Erin had been pleased to sign off on the two week annual leave for Alpha team, since that meant she wouldn't have to worry about seeing Aaron in the halls. Ever since their little run in during the Max Ryan case, she hadn't seemed to find a way to scale back the tension between them. She knew that the tension wasn't good for her system, that it would affect her milk supply, but no matter how much she tried to hold out a tiny olive branch of peace, Aaron rebuffed it every time. And everything would have gone fine, had some maniac not decided that it would be a good idea to taunt and goad the team into action.

It had been bad enough that she had had to send Aaron to Jamaica in order to ease tensions there and prove that Agent Greenaway hadn't murdered a man while on leave, but then things had just seemed to devolve further and further as Doctor Reid's mother had been flown in from Las Vegas for her input, and it all was spiraling out of control far too much for her liking. Shaking her head a little, Erin got to her feet, needing to use the bathroom before she pumped the excess milk from her aching breasts.

As she took care of her needs, Erin thought about how quickly Elise was growing, that she had been theirs for seven months already, and was blessing them more and more every day. Blinking back sudden tears, Erin took a deep breath before flushing and then washing her hands at the sink. "You're getting soft, Erin Strauss," she said to her reflection before drying her hands and heading back into the hallway.

Just as she was about to turn into her office, she saw a stroller emerge from the elevator, and Erin frowned a little as she made her way over, wanting to see what new part of the three way circus had joined this case. Haley gave her a small smile as she stepped out, and Erin nodded as she came over to her side. "I hate that I have to bring Jack into this place, but Jessica was busy, so I couldn't leave him with her."

Erin nodded as she looked down into the stroller at Jack's sleeping face. "I understand. I have David bring Elise to the café nearby when I forget to pump, since I don't want her exposed to the atmosphere. I didn't expect myself to be so…superstitious, I suppose, with her infancy, but since she came early, I've been overprotective."

"I completely understand. There are times when I just want to wrap Jack up in a bubble and never let him leave. How, how is Elise's health?"

It seemed as if Haley was asking a question that couldn't be asked, and Erin smiled a little. "She's growing like a weed and already has three teeth, though thankfully only one molar. Is there something that I should know about?"

Haley went to say something more when Aaron came over to their sides, a glower on his face. Erin stiffened as her face became a blank mask, not wanting to give anything away to him. "You said that you had a weird encounter with a delivery man?" he asked, leading her away from Erin's side. She tried not to frown when he looked back at her, narrowing his eyes a little at her. Letting out a long breath, she shook her head and turned to head back to her office. It had been nice to connect with the woman once more, since it seemed like they would always be at sixes and sevens with each other, but that outreach, coupled with the christening gown, had indicated that perhaps she was trying to amend for her previous deeds.

Keeping her chin high, she entered her office, noticing that Helen gave her a quizzical look, which she tried to quell with a small shake of her head. She knew it hadn't worked when not thirty seconds later, her assistant was following her into her inner sanctum, closing the door behind her. "What happened? I know that this case Agent Hotchner's team is currently working isn't going quite as smoothly as we'd like, but you seem to be a little more perturbed than upset."

"I had a bit of a run in with Haley and Aaron. And it seemed like I was finally going to start making in roads with the woman, as she was actually open to me for the first time since Elise's birth. And before you ask, I do not know why her opinion matters to me, but I have this gut feeling that I need to make the effort to be kind to her, at the very least. And I've learned over the years not to discount those feelings, since it's been my downfall every time."

"I don't judge you for wanting to be nice to her, actually. You're going to need an open, neutral, relationship with her in case any health complications happen with Elise. I know that you probably already know that, but it's a good thing to keep in mind."

Erin nodded as she sank down into her chair, rubbing her hand over her face as she thought about what she was going to do. Haley had mentioned something about Jack's health, but hadn't been able to finish her thought before Aaron shut down any line of communication between them, and she didn't want to intrude by calling the woman at home, just in case Aaron answered. That would be awkward, indeed. "You are entirely right, Helen. I just need to first find a way to defuse the tension between myself and Aaron. Along with trying to keep things calm with Director Shepperd. I've heard the rumors that he's thinking about breaking up Alpha team, and this latest case does nothing to ease my misgivings about what's going to happen."

Helen nodded, looking like she was going to say something when a frantic knocking interrupted their conversation. "I'll go see who it is."

Erin nodded as she watched her assistant go over to the door, cracking up open to peer outside. "I need to talk to Chief Strauss, please, Helen."

Penelope's voice was sadder than she had ever heard it before, and Erin frowned as she gave a small nod to Helen, watching as she opened the door fully to the woman before heading to the outer office. "What's wrong?" she asked as she indicated for Penelope to take a seat in front of her desk.

"Everything? I don't know if I'm cut out for this job, Chief Strauss. Gideon thinks I'm stupid, I fucked up by allowing this unsub to gain access to our personal information, and everything just seems to be falling apart and I can't do a thing right. Hotch and Derek are talking to Haley right now, and they don't need me. Jayje is doing her job beautifully, and Reid just seems to be in his element. And then there's me. I don't fit in, and I don't think that I ever will."

Erin frowned as she leaned forward, trying to catch Penelope's eye. When she wouldn't look up at her, Erin smacked her hand against her desk, watching Penelope jump a little without glancing up. "Look at me, Penelope." Finally, she looked up, and Erin tried to temper her look into something resembling encouragement. "You might not fit the typical look of an FBI analyst, true. But in the year that you've been here, you have made your own place, and you fit the role that you needed to fill. Never let me hear you disparage yourself like this again. This case is a cluster, and no one has clean hands. What I need you to do is regroup, refocus, and be the brilliant technical analyst that I know you are. Do I make myself clear?"

While her words were a little too harsh to be considered a pep talk, from the tremulous smile that spread across Penelope's face, she knew that she had managed to lift the woman's spirits. "All right. Thank you. Maybe that's all I needed to hear about this. And I mean, it can't get worse, can it?" Erin shook her head, unable to immediately come up with a situation that would be worse than what was currently going on. "I'm back at it, then. And hopefully, we'll solve this case sooner rather than later." Penelope got to her feet and left her office with a peppier step than she had entered with, and Erin let out a long breath, glad to have at least put out one fire today.