AN: This story takes place during the season 9 finale Demons. I hope you enjoy the prologue.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. Catherine Jareau is mine along with any other characters you don't recognize. I do not own any of the books or poems mentioned in this chapter.

Prologue: Siblings

Be still and know that I'm with you

Be still and know that I am here

- Be Still, The Fray

Wednesday May 14, 2014

7:59 pm Eastern Standard Time

Pretending not to notice Jack peeking in through the crack in the door I place 'Something Good' by Robert Munsch on the side table and kneel down next to the bed.

Henry wraps his arms around my neck.

I rest my forehead against his and whisper, "I love you,"

"Love you." He yawns, "When will daddy come and get me? Will I wake up in my bed at home?"

I lean back and run my fingers through his hair, "No Henry, your daddy is working tonight so you'll see him after school tomorrow."

He nods and yawns again.

I kiss Henry's forehead, "Good night liebling. I'll see you in the morning."

Eyes already closed, he mumbles, "Night Kit Cat."

I rise and tiptoe out of the library I am surprised to see Jack waiting for me, a frown on his face.

"Hey Jack," I whisper and close the door behind me, "Did you finish reading the next chapter in Mr. Poppers Penguins? And did you remember to brush your teeth?"

He nods.

I reach out to ruffle his hair and Jack ducks my hand.

Something is wrong. I sigh, "Shall we sit in the living room?"

Jack shrugs.

When I sit down on the couch Jack sits at the opposite end, facing me and holding a book.

I turn to face him with a quiet sigh.

"What am I to you?" Jack asks pointedly, staring directly into my eyes.

"Family," I respond immediately even though I am confused as to what brought this on.

He frowns.

I cover a yawn, "What's wrong Jack?"

He answers my question with what I assume to be a non sequitur, "You're Henry's aunt."

I nod, "Yes."

Jack bites the inside of his cheek, "And you're going to marry uncle Spencer."

"That's the plan," I reply and reposition a pillow behind my back, settling in.

Jack cocks his head, "But he's not really my uncle so what are you to me, and me to you?"

I open my mouth to reply but he cuts me off.

"Maura says you're her sister and her aunt…" He trails off.

I nod.

"How is that possible?" He asks with a slight pout.

I exhale slowly, "It has to do with the relationship I have with Emily."

Jack shakes his head, "I don't understand."

I frown, "You don't have to be biologically related to someone to call them family Jack." I

Jack nods, "What does that have to do with your relationship with aunt Emily?"

I sigh, "Emily thinks of me both as a sister and a daughter and I think of her both as an older sister and a mother figure."

"What about everyone else?" He asks earnestly.

I take my hair out of its ponytail and run my fingers through it before answering; "The team is a family and you, me and Henry, we are part of that family."

"But none of you are on it." He mutters darkly to himself.

My brow furrows, "We're not on what Jack?"

He pulls a folded piece of paper from his book and holds it out to me.

"What's this?" I ask as I take the well-creased paper.

"Open it," He insists.

I do and I inhale quickly when I recognize I'm holding Jack's family tree, complete with pictures of Jack, Aaron, and Hailey as well as names of aunts, uncles and grandparents. I realize that this must have been a school project because there is a small 10/10 in the bottom corner. "Jack, liebling, when did you make this?" I ask quietly.

Jack fiddles with the book in his hands, "My dad helped me find the pictures Easter weekend and we spent an entire afternoon working out who goes where."

I nod, unable to take my eyes away from Hailey's smiling face, "When did you get it back?"

"Friday," He mumbles.

I look up in shock; "You've been with me since Friday. Why didn't you bring this up on the weekend?"

He shrugs.

"Jack?" I ask worriedly.

He looks uncomfortable, "I didn't want to ask in front of anybody else."

I accept his answer at face value and nod, "Okay. But why are you so upset that no one from the team is on your family tree?"

Jack scowls, "You're family but Mrs. Yule was very specific; we could only have people we were blood related to on our family tree."

I wince then grin as an idea forms in my brain. "Would you like a new family tree Jack?"

He looks at me suspiciously.

I can see Aaron's scowl in his features so I make an effort not to laugh out loud. "We can work on a better one after school tomorrow but I think I can manage something small right now." I take a sheet of paper from beside the telephone and moving Jack's map of Texas out of the way, I place the paper on the coffee table. First I write Family at the top and then I add Dave's name on the first line and Aaron's two lines down on the other end of the page. "Your dad and Dave are like brothers."

Jack nods and scoots closer so he can see properly.

I explain as I go along, adding names and drawing lines to connect people, "Dave is like a father to Derek, Spencer, Penelope and Jen. That makes the four of them siblings. Dave is also a grandfather to you and Henry."

Jack nods and then frowns, "But where do you fit in? And what about Emily and Maura, and Alex?"

I smile slightly, "Emily is another sibling and Maura is in the same category as you and Henry. Alex is the aunt to the five siblings." I write Will and Hailey's names on the chart.

Jack stares at the paper, "But what about you?"

I sigh, "Well I suppose we could add me here," I draw a line sticking out past JJ's name and down before adding my name halfway between the two generations."

Jack studies my chart seriously, "You're marring uncle Spencer." He points to a line connecting my name to Spence's and looks at me shyly. "Will you be my sister and my aunt too Catherine? Just like you are to Maura?"

I lean over and kiss his cheek, "If you want me to be."

Jack nods his agreement and blushes bright red.

We spend a few minutes going through pictures on my phone, picking out the best ones to include in the chart tomorrow.

Jack picks up the paper and stares at it intently. "My mom's name is Hailey," He whispers, running his finger over her name.

I nod, unable to give a verbal response.

Jack frowns, "What does that make Beth?" He puts the paper back down and crosses his arms, "She's not my mom and she's not my step-mom."

I sigh, "Beth is your dad's girlfriend Jack." I cringe internally before asking, "Would you like her to be your step-mother? Shall we add her to the chart?"

Jack nods, "I like her and she makes my dad happy."

I smile and promptly write down Beth's name next to Aaron's but without a line to connect them like the one between Hailey and Aaron.

Jack looks down at his hands and whispers barely loud enough for me to catch the words. "I miss my mom." He looks up at me, eyes filled with tears.

I hold my arms out to him, "Oh Jack."

He reaches out to me.

I scoop him up onto my lap and wrap my arms around him. "It's okay to miss your mom," I whisper into his hair.

"Do you miss your mom?" He asks quietly a few minutes later.

I should have seen that one coming. I sigh, "Yes Jack I do miss her sometimes."

He continues, "Do you still talk to her?"

I smile slightly, "Occasionally." I know where this is going. "Did you go looking for my tea-lights Jack?"

He stills instantly in my arms.

I kiss the top of his head. "It's okay if you did. Though you weren't planning to light a candle on your own were you?" I ask my tone firm.

He shakes his head, "I know the emergency ones are in the kitchen," He whispers, "You showed me where they were when you showed me the fire extinguisher and the medical kit."

I nod.

Jack continues talking, "But you used to have coloured ones. We used them to talk to my mom a really long time ago."

I frown internally, when was the last time Jack and I spoke to Hailey together? It's definitely been more than two years. I sigh, "Yes we did, and it was a long time ago." I tighten my arms around him just slightly before releasing him, "Come on, it's time to get up." I start to stand up without letting Jack hop down first.

Jack slips down, not quite falling to the floor and spins around to glare at me.

Laughing, I offer him a hand up. "Siblings tease each other Jack."

He rises and considers my words before replying; "I think I'm going to hide your tea before you get up tomorrow or the next day. Or," He grins, "Maybe I'll hide your shoes so you can't go to graduation on Saturday."

I ruffle his hair and offer my hand, "We won't get the food Dave is planning to make if I don't go to graduation."

Jack takes my hand and nods, "I'll have to think of something else then."

We walk hand in hand out of the living room and down the hall into my bedroom.

I kneel down beside the bed and open the cupboard doors of my nightstand.

"Oh," Jack whispers, "I swear I wouldn't have looked in yours and uncle Spencer's bedroom at all Catherine."

I chuckle quietly and pull out a single tealight in its glass holder and offer it to Jack.

He holds it reverently and smiles sheepishly at me.

Next I withdraw my lighter and a packet of matches.

Jack frowns at me when I turn around. "Aren't you going to talk to your mom too?"

I cringe internally at the thought of lighting a candle to speak to anyone I love before midnight but Jack doesn't have the same ingrained traditions. "No leibling, we're just going to talk to your mama tonight."

Jack nods and stands there, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot.

I smile at him, "Go set the candle down on the table by the window. There are pillows to sit on hidden under the table."

He nods and walks away.

I stand up, cross the room to sit on a pillow alongside Jack.

Are you ready? I ask gently.

He nods.

I strike the match and light the candle.

Jack takes a deep breath and exhales, "Hi mom. I miss you…" He looks tentatively at me.

I smile encouragingly at him.

Jack stands up from his pillow and plops himself down on my lap.

I wrap my arms around him loosely.

He leans back against me, "Catherine is my big sister now mom, not just my aunt. Do you think dad will be happy when I tell him?"

8:45 pm

Jack stops talking and his breathing evens out.

"Good night Hailey," I whisper and blow out the candle.

I shift Jack slightly in my arms so I can get a good look at his face to make sure he's not faking, he's not. I smile, "Wake up sleepyhead, it is time for you to go to bed."

Jack grumbles incoherently.

I run my fingers through his hair, "We can't stay here on the floor all night leibling. It'll be too cold without blankets and the floor is uncomfortable."

Jack grunts in protest.

I tickle his ribs.

Jack's eyes fly open and he swats my hand away, "Stop that!"

I grin down at him, "Do you want to sleep in the library with Henry or do you want to stay here leibling?"

He sighs, "The library. My dad said I couldn't sleep in your bed."

I raise an eyebrow, "Why not? You, me and Henry have slept in the same bed before."

Jack bites his lip, "You know that I move around in my sleep?"

I nod.

"Well," He blushes, "I've started kicking in my sleep now too."

I chuckle, "So your dad is trying to save me from bruises."

Jack nods.

"But what about Henry?" I can't help but ask, "Won't he wake up bruised?"

"No," Jack shakes his head, "We put pillows between us and that mostly works. When it doesn't," He grins, "Henry kicks back. You wouldn't."

I smother the uproarious laughter that wants to escape until it's merely a snicker. "All right kiddo, off to bed with you."

Jack scrambles off my lap and stands up.

I try to stand, wince and decide to stay sitting on my pillow.

"What's wrong?" He asks a worried look coming over his face.

I grimace, "My legs have fallen asleep."

"Oh," Jack says and shrugs, "I'll just have to get my book then and you can read to me from the floor."

I shake my head, "I wasn't planning to read to you now Jack, it's past your bedtime."

He narrows his eyes, "You promised."

I raise an eyebrow; "I did not promise I would read to you tonight, I promised last night. You forgot to ask earlier today."

Jack frowns, "Would you please read to me Catherine? You could read poems. They're shorter than a chapter in Charlotte's Web."

"Fine," I laugh softly, "I'll read you one poem."

"Two," he counters.

I shrug, "Only if they're both short." I look at the clock on the other side of the room, "I want you to be in bed in 10 minutes so choose quickly."

Jack nods and dashes out of the room. He returns a minute later and plops down next to me, holding out Dennis Lee's Alligator Pie.

"Good choice," I murmur and open the book. "We'll read the first two."

Jack leans against me to see the pictures.

"Alligator Pie

Alligator pie, alligator pie,
If I don't get some I think I'm gonna die.
Give away the green grass, give away the sky,
But don't give away my alligator pie.

Alligator stew, alligator stew,
If I don't get some I don't know what I'll do.
Give away my furry hat, give away my shoe,
But don't give away my alligator stew.

Alligator soup, alligator soup,
If I don't get some I think I'm gonna droop.
Give away my hockey stick, give away my hoop,
But don't give away my alligator soup."

I smile at Jack, "Would you like to read the next one?"

Jack nods and takes the book from me.

"Wiggle to the Laundromat.

Wiggle to the Laundromat,
Waggle to the sea;
Skip to Casa Loma
And you can't catch me!"

Jack grins up at me, "Read me the next one? You said you'd read two."

"Nice try," I say and stand up. "I said we will read two; I read one and you read one, that makes two."

He pouts, "But I'm your little brother so I should get another one."

I laugh quietly and offer Jack a hand up, "I'll recite something as we walk to the library."

"Okay," Jack jumps up without help, "Can I choose the poem?"

I shake my head, "No way José. I'm going to pick a quiet one and you'll pick a silly one that will keep you awake."

"Okay." Jack shrugs and slips his hand into mine.

By the time we reach the library door I'm on the final stanza of the poem:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

I tuck Jack in to bed and crouch down beside him.

"Will I see you in the morning?" He asks with a yawn.

I nod, "Yes Jack, I'm going to wake you up for school at 7:15 am."

He yawns again and whispers, "Good night Catherine."

I kiss his forehead and whisper back, "Good night Jack. Sweet dreams."

AN2: Thank you for reading. We will start to see the team in the next chapter.

The final poem is Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.