A/N: Decided I liked the original version of The Cottonwood Tree better haha. Much more descriptive and poetic.
Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or any of its characters and affiliates.
~
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where I told you to run,
So we'd both be free.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree
~
It had been a beautiful fall day. A pale blue sky had covered their world, making the cold air seem even colder, yet it had held a surreal beauty to it. The serenity of the large property in rural Pennsylvania had leeched into their days, bringing them to be at more peace than they had ever been.
Years had passed since the team of the Behavioural Analysis Unit had all worked together, but those years had done nothing to shake the strong bonds of family and friendship that ran in each of the agents. And so, when Jennifer Jareau's mother, remembering the hospitality and kindness that David Rossi had extended to help her daughter get married, invited them all to stay with her in Pennsylvania over Christmas, it had been an offer that none of them could refuse.
The kids were loving the fresh air and the wide open spaces to run around in. How they could play outside late at night, being as loud as they liked without any fear of disturbing sleeping neighbours. How they could sleep in and have a fresh cooked breakfast served by Rossi and Sandy every morning. Every foot of land was theirs to roam and explore, and it had become common for the kids to disappear in the morning and return just as the sun was setting in the evening.
About two hundred yards from the house was a little grotto, separated by a little stream. It was shrouded from view of the house by the willow that grew near the very edge of the small island, and it had very quickly become a favourite sanctuary of the kids'. They had discovered on the second day that a smattering of rocks a little way around the creek allowed them to hop across and play in the grotto.
Most particularly, they loved the big cottonwood tree that grew in the centre. Sandy had told them that it had been around since before any of her children were born, and the kids all held it in great revere, that a tree could last so strong for so long.
It was peaceful, beautiful, and heavenly.
And none of them wanted it to come to an end.
