AN: This was going to be a single chapter in another story, but it got away from me and is now over 12k words long.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. Catherine Jareau is mine along with anyone you do not recognize.

Saying Good-bye to Jason Gideon

Carry on my wayward son,

They'll be peace when you are done

Lay your weary head to rest,

Don't you cry no more.

- Carry On My Wayward Son, Kansas

Friday February 1, 2015

5:45 pm Lyon

11:45 am Washington DC

I look away from the passing scenery and down at my phone in surprise when it rings. I smile in delight as Spencer's name and face appear on the screen and answer cheerfully: "Hi Spence! How's your day going? Are you having lunch right now?"

Spencer's voice breaks on my name. "C-Catherine."

I'm immediately concerned. "What's wrong Spence? You sound terrible. Are you sick?"

I can hear the tension in his voice. "I'm not sick. I – um, I have some bad news."

"What's wrong? Is everyone okay?" I frown.

He sighs. "No, everyone is not okay. Gideon has died."

My jaw drops. "Oh my God! What happened?"

"He was murdered..." Spencer's voice is hoarse.

I blink in shock. "Do the Police have any leads?"

His answer is a quiet "We got the guy yesterday."

I frown in confusion. "Spencer, when did Gideon die?"

He's quiet for a moment before replying: "Wednesday. We got the call to go up to his cabin in the middle of the night."

"Spencer…" I bite my lip. "Today is Friday."

I hear him sigh. "I know."

"Why didn't you call on Wednesday or even yesterday?" My voice sounds small even to my ears.

Spencer's voice wobbles, "I am sorry. At first it was just that I didn't want to wake you up, I'd forgotten about the time difference, and then there was the case, we had to figure out what happened, who would do such a thing, and why, and then by the time I sat down at the end of the day I knew that if I called you, I would have started crying and not been able to stop..."

I follow his ramble with minimal difficulty and my heart breaks for him. "Oh Spence! I -"

He cuts me off: "I'm sorry, I have to go. I love you."

I'm stunned. "Wait!"

He hangs up.

I stand up and walk to the small bathroom to collect myself instead of throwing my phone across the aisle or bursting into tears in public.

6:17 pm

I lean against the closed bathroom door. My phone rings and rings but no one answers. I sigh in frustration and call my sister again, mumbling; "Come on Jen! Pick up, pick up, pick up!"

"Catherine," Jennifer's voice fills me with a much-needed dose of tranquility. I can hear the smile in her voice: "I'm assuming Spencer has spoken with you. He said he would call when I offered."

I sigh. "Hi Jen. Are you doing okay?"

She sighs too. "Okay with which bit?"

I grimace. "Let's start with last week: Are you sleeping better? Have you been hallucinating at all in the past 6 days? Are y-"

"Catherine!" She cuts me off abruptly.

"What?" I mutter. "You said I should check back in with you."

"Now is not the time." The stern tone in her voice makes me wince.

"Yes 'um," I mumble.

Jennifer sighs. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. When did Spencer call?"

I look at my watch. "About a half hour ago. I'd been on the train for just over an hour when he called."

"Where are you going?" She sounds suspicious.

"The Ambassador called on Monday and said she wanted to meet with me. We're going out for a late dinner. I'm not entirely sure why but I have my suspicions." I wrinkle my nose. "I had to pack fancy clothes."

"Oh?" Her tone is mildly interested.

I roll my eyes. "Last weekend when I went for family dinner, someone had laid out half a dozen bridal magazines on my dresser."

My sister bursts out laughing. "You'll have to let Emily know, if you haven't already told her."

I blanch. "Oh crap! I'm going to see Emily later tonight or tomorrow, I don't know when she and Abby are arriving with Maura. Has anyone told her?"

"Yeah," Jen sighs. "Penelope called her."

"When?" I ask warily.

Her tone is defeated. "Wednesday…"

I growl in frustration. "So you mean to tell me that everyone in our family knew except me! Today is Friday! Why didn't anyone call me earlier?"

She sighs. "I was going to and so was Penelope, but Spence said he would do it. We didn't question him further." She's quiet for a moment before whispering, "I'm sorry. I honestly thought Spence would have called sooner. He looked like he needed someone to talk to. Are you okay Kitty Cat?"

I scowl, then shrug. "I think I'm still in shock. I hadn't thought about Gideon since the last time Spencer brought him up, and that was over a year ago." I bite my lip, "Jenny, Spence doesn't sound well. Can you look in on him, please? I don't think he's eaten, he doesn't like to when he's upset."

"I know," Jen sighs, "I can and I probably will once Henry comes home from school but I think Dave's got us covered. He took Spence back to his home last night and got him very drunk. Apparently, Dave managed to win two chess games back to back. He also hasn't let Spencer leave yet today."

I snort in amusement. "Okay, maybe I'm a little less upset that he didn't call now. When's the funeral?"

She exhales loudly. "Monday, three days from now."

I close my eyes. "I don't think I'll be able to make it home Jen. I'm sorry."

"I know Catherine. You're so far away, no one expects you to drop everything and come home. I doubt you'd be able to get time off work either," she whispers. "It's okay. We'll be okay... I love you. Don't forget to call me later, I'll want to know how dinner with The Ambassador went."

I sigh, "I love you too. Bye Jen."

She hangs up and I'm left standing in a cramped bathroom on a train in France with my family 4000 miles away.

6:33 pm

I am in a daze when I exit the train onto platform A at Paris' Gare de Lyon and follow the stream of people heading towards the main doors, rolling suitcase in tow. As such, I don't even see Emily until she appears directly in my path. I stop short and blink stupidly up at her.

Emily studies my face for a moment before leaning in and kissing both my cheeks. "Bonjour Catherine. It's good to see you." She takes hold of my suitcase and starts walking to the side exit, calling back over her shoulder. "Come on, I've got a car waiting."

I walk quickly to catch up to her. "Hi Em, nice to see you too. I didn't expect you to be in Paris so early. Where are Maura and Abby? Are they waiting in the taxi?"

Emily looks at her watch before muttering darkly in French. "We're going to be late."

I frown and answer her in French. "Late? Emily, our family dinner isn't until tomorrow."

Emily shakes her head and continues walking. "I'm not talking about the family dinner; besides, we're skipping that."

I wrinkle my nose. "Your mother is going to be pissed off. Where are we going?"

"Where do you think we're going?" Emily turns her head and frowns at me. "We have a funeral to attend."

I stop walking. "Oh no! Who else has died?"

Emily swears under her breath. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it like that. No one else that you know has died besides Gideon." She sighs. "There are eyes on us right now, please don't make a scene."

I shiver and bend down to re-tie my shoelaces. My eyes do a full sweep of the area; sure enough, there are two people in plain clothes and another two in suits, none of whom I recognize, clocking our movements.

Emily sighs again. "Come on, Catherine; I'll tell you almost anything you want to know but not until we're in the car."

I stand up and silently follow Emily out through the door and on to Allée de Bercy.

Emily directs me to the car. "Where did you think we were going?" She hands my suitcase to Jean-Claude, who puts it in the trunk and smiles at me.

I wave half-heartedly at him and open the car door, gesturing for Emily to climb in first. "I thought my meeting with The Ambassador had been moved up or changed locations. I was supposed to meet your mother for dinner tonight at 7:30." I climb in beside Emily. "Yesterday you asked me to fly here, but I had already purchased my train ticket. You said it wasn't a problem."

Emily winces. "Your dinner has been rearranged, my mother understands." She looks at the driver in the rear-view mirror. "Le Bourget airport, please."

I frown at her. "We're not flying from Charles de Gaule or Orly? Emily -"

She turns back to me and speaks in German, "Like this, please."

I roll my eyes at Emily's precaution but I follow her lead and switch to German: "Emily, I don't have enough cash to buy an international plane ticket last minute. This isn't like at home where I have cash on hand at all times."

"Yes," Emily nods. "And that's fine. You're not paying for a plane ticket. Le Bourget is a private airport."

I purse my lips. "Are we borrowing your mother's plane?"

Emily shakes her head. "No."

I frown, more confused than before.

"Now," Emily runs a hand through her hair, "I've spoken with Jacques and he said it's okay."

I blink at her apparent non sequitur. "Whom?"

Emily raises an eyebrow. "Your boss; Jacques Dubois."

"Oh," I mumble. "Why'd you speak with him?"

Emily continues as if I hadn't spoken. "I also spoke with Clyde Easter. We're flying directly to DC. The funeral is on Monday but I know that Dave has planned a private memorial for the team, the two of us, and Stephen on Sunday. Then I'll have to be around until the following weekend for work."

I blink.

She sighs, "Do you remember the big meetings we spoke about in November?"

I nod.

Emily smiles and speaks quickly: "Well, the first one is next Thursday and Friday. I'm going to be working at the DC office doing prep work and working on the usual stuff until then. It was Okayed, and this way I can attend the funeral and not have to make 4 transatlantic flights in a week. Since you're an intern for Interpol, and I run the London office, I spoke with Jacques. He said I could borrow you for the next week, so you've been drafted as my assistant Tuesday through Friday. We'll fly back to London or Pairs together either Friday night or Saturday evening. You can crash at my flat that night and fly back to Lyon Sunday, or fly back the same night. Oh, and Jacques also said that if all goes well this time, and you're amenable, I could borrow you again for the big end of the fiscal year meeting in Lyon in March."

It takes me a minute to work through her rambling speech but when I do all I can manage is a shocked look.

Emily grimaces. "I'm sorry Catherine; it was the best I could do on such short notice."

I reach over and squeeze Emily's hand. "Thank you! It's so much better than what I could have managed. I'd resigned myself to missing the funeral, but I wasn't sure how I was supposed to help Spence when I was 4000 miles away," I grimace.

Emily grins at me. "I'm glad you're happy." She looks at her watch. "We have time for a couple of questions, ask away."

I laugh quietly. "Where are Abby and Maura?"

Emily smiles. "Maura and Abby are in London. Maura's Science Fair project is due on Monday so they're going to skip dinner with my mother and spend all weekend making sure everything is perfect."

I raise an eyebrow. "That sounds unusually last minute for your daughter."

She rolls her eyes. "Maura finished the project last weekend, but she's has been stressed about her oral presentation. She refuses to practice in front of me anymore." Emily sighs.

I snicker. "What did you do?"

A smile creeps across her face. "I may have offered a few helpful suggestions on how to put the board together..."

I smirk. "Did you offer the suggestions after she'd already put it together with Abby?"

Emily blushes.

I fiddle with the end of my braid. "Who was watching us at the train station?"

"That's my new security detail." Emily grimaces.

I scowl. "Emily Elizabeth Prentiss, did you ditch your protection again?"

She rolls her eyes, "No, mother. They're tailing us both in the beige car, three behind and the next lane over as well as the black car, two up. I'll introduce you to them once we're at the airport. And for the record I ditched the last team because they were getting sloppy and needed the practice."

I snicker.

Emily grins at me, but then sobers. "Now we have to get back to the uncomfortable bit before we arrive at the airport. Are you ready?"

I clench my jaw and nod.

Emily sighs. "There are going to be a bunch of people on the plane, Catherine. I know who most of them are so I can tell you their names, but there are always a couple of people who receive permission to come along for expediency. I'm sorry; I know you're in shock and grieving. I am too, but we need to set a couple of ground rules: These are either my subordinates or peers. Jacques Dubois will be on the flight as well as someone from The Hauge, probably Maxime Janssens. They will each have two assistants and there will be a several security guards. You'll need to address me as either Director Prentiss or Ms. Prentiss. You can't hug me, sit on my lap, or lean against me, but you can sit next to me provided I'm not working. I know you can't control it, and I will do my best to protect and shield you, but not having a panic attack on the flight would be better for both of us."

I nod stiffly and think sarcastically: Thanks Emily, I surely won't have a panic attack now that you've told me not to!

Emily sighs again. "Do you have any more questions before we need to face the music?"

She looks miserable. I bite my lip before asking: "Can I hug you before we get on the plane?"

Emily smiles sadly, "Of course, Creirwy (Kree-ree). I really am sorry about all of this, but it was the only way to get you on to the plane and home in time." She studies my face. "Have you had a chance to cry for Gideon yet?"

I start to nod before shaking my head. "Not really."

The car pulls to a stop and I unbuckle my seat belt.

Emily squeezes Jean-Claude's shoulder and says in English, "Please give us five minutes alone."

"Oui, Madame Emily," He nods and exits the car.

Emily unbuckles her seat belt and holds out her arms to me, "Come here Creirwy."

I slide across the seat and latch onto her.

7:10 pm

A knock on the window startles me back to awareness and I flinch.

"Shh!" Emily whispers and tightens her hold on me, "It's just Jean-Claude, you're okay."

I nod.

Emily releases me, leans back, and sighs. "Come on Creirwy, find your sunglasses and then we'll go meet my penguins."

I retrieve my sunglasses from my purse and put them on before I get out of the car. Emily has already climbed the stairs and is waiting for me next to a dark haired man and a brunette woman, dressed in matching black suits with white shirts and carrying identical duffel bags.

My lips twitch, they do sort of look like penguins if you squint.

The three of them enter the building and disappear from sight.

Jean-Claude offers me my suitcase and I whisper a quiet "Merci," before climbing the stairs and entering the airport. Emily and the two agents are just off to one side so I come to a stop a step behind and to the side of Emily. I am well out arm's reach of the two new people.

Emily turns slightly, squeezes my shoulder, and speaks in English: "This is Dr. Catherine Jareau."

My stomach churns. Emily is doing the same thing Aaron and Gideon used to do for Spence: putting me in a position of authority, even though I appear young, and I'm an intern.

Emily points to each of them in turn, "Catherine, this is Alicia and this is Georges."

"Hello," I murmur, trying to settle my stomach.

To my relief, they nod silently and neither one reaches out to shake my hand.

Emily frowns. "Where are Bilal and Andrés?"

Alicia responds in a crisp, clear voice: "They're currently assessing the building and coordinating with the other teams."

Emily looks at me and raises an eyebrow. "Have you memorized their faces?"

"Yeah," I nod. "And I'm pretty sure I spotted the other two back at the train station. "Latino, dark hair, green jacket, an earring or possibly a necklace; I caught a flash of metal. He had a camera and was pretending to be a tourist but he wasn't looking in the usual spots to take pictures. His shoes were wrong for his pants and he kept glancing back at you two." I nod at the suited agents in front of me. "The other was dark skinned, had a shaved head and a dark coat. He was ordering food at the little café next to the main entrance."

Georges' lips tip up into a smile. "Bilal will be both impressed and annoyed; he now owes me another £10. He said you were a civilian with no formal training and I said that you knew Director Prentiss and she does not suffer fools." His smile grows wider, "You will have to tell me how you spotted Bilal. We," he gestures to himself and Alicia, "Are easy to pick out of a crowd, and Andrés is new and a bit nervous, but Bilal is exceptionally well trained."

I smile shyly up at him. "He caught the coffee cup when it fell off the ledge. I know very few people who can do that. My sister, an FBI agent with excellent hand-eye coordination, is not one of them, but..." I point at Emily. "She is."

Both Georges and Alicia laugh.

Alicia touches her earpiece. "All clear." She looks over at Emily. "Are you ready?"

Emily glances at me before replying: "Yes."

As we walk purposefully through the semi crowded airport flanked by Alicia and Georges I whisper to Emily: "Where's Renée? I thought you'd lured her away from The Ambassador to be part of your detail."

"She's elsewhere on assignment." Emily grimaces.

"Okay," I nod. "I won't ask any more questions."

Emily sends me a fleeting smile before focusing back on scanning the airport for potential threats.

I see someone familiar off to the side and blanch. "Em isn't-"

She cuts me off without looking at me: "What did we just talk about in the car?"

I roll my eyes and point discreetly off to the left. "Director Prentiss, isn't that your boss?"

Emily follows my finger, stiffens, and mutters, "Shit!" She grabs my arm, her face anxious for a moment before the walls come back up. "I need you to stay put over by that wall and don't say anything to anyone until I speak to you. Got it?"

Shaken, I nod.

Emily releases me and walks calmly towards Clyde Easter.

AN2: Thank you for reading. Please review if you have something to say.