David hadn't been home more than twenty minutes in the last week, even though they weren't officially working the case to find out who had shot Penelope. Internal Affairs had made certain that they couldn't be involved, and even her hands had been tied, since Director Shepperd hadn't wanted any hint of whitewashing to taint the investigation, and she understood that on a base level, but she was still infuriated that a little jackass like Agent Fuchs was spearheading the case and trying to railroad Penelope into something that she hadn't done. Certainly, some of her actions looked bad from the outside, but David had explained to her why she had done what she had, and Erin understood that way of thinking. The Fisher King case had been awful for everyone, so it made sense that the woman would try to keep her family safe.
And now, since everyone's hands had been tied, she had to deal with the fallout of Agent Jareau shooting someone in the bullpen. Yes, it was an unsub, but suddenly, the issue didn't fall beneath the purview of IA any longer. Thankfully, her children were home so that she could head into work without dragging Elise out of her warm bed, and Karen was under strict orders to call her if anything happened before she arrived home. The drive in to the office felt longer than normal, and she assumed that was because it was so late and she was so tired.
The body was already under a blanket by the time she stepped out of the elevator, and she curled her lip up in distaste as she skirted around him to get to her fiancé, giving him her best glower as she finally reached his side. "Can you all just not be happy with allowing me one night's uninterrupted sleep this week?" she asked as she poked his chest with her finger.
David chuckled as he shook his head. "Where would the fun in that be, stellina? I need to keep you on your toes so that you're more agreeable when I ask for some of my more outlandish requests." He slung his arm lowly around her waist and tugged her close as she nodded, her eyes searching the room for Penelope. "She's in the bathroom, with Emily, trying to clean her face up a little bit. Fuchs is having JJ talk to the police and the Director about what happened. Obviously, she's going to be cleared, and Penelope will be reinstated, but…"
"It's been a long night." He nodded and she let out a deep sigh as her head came to rest on his chest. "Karen said that she'd call if anything happened with Elise. I don't know if I should head to my office or stay here."
"Stay here, Erin. Let your team see that you're here to support them." She rubbed her cheek against the fabric of his shirt, hoping that he would take that as her acquiescence. She was going to say something when she noticed Penelope enter the bullpen, carefully avoiding looking at the body of the man who had tried to kill her three different times over the course of a week. As Erin watched, the younger woman winced in pain, and she felt herself frown in sympathy. David cleared his throat, catching Penelope's attention, and she gave Erin a tired smile as she waggled her fingers in their direction before heading over.
"I am so sorry that you had to come here tonight, ma'am," she murmured quietly as she came to their side, and she shook her head as she smiled gently. "I'm an idiot, Gideon was right about me." Agent Morgan opened his mouth to refute her statement, but Erin held up a finger as she narrowed her eyes a little.
"I say this as your supervisor, Penelope. You are far from an idiot, and Jason Gideon can go hang for ever putting that idea in your head during the Fisher King case. Yes, you made a mistake, but we've all made mistakes, and if I were to wear the label of every single mistake I've ever made, it might take a year to get through them all." Stepping forward, she reached out and rested her hand on Penelope's shoulder, her look softening further. "And I say this as a mother. It does not matter what you might have done to attract that psychopath's attention. You did not deserve to be stalked and shot for that, to almost lose your life for keeping tabs on crimes that hadn't been solved."
Before she could say anything more, Penelope burst into tears and flung her arms around Erin, holding on tightly as she sobbed. Erin drew in a deep breath as she closed her arms around Penelope's back, rubbing one in soft, soothing, circles as she would comfort any of her children when they were sad. "Do you need me to?"
Erin looked at David and shook her head. "The storm will pass soon enough, and she needs a soft shoulder at the moment. When she's calmer, I'll hand her over to Agent Morgan." She looked at the man, raising her eyebrow as she dared him to defy her. Instead, he just nodded and she relaxed a little as she began to hum quietly in an effort to soothe Penelope a little further. Finally, the younger woman seemed to have passed the worst of her outburst and she relaxed her hold on Erin. "Are you feeling better now?"
"Yes, thank you," she murmured before nuzzling her cheek against Erin's shoulder. "I'm sorry for this."
"Don't be, it makes sense that you would react like this. Now, I think that your friends would like to take a moment to comfort you, and I need to talk with Director Shepperd and Agent Fuchs. And before you even say it, I will tell the Director that I expect to see you back at work as soon as you're cleared by your doctor. From the way you were wincing earlier, I have the feeling that you have been ignoring some of the things that you were told?" Penelope nodded, a sheepish smile on her lips. "You won't get better if you don't listen. Okay?" Again, the younger woman nodded before stepping over to Agent Morgan and letting him hold her close as he led her over to where Emily was sitting.
"You're going to lose your reputation as being an Ice Queen, stellina, if you keep that up."
She shrugged as she smiled tiredly. "I can always blame it on fatigue, darling. Now, would you like to accompany me over to the Director, or are you going to debrief with Aaron?"
"I should probably touch base with him, yes. I'll find you in your office when we're done with our separate missions?" She nodded and reached out for his hand, squeezing it tightly before they went in separate directions.
Agent Fuchs was rubbing his eyes tiredly as she approached them, and she rolled her eyes a little as she looked at Director Shepperd. "This was why I wanted to keep it in house, Director. If the BAU had handled this from the very beginning, then this outcome might have been avoided."
"I know, I know, but hindsight is always clearer than where we are in the moment. As I was telling Agent Fuchs, I will be reinstating Ms. Garcia to her full position, including back pay for this week that she missed. I don't know when she'll be cleared for work once more, but she will not have to worry about her job."
"That is exactly what I wished to discuss with you, sir, so I'm glad that you said it before I had to ask the question." She smiled at him before turning a withering gaze onto Agent Fuchs. "And I'll thank you to speak glowingly about Alpha team. They have done an admirable job here, given all that they were up against." He nodded, blanching a little at the vehemence in her voice. "Now, if you need me, I'm going to be in my office, waiting for my fiancé to finish talking to Agent Hotchner." Drawing herself up to her full height, Erin gave one last glare to Fuchs before sailing out of the bullpen and over to her office, determined to get a short nap in before she and David headed home for the evening.
