Ok! New Story! Only my second CM one and yes, yet again its Rossi/Strauss! I just love em! This one, unlike my previous one is definately chaptered, providing of course you want more!

So please have a read and leave a review, they make my day, truly!

As ever, I do not own Criminal Minds, I just play with the characters til home time!

Hope you enjoy ;)

Building Bridges.

Chapter One.

Taking one last deep breath, her fingertips curled around the cold metal of the door handle, the glass panes of the door provided her a glance into the BAU. Just her luck for the whole team to be in there, no, it didnt matter who was in there, she would maintain her composure if it was the last thing she did. Straightening her shoulders she pushed open the door, releasing the breath she had been holding as she focused on her intended destination.

It was the flash of blonde hair that he noticed first, just out of the corner of his eye as she breezed through the bullpen. David Rossi sat bolt upright, initially wondering whether or not he was seeing things but no, there she was, returning Section Chief Erin Strauss just walking along to Hotch's office as if nothing had happened. For a long moment he just couldnt take his eyes off her, the image distorted by the blinds at his window but nevertheless he caught the glance she threw in the direction of his office.

Three months and two days, thats how long she'd been gone, and it wasnt until the day he'd come into the office to find her absent that he had realised just how much he cared for her. David Rossi, serial womaniser and long time arch enemy of Erin Strauss had finally admitted to himself that he had feelings for her. He'd always been attracted to her, that much he would never have denied, even when they were fighting, perhaps even more so in that instance, he'd found her irrestibly gorgeous but never had he considered that his feelings would run much deeper.

Climbing to his feet David slowly walked out of his office, hands in his pockets he fixed his gaze straight ahead across the bullpen, he could sense however, her feet carrying up the few steps that led to his and Hotch's office's.

"Well look who's finally graced us with her presence!"

Erin Strauss stopped in her tracks, her eyes rolling of their own accord, as they usually did whenever he spoke especially if he was teasing her, just like now. A brief sense of relief flooded through her, this reaction was entirely typical of their usual encounters and it was settling to know that this, if nothing else, remained unchanged by her absence.

Erin folded her arms, watching him as he finally turned to face her, she met his gaze with that same trademark glare. "Unfortunately for you David Rossi yes, I'm back."

For a long moment Rossi just watched her, profiled her. He'd known her long enough to know when the glare was just a glare, or whether the glare was hiding something. It was as if he could actually see the trouble in her eyes, her eyes had always betrayed her.

"Why would it make a difference to me whether you're here or not, Erin. Its not like I listen to you anyway."

"True." She retorted with a quip of a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"Although I will say its been rather dull around here since you've been away."

"No-one to spar with David?"

"No one worthy of sparring with more accurately, at least you give me some hell back."

If she hadnt been so good at keeping her legendary control she might have smiled, but of course she wouldnt give him the satisfaction. Instead she continued to glare at him, trying to force her brain to deny its conclusion that he had a nice smile.

"Anyway, good to have you back Strauss."

As he turned and walked back into his office his smile grew, he loved to tease her, he'd missed it while she was gone. Just another thing he could add to the long list of things he had missed about Erin Strauss.

Beside her better judgement Erin allowed her smile to take hold after David had disappeared from her eyeline. If she were honest she had missed their general war of words too. Mainly because she hardly ever lost, whether that was his intention or not.

Her meeting with Hotch was thankfully, very short. Nothing much had happened in her absence, another thing she could be thankful for. Aaron Hotchner had kept her secret, to an extent anyway, she knew the Director had been told and to her eternal dismay she already knew that David Rossi had been partied to the knowledge aswell. Yet since the moment she had stepped into the building mere hours ago, nobody had broached the subject and nobody had treated her any differently. Whether this would stay the case in the future she could not tell.

Making her way back to her office Erin thought of everything that had not changed and everything that certainly had changed over the past few months. Not a lot had changed for the better if truth be told. Her marriage had crumbled around her, her children had lost any respect they had had for her, heck they hadnt even spoken in weeks.

Right now her career was all she had. Walking into her office she acknowledged the presence of her assistant at her desk and proceeded inside her inner office, dropping heavily into her chair. If she didnt have her job then, she didnt know what she would do.

Erin sighed in the general direction of the stack of files on her desk, inwardly thanking Aaron Hotchner for being so efficient in her absence. Glancing to her right she caught sight of the photograph still where she had left it on the shelf before her leave, the faces of her three children staring back at her.

Kate, her eldest daughter was currently battling and negotiating her third year of college, Adam was all but sailing through his second year of college, barely a month into the semester. Then of course there was Megan to consider, seventeen and embarking on her senior year of high school, currently living with her father Erin could all but imagine how that was going, knowing Megan and her father had always had a volatile relationship. Still, things change.

After a long moment Erin turned away, she couldnt look at them anymore, the guilt and shame threatened to overwhelm her, she didnt deserve those children. With a shake of her head she picked up a file. Wallowing in her self-hatred would get her nowhere, it never had.

Today, of all days, she would focus on her work.

"So how's the first day back?"

Looking up from the millionth file she had read today alone, Erin was surprised to see David Rossi propped against her doorframe, a mischevious look in his eye.

Rolling her eyes she looked back at the paperwork before her. "Absolutely delightful David. Dont you have after action reports to be completing?"

Erin continued to look down at the words on the page, knowing the team had returned from a case only the previous day she was glad she had official protocol to fall back on. It was only when he didnt reply that she finally looked up. That grin was on his face yet again as he nonchantly produced a file from behind his back.

Damn him for being on time with his paperwork for once!

"You can leave it over there." She replied with a raise of her eyebrows, nodding to the table at the side of the room.

With a sigh David pushed himself up off the doorframe and stepped inside, closing the door behind him he walked towards her, purposefully dropping the file onto her desk right in front of her nose.

"If you're trying to annoy me David, you're succeeding."

"Nope, not trying to annoy you." He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Actually I realised it was after 6 o'clock and knowing you as I do I thought I should probably come and prize you away from your desk."

"And why would you do that?" Erin sat back in her chair, eyeing him carefully as he continued to look at her.

"Because, believe it or not, I actually care Erin. This is your first day back you should be taking it easy."

"I'm not ill David I'm perfectly capable of doing my job!" Her defensive response was just what he had expected, but it didnt deter him.

"Nobody said you couldnt." David shrugged again, knowing his flippant attitude had always annoyed her. "I'm just saying, the job doesnt have to be your life! Go home Erin, thats the whole point of a desk job, home to the family a decent hour."

Erin sneered and rolled her eyes, looking back at him through a slightly chilly glare. "Not exactly much reason to go home David, you know perfectly well that Richard and I seperated months ago! Before my absence so you can stop fishing."

"I heard the rumors, but I thought after some time away you might have worked things out."

Erin shook her head, watching his every move as he lowered himself into a chair at the other side of her desk. "Not likely. I assume he's far too busy with the little mistress to care about me."

She could tell by the arch of his eyebrows that that fact if nothing else had remained unmentioned. "David, I'm not going to crumble dont panic." She attempted some humor to lighten the mood, the conversation was headed into unchartered waters, never had she and David exchanged anything but insults and sarcasm, at least for as long as she remembered anyway. Yet here they were, almost having a discussion like actual adults.

David watched her for a long moment, she may have smiled through her last comment but her eyes told the truth, she might very well crumble indeed.

"I'm surprised you didnt kick his ass."

"Who says I didnt?" Erin smiled, her gaze fixed on him as he looked back at her. Through all that attitude and talk, he really was quite handsome.

"I should hope so Erin! Although I admit I would have enjoyed that particular pleasure." Through his words he continued to hold her gaze, watching her battle to contain her smile, her eye's avoiding his as the slight blush coloured her cheeks.

"You hungry?" David asked suddenly drawing her attention fully.

"Why?"

"Its a simple question Strauss, yes or no?"

"Well, yeah I guess a little..."

"Good! Me too, lets go." He said simply as he got to his feet.

"Go where?"

"To eat! Do you always ask this many questions?"

"Only when I'm being ambushed!" Erin's words caused him to pause his movements and turn back towards her.

"No-ones ambushing you Erin. I'm simply taking you out to dinner."

"Why?"

"Jeez woman for god's sake just get your coat! Stop reading into it! I'm hungry, you're hungry, neither of us have anything to go home for so just, for once in your life, roll with it."

Before she had finished processing his words, David had grabbed her coat and bag and had already begun to pull her from the chair.

"No, no forget the paperwork it will still be here tomorrow!" He laughed as she made a move to at least pick up some files and beside herself she actually laughed. She hadnt laughed for a long time, especially not in this office. There was just something about the absurdity of this moment, together with the look on his face that just...lit her up.

"So what was it like?"

"What was what like?" Looking up from her meal Erin watched as David smiled, lounging back in his seat as he sat opposite her in the restaurant.

"Rehab." He said simply, taking a sip of his drink, he'd purposefully avoided alcohol out of a clear respect for his companion, that action alone was enough to soften Erin's attitude towards him.

"It was...", thinking for a moment she leant forward, her elbows resting on the table as she looked away from him, "...emotionally draining, and yet," She looked back at him. "...liberating."

David nodded, watching as she twisted her fork in her hand for a moment. He loved how relaxed she looked in this very moment. Her defenses had come down, whether she had meant them to or not, her control had slipped and until she found it again, he would not waste a second.

"Gave me a lot of time to think, to deal with things I'd buried in the backlogs of my mind, pretending they didnt exist."

"Like what?"

"Like, Richard's affair, he blamed me for it of course, I worked too much I wasnt there for him, blah blah blah!"

"He's an idiot." David followed her words instantly, her face splitting into a smile before she narrowed her eyes.

"I know you never did like him David!"

"Never made a secret of it." He shrugged as she laughed and shook her head.

"He didnt take much getting over to be honest. He didnt dominate my thoughts as much as..."

"As much as what?" David pressed her a little. He was enjoying this side of her, it had been his intention since he'd walked into her office a couple of hours ago, to finally break through that ice queen Strauss barrier and find the woman he knew was in there somewhere.

Truth was he had cared about Erin Strauss for far too long. When Hotch had told him of her problem, and of his and Morgan's intervention, David had promised himself he would not let it happen again, he would be there for her, even just as her friend if that was all she would allow him to be.

"As much as my children David."

"How old are they now? They must be growing up."

"Almost totally grown up! Kate's 20, doing well at Harvard, pre-law like her father unfortunately but thats where the similarity ends! Then theres Adam, he's 19 pre med at Yale. And not forgetting Megan, she's 17, she is the mystery of the group, nobody knows what she's going to do until she's done it, not quite sure she does most of the time either!"

"Wow! Time flies I remember when they were just little kids, all sweet and innocent."

"Well they're a mystery to me now! In more ways than one."

David narrowed his eyes and sat forward, smiling a little as she subsequently sat back in her chair. "Now come on, you cant say something like that to a profiler and get away with it."

Erin sighed, shaking her head at him, unsure of just how much she wanted to reveal to him, but if truth be told talking about it took a little bit of weight from her shoulders.

"I havent seen them since I went into hospital. Havent spoken to them since the week before I left the hospital."

"Why not?"

"Richard says they dont want to see me. The last time I spoke to them we argued, over something so god damn stupid!"

David could see the storm in her eyes, it killed her but he knew her too well, her pride was standing in her way like a ten foot steel wall. "What was it over?"

"Megan was angry because Richard wouldnt let her go to Boston to visit Kate, Adam took Megan's side and they wanted me to convince Richard to let her go. I refused. I was in no position to get involved David I was so close to leaving rehab I just couldnt get pulled into another family meltdown that would no doubt throw me back to square one!"

"I understand." He answered quietly, holding her gaze for a long moment until she broke the brief spell, her attention dropping back to her meal in front of her.

"Anyway, no use dwelling on it, never got me anywhere."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

David's direct question took her by surprise, and she faltered slightly. "What...exactly can I do? They arent small children I cant just give them candy to make them like me again!"

"Exactly, you'll have to work harder for it."

"And I will...just...when the time is right."

He nodded, he didnt want to push her further, afterall they'd made enough of a break through tonight as it was. There was no way he would risk ruining it by pushing her too far.

David knew she was a woman conflicted. She was holding on to her career with a desperate grasp, like it was all she had and yet she knew she had more in her life, just unable to reach it. Her children were Erin's Everest. There was nothing she wanted more than to have them back in her life and still she kept them at arms length, afraid to let them too close for a multitude of reasons.

A multitude of reasons that David Rossi refused to give up on, but he would take his time, win her trust and hopefully win her heart at the finish line.

If you liked it, or if you didnt, let me know, hit the review button! ;)