"I'm sorry, you're what?"

Erin hated how incredulous her voice sounded, but the words that had just left Ron's lips were so far from what she wanted to hear when it came to the Replicator case that she found she had a hard time comprehending what her boss was telling her. "I'm sorry, Erin, but I'm getting pressure from above my head to put this case on the inactive list. The Replicator hasn't done anything in more than a month, which means that those who watch our budgets are questioning every move that your team makes in regard to the Replicator."

"But what about the dolls?" she asked, feeling hysteria start to rise in her throat.

"I know, but you still haven't come up with concrete proof that those dolls are related to the case."

She shook her head a little, knowing that she was fighting a losing battle at this moment. "If he touches one hair on any of my children's heads, I will not be held responsible for my reaction, and I shudder to think about how Aaron and David will react. If you think I'm scary, you haven't seen them angry."

Ron nodded as he leaned forward, concern tinging his expression. "You have to know that I agree with you, that I don't want you to abandon this case, but you have to be cautious. It has to be done quietly, under the table. I know that your team is good at that. Right?"

Slowly, she nodded, still feeling like she was about to drown in her fear, before letting out a long breath. "And if we get caught?"

"A two week suspension for Alpha, and a month suspension for you."

"I understand completely." Erin got to her feet and nodded at her boss before stalking from his office, barely sparing a polite goodbye to his assistant before heading for the stairs and fleeing back down to her floor. Instead of heading directly for her office, like she wanted to do, Erin stepped into the bullpen and made her way up to Aaron's office, knowing that she had to let him know immediately of the Director's decision. Taking a deep breath, she knocked twice before entering the office, relieved to see that he was on the phone with someone, as that allowed her a few moments to catch her breath and gather her thoughts.

He wrapped up his conversation much more quickly than she anticipated, and then he was folding his hands on his desk as he leaned forward to gaze at her kindly. "I think that you have news for me."

Erin nodded as she took a deep breath. "We have officially been ordered to stand down on the Replicator case. Ron is getting heat from above, and he said that if we were found to be using Bureau resources to track down any more information, or to chase down a supposed lead on who and where the Replicator is, there will be consequences. Namely, two week suspensions for all of you, and a month for me."

"He can't hamstring us like that!"

"That was my exact reaction, Aaron, but there's nothing that he can do. The most leeway he gave me, before I left his office, was that we could continue searching and gathering information as long as it was done under the radar. Do you want to tell the team, or do you want me to do so?"

"I think that it would be better coming from you, Erin. We'll do it tonight, before everyone heads home for the evening." She gave him a sharp nod as they rose to their feet in tandem, but before she could exit the room, Aaron was coming to her side and pulling her close to his chest. It was almost a hug, as if he knew that she had to be the one to embrace him, otherwise she would break down. Nodding a little slower this time, Erin wrapped her arms around his waist and breathed in deeply, trying to center herself. "I won't let him touch you or your family."

"Despite the new dolls?"

"Yes. Now, let's go tell the others the change in plans."

She stepped back from him and then followed Aaron out of his office and down to the briefing room. It seemed as if all eyes from Alpha team were on them, as the rest of the team was soon in the briefing room as well. Erin drew in a deep breath as she tried to think about what she was about to say, and how the others would react. Looking around the briefing room, she could see all the hard work that they had been putting into the Replicator case, and her shoulders slumped a little as Penelope was the last to enter, closing the door before taking a seat next to Agent Morgan. "Is there a break in the Replicator case, ma'am?"

She glanced over at Doctor Reid and shook her head a few times before taking another breath. "No. I'm afraid that I have bad news when it comes to the case. Due to a lack of activity in the last month…" Penelope went to protest, and Erin cut her off with a sharp shake of her head, "Due to the lack of activity, the Director has had some pressure from above and we are officially shelving the case until there is more movement. If he even catches one whiff of us using official Bureau resources, it will result in immediate suspensions for the entire team. Including me."

"That's not fair!" Agent Jareau looked furious, but Erin noticed that it wasn't directed at her, rather, the board that held all their information. "We are so close to making a break in this case, and then we get sidelined? Because the Senate subcommittee thinks that we're wasting resources? That's bullshit!"

"I completely agree, Agent Jareau, but there is nothing that I can do to make it different. Though I am free to turn a blind eye to anything that you might do under the table. I just cannot know about what's happening. Am I clear?"

Before the others could answer, Erin gave a wobbly smile to Alex and then fled from the briefing room, making her way out to her office and then slamming the door behind her, locking it quickly before sliding down it and burying her face in her hands as she finally allowed herself to sob. It felt so good to release her emotions like that, after holding it in for so long, but she knew that it had to be a momentary release, since she had to regroup and find her footing once more.

"Will you let me in, Erin?"

She heard Alex's concerned voice and knew that she had to let her in, otherwise she wouldn't go away. Hurriedly getting to her feet, Erin unlocked the office door and opened it, allowing Alex to enter, David hovering in the outer office. Meeting his eye, she shook her head, and he nodded as he took a seat in one of the chairs before pulling out his phone. This allowed her to close the door once more before looking into Alex's eyes. "He's free to do whatever he likes now, you realise. There aren't any eyes on his movements, which is exactly what he wanted. I don't know what I'm going to do."

"We're going to keep up the pressure, just behind the scenes. We'll protect you and the children."

"But what about you, Lexie?"

"I'm tough, practically bulletproof. Which is why I'm going to do my best to keep you safe." Before Erin could say another word, Alex had swept her into the warmest hug she had received from the woman in ages, and it was so hard not to break down in tears once more as they continued to hug, and she buried her face into Alex's hair to breathe deeply in an attempt to calm her heart. She just hoped that they would be able to catch John before he got any closer, to any of them, especially after being stymied by the powers above their heads.