Al dente

AN: This story is for Tracia (ilovetvalot) as a thank you for the hours of reading pleasure you have provided to me and many, many others. Hope you like it.

JJ caught Rossi's wink as he teased her about when they could at last drink some wine. To him, it was a game, but she was past ready for a hit of liquid courage. A cooking lesson was clearly the wrong venue for hard liquor, yet the longer she had to wait for the tinge of something with a bite on her tongue, the more difficult it became to maintain the playful front.

As close as she and Rossi had become, there was much he wasn't privy to. In the months since he'd made a concerted effort to get her back into the fold of the BAU, she'd noticed he'd been taking more liberties with her. Of course, they were usually far subtler than tonight's display. Yet still, each one tugged a bit more at her wounded heart.

Keeping Em's secret had cost JJ far more than she was willing for any of them to know. The spiral down the drain for her and Will had begun with her appointment to the Pentagon. What she'd hoped would give her more time with her boys, only proved that Will was now a more adept caregiver than she was for Henry.

By the time Emily "died" and she'd followed to France several weeks later to give her what brief support she could, it was clear will thought she was keeping far more from him than secrets with international and possible national ramifications. JJ's return to the BAU was viewed by both of them as a solid move; she'd be home less and Will could go back to pretending all JJ was keeping from him was the heinousness of the human cruelty she witnessed on a daily basis.

It might have worked too had Emily never been resurrected. With her return, JJ's pot of once boiling passion, boiled dry, and scalded already overwrought emotions to the melting point. Now she stood in front of Rossi's massive gas stove, beside Derek who was working magic at his burner like he'd once been a sauté chef in another life, while she watched her onions begin to curl and burn. JJ looked at them and felt a sudden powerlessness; to save them or herself.

"Jennifer, you're going to let Hotch out-cook you?"

She heard and felt Rossi's whispered words intimately against the side of her neck, jolted from the rush of awareness, and grabbed at the first thing she could to ground herself. Unfortunately, it was the handle of her pan, her hand connecting with it far too close to the base. Low flame or not, pain made itself known in short order as she burned her hand.

"Ow, damn it!" she dropped the pan back on the stove, and startled Derek whose attention was more focused on Penelope than on his task, he was that skilled. Before he could react, Rossi had her hand in his and a sprig of fresh aloe in the other. He pulled her by her wrist, trapped in his larger hand, as he led her away from their concerned friends who were shocked to silence, and into a quieter space. All the while, he squeezed the aloe onto her palm and fingers. Once they stopped moving and he tossed the used up leaf into a bin, he used both hands to work the gel into her skin. The cooling sensation was instantaneous and within a minute the burning was gone as well.

JJ wiggled her fingers. "Thanks."

"Don't wash that off for at least half an hour. If you feel the burning coming back, let me know and I'll reapply some more aloe."

"Thanks."

"JJ, what happened back there?"

She refused to face him. Heck, she could barely face herself these days. Turning away from his concern, she moved toward the large bay window with a seat built in which beckoned to her. Once she reached it. She sank down on the padded seat, kicked off her pumps, and curled in.

"Talk to me, JJ. Family doesn't shut one another out."

The derisive laugh that escaped her was every bit as harsh and bitter as any words she could have uttered.

"That bad?" JJ felt Rossi's hand on the elbow of her injured arm, but refused to look at him. She heard when he knelt next to her, but she couldn't soften herself to accept the support he offered or she'd begin to weep. She needed to be like the spagettini he'd prepared for them to work with. She needed to shoulder her responsibility in her current situation. No one ever said everything would come up roses simply because she'd done what was right.

"Jennifer, talk to me or I'll call in Hotch."

"Don't you threaten me, David Rossi," JJ said, as she turned then and shook off his concerned gesture both physical and verbal. "Bring in Hotch if you want, but I'll be gone before he can leave the kitchen. I made my bed; I'll lay on the nails that remain."

"How bad is it?"

"Don't!"

"You need someone."

"Leave it alone, Rossi. You can't fix this."

"Clearly!' He got to his feet and made to leave the room.

That got JJ's attention enough to turn away from the window and meet his gaze head on. "Will is leaving me and taking Henry with hi, He's promised to settle close enough that I can see Henry when I'm in town, but he says he can't live with or raise a child with someone who'd lie to him so easily."

"You were doing your job."

"I know that," JJ snapped, "And, I thought Will would understand. For heaven's sake, he's a cop, whose father was also a cop. If he can't accept what I did and why…"

"He's a fool."

JJ sighed. "You say that as if you'd have reacted any differently had you been in Will's place."

It was Rossi's turn to laugh, but where JJ's had been filled with suppressed negative emotions, his revealed his uncertainty. "Dave?"

"I would trust you, JJ. I trust those I care deeply for."

She was stunned; too surprised by the double meaning of his words to question if there was any reason to doubt.

"I can't speak for Will, but if you were mine there's no chance I'd risk not being a part of every aspect of your life possible by leaving you."

"Rossi…Dave…I-"

"JJ, I'm not looking to fill the gap Will's departure is obviously going to create in your life. I don't want to complicate things further for you. Just know, I'm here. No strings."

Shifting over on the window seat, JJ held her uninjured hand out to him, Without hesitation, Rossi took it and followed her gentle tug until her was perched beside her. Within seconds he had JJ wrapped in his embrace and the tears came. Rossi's natural pleasant musk was overwhelmed by the smells wafting from the kitchen in various combinations of enticing and concerning. Neither of them made to move. JJ felt much like an overcooked pasta noodle by the time she'd cried herself dry and had stained Rossi's shadow blue cotton shirt with the salt from her tears. Regardless, she felt lighter, too. More pliable: not brittle and stiff with grief, anger, disillusionment, and loneliness like when she arrived earlier this evening.

She allowed herself a few more minutes to indulge in his embrace before she stood up, leaned down and brushed just the lightest of kisses to his lips.

"Thank you, Dave for teaching me the importance of al dente."

"For you, JJ, anytime."

The End