AN: I wrote a bonus chapter, I hope you enjoy this :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

"If you are a dreamer come in"

- Shel Silverstein

October 13th, 2008

Canadian Thanksgiving and Columbus Day

I can hear my name being called.

"Catherine, Catherine wake up!"
It can't be Jen; she would have rolled me out of bed already, so it must be Emily. I start paying more attention to the voice disturbing my sleep.

"It's almost nine, don't you have class today?"

"Go away Emmy." I wave my arm in the direction of her voice. "Columbus day. No class today."

There is an, "Oh." And then silence.

I lift my head from the very comfortable pillow, blink a few times then ask, "Did you want something Emmy?"

Emily looks sheepish, "Well, I thought you had class today. I didn't want you to be late or miss it."

"Well I'm up now. We should eat breakfast."

Emily rolls her eyes, "I ate already."

"Emily! You're not supposed to be cooking, Jen is going to kill me!"

She laughs, "I had cereal."

I sigh in relief.

Emily leaves the bedroom and I follow her to the kitchen. There are ingredients for pancakes on the counter. "Is this a hint?" I ask chuckling.

"Maybe." She hedges, smiling.

"An apology?"

She raises one eyebrow.

"Okay, hint to make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast it is." I smile at her. "How many do you want?"

"Just two."

"Okay, I'll make six."

She raises her eyebrow again, "You're going to eat four?"

"No," I say smirking, "we're going to eat three each."

After breakfast Emily and I sit down to watch TV. I take a few minutes to study Emily while she is busy listening to the news. Her bruises are healing well, they look better than yesterday, and she's not stumbling with every step. This is good. I don't know how her ribs are, but I would assume that they are healing because she isn't breathing shallowly nor has she said anything to indicate discomfort.

After an hour or so of listening to the news, Emily turns to me, biting her nails and looking nervous. I am instantly on edge.

"Catherine," she starts slowly, "you already have a key to my condo and you spend a lot of time here when the team isn't away on a case."

I don't know where this conversation is going, but it's making me rather anxious.

Emily pauses and takes a few breaths, "How would you feel about having your own room here?"

I am confused. "Why-"

Emily cuts me off and starts talking very quickly, "You don't have too, but I have three bedrooms and even if you do take one, I'll still have a guest room. This way, you wont have to leave so early when you come over to watch Buffy and Angel. And I enjoy spending time with you."

She is looking at me expectantly. I don't know what to say. Emily is right, I do spend a lot of time here and I often have to leave early to catch a bus back home or beg Emily or Jen for a ride. That is always a little awkward. I wouldn't mind having my own room here. So I smile at Emily and say, "That would be pretty awesome."

She grins back at me, "We should get paint for your room. What colour do you want to paint it? Do you want another mural like you have at home?"

Laughing I say, "Emily calm down. I only said yes ten second ago."

"Well you must have some idea." She prompts gently. "Was there something that you wanted that JJ couldn't let you do to your rented apartment?"

"Well yes, but I can't draw."

"I can, just tell me what you want and I'll see what I can do."

"I want three black walls and a black ceiling." I start slowly, trying to judge her reaction.

She nods at me, telling me to go on.

"And on the fourth wall, I want a mural."

"What kind of mural?"

"A forest in the winter. I want everything to be white."

Emily smiles, "I guess it's a good thing that the bedroom furniture is also white."

"I uh," I blush, "I also want a silver moon and moon beams from the moon streaking out onto the other walls and the ceiling."

"It sounds beautiful Creirwy (kree-ree)."

I grin. "Thanks Emmy."

Emily has been sketching what I want and I love her picture.

"It's gorgeous Emmy, where did you learn to draw?"

"I took art in high school."

I raise an eyebrow.

She looks sheepish, "I might have also had a few tutors."

I snicker.

"Well," she starts, "I certainly don't mind painting your room black. And we can go look for paint today if you want."

Your room, I like the sound of that. I smile at Emily, "I would like that, but are you sure that you're up for the walk? You couldn't have walked far yesterday."

"I'll be fine Creirwy (kree-ree), the paint store is not nearly as far away as the grocery store. I promise that I won't pick up or carry anything."

I consider Emily's words before saying a cautious, "Okay."

"Go grab your purse." Says Emily, giving me a little push.

I rise from the couch, ready to go back to my new room and grab my bag. Emily's voice from the living room stops me short just before the hallway. "Catherine, do you want a well in this mural like the one you have at home?"

The way the question is phrased along with the use of my name indicates just how calculated the seemingly innocent question is. What is even more worrying is the fact that Emily noticed the hidden 'well' in the first place. I was sure it was hidden perfectly. I can't help but flinch. Damn it. I know Emily saw that.

"Catherine?" she asks.

I need to answer her now, before she becomes even more suspicious. "It's not a well Em, it's a cauldron."

"A cauldron?" she sounds skeptical. I probably would be too if I were in her position.

I nod once, "Yes a cauldron."

"Really?"

I turn around to face Emily, "Really, really."

She smiles at me and I smile back.

I scuff the toe of my slipper on the floor, "It's supposed to represent Dagda's cauldron. It never ran dry; there was always food and drink to be had from it. There is also a legend that Dagda could revive wounded or dead warriors by dunking them in his cauldron."

Emily holds her hands up in surrender, "Alright I believe you. Go get your purse, we'll leave in a few minutes."

We walk to the store since it's only a few blocks away. Emily has decided that because she suggested me taking over one of her bedrooms that she should pay for it. I give in; sometimes it's just easier not to argue with Emily. We pick out tuxedo black for the walls, eggshell white for the trees and silver mist for the moon and moonbeams. I haven't decided if I want a cauldron in this mural but if I decide that I want one, it will be done in white, so there is no need for another paint colour.

Emily wants to bring the paint home right away but since Emily can't help carry it, I am leery of trying by myself. Emily offers twenty dollars to the girl who has been helping us (her name is Leanne), if she will help me carry the paint back to the condo. Leanne accepts. So eighteen minutes after purchasing the paint, Emily, Leanne and I are walking up to the door of the condo. Emily gets the door and Leanne sets her two tins of paint just inside the doorway. Emily pays Leanne and she walks back to the store.

Emily tells me that she thinks she has a projector in storage. And I have to stop her right there. "Emily we cannot do all of this today. We need to wash the walls and move the furniture and then the paint needs to dry and the mural will take days and-"

She stops me, "I know Catherine, but I think we should be able to wash the walls and sketch the mural."

"Don't you mean that I will wash the walls and sketch the mural?"

Emily is grinning, "Yes. There is a bucket and some cloths under the sink."

I shake my head and laugh.

"You'll also have to carry the projector, but I think the maintenance staff has a dolly we could borrow."

"Okay Emmy, how about we eat lunch first? It's almost one o'clock."

"Sounds good."

After a lunch of salad with strawberries and almonds, Emily and I take the elevator down to the basement. Emily had called ahead and there is an old man standing by the door to Emily's storage locker with a dolly. Emily greets him by name but does not introduce us. Which is fine by me, he might want to shake hands.

Emily unlocks the locker, turns on the light and steps in. I cautiously edge around the old man and follow Emily into the storage space. Emily is already standing next to the projector. The thing is massive. I have no idea why Emily owns a projector and I don't particularly want to ask.

I help the old man put the projector on the dolly and wheel it over to the elevator. Emily locks up and follows me with the old man. When we step into the elevator, I notice that Emily positions herself between the old man and myself. It is similar to what Jen does when I am uncomfortable around other people. Unfortunately, this happens quite often. Emily acting like my big sister makes me smile internally.

When the three of us arrive at the condo, Emily unlocks the door and I push the dolly into the bedroom. I pick up the projector and place it on the small table by the window, which thankfully doesn't wobble. I push the dolly back out into the hallway, past the living room and to the door where the old man is waiting patiently. I haven't heard him say a word in the thirteen minutes we have been around each other. He nods to Emily and me before walking away. Emily locks the door behind him and I let out a tiny sigh of relief. I'm not exactly scared, more like uncomfortable in the presence of anyone who isn't family. Even Mr. David Rossi makes me a little leery and he's supposed to be family. Jen says it will take time for me to get used to Mr. Rossi being around. I've only known the man for three weeks and have only been in the same room as him twice. It's not like Jen can invite him over to a girls' night like she did with Emily or just leave me home alone with a poor, unsuspecting, Spencer Reid.

I move the bedroom furniture, of which there is very little, to the middle of the room so that I can wash the walls. Emily bought a can of primer and we'll have to paint the walls with that next weekend. For now, I'm just going to wash the walls and if Emily insists, maybe we'll prime just the mural wall. I have picked the biggest wall for my forest mural, just like I did at the apartment. The bed will face the forest so that it will be the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see before I go to sleep.

Washing the walls takes almost two whole hours. I have been listening to Snow Patrol's latest CD, A Hundred Million Suns. It's amazing and I always lose myself in their music. I am putting the bed back in its spot when my hyper-vigilance sends off a warning signal; there is someone in the room with me.

I stiffen instinctively. I whip around, desperately trying not to show how terrified I am. It's Emily, but that doesn't make me calm down. She is standing about a foot away from me. What happened to the rule of everyone staying an arm's length away? Emily's eyes bore into mine and I have to look away. She reaches out slowly with one hand, but both her hands are open; I can see them even from where I'm looking at the floor.

I hold my breath as the hand gets closer to my face, I desperately want to step back, but I cannot. My back is already touching the wall, I must have stepped back as soon as Emily entered the room because I don't think I was this close to the wall before. Emily's fingers stop about a centimeter away from my chin and I can't stop the flinch that races through my body. Emily sighs, "It's okay Crierwy (kree-ree), I'm not going to hurt you."

I want to believe Emily so badly my chest hurts. I suppose on some level, I must trust her because earlier today I basically agreed to live with her, but right now I can't find it in me. My mind is stuck in a loop; don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me. Please Emmy, please don't touch me.

I start to tremble and it becomes more violent when Emily doesn't back away immediately. She reaches out for my chin instead, and lifts my head. My eyes must look wild because she gives a small gasp and the only other time my eyes have scared Emily, she told me later they looked wild. Like I didn't recognize her or anyone else in the room.

I'm struggling to hold on, trying not to lose myself to the panic that is rising like a tidal wave in me. My breathing becomes ragged and I feel detached. Like I'm me, but at the same time, I'm not. It is calming. The only other thing that could be more calming right now is if Emily wasn't still touching me. She doesn't let go of my chin and I cannot form the words to ask her to release me and step away.

I want to hide. There is a nice corner about three feet to my left that would be perfect but I can't get my body to respond to my commands. Emily wraps her arms around me and that's all it takes to break me from my frozen state. I start to struggle, trying to get out of her grasp. I can't break free and I start to panic even more. I am almost so far gone Emily's voice sounds like a whisper. Wait, Emily's voice. She's talking. Pay attention Catherine.

Her voice sounds like it is coming from very far away, "Breathe Catherine, breathe. Slowly, take deep breaths. Listen to my voice. Breathe."

I focus on Emily's voice and the feeling of her arms surrounding me. I use them to ground me. I think it's working. I can breathe again and it doesn't sound like I'm gasping.

Emily pulls me down to the floor with her; I don't put up much resistance. I couldn't even if I truly wanted to. My body is exhausted.

Once I have calmed down, Emily releases me and pulls some papers out of her back pocket. "I just wanted to show you where we can put our Buffy stories okay?"

I give a small nod, unable to form real words just yet.

Emily shows me a little pocket in the corner of the mattress and puts our papers inside. "It is not urgent. It is not even important right now, but I want you to know that if there is ever anything important that I want you to find, I will leave it here okay?"

My brain feels fuzzy and I am puzzled, "You're leaving something important with our Buffy fanfiction Emily?"

"Not now of course, but in the future. And if you need to leave something important for me, leave it here and I will find it okay Creirwy (kree-ree)?"

"Is there something wrong Emmy?"
"No Catherine, this is one of those 'just in case' things. You have an arrangement with JJ don't you?"

"Yes and with Spence as well. But we've never needed to use it before."

"Well I hope we don't need to use this one either. But don't forget that it's there." She hugs me tightly and I can't help but feel that I'm missing something.
"How could I forget Emmy?" I smile up at her, "We're storing all our stories there." Is something wrong? No, surely Emily would tell me if there was. I must be mistaken. There is nothing wrong.

Emily gets up slowly, she groans and I feel horrible for aggravating her injuries. Emily slowly stretches out on my bed and motions me over. I move closer, but stay out of arm's reach. The frown on Emily's face makes me cringe. I don't want to upset her further so I inch closer.

"Go around to the other side of the bed Creirwy (kree-ree), I think we could both use a nap before dinner."

I sigh quietly, but do as I am told. I walk around the bed and climb in under the covers on that side. I want to put a pillow between us so that Emily cannot see my face, but there are only two pillows and hiding my face would let Emily know how embarrassed I feel and she might think that something else is wrong with me.

Emily shifts a little closer to me but doesn't touch me. Emily starts humming the lullaby she sang for me last night, it is comforting in its familiarity and I can feel my eyelids drooping. I'm so tired, maybe a short nap will be a good thing.

Giles: Something's coming, something, something,

something is - is gonna happen here. Soon!

Buffy: Gee, can you vague that up for me?

- Season 1, Welcome to the Hellmouth, BTVS

AN2: Thank you for reading, reviews are always appreciated. The reason why the team did not come back and celebrate Emily's birthday is simple, on the show they do not find out about Emily's birthday until Season 4 episode 14. I could not have the team know about it here when they didn't know until several months later on the show. If I change my mind, I might add in a reunion, but for now. This is the end.

AN3: Just to let you know, my next story will be posted on Saturday May 19th, 2012. It will be entitled Hydromorphone. It will focus on Spencer Reid and Catherine with cameos from both Emily and JJ.