By the second day of jury selection, they'd found out what entrance to use to escape press attention. Quietly, they sat behind Aaron, listening to him ask questions of the men and women who had been chosen at random from the general public. At the end of that day, they had finally chosen the tenth jury member, resulting in yet another day of jury selection. The judge had dismissed them for the day and Hotch escorted them out.
"Let's head to supper, ladies," he said lowly as they emerged from the courthouse. "Follow me." He got into his car and started it up, heading out. They followed suit in Erin's car and were soon at a fly on the wall Chinese restaurant. After making sure they weren't followed, Penelope and Erin ducked inside.
"Could you seat us as far from the entrance as possible?" Hotch asked the hostess, who nodded, showing them to a secluded booth. Aaron sat so he could watch the door, and Erin had Penelope slide in first, putting her in the middle of the u-shaped table. It didn't take long for them to decide on what they wanted, and they shared an easy smile.
"Sharing?"
"Of course. Make sure you order egg rolls."
"Wouldn't dream of forgetting those, my dear."
Hotch chuckled slightly, and they both looked at him, their eyebrows arched. "You two really have lived in your own little world for so long. It's amazing seeing the easy banter between you. It reminds me so of Haley and me at the beginning."
"Oh, Hotch, that's so sweet. Thank you so much," Penelope said in response, reaching out and squeezing his hand gently. The waiter came soon after and they put their order in. "So, will we finish selection tomorrow?"
"I should hope so. Right now, the jury has five women. I want to try to keep it equal, because you never know how an individual will react. We need two more jurists, plus four alternates. That should be accomplishable tomorrow."
"And then when would the trial proper begin?"
"The following Monday. It would be really awkward to begin on a Thursday and then take two days off for the weekend. It's much better to start fresh at the beginning of the week. I'm making tentative plans for this trial to last a month. With the number of charges against David, I need to make certain that each one gets addressed." He looked away from Penelope. "I'm going to also be requesting a complete media blackout for the entire trial. I do not want those vultures getting their talons on anything that's in those emails."
"So, you read them all?" Penelope asked as their food arrived. Erin and she split their plates as he took a deep breath.
"Yes. I had to, in order to know everything they'll know after they get the letters. I'm not certain how much of what Kevin wrote about actually happened or was just his own mad ravings. However, I do know had you not killed him, I think I would have done so. I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Penelope."
He looked at her, and she saw no pity in his eyes, only gentle concern. "Was there anything in the letters to suggest that I wanted that to happen, that rough sex was my scene?"
"Penelope," Erin said lowly, putting her hand over hers.
"I need to know, my dove. I need to see if those letters will help or hinder the case."
He looked between the two of them before answering. "From the tone of the letters, there is nothing to suggest that you willingly participated in any way. While Rossi's legal team may try to twist those words against you, I will turn it right back on him and his actions. I promise you that."
"Thank you, Aaron. Is your heart at ease now, my love?"
"Yes," Penelope replied, blushing under the look Erin gave her. "I'm sorry."
Erin leaned over and kissed Penelope's cheek. "Don't be sorry. I understand this need in you, the reassurance factor." Erin tweaked her nose lightly. "I love you."
"And I, you." Hotch cleared his throat and they looked up at him, both blushing somewhat. "So, has Jack had a good week?"
"Yes, except Jessica had thrown us for a loop. Her boyfriend has asked her to marry him."
"That's wonderful, Hotch."
"Yes, but I can't impose on her as she starts her own family. I have eight months to find a new caregiver for Jack when I go out on the field. At least it will be for just a few more years." He sighed. "Maybe I could convince Sean to move back here after she gets married."
"Or we could watch him," Penelope said quickly, smiling at Aaron. "Erin and I tend to get out of the office at five, even if I do work from home. And Jackers likes us."
"That he does. He couldn't stop talking about his aunt Erin and how nice she was. Would you really be okay with this, though?"
"Of course." Erin smiled gently. "And it will be good practice for us. It's been a few years since I was around little ones for an extended period of time." She speared a piece of broccoli and ate it, that enigmatic smile on her face.
Penelope looked at her oddly, trying to figure out what Erin meant and why Aaron had begun to smile a little more widely. Shaking her head, she continued eating, still mulling over her dove's words. Then it hit her, and she felt the smile that spread over her face as she turned to face Erin. "Really?"
Erin nodded. "Once the trial is over, we'll look into our options."
Penelope wiped her eyes free of tears and held her hand out to Erin, who took it, squeezing gently. "Thank you."
While they were focused on each other, they finished eating. When Penelope looked up, Hotch was putting away his billfold. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, ladies. Have a good evening." He got up from the booth and left. A few seconds later, they got up and left as well. Erin peeked out the door and didn't see anyone there. Penelope breathed a sigh of relief and the hurried to the car.
"Your home tonight?" Penelope asked.
"Sure. Karen wanted to know how it was going." The drive home was short and Penelope looked in the mirrors the entire time to make certain that no one was following them. Their home phones had begun to ring constantly with reporters wanting the inside story. Karen was keeping a tight leash on Paul, not allowing him to say anything to the reporters by telling him that he would damage his father's memory if he did so.
Erin pulled in and parked in the garage. She came around and took Penelope's hand and they walked inside together. Karen was in the kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator. "Hey, honey."
She stood up quickly and looked at them. "Oh, hello, Mother, Penelope. Is jury selection over yet?"
"No. Aaron thinks tomorrow will be the last day for that, then the trial will begin Monday. Have they bothered you at school?"
"Not really. Most of the students don't know I'm related to you or Father, and campus police have kept the reporters away from the buildings. I assume it will be worse once the trial starts." She turned back to the fridge and pulled out a cheesecake. "So, I got bored this afternoon and made this. Do either of you want a piece? There's strawberry sauce to go with it."
They both nodded and Erin got out dessert plates while Penelope pulled out three forks and a serving spoon from the utensil drawer. Setting them on the counter, she opened the fridge and took out the bowl of strawberry sauce and out the spoon inside. "Hey, we're having dessert? Why didn't anyone come get me?" Paul asked as he entered the kitchen. He tried to mask the smile on his face when he saw his mother and Penelope there, but couldn't quite do so in time.
"Sorry, didn't think you'd want any. Mother, could you grab another plate?" Karen asked as she cut another slice. Erin handed her daughter another plate while Penelope grabbed another fork.
"Do any of you want strawberries?" Penelope asked, holding up the spoon. Reluctantly, Paul nodded and she spooned some over his piece, handing it to him.
"Thank you," he said, sitting on one of the barstools. The others joined him and ate their desserts. "So, is everything going okay? Do you think the jury will put this Rossi guy away?" he asked, not looking up from his plate.
"I hope they will. Given that there are witnesses to him trying to kill us, he should at least get convicted on those charges. The rest are more he said, she said," Penelope replied. "And he has a lot of standing in the public, seeing as he is such a prolific author."
"So, did he snap, then?"
"No, this was always in his nature. He was one of those friends you never met under good circumstances. And your father liked having someone who skirted the law on his side. Their stint in the military just changed their surfaces, gave them an attractive façade to wear, it didn't change their hearts."
"Oh. Can I see your back?" he asked suddenly, all in a rush, not looking at any of them.
"What?"
"I forgot you and Penelope were staying here the other night. Sometimes I would go into the bedroom, try and feel closer to Dad, and I did that then. You had your back to the door and had forgotten to turn the lights off. Are, are those scars on your back? May I see them?"
Erin looked at Penelope, and she smiled at her, tears stinging her eyes. She nodded and rucked up her shirt, holding it beneath her arms. Paul got off his stool and went over to his mother, running his fingers over the silvery marks. The room fell silent as they all focused on Paul and his actions. Penelope heard his breath catch and took a step towards him. Erin pulled her shirt down and turned, opening her arms. He collapsed against her, his shoulders heaving.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't believe you, Mom. You left so suddenly and didn't say anything or call or email or anything. All I had to go on was his word and the silence from you. I've been such an asshole, Mom. Can you forgive me?"
"You're my son, of course I forgive you. But what do you mean, my silence? I wrote you, almost every day. You never got any of those emails?"
"No, there was never anything in my inbox. You don't think Dad would have deleted them, do you?"
"He had access to someone who could do that, could hack in to your email and erase anything I sent you," she said as she ran her fingers through his hair. After a few minutes, he pushed away from her and looked over at Penelope, and she smiled at him warmly.
"Why are you being so nice to me? I've never been nice to you."
"Your mother once asked me the same thing. I hope I've proved to her by now that there is some good in every person."
"Like how Leonard Cohen said there's a crack in everything, that's how…"
"…the light gets in, yes, exactly." She was surprised when he let go of his mother and took a hesitant step towards her, then another. He threw his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. Penelope looked at Erin in shock. "What do I do?" she mouthed, giving her a panicked look. Erin mimed hugging him back and she slowly took her lover's advice.
"I'm sorry," he said, his voice muffled from his pressing his face into her shoulder. "I hope I didn't cause any problems between you and Mom."
She rubbed his back gently. "You didn't cause any problems for us."
He broke away from her and smiled. "I'm glad. Well, I'm going to go up to my room now. I still have homework to finish," he said, blushing suddenly as he turned to escape the room.
"He always was my sensitive one. If I had had him first, I would not have known how to handle it." She smiled at Penelope. "Thank you for being so sweet, my peacock."
"He looked so sad. How could I not be nice to him?" Penelope asked as she finished her cheesecake. Karen took their plates and stuck them in the dishwasher. "And our first defense when something upsets us is anger. Remember how I felt about Christopher that first night back from the hospital?" Erin nodded. "So, he's really not that different from me."
Erin yawned. "I think I'm going to turn in now. I never realized this would be more exhausting than my job."
"I hear you there." Penelope got off her stool and followed Erin upstairs, suddenly exhausted by the events of the day, knowing deep down there was worse yet to come.
Penelope knew it was going to be a bad day when Aaron told her and Erin that the defense was calling David to the witness stand. As she looked into his eyes, she knew there was something about to happen in the courtroom that he wasn't telling her. And Erin was acting oddly as well, shooting her worried looks the entire morning.
She zoned out of most of the questions David's lawyer asked, only noticing that Hotch objected to many of them. The judge overruled most of his objections, which she could tell upset him.
"…and what about Penelope Garcia? She claims you raped her."
"Kevin Lynch told me she liked it rough. We were just giving her what she asked for."
"Objection! That's conjecture."
"So it is. Members of the jury, please disregard that last statement. Ms. Mohr, you may continue."
"No further questions at this time, Your Honor."
"Then court is in recess for the lunch hour. We'll reconvene at one o'clock, at which time the witness is yours, Mr. Hotchner."
Penelope found herself unable to eat anything, instead sipping at the coffee Erin bought her. The hour passed slowly, and then they all trooped back in the courtroom. After the bailiff had sworn everyone in, Hotch began his questioning. Again, Penelope found herself zoning out until she caught Aaron's eye. Perking up, she listened attentively to his questioning.
"Do you remember February twenty first well, Mr. Rossi?"
"Of course, we had returned from a case earlier in the week."
"And did you meet up with anyone that evening?"
"Yes, I met with Kevin Lynch and Penelope Garcia."
"Did Ms. Garcia know about this meeting beforehand?"
"No, that's the way Kevin said she like it, that it was one of the games they had played when they were dating."
"So, they were no longer dating by this time?"
"They'd been separated since he took the job with the NSA."
"Do you remember why he took that job?"
Penelope watched his face lose it color. "I plead the Fifth." She looked over at the jury and saw some of them raise their eyebrows at his response, while another took is down in a little notebook.
"Mr. Rossi, I would like to call your attention to People's Exhibit A-29. Will you begin reading at the first paragraph? I'll tell you when to stop."
He cleared his throat and pulled out his reading glasses. "Dearest Penelope, I can still recall your scream of utter agony as Dave raped you that first time. The deliciousness of your torment as he taught you your lesson brought goose bumps to me then and still does to this day. I cannot wait until we can teach you and that bitch another lesson. Both of you need to be brought down off your high horses. And it's not like you'll ever tell what we'd do to you. You haven't so far."
"That's enough, Mr. Rossi. Now, what did Mr. Lynch mean by you teaching Ms. Garcia a lesson?"
"I plead the Fifth."
"Your Honor, at this time I would like to introduce into evidence People's Exhibit H." He pulled out a tiny remote and pressed the button. Suddenly, all she seemed able to focus on was the sight of her bruised face, larger than life on that awful screen. Quick tears pooled in her eyes as Aaron flipped through the pictures of her and what they had done to her. Feeling people stare at her, she looked over at the jury and saw most of the women and a few of the men openly crying at the brutality shown in the photographs. "Mr. Rossi, do you recognize your handiwork here?"
"I plead the Fifth."
"Let me enlighten you then. Reading from Exhibit A-33, 'I thought he would cut your cheek open to the bone as he backhanded you awake. I'm sure his ring will leave a permanent scar on your face, a reminder that you are ours forever. I hope that every time you see that scar in the mirror, you remember him fucking you like only a real man can.' Does that ring a bell?"
Rossi swallowed and looked down at his clenched hands. "I plead the Fifth."
"Your Honor, permission to dismiss the witness at this time and call them back later?"
"So granted. You may take your seat Mr. Rossi. At this time, court is in recess. Court will resume at nine tomorrow morning." As he banged his gavel, everyone stood and watched him exit to his chambers. Before Hotch or Erin could say a word to her, she escaped into the crowd. Hot, bitter tears flowed down her cheeks and she slipped into the first bathroom she saw.
After a few minutes had passed, she heard the door creak open and someone stepped inside. She recognized Erin's footsteps and drew in her breath. She was suddenly very angry and did not want to take it out on her. "Penelope, are you in here?"
She didn't answer right away, hoping against hope Erin would turn around and leave once more. Fate was against her though, and Erin's feet stopped in front of her stall. "Why would you do that to me?" she asked lowly, opening the door to look at her lover.
"Reid suggested I should take the photos, just in case you ever changed your mind about pressing charges. There needed to be physical proof of what happened to back up your claims. I-I didn't know about the letters you were being sent back then."
"But why didn't you tell me? I would have appreciated a head's up before seeing myself displayed like a slab of meat on the screen. Did you see the pity in their eyes? My god, Erin, I don't think anything's fucking devastated me more." Erin reached out to touch her. "Don't fucking touch me right now, please. I'm trying so very hard not to yell or be angry because I don't want to say something that I will regret later on. I love you. Please don't think I don't. But, I just, I need fifteen minutes to cool down. Can we, will you, oh, let's just find somewhere to sit for a while."
Erin nodded and led the way out of the bathroom. Aaron was waiting outside for them and he didn't say a word after he saw the look on Penelope's face. "We're heading to our apartment."
"All right. I just thought I'd let you know that the defense made a change in the witness order. They're calling you two tomorrow morning, Penelope first. Director Shepperd is going to be there as well, he mentioned it to me on the way out today. It seems Ms. Mohr did this deliberately and I do not anticipate it going well."
"And today went well?" Penelope bitterly asked.
"Penelope." He reached out and touched her shoulder and she flinched under his grasp. "I had to show those photos. They made our case that much stronger."
"But at what cost to me, Hotch?" She looked into his eyes. "Did you even think about that before you displayed those to all present?" She pulled away from him and stalked down the hallway. Erin jogged to catch up to her, walking next to her once she did. "Will you drive? I don't want to be behind the wheel right now."
"Of course, Penelope." She paused and cocked her head, looking at her. "What is it?"
"I'm still your peacock, right?"
"Oh, my sweet love, do not break down here, I cannot comfort you."
Penelope nodded and got in the car. The drive home was silent as she struggled to keep control of her emotions. She sighed in relief as she noticed no media vultures outside their apartment building. Getting out of the car, they walked up to the door and she noticed a large manila envelope taped to the door. Her name was scrawled across it in unfamiliar handwriting.
"What's that?"
"I don't know. Let's get upstairs and find out." Penelope unlocked the door and they went upstairs into the apartment. Erin started a kettle of water boiling while Penelope sat on the couch, opening the envelope. She upended it on the table and out spilled pictures of her and Erin, two CDs, and a smaller envelope. She picked up the little envelope and opened it, bursting into tears as she read what was written there.
Erin took the piece of paper from her hands and read aloud lowly, "Dear Penelope and Erin, In here you will find all the data I collected on the two of you. I was in the courtroom this morning and saw what he'd done to Penelope and knew I couldn't give him the ammo that might destroy the both of you. So, I took his money and booked a flight to Costa Rica. From there, I don't know where I'll go, maybe to Peru. But, at least I can rest easy knowing I didn't help him any. Rick Miller." Erin looked down at Penelope. "Oh, my love, my peacock," she managed to sigh out before beginning to cry herself.
She sank down on the sofa next to Penelope, taking care not to touch her. Penelope felt her heart break a little at that unconscious move and she fell onto Erin's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her waist as she sobbed. Hesitantly, she felt Erin return the embrace and Penelope buried her face in Erin's neck. She reached up and pulled out the hair clip that held up her hair and ran her fingers through it, needing to have something to lose herself in.
"He tried his best to protect us, and yet it will all come crashing down around us tomorrow," she sobbed out, feeling Erin bury her fingers in her hair, kneading her scalp. She leaned closer into her hands, welcoming the loving touches.
"We always knew this day was coming. Perhaps it won't go as badly as we fear," Erin whispered, then she kissed the top of her head. "Can you forgive me?"
"Yes. I love you too much not to, Erin. I-I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"Nothing that won't heal by morning. As long as you're not leaving me tonight, I can get through anything." The kettle whistle shrilly blew and they slowly disentangled themselves and got off the sofa. Erin held out her hand, not looking at Penelope. Penelope took her hand, holding on tightly. Together, they walked into the kitchen and Erin pulled out two Earl Grey teabags while Penelope took out two mugs. She filled them with water and Erin dropped the bags in.
Penelope held out one and Erin took it, wrapping her hands around the warmth. They drifted back into the living room and settled onto the sofa once more. Tears continued to course down Penelope's face as she sipped at the tea. Her heart hurt so much, especially since so many people had seen her torment. It was one thing to have the jury hear Kevin's words about her, those had no power to hurt her. The pictures, though, couldn't be ignored.
When she'd finished her tea, she set the mug on the table then stood up. She felt adrift in her own home and she slowly undid the buttons on her blouse, letting it fall to the floor. Her skirt followed next, and then her bra. She pulled back the sheets and crawled in, leaving them back so Erin could join her. Penelope didn't have long to wait and she felt Erin's warm, familiar body spoon up against her back. Sighing, she wriggled closer to her love, pulling her hand over her body to rest on her heart.
"Your heart is heavy."
"Yes, it is. But it's full of love as well." Penelope turned to face Erin and saw her eyes still wet with tears. She reached up and wiped the tears away, then leaned in to kiss her. "My dove, my love, my sweet caring Erin. I understand in my head the reason, the necessity of the photos. I just wish my heart would listen to my head for once." Penelope kissed her once more. "Please, don't ever give up on me."
"How could I give up on you after all you've done for me?" Erin whispered as she buried her face in Penelope's hair. "I'm more worried about you giving up on me."
"I'll never give up on you. I promise."
"Good." Erin sighed and Penelope felt her breathing even out as she slipped off to sleep. Penelope followed her soon after, eager to escape from the day.