"I could have driven myself, Spencer. You didn't need to come pick me up."

Reid glanced over at Blake and shrugged a little. "It's easier with fewer cars at the cabin. And this gives me the opportunity to fill you in on what happens there."

She let out a little trill of laughter and turned down the music that was playing. "That sounds so serious. Let me guess, we play the adult version of Truth or Dare."

He gave her another shrug. "That has been known to happen. The last time we were all together, Morgan, Hotch, and Rossi, hunted me down in the woods. And I was actually allowed to wear clothes that time, so it took longer to find me."

Blake laughed again as she shook her head. "This is what the BAU has turned into? Some orgy filled bacchanalia? Really?"

"Hey, don't knock it until you've tried it. Even Erin wasn't this uptight."

Blake fell silent at the mention of her name, and Reid wondered how raw that wound still was. After the funeral, after Rossi's impromptu memorial for his fallen lover, they had wound up walking together in his backyard, talking lowly, and Blake had informed him that she and Erin had just started on the long process of making up. "No, she always burned so brightly," she finally whispered.

"I'm sorry?"

Blake turned her body so that she could look at him as he drove. "We had an affair. I went and fell in love with her, and we broke our vows to our husbands for six long, lovely, sweet, weeks. Why do you think that I could never forgive her until the end there? She shredded my heart when she did what she did. I knew that she had to do it. I know that I made a mistake in the profile. But it was so easy to blame her for everything. And a small part of me never stopped loving her. Death couldn't sever those feelings, since I never acknowledged them."

He took a deep breath as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. He had suspected something like that had occurred between the women, but had never wanted to ask, knowing that it would be a sensitive subject for her. "Well, then, it's a good thing that you'll be here this weekend. We can help you get over this, if you let us."

"Tell me more."

"Well, most everyone pairs off when we're at the cabin. It used to be JJ and me, before she left Will. Now, she's with Hotch, and they're happy, so I can't begrudge them that. It shouldn't surprise you that Morgan and Garcia are a pair." She shook her head. "Which leaves you, me, and Rossi. He'll probably be a lone wolf this time, but that's to be expected, having lost Erin so recently. Do you think that James will be all right with you doing a little swinging this weekend?"

Blake worried her lower lip between her teeth as she thought about her answer. "Well, we've had a bit of an open relationship ever since…ever since he decided to take the Doctors Without Borders job. That hasn't changed now that he's back in the States."

"And you don't have to do anything that you're not comfortable with. We set boundaries while we're here, and we respect them."

That got her to smile, and she absently scratched at her face. "What were Erin's boundaries?" she finally asked, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"No anal sex. I remember her words being that she didn't like anyone using the back door." Blake let out a fuller, more mirthful, laugh, and he joined in as he turned down the dirt road that led to Rossi's cabin.

"That does sound like Erin. Though she had good reason for that request." Her voice had taken on a slightly sad tinge, and he wondered what memory she was accessing. "All right, if Erin could be up for this, I can be up for this. I suppose that it might be nice to get to know my fellow teammates a little better."

"That's the spirit!" he said enthusiastically, reaching out to squeeze her hand a little before focusing on the road once more. "I have found that this actually has helped me trust my team that much more, Alex. There's something about knowing someone so intimately that makes you trust them."

She gave him a small nod before turning her body to gaze out the passenger window. He watched her lips move silently, and he wondered what song she was currently running through her mind. Reid knew enough to leave her alone when she turned pensive. And really, he wanted to be alone with his thoughts as well. Though he had never gotten as close to Erin as Penelope or Rossi, there was still something about her that he found himself missing. "So, how long have you done this for?" Alex suddenly asked, a frown marring her features.

"It started soon after Rossi joined the team, actually. It was a good way to blow off steam and find out the things that felt good to us."

"But to be so fluid in your sexuality. You've never coded as gay, neither has Rossi or Hotch. What is it about being here that lets you switch so easily?"

He was surprised at her line of questioning, having thought that she was a little more open to trying new things in the bedroom. At least that was what Rossi had intimated that time after he had visited a BDSM club with her. "It's knowing that I can trust them, completely, and knowing that nothing will ever get back to the rest of the people in the bullpen. There is a lot of freedom in trust. Wouldn't you agree?"

She shrugged a little. "I suppose. All right, I have to stop overthinking this. It won't work any other way."

"That's the spirit," he replied as he pulled into the drive of Rossi's cabin. "Oh, and before you ask, there really aren't any neighbors around, so you can be as loud as you want. Which is perfect for Jen, since she has the tendency to get rather loud."

"Now why does that not surprise me?" Blake replied drolly.

He chuckled lowly as he shook his head. "Hey, I have to let you in on some secrets. I'd hate to surprise you with some things."

She nodded and hopped out of the car, heading back to the trunk. Reid popped it for her as he ambled out and joined her. "Well, there couldn't be much else that would surprise me. Save for Erin being alive, and that is an impossibility."

He nodded and shouldered his bag before closing the trunk and guiding Blake up to the door. JJ answered on the second knock, looking flushed, and he wondered if the games had started a little early that weekend. When she gave him a tense smile, he knew that there was something else at work here, and he wondered what was going on. When he went to open his mouth, though, JJ shook her head. "Hey guys, glad you could make it! I'll take your bags upstairs if you want to make yourselves comfortable in the den. Spence, why don't you show Alex where all the good liquor is?"

He nodded, trying not to frown, since Blake would pick up on that small tell. "Sure, Jen. Thanks." Reid gave JJ his bag, watching Blake follow suit. "She's not lying when she mentions the good stuff. There are some bottles that are older than me, which I'm told makes them taste all the better. Is there something in particular that I can pour you?"
She shook her head as they entered the den, and then she moved over to the window. "Erin used to prefer bourbon. I don't suppose that Rossi would keep any of that around, since it would leave too many bad memories."

"I'll check." Reid rummaged around in the liquor cabinet, finding a half empty bottle of bourbon near the front. Smiling, he grabbed it and went over to her side, dangling the bottle in front of her. "Look what I have!"

"Huh."

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just that this is, was, Erin's favorite maker. It makes a certain sort of sense that he would be so sentimental. I don't suppose that you thought to bring a glass?" He shook his head. "Well, hand it over, then."

He chuckled as he gave her the bottle, watching as she pulled out the crystal stopper and took a few swigs. "You have to remember to pace yourself, Alex. You do not want to spend this weekend drunk."

"Really?"

"Yes. It's a lot more fun when you're sober. Also? We get to have a lot more fun with you. No sobriety, no consent. Rossi's number one rule."

She sighed as she nodded, handing the bottle over. "All right, I suppose. What's the first thing up for us?"

Reid corked the bottle and replaced it before reaching out for her hand. It was an instinctual move, one that he wasn't certain she would respond to, but she did, sliding her hand into his and squeezing tightly. He knew that it had taken a lot for her to do that, and he smiled to himself as he led her into the dining room. "We need fuel to our bodies to get ready for tonight. Even if we're not going to do much of anything. Tomorrow is when the real fun begins."