They were working late into the night on this case, and Penelope just wanted to be home, curled up on her sofa, watching something funny to get her mind off what she was seeing play out. Still, she knew that Erin was also in the office, as she hadn't sent Penelope a text to let her know that she had gone home, as had become their little ritual in the last few days. She had said that it made her feel more in control, since Emily wasn't being the most reliable at the moment.
Still, as she listened to Hotch brief the entire bullpen about the new threat of Ian Doyle, she couldn't help but feel like her entire world was about to turn upside down. Looking around at those gathered, she could tell that those who didn't know Emily well weren't as concerned about what was happening, not like she was, and Penelope fought to keep from tapping her foot impatiently, wanting those gathered to take this all seriously, even if Emily wasn't there at the moment. She didn't know where her friend was, since it was important that they were all together as a team to present a united front, but she understood that sometimes things got to be too much.
"All right, everyone, you have your orders. Head out there and find Ian Doyle."
The other agents dispersed and then Alpha team was gathering around Aaron. It was hard not to wrap her arm around his waist, wanting the comfort that he could provide in that moment as they tried to make sense of what was going on. "Did anyone see where Emily went?" Derek asked when they all realized that she was missing.
JJ shook her head as she threw Penelope a concerned look, and she shrugged a little before turning her attention to Aaron, hoping that he had an answer for them. "I wish that I could tell you. But since I'm here to help you out, we're hopefully going to find out the answer to that question. Are we all ready to pull a long night?"
Penelope nodded, knowing that meant she was going to be stuck in the office for a long while. It wouldn't hurt her to sleep on her couch, but she didn't relish the thought. Then again, her team would be running on adrenaline and coffee as they sought out Ian Doyle and his ilk, so she didn't really have anything to complain about. "Has anyone tried calling her phone?" she asked before they broke up as well, and Derek shook his head a little before pulling his phone from his pocket and dialing Emily's number. Moments later, a rumbling could be heard from her desk drawer, and she frowned as she pulled it open to reveal her phone along with her badge and gun.
"That's never a good sign," she murmured as Derek ended the call, a crestfallen look on his face. "I'll be up in my office, trying to find both Doyle and Emily." Derek squeezed her shoulder as she brushed past them, and she tried not to feel hurt by the fact that Aaron didn't reach out to comfort her. Everyone knew that they were a couple, so he shouldn't shy away from physical affection at this point in their relationship. Tears began to pool in her eyes as the full magnitude of what was happening began to fall upon her. Finally, she was in her office, and she closed the door before making her way to her desk and starting to run dual searches based on the information that she had available to her at that moment.
It wasn't until she received a text from Rossi, letting her know that they had gone out into the night, that she realized Aaron had left without saying goodbye to her. Letting out a deep sigh, she pulled out her phone and stared at the dark screen. "Maybe she'll access her voicemail," Penelope said as she unlocked the device and scrolled through her contacts until she reached Emily's name, touching it and bringing the phone to her ear. Of course, it went right to voicemail, and she left a rambling, heartfelt, message to her friend to let her know that she wasn't alone out there, that they would be looking for her and that she was always welcome to come home to them.
With that message sent, she called up her texts and wrote to Erin. If you're still here, please come to my office. Then she buckled down and began to track down information for everyone working to find Doyle and Emily. It was hard to divide her attention between the two matters at hand, and she knew that she was letting everyone down, but she didn't know how to compartmentalize everything.
"You wanted to see me?"
She looked up at Erin, knowing that her eyes were large and luminous as she nodded. The woman closed the door before coming over to her side and leaning against her desk as she gazed at Penelope. "Emily's gone in the wind, and we're looking for Ian Doyle, and I am just so lost."
To her horror, she burst into tears, and she buried her face in her hands as she sobbed. She felt more than heard Erin move closer to her, and then the woman's arms were closing around her in a warm embrace. This just caused Penelope to cry all the harder, since it was the comfort that she had wanted from Aaron and had not received. "Shh, Penny, you'll be all right," Erin whispered in her ear as she stroked her back gently in circles. "What's making you so emotional?"
Penelope turned her head to rest her cheek against Erin's chest, listening to her heart beat in a steady tattoo as she tried to gather her thoughts. "Knowing that Emily is out there and that we don't know where she is and so cannot help her. That the team is trying to find her and this Ian Doyle guy, and knowing that there's a connection between him and Emily, because she wouldn't just take off like this when we're in the middle of something. Even Jayje came over from the State Department to help us out! And Aaron didn't even say anything to me before he took off, Derek was the one who showed me any crumb of affection until you came in."
She knew that she sounded bitter, but she couldn't call the words back now that they were out there, but Erin didn't seem to take notice of it as she continued to stroke her back. "His focus is on the case at hand, and I know that he'll comfort you when he has a down moment, you just have to have faith in him. He loves you, right?"
"I think that he does." Erin made a soft clucking sound in the back of her throat, and Penelope let out a deep sigh. "All right, I know that he does, but it doesn't feel like it when he just shrugs me off like this. He could have taken five seconds to text me that he loves me, after all."
"There is that. Now, you seem a little overwrought, and I think that you need to try and calm down a little so that you can focus on everything that you need to do. What will help you out the most?"
Penelope pulled away from Erin and wiped beneath her eyes to clear out the tears as she took a deep breath. "I hate to ask this of you, but I would love it if you would find an open coffee shop and get my usual order before coming back here and talking with me for a while. Unless you need to be home?"
"I think that I can do that for you, Penelope. And I'll get us some pastries, since sugar is also necessary to keep you up and running." Erin reached up and brushed her knuckles along Penelope's cheek in a gesture that was sweet and gentle, reminding her of how Erin interacted with her children, and she leaned into the touch, closing her eyes as they sighed in tandem. "I'll be back in about thirty minutes."
"I will look forward to your return," she said as she watched Erin leave her office, and then she took a few short breaths in order to find her center before turning back to her computer screens and trying to find that sense of focus that she needed. It seemed like Erin's visit had started that process, as she was able to hone in on what she needed to do in that moment, sending information to the phones of all the teams out in the field as she waited to find out more information on Emily.
With that done, she continued to allow her search engines to run while she stood and went over to her sofa, stepping out of her heels before curling up there and scrolling mindlessly through different social media apps, trying to find something that would keep her attention as she waited for Erin to return, craving the attention of the woman, since she was the only one who seemed to care about how she was doing in that moment, even as Penelope fully recognized that Alpha had to keep their focus on finding Doyle and Emily so that things could go back to normal for them all.