Erin took a deep breath and tugged at the hem of her jacket before she lifted a hand and knocked firmly on Katie Cole's office door. The woman glanced up from her paperwork before returning to it, only to more quickly raise her head and give her a warm smile as she beckoned her inside. "Erin! I haven't seen you in so long! Are you coming back to consult for the FBI?"

She shook her head as she went over to the desk and took a seat in one of the chairs there. "I did my time, and I am glad to be away from this chaos. But I was wondering if you'd like to have lunch with Alex and me."

There was a pause before Katie pulled out her phone and tapped at the screen. "It looks like you've lucked out. I am free and clear for lunch. If you want to give me ten minutes to finish up with this file, we can head out then?"

"Perfect." While Erin waited, she texted Alex, letting her know that this second lunch meeting was a go. "Oh, and did you have a preference on where to go? I'm letting my partner know that this is a good time for you."

"It will have to be somewhere close by, since if there's a break on one of our long standing cases, I'll have to rush right back here."

"I completely understand, Katie." She told Alex to get a table for them at the closest café, knowing that it was about to get busy, as it was very nearly lunchtime. It was easy to mindlessly scroll through her social media as she waited for Katie to be finished with her work. A soft knock on the door caught her attention, and she turned her head to see Penelope in the doorway, a small smile on her lips. "I'll be right back, Katie."

"I'll join you in the hall when I'm done here, actually. That will give you a chance to catch up with Ms Garcia without feeling like you're interrupting me." Katie gave her a small wink, and Erin nodded as she got to her feet and led Penelope out into the hall.

"I am so glad that I heard you were here! I haven't gotten to see you or Alex in so long!" the woman exclaimed before throwing her arms around Erin and hugging her tightly. "What brings you by?"

Erin couldn't stop the easy smile that came to her lips as she brought Penelope over to a more secluded area where Katie could still see them easily. "Alex mentioned wanting to have lunch with Katie, and I came to see if she was available. Turns out, she is, and we're headed out shortly. I'd ask you along, but…"

"You didn't expect to see me. I get it! This just means that we'll have to catch up soon. Yes?"

"Yes," Erin agreed, looking up to see Katie coming over to them, looking ready to head out. "I'll have to call you later on tonight. Have a good day."

Penelope nodded as Katie reached their sides before she gave them a small wave and melted into the background. "I'm sorry, I just know how she likes to talk a person's head off, and I needed the quiet that you have to finish up files. There's so much noise in my department to begin with."

"I completely understand, Katie. She is a bit over the top, but a dear woman at the end of the day." Katie nodded. "Alex is holding a table for us, do you want to take the stairs or wait for the elevator?"

"The stairs would give us more time, at the end of the day." Erin nodded as they went over to the stairwell and jogged down them in tandem, chatting about how things were going in Katie's department. It was good to hear that the Bureau had beefed up her budget in the last few years, since she was truly overworked.

They continued their conversation into the café that Alex had chosen, and she smiled softly at her partner as she took a seat next to her. "I went ahead and ordered us all coffee, since I knew that time might be a little tight."

"Thanks, Alex." Katie picked up her menu and began to look it over, which allowed Erin to lean over and press her lips against Alex's cheek in relative privacy. "I saw that! And what's the real reason I've been summoned to lunch this afternoon?"

They exchanged a look, and then Erin met the woman's eye steadily as she took a deep breath. "Can't friends get together for lunch?" she asked, hoping that her face didn't betray the panic she was feeling inside.

"Not when it's been literal years between get togethers. Now spill. What do you want?"

Their server appeared, and they quickly placed their order before going back to stare at each other. Erin tried to scramble once more for what to say, only for Alex to sally forth. "You're right, it has been too long, Katie. And we truly are glad to be able to catch up with you. But there is also another reason for our lunch today. We have a proposal for you."

Katie cocked an eyebrow upwards as she picked up her coffee and sipped at it. "I'm intrigued. Go on."

"First, we have to know. Are you single? And if so, are you willing to go out on a blind date with someone?"

"You don't ask much, Alex," she replied with a little laugh. "I take it that the prospective date is someone well known to you?"

Erin nodded as their server placed their food in front of them. She picked up half of her sandwich in order to have something to hold on to as she spoke "We do know him, yes. And we both feel that you and he will get along quite nicely. He's entrusted us to find someone who will be his partner like we're partners. He thinks that Alex and I have a perfect relationship. I don't rightly agree, because no relationship is perfect, but we did decide to help him find a partner."

Katie relaxed in her seat as she dug into her lunch. "That is incredibly sweet of you two. What are you getting out of it?"

Alex chuckled as she shook her head. "Nothing. Just a good deed done for someone we both like. So, do you have any evenings free? We have a list that would work best for him, and we could see if any line up."

Katie nodded, her smile never leaving her lips. They all slipped their phones out of their pockets and tapped away on them before looking at each other once more. "All right, it looks like I have this Friday and Saturday evening free. Are either of those dates good for your friend?"

Erin gave Alex a little nod before tapping on Saturday. "Saturday is one of the days he is available. Would seven work for you? At Il Forno?"

"Ooh, that is fancy! At least I'll get a good meal out of this little blind date, if nothing else." Katie typed something into her phone before slipping it back in her pocket. "You can tell him I'll be there with bells on."

"Not bells, but red. He requested that you wear something red so that he can identify you. Maybe a beret?" Erin teased, and Katie laughed. "Too French?"

"Too twee. I have a cute red blouse that I can wear, and I'll pair it with a red headband. How will I know him?"

"He'll have a red carnation as a boutonniere," Alex replied, and Katie nodded as they began to eat once more, falling into a companionable discussion as the meal went on.

~~TS~~

Dave ran his fingers over the petals of the carnation pinned to his jacket, wondering who Erin and Alex had chosen for tonight's date. He had been surprised that they had found someone else so quickly, but that also told him that they were confident that they knew who he would like. That made sense, since Erin had impeccable taste. A quick glance at his watch told him that there were still a few minutes until it reached seven, and he took a deep breath as he prepared to see who would be waltzing into his life in moments.

A flash of red caught the corner of his eye, and he looked over to the door to see Katie Cole stride into the restaurant. A soft chuckle slipped from his lips as he rose to his feet and gave her a small wave. She smiled widely in return and came over to his table and took a seat. "Good evening, Katie."

"Good evening, Dave. I should have known that you were somehow involved in this," she said with a smile as she took a seat across from him. "But I know for certain that the evening will be enjoyable."

"That certain we'll get along?" he asked as he noticed their server coming over.

"Yes. I've heard nothing but good things about you, and I'm assuming that the same goes for you," she replied as she picked up her menu. "I hope you don't mind, but I'd prefer a nice red wine with our meal. I know Il Forno is known for their steaks, so…"

"I was going to suggest the same, actually. They stock a beautiful Shiraz here."

Katie nodded absently as she continued to look over the menu, and he placed an order for a bottle of their Shiraz. "The filet mignon sounds delicious, but it's so dear."

"I don't need to remind you that this is a blind date, so I'll be taking care of everything tonight. Order what you'd like, and don't worry about the expense." Katie nodded, and he smiled before setting aside his menu, knowing what he was going to order. Shortly after, she did the same, and once their server and returned with their wine, they placed their order. "So, how are things going in your department?"

"My budget keeps increasing, I have more agents helping me catch these jagoffs, but they're still winning. It's like a hydra, where every time we put one away, seven more pop up. And the proliferation of AI is making things all the more difficult for us. I wish that we could deal with these dregs of society more harshly, because that might deter them. But I took an oath, and I have to follow it."

He nodded as he picked up his glass and took a few sips of his wine. "I feel like that all the more in the BAU, too. You'd think, with the technology we keep depending on more and more, these unsubs would start being easier to catch. But they seem to adapt faster than we can. I'm at the point where I'm seriously thinking of retiring, but then I think I'd feel guilty for not using every last breath in my body to bring as many of them as I can to justice."

"That's honestly how I feel," Katie said quietly as she swirled her wine around in her glass. "Erin and her Alex are lucky. They managed to escape the FBI and make lives for themselves outside the horrors we face every day."

"But they didn't escape unscathed. Erin will bear that horrid scar on her wrist until the day she dies. And Alex had to deal with that fallout, plus Reid nearly getting killed by the bullet meant for her. So I don't think that the FBI ever left them."

Katie nodded. "And I've heard that Erin steps in to teach classes at the Academy when necessary. There may have been a few probies who have come to my department that have her eyebrow cock down to a T."

"She also gives lessons on the shooting range. I know that I wouldn't want to face her down!"

A soft laugh slipped from Katie's mouth as she gave him another nod. "I've heard tales of her prowess, yes. Maybe I can convince her to give me a few pointers one of these days."

They talked shop until their food arrived, and as they ate, Katie continued to talk about things that made up their work. Dave found it easy to listen to her, and to answer when she gave him the opportunity, but despite how lovely she was, he never felt like he was getting to know who she was outside her work life. That disappointed him, as he had been looking forward to getting to know her better. And by the time they were finishing up dessert, he knew that while they could be great friends, there would never be any romance between them. He had a better chance of marrying Karen Hayes than getting emotionally close to Katie Cole. And that would have to be all right.

"This was a pleasant way to spend our evening, Katie."

"It was. But there aren't going to be any more dates, are there?"

"Maybe friends meeting up for dinner? When you're free? And we can get Alex and Erin to join us every so often. We need to get out of our own heads sometimes, Katie."

She let out a deep sigh as she nodded. "You're right, and tonight proved that quite well. This really was a good night, and I need more of those in my life. Are you certain that I can't pay for my part of the meal?"

Dave shook his head as he took the bill from their server's hand and looked it over before pulling out his wallet and placing his charge card in the folder before handing it back. "This is on me, even if it doesn't lead to anything more than friendship. Have a good evening, Katie."

"You, too, Dave." She rose to her feet and went to his side, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. "Let me know when you want to do this again."

He nodded as he watched her leave, a smirk on his lips. This had been a pleasant evening, all things considered, and he really did hope that they would be getting together in the future. After settling the tab, he rose to his feet and went out to his car. Once behind the wheel, he called Erin once more, knowing that he needed to let her know how the night had gone and that they needed to find another person for him to try and find compatibility with.

Erin picked up on the second ring, and he started the car as she spoke. "Well? Did w do better this time?"

Dave chuckled as he pulled out into traffic. "Yes and no. I may have promised Katie that we would go on group outings, as friends, but there was no romantic spark there. So I guess that you're on the hunt for option number three. Third time's a charm after all, right?"

"Right. But tell me more about your date. Did you talk about anything other than work?"

He laughed out loud as he shook his head. "How well you know us both. That was part of the problem, actually. I need someone who understands this job, but can also talk about other things. Do you still think you're up for this?" he teased, listening to her huff of indignation.

"Yes. And I know exactly who I'll ask next. Just you wait and see who I choose."

"I cannot wait to see who I get to meet next," he said before diving into a conversation with Erin, knowing that Alex was listening in as well, from the muffled sounds he heard in the background as they nattered on. The only thing he wondered was just who his former lover had in mind so quickly for him to go out with next.