Penelope took a deep breath as she adjusted her headband before straightening her shoulders and making her way out of her office. The team had returned just a few minutes ago, and she had peeked out to see if Blake was going to stay behind. She had been psyching herself up to try and make amends for her thoughtless behavior, and she wanted to make certain that she would be able to speak her mind. She was able to hear Strauss tell them all to go home and have one night in their beds, and Derek had glanced up at her office at that, giving her a small wink, and she nodded. Once they had all scattered, Penelope frowned a little to see Strauss conference with Blake for a moment, the exchange obviously charged, but not angry.
"This is going to kill my chance of trying to start over," she muttered as she picked up the Union Jack coffee tumbler that she had decided to give to Blake as a peace offering. "Here goes nothing." Shaking her hips a little to fluff out her skirt before heading down to Alex's side. She stopped just inside her line of sight and waited for Blake to address her, not wanting to upset her by just barging into her personal time. It was an awkward few seconds before the woman glanced up at her, and Penelope tried not to fidget in the meantime.
"Can I help you?" she asked a bit shortly, and Penelope blanched a little as she nodded. "Well?"
"Do you think that we could start over? Please?"
Blake gave her a long suffering look before waving her hand in her general direction. "Sure."
"Hi. My name is Penelope, and I do not do change well at all. I know that you stepped into this team after we had just experienced two major losses, and I've been on foreign assignment, and it just…I've been trying to keep it together and not be like this, but I let my mouth get ahead of my heart a few days ago, and left a rather poor impression of myself on you. I mean, that is who I am, when I'm being petty and defensive and insecure, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you. And I know, I'm rambling, but I just feel so bad for what transpired, and here." She thrust out the tumbler to the woman, seeing her shocked look that she quickly controlled as she took it from Penelope's hand.
"What's this?"
"I bought something for everyone on the team when I was in London. It's what I do, I like to give. And when I was doing my background research on you, I saw that you live in the District, which is a horrible commute on the best of days. I'm assuming you like coffee?"
"I love coffee, actually. And anything else that helps keep me wired." Penelope's brow furrowed a little, and Blake chuckled a little as she shook her head. "Not what you're thinking, I meant like soda or tea."
"Oh! Okay. We'll actually be having a tea of the month club starting up soon, since I thought that would be a good way to bond everyone. That's when I assumed that Jayje was going to be back by the time our assignment was over, because she loves tea almost as much as I do. But if you like tea, too, well, I suppose that that means we can use it to bond as well. Maybe?"
Blake went to reply when Strauss came up to their sides, wearing her coat and a grim look on her face. "Is everything all right here?" she asked, looking between the two of them as if trying to make certain that they weren't going to get into a fight. Blake drew in a long breath as she leaned back in her chair and rolled the tumbler between her hands as she looked at Erin balefully. "Well, Alex?"
"Everything is going swimmingly, Erin. Shouldn't you be headed home now?"
There was a slight pause before Strauss cleared her throat, and Penelope felt like the air was crackling with tension. Her eyes darted between the two of them, trying to figure out what the dynamic there was. Strauss raised an eyebrow at her when Penelope finally caught her glance, and she shrugged a little as she waited for her boss to answer. "That is the plan, I just have to run a file up to Agent Hotchner before I do. Have a good evening, ladies."
And then, before anyone else could say anything, Strauss took off for the stairs, and Penelope frowned a little as she looked at Blake. "Is everything all right there? I know that Chief Strauss can be a bit of a hardass, but she really has been changing for the better lately. The bank incident was definitely a catalyst for change."
"I'll try to keep that in mind, Penelope," Blake replied as she stood up from her desk and packed away a few of the folders on her desk into her briefcase. "I'll see you tomorrow, and we'll try to get things right from good morning."
Penelope nodded dumbly as she stepped away from the desk, watching as Blake picked up the tumbler and began to make her way out of the bullpen. Shaking her head a little, Penelope went up to her office, knowing that she needed to get her things together so that she could meet Derek at her apartment. As she was tapping in her passcode, movement caught her attention, and she tried not to stare as Strauss hurriedly made her way out to the elevators as well, stepping into the car with Alex before the doors closed.
"I must have fallen into some sort of bizarre alternate universe," she muttered as she opened the door and went over to her desk, picking up her purse before shutting her systems down for the night. With that done, she turned off the lights and then climbed down the stairs, passing by Anderson's desk and giving him a small smile. "You're burning the midnight oil tonight."
"I'm working on something for the Red Cell team, and since I'm suddenly single again, I thought that I'd just work through the night and deliver the information in the morning before crashing on someone's couch tomorrow?"
"If you're asking to take a nap in my office, then yes, that should be fine. Just knock before you come in, okay?" He nodded, and she gave him a small smile before making her way into the hall. Her phone began to ring as she pressed the down button, and she pulled it out of her purse to answer. "Hey, Hot Stuff, what's up?"
"When are you leaving? I stopped by home to let Clooney out, so I'm still about twenty-five minutes away from your apartment."
"We should get there together, then. I'm just waiting for the elevator and then I'll be on my way. I cannot wait to be in your arms once again. It was a distressing case."
"It really was, Baby Girl. I'll see you soon?"
"With proverbial bells on." She ended the call as she stepped onto the elevator, her concerns about Strauss and Blake pushed to the backburner as she thought about the night ahead.