Erin let out a tired sigh as she rubbed her shoulder absently. Her colleague next to her gave her a concerned look, but she shook her head as she gestured for Agent Anderson to call the next interviewee in. She knew that it would be Agent Prentiss, and she was dreading that, knowing that the woman would be completely hostile towards her. She tried to keep her focus and not let the passive aggression that was wafting off Agent Prentiss in thick waves affect her, but it was still difficult to get the answers that she wanted from the woman. A part of Erin knew that she was coming across more and more like the Ice Queen everyone said that she was, and that Agent Prentiss was definitely viewing her as trying to railroad her into the answers that Erin wanted.
Finally, they finished up their little tete-a-tete, and Erin gestured for her to leave. "We're going to get coffee while you interview Agent Rossi, Erin. Would you like us to get you anything?"
She looked up at Ron and nodded. "I would appreciate if you could bring back something with little to no caffeine, and a croissant with butter." He smiled and nodded before patting her good shoulder softly as he followed Angela out of the room. Moments later, David strode in, looking as pissed off at the whole circus as she felt. "Please, take a seat," she said a bit sarcastically when he plopped down in the chair across the table from her. After clearing her throat, she turned on the recorder, knowing that she would need something to prove that she had been impartial towards her fiancé.
David was doing his level best to ignore her, scrolling through something on his phone as she drummed her fingertips on the table. "David!" she finally snapped, and he glanced up at her before looking back down at his phone. "Please."
"Stocks are up, Erin. Now might be the time to invest in them for our children's futures."
Rolling her eyes a little, she slapped her palm against the recorder, turning it off before she leaned across the table and glared at him. "David Stephen Rossi, what the hell do you think you're playing at?" she hissed, feeling her heart start to thunder in her chest. Weaving in her chair a little, she took a few deep breaths as she tried to find her equilibrium once more.
David glanced up at her, a bland look on his face, and she had to fight the urge to get up and head over to his side to smack the smirk off his lips. "What is this, Erin? We both know it's a farce, at best."
"It is the only way that the Director and I can ensure that your team is kept together. This was all over the news, and you know that bad press is especially bad for us. The only reason that we're doing this is to make certain that Aaron and I stay with the BAU."
That truly caught his attention, and he slipped the phone back into his pocket as he looked at her in concern. "What are you talking about?"
"We were both offered retirement packages, because of what we went through. While you were in Nashville, I was tasked with offering that to Aaron, and over the course of the day, we both came to the conclusion that our places are here, with the Bureau, putting away the evil bastards who try to hurt others, like Foyet did. There should be no family that was destroyed like ours was when Haley was murdered, and so we're staying where we are. Now, if you'd care to continue with this interview, I want to start moving on."
Tears burned in her eyes, and David nodded as he slowly rose to his feet and came around to her side, gathering her up in his arms as she struggled to keep from crying. A part of her knew that if she lost her cool in that moment, the rest of the interviews would be that much more difficult to conduct, so Erin took a few deep breaths, drawing in the scent of his aftershave as she tried to get control of her emotions. "I didn't know, stellina. I'm sorry for acting like an ass."
"Haley was your friend, too, so it makes sense that you would feel the way you do. Please, make my job today a little easier, and be the friendly face that I so desperately need in this moment." He nodded before kissing the crown of her head gently and then taking his seat once more across from her. The rest of their interview ran smoothly, and she was just finishing up with him when Ron and Angela returned with her requested order.
The rest of the interviews passed by in a blur as she dutifully asked the questions that would get her the answers that she and the Director needed in order to ensure the survival of her team, and she drew in a sharp breath as she realized that it was finally time to talk with Aaron. He entered the room stoically, as if he knew that neither of them wanted to be there, and she nodded to his as she gestured for him to take a seat across from them, taking a deep breath as she set about asking him what happened that day, after she had been shot. He paused for a moment after describing how he had stumbled upon Haley's body, and she picked up the file that talked about Haley's death. "It looks like the first bullet severed her carotid artery, and from what the coroner writes, she, she didn't suffer."
Erin choked on those words, swallowing as she blinked rapidly, feeling like everything was spiraling out of control so quickly. Aaron met her eye steadily, giving her an almost imperceptible nod as she continued with the interview. "He would have killed Jack and Elise if I had not put him down. If I had given one inch, he would have found a way to kill me before hunting down our children."
Nodding, she turned off the recorder before looking at Ron and Angela. "I think that we're done here, and that we all know the outcome of this investigation. Thank you for your assistance," she said as she pushed away from the table and rose to her feet, shaking their hands in turn before watching them exit the room. Then she was alone with Aaron, and she let out a long breath of relief as she sat back down. Knowing that he wouldn't comment on her expressions, she allowed herself to finally cry, pressing her hand against her mouth as she closed her eyes. It had been such a long day, and now at the end of it, all she wanted to do was curl up with her babies and sleep the next few days away. To her surprise, she felt a warm hand come to rest on her shoulder, squeezing softly. Looking up, she saw Aaron next to her, and she bit her lip as her control failed completely, a harsh sob tearing from her throat as she looked away from him. Without saying a word, he pulled her into a tight embrace, and she could feel his chest shake a little with his own tears.
"I'm sorry, I know this is far from professional, Aaron."
"You nearly died because of me, I think that you're allowed to be a little unprofessional, Erin. I'll bring Dave home, since they're all in the conference room, looking after Jack while things wrapped up here."
"Good, we can all have supper together, since Jessica is watching the girls for us. She has been such a godsend."
"She has. All right. Head home, and we'll follow in about half an hour. I know that the team will want to decompress." She nodded, not saying a word when he kissed her temple gently, comforting her in their moment of shared sorrow. "And when you're ready, we'll talk." Again, she nodded and hugged him tighter for a moment, knowing that somehow they would get through this together.
