Alex awoke to the sound of unfamiliar voices, and she tried to sit up, only to frown when she found her movements constricted, a heavy weight in her lap. Frowning, she opened her eyes and suddenly remembered where they were and what had happened. Gently, she nudged Erin, waking her up, and she smiled down into her lover's face as she woke. "Lexie, I was having the worst dream. John, John, took us…"
"That wasn't a dream, but our help has arrived." Erin nodded as she looked at the two people in full bomb disposal gear. They were talking to Morgan, and he pointed out the various parts of the bomb they were seated on, before he looked at them and smiled sadly.
"All right, ladies, this is the time when I have to leave your sides, since these fine people refuse to even begin defusing that with me in here. Is there anything you want me to tell anyone?"
"Have Ms Garcia call one of my children and tell them that I love them, and that we'll see them soon. That as soon as Lexie and I are home, we're going to have a family night. And tell David that he owes us a large party to celebrate our survival."
Morgan grinned at her words before looking at Alex almost expectantly. "My whole world is right here, Derek. I never thought that I'd lose my anger, but that may be because I never lost my love for Erin. And she's right, we're definitely having an amazing party to celebrate our triumph over John's evil plans. Go, so that we can be rescued."
He nodded and hurried from the room. As soon as the bomb squad members heard the upstairs door close, they began to set to work on cutting the wires and making certain that the explosives were neutralized. Piece by piece, the explosives were dealt with, detonated in the bomb box that was in the outer room of the basement, and then one of the women were cutting them free of the ropes that bound them to the chair. "All right, ladies, you are free to leave with us. Thank you for remaining so calm throughout this process."
"We've had experience with these sort of situations before," Alex replied as she nudged Erin out of her lap. She hated the loss of her warmth, and as soon as she was also standing, Alex shook out her limbs before stepping forward and wrapping Erin up in her arms in a tight hug. "We're free."
"We are. Now, let's go up and see our friends." Erin kissed her cheek softly before taking firm hold of Alex's hand and guiding her through the basement to the stairs. It seemed to take such a long time to get outside, but then they were in the bright light of midday, and Alex blinked and squinted, wishing that she had her sunglasses.
"You're okay!" JJ shouted as she broke away from the others and raced over to their side, hugging Alex and Erin with abandon.
"We are, Jennifer. But why are there paramedics here?"
"Just in case John hurt you, Erin," Hotch said as he joined their little circle. A small part of Alex was surprised when he pulled Erin into a warm hug, and then he was closing his other arm around Alex and pulling her close. "This time, this time, we won," he murmured before bringing them over to the waiting ambulance. "Cooperate with them, please, Erin."
Alex giggled at the look Erin gave him before sniffing delicately and taking a seat on the back of the rig. She took a seat next to her lover, and Erin scooted closer to her side as the paramedics gave them a once over. "All right, I'd suggest getting a salve for those rope burns, but other than that, you look in great condition. Hydrate and rest, okay, ladies?"
"All right," they answered in tandem, and then Erin stood and reached her hand out to Alex. She was quick to grasp it, letting Erin tug her to her feet before they went over to the group once more.
"Are you ready to head back to the city?" Dave asked, and Erin nodded. "And who do you want to ride back with?"
"Jennifer," Erin was quick to reply. "Just the three of us. I love you, David, but I need to be away from men for a few hours." He chuckled as he nodded, hugging her quickly before kissing her temple and then giving Alex a quick embrace, too.
"All right, we'll meet you back in New York in a few hours." He stepped back into the group, while JJ came over to them, a soft smile on her lips.
"Who's going to sit up front with me?" she asked as they turned and made their way to the SUVs.
"I will," Erin replied, giving Alex a soft look. "My Lexie deserves to be able to stretch out and get some sleep on the drive back, since it couldn't have been comfortable being tied to me for so long."
"It was a lovely weight to hold close to my heart for so many hours. Because we were both in relative safety at that moment, and as long as we were tied together, I knew that you would be all right." Alex leaned in and pressed a tender kiss to Erin's lips, wanting to comfort her, but not wanting to put on a show. Erin sighed before wrapping her arms around Alex's waist and hugging her tightly. "I love you, darling," Alex whispered in her ear, and Erin nodded.
"I love you, too." Erin then pressed her lips to Alex's cheek before climbing into the passenger seat of the vehicle. Alex shook her head a little before she slid into the back seat of the SUV, angling her body so that she was stretched out along the seat , but still able to keep her eyes on Erin. Her lover turned in her seat to look at her, giving her a soft smile, as JJ got behind the wheel and turned the vehicle on.
"You know, you can recline the seat, too, Erin, so that you can more easily watch Alex."
Erin narrowed her eyes a little, though she was smiling a bit, as she nodded. "I should have thought of that," she murmured as she did just that. JJ giggled a little as she began to head down the driveway and out onto the road. Everything looked so different in the light of day, and Alex felt so sad to see how pretty the scenery was, knowing that this would be the ideal place for a restful vacation. But they could never return to this part of New York and not think about what happened to them. She felt Erin's eyes on her, and then they were reaching for each other's hands, holding on firmly as JJ continued to drive.
"So, what are you plans when we get home?"
"I want nothing more than to take a long, hot, bath with Alex, listening to a mix of classical music and rap, before dining on a feast of Chinese food. Then we'll curl up on a blanket outside my yard, beneath my maple tree and listen to the sounds of nature until the night falls and the stars come out. From there, well, nature will take its course."
"I love the sound of that," Alex murmured as she squeezed Erin's hand a few times. "Especially the idea of watching day fading to night beneath the maple tree. Though I think that I might like to have your kids over, too, for part of that plan. Perhaps we could eat first, and then send them home so we could do the rest?"
"That could work, yes."
JJ sighed a little before speaking up. "You two are so romantic. Would you like me to call Garcia to see if she can arrange to have your kids at home the day we get home? I'm certain she could also arrange the Chinese food feast, too."
Alex nodded quickly, and Erin gave her a brilliant smile before nodding as well. "Call away, Jennifer," she said before yawning widely. "Ugh, I should not be tired. We slept in the car on the way to that house of horrors, I slept in your arms while waiting for the bomb techs to disarm that throne, but all I want to do is go to sleep."
"It's the adrenaline crash. I felt the same way after the bank heist, and I had to force myself to stay awake to make certain Henry and Will were okay. Since you have the time, go back to sleep, I'll watch over you both on the drive home."
Erin shook her hand free of Alex's before reaching over to squeeze JJ's upper arm. "Thank you, Jennifer. And thank you for being such a good friend to my Lexie for all these months. I don't think that we would be this close today, if you weren't so open to our talks." Erin broke off, and Alex saw her eyes fill with tears once more as she let go of JJ to take hold of her hand once more. Within a few miles, she had fallen fast asleep, and yet Alex still held onto her hand, wanting to feel connected to her love.
"I see why you fell in love with her," JJ said softly, and Alex met her eye in the side mirror before nodding. "Do you think she'd wake up if I called Garcia now?"
"I'd send a text first, asking her to call you and be a little less boisterous than normal? I can almost hear her squeal of delight at our rescue even though we're miles away from her."
"Great idea!" Alex listened to JJ compose a text to Garcia before sending it off, and she wasn't surprised that within seconds of sending it off, the woman's phone was ringing. "The devil works fast, but Garcia works faster," JJ joked as she accepted the call. "You're on speaker, Garcia, so try to be quiet."
"I can be soft when I need to be, Jayje! How are my sugar dumplings?"
"Well, one of us is still awake," Alex said, gazing at Erin affectionately. "Though I don't know for how much longer. Every bone in my body feels so heavy, but I don't want to take my eyes off Erin."
"OMG, that is so fucking sweet! And I am so glad that you're both still alive! Great thinking about texting Jayje on what happened, as that allowed me to get the team rolled out much quicker than if I had had to wait until they found you missing."
Alex chuckled as she nodded. "I figured that would be the case. Listen, before I really do drop off and sleep until we reach the City, I wanted to ask a favour of you."
"You name it, and I will make certain that it happens, Alex. After everything you went through, you deserve to have the world at your feet."
Her breath caught in her throat at the affection in Garcia's voice, and had to take a few deep breaths before replying. "Erin has a wish for when we return home. She, well, we, want to have a day with her children, sort of. She wants to have a Chinese feast for lunch before we take a long soak in the bath, and then we'll head outside with a blanket and watch day fade into night beneath our maple tree at her house before we head upstairs to reconnect. Would you mind reaching out to her ex-husband and tell him that we're okay, and what we want to happen? And arrange for the Chinese food feast?"
"Dumpling, that is one of the easiest requests that you could have possibly asked of me. I would be glad to start setting that up while you return to me here in NYC. And I know you both will hate this, but the moment you walk into the hotel lobby, I am hugging the hell out of you. You can't scare me like that ever again!"
"Well, we didn't really have a choice," Alex replied, rolling her eyes a little. "But yes, I will allow you to hug me. You can negotiate with Erin."
"Fine. Now, sit back, relax, and let me work my magic on your first day home. Love you!"
Before either if them could respond, Garcia had disconnected the call, and Alex shook her head a little. She knew that this was the best course of action for things to work out as they wanted, but still, she knew that Erin would be a little overwhelmed by the reunion, when it came. Still, they were alive, they were a couple, and she imagined that she would never miss another midnight call from her Louise.