A/N: This is something different that I'm still not sure about BUT that's what reviews are for! This series falls in season 6 and the chapters may have references to the episodes. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

Jake's Series #1

I look around and observe the laid back feel of the bar. The occupied tables all have complimentary baskets of popcorn and I have a feeling mine is on the way once a girl named Abby comes back with the beer I ordered. There is a soft hum of a classic rock song I don't remember the name of but its smooth tones relax me a little.

I slowly shake my head and wonder why I am so antsy. It is just Hotch. I used to see him everyday for years. I don't have time to dwell on why I am so anxious because just as Abby returns with my beer he walks in. He spots me almost instantly and a smile graces his features. I am proud that I don't drop my mouth open in shock. Smiling isn't one of Hotch's habits, so to speak.

Abby notices me looking towards the entrance of Jake's and follows my eyes. "Wow," she mutters under her breath. I decide to pretend I don't hear her and simply watch Hotch walk over to the booth.

"Hi," he says. He just stands there, next to Abby, and looks down at me.

"Hi," I answer and offer a smile of my own. His eyes have been on me since he saw me sitting here, waiting. They are twinkling, another look I'm not used to seeing on him. I clear my throat and motion to Abby. "What do you want?" I ask for her.

He does a double take and notices our server for the first time. She is staring at him and I have to look down to mask my smirk.

"Ahh, I'll have a scotch, please. On the rocks."

"'Kay," she says. The flustered waitress turns a light shade of pink and goes to the bar to fill Hotch's order.

When Abby is out of earshot, I smirk. "She's infatuated with you."

Hotch is still settling into the booth when he looks at me, utterly bewildered. He glances over at Abby and then back at me. "What?"

I grin at him and shake my head. "Nevermind."

He leans forward and rests his elbows on the table. He lightly clasps his hands and cocks his head to the side, in true Hotch fashion. "I'm glad we could do this," he tells me, keeping his voice light.

"Me too," I say. "At least this time it is planned, right?"

"Yeah," he agrees. "While it is always great to see you, doing so when you are surrounded by your new coworkers isn't exactly the way I prefer it."

I remember when we ran into each other a week before when my colleagues took me out in honor of closing our first case together. We were at an uptight, expensive place which isn't my thing. I was pretending to laugh at a joke when my eyes crossed the bar only to land on Hotch. He had a puzzled expression on his face and looked amused. The veteran profiler raised his eyebrows at me, clearly knowing I was out of my comfort zone and not acting myself. I remember how he leaned over to his friend and said something to him. After a second, Hotch began to battle the crowd as he made his way over. I stood there watching him the whole time, eager to talk to him. When he finally reached me he simply said, "JJ".

I offered him a smile and greeted him warmly. "Hotch!" I had to stop myself from hugging him; I was so relieved someone familiar was there with me.

I remember how my coworkers stiffened when they caught on to who Hotch was. The men tugged on their ties and made sure their Pentagon IDs were visible. I wanted to roll my eyes at them but decided it would be in my best interest not to. Hotch, being a profiler, immediately sensed the tension but chose to ignore it. "How are you?" he asked me.

I nodded with a light smile since I could not bring myself to outright lie to him. I immediately asked what I needed to know. "How is the team? Are they doing okay?" To anyone that heard me, it was obvious how invested I still was in my old colleagues. I saw some of the lightness in Hotch's eyes dim at my question so I tried a different tactic. "Everyone behaving?" I joked.

He shrugged and tilted his head. "For the most part I suppose." I could have sworn he winked at me but it was so miniscule I attributed it to my imagination.

"Good. Oh, everyone, this is Aaron Hotchner, my boss at the BAU." I winced at the present tense use when I had introduced him. My coworkers nodded at him and a few offered their hands. A few.

"JJ?" Hotch's voice jolts me back to the present. I startle and refocus my eyes on him. "Everything okay?

"Yes. Just thinking," I answer him.

"Want to tell me about it?"

I shake my head and smile. "No. It's nothing important." He nods and remains silent. I see that Abby had returned with his drink while I was reminiscing and kick myself for being so out of it.

"How is everyone? Really?" I ask him after a moment.

Hotch sighs and twirls his straw. "They are hanging in there. I never thought I'd say this, but sometimes I'm glad when we get a case, it is a good distraction."

I frown. It isn't the response I was hoping for. "Pen told me I was the 'glue that holds us together' the night I left." I begin to pick at the label of my beer bottle. I think back to the conversation I had in her small office and worry she was more right about things than I gave her credit for at the time.

"You were," Hotch answers bluntly. "You still are sometimes. There are a lot of memories…" Hotch drifts off and I'm curious as to why. He takes a breath and taps a finger on the table. "Let's not talk about it, JJ. This is meant to be fun, isn't it?"

I look up and see a guarded expression on his face. It is as if he isn't sure this is what I call "fun". I decide to prove him wrong. "Yes, you are right! Cheers to that!" I angle my beer bottle towards him. He smiles and clinks his glass with mine.

I grow suspicious when he is still smiling after we place our drinks back down on the table. "What?" I ask him cautiously.

Hotch's eyes are twinkling again and I decide I really like the look on him.

"I love being right."