The traffic was just as bad that late at night as it had been when she and Hotch had gone to get lunch, and it took them much longer to get back to the hotel than Alex had planned. Frowning a little, she finally found a parking spot, making certain to place the placard that would make certain the vehicle wouldn't be towed, and then looked over at Erin. She was curled up in a ball, staring out the window, and Alex let out a deep sigh as she reached over and rubbed her lover's arm softly.
"We should get up to the room, darling," she whispered as she tried to get Erin's attention.
It took a few moments before Erin looked over at Alex, and the hollow expression in her eyes tore Alex's heart to shreds, and she licked her lips before leaning over and hugging her awkwardly. "Hold me for a little bit, and then we can head in."
She nodded against Erin's head, and smiled a bit as she snuggled in as best she could, too, in the small space. "No matter what happens, I love you."
"I know, and I love you just as much." They fell quiet as Erin clung to her for another few minutes before Alex was gently pushed away. "All right, let's head up to our room. I wish there was a way that we could exit out of the same side of the vehicle, since there aren't many people walking around right now."
"I'll get out first, with my hand on my service weapon, if you want to grab our purses and wait for me to reach your side." Erin smiled with relief as she nodded, and Alex took a deep breath as she opened the door and then reached for her gun, wrapping her hand around the grip as she casually made her way to Erin's side, opening her door with her free hand. As soon as Erin was out of the vehicle, Alex locked the SUV and then they were hurrying to the hotel entrance.
Erin already had their key out, pressing it against the lock on the doors, and Alex let out a little sigh of relief as the doors slid opened, letting them inside. A part of her had been worried that John would somehow accost them on the street, but now that they were safe in their hotel, she felt like she could let her guard down a little. "You feel it, too," Erin said as they walked past the reception desk, and she nodded before making eye contact with the clerk. The woman gave her a little welcoming smile as they went by, and Alex smiled in return before refocusing on Erin.
"I do. My paranoia is at an all time high, even though I know that we're safe here."
"I feel the same way. But I had to get out of that room." Alex nodded as she reached out and took hold of Erin's hand as they waited for the elevator, threading their fingers together so that she could hold on all the tighter. This time, Alex took the lead once they were on their floor, making certain all her senses were at their most alert as they went down to their room. Erin unlocked the door and entered, Alex bringing up the rear as she continued to look around the hall, making certain that they were alone.
After locking the door, Alex stumbled over to the bed and sat down, feeling weariness seep deep into her bones. Erin joined her, leaning against her as her head came to rest on Alex's shoulder. "Is it bad that I want to just curl up with you and sleep until morning? Even though it is midnight, and the usual time of our calls?"
"No, because I feel the same. But we should change for bed, and then talk about what happened just before we left the precinct."
Alex nudged Erin's head with her shoulder, trying to let her know that she agreed, as she felt her phone vibrate against her thigh. Sighing, she watched Erin get to her feet and begin to strip off her work clothes, wishing that they could dare enough to make love, knowing that that might comfort Erin more than mere cuddling. Shaking her head, she pulled out her phone and saw that JJ had texted her. Are you in your room? I thought I'd hear from you before this, and I'm a little worried.
She murmured wordlessly as she tapped out her reply. Yes, we are safely in our room, and the door is locked. We're going to have a short talk before we fall asleep, since it's midnight. Are you on your way back?
No. Garcia thought that she could find out more about John's whereabouts with the info you gave us before you left, since it was a little revealing. And I want you to know that as soon as you were gone, Hotch dragged Reid out to the hall and tore him a new one. He deserved it for how disrespectful he was to you and Erin. Tell her that, too, will you? I'll see you in the morning.
Alex smiled at that as she tapped out her reply. I will. Stay safe out there, we don't know what he'll do in his effort to get to me and Erin. Before she could see if JJ would reply, Alex got to her feet and went over to the dresser, setting her phone there as she hurriedly took off her work clothes, folding them before placing them in the drawer she'd claimed as hers before unhooking her bra and setting it aside while she tugged on a camisole and then a thin, loose, sweater and yoga pants.
"Who were you texting?" Erin asked as Alex slipped her phone into her waistband pocket before joining Erin on the bed, snuggling in close to her lover.
"Jen. She was asking if we had made it here safely, and to let us know that Hotch tore a strip out of Spencer after we left. But Garcia seems to think that there was something useful in what we told her about that night that John walked in on us."
"I wish that I could go back in time and change that night. I was the one who kissed you, and knocked you off guard. I pushed things past the boundaries we had set for each other, and I'm sorry."
Alex reached out and began to stroke Erin's hair lightly. "I let you kiss me, and unbutton my blouse. I had missed the feel of your lips on my skin, and so when you turned to me that night, full of desire and longing, I knew that I couldn't turn you away. I craved what we were doing, and I couldn't stop myself from letting you caress me."
"Oh."
"Yes. I wonder, if things hadn't ended so poorly so quickly after that time, and we had been able to talk about what we were feeling, if things would have been different."
Erin shrugged as she slipped her arm over Alex's waist, pulling her closer so that she could fit a leg between Alex's before she leaned in and kissed her sweetly. "I want to hope that that's true, but one of the things I learned in rehab is that if we continue to focus on the past and what we could have done differently, we'll drive ourselves mad. Which is precisely what I did after you told me you hated me and that I deserved whatever bad things happened to me in the future. And by the time I truly realised I was an alcoholic, I knew that that was exactly what I deserved for how I treated you."
"Erin," she gasped out, and her lover shook her head as she tipped her chin upwards to press a tender kiss to Alex's lips. "No, don't push me off this with honeyed kisses. I, I didn't know that you felt that way. I'm sorry for my words, and that they haunted you for so long."
"How could you know that that was how I felt when you weren't talking to me? And it's only just recently that we've been able to talk like this. I would have told you, eventually, John just moved up the timetable. Everything seems to come back to John right now, and I cannot wait to completely excise him from our lives."
"Same, darling. Now, we can talk about him more in the morning, I want to go to sleep with happy thoughts in our heads. All right?"
"I think I can live with that. What would you like to discuss?"
Alex kissed Erin once again, wanting her to smile a little. The feel of her lips turning upwards against Alex's told her that she had achieved her goal. "When was the last time you went a jazz concert?"
"You remember!" Erin exclaimed, and Alex nodded. "Alan never liked jazz, and David was too into the Rat Pack, so I went to so many concerts alone, when I didn't feel guilty about leaving my family at home. I actually managed to see a concert by a local group when you were out on a case a few weeks back. It was so lovely, but I wanted to share it with you. Do you think, once John is out of our lives, that we can find a concert to go together?"
"I would love nothing more than that, Erin. But will you also go to a rap concert with me?"
She was half teasing, knowing that Erin tolerated that style of music for her, so she was surprised when Erin nodded. "Spending time with you is the most important thing. If I have to suffer through an evening of some man rapping about bitches and hoes, I'll do it for you."
"There are female rappers that we could go see."
"Okay, as soon as you find one in the area, and get us tickets, I'll go." They chuckled at each other before Erin kissed her once more. "I wish that we didn't have to stop at kisses, but we don't know if Aaron or Jennifer will want to check in on us when they get back, and I would hate to be walked in on once again. My body is so much softer than it was a decade or so ago, and I would rather they not see it."
"I totally understand. But kisses can be just as sweet as sex." Erin nodded before kissing her once more. As the kiss deepened, Erin's hand spreading out on her back to hold her close, Alex thought that she heard the doorknob jiggle. It was hard to split her attention, especially when Erin nipped at her lower lip, and so she ignored her senses telling her that something was wrong.
"Well, isn't this just cosy."
Alex stiffened in Erin's embrace as she looked over her shoulder into the face of a man she hadn't seen in so long. Erin was just as stiff as she instinctively pressed her body tight against Alex's. "John," she breathed out as she glanced down to see the gun in his hand, trained on them, as he kicked the door closed. "How did you get in here?"
"It's amazing what doors credentials can open for you. Most normal people don't even look that closely when you flash ID at them, saying that you need copies of all the room keys for Alpha team. And from there, it was just trial and error until I found your room. Now, you're both coming with me, and I can finally get my endgame under way." He tossed a set of flexicuffs onto the bed, and they both looked at them before Alex looked back up at John. "Those are for Erin. I have the feeling that that should keep you both in line."
Alex glared at him as she shook her head, looking around for her service weapon, knowing that she had left it on the dresser. The moment her eyes landed on her holster, though, she saw that he had somehow managed to take it, and she looked back at his hand, seeing that it was indeed her gun in his hand. "You bastard," she spit out as picked up the cuffs, ready to toss them back in his face when Erin reached out for her wrist, squeezing softly.
"We'll comply, John. Just as long as you promise me you won't hurt a hair on Lexie's head."
"I don't make promises I'm not certain I can keep, Erin. I'm not you, after all. Now hurry, we need to get out of here before the rest of your team arrives and foils my plans." He pointed the gun closer to Erin, and Alex finally nodded, cuffing Erin as loosely as she possibly could as they waited for what John's next move would be.