Alex had just returned from teaching her introduction to linguistics course at Georgetown when her home phone rang. James always teased her about keeping a landline in this day and age, especially when they used Skype to communicate so much. She always had to remind him that there were times when her internet connection was bad, or his was, and the only certain way to communicate with him was over a landline. What she hadn't told him was that was the last number she had left with the FBI, on the off chance that they might call her to come back. Alex had put in her time in exile, she had rebuilt the reputation that Erin had destroyed, and now, fifteen years later, it was more than time for her to return to her previous job. Alex knew that the BAU was down a permanent member, as well as having two members on temporary assignment with Interpol.

James would be bothered by the fact that she kept such close tabs on her former job, since he felt that she just needed to put everything behind her, but Alex didn't feel that way. She had held onto the flaming brand of anger for far too long, and she wanted her job back. She wanted to prove herself worthy of the position of profiler. And she knew that that would only come if she threw her hat in the ring. Which was exactly what she had done two months ago. And now, her phone was ringing unexpectedly. Alex couldn't help but think that this was a good sign, and she jogged over to the phone and answered, hoping that she didn't sound too breathless to the person on the other end of the line. "Hello?"

"Alex! It is so good to hear your voice again."

"Ron! It is very good to hear from you as well. I hope that this is good news?"

There was a brief pause before Ron was clearing his throat. "I was surprised to see your application arrive on my desk for the opening at the BAU. I had assumed that you wanted nothing more to do with the BAU after the Amerithrax debacle. I know that you did hard work at our field office in Maryland, to rebuild your reputation after everything that happened, but there have been numerous times where you could have applied for openings. In fact, I almost expected it after Jason Gideon left."

"Yes, well. James and I didn't think that it was the right time for me to head back just then. He was on a rather dangerous assignment in Iraq, and I needed to be in a position to drop everything at a moment's notice, just in case the worst happened. But now, now I really feel like it is the right time."

"Well, that's a good thing to hear, because I would like to extend an offer of employment to you. You'll need to come in tomorrow afternoon so that we can discuss salary and get your credentials reinstated, along with issuing you a gun. You'll also have to head down to the shooting range and pass the qualifications exam, though I have little doubt that you'll fail that."

"I have kept up with my shooting skills, yes, just in case an opportunity like this came along. What time should I arrive at Quantico?"

"How about one? That was you can get your qualifications out of the way first before coming up to see me."

Alex cleared her throat as she struggled to keep it together. Everything that she had been working for was coming together in that moment, and she didn't want to seem flighty or emotional in front of the Director. "I think that I can make that work. I'll just have to contact my TA, and let her know that she'll be taking over my classes for the afternoon. But we can discuss that, as well, when I come in to see you, as I'd like to keep teaching at least one course a semester, if possible."

"Of course. We'll talk more tomorrow. Have a good day, Alex."

"You as well, Ron." Hanging up the phone, Alex took a few deep breaths before promptly bursting into tears. This was the culmination of everything that she had been working towards for close to two decades, and she found that she couldn't wait to get back into the swing of things. Stepping out of her shoes, Alex made her way into her home office and picked up her laptop as she relaxed in the oversized chair that was by her favorite window. As it booted up, Alex glanced outside, thinking about how much her life would change after tomorrow. It was suddenly all too real, she mused as she swiped away tears from her cheeks, thankful that her crying jag hadn't lasted too long.

As soon as her laptop was ready to go, Alex first emailed her TA, informing her of her sudden absence before contacting her department head and letting him know about the job change, and that she was working on things so that she could teach at least one or two classes a semester, but that there would likely be some absences, depending on where she was in the country with the BAU. With those two important emails out of the way, Alex then went through the rest of her inbox, replying to questions from her students before deciding to take another look through the current make up of Alpha team, since that was who she was going to be joining.

She knew Dave and Aaron already, having tangentially worked with them during her first tenure with the BAU. And she had had Spencer in as a guest lecturer in her classes before, and knew him quite well. So that left her with looking up Jennifer Jareau, Derek Morgan, and Penelope Garcia. For good measure, she also decided to look up who she would be replacing, since those would be the shoes that she would have to fill. There wasn't too much about any of them online, but she was able to find a few newspaper articles dating from the bank heist in May, and was then confronted with the one person she wasn't prepared to see.

Erin still looked beautiful, she couldn't deny that. Age had just descended upon her like a gentle cloak, and she sighed as she scrolled away from the picture, only to see that she had been quoted extensively in the article. Every word was pure Erin, and she could see that her ability to play politics had only grown in the years since she'd been away from Quantico, and Alex fought to keep from rolling her eyes at some of the soundbite answers that her former friend had given. It seemed, though, that she would be working in close contact with Erin, if she was heading out into the field with the team, and she was not looking forward to that, at all. There was too much bad blood still between them for Alex to even start thinking about being polite.

Letting out a small sigh, Alex set the laptop on the window sill before getting to her feet and checking on the mail before looking into the rest of the team, hoping to glean more information about them that didn't also include Erin. Stepping into sandals, Alex made her way out onto the porch and opened the box attached to the wall. Inside were a few bills, a letter from her father, and another card from Erin. Stiffening her shoulders, she stalked inside, her good mood over getting her job at the BAU back evaporating quicker than the rain in the desert. Heading back into her office, she tossed everything else on the desk before plopping back down into her chair and twirling Erin's card around and around between her fingers. A part of her wanted to open it and see what Erin had written this time, since this was card number nine in nine months. She hadn't opened any of them after the first, since she didn't want to be confronted with the way her former friend had decided to seek amends from her after her second stint in rehab.

She hadn't responded to that first card, nor any of the others that had come, but she had kept them. She didn't know why she had done so, but she didn't feel comfortable throwing them away for some reason. Still, a part of her itched to open this latest card and see what the woman had written her. Before she could stifle that feeling, Alex found herself breaking the seal on the envelope and pulling the card out of it. It was a heavy weight, and thoroughly elegant, just like everything about Erin, and Alex rolled her eyes a little at the ostentatiousness of it all. Opening the card, Alex looked over the words written there, gleaning what she could from the way that Erin had written to her before she dove into what she had written.

I know that you probably aren't reading these letters that I'm sending, since you never replied to the first one, but I still feel like I have to reach out, just in case you soften and do end up reading one of them. You are the last person that I have to make amends to, Alex, and I think that I saved the hardest person for last. And perhaps that's why my first attempt at rehab failed, because I couldn't see past my pride in order to ask you for forgiveness for what I had done all these years ago. I screwed up, I know this now, and I can only hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive me. I know that I cannot force that from you, it has to be freely given, but that is my fondest wish. And now, since you're coming back to the BAU, I think that I might have a chance to earn your forgiveness, as you get to see me at work, as I am now. I'm still stubborn, and I still play the politics game much better than I have any right to, but I have been softened due to circumstances in my life. I cannot wait to see you in the bullpen again, Alex, and I hope that you can shine from your first day back. All my love, Erin

Her words were much the same as in the first card, but there was almost a sense of melancholy in them, as if she wasn't certain that Alex would read or reach out to her. Little did she know that Alex had read the letter, even if there was no chance in hell that she would reply to the words Erin had written, nor would she acknowledge the woman when she came back to the BAU. If anything, she would avoid her at all costs, and hope that there wasn't any opportunity for them to have to interact. Tossing aside the card, Alex picked up her laptop once more, deciding to look up Agent Jareau first, since it had been her husband who had nearly died when he had been taken hostage by Lady X and her team.

Soon enough, Alex had lost herself in getting to know these people that she would be working with from that day forward, and she couldn't help but feel like she was going to have a difficult time blending back in with this team. They had all worked together for years, and had just lost a beloved member after she had returned from supposed death. That automatically meant that she would be an interloper, and she didn't know how she would feel about that. At least she would have the opportunity to get to know Agent Jareau before adding in getting to know Agent Morgan and Ms. Garcia, and that might lead to her having a good way to gel with everyone. She just had to make certain that she didn't get close to any of them. She was not about to allow another Erin situation crop up in her life and derail everything once more.