"Chief Strauss? You have a visitor. They say that they need to see you before heading out into the field."

Erin swiped at her eyes before shaking her head a little and then pressing the intercom button in order to reply to Helen. "Thank you, Helen, send them in." She didn't know who might want to see her, but there wasn't a good reason to deny the person entry. Her door swung open, and Erin didn't look up from her paperwork until she heard the soft click of the door closing once more. Alex was hovering by the doorway, worrying her lip between her teeth as she looked at the carpet.

"I, I told Hotch to delay the jet taking off by fifteen minutes. I needed to talk with you before we left."

Erin gave her a jerky nod before gesturing towards the chairs in front of her desk. Alex took a halting step forward and then another, until she was finally collapsing in the chair, scooting it closer to Erin's desk as she stared at a spot on her shoulder. "What do you need to talk about?" she asked carefully, not certain what Alex's objective was.

"You were much kinder than I might have been today. You could have gone for the jugular, destroyed me, told them about…"

"About Ethan? I could have. I could have destroyed you with just a few careless words. But I couldn't do that to you. I know, deep down, that what you said a few days ago was the result of our argument spilling over into irrationality. But I also know that your words pierced a still tender wound in my soul, and if I were to treat you in the same manner, we might never get back to working towards the friendship we once had."

A small gasp slipped from Alex's lips, and then she was looking up at Erin, tears making her eyes seem impossibly large. "I can't begin to think that you would want my friendship after that lapse of judgement."

"You were my best friend for how many years, Alexandra?" The other woman shrugged. "It was at least ten. Yes?"

Finally, Alex nodded, and then Erin was reaching across the desk, holding out her hand expectantly. It took a moment, but then Alex was taking hold of the proffered hand and squeezing it tightly. "I am truly sorry for the hurt that I caused you by my poor choice of words. I took the lowest blow I could find, in order to win an argument that I had no business winning, because you were right. And in doing that, I caused you to relieve that horrible day, and tell people about it."

"Maybe it was time for me to tell my story, Alex. I have the feeling that it might have come out soon, anyway, but this way might prove to be easier in the end, since I didn't have time to craft a pat explanation of what happened. Maybe the raw feelings will make certain that other people don't probe too closely for answers that I might not have."

Alex gave her a wry smile. "One would hope. I still don't like to talk about my Ethan."

Erin nodded as she squeezed Alex's hand tightly. "We had already come apart when he passed. I would like to know more about your precious angel, when you're ready to trust me with that."

She watched as Alex pursed her lips together, the tears starting to fall down her cheeks. "There might come a day when we can talk about that freely, yes. Um, I think that I should probably meet up with Dave. He agreed to stay behind with me, so that I wouldn't have to drive to the airfield alone."

They both got up, and Erin walked with Alex over to the door. As her hand reached out to turn the doorknob, Alex covered it and met her eye steadily. "Yes?" Erin asked, wondering what could possibly be holding her back. "Alexandra?"

"Do you truly forgive me for what I said?"

"Yes." She spoke without hesitation, knowing that it was true. A tiny smile swept across Alex's face before she reached out and hugged Erin, almost crushing her against her chest as a choked sob sounded in Erin's ear. "David won't say anything if you have red eyes when you meet him."

"That's good."

"And make certain that David brings you home with him following the case. It would be nice to unwind with you. Perhaps start out on a new footing?"

"Yes." Another, quicker, hug, and then Erin was opening the door, shooing Alex out, since she knew that the longer the woman lingered, the harder it would be for her to go. "See you soon."

Erin nodded and watched her leave. Helen let out a soft chuckle and Erin glanced over at her, the smile never leaving her lips. "I see that things are potentially headed back in the right direction?" her assistant asked, and Erin let her smile soften as she nodded. "That's good. She did come looking for you, the other day. I knew that she felt horrible, I could see it on her face, but I knew that you both would need to find your way."

"You might just be worth your weight in gold, Helen," she remarked as she turned to make her way back into her office. "Please grab lunch from the Indian place I like, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Erin shook her head a little as she closed the door to her office and went over to her desk. She had barely taken a seat when her phone began to ring, and she picked it up without looking at her caller id as she began to scroll through her work emails. "Erin Strauss."

"Erin! Alex and Dave just left, and I have to know, did she come talk to you?"

She chuckled under her breath as she opened the first email, quickly scanning it before sending off her reply. "She did, and we have plans to talk following the conclusion of this case. Things aren't going to be completely smooth, but I think that we're going to iron out the wrinkles in our relationship. It will be nice to have my best friend back in my life."

"So, what brought you guys together? You seem to be so different from each other."

Erin leaned back in her chair as she stared up at the ceiling of her office. "We were both girls in a boy's club. When we started with the then BSU? It was just the two of us, trying to prove that we were just as capable as the boys. And in some cases, more than capable."

Penelope giggled prettily. "Isn't it so funny when us girls can outsmart the boys? I know there were numerous times I was underestimated when I was the Black Queen. And, to some extent, I'm still underestimated in my job because of the way I look. I rather like that, though, you know? It helps me to get what I need from people."

"You are more like me than I realized," Erin murmured, her smile slipping into a smirk. "I tended to use my soft looks to my advantage in my youth. Never for anything nefarious, but as a means to get ahead. I was a…"

She pursed her lips as she realized what she had been about to reveal about herself, and hoped that Penelope would use her discretion and not pressure her to finish that statement. "I think I know what you were about to say, and I think that is absolutely adorable. Though I do hope you were kissed a lot when you were young!"

She couldn't stop her loud, brash, laugh, and she shook her head a little. "You and envelopes, Penny. Yes, I was well kissed in my youth. And now, I need to get to work. You're free to join me for lunch, if you can get away around one."

"I will make certain that I am free, Erin," the younger woman replied, and she smiled, looking forward to meeting with Penelope and getting to know her better.