"What do you mean, my credit card has been declined?" Alex asked as stared at the ticket agent. She could feel her cheeks burn bright red as she snatched the card back from the woman's hands. "Here, try this one, instead!"

Hurriedly, she thrust her backup card at her, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. She had to get to Boston, to be with James, and let go. The slurry of emotions she was feeling was threatening to overwhelm her. She watched the woman slide the card, and let out a low groan as she heard that distressing beep which told her that that card had been declined as well. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Blake. Maybe there's an issue with my machine? I can hold the seat for you, if you want to try taking money out of the ATM. It's right behind you."

The woman pointed it out helpfully, trying not to look scared at the glare Alex shot her way before she turned on her heel and stomped over to said ATM. She thrust the thin plastic card in the slot and began to punch in her information, when the last screen she wanted to see popped up. "Declined?! No, I know I have money in this account. There is no way that I could be declined." Angrily, she slapped the wall and yanked her card out, shoving it into her pocket.

Unable to see clearly, she made her way back to the desk and scooped up her purse. "Did you manage to get it to work?" the woman asked a bit timidly.

"Does it look like I made it work?" she bit out before taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I've just been a bit stressed out these last few days and am running on empty."

Finally, she looked at the woman's nametag, and sighed a little at the name, Penelope. And then, her eyes grew wide as her synapses fired, connecting the dots that had been right before her eyes. "Is everything okay, Ms. Blake?"

"Oh, it will be. Have a nice evening." Even she could hear the derision on her voice, and she winced again, knowing that she was certain to end up on some blog trashing mean customers.

"I do hope things go better for you!" the other Penelope called out, and Alex sighed as she gave what she hoped came across as a friendly wave. The cool air of the evening hit her skin, and she shivered a little before pulling her jacket closed. Hailing the first cab she saw, she slipped inside and then realized that she had no idea where Penelope lived.

"Where are you headed to?" the cabbie asked impatiently, and she tugged out her phone, hoping Penelope had imported her details along with the rest of the teams. "Well?"

"One second!" she said before scrolling through the list. Finally coming across the entry for Penelope, she tapped it and spat out the address to the man. He nodded sharply before peeling out into the night.

Alex settled back in the seat as they sped down the streets. Anger warred with sorrow in her heart as she wondered what she would say to Penelope. Though she knew that she had to find out why she had been cut off from her only means of escape.

The cab arrived much sooner than she thought it would, and she thrust a wad of money in his general direction as she stumbled from the vehicle. Gazing up at the building, she couldn't help but wonder if one of those lights that were on belonged to their technical analyst. Squaring her shoulder, she strode up the walkway and let herself inside the building, finding the elevator and riding up to the fourth floor.

She took another calming breath before heading down the hall until she reached Penelope's door. Stopping in front of it, she brought her hand up to knock and hesitated. "Just get it over with, Alexandra," she muttered, finally knocking three times.

From behind the door, she heard a muffled commotion, and she fought to keep from rolling her eyes. And then, she heard locks being undone and knew that she would be face to face with a confrontation she wasn't sure she was ready to have. "Alex! What are you doing here?"

"I rather think you know." A confused look passed over Penelope's face, and Alex pushed past her to enter the apartment. "And do not give me that poor, innocent, lamb look. I know exactly what has transpired this evening. All I want is to be with my husband."

From behind her, she heard Penelope close and relock the door. "And all I want is for my family to remain whole. I can't afford to lose another person that I love."

Her words were soft and full of hurt, and Alex turned sharply to face her. "So you think that you can keep me here by freezing all my assets? You think that will just stop everything that I've put into motion? I texted Hotch to let know of my resignation. I left Spencer my credentials. There is nothing holding me here any longer!"

Quick tears filled Penelope's eyes at the harsh words, and Alex had to fight the urge to reach out and wipe those tears away. "I know I didn't treat you right when I returned from visiting Emily. I know that it took me too long to get used to you. And I know that I should never have snooped in your files, that I should never have found out about Ethan…"

Hearing her son's name falling from Penelope's lips felt like a punch to her solar plexus, and she screwed her eyes shut. "What?"

"Yeah. I figured, that at some point, you would trust me enough to talk about him. And now you're running away and leaving me, and I feel like we never moved past the superficial. Why are you leaving us? Why are you leaving me?"

"Because I have to." Penelope frowned and closed the distance between them, her hand reaching out to cup her cheek, the thumb wiping away the tears that she couldn't remember letting fall. "I've lost so much to violence, Penelope."

"All life is violent, Lexie. That's how we can find the grace in it."

"There was no grace in Ethan's death."

"Just as there was no grace in Erin's. But when we're together, facing that, we find the grace that we need." Somehow, Penelope's face had drifted in close to her own, and Alex found herself leaning in, pressing her lips against the younger woman's.

"What are we doing?" she asked lowly when they had broken the kiss, and Penelope gave a small shrug before leaning in and kissing her once more. "James…"

"Is in Boston, and you're here and hurting. I needed to say goodbye to you, face to face, and I never expected to kiss you. May I kiss you again?"

It was madness, but she found herself nodding in agreement before closing the distance between them and hungrily kissing Penelope once more. A thrum of pleasure ran through her body as the younger woman kissed back with equal ferocity, pushing her onto the couch and laying on top of her. Alex couldn't think of anything to do with her hands, so she slid them down to Penelope's ass, cupping it as she tried to get in closer contact with the woman.

"Umm, we should take this to my bedroom, there's not enough room on the couch to bring you all the pleasure you deserve." Hazily, Alex nodded, and Penelope stood, holding out her hand. "You are so lovely," she whispered as Alex clasped her hand, letting Penelope help her to her feet.

"Thanks," she murmured, feeling her cheeks flush a little with embarrassment.

Penelope gave her a soft smile before reaching out and tucking a piece of hair behind Alex's ear. "If I were James, I would never have let you out of my sight. I would have held on to you, kept you close to me, loved on you." She gave Alex another kiss before tugging her over to the bedroom.

Alex opened her mouth to say something when she was kissed once more by Penelope, the woman's fingers making short work of the buttons on her blouse. It felt so good to let her brain stop for the moment, to focus on the pleasure that Penelope was bringing her. "More," she whimpered out as Penelope began to drag her lips down the column of her neck, licking and sucking at her skin.

"Of course, my dear," she responded as she unhooked the utilitarian bra Alex had put on that morning, knowing they would be out in the field. A soft gasp escaped her lips as she felt Penelope undo her belt and then pull down the zipper on her pants, skimming them down her legs.

"Penelope," she said lowly, hearing a slight whine to her voice. The younger woman stepped back to look at her, and Alex drank in the way her eyes looked, so large and dewy, fresh, like nothing bad in life had ever touched her. And then she remembered that Penelope had had to shoot someone, something that she had never had to do before, and her eyes filled with tears.

"No, no crying over me. All right?" Hesitantly, she nodded and Penelope's smile grew wider as she reached around to fumble for her zipper.

"Let me?" she asked, and Penelope nodded before turning around, holding up her hair so that Alex could run the zipper tab down her back, stopping to unhook her bra before pushing the garments off her shoulders, letting them fall to the floor to join her own pile of clothes. Though she wasn't a lecher, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the woman's breasts. They were large, with light pink nipples, so different from her own breasts.

Unconsciously, she curved her shoulders inwards, as if trying to hide her body from Penelope's gaze. "Oh, Alex, if you only knew, really knew, how beautiful you are," Penelope murmured as she back her up against the wall, her lips seeking hers out in another blistering kiss. The way their skin felt as Penelope plastered their bodies together electrified her, and she moaned against Penelope's lips, letting her tongue in to lap and taste.

All too soon, Penelope was breaking the kiss, only to latch on to her pulse point, sucking with an abandon that Alex was almost sure would mean she would have a hickey come the morning. "Penny, oh god, Penny."

"I know," she breathed out against Alex's overheated skin, her fingers skimming down her body to slip beneath the fabric of her panties. "And you are so wet already, Alex. So ready for this, for me."

Alex gasped at the rough way that Penelope yanked her panties down her legs, yet she still tipped her hips up in invitation. "Touch me. Please. Oh, don't tease."

"Teasing is half the fun of sex, Alex. Here, hold on to this hook, it'll support your weight, it's always supported mine." Almost sweetly, Penelope lifted her arms up to a coat hook on the wall, and Alex curved her fingers around it, holding on tightly.

Looking into the younger woman's eyes, she shivered a little at the raw desire evident there. "Hurry?"

"Oh, no, not if this is going to be my last time with you. I will need to take this slow, and commit everything to memory." A small touch of sadness crept into Penelope's eyes, only to be masked by the desire once more. "My heart feels like I'm running on empty, Alex. I need to remember you."

"And you will," she murmured in return, arching her back and offering her breasts to Penelope. She made a low sound in the back of her throat as the younger woman began to place feather light kisses on her face, as if she was mapping it out ever so carefully. Finally, though, she kissed her, after first delicately, and then with a deepening passion.

Another low moan erupted from her throat as Penelope trailed her lips down the long column of her neck, nipping at the tender skin before letting her tongue lap against her collarbone. It was a move that only James had ever done, and she shuddered again, straining to get closer to that glorious mouth.

"You have the most wonderful breasts, Alex. But you always keep them hidden away from the world. As you can see, my nipples are so small, but you, you have these large areolas, that just serve to frame these plump little berries. Do words turn you on?" Alex nodded. "I can tell, you know. Now, to taste."

A long whine escaped her lips as Penelope gently licked at one of her nipples, stiffening it further. And then, she was drawing it between her lips, sucking gently. Alex's knees began to buckle slightly, and she held onto the hook tighter as she lifted herself up. The move caused Penelope's teeth to score across that too sensitive bud, and she was seeing stars. "Penelope!" she keened out as the first orgasm shook her body.

"And I haven't even made it to the main course. What other delights await us?" Glancing down, Alex saw that Penelope was looking at her, the smoldering heat that lingered in her eyes ramping her desire back up. "Here we go."

Slowly, Penelope began to drag her lips down the soft planes of Alex's torso, and she felt so electrified by the touches, and she let herself whimper and moan in pleasure as Penelope got closer and closer to her core. "Penny!" she cried out, parting her legs more to give the woman better access. Taking the hint, Penelope ran her tongue along her labia, and Alex almost let go of the hook.

"I take it you like that," she murmured against her core, and Alex nodded languidly. "Well, then, you'll love this." She was right, Alex thought as Penelope began to devour her. There was something so decadent, so rich, about the way her lips and tongue teased at her overheated flesh, and she collapsed over her as the second orgasm swept over her. "You taste as delicious as you smell," she panted out moments later as she helped Alex to stand.

Somehow, they made it over to the bed, and Alex smiled a little as Penelope tugged her down on top of her. Alex's hair fell forward into Penelope's face, and the other woman giggled as she reached up and pushed the hair aside. "Thank you for this," she murmured as she nuzzled her face against the curve of Penelope's neck. "I can't stay, but at least I'll have a beautiful memory to store in my heart. And you can visit me. Boston isn't so very far away."

"I know." Penelope closed the distance between their lips and kissed her softly. "But I am still going to miss you like crazy. I feel like I'll be running on empty until we're back together again. I hope James doesn't mind this."

"He won't. I promise." They kissed once more and then she was plastering herself against Penelope, breathing in the spicy scent of her perfume. "And any time you need to refuel, come to me, to us. I won't turn you away, I promise."

Penelope made a low note of pleasure in the back of her throat as her arms around Alex's waist. "I will so do that, darling. Count on it." A large yawn interrupted her words, and Alex looked at, seeing that she was using the gesture to cover up her tears. Reaching up, she flicked a few of them away, before letting the younger woman rub her face against the palm of her hand.

"You're going to make me cry again, Penny," she whispered. Penelope nodded and they kissed once more, Alex trying to pour all her caring and passion into the embrace, and Penelope returned it with equal vigor. When the kiss had ended, they cuddled together and Penelope pulled the sheet over them. "You'll always be in my heart."

"Just as you'll always be in mine," came the soft reply moments later, and she nodded as she let sleep steal over her, safe in the arms of a friend.