Alex wanted nothing more than to go home and collapse in her bed after this last case, since she was so emotionally drained after things. And it hadn't helped that Erin hadn't called at all during the case, which caused a part of her mind to wonder if Rossi had finally convinced her to stop talking to Alex, to leave these burgeoning feelings between them in the dust so that she could be comfortable with him. Hotch seemed to pick up on her black mood, as he kept giving her sympathetic looks that were pushing her closer and closer to the edge of tears as the flight home dragged on.

That lasted until he received a text message on his phone, and Alex watched as he suddenly became all business once more, glancing over at Rossi and giving him a tight nod. She knew that that was never a good sign, and she wondered if there was something going down for the team, or if there was going to be another come to Jesus meeting with her. Nothing more was said for the rest of the flight, and she tried to ignore the way her stomach started to roil as they finally landed in Quantico. Alex purposefully avoided the car that Aaron was driving back to the office, instead choosing to ride with Morgan and Spencer, even though she knew that that was taking her life into her own hands.

Somehow, they made it back to the building in one piece, and she slunk over to her desk, hoping that she could avoid whatever was coming next, no matter what it was. "All right, I know that everyone wants to head home, but we need to regroup in the conference room."

Aaron sounded so serious in that moment, which told Alex that there was nothing good to come. That feeling only intensified when Erin brushed by them to head up to the conference room, a tight, closed off, look on her face. Still, she was reluctant to follow Spencer upstairs, since she felt like she didn't want to hear whatever would be said. Erin gave her a brief glance before quickly touching her ear with her finger, which told Alex that they might be talking sooner rather than later.

"All right, this shouldn't take too long, but it is something that we need to address here and now. Since September, there has been a series of disturbing copycat cases that are replicating cases we've closed since then. The first time it happened, I was ready to write it off as a disturbing groupie, looking for attention, but there have been a few more replicated cases that have cropped up, and I think that it's time we acknowledge that we appear to have acquired a rather serious stalker who knows far too much about our cases, since in at least one of these cases there was no media coverage. Erin has graciously allowed me to work behind the scenes to try and figure out what, exactly is going on."

"And I would prefer that it remain Agent Hotchner being the one to do the searching. The rest of you have different jobs to do, and this is not an officially sanctioned case. I can protect him easier than I can your entire team, since one person doing a rogue search could just be doing background work for another case. I know that you'll all want to jump on the bandwagon, like you normally do, but this time I cannot turn a blind eye to matters, like I have in the past. I'm sorry."

Erin's gaze paused on everyone in turn, though Alex knew that their shared glance was the briefest, which was almost as telling as if they had held each other's eyes for a beat too long. Thankfully, though, only JJ seemed to notice that brevity, as she gave Alex a quick look of commiseration as Aaron wrapped up the rest of the conversation. Erin scurried out first, Rossi hot on her heels, and Alex let out a long breath as she slowly pushed away from the table and followed the others back into the bullpen. JJ lingered around her desk, and she nodded a little as she slung her back over her shoulder and followed the younger woman out towards the elevators.

"I take it that you want to talk?" she asked lowly as they waited for the elevator to arrive.

"A little, yes. You two are really obvious, if you know what to look for. And maybe it's only because I know that Strauss is your midnight caller that I can read these microreactions between the two of you, but I have the feeling that if things continue down their current path, those microreactions are going to start being broadcast more clearly. I know that you want to keep things quiet until you both make your decision on which road you'll continue down, so perhaps tone it down a little?"

Alex chuckled nervously as she nodded. "I keep trying to play it cool, but this is all so new to me."

"And you're upset because you didn't get a call from her on this case." Alex nodded. "You do realise, since you know who's calling you, that you could call her once in a while, if you feel like she's forgotten you."

She felt her eyes narrow as she turned her head to look at JJ. "How is it that you have the best advice here, when I am your elder?"

"Because your head is in the clouds when it comes to her, so it takes an outside perspective to get you to see the light. If I was closer to her, I'd be offering the same advice. Now go home, and perhaps call her tonight, so that you can get this teenage angst out of your system?"

Alex chuckled as she relaxed, stepping inside the elevator, allowing JJ to press the button for the ground floor. The short ride down was quietly punctuated by JJ talking to Will, letting him know that she was finally on her way home, and Alex felt a pang of regret that she couldn't share that same experience with someone in her life. She gave JJ a small wave as she made her way over to her car, getting behind the wheel and hurriedly driving home.

The house was too quiet, but she didn't bother to turn any music on until she was in the bathroom, stripping down and taking care of her used clothing before stepping into the shower and quickly washing her body, humming along with the song on the radio as she did so. Stepping out of the shower, Alex wrapped a towel around her hair before drying off her body and pulling on nightclothes. Then she was heading over to her bed, the towel still around her hair as she settled back against the headboard and picked up the book she was reading, knowing that she had to try and relax a little before even attempting to sleep.

Still, she had barely read three words before her phone began to ring, and she frowned as she closed the book before picking it up, seeing that it was only eleven, and yet Erin was still calling her. "Erin," she breathed out as she answered, listening to the relieved breath on the other end of the line. "I take it that Rossi didn't go home with you tonight?"

"No, he and Aaron decided to work late into the night on this case, because my partner has never been able to listen to me. No matter who it is."

"I listened to you."

There was a small pause, and then Alex's phone began to alert her to the fact that Erin wanted to Facetime. It was an easy decision to make, and she accepted the request, giving the woman a wry smile as she touched the towel on her head. "You always look beautiful fresh out of the bath. I look like a drowned Pomeranian."

"You're deflecting." Erin shrugged. "I'm calling you out on it, and the fact that I listened to you."

Erin licked her lips a little as she finally nodded. "I guess I never thought of you as just my partner. You always occupied a place in my heart that was different from Alan and David. You're akin to my soulmate, and I don't want to ruin that by now lumping you in with them."

A sad look crossed her features, and Alex suddenly wished that they were together so that she could squeeze Erin's hand encouragingly. "That's sweet."

"That's the depth of my emotions for you. It was hard not to hold your eye this evening in the conference room."

"JJ noticed, and admonished me that we need to play things a little more carefully, since we're not that hard to read, if one knows the language. Not to change subjects quickly, but are you as unsettled by this news as I am?"

Erin nodded, and Alex let out a soft gasp when the phone dropped a little, revealing that Erin was dressed in a slinky nightgown that did little to take Alex's mind out of the gutter. "Sorry, I had to get a little more comfortable. But yes, I am deeply disturbed by this turn of events. Because my mind is heading down a rabbit hole that I can't call it back from."

"And that would be?" she asked as she reached up and pulled the towel off her head, allowing her hair to fall heavily around her shoulders, not failing to miss the way that Erin licked her lips, remembering that the woman had always had a thing for her hair.

"That these replicated cases only began once you rejoined the BAU. I am trying not to make that correlation, but it is hard not to. Especially since the cases that have been replicated are the most creepy ones that you have worked on, starting with the Silencer."

"I didn't think about that," Alex murmured, shivering a little as she scooted down in the bed a little, trying to make herself a little more comfortable. "What do you think that might mean for me?"

"I don't know, Lexie. All I do know is that I am unsettled, and I don't like feeling this way. I wanted to say something to you about this before now, but there weren't enough replicated cases to create a pattern until now. And I wish that I could be with you now, because I rather need a warm body to curl around mine as I struggle not to worry or give in to these cravings. David might show up later tonight, but it won't be the same."

"I know. I would love for you to be here, too. But there are things that we can't have right now."

"I know. What am I going to tell David?"

Alex cocked her head to one side as she rubbed her lips back and forth, trying to come up with a proper answer for Erin. "Can you believe that words are failing me now? I, the linguist, who should be able to wield words with laser precision, am floundering here, because I just don't know. We want something that will devastate the two people who are closest to us, but there is still this yearning that I cannot turn off. I want to be there with you, pressing my forehead against yours as we talk ourselves to sleep, but you and Rossi don't deserve that behaviour, and neither does James. There are feelings fluttering in my heart that I dare not give a name to, because I don't want to shatter us, all of us."

She knew that she had started to cry, because Erin was always a sympathetic crier, and there were fresh tears starting to roll down her cheeks. "That's probably the best way to describe what's currently between us – yearning. Oh, Lexie, how I yearn."

Alex nodded a little before brushing away the tears on her cheeks with her free hand. "I just wish that there wasn't this damned Replicator in the mix. I think that everything would be that much easier if we able to just explore what was between us without the horror of someone targeting our team hanging over our heads." Erin gave her a small nod in return. "And JJ offered me some good advice on the way to our cars this evening."

"And that was?"

"That I should call you sometimes, since we both know who we're talking to now. She was bothered by the fact that I got upset with the fact that you didn't call on this last case."

Erin gave a watery chuckle as she shrugged. "Time always got away from me, I'm sorry. And I was dealing with the Director so often with regard to this case, and I just didn't want to burden you with all that drama?"

"I understand that, yes, but if we choose one pathway, we're going to have to share everything, no matter how dramatic or petty it might be. I've learned so much about relationships since James and I went long distance for long stretches of the year, that I know things a little better. I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Lexie. It's just something that we'll have to work on." Erin yawned, causing a sympathetic reaction in Alex. "We need to go to sleep now. I promise, we'll talk soon?"

"I will hold you to that. Sleep well, dear."

"You as well, darling." Erin touched her lips before ending the call, and Alex let out a little sigh as she briefly hugged the device to her chest before setting it on her bedside table and sliding down the mattress before turning off her lamp and finally allowing sleep to claim her, her thoughts still on Erin as she drifted off.