Penelope had tried to ask Alex to join her for lunch, but the woman had claimed that she had too much to do to take a lunch. Trying not to feel rejected, she had tried to act upbeat when Derek had dragged her along with him and JJ to one of her favourite places. It had been good to catch up with them, since there hadn't been a lot of time to decompress with her friends after the op that she and Alex had been on. And truly, she had left her job at the end of the day with a smile on her face.

On the ride down to the ground floor, she pulled out her phone and texted Alex. Are you coming home for dinner tonight? Let me know, so that I know how much to make

I don't know, darling. I'm sorry about this morning, I reacted poorly. I'll see you soon.

That wasn't the answer that she had been expecting, but it was better than nothing, and she sighed a little before putting her phone back into her pocket. Somehow, she made it back to Alex's home and let herself inside. Bypassing the kitchen, she made a beeline for the living room, knowing that Erin would be there, most likely reading. A relieved smile crossed her face as she took a seat next to her friend, her head almost automatically coming to rest on her shoulder as she let out a deep sigh. "Was it a bad day, dear?"

"Sort of? Alexandra acted like I wasn't even there for most of the day, and when I texted her to see if she was coming home for dinner, she gave a very noncommittal answer."

"She's probably still smarting from the fight, and I would assume that she's hoping to hear from James before things can be settled between you two."

Penelope nodded as she took hold of Erin's hand. "So, tell me about your day. I did not receive nearly as many pictures as I thought I would."

Erin cleared her throat as she squeezed Penelope's hand a few times. "We had a thoroughly pleasant day. After the gardens, we went to lunch at the café there, and then we went to the National Gallery before he dropped me off here. I only got home about twenty minutes before you did."

"That's wonderful! Did you enjoy your day?"

"Much more than you did, I think. And…we kissed. It was sweet, and lovely, and I realized just how much I missed his kisses. I'm not ready to go any further than that, but oh, Penny. I'm so glad that I was able to kiss him. I didn't think I would be able to do that, only a month out from what happened to me. I have you and Lexie to thank for that, you know. Your friendship has supported me through all this, and I love you for it."

"Ah, you know I love you, too, Erin." They sighed in unison. "I need to figure out a way to make this right, you know. Everything just won't be the same until we can all talk, but I feel like Alexandra isn't going to talk to me for a long time."

"You have to give her time and space, darling."

"I know! But it's so hard for me to do. You know me, you've read my reviews from Hotch over the years, and you know that I like to dig and prod and figure things out."

"I do know that, yes. Which is why you need to listen to me in this case. You have to back off a little, let things breathe and grow naturally between you two, if you want this relationship to be one that lasts. And I think that you want it to last, yes?"

"Of course!"

"And I know that you don't want change anything about yourself, nor should you have to. I just want you to consider taking a day or two to just coast, rather than push, if that makes sense. And yes, it is much easier to give advice than it is to take it." Erin let go of her hand so that she could reach up and cup Penelope's cheek, patting it lightly before taking hold of her hand once more, threading their fingers together.

"I will try, I promise. But you know how extra I am."

Erin burst out laughing as she nodded. "I do know that so well, Miss "talk dirty to me" Garcia. Now, let's get up and start working on dinner. James will be home at his usual time, and we have to assume that Lexie will be, too."

Nodding a little, Penelope got to her feet, smiling a little when Erin refused to let go of her hand as they made their way into the kitchen. It wasn't until they were in the room that Erin stepped away from her and went over to the fridge, rummaging through it to find ingredients for something. "What do you need me to do?"

"Cut up the broccoli and cauliflower, and then start it boiling," Erin said absently, pushing the two vegetables towards her. Nodding a little, she picked them up and set up the cutting board before getting to work on cutting them. She started to hum underneath her breath as she worked, listening to Erin join in as she worked on the main part of the meal. Soon, everything was just about ready, and as Erin put the fish into the oven, she set the pan with the broccoli and cauliflower on a burner, knowing that she could turn that on later, once they heard James or Alex open the garage door, since it wouldn't take too long to steam the veggies.

"So, when is your next date going to be? Because I know that there will be more."

Erin took a seat at the table while Penelope poured them glasses of water, and she waited to hear what her friend would say. "We made plans for tomorrow afternoon. He's going to take a half day off, and we're going to the zoo. I haven't been to the zoo since my children were young. But he thought it would be a good safe space for me, since there would be so many people there, and it wouldn't feel like we were too intimate. I really love that man of mine," she said with a smile, taking the glass from Penelope's hand and sipping at it as Penelope took a seat. "Hopefully, I'll be able to handle a fancy restaurant soon, since I know that he's desperately trying to humour me."

"I don't think it's that, Erin. He loves you, truly, and so he will do anything to make certain that you're comfortable and loved by him. I can't wait until I can take my person on dates. If I'm ever able to do that."

Erin reached out and smacked her shoulder sharply, frowning at her before arching her eyebrow. "None of that now. It does not do to be self-defeating, Penelope. If your love is really that weak, then I wouldn't doubt that it would fade away like morning dew. But there's not a weak bone in your body, is there?" She shook her head. "There you are, then. Think positive and know that there will come a day when you are able to have cute dates with Lexie. And there will come a time when we can plan double dates and really confound David." Penelope giggled as she nodded, her spirits buoyed by the knowledge that Erin cared enough to point out the obvious to her, even when she was hell bent on making mountains out of molehills.