It had been hard for Dave to get back in the groove of being out in the field, but Aaron had made certain to help him pick up the slack. Still, there was some lingering weakness that he knew was a result of the surgery, and he only hoped that he could get back up to form before too long. It didn't help that Erin had been dealing with budget issues on top of the stress of worrying about the Replicator and just when he would make his appearance in their lives once more. He wanted to say that that was an impossibility, but given how closely he had been following the team, Dave knew that it was only a matter of time before he reared his ugly head once more.

And then, it was the second week of January, and they were all on edge, for reasons that he couldn't quite put his fingers on, but he had worked hard to make certain that he and Erin did not devolve into fighting once more, since he knew that she was going a bit stir crazy without having a means for release for her emotions. "There's something in the air, Dave," Aaron said as he came into his office, and he looked up from the file on his desk as he nodded, gesturing for his friend to take a seat in front of his desk. "You feel it, too, don't you?"

"I've felt it ever since I've gotten back in the field. We've closed two cases already, and I keep waiting for a shoe to drop."

"A shoe called the Replicator?"

"How'd you guess?"

"It's been too long since he's made a move, and it's just a matter of time until he acts again. I just wish that the Director would allow us to dive in deeper."

He nodded. "Erin's been working on the case, off the record, but I don't like her doing that. It's creating too much stress in her. She feels like she's failing us."

Dave was going to say something more when Reid came rushing into his office. He could tell just by looking at the young man that something was seriously wrong, though he had no idea what might have upset him so. "She's missing."

Those words sounded so stressed, and then Dave noticed that there were tears rolling down his face. It was unlike the kid to cry, and he motioned for him to take the free seat next to Aaron. Reid slid down into it, folding in on himself as he stared at the floor. "Who's missing, Reid?" Aaron asked gently, and Reid let out the deepest sigh Dave had ever heard from the kid.

"Maeve. My girlfriend. I love her, and she's been taken."

As the story began to pour from his lips, Dave found himself taking notes about what was going on, knowing that it would be important for them to pass on to Penelope. "You know that we can't officially work this case, Reid. We don't have jurisdiction, as you don't even know where she lives, or anything more about her than her first name and what she does."

"Penelope can find out more," he said a bit desperately, and Dave found himself nodding in agreement. "We have to do something!"

"Anything that we can do will have to be done discreetly."

Dave frowned at Aaron, feeling that this was the shoe that had been waiting to drop. Getting to his feet, he gave his best friend a searching look before taking a deep breath. "Assemble the team in the conference room, I'm going to go talk to Erin."

Both men nodded, and he hurried from the room, taking the stairs as quickly as he dared before bustling from the bullpen and over to Erin's office. Her assistant wasn't behind her desk, so he just made his way into her inner sanctum, taking a seat in front of her desk as he waited for her to finish her call. "I'm so glad to hear that, Harri. Of course, I'll update David, in fact, he's sitting in front of me right now. We'll talk soon, I promise. Love you, too."

As she hung up, Dave gave her a tight smile, hating how the light in her face died as she looked at him. "Give me the good news first, Erin. I don't want to spoil that sweet look with this."

She nodded and glanced down at a photo frame on her desk. "Helena had a check up today with Doctor Brody, and she is making amazing strides in her recovery. The lobe of your liver that you donated has worked wonders, David."

"And I just hate the fact that we're at work, in your office, and I can't kiss you." Erin glanced up at him, a pretty blush staining her cheeks as she pushed away from her desk and came around to his side. Looking towards the door, she took a deep breath before leaning down and kissing him delicately. "That will have to last us until we're home tonight."

That statement burst the small bubble of happiness that had started to form in his heart, and he felt his face fall a little as Erin rested on the edge of her desk and stared at him, trying to read his face. "I don't know if I'm going to be home tonight, Erin."

"What's happened? You're not supposed to be out on a case, nothing's come across my desk."

He swallowed and reached out for her hand, threading their fingers together as he tried to come up with the words to tell her what was happening with the team. "Reid has managed to find himself a girlfriend. After all these years where I thought that that massive brain of his might scare off potential partners, he's managed to find someone to love him for him. But there's a problem."

"He's done it, hasn't he? The Replicator has finally moved against one of our own. Of course, because of the Director, you can't chase this down, so you're asking me to look the other way. Of course, you can have whatever you need, and I'll cover for you, as long as you let me help you out."

The desperate sound of her voice stole his breath away, leaving him feel like he'd been sucker punched. Shaking his hand free from her grip, Dave leaned in and cupped her face as he allowed his thumb to run back and forth over her cheekbone. "Bella, look at me." She locked eyes with him, looking for all the world like a startled fawn, and he sighed gently. "We don't think that it's the Replicator. This young woman has a stalker, and we think that that's who took her. But yes, we do need you to look the other way for at least today, if not tomorrow as well."

Erin nodded, but it still looked like she didn't quite believe him. "I suppose that I can do that for you. But I still think I'm going to follow you back into the bullpen and spend a few hours with Penelope." He knew that she wouldn't take no for an answer, so he nodded as he got to his feet. To Dave's surprise, Erin hurriedly stood and launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist in a tight embrace. Letting out a puff of breath, he hugged her back just as tightly, knowing that she needed the reassurance in her life in that moment.