Alex's phone rumbled on the table in front of her, and she frowned as she reached for it. They were still trying to work out who was working on taking out various former students and faculty. Looking at the display, she was shocked to see James calling, and she met Hotch's eye before gesturing towards the device with her head. He gave her a small nod, and she stood up and answered as she left the briefing room.

"Jamie? Why are you calling so early in the evening?"

There was a pause before he responded, and she continued making her way outside, wanting to have some privacy for this unexpected call. "I have some news that might make you happy. Maybe. It all depends on where your heart lies now."

She felt her heart clench, almost knowing what he was going to tell her without him saying it aloud. "And that would be?"

"My assignment with MSF is coming to an end in a few weeks, and I'll be heading home for some rest and relaxation before I have a few hard decisions to make. I want to be home to talk them over with you, though, since these decisions depend upon your answers."

Alex swallowed thickly as she nodded, trying to absorb his words. There was something about the tone of his voice that told her she was not going to be able to avoid anything that she and Erin had been up to in the past few months. "I am looking forward to seeing you again, honey. Now, I hate to cut this call short, but I really need to get back inside and work on building this profile. The case is rather gruesome, and I want to end it before things get even more out of control."

"Of course. I'll see you soon, Lexie Lou. Love you."

"Love you, too," she whispered before hanging up and going back to the team. Hotch gave her another look and she shrugged, trying to paste on a careless smile that he seemed to see right through. "That was James. He's coming home from assignment in a few weeks and wanted to let me know."

"It will be good to have him home," Reid said, and she nodded absently as she bent over her work once more, hoping that the focus would allow her to push thoughts of home and the quagmire that she was about to step into out of mind.

The rest of the evening seemed to bring them no closer to finding the unsub, and they all went back to the hotel feeling frustrated. Hotch tried to get her to join them for supper, but she had told him that she had a headache and needed to rest. His look told her that he knew she was avoiding them, and Alex nodded before she'd turned to the elevators and rode up alone.

The first thing she did, once in her room, was throw herself down on her bed and cry. Alex knew that she should be overjoyed that James was safe, that he was coming home to her, but she also knew that that meant the hard decisions were about to come. When he was gone, when he was just a voice on the other end of the phone, Alex could pretend that she was right in being with Erin while still holding her husband's heart in her hand. Once he was home, that couldn't be. She would have to tell him that she had moved on, and that she wanted to move forward with Erin.

Through her sobs, she heard the door to the room open and close before a slight weight caused the edge of her bed to dip a little. Soft hands rubbed her back as she fought to regain control of her emotions, and then she was turning on her side to look at JJ. "Do you want to talk about it? I brought food up with me, figuring that you didn't want to see the others, but would still want to eat."

Alex sighed as she sat up, looking over at the nightstand to see that JJ had indeed brought her a sandwich and she gave the younger woman a shaky smile as she reached for the plate and took a small bite. "James is coming home in a few weeks."

"And now you have face the crossroads."

She nodded, taking another bite. "And I know that I'm going to hurt him. He's been hinting that he knows I'll choose Erin, ever since he found out that my heart was softening towards her, but I truly didn't know who I would pick back then. Now I know, but I don't want to hurt him?"

Alex hoped that she could trust JJ with this, since she needed to talk to someone outside the situation, to try and find her bearings once more. "You were always going to hurt one of them, especially after Erin made her choice. It would have been different if Rossi had won her heart completely, but he didn't. You did. And that made everything so much more complicated."

"Yeah."

"From what I know about you, you don't like complicated. You like your path forward to be uncomplicated, free of bumps. But life isn't like that, and you have to roll with that. Since you're a linguist, you should be able to come up with a gentle way to let him know that Erin is your heart's home."

Alex nodded as she finished up her sandwich, setting the plate aside before drawing her knees up to her chest as she took a deep breath. "That's the hope. When did you get to be so wise?"

JJ giggled as she shrugged pithily. "I think it comes from the fact that I'm a good listener, and I've had to do it for so many years as a media liaison before I took the profiling classes. When you listen to enough different voices, you tend to soak in the right words to say that will bring comfort. Now, are you going to call Erin tonight, or wait to see if she calls you?"

Alex glanced at her phone, seeing that it was close to midnight, and then looked back at JJ. "I think I'm going to head out onto the balcony and wait for her to call me. Thank you for listening."

"Anytime, Alex." JJ patted her knee before getting up and heading into the bathroom, most likely to shower before heading to bed. Once she was alone again, Alex picked up the comforter from the bed and headed out onto the balcony, curling up in the chair that was provided as she stared out at the night sky. Somehow, she lost track of time, so when her phone rang, she startled a little before answering.

"Erin," she breathed out, feeling the air catch in her throat as she spoke her name.

"Darling, what's wrong?"

She hated hearing the concern in Erin's voice, feeling like she didn't deserve the kindness in that moment. Still, she knew that she had to speak with Erin, that she couldn't avoid this conversation. "Please, don't put me on Facetime tonight. I have the feeling that what I'm going to say will stir up some emotions in you that I couldn't bear to see without being by your side. Okay?"

"Of course, Lexie. Is it the case, or is it us?"

"It's me. I grew too accustomed to having both you and James in my life, because he was overseas, and I didn't have to worry about him coming home and disrupting this idyll we have. He was out of sight, and therefore, I could pretend that our relationship was just ours."

"What changed?" Erin asked, unable to hide the apprehension in those two words.

"He called me earlier this evening, and told me that he's coming home in a few weeks."

There was a long pause before Erin spoke once more. "And you're going back to him. I understand."

"Dammit, no! Erin, I love you, and James was right, I never really stopped loving you. He was my comfort blanket, and I think I truly believed that I could always hold him in the background as my safe person to fall back on, just in case something happened between us once more. I can't do that any longer, Erin. Because that would destroy us both, in the end. I, I suppose that this means that I have to find the right words to tell him that there's no way for me to come back to him. I'm on the path to my heart's home, after all."

"Lexie?"

"We've made love, you've braided my hair, and we've laid our souls bare to each other. Even if we were to go solely based on how much we talk, you'd win in a heartbeat, even if it's not a competition. And I know that I'm muddling everything up, and that I've probably hurt you, and that was the last thing that I wanted."

"You shocked me, at the beginning, but I'm not hurt. How could I be when I hear the hope in your words? Even if you don't think I should be working the case against John by myself, even if we don't see eye to eye on everything, there's still hope for us, for a future together. And after you tell him, my home and my heart are open to you." Erin let out a quiet sigh. "And I know that you're a linguist, that language is your forte, but if you want me to help you with what you're going to say to James, I will. Even if it's just listening to the words and nodding in the right places."

"I will probably take you up on that offer. Now, speaking about our mutual secret, have you come any closer to figuring out where John's hiding out? It has to be somewhere in Quantico, given how quickly he can copy our cases and take creepy pictures of us."

"I wish that I had a lead on him. It would work so much better if I could use Penelope's knowledge and skillset, but I can't do that to her. So I'll keep trudging along until I have my answers."

Alex chuckled, knowing that Erin could be quite relentless when she had a reason to be, and this definitely was a reason. "And how are your children?" she asked, wanting to turn their conversation to something a little happier.

"They're good. I, I think that I might tell them about us, soon. They know that I've left David, and that there is someone else, but they don't know who. It's going to be difficult to tell them our history together, because they've only ever seen me as heterosexual. The FBI really drummed into my head that there were certain parts of myself that couldn't be known. Bruce will be the most hurt, because he's bisexual, too."

"I didn't know that!"

"Yeah. Alan isn't the most supportive, because he has baggage with me, but I've tried to do my best without being completely transparent about my own sexuality."

"If it would be easier, we could tell them together."

"Really?"

Alex nodded as she answered. "Yes. It's our truth to tell, after all. When I come home, would you mind coming to my house? I keep coming over to your place, but I want to show you my home, too?"

"I can do that, yes. Do you have a spare key that I could use to get in? That way I could prepare supper for us."

"In the fake rock by the base of the porch steps. It's not easily found, since I don't want everyone traipsing in. Though I suppose that I shouldn't have one at all, given what we do for a living."

Erin giggled before answering. "I have one, too, just in case my kids forget their key. Though given the fact that we're currently being stalked by a former colleague, perhaps I should rethink that. And maybe you should, too?"

"Probably. Keep the key when you come to my house. That way, you always have a way to be with me."

"Okay," Erin whispered, a dreamy tone to her voice. "Oh, I'm so glad to hear you sound happier, my darling one. I'm fighting sleep, because last night I was so restless, but now I feel relaxed enough to slip off to slumber. Do you mind if tonight is a short call?"

"No, because I feel much more settled for having spoken with you. Everything will be all right, yes?"

"In the end, yes. Everything will work out how it was supposed to, and if we're lucky, we'll have a long life of love and happiness together. I love you."

"I love you, too, Erin. Sleep well."

"And you," she whispered before ending the call, and Alex hugged the phone to her chest, trying not to return to the feelings of gloom and despair that had permeated her being before her call with Erin. Still, it was hard to keep that warm feeling of happiness as she stepped back into the room and traipsed over to the bed, falling down on it and covering herself with the blanket, not bothering to change as she fell into a deep sleep.