For disclaimer, see chapter one.
She was watching for Aaron, leaving her office the moment she saw him and Doctor Reid step into the bullpen. She saw the look that the two of them shared before the younger man headed for his desk and wondered what had happened on such a simple interview to make them share the silent exchange. She suspected it was nothing to do with Chester Hardwicke and wondered if the pair, who as far as she could tell always played their cards close to their chests, had actually opened up enough to share something personal. In a way, she hoped so. It would probably do them both some good.
She continued to watch as Aaron gazed around at the empty desks of his team, glanced at Rossi's dark office and then headed in the direction of Garcia's office, his brow furrowed. When he came back ten minutes later, he was on the phone and he did not look amused. Whoever he was talking to was getting their ear chewed off and Erin was glad. Anything she decided to do to David would never bother the man as much as anything Aaron said.
She waited another five minutes after Aaron's door snapped shut and then made her way there, greeting Doctor Reid on the way. The young man wasn't her biggest fan, that much she knew, but she always appreciated that of everyone on the main team, he always made an effort to hide that fact. He nodded, a small, tight smile on his face as he watched her climb the stairs to Aaron's office. At least one person still understood the implications of pissing her off. He wasn't called a genius for nothing.
She knocked on Aaron's door and waited for his terse consent before she opened the door. He was gazing moodily at his phone, looking up only when she stepped into the room. His expression changed, minutely but enough for her to notice, and he sat up a little straighter.
"Ma'am-"
"How was your interview?"
He didn't miss a beat in answering, although they both knew that he was expecting a very different topic of conversation.
"Not the most productive we've ever done."
That was the lawyer answering, the part of himself that Aaron let take over when he didn't want to answer a question. She could have called him on it, of course, but this wasn't a hostile visit. Erin Strauss had never been great at tact, preferring to get things done directly and damn the consequences, but this seemed like a time when kid-gloves were very appropriate. Aaron looked exhausted, his eyes bright with something she couldn't quite identify, and he didn't deserve any trouble for what Rossi had done any more than Garcia did.
"I'm sorry to hear that," she said conversationally, "A long drive for nothing then."
"Yes."
She leaned back on the doorpost and folded her arms. He was watching her warily, waiting for the inevitable.
"I talked to Max Ryan today."
"Max? What for?"
"I needed some information, pertaining to an old case in Indianapolis. He told me some rather interesting things."
Aaron was looking down at his hands as he replied, "I see. Ma'am-"
"You know what I should do, don't you Aaron? Deciding to up and head out for a case that has been cold for twenty years is not a productive use of time or resources, especially without the permission of the unit chief."
He looked up at her, steadying that famous stare of his on her face. This was the Aaron Hotchner she was used to – one that would face her down. The Aaron Hotchner she didn't need the kid-gloves for.
"What's going to happen?"
"Luckily, I was out of the office today. I didn't notice empty desks and offices that should have been full. I didn't even know people had been missing until I came back in the early evening and by then I didn't know if the unit chief had authorised it or not. I didn't ask questions and I went home. That is lucky, don't you think?"
Aaron Hotchner was many things, but he was not an idiot, and so although his eyes widened slightly, he nodded and simply said, "Thank you, ma'am. Very lucky indeed."
With a nod, she turned to leave. Reaching for the door handle, she looked at him one last time. He was still watching her.
"It's good that the section chief knows she can leave it to the unit chief to take the necessary steps to make sure it doesn't happen again. And that she knows the unit chief is discrete enough to keep private conversations to himself."
She didn't wait for his reply, closing the door gently and making her way down the stairs. Reid was still at his desk, working hard to make it look like he wasn't watching her, and so she ignored him as well. Let them think what they wanted about her – she didn't care. David Rossi would owe her for this but he'd never find out and so she'd never cash in on the favour. By the time she'd made it back to her office, Erin had convinced herself that by overlooking this indiscretion, she had actually won. Aaron knew that they owed her and that was more productive than Rossi begrudging the debt, because Aaron's ridiculously honed sense of right and wrong would be enough to ensure that his oldest team member was kept in line from now on in.
No, this was most definitely an Erin Strauss victory.
And if Rossi could sleep a little easier at night because of it, who was she to argue?