Alex had just gotten comfortable on the sofa when her phone rumbled against the coffee table. Letting out a soft sigh, she set aside her book and picked the device up, looking at the display. A soft gasp escaped her lips to see James's name there. She could only see a part of the text that he had sent her, so she hurriedly unlocked the device and read what he had sent her.

I'm standing outside on the porch. Where are you?

"Jamie!" she breathed out, feeling both excited and trepidatious. She knew that this moment would come sooner rather than later, but now that he was really there, it felt all too real. Shaking her head, she slipped off the sofa and ran over to the front door, wrenching it open to reveal her husband. "Jamie," she said, a little more sorrowful this time, before she launched herself into his arms. It was so easy to wrap her arms around his neck and allow him to pick her up in order for her to wrap her legs around his waist. The feeling was different, not as right or comfortable as it had been the last time they were together. Still, she allowed him to carry her into the living room and deposit her on the sofa before he took a seat himself.

"I'm home." She nodded at his words, feeling a deep melancholy sweep over her heart as she leaned over and curled up into him, resting her head on his chest so that he couldn't see her face. They breathed in tandem, and she could hear how jagged those breaths sounded, as if they both knew the discussion that was coming.

"Did you have a good flight?" she asked, hoping to keep things neutral for as long as possible.

James closed his arm around her shoulder, hugging her tighter to his chest as he nodded. "It was great, very smooth, and I was upgraded to business class, so the seat was comfortable. I managed to sleep through both food services, though, so I had to stop for food before I came here."

"I would have made you something!"

He shrugged a little before bending his head and pressing a soft kiss to her hair. "I think that I also needed some time to regroup and think about our reunion. I think that we have a lot to talk about."

"I think that you're right," she replied as she spread her hand out on his stomach. "I think that I've made my decision."

He breathed in shallowly, his hand tightening around the ball of her shoulder. There was a brief pause before he spoke once more, his grip lessening only slightly. "Would you allow me to tell you my news and give you an option before you tell me what your decision might be?"

Alex nodded slowly, knowing in her heart that there was nothing he could say that might change her decision. Still, she knew that she owed James that much, after everything she had done to him. "I will always listen to you, Jamie. What's your news?"

Those words released the grip he had on her shoulder, and he began to stroke her arm lightly as he told her. "I've decided that I've reached an age where I'm ready to settle down in the States. There were a few close calls that I didn't tell you about on this last assignment, because I didn't want to worry you all that much, especially after you restarted at the BAU."

"I would have listened!" Alex protested, knowing that she would have, even if it had meant taking time away from Erin and their friendship. "Jamie, you could have told me anything and everything."

"I know, but I also know that you were building back your friendship with Erin. And then things shifted between the two of you, and I didn't want to add any stress to your life. I wanted you to be free to choose which of us you wanted to be with, and not sway you with sympathetic stories." Alex nodded, knowing that he had a good point. She might have drawn things out longer, had made Erin wait for her answer, if James had spoken about his troubles. "And then, I received an offer from Harvard that I knew I couldn't pass up. They want me to teach future doctors, to lead classes about MSF and the opportunities it can give. I would be based in Boston, which is close to Quantico, so I could commute if you wanted to continue living and teaching here. Or you could accept the job offer I arranged for you at Harvard, leading their linguistics department."

Those were pretty words, and if she had still been so furious with Erin as she had when first starting with the BAU once more, she would have taken him up on that in a heartbeat. But now, she had to also think about her relationship with Erin, and most likely break James's heart in the process. "And what about my job with the Bureau? I couldn't teach at Harvard and still work for the Bureau. Plus, I'm still under contract with Georgetown, and might have to pay a fee to break that."

"How long is your contract for?"

"Another academic year."

"I suppose I could ask if we could defer your appointment until that was completed."

She sighed as she shook her head, knowing that she had to be open and honest with her husband. "No, Jamie. I, I can't leave Erin. We've been together, something I hadn't planned on happening, because I didn't want to break my vows to you. But things have spiraled out of control so quickly that I couldn't hold back. I needed to comfort her, and I wanted her to comfort me. I, I've made my choice, and my choice is her. Especially…"

Alex trailed off, not certain how to tell James about the Replicator case and how close they were to finding him. She knew that James would most likely tell her that she had to tell Hotch what was going on, and then Erin would be hurt by her betrayal, and everything would be back to square one between them. She went to pull away, only for James to hold her close to his chest, allowing her to feel the rumble of his voice when he spoke next. "Especially what, Lexie Lou? Does this have to do with the Replicator case that you've been telling me about over the last few months?" She nodded. "And you don't think that that is the perfect reason to leave the BAU? So that you're not in danger?"

She shook her head. "I don't think that that would deter him. He's hellbent on seeing that Erin and I pay for our supposed sins."

That seemed to get his attention, and James pushed her away so that he could look into her eyes. There was pain there, yes, but also a tinge of anger. "You speak like you know who exactly is stalking your team."

"I do, and that is precisely why I need to stay close to Erin. She has no sense of self-preservation, and is willing to rush headlong into danger to ensure that he doesn't hurt me or anyone else on our team. He's been stalking all of us, taking pictures of us in intimate, personal, moments. There were photos of Hotch's son, and Jen's son, and I can't just leave them in a lurch to fend this bastard off themselves. They don't know him like Erin and I do!"

The moment those words were out of her mouth, she knew that she had said too much, and from the reaction on her husband's face, she knew that he was about to push and ask for more answers to the questions he had yet to ask. "And just how do you and Erin know him, Alexandra?"

The use of her full name took her aback, and she licked her lips nervously as she looked away from him. "Because he used to work with us, during the Amerithrax case."

"Are you trying to say that John Curtis is the one that's been terrorizing you and the team for months?" She nodded, still looking into her lap. "And is he focusing on you and Erin?"

"Maybe? We haven't noticed his focus being entirely on us yet. Erin thinks that she's managed to track him down, though, something that Garcia couldn't even do."

She watched from the corner eye as he cocked his head to one side and frowned at her. "And why is Erin looking for John? Shouldn't that be the team's responsibility?"

"We've been asked not to look for John by the Director, with the threat of our jobs if we disobey his orders. So Erin's been working behind the scenes to find him, and she has. We're still working out what we're going to do with this information."

"You're going to tell Hotch, that's what you're going to do. This has gotten too far out of control, Lexie!"

She shot her head up and glared at him, ready to give a rebuttal, when her phone rang. Holding up one finger, she grabbed the device and looked at the display, shocked to see Hotch's name there, as it was Sunday. "Yeah, Hotch?"

"I know that it's Sunday, but we've picked up a case in Detroit that needs our attention immediately. Meet us at the airfield in an hour."

"But James is here," she said, still staring at her husband.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to catch up once this case is over. I'll see you shortly."

Before she could say another word, he'd hung up, and she let out a frustrated breath as she stared at the device. "Was that Hotch?"

Alex nodded as she got to her feet. "Apparently, we've caught a bad case in Detroit that needs our attention. I've only got an hour to pack and get to the airfield."

"I could drive you."

"No. I don't know when we'll be back, and I might want to see Erin after the case wraps up." James winced, and she felt an answering pang of regret in her heart. "But we will talk more in depth when I get home. We need to discuss how we end things here. Because my future is with Erin, I'm sorry."

He nodded slowly, a forlorn expression on his face. "I sort of expected that to be your answer, no matter what I said to persuade you to choose me. Maybe if I hadn't run away to MSF after Ethan, things would have been different between us. As it is, I think I've been losing you for the last twenty years."

"I think so," she said, her voice sticking in her throat. James stood up and wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace as she allowed herself to briefly cry.

"And I want you to promise me something, Lexie."

"What?" she mumbled against his shirt, still holding on to him tightly.

"You need to at least tell Garcia everything you know about John Curtis and his current whereabouts. From what you've told me about her, she can hide her tracks and make certain that your Director knows nothing about what's going on. You need to have someone else on your side before you or Erin gets seriously hurt. And while you're gone, I'll start sourcing lawyers for us. I'm taking the job at Harvard, no matter what, so I won't need the house here. I think that everything can be done amicably, but with your job, we'll need counsel to handle some of the finer details."

"Okay, I promise. And I do love you, Jamie. I'm just…"

"You're in love with your faithful midnight caller." He pushed her away and caressed her face with the back of his hand. "Stay safe out there, Lexie. I don't know want Erin to have lose you before you two have the chance at a life together."

"Thank you," she whispered in his ear, turning her head to press her lips against his cheek. With heavy regret, Alex pushed away from his chest and hurried upstairs, knowing that she had to pull together her go bag as quickly as possible so that she wouldn't be late.