Penelope felt numb as she stumbled into the waiting room of the OR. It had been a shock to hear Derek call and tell her that Doyle had stabbed Emily and that things didn't look good. Everyone gathered there was in various stages of shell shock, and she felt so alone, since JJ had commandeered Aaron. Letting out a deep sigh, she scooted closer to Rossi, resting her head on his shoulder as they waited for news of how things had gone. The older man took hold of her hand, squeezing it tightly, and she was grateful for the touch, as it lent her a sense of solidity when she felt like she was just going to fade away.
"She has to be okay, Kitten."
"I know, but what if she's not? What if she's permanently damaged by Doyle?"
Rossi squeezed her hand tightly in an effort to provide her support as he took a deep breath. "Then we'll stand by her, and make certain that everything will be all right. We'll nurse her through her recovery and modify her apartment to accommodate her needs, if necessary."
She nodded slightly before cuddling in closer to him, watching JJ and Aaron continue to talk before her friend looked over at a doctor that approached them. This caught her attention, and she sat up straight as she drank in the interaction, trying to glean as much information as she could from it while being unable to hear a single word that was said. It didn't take long for JJ's shoulders to slump, and Penelope knew that they were about to receive bad news. Her grip on Rossi's hand tightened as they waited for Aaron and Jayje to rejoin the group.
JJ cleared her throat to get all of their attention, and Penelope worried her lip between her teeth as she hung on the breath that lingered in the air. "She, she never made it off the table."
Derek let out a low groan, and Penelope found her heart reacting to that, her eyes flooding with tears as she rose to her feet, instinctively taking a step towards Aaron. It seemed that he didn't want her near him in that moment, however, as he brushed past her to take a seat next to Rossi, quickly getting into a deep conversation with the man. That left her floundering in her emotions, and she went to JJ, hugging her tightly as she fought to keep from openly weeping. "What are we going to do now?" she whispered as her friend rubbed her back.
"I don't know, Garcia. I wish that I had some easy answers for you."
She nodded as she stepped away from her, throwing a desperate look towards her partner in an effort to get his attention. When it wasn't forthcoming, she knew that she had to get out of the family room, feeling like the air in it was too oppressive. Shaking off JJ's hand as she brushed past her friend, Penelope ran out to the parking lot and slipped behind the wheel of her car. It was so easy to drive to the one place where she thought she might find some succor, and hope that she was home and willing to listen to her.
The drive passed by in a blur, and she could only hope that she had paid attention to all the appropriate signs and signals before she pulled into Erin's drive. Since it was Saturday, she didn't have to worry quite so much about what was going on at work, but she knew that she could still be contacted by one of her other teams. As she sat in the driveway, Penelope debated what she should do with her work phone, before finally chucking it in the center console before getting out of the car and heading up onto the porch. Penelope reached out to knock on the door when the door opened, revealing the very face that she wanted to see. "Erin," she breathed out, falling into the woman's open arms.
Gently, she was led into the living room, and it was only when they were seated on the sofa that she once more began to weep, clinging to Erin as she tried to expunge all the sorrow that was in her heart. "What happened? Last I knew, you were looking for Agent Prentiss?"
"Doyle was torturing her, trying to get information out of her, and she fought back as best she could. He was stronger, he stabbed her with a wooden stake in the stomach, and she died on the operating table. I, I tried to look for comfort from Aaron, but he didn't want to offer me what I needed. I don't understand what I did wrong, but somehow I knew that if I turned to you, you'd understand."
"I don't know if I will, but I can promise you that I will listen."
"That's all I needed to hear," she whispered as she snuggled in closer to Erin's chest. It was something she should have been doing to with Aaron, but she didn't mind having this moment with Erin. "Do you think that I could just rest here for a few moments before I speak once more?"
Erin nodded and began to run her fingers through Penelope's hair as she hummed beneath her breath. It was a comforting sound, and she quickly found herself lulled to sleep as the events of the past three days caught up to her all at once. When she woke up, she was alone in the living room, a warm blanket settled around her shoulders, her head cradled on a pillow, and she frowned as she sat up, wrapping the blanket around her body as she got to her feet and began to look for Erin.
She found her in the kitchen, talking to someone on the phone, and Penelope sank down onto a chair next to her, resting her head on her shoulder as she tried not to listen to the conversation. "I should probably let you go, David, as it appears our sleeping beauty has woken from her slumber. Yes, I think it would be best if Aaron didn't know where she ran to, since the relationship between us is already fraught. Of course, I'll keep her safe until she's ready to return home, and I'll let you know that, so Aaron can contact her. I am truly sorry for the loss of Emily, it is a tragedy that should never have happened."
Erin ended the call and then set the phone aside. Penelope arched an eyebrow questioningly as she noticed that it was her device. "Did you…?"
"David called three times before I answered. I figured that it must have been important, so I took the liberty of answering. He was very concerned about you."
"He's a good man." Erin nodded. "You know, you'd make a handsome couple."
Erin let out a bark of laughter as she shook her head. "We tried that, years ago, and it did not end well. We work better as, I believe the term that Tabitha uses is, frenemies?"
She nodded as she smiled in return, glad for the small moment of levity in the midst of her sorrow. "I never thought that you would be up on current slang. It sounds odd hearing it come from your lips. Oh, god, Erin, I feel sick."
"The downstairs bathroom is off the kitchen."
Penelope nodded as she made for that room, feeling bile rise up her throat as she dropped to her knees in front of the toilet and lost the contents of her stomach. She hated throwing up, so much, but couldn't control the response to Emily's death. She didn't know how long she had been in the bathroom for, but soon enough she was feeling the warm hand of Erin on her back before she pulled her hair back from her face and clipped it up. "Thanks," she whispered before retching once more.
It wasn't until she felt her dress gap forwards that she realized Erin was undoing the zipper, and she looked back at her friend and frowned. "You have sick on your bodice, and I'll need to treat it so that it doesn't set. I brought you my robe so that you have something warm to curl up in while the dress is in the washer."
"Oh!" Penelope felt bad for thinking the worst of Erin, and she nodded as she shakily got to her feet and allowed the dress to pool in Erin's arms as she stepped out of it in only her lingerie. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Erin said, her cheeks bright red as she picked up the dress and hurried from the bathroom. Once she was gone, Penelope undid her bra and tugged it off, along with her shoes and tights before she drew the robe around her. It smelled so strongly of Erin that she let out a sigh of pleasure as she went over to the sink and picked up the cup sitting there, filling it with water and swishing her mouth out with it, trying to get rid of the taste of bile. Once that was mostly gone, she padded out to the living room and collapsed onto the sofa, curling up into a tight ball as she stared out the window. "I brought us tea, but it still has to steep for a few more minutes before it's ready. Do you want a blanket?"
"Yes, please."
Erin set the tray in her hands on the coffee table before grabbing hold of the blanket folded over the sofa, settling it around Penelope's legs before she took a seat next to her. "I won't push you to talk about what happened, not when it's still so fresh, but I want you to know that my heart and ears are open to you. You've been so kind to me, and you deserve that same support from me, in return."
She nodded as she shifted how she was sitting, allowing Erin to hold her close as she rubbed her cheek against the woman's chest, trying to find a way to think about Emily without bursting into tears once more, missing her friend more than she had ever imagined possible, even in the presence of another dear friend.