"You are not coming along, Erin, and that's final!"
Alex watched the fight between Rossi and Erin spark off, and she smiled a little, knowing that there would soon be fireworks going off. "This is a Replicator case, and as your boss, I feel that it is essential that I go and represent your team as a levelheaded liaison."
"You're not acting very levelheaded right now," Rossi shot back, glaring at her.
Erin gave him a cutting look in return, then glanced at Alex, her eyes begging for backup. Alex shook her head a little before lifting her mug to her lips and taking a large sip. "Lexie! Back me up here!"
Rolling her eyes affectionately, she stood from her desk and approached the pair. Rossi's nostrils were flared, and he was breathing heavily, but Erin looked downright furious, which made her absolutely lovely. A quick look at Rossi told her that he recognized her feelings, and he winked at her quickly before returning his eyes to Erin. "I think that Rossi has a point. We don't know for certain that this is a Replicator case, and it's better for you to stay here and keep the ear of the Director bent towards us. If ever we needed a political player, it's now. And if things head south, you're literally thirty minutes away. I'll make certain that I call you when I feel we need you."
Erin's look changed from fury to anguish, and she gave a stiff nod before turning and stalking from the bullpen. When she reached the doors, Alex noticed one of her hands quickly reach up and swipe at her cheek before she barreled out into the hall. "Fuck," they whispered in unison, and she looked at Rossi as she nodded slowly.
"I think that she feels like we ganged up on her. Since we're not together any longer, you go and smooth her ruffled feathers, and I'll hold Hotch from heading out. Since it's less than a three hour drive, and all."
"Thank you," she breathed out before turning on her heel and starting for the doors. "And will you bring my go bag with you? I don't want to waste time coming back in here when I can just run down the stairs and meet you in the parking garage."
He nodded, and she gave him a grateful smile before she took a deep breath and went out to the hall, looking around to see if Erin had paused before heading to her office. Not seeing her there, she quickly hurried over to her office. Helen was tapping away at her keyboard, but she paused to look up at her. "She'll not be happy if you go in there right now, Doctor Blake. She doesn't like people seeing her cry."
"I'll brave her wrath, since I was the one who caused those tears." She gave the woman a sheepish smile before slipping through Erin's inner door. She wasn't behind her desk, so Alex looked over towards her couch, seeing her curled up in the corner, quietly sobbing into her hands. "Erin, I don't have much time, but I had to come and try to make things right before we head out."
Erin lifted her head and gave Alex a blank look, tears still rolling down her face. "I needed you, at least, to back me up. I'm terrified by this whole Replicator business, and when I can't be there to watch over you, I worry even more. I'm not David's, but my heart still aches to think that perhaps one of you will be injured out there by that madman!"
"Oh," Alex breathed out as she sank down next to Erin. "I'm sorry. I know that you want to come along, to protect us, but I think that, in this case, I'm right. Even if you don't want to hear that. You're amazing at walking that political tightrope, something I never learned how to do, and you can help smooth the way when we accidentally step on toes. The Director trusts your judgments, you know."
Erin sighed as she nodded. "I know. And I hate that you're right. Please, darling, stay safe out there. Don't make my worst nightmares come true." She locked eyes with Erin as she nodded, and then they were leaning forward until their foreheads rested together. "I love you, Lexie, and I don't think that I'm strong enough to lose you from my life once more."
Before she could say another word, Erin was pressing their lips together in a tender kiss. Alex smiled and deepened the kiss as she closed her arms around Erin's waist and pressed her back into the sofa. She knew that they were playing with fire, making out in her office, but Alex didn't want to leave this moment. She felt Erin mewl into her mouth the moment her hand cupped her breast, and Alex swallowed the sound as she withdrew her hand, knowing that things were too close to out of control. "I promise you that when I'm home, we'll pick this up where we left off. Okay?"
Erin nodded as she breathed heavily, her hand tugging on the neckline of her blouse as they sat up. "All right." She reached out and ran her fingers through Alex's hair before tugging on a strand. "If there was time, I'd braid this for you. But that might raise more questions than we're prepared to answer. If you spend the weekend, though, may I?"
"Yes," she answered quickly before pecking at Erin's lips. "I will see you when we return."
Erin nodded as Alex rose to her feet. She felt as if each one was caked in cement, as she didn't want to leave Erin, not really. Still, she knew that there would most definitely be a midnight call at some point on the case. Taking a deep breath, she jogged over to the stairwell and down the steps until she had reached the level for the parking garage. She quickly made her way over to the SUV where Rossi and Hotch were waiting for her, giving the men a brief smile before clambering into the back of the vehicle.
"That didn't take too long."
"She was more open to listening to reason than I anticipated. Though I had to promise that neither Rossi or I would get hurt in the course of this case. So, I guess this is where I tell you, Hotch, that you're tasked with making certain that we don't get caught up in anything that will hurt us."
"Erin does know that that is a tall order, yes? I can't control what our unsub may or may not do during the course of the case." He met Alex's eyes in the rearview mirror, and she shrugged a little as she pulled out her phone, seeing that Erin had sent her a text wishing her well. "Though I'm not worried about you staying safe. You manage to keep your wits about you. Dave likes to run into situations halfcocked."
"And since you're his best friend, you can focus on him. I will do everything in my power to stay safe." Hotch gave her a short smile before pulling out into traffic. The drive to Pittsburgh didn't take as long as Alex had thought it would, and she let out a little sigh when they pulled into the precinct parking lot, taking the spot next to the others.
"You made good time, Hotch," Derek said as he ambled over to them. "The police would like two of us to go to the morgue and interview the ME. I was thinking that Blake and Rossi might like to do that?"
She nodded hurriedly, giving Rossi a look. He nodded in return, and she held out her hands for the keys to the SUV. Hotch handed them over, the look he gave her filled with relief. She knew that he was thinking that this decision would most likely keep them out of trouble. "Is anyone heading to the hotel to reserve rooms for us?" she asked, and Derek nodded. "Good, make certain our bags get there, would you?"
Derek went to the back of the vehicle and grabbed their bags before closing the back of the SUV and piling their things in with the others. Pulling out her phone, she slipped behind the wheel of vehicle, dialing Garcia as Dave climbed into the passenger seat. After getting directions to the morgue, she made small talk with the woman, needing to get her mind off what the potential implications of getting this close to the Replicator meant.
By the time they were done with their interview, Alex felt a coldness seep into her bones as she began to put things together more coherently. It was clear that the Replicator knew them very well, and even more, that he was familiar with her, in particular. She hoped that Rossi couldn't tell how her mind was spinning, since she knew that she had to be focused for this entire case.
"Did you want to grab something for lunch before we swing back to the precinct?" David asked, giving her a look that told her he knew she was holding something back.
"I think I'd like that." He nodded, and she drove until she found some place that sounded good to her, hoping that he wouldn't mind the fact that she hadn't asked. They were quickly seated, and she decided on the first thing that sounded good to her. "You want to know what's going on in my mind, don't you?" she asked as soon as the server had dropped off their drinks.
"I do, but I'm willing to wait for you to make up your mind. I know that you'll tell us when you're ready. Let's just enjoy our meal and focus on this case. When we get back, after you've unwound with Erin, then we can talk." Alex gave him a grateful nod, and allowed herself to relax a little as he directed the conversation to lighter things while they ate. When they arrived back at the precinct, she felt a lot better about things, even though she knew that she would be unloading on Erin as soon as midnight rolled around.
"Did you learn anything of importance?" Hotch asked as they walked into the meeting room, and David nodded, clapping the man on the back as he led him over to a corner of the room to talk about their conclusions. Alex smiled at JJ and made her way over to her side and began to talk about what the younger woman had learned over the course of her day. And by the time they were all dead on their feet, it felt like they had gotten nowhere fast. "All right, let's head to the hotel. We're doing no good here, and if we don't get some rest, we're liable to make mistakes tomorrow. And I know one person who will have my head on a spike if I let any of you get hurt."
"Any of us?" JJ teased, and Alex shot her a look as she rose to her feet and stretched to get the kinks out of her back. "And can we expect Chinese food for supper?"
"I'll take Rossi and Morgan with me to get it, if you want to head back to the hotel," Hotch said as they all began to leave the precinct. JJ nodded, leading Reid and Alex over to one of the SUVs. Thankfully, the hotel was close by, and Alex accepted her key from Reid's hand as they rode up on the elevator.
"So, I think I'm going to spend some time with Spence, talking this case over. There's something about it that really unsettles me."
Alex looked at JJ as she unlocked their room, giving her a small nod. "I'm quite unsettled myself. I just wish I had a reason to be?"
JJ shot her a relieved look as she jerked her head up and down roughly. "That's the thing, there's no reason to feel like this. I haven't felt this jumpy since the bank heist, and look at how that turned out. Something bad is coming, and I just wish that I knew what it was, and where it was coming from."
"I know exactly how you feel. Go, decompress with Reid, I'll be making my own call." JJ smiled at that and Alex rolled her eyes a little as she slipped into the room and trudged over to her bed, collapsing onto it as she pulled out her phone and quickly called Erin.
"This is early. Is everything okay?"
"Yes and no? Nothing's really happened yet, but I feel like something big is going to before we head home. I guess I just wanted to hear your voice, especially after how we left things this morning. If I hadn't had to leave for the case, it would have been so much harder to tear myself away from you. It felt so right to have my hands on your breasts once more. You even sound the same when you're aroused."
"And your lips taste the same against mine," Erin said shyly. "I wanted to feel them where your hands were. I wanted to throw caution to the wind and let things go until we couldn't stop. I just wanted to feel better, and you were making that happen."
Alex shifted on the bed, feeling desire start to pool in her body once more, and she let out a long breath. "You can still undo me with your words, darling. Oh, god, to be with you and touching you right now. And we can't take things further on the phone right now, because Hotch and Dave are bringing back food for us, and you know that Dave would sniff it out in a moment."
"I'll not take care of my needs, then, until you get home. We can come apart together? If that's what you want?"
"We'll see. I love you."
"I love you, too, Lexie. I hope that things even out for you and the team tomorrow. Call me again, if you need to."
They kissed into the phone, and then she was curling up into a ball, feeling for all the world as if things were quickly coming to a head, and that she was making the choice to move forward with Erin, damn the consequences. That scared her, but the Replicator case scared her more, and she hoped that the fear of both would subside soon.
