"You could have gone with them to the Super Bowl party at the bar, David," Erin said as her partner set a bowl of chips down on the coffee table in front of them. He shrugged a little, taking a seat next to her on the sofa as the rest of their guests filled the room. Helen and her wife gave them a small wave as they claimed the settee near the window, while her children and their friends filled the floor in front of the television. It was so good to hear the din of activity, even if neither Jason nor Aaron had shown up. She hadn't expected them to, given how tense things still were between them and her, but it still would have been nice if they had at least given him an answer one way or the other.
Letting out a soft sigh, she curled her feet up beneath her as she rested her head on David's chest, trying to focus on what was happening on the television. She hated to admit it, but she was clueless when it came to football, having grown up watching baseball and equestrian events. Still, she knew that Bruce and David could use the time to bond, and she would muddle through and try not to make too large a fool of herself. "I could have, yes, but I'd rather spend the time here with you and our family and friends. There will be time to bond with them later."
She nodded and smiled a little when she felt him kiss the crown of her head. Erin yawned a little as she cuddled in closer to him, knowing that she had been pushing herself a little too hard by trying to come back to work full time so soon after Elise's surgery. "Try not to let me fall asleep before the game actually begins?"
"You need the sleep, stellina, but I'll try to keep you awake for a little while."
"Thank you," she murmured as she reached out to pick up her glass of soda, taking a long sip as the first commercials of the game started. This, at least, was something she was familiar with, and she laughed at one of the more outrageous ones before grabbing the bowl of popcorn and settling it in her lap. "Also, don't feel like you have to explain the game to me. Alan tried, but it never stuck."
David chuckled as he nodded, reaching into the bowl and grabbing a handful of popcorn to eat as they fell quiet and listened to the conversations around them as they watched what was happening on screen. It was so good to just be with these people, and not worry about what was happening at work. Even the Director had seemed pleased with how well she had worked from home while Elise was recovering, and there was less pressure to make certain that Alpha stayed on the straight and narrow. Which meant that she was under less pressure to be perfect, and she could breathe. And having David help her with some of the paperwork had been an added boon, since they were both focused on Elise's recovery.
Somehow, she managed to stay awake for the entire game, and as the postgame recap began, everyone started to get up and help clean away the detritus of the snacks. Erin was about to get up and check on Elise when her work phone rang, and she frowned deeply as she reached down onto the coffee table and picked it up, seeing that the Director was on the line. "Yes, Sir?" she asked as she moved into a quiet bit of hallway.
"I am so sorry to call so late, but I need you to contact Agent Jareau and have her gather Alpha team. There is a rather bad case in Atlanta that needs our immediate attention. I'm forwarding the pertinent details to your email, and you can do the same for her."
She nodded. "I will get right on that, Sir."
"Thank you."
He hung up before she could say another word, and Erin rolled her eyes a little as she scrolled through her contacts to find Agent Jareau's name, touching it before bringing the phone back to her ear. "Hello?" the young woman asked, and she took a deep breath.
"Agent Jareau, I hate to interrupt…"
"One second, I need to get somewhere quieter."
She nodded and listened to the noise in the background suddenly get quieter as she waited for a good time to talk once more. Finally, it appeared as if the woman was outside, and Erin drew in a deep breath. "I just got word from the Director that there is a particularly nasty case in Georgia requiring our immediate attention. I know that you're all together at McGinty's, so you'll only need to tell the team one time that they need to get to the bullpen and go over the data that I'll forward to your email as soon as I've finished this call. And I know that it's late, I know that you're all probably three sheets to the wind, but you're the only team available to head out there."
"I understand, Ma'am. I'll get everyone together."
"Thank you." This time, she was the one to end the call without another word, and she called up her emails to find the one that the Director had sent to her, seeing that there was a rather large file attached to it. Letting out a deep breath, she forwarded the information to Agent Jareau before peeking her head back into the living room. "David? Can you take care of Elise if she wakes up? I need to settle into the study for a little bit and look over the details of this case."
"Was that the Director, then?"
She nodded, frowning a little as she looked around at their guests. "I hate to be a bad host."
"These assholes never stop for something as mundane as a Super Bowl party. Go, I have everything covered here."
Erin drew in a deep breath before she turned and made her way down the hall to the study, taking a seat at his computer and booting it up before logging into her email and calling up the information that Director Shepperd had sent over. She gasped a little to see the preliminary data, knowing that it was indeed as brutal as the Director had implied. Shaking her head, she read through everything that had been included, trying not to shudder too much at the crime scene photos that had been included as well. All thoughts of sleep fled her system as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing, only to find her brain just not wanting to comprehend the images.
"I put Helen and her wife in our guest room, since neither of them are fit to drive home tonight. Are you heading to bed soon?"
"I need to shower, and then I'll be there. But I don't think that I'll sleep much tonight. This case is going to be one of those difficult ones."
He joined her in the study, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as he rested his chin on top of her head. "Are those the crime scene photos?"
"Yes."
David scrolled through them, a low whistle slipping from his lips as he looked at the carnage. "I do not envy Hotch having to deal with this. And there's a religious angle, too, which will just set Jason off. Come on, there's nothing more that you can do tonight. Let's shower together, no hanky panky, and then crawl into bed. Elise is still fast asleep."
"That sounds heavenly," she murmured as she pushed away from the computer and allowed him to help her to her feet. "As long as you promise to wash my hair." He nodded before kissing her softly, and Erin sighed as they went upstairs to their bedroom, feeling a creeping chill spread through her body as she thought about the case ahead of Alpha team.
