"You look exhausted, JJ," Garcia said as she entered the bullpen. JJ shrugged a little as she trudged over to her desk and let her purse thump onto the surface with a dull thud.

"I haven't been sleeping well these last few weeks, and it seems to be catching up to me. Even the sleeping pills that Will has been giving me don't seem to do their job. I'm just left with a bitter taste in my mouth come the morning. If this doesn't change, I'm going to have to see a doctor about doing something. It seems like the only good sleep I get is when I'm out in the field, which is when it should be the worst."

She slumped down into her chair, smiling a little when Garcia petted her hair softly. "I wish there was something I could do for you, honey. Have you tried listening to those relaxation sounds at all? Some people swear by the sound of ocean waves. I even think that I have a recording of Pachelbel's Canon in D mixed with the sound of waves, and I could scrounge it up for you, if you think that it would help."

Looking into her friend's face, JJ couldn't help but smile widely at the sweetly earnest look on her face. "I haven't tried that trick yet, no. But I suppose that anything might help at this point." Heaving out a deep sigh, she glanced over at Hotch's office and saw his head bent over his desk, working away at something.

"He's going over our budget again. Strauss handed him a really thick packet of papers this morning, telling him that since we weren't going out on a case this week, it was the perfect time to get caught up on the paperwork that he's been neglecting all this time. I swear, if looks could kill, she would have been dead the moment she turned her back."

JJ shook her head a little. "You know that he hates paperwork. You should have just given it to me, I'm caught up on my reports from the last few cases."

Garcia shrugged a little as she got up off her desk. "You should have told me that sooner, gumdrop, then I might have helped him out. Though I suppose you could go up there and help him out yourself."

She tried not to laugh at the way her friend waggled her eyebrows, but a small giggle managed to slip out as she shook her head. "Well, now I'm in a better mood at least," she said as she stood up and shook her hips a little, needing to get some of the stiffness out of her. "And I suppose I will go see if I can put Hotch out of his misery."

Penelope nodded and together they climbed the stairs and then went separate ways. Taking a deep breath, she went into Hotch's office without knocking and quietly took a seat in front of him, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence. "I know that you're there, Jen," he said a few moments later, not even glancing up from his work.

"I'm glad that you can tell who we are without even looking, Hotch. But I'm here to help you, actually. I know that you hate doing all this, and well, I do have some free time available. Let me do the budgeting paperwork, so that you can focus on signing off on some of our reports. That way we can make Erin, I mean, Strauss, a little happier."

Hotch looked up into her eyes, and she saw the faint look of shock that he quickly masked. "Are you sure to take on all that extra work?" he asked, his hand hovering over the paper.

"It's not really all that much work, you know. And I can get that done a lot more quickly than you can." JJ gave him a winning smile, waiting for him to break down and agree with her. Finally, he gave her a small nod, and her smile widened into a grin. "Thank you!"

He shook his head a little as he closed the folder and slid it over to her. "If you have any questions, you can take them to your new friend."

"Who? Strauss?" she asked, trying to play dumb.

The eyebrow arch that he gave her almost set her into a fit of giggles, and she pursed her lips together tightly as she watched him carefully. "Yes, I meant Strauss. She would have been the last person that I would have thought you would be friendly with, after she let you go off to the State Department."

All traces of mirth left her face as she soaked in his words. And there was a part of her that wanted to blurt the truth out to him, to let him know that she hadn't been in the State Department, that she and Erin had been overseas together, had seen things that she had never thought she would see, and that it had bound them together in a way that he would never understand. Instead, she just gave him a small shrug before picking up the folder and standing once more. "She's a little nicer than everyone gives her credit for. I'm never going to be best friends with the woman, of course, that's Penelope's role in my life, but I find that the older I get, the more apt I am to let bygones be bygones."

"That's probably the best attitude to have, Jen. I hope that some of that practicality rubs off on other members of our team." He gave her an understanding smile, which she returned before she walked out. Climbing down the stairs, she made her way back to her desk and took a seat, flipping open the folder and taking a look at what Hotch had left to do on their budget for the quarter.

Shaking her head a little, she knew that she would have to go and ask Erin for some help to finish everything. Taking a deep breath, she closed the file once more as she stood. Picking it up, she took a quick look around before scurrying out into the hall and over to Erin's office.

The assistant, Helen, was typing away at something, and JJ cleared her throat a little to get the other woman's attention. "Do you have an appointment with Chief Strauss?" she asked a bit defensively, and JJ wondered how long it had taken her to build up that armor.

"No, I just had a few questions on some paperwork, and knew that she would be able to help me out. Is she busy right now?" JJ hoped that she was giving the woman a sincere smile, since she really wasn't planning on harassing Erin. Finally, Helen gave her a short nod before pushing away from her desk and standing up.

"Please, have a seat, and I'll let you know shortly if she's free."

JJ nodded and ambled over to the chairs, picking out the middle one to settle into. The seconds seemed to take forever to pass by, and her foot began to tap anxiously, wondering if Erin didn't want to be seen with her for some reason.

Finally, though, Helen made her reappearance, giving her a more unguarded look. "Well?" JJ asked, starting to get to her feet.

"She's finishing up a phone call to the Director, but if you're quiet, you can head right in. And she wanted me to ask if you needed anything to drink?"

JJ shook her head, giving Helen a warm, open, smile. "I'm good, thanks." They nodded to each other before JJ slipped behind the door and approached Erin's desk. The older woman looked up and gave her a small smile, beckoning for her to sit.

"All right, I'll be certain to make them aware of that. Thank you again for letting me know. Good bye."

Erin hung up and looked at JJ expectantly. "I'm helping Hotch out with some of the paperwork, and I know that he has to get the budget done right away. I thought that I could answer everything, but it turns out that I need some help. Would you have a few free minutes?"

"Of course. But it would probably be easier to take care of this at the table." JJ nodded and together they made their way over. For some reason, JJ felt comfortable with Erin, and she couldn't wait to work with her once more, even if it was for just a short time.