"She cried the entire way to the facility, Hotch. Didn't say a word to me, just cried and stared out the window."

He fought to keep from rolling his eyes, but Morgan still caught the gesture, giving him a troubled look. "I don't like when people try to manipulate situations."

"I don't think she was doing it to manipulate me, man. She just seemed so broken."

Aaron tried not to let those words seep into his mind, because he didn't want to feel any ounce of sympathy for Strauss. She had placed the case in Florida in extreme jeopardy, and if things hadn't gone the way that they had, they would have failed to close it. As it was, Colonel Massey was trying to get anyone who would listen to him to look into Strauss and why she had been so obstreperous while at the school. If not for the fact that he was facing so many charges against him, Aaron knew that his rants would be listened to a little more closely. And after all the ranting and railing that Strauss had done over the years about how his team was rogue and going to get them all fired, he found this particular failing of hers all the more hypocritical. After all, he would never endanger the team like she had. "Everyone needs to be broken in order to realise that they need help to change who they are. If she hadn't reached this point around us, who knows how long it would have taken for her to get help. Now, if there's nothing else, I do need to get back to work on finishing up this report so that we can start to move on from this whole fiasco."

Morgan frowned deeply at him before shaking his head a little. "I don't have anything else, no. Have a good night."

He watched the younger man stalk from his office and knew that he had deeply upset him, but he didn't really care. Strauss didn't deserve any of the sympathy that Morgan was showing her, especially after he had been so angry with her in the first place, enough so as to raise his concerns to Aaron in the first place, which was rare. Letting out a long breath, Aaron bent his head back over the file that he was finishing up for the Director, wanting to hurry through it so that he could get home to Jack. Just as Aaron was about to work on the conclusion, though, his phone began to ring, and he frowned at the device as he set his pen aside and then took a deep breath before picking up the receiver and bringing it to his ear. "Hotchner."

"Agent Hotchner?"

"Yes," he replied shortly, wondering who was calling and asking such clueless questions.

"This is Lauren Vandenberg with the Oasis Facility. You're listed as our emergency contact for one of our patients here, an Erin Strauss?"

He breathed in deeply in order not to respond harshly to the woman, though he felt like laughing bitterly at the fact that Strauss was already causing problems for the staff of this center. "Is there a problem? She's been there less than twenty fours hours," he shortly replied after a quick glance at his clock.

"There is a problem, but she's not the cause. Her ex-husband, Alan, was supposed to drop off a bag of clothes for her, since she'll be spending ninety days with us, and needs more than the outfit she was dropped off in. Another patient graciously allowed Erin to borrow a nightgown until she has her own clothes, but Erin is refusing to leave her room until she has something of her own to wear. Alan refused to answer our calls, so our next option was to contact you."

"And how am I supposed to rectify this situation? She's my boss, I was just the one who facilitated her entrance to your facility."

"I can tell by the sound of your voice that you're not that keen on Erin, but all she needs is some clothes. You don't have to like a person to be kind, after all."

Those words stung his pride, and he allowed his shoulders to sag as he drew in a quiet, long, breath. "I will see what I can do."

"Thank you, Agent Hotchner. Hopefully, we'll see you soon." Lauren hung the phone up before he could reply and he glared at the phone as he replaced the receiver.

Looking at the report, Aaron huffed out a breath before shoving away from his desk and getting to his feet. Without sparing a glance to the rest of his team, he stalked out of the bullpen and over to Erin's office, hoping that her assistant was still there. The quiet, familiar, mousy woman was seated behind her desk, tapping away at her computer, and Aaron cleared his throat to get her attention. "Oh! Agent Hotchner! Can I help you? Chief Strauss is on an extended leave of absence, so I'm afraid that you can't speak to her right now."

"I know that, Helen. I was the one who had her taken to her leave of absence. But there's a slight problem that come up, and I need your spare key to her home, along with directions there."

The woman gave him a quick glare before schooling her features into a more placid mask that reminded him so much of Erin. "Why would you need that information, sir?" she asked shortly as she folded her hands together and rested them on the desk. It was clear that Erin had chosen her assistant well, and he had to fight his inner urge to snap at the woman before he answered.

"The facility called with a few requests, and since I was the one who arranged this with IAB, I am the point of contact. I promise that I won't do anything nefarious."

Helen gave him a tight nod before picking up a pad of sticky notes and hurriedly scrawling an address on it before pulling it off and handing it over. "I trust that your phone has a mapping app to use. I'm not about to make this easy on you."

"When has anyone in this office made things easy for me?" he grumbled as Helen rummaged through her purse before pulling out a keychain and handing it over. "Are there any codes that I should know, so I don't get questioned by the police?"

"Erin's never felt the need to install a security system at her home, since she can more than adequately defend herself. Though I'll need that key back tomorrow, since I am going to look after her cats. Make certain that you do not let them out of the house. Do I make myself clear?"

"As crystal," he said as he slipped the keyring into his pocket and then turned on his heel and stalked from the office. Realising that he had left his phone and briefcase in his office, he quickly headed back there and grabbed those things before making his way down to his car. It didn't take much time to enter Erin's address into his GPS system, finding that it would be a relatively short drive to her home. Still, he wasn't looking forward to running this errand, and he hoped that he could get it done as quickly as possible, since he didn't want to think about his boss again until it was time for her to return to the office and be a perpetual thorn in his side.