Disclaimer: We don't own Criminal Minds.
A/N: So here's yet another one of our JJ/Hotch collaborations. :) BUT it won't be JJ/Hotch until the end—sorry! We hope you still like it anyways!
Chapter One
JJ wasn't sure why she felt a sudden pang of longing as she watched her boss talk to an unknown woman on the phone. She was, after all, happy. Wasn't she? She wasn't sure now, as she saw the Unit Chief laugh heartily at whatever the woman was saying. She knew that after his divorce he would eventually find someone, but she didn't know it would be so soon.
Another thing she really wasn't sure of was why she was hiding behind a menu--even though she already had her take out order in hand--just so she could listen to Hotch on the phone. Why couldn't she just walk away?
"Hey there. Yeah I just got here. Where are you?" Hotch asked, smiling slightly as he was seated at a small table near the bar.
"I'm almost there, only about two blocks away." Valerie--Hotch's girlfriend--answered sweetly. "I got caught up in traffic."
"That's the beauty of being an FBI agent, I never have to wait in traffic." Hotch said teasingly.
"The rule-abiding Aaron Hotchner, suggesting he did something unethical? I don't believe it." Valerie retorted.
"Okay, well maybe I don't do that." Hotch admitted, "but I would if it would have made me late."
"Sure. I'll be there in a minute." Valerie chuckled.
A few minutes later a beautiful woman with dark blonde hair entered the small Thai restaurant, and when she made a beeline for Hotch's table JJ knew what was coming, but she couldn't make herself turn away any more than she could have ten minutes before. Watching the happy couple kiss nearly brought tears to her eyes--and she was starting to understand why she was feeling the way she was--and she finally managed to grab her take out and leave the restaurant unnoticed by either Hotch or his girlfriend.
She clenched the steering wheel tightly the entire ride home, anger building each time she relived the side of the conversation that she was able to hear and as she remembered the look on Hotch's face as Valerie walked in the room.
"Why does this make me so angry?" She asked herself, though alone in the car. Her mind raced. She was happy. Not only was she happy, she was involved. With someone else. Why should it bother her that Hotch was dating someone? That question kept tumbling over in her mind.
By the time the sun rose the next morning JJ had been awake nearly two hours, and had already showered and dressed for work--hoping it would get her mind of these new feelings that had suddenly developed for her boss. Leaving a note for Will that she had already left for work, JJ kissed a sleeping Henry and headed off to another day at the BAU.
Making her way into the building she wasn't surprised to see the night security guard--Paul--still on duty.
"Hey JJ, you guys catch a case?" Paul asked as she stepped through the metal detector and let her bag go through the scanner.
"No." JJ answered, her mind elsewhere. Please don't let him be here already. JJ thought, suddenly remembering that Hotch often came in early.
"Then why are you here at 5:20 in the morning?" Paul asked as he handed her back her bag and gun--clearing her to enter the building completely. "Your boss isn't even here yet."
"Hotch?" JJ asked, and felt relief rush through her when Paul nodded. "Oh, well he needs to sleep in every now and then."
"Is everything okay JJ?"
"Oh yeah, of course it is." JJ lied, giving her best fake smile. "I just couldn't sleep last night for some reason so I thought I would come catch up on some paperwork. I'll see you later Paul." JJ continued, making her way towards the elevators.
"Bye." Paul called after her though she didn't hear him. Instead, her thoughts were focused on the dark haired boss that she prayed to avoid all day.
JJ tried to bury herself in her work, but she was rudely interrupted as Emily burst into her office. "I think the world has come to an end." She said slightly dramatically.
"What?" JJ asked, looking up from the file she was studying.
"I just saw Hotch--coming in late, I might add--humming to himself. Then he said, and I quote, 'How are you, Emily?'." Emily informed her.
"Wait, has he ever called you Emily?"
"To my knowledge....no. It's always Prentiss--I think it helps him to think of me as one of the boys before he sends me alongside Morgan to take down the UnSub." Emily admitted.
"Weird." JJ said thoughtfully.
"I know. I think our boss finally got a lady friend."
JJ felt her heart sink, but why should it? She was still dating Will. She was living with Will. She and Will had a son together. She had no right to feel upset over Hotch's love life. She was saved from answering when her desk phone rang. Mouthing her apologies to Emily, she answered, "Agent Jareau."
"Agent Jareau this is Section Chief Strauss, I need to see you in my office immediately."
"I am on my way, ma'am." JJ answered, her mind running a mile a minute wondering what the 'BAU Banshee' could want with her.
"See to it that you are, Agent." Strauss replied, hanging up.
Hanging up the phone, JJ couldn't keep the confused look off her face.
"Who was that?" Emily asked, "Was it about a case?"
"No. No it wasn't about a case." JJ sighed, making her way out of her office leaving behind a bewildered Emily, "Strauss needs to see me for some reason. Can you tell Hotch and Rossi where I went if I'm not back before the briefing?"
"Sure JJ." Emily answered, making her way out of JJ's office as well.
Entering the Section Chief's office, JJ took a deep breath. She had never liked the older woman, but refused to allow herself to be unprofessional. "Agent Jareau, thanks for coming so quickly. I have a unique request." Strauss said, getting down to business.
"Okay?" JJ said curiously.
"I believe that you've worked with SSAIC Katie Cole from the Crimes Against Children Unit," Strauss began, and seeing the look of recognition in JJ's eyes continued, "She has requested your help in a local case involving child trafficking."
"Why didn't the request come through official channels?" JJ asked curiously. If the CAC wanted help, they could have just called her office.
"Because they don't want the team, though if your team doesn't have anything better to do they could assist you. Agent Cole has requested your personal assistance."
"Oh. Of course ma'am." JJ said curiously.
"Well then, let me give you the case file and brief you with the details as I understand them." Strauss informed her.
"Where's JJ, were we supposed to start this briefing?" Morgan said slightly put out that JJ was late.
"Because you are always on time." Reid scoffed slightly.
"She's probably still stuck in her meeting with Strauss." Emily informed the group, and pointed at the files neatly stacked on the conference table, "But she had the presentation ready."
Picking up the file, Rossi grimaced slightly as he saw the pictures of the victims. "Skinned alive? This is going to be a bad one."
"We'll brief on the plane. Wheels up in twenty." Hotch informed the group.
"Hey, sorry I'm late." JJ apologized as she breezed into the room. "I won't be going with you to Idaho for the case."
"Why not?" Hotch asked, slightly angry that Strauss had pulled JJ into something without going through the proper channels--and that Strauss seemed to be interfering with the team yet again.
"I'm being temporarily transferred to the Crimes Against Children Unit by personal request of SSA Katie Cole to help them stop a child trafficking ring here in DC." JJ informed, motioning for a older male agent to enter the conference room, "This is SSA John Wilbanks, he'll be working with you until the CAC close the child trafficking case."
Hotch was cut off from inquiring further by his cell phone that buzzed. Valerie. "I have to take this call, but JJ, I'm going to need to speak with you when we get back." He motioned to the team as he left the room.
JJ was infinitely grateful that she had been discouraged at the last minute from going to Idaho. Not only was she able to more effectively avoid the Unit Chief that seemed to occupy her thoughts of late, but she found a large amount of satisfaction working with the CAC.
"Hey JJ there's a call for you from Quantico on line one!" SSA Amanda Rodgers yelled from her desk over to where JJ was standing, "It's Garcia, she says it's urgent."
"Thanks, I got it!" JJ called back, picking up her desk phone, "Hey Pen, what's up?"
"What's up?! I haven't seen or talked to you in over a week and all you can say is 'What's up?'?!" Garcia asked incredulously, "I mean first Hotch turns into this angry you know what and then you move off to Maryland without so much as a e-mail."
"What's up with Hotch? And I'm only an hour from you, Baltimore's not really that far." JJ pointed out, "Besides don't think I forgot about you promising to watch Henry Saturday night."
"Oh make sure he has on his leather jacket on Saturday so he can go out to eat with Morgan and I." Garcia reminded, "And get this, the boss man made Emily redo one of her consults because she had a few run on sentences. I think you broke him when you told us Strauss was sending you all the way to our fair Baltimore."
"You're not using my five month old to pick up dates, Garcia." JJ informed, laughing, "And don't worry about Hotch, he'll get over it. Just tell Em to take her consults to Dave instead."
"Will do sugar muffin, now I do have news for you about that surveillance footage you wanted me to look at", Garcia said, her tone suddenly all business, "It looks like everyone's favorite Congressman was caught on candid camera exiting the Pine Tree Motel just after 9pm, but his aide--Russell Wells--didn't leave until almost two hours later."
"Too bad just going to a motel isn't enough for a warrant." JJ sighed sadly, they had been watching the Pine Tree Motel for the last four days on a tip from an informant, but the only thing people seemed to go to this motel for was sex--the legal kind, from what they could tell anyways. "Thanks for trying Garcia. I owe you."
"That you do sugar cake. Garcia out!" JJ laughed as her friend ended the call.
JJ sighed, not wanting to return to her old time friend and reporter for the DC Times. He had already given her more information than they had gotten from anything else, and he was putting his own neck on the line.
"Hey Paul, it's JJ. I'm gonna need another favor..."
A/N 2: So—continue or not to continue? That is the question.
