When Rossi walked into the sunroom, he found Garcia sitting in a chair, knitting and talking quietly with Christine, who was curled up on the matching loveseat.
"Christine?" he asked, hesitantly.
"Dave – You're back!" she exclaimed, sitting up.
"You're okay?" Rossi questioned.
"Yes, now I am, and I am so – so - sorry about everything," Christine exclaimed. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen!" She began sobbing. "I've upset everybody!"
"That's okay, Kiddo," Rossi reassured her as he sat down next to her and put his arms around her. "Everyone knows it's not your fault."
As Christine continued sobbing against his shoulder, he hesitated for a moment and then began rubbing her back. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.
"Why don't we wait a minute until I stop crying, and then get everyone back here?" Christine suggested between sobs. "I strongly suspect they are all waiting in the living room, and that way I'll only have to say this once."
"You definitely know this team," Hotch exclaimed a short time later as he led everyone into the sunroom.
"We were terribly worried about you," Blake added.
"Why don't you just take your time and tell us about it?" JJ suggested.
"Okay. But, first, why don't you all sit down?" Christine suggested. "If you keep standing around like this, I'm going to end up with a stiff neck."
Hotch quickly claimed the seat on her right side, while Reid settled cross-legged on the floor in front of her. Garcia stood up so Morgan could take the chair she had been occupying, and then made herself comfortable on his lap. Blake, JJ, and Chief Cruz pulled chairs over from elsewhere in the room and everyone settled in to listen.
Christine closed her eyes and began. "I remember I was sitting at the desk in your study and had just turned the computer on when I realized that the sun coming through the shutters reminded me of – That Place. That's when I panicked. I don't know what it was, but I just knew I had to get out of there!"
"I remember saving my file and logging off the computer. After that, things get really confused. I kind of remember trees, and bushes, and a stream. But, that's all I remember until I found myself in the Colemen's kitchen, shivering and wrapped in a blanket, with Mrs. Coleman handing me a mug of hot chocolate."
"I am so sorry I worried everyone. I didn't mean to!" Her voice caught in her throat.
"It's not your fault," Blake told her kindly. "Episodes like this are to be expected after what you went through."
"That's what my therapist told me," Christine sighed. "But, I still feel awful about upsetting you."
"Don't worry about that, it's over and you're okay," Rossi told her as he gave her a hug. "And, now, the first thing I need to do after lunch is fix that shutter."
"There's no need to," Garcia spoke up. "Anderson and Luis took care of it first thing this morning."
"Anderson is a good man," Hotch spoke up. "I don't tell him so often enough."
"Okay, then, lunch," Rossi stood up, motioning for everyone to join him. "If I smell right, Sonia has been busy all morning getting it ready for us."
"Not yet - Just a moment," Morgan spoke up.