Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: NY. I do own James, William, Robert, Ellie, Bethany, Jason, Liam, Amelia and Elizabeth Angell. And possibly Marie Angell, but I can't remember where I got her name from.
Series: 'Kindred Spirits'.
Spoilers: Pay Up.

Chapter One

"Jess?" Don knocked on the bedroom door. "We're gonna be late."

He got no response.

"Jess, aren't I the one that's supposed to be holed up in there?" Don asked. "I mean, they're your parents."

When he still didn't get an answer, he sighed. "I'm coming in, Jess."

Jess sniffed slightly, knowing that she couldn't stop him and, indeed, not wanting to stop him. She was standing in front of the full length mirror, wearing a simple black dress, her hair lightly curled, cursing the fact that her mother and sisters-in-law – as much as she loved them – always managed to make her feel underdressed at these family dinners. The dress was one of her favourites and always seemed to fit like a second skin in a way that always boosted her confidence, probably more than it should.

But today something was different. It was too big all of a sudden and swamped her frame almost as much as one of Don's shirts.

She watched Don appear behind her in the mirror and leaned back as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "You look beautiful." He whispered, kissing her neck.

"No, I don't." Jess disagreed with no real fire in her. "You can feel every single one of my ribs."

Don ran a hand down her side. "No, you … Okay, you can. But you were in a coma for a month, Jess; that's expected." He squeezed her hand. "And you still look beautiful."

Jess scoffed lightly. "You have to say that; it's in the job description."

"Doesn't mean it's not true." Don pointed out. "Now come on; we don't wanna leave your dad outside cleaning his shotgun for hours."

"Dad hasn't sat outside cleaning his shotgun since my senior prom." Jess sniggered. "But, if you're that worried, maybe we should leave now."

"I've been saying that for the last five minutes." Don muttered.

"What was that?" Jess asked, picking up her bag.

"Nothing, darling." Don smiled innocently at her. "Nothing at all."

"So this is where you grew up." Don commented as they left the car.

"Yes." Jess shivered slightly in the December wind and pulled her coat tighter to her. "Why?"

"No reason." Don shrugged. "I just always pictured you growing up in a place like this. Nice house, big yard …"

"Five kids." Jess reminded him, ringing the doorbell.

Running footsteps were heard on the other side, followed by a female voice calling, "Mya! Check first!"

The footsteps slowed and a child's voice spoke up. "Who is it?"

"It's Auntie Jess, honey." Jess smiled.

"Yay!" The door flew open and the little girl rushed into her arms.

Jess winced slightly at the contact and gently loosened her niece's hold. "Careful, Mya."

"Mya, remember what I told you!" A blonde woman appeared in view, holding smaller baby in her arms. "Auntie Jess is hurt, so you have to be very gentle."

"Not very gentle." Jess disagreed. "Just a regular degree of gentle will do." She stepped away from Mya, who was chattering at top speed about kindergarten, and embraced her sister-in-law. "How are you, Ellie?"

"Better than you apparently." Ellie kissed her cheek. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, right." Jess pulled away. "This is my partner and boyfriend, Don Flack. Don, this is Ellie, Jamie's wife. And this is Mya and Elizabeth. They're five and two."

"Hi." Ellie shook his hand. "Mya, what do we say?"

Very formally, Mya held out her hand. "My name is Amelia Angell and it's very nice to meet you."

With a smile that told Jess he was stifling a laugh, Don knelt down to the girl's level and shook her hand. "Hello."

Ellie gave Jess a meaningful glance as he straightened up. "Come in, you two; it's too cold to stand around in doorways."

The two stepped inside, shedding their jackets. "Where are Jason and Liam?" Jess asked, referring to her two nephews.

"Back yard." Ellie's eyes lingered on the gun at Don's waist. "You two have to wear them?"

"Part of the job, Elle." Jess smiled thinly, silently cursing her for drawing attention to it. "But I don't have one; department shrink won't sign me off to have my piece back."

"She's only doing her job." Don pointed out calmly, giving her something else to focus on.

"By telling me that my nightmares are because I'm feeling 'trapped and alone'?" Jess rolled her eyes. "I know why I'm dreaming about being buried alive; it's because I almost was. It's not rocket science."

Don gave a small sigh, having had this conversation with her many times since her first appointment, and offered Ellie a smile. "There's no way any of the children can get their hands on it; there's a safety catch on the holster."

Looking more reassured, Ellie led the two into the living room and Jess found herself on the receiving end of another hug, this time from her mother.

"Oh, Jessica, thank heavens you're alright."

"Merry Christmas, Mom." Jess greeted in a muffled voice. "Okay …" She extracted herself from her mother's arms. "Introductions. Don, this is my mom, Marie. You've already met Daddy."

Marie beamed. "It's wonderful to finally meet you."

"Likewise." Don returned as she embraced him in welcome.

"Good to see you again, Detective." Cliff shook his hand firmly. "I trust you're taking care of my baby girl."

"I do my best, sir." Don replied, cutting off Jess's protest. "But she doesn't make it easy."

Marie laughed. "She never has."

"She takes after you." Cliff agreed.

"She is right here." Jess pointed out, rolling her eyes. "Where are the boys?"

"Setting the table, supposedly." Another female voice answered from behind them. "But you know them, Jess; they gossip worse than we do."

Jess turned to smile at her other sister-in-law. "Hey Bethany. How's the baby?"

Bethany patted the slight swell of her stomach. "Woke me up at four this morning. How are you?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Jess asked.

"Maybe because you were shot?" Bethany shot back, wrapping an arm around her. "I can't begin to tell you what we went through …"

"Don's already done that." Jess assured her, slipping her spare arm through his and nudging him forwards. "This is Will's wife, Bethany."

Bethany smiled at him. "Pleasure. How long have you two been …?"

"Eleven months." Jess answered. "But we've been partners for about three years."

"I thought you said you'd never date your partner." Bethany commented too quietly for Don to hear her.

"I did." Jess confirmed in the same tone. "But Don can be very persuasive."

Bethany laughed. "Matt's not here yet; he and Sarah are stopping in to see her parents on the way."

Jess nodded, inwardly sighing with relief. If she was honest, she was more worried about Matt's reaction than her anyone else's; she could live with the other's disapproval, but Matt turning away would break her.

Tugging lightly on Don's arm, she led the way to the dining room, smiling as her brother's voices floated out to her. Her smile soon disappeared, however, when she realised that they were arguing, not gossiping as Bethany had assumed.

"… were you?!"

"We both have to work, Rob; it's not …"

"Excuses; excuses! You're just never there!"

"I'm not the other side of the country, Robert; what do you want me to do?"

"Pick up a phone?! Write, email … something! Dammit, James; Matt and I had to leave a message with your secretary telling you that our sister was dead and you couldn't even be bothered to call back and find out what happened!"

Jess faltered. "Uh oh."

"Oh dear." Her mother sighed from behind her. "I'll …"

"No." Jess cut her off. "I'll deal with it. It's me they're arguing over after all."

"Okay." Her mother didn't sound convinced, but didn't argue. "I'm going to carry on with dinner; do either of you want anything?"

"No, thanks." Don responded, as Jess shook her head. "Anything I can do to help?"

Marie smiled at Jess. "He's a keeper. Thank you, dear, but no; Bethany and I have it sorted."

"Actually," Ellie called from the living room, "I need to change Liz; do you mind keeping an eye on Mya for me?"

"Sure." Don squeezed Jess's hand as he moved away. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Jess narrowed her eyes at the door, took a deep breath and pushed it open.

The three men – boys, her mind corrected, they certainly weren't acting like men – were still arguing; Rob on one side of the table and Jamie and Will on the other.

Jess cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. I was under the impression that Mya and Elizabeth were the children in the family. Because you're all doing a wonderful impression of squabbling three-year-olds. I mean, good God, Liam behaves more maturely than this." She ignored the stunned expressions on the faces of her two eldest brothers – maybe they were expecting her to have turned into glass - focusing instead on Rob, who approached her warily.

"How much does it hurt, Chickpea?"

"What; this?" Jess pulled the strap of her dress to the side, revealing the scar on her shoulder, noting the shudder that ran through all three of her brothers. "Sometimes I forget that it's there. This one acts up sometimes though." She ran a hand across her abdomen. "But I suppose that's what happens when three .50 calibre bullets tear through your stomach."

Rob blanched and wrapped her in a hug. "Don't joke about that, Jess."

"Sorry." Jess murmured into his shoulder. "But it's not so bad." She added as she pulled away. "Ask Don if you can see the scar from the bombing; it's much worse."

Rob pulled a face. "No thanks."

"Who's Don?" Jamie asked.

"My boyfriend." Jess answered slowly. "And your wife seems to like him, so don't start."

Rob grinned at her suddenly. "This the friend we were talking about on the phone? With the sister?"

Jess nodded, blushing slightly. "Yes."

"Thought you said you weren't together." Rob teased.

"We weren't!" Jess protested. "It kinda … sorta … happened shortly after that."

Rob nodded. "How is his sister?"

"She's fine." Jess told him. "She's been dropping by, pretty much every day. Obviously Don's still at work and everyone seems to have this idea that I can't survive more than twenty minutes on my own."

"Wait, Mom said you were staying with your partner." Will spoke up.

Jess raised an eyebrow. "Don is my partner. And I prefer the term 'living'; we came to the conclusion yesterday morning that we might as well make it permanent. And I don't know where you two think you get off being so overprotective, considering neither of you have even said 'hello' to me yet, let alone asked how I am despite the fact that I almost died."

"Just be glad Matt's not here yet." Rob added.

Jamie gave Will a warning look. "You're right, Jess; sorry."

Jess folded her arms. "I should think so! I haven't heard from either of you since I joined NYPD. Would it kill you to just phone and say hello?"

"You're right." Jamie repeated, hugging her; she didn't respond to it. "I'm sorry. You're my baby sister; I should make more time for you. Tell you what, from now on, every Sunday night, I promise to sit down and call you, alright?"

Jess smiled and loosened her arms to hug him back. "I suppose so. I love you, Jamie."

"Love you too, Chickpea." Jamie kissed her head.

"You just had to come up with that, didn't you?" Jess muttered, pulling away.

Jamie grinned at her. "You love it!"

Almost as soon as he had released her, Will pulled her into a tight hug. "You scared us, Jess."

This probably meant more to Jess than anything previously said; for any of her brother to admit they were scared to anyone, let alone her, was a rarity and almost unheard of.

"I know." Jess whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Do you love him?" Will asked her quietly.

"More than anything." Jess smiled.

"And he loves you?"

Jess pulled back to meet his eyes. "Of course."

Will smiled at her. "Just making sure."

The back door flew open at that point and two boys sprinted in, their coats covered in snow, laughing hysterically about something. Will released her as they both stopped dead in the middle of the room.

Jess smiled at her two nephews, aged thirteen and eight, waiting for their reactions. Mya hadn't been old enough to understand death as a concept, but these two, especially Jason, knew what a miracle it was that she was still here. "Close your mouths, boys; you're catching flies."

"Aunt Jess!" Liam threw himself into her arms and she flinched slightly, but the discomfort was fleeting; unlike his sister, his arms were around her neck, not her waist, leaving her free to hold him tightly.

Jess kissed his forehead. "Merry Christmas, Liam. What did Santa bring you this morning?"

"A new bike!" Liam answered happily. "And, Aunt Jess, I found out something else too!"

"Oh?" Jess asked. "And what was that?"

"Santa's a mind-reader!" Liam told her. "Because I didn't ask for a new bike in my letter!"

"What did you ask for?" Jess glanced up at Jamie who was smiling proudly.

"I asked him to get you back." Liam answered with typical 8-year-old blunt honesty.

Feeling tears gather in her eyes, Jess forced them back and ruffled his hair. "Well, it's a good thing he got your letter then, isn't it?"

"Where's Mya?" Liam asked. "She's starting kindergarten in January."

Jess smiled. "Living room." Briefly she thought about going with him to warn Don, but then decided against it, opting instead to straighten up and hold an arm out to Jason, who hesitated. She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Jason, I know; you're 13 and you don't need hugs anymore, but I'd quite like one and I haven't see you in a year, so get over here. My therapist has banned me from chasing errant children."

"I'm not a child!" Jason protested, but hugged her anyway, his tight hold and trembling arms betraying his earlier hesitation as ego-protection, nothing more.

"I know." Jess kissed his forehead as well, grinning when he wiped it off. "Alright. Come on, boys; there's someone you need to meet."

"Can we …?" Will began, grinning ominously.

"No." Jess cut him off. "Keep in mind this is also the man who ignored protocol to wait for EMTs and rushed me to the hospital himself, which is the only reason I survived." Not waiting to see their reaction, she guided Jason ahead of her and into the living room, stopping to smile at the scene that met them.

Her father had disappeared off somewhere, probably to the garage to 'tinker around' as her mom put it; he had recently bought an old wreck that he was fixing up. Or possibly making worse, no one could quite figure it out.

Her little niece – Miss 'I can't sit still' herself – was perched quite happily on Don's lap with a picture book, pointing out the different words she could read. Don was somehow managing to carry on a conversation with Liam about what he got for Christmas at the same time as nodding and asking Mya questions in the appropriate places.

For a second, Jess let her mind take her to a place where it was their children he was talking to, but then Jamie's voice low near her ear interrupted her thoughts. "I've never seen Mya sit still for that long."

"Me neither." Jess walked over and sat next to them. "What you got there, Mya?"

"Santa brought it." Mya showed her the alphabet book she was holding. "I know what all the letters are for."

"So I heard." Jess pulled her over onto her own lap. "Don, these are my three oldest brothers, Jamie, Will and Rob." She watched with no shortage of relief as they greeted Don cheerfully, before all four plunged into a friendly sports debate, occasionally helped by Jason and Liam, who joined in with gusto.

Three down. She thought to herself. One to go.

AN: I know the school year starts in September, but in England, children born in the second half of the year sometimes start kindergarten/reception a few months later. Not sure how it works in America, but chalk it up to AU and be done with it :) This will be a two-shot, so bear with me lol. Thanks to everyone who voted on the poll; I will churn out some of those soon, I promise. Just let me get the NCIS plot-bunnies out of my head first; they're starting to breed and there's not much room up there. Review please!