Hello, everyone. Here is a new Criminal Minds fan fiction.

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. Criminal Minds belongs to the creator, Jeff Davis, CBS/ABC, etc. I don't own any of the original characters. I'm not going to lie; I'm über nervous about creating this story. Quilter1993 gave me the encouragement to do this story and post it here. I'll try and get to my other stories when I can.

Note: I made some changes; the story now takes place in 2020 in an AU but will have characters from The Profiler and the Prosecutor and my other Criminal Minds.

Enjoy, and I look forward to hearing from you all.

"I got another bowl of popcorn," Élise snuggled in her pajamas. "But a smaller one."

"Fresh from the stove?" Reid asked, also in his sleepwear.

Élise sat next to Reid again on the couch, "You know it. And now, some 1980s Dynasty after watching A Cinderella Story movie marathon."

"Have I ever told you about a case we had about an avenging Cinderella unsub?" Reid brought up the Claire Dunbar case.

"No." This fascinated Élise.

"Well, to get her to surrender, I pretended to be Prince Charming."

Élise's mouth opened, "Really?"

"Yup."

Élise sighed, "I just love Cinderella; it's my most favorite fairy-tale of them all. I think I told you I wrote a thesis on Cinderella. I used the adaptations and elements to compare and differ one another."

"You have to let me read it," Reid suggested.

"Consider it done in the morning." Sighing. "Can you believe Anastasia's going to start Georgetown Day School tomorrow?"

"She's growing up so fast." Reid could feel the tear ducts in his eyes.

"Just seems like yesterday, she was in your arms after she was in the arms of her birth mother before her untimely death at the hands of her bastard biological father," Élise admitted.

"I know." Reid exhaled. "Why you think I wanted her to attend GDS; her late brothers went there."

"Well, I think that's sweet. But isn't GDS really expensive?"

"Before Anastasia's adoption was finalized, Hotch and I discussed her inheritance from both of her biological parents. From her paternal family, she now has an 85% ownership interest stake of Reinhardt Industries; she's now the sole heiress and beneficiary of the estate. And she even owns the rights of her mother's books."

Élise figured. "Meaning she can decide if she wants to turn her mother's books into movies."

Reid truthfully answered, "Yes. Both her parents were worth billions."

Élise almost choked on a popped corn, "Billions?"

"Mmm-hmm." Reid popped a popped corn into his mouth. "She won't get it all right away, though; it's all in a trust—heavily guarded by Garcia by the way—and as one of her trustees, I'll decide when she'll get it. While she can keep her half, the other half will go to charities of her choice and her biological family's charity choices. I used the money from her inheritance to pay for the tuition."

"Well, that's good." Élise eats a popped corn. "When do you think you'll tell her being adopted? When she's old enough?"

"Yeah."

"Daddy?" Élise taps Reid's shoulder and points to him, Anastasia, who was already in her favorite vintage Victorian nightgown and mismatched socks and had her weighted teddy bear with her.

"Hey, sweet girl," Reid got up from the couch and crouched to her level; Élise followed. "What's wrong? You can't sleep?"

Anastasia shook her head.

Élise leaned forward. "Are you nervous about your first day of school?"

"Yeah." Anastasia quietly spoke up.

"Why?" Reid gently puts his hand on her face, even though she slightly flinched.

Anastasia simply shrugged her shoulders and looked down.

Both Élise and Reid had concerned looks on their faces.

"Come here, you," Reid picks her up and places her between him and Élise. As she still had her head down and clutched onto her teddy bear, Reid lifted her head with his index finger. "You don't need to be afraid there, sweetie," Reid said, facing her as he wraps his arm around her. "You're going to have a great first day tomorrow."

"I don't know, daddy." Anastasia softly said. "I'm scared."

"Scared of what?" Élise asked.

"I'm scared." Anastasia's voice cracked, and a tear started to fall. "What if no one likes me? Or what if I don't make any friends?"

As Reid wiped the tear from her face with his thumb and kissed her head, Élise started flipping through the channels on the television. Élise looked at the recent airing of a Cinderella movie. Élise motions Reid to look at the tv before facing her again.

Soon, the two of them smiled.

"Hey, lovey," Élise said to Anastasia, who had another tear fall on her face. "How about…we tell you a story? To make you feel better?"

Anastasia wiped another tear off her face. "Story?"

"Yeah." Élise's voice perked up. "A story. A…Cinderella Story."

Anastasia looked up to Élise, "Cinderella?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

Anastasia barely shrugged, "Okay."

"Good." Élise runs her fingers through Anastasia's hair and tucks some of it behind her ears. Clearing her throat, "Do you want to start off, daddy-o?"

Reid chuckled. "Once upon a time, there was a young girl…named Élise."

"Like you, É?" É was Anastasia's unique nickname for Élise.

"Yeah." Élise went along with it. "Like me, É. Now, Élise had two parents who loved her very much, and she loved them very much. When she was just four-and-a-half, her mother, Tara Lewis, died from cancer, leaving her with just widowed father, Stephen Walker, for the next few years until Élise was nine. Before her mother's death, Élise and her parents lived in a big house together and ran a popular and successful bakery-café called LW's Place."

Reid continued for Élise, "And LW's Place was also the place where her father met Linda Barnes. He soon married her because he thought Élise could use another maternal figure. Choosing for his second wife, Barnes had her two Irish twin daughters who were just around Élise's age."

"What are Irish twins?" Anastasia curiously asked.

Reid answered, "Irish twins are siblings who are born within 12 months or less of each other."

"Cool. Tell me more." Anastasia started to perk up.

"Her two daughters were named Cat Adam-Barnes and Mary Meadows-Barnes; both of their fathers' died before their births."

"And for about two months," Élise continued. "They all lived peacefully under the watchful eye of Élise's father, Stephen, until a deadly car crash fatally killed him. Élise was devastated by the loss of her father, and she was left with a stepmother and two stepsisters she hardly knew. Soon, the stepfamily showed their true colors: they became cold and cruel towards Élise."

"And because Élise's father didn't leave a will, Barnes got everything: the house, the bakery-café and to her dismay, Élise."