Sorry for the long time between postings. I had double hand surgery, and am just back to typing. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, and I am glad so many of you liked Mom's prayer. Happy Holidays to all, and-as always-do not own Criminal Minds or canon characters, no profit made.

Chapter 34

Miraculously, the night passed peacefully for all, with no nightmares-just restful sleep. Until…Jack came bouncing into his father's bedroom at 0700, and found his new brother and his dad fast asleep. Enough of that! "Good Morning!" he cried out at the top of his voice, and leapt up upon the bed. The sleepers awakened, and it took them a few groggy moments to acknowledge their 'alarm clock'. "Good Morning Jack" replied a sleepy Hotch, while Spencer continued to rapidly blink his eyes open, trying to reach a state of alertness. Jack flopped down beside him and shook his shoulder, crying "Spencer! Time to get up! We're gonna go to the park and play today!"

The groggy boy just didn't know how to take this. This was a new experience for Spencer. He was accustomed to being roused from having passed out, in order to face yet more abuse. He had only heard voices raised in anger before. He had no idea how to respond to this joyfully shouted wake-up call. As Jack reached toward him again, the child's instincts kicked in and he jerked back, raising knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, beginning to tremble.

Noticing Spencer's distress, Hotch snatched Jack up into his arms and whirled him to the side of the bed, the boy crowing in delight. "Ok you little scamp, go pick out what you want to wear and I'll help you get dressed." He then turned to Spencer as Jack literally skipped from the room. "I'm sorry he startled you Buddy. He didn't mean too. Are you ok?" the concerned father quietly asked in a gentle tone.

Spencer didn't feel able to respond, and found himself rocking back and forth to help relieve his anxiety at the unexpected and enthusiastic wake-up. Aaron noted this, and reached out to rub slow comforting circles on the boy's back while crooning "It's alright Spencer, nobody can hurt you now, and you are safe here. Jack is just excited about the park. He yells when he is excited. Everything is ok, everything is safe…"

Spencer slowly began to relax and the trembling stopped. Encouraged, Hotch gathered the boy into his arms and gently cuddled him, all the while reassuring him that he was safe and loved. Once Spencer had fully calmed, Hotch excused himself to get Jack dressed promising to be right back and do the same for Spencer. Less than 10 minutes later, Hotch was back to fulfill that promise before carrying the child to the bathroom to take care of business, then onward to the table for breakfast. After a comforting bowl of oatmeal, both boys were eagerly waiting to go and play at the nearby park.

The doorbell rang, and Hotch let his sister-in-law in with a cheerful "Good Morning Jessica! The Boys are ready and waiting. Let's go!"

The family soon arrived at the park's play area, and Hotch placed Spencer in one of the swings as Jack hopped up into the one next to his brother. The two adults soon had the boys soaring skyward as they called out and laughed in delight. Next they sat on the merry-go-round as the adults soon had them going at an exciting speed. Jack then requested the sand pit, so both boys were settled down in the sand pit with a couple of small buckets to aid them in making sandcastles as Jessica and Hotch sat upon a nearby bench to watch them.

An hour-and quite the impressive sand castle-later, Jack piped up that he and Spencer were hungry. With a grin, Jessica and Hotch gathered up the boys and headed to the nearby diner for a snack. The kids happily shared a grilled cheese and order of fries with chocolate milkshakes (which had Spencer in a state of absolute ecstasy), while the adults had coffee and fries of their own. Going home afterwards, the boys agreed to take a nap as long as "Aunt Jessie" would be there when they woke. Jessica agreed to stay, and had a long chat with Aaron as the boys napped.

She has found herself drawn to Spencer, feeling sympathy for the abused boy and finding herself also charmed by his innocent honesty. Jessica shared this with Aaron, and assured him that she was happy to look after him along with Jack whenever Aaron needed to leave town for a case. Aaron let her know how much he appreciated her support and how blessed he felt to have such a wonderful Sister-in-law.

The boys soon woke from their nap, and Spencer found himself calling for Jessica. She came to his bed, and he leaned forward and hugged her. "Thank-you Aunt Jessie!" he exclaimed. "You make me feel safe, and loved, and I love you too!"

"Thank-you Sweetheart!" Jessica replied, her heart swelling. "I am so glad you realize how much you mean to me. You are my nephew, and I will always love you, and I will always be here for you. I know your life has been very hard, and I hope you know that you can talk with me about it at any time, OK?"

"OK," the boy replied, with a shy smile. "I just don't wanna talk about it right now."

"I understand," Jessica said gently. "Just whenever you are ready."

The child nodded, with another shy smile, and snuggled into her arms for a moment before pulling back.

Jack then leapt into Jessica's arms and tightly hugged her. "I love you too Aunt Jessie-you're the bestest auntie ever, and thank-you for being so nice to my brother."

"You know that I love you both, right?" Jessica replied, returning Jack's hug enthusiastically.

"Un-huh" Jack said with a big smile. "Thanks for stayin' til we woke up. Can you stay til dinner an' eat with us?"

"Sure honey" she replied. "Hey-why don't I make pancakes for everybody? I know that's your favorite."

"Yeah" Jack cheered. "Pancakes for dinner is the best! Hey Spencer, you want pancakes for dinner too, right?" The child nodded enthusiastically and smiled widely, telling his new brother "That sounds delicious to me!"

Jessica stood, declaring "Pancakes it is then." As she went to inform Aaron, she surreptitiously wiped the tears from her eyes. Jessica had never felt so close to Aaron and his sons as she did now. She knew that Hailey would approve of the decision to take in Spencer, and could easily see how Jack had already bonded with the unfortunate boy, and vice versa. Aaron was a very brave man, she decided, and the proud Auntie privately pledged to do whatever she could to aid in Spencer's acclimation into the family.