1 | 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐄 ⭃ Spencer Reid

19.1

"Thank you for meeting me here. I know it's early," her sister-in-law said as she looped her arm through Caroline's, gently steering them to the tired-eyed barista behind the cream-colored counter.

"It's no problem," she said. "I'm glad you called. How are you feeling? And the baby?"

Rebecca's answering smile was warmer than any of the fresh coffee in the shop. "We're both doing fine."

It had been two weeks since Rebecca and Chris had revealed their exciting news to the rest of the family over dinner. Both Caitlin and her aunt had teared up, while Caroline tailored a perfect response of glee and surprise (even though she had already known).

Cass had been the most excited out of all of them, which had come as a shock, but the almost-seven-year-old was convinced that their newest family member was going to be a girl that she could play dolls with. Caroline didn't have it in her to tell her youngest sister that it could be a boy, so she'd let her brother have that job.

Once they both got their orders—Caroline a hazelnut coffee with a blueberry muffin and Rebecca a herbal green tea that smelled like the inside of a dumpster—they both went back to the corner and sat. Caroline carefully cut her muffin in half and slid the other half on a napkin towards Rebecca, who took it gratefully.

"So, why'd you call? Not that I'm complaining," she said quickly once she saw her sister-in-law's face. She filed away that the pregnancy hormones were starting to kick in and she needed to watch her wording a little more. "It was just sudden."

"Well, I did want to ask you a favor," Rebecca said as she took a sip of her tea. "It's nothing huge and you can totally say no, but it'd really give me some peace of mind."

Caroline leaned over and squeezed her hand. "Anything, Bec. What is it?"

"Well, Chris and I have been talking. And if anything were to happen to us—"

"If anything were to happen to you?" Caroline shook her head, her blonde hair falling over shoulders. "Is Chris stressing you out? Because if he is, I swear I'm going to smack him. You guys are going to be fine. My brother's just...well, a baby, when it comes to children."

Which wasn't lie. It was almost comical to see her brother—a decorated Marine that can easily bench her as if she weighed nothing—get so freaked out around something so unthreatening as a crying baby.

Rebecca stuck her tongue out her briefly. "No, no, he's been fine. And I know everything will probably be fine," she amended quickly. "But, heaven forbid, if something ever happened to us, we'd like you to be the primary caregiver."

Caroline blinked, the words still processing in her head. "Me?"

"Yes, you. C'mon, you had to have seen this coming."

"I'm just..." She shook her head, suddenly at a loss for words. "I'm honored."

She didn't like using the word honored because it felt like too small a word for what she felt right now. She hadn't realized that they trusted her that much—so much so that they trusted her with their unborn child.

"Does that mean you'll do it?" Rebecca asked.

"Oh, God, of course!" Caroline exclaimed. "I'd treat him or her like they were my own."

"I know you would, that's why I asked." She sighed, her shoulder relaxing. "That's one less thing I have to worry about now."

"But nothing is going to happen to you," she repeated before taking a sip of her coffee. While she already loved her niece or nephew so much it physically pained her, she hoped it never came down to her getting custody. The thought of something happening to either her brother or his wife created hard knots in her stomach that made it painful to breathe.