Erin woke up feeling cocooned in warmth. Stretching, she blinked open her eyes to look at Penelope. The woman was watching her and she smiled. Penelope leaned in and kissed her gently. "Good morning. You slept the whole night through."

"I didn't have any bad dreams. I think it's because you were here." She leaned in and kissed Penelope softly, letting her bury her fingers in her hair and hold her close.

"You didn't mention anything about getting hit last night," she said when they broke the kiss. Erin winced as Penelope's fingers ran over the goose egg, even though the touch was quite light. "Do you have a headache?"

"No. But it is a little tender. Do you think I should go in and see my doctor?"

"It's up to you, but speaking from what I've seen with the team, you probably won't go."

Erin laughed lightly as she sat up. "You're probably right. It doesn't bother me except when you touched it, so it can't be too bad." She heard Penelope gasp as she looked up at her and frowned a little. "What is it, Penny?"

"Your neck. Oh, please tell me you have a scarf to wear." Erin nodded and climbed out of bed, going over to her vanity. Arching her neck out, she took in the massive hand-shaped bruise around her neck and shuddered. "I thought you were exaggerating about your bruising easily. I am so sorry I doubted you." Penelope came up behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist. Erin leaned back against her, welcoming the embrace.

Penelope brushed her fingers against the bruises and Erin closed her eyes, resting her head on the woman's shoulder. "Well, let's get a move on the day." Turning her head, she kissed Penelope's cheek. "I hope you like my daughter."

"I hope she likes me." She pushed Erin away a little and picked up her bag, rummaging through it for fresh clothes. "I'm going to get changed in the bathroom, sweetheart."

Erin nodded absently as Penelope moved off. Once the door closed, she went over to her closet and pulled out an outfit for the day. When she had finished that, she sat heavily on the bed, waiting for Penelope to finish so that she could get dressed. Humming to herself, she tried not to think about what had happened last night, instead, trying to focus on the good that had come out of it.

To her surprise, Penelope didn't take too long, and they changed places. Once the door was closed, she gave in to the tears that had threatened to fall from the time she had seen the bruising on her neck. Her first instinct was to crawl into bed and curl up, sleeping for weeks until everything went away. Somehow, she pulled on her work clothes and emerged from bathroom, feeling like death warmed over. "I think the bad dreams are coming with the daylight, Penny."

The woman came to her side and pulled her close, letting her arm rest around her waist. "We don't have to go in today, you know. I have some personal time, and I'm certain that you do, too."

Erin tried to shake her head, only to feel her head spin wildly. Staggering a little, she reached out an arm to balance herself, only to feel Penelope reach out and help her over to the bed. "Maybe that would be for the best," she murmured lowly. "My head is spinning horribly. Would you get me some aspirin?"

"Sure, you go and sit on the bed." Erin knew better than to nod, instead complying with the gentle order. She yawned deeply and laid down on the bed, watching the bathroom door for Penelope's return. "Here we are."

She took the glass of water and pills from Penelope's hands, quickly swallowing them before setting it aside. "Will you call Helen and tell her I'm taking a personal day? Please?"

Penelope nodded, still smiling at her. "And then I'll fix us breakfast. How do you like your eggs?"

"This morning? Scrambled with some cheese mixed in would be great."

"I will get right on that." And then she leaned down and kissed Erin's forehead softly. "I am going to take care of you, no matter what."

"Somehow, I believe you, Penelope." She watched Penelope leave the room before burrowing into the mattress and pulling the covers back up around her neck, struggling to get warm. Without meaning to, she fell back asleep and then into a terrible nightmare. Erin woke herself up screaming and she heard Penelope burst through the door, joining her on the bed.

"Shh, Erin, I'm here," she murmured gently as she rocked them back and forth.

"I just wish I could have one glass of sherry, or whiskey, or something. I hate having to face these demons without anything to fall back on." Her grip on Penelope tightened as she tried to calm her breaths, to feel a sense of balance once more. "Is that so much to ask? One sip?"

"For you, it is. Oh, Erin, my darling one, I do not want to lose you to that demon once more. Fall on me, and I'll protect you, I promise."

"Do you keep your promises?"

"I do."

"All right, then, I'll fall on you." She yawned a little. "I shouldn't be this tired. We fell asleep so soon after we came up here." Penelope nodded and settled onto the bed next to her, balancing the tray on her lap.

"Well, let's get you something in your stomach and then you can fall back asleep against me, all right?"

She gave a half-hearted nod and picked up a fork, picking at the food. It was a struggle to get her portion down, but somehow she managed to eat every bite there, washing it down with orange juice. Penelope set the tray aside when they were both done, and then turned to look at her. "I wish I was stronger. I hate that you see me as such a weak person."

"You, my sweet love, are not weak." The way she said those words, like a caress, warmed Erin's heart and she nodded before resting her head on Penelope's chest.

"But you don't love me yet," she murmured as Penelope began to run her fingers through her hair.

"Au contraire, my sweet Erin. While it is true that I might not love you as a lover does, yet, I do love you as a friend." She reached up and tweaked her nose lightly, causing Erin to yawn. "Now, go to sleep, let the demons fade away with the comfort of dreams."

She tried to nod, but found her head too heavy to do so. Instead, she let her eyes flutter closed, nuzzling her face close to Penelope's chest. Sleep, though, was not so quick to come, and she sighed, keeping her eyes closed. "I can't seem to get back to sleep. Why do troubles always seem to come all at once? This mess with David, the attack, it's too much."

"And yet, look at what's also come out of this. I wouldn't call our relationship something bad, would you? And while I may not like the fact that you were hurt, I do like the fact that I get to take of you." Penelope pressed her lips against the crown of her head and she smiled despite how she felt.

"I'm not terribly good at being taken care of. I've always relished my independence. Do you think I could get away with taking the whole week off and give these bruises some time to heal? I don't want the others to view me as a victim."

"You're not a victim."

"Yes, I am. Someone assaulted me in my home and left behind the bruises to give evidence of that. That makes me a victim of crime. I don't want to diminish that, Penny. It's part of who I am now." She pressed her lips to the bit of bare skin that she could reach and felt the woman rub her back gently.

As they rested together, she heard her phone ring. "Do you want me to get that?"

"Mmm, yes, please." Penelope reached over her to grab the handset, and Erin frowned a little as she was jostled a bit.

"Erin Strauss's residence, whom may I say is calling? Oh, hi, Hotch! Yes. Yes. Oh, they called there? Kevin told you. That's right, my computer is setup to let me know whenever a police report is filed about one of us. We're going to be fine, but I need you to go to Director Shepperd and tell him that we're taking the week off. She has a pretty nasty bump on her head, and some bruising that would just cause the others to ask questions we don't want to answer. Thanks so much, I'm glad you have our backs. I'll talk to you later."

Hanging the phone back up, she then pulled Erin close to her. "So, Hotch is okay with you staying with me for a week?"

"Sugar, I could ask for the moon and that man would give it to me." A teasing tone had crept into her voice. "Well, no, I shouldn't say that. He respects me enough to know that I can do my work from home as long as I have access to a computer. You do have a computer here, right?"

"Yes. I am not completely cut off from technology. It's the only way I can talk to my children some days." She stiffened in Penelope's arms, clutching at her wrist. "What do I tell Samantha? She's going to be here at six."

"We'll cross that bridge when she gets here, I promise. Right now, I want you to try and sleep. I know that it probably feels miles away, but you can do it."

Erin grumbled a little as she snuggled into Penelope. "Would you at least sing me to sleep? Maybe that would relax me enough where I could doze off."

"I can totally do that, Erin. I'm afraid I don't know any lullabies, though."

"Just sing me whatever first comes to mind, I'm sure you'll know the perfect song."

Penelope fell silent for a few moments and then began to sing, "If a person should ever like a person, then a person should like you. Being that I'm only just a person, what would you do? If a person should ever…" Penelope's voice faded out into the blackness of sleep, and Erin smiled as she felt some measure of peace steal over her heart.