin's children occupy the couch, making room for Erin between the two girls. "It will take time for me to trust you again, Alan, but I think that I would like a friendship with you once more. God knows I need all the friends I can find right now."

Alan nodded, and then leaned in to kiss Erin's cheek softly. "I will take whatever you give me. And now, I'm going to head to work. I'm assuming one of you three can run the children home when they're ready to leave?"

"Of course," Alex replied as she got to her feet, pulling Penelope up with her. "We'll walk you to the door."

Penelope wanted to protest, to stay with Erin as she started talking with her children, but Alex was insistent, tugging on her hand as she and Alan headed for the door. Throwing a backwards glance to Erin, she saw that the woman was smiling widely, nodding at her, as if giving permission for them to leave her alone with her children. That, finally, allowed her to feel okay with leaving, and she waved to Alan as he went over to his car.

"That went a lot better than I thought it would," Alex remarked as she led them into the kitchen. "And I'm glad that he offered to help out with Erin's needs, since that was one of the things that I was worried about. Not that she's a burden to have in our home, but I worry about her and her needs. Alan will know them better than you or I would, since he's known her intimately for so long."

"That was my worry, too. I just want to take care of her, and I know that that is difficult to do, when she's accustomed to being independent. And I am so glad that we have another ally to help us, because I know that it can be a burden." Alex nodded absently and Penelope met her gaze, watching her features soften as she leaned in and kissed her gently. And though she knew that James was upstairs sleeping, Penelope found that her heart was less torn about the kiss than it had been before, and she didn't know what that meant for the future.