Disclaimer – Not Mine

A/N – A lot of times when I'm writing I have ideas that don't fit the story I'm working on but the idea just won't leave me alone. This is the result of that scenario. Completely AU. I wrote this last summer when I first started watching CM (completely out of order) before Beth moved to NY. I know that it is similar to my New York or Bust, obviously this sparked that… I've named it Persuasion (my fav Jane Austen) but it's a flipped version as Hotch is the one that is persuaded to do something against his better judgment.

JJ rushed into the office on Monday morning filled with trepidation. Ever since Hotch called off their Sunday afternoon play date with a vague text she had been consumed with worry.

She couldn't recall if the date was of any significance to the Hotchner family and she had forgotten something important. The thought of either Hotch or Jack hurting was unbearable to her. Normally she would have ignored everything and barged in but now that he had a girlfriend she was attempting to respect boundary lines. It wasn't easy. Hotch's text had been brief with the promise of an explanation tomorrow, which it thankfully now was.

JJ was relieved to find him already ensconced in his office when she arrived. She quickly unloaded her personal belongings and made her way to his door. She studied him for a minute before he looked up and noticed her standing in his doorway.

"Good morning." He smiled up at her and the fear that had settled in her stomach calmed. Everything seemed normal.

"Everything, okay?" She advanced into his office, silently scanning his face.

"Uh, yeah." The fact that the open as a book Aaron Hotchtner wasn't exactly meeting her eyes had her nerves kick up again. Something was definitely wrong.

"I was worried when you cancelled yesterday. Jack's not having nightmares is he?" They would be fine for months when something out of the blue would trigger a memory for the young boy. JJ watched as Hotch shifted some files on his desk.

"Jack is fine, JJ." He paused, then started to say something and stopped again. She'd never seen him behave like this. It was making her beyond nervous. "Why don't you sit down?" He gestured to the seats in front of his desk.

She sank unceremoniously in the chair she'd been hovering by. "What's going on, Aaron?"

He cleared his throat and it occurred to her that he was nervous as well. "I'm worried that we might be sending the wrong message to the boys."

"About?" She tilted her head, clearly not understanding where this conversation might be heading.

"Okay, maybe not Henry, but Jack is definitely confused." JJ watched as a blush crawled up his neck. "He told Beth that he didn't understand why she kept coming around because if he had anything to say about it his daddy would be marrying JJ."

JJ grinned wide, "Oh, Hotch." She laughed. Jack Hotchner was a complete charmer and she absolutely adored him. Hotch had teased her on multiple occasions that she was his son's first girlfriend. Her smile dropped, however, when she noticed that Hotch was not laughing with her. "Hotch I hardly think an innocent comment from a six year old boy is anything to worry about." She watched as he swallowed before reluctantly confessing.

"Beth thinks that we spend too much time together outside of work."

For a moment she was completely stupefied. It lasted barely a second then she was angry. "Oh. Beth does, does she?" The reality of what happened yesterday finally hit her. "So because your girlfriend is insecure, you decided it was okay to blow Henry and me off. It's nice to know how truly unimportant we are to you." There was a heavy dose of hurt under the anger.

He finally met her eyes, the shock in his at her statement apparent. "Jesus, JJ. I didn't say that." He didn't think that.

"Actions speak louder than words, Hotch! Your response was to send me a cryptic text and let me worry all night that something was wrong with one or both of you!" She glared at him. "Not to mention how sad Henry was that you didn't join us yesterday."

He had the grace to appear contrite. "I would never intentionally hurt you or Henry."

She saw that, and she knew that, but the hurt was too raw for her to let go. "And yet that is exactly what happened!" The fact that Aaron Hotchner was a mere mortal, fallible like the rest of them was staggering. Wouldn't Will be glad to know that he had fallen off of the pedestal that JJ had placed him on?

"JJ, I really am sorry, truly. It's just, Beth's a little uncertain of what your role is in our life."

She discovered the phrase seeing red, was actually true. "I'm sorry, what my role is? I'm your friend! I have been your friend years!" She couldn't believe how furious she was. Or what an absolute tool Hotch was.

"JJ, try to understand…"

"Oh, I understand alright – I understand you're an asshole!" JJ stood quickly, needing to get as far away from him as fast as she could, the movement causing the chair to fall to the ground. At the door she stopped and turned to him. "So what, am I now no longer allowed to see Jack?" The mere thought had the question coming out on a sob.

"No. No, it just Beth thinks that it would be helpful if she was spending time with Jack to get him used to her without any outside interference." He blanched as if he just realized what he said and quickly added. "I'm not saying that you won't be able to see him, just maybe not as much." He finished lamely.

"Do you hear yourself?" She wiped furiously at the angry tears cascading down her cheeks. "So because Jack prefers me over that witch, she's decided that I shouldn't spend time with him? Since when does someone else influence what you do with your son?"

"Hey!" He made to move towards her.

"Oh screw you! You stupid, stupid, stupid jerk!" She was beyond reasoning and if she didn't get out of there she was going to hit him. "Did you ever think about what Jack wants, what he needs?"

By this time the team had begun to filter into the bullpen, and hearing the raised voices make their way to Hotch's office.

"Damn it, JJ. I've already said I'm not saying that you can't see Jack, I'm just saying that maybe we need to …"

She didn't let him finish. "Save it, I don't want to hear anything else you have to say." She turned and moved quickly out of the office, almost running into Rossi, Morgan and Garcia.

"JJ." Hotch moved almost as fast in pursuit.

"What the hell is going on?" David Rossi growled, watching in confusion as JJ fled from Hotch's office crying.

"I'm taking a personal day." She held up her hand to halt any questions.

He followed her down to her desk and watched as she quickly gathered up the belongings she'd just recently placed away. "JJ, you can't just take off without notice."

"Then fire me!" She challenged. "Or do you have to ask Beth to let you have your balls back?" With that she charged out of the office startling both Emily and Reid.

"What was that?" Emily looked at the gathered group.

Penelope turned to Morgan. "Shouldn't someone go after her? I don't think she should be driving in that condition."

"What the hell did you do?" Rossi asked as Hotch sighed heavily, five sets of eyes swinging around to stare at him.

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Fuck. That went worse than he could have ever possibly imagined. He replayed the image in his mind. He knew while he was spitting the verbal diarrhea it was wrong, he was wrong. He felt gutted. He couldn't get over the look in her eyes and the sad fact that he put it there. Shit.

"So, you want to talk about it?" Hotch rolled his eyes as Rossi stepped into his office and bent to pick up the chair that JJ left on the floor.

"Not really, Dave." He dropped his head into his hands.

"Come on, spill to Dave and he'll help you make it all better."

"Fuck you." He rubbed his hand over his face.

"Hey now, is that any way to talk to the only person on your team who is willing to give you the benefit of the doubt? Everyone else is blaming you completely without knowing what it is that you did."

"You're a peach." He deserved the blame, he was an idiot.

"That I am boy-o, so, tell me what you did to our fair maiden?"

He closed his eyes trying to escape the blue ones imprinted on his memory. "I cancelled our play date."

He missed the smile Rossi flashed but he heard it in his voice. "I'm impressed; you and JJ have play dates? Tell me, what exactly does one do on a play date?"

Hotch rolled his eyes at the sexual innuendo and mumbled, "Sometimes we go to the zoo, or the movies, we've gone to a couple of ball games, Six Flags, Kings Dominion, any place that we think the boys will enjoy." He knew without a doubt that cancelling had been a mistake. He felt like the biggest heel alive.

"So let me see if I have this right," he had overheard quite a bit of their argument. "You cancelled your standard, innocent weekend plans because your girlfriend is jealous that your plans include your smoking hot coworker?"

He wanted to argue the point but he knew that Dave and JJ had summed it up. He sighed and admitted. "Pretty much." Because when put on the spot he'd known his girlfriend was right, the dates weren't exactly innocent. How could they be when that was all he lived for all week?

"Oh man, you are an asshole." Rossi concluded.

He wasn't sure how this happened, how did it get so out of control. "I was just trying to be sensitive to Beth's feelings."

"By hurting JJ's?" Dave knew without a doubt that Hotch would never intentionally hurt JJ. He also knew that Hotch didn't have a deceptive bone in his body. His only fault was being in a relationship with the wrong woman. "You know you allowed Beth to manipulate you."

"She didn't manipulate me." She hadn't, not really; she simply expressed her thoughts that Jack would never accept her role as Hotch's girlfriend with JJ always right there. They simply ignored the fact that JJ was impeding progress in their relationship as well.

Dave was giving him the 'are you kidding' look. "Really? You've been spending every Sunday with Henry and JJ for what, a year and a half? And she's been fine with that up until the point she realizes that JJ is single." Rossi sighed heavily. "Aaron, buddy, I love you, but you are an idiot. You can't see what's right in front of you."

Hotch glared at him. "And what is it that you think I can't see?"

"JJ, you dumb ass. Beth was right to be worried, although maybe if she knew you both better she would realize there wasn't a lot of need for concern. The way you two idiots dance around one another one or both of you will get married again before you realize that you're in love with each another." He was surprised that Hotch didn't deny it. "For a really smart guy you can be really stupid."

For a minute Hotch just sat there and Rossi worried what this was going to do to the team, they would choose sides. This could fracture them. He was about to speak up when Hotch suddenly pushed back from his chair. "I'm taking a personal day. You can call me if we get a case."

Rossi was grinning like a fool as he watched the younger man race from the office. Hopefully he would have this situation resolved soon.

"Where's Hotch going?" Reid asked, as his boss flew by him. "What's going on with everyone today? I followed JJ to the parking lot and I swear she literally growled at me."

"Oh my gosh. Is Boss Man on his way to my Buttercup? Should I let her know?" Garcia grabbed her phone as Morgan placed his hand over hers.

"Let's give Hotch a chance to make this right." He, for one, would be happy when the two finally quit circling around one another.

Emily meanwhile was busy digging in her desk. "Who has July?" Her eyes narrowed at Rossi as she read the name. "You sneaky bastard."

"Oh sweetheart, I'm wounded." He placed his hand over his heart.

"That's cheating. You influenced him!" She thought about it for a minute and shrugged reluctantly. "Eh, maybe this will finally force his hand. I was starting to think Penelope's plan of locking them in the supply room might have some benefit."

"That's the spirit." Rossi grinned broadly before magnanimously adding, "If this works out for those two I will gladly forfeit my share of the bet."

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JJ looked at her sparkling kitchen. She'd been cleaning since she arrived home. She was hoping that it would help calm her emotions. You could eat off of her floor. That should have made her feel better. It didn't. She was heartbroken. She couldn't believe that Aaron Hotchner would have behaved so caddishly. She had half a mind to have Garcia wreak a little havoc on both he and Beth.

Argh. Just the thought of the other woman made her furious. She was used to the gut wrenching jealously that the name conjured. But she thought she had dealt with it well. She at least was secure in the fact that one of the Hotchner men preferred her. Sweet Jack, her ridiculous infatuation with his father aside, she simply adored that boy.

Her eyes alighted on the picture on her refrigerator and her breath hitched anew. Henry and Jack were smiling widely, covered in ice cream. It was the cutest thing she'd ever seen.

She didn't know how she was going to face Hotch tomorrow. She was still so mad at him but she couldn't believe all the things she'd been so bold to say, yell at him. Somehow she would have to find it within herself to offer an apology.

It hadn't helped that the whole time he had the nerve to look so wounded. She sniffed and swiped at her eyes. The thought of being relegated to a mere co-worker almost destroyed her. After all the time they had spent with one another and the boys she couldn't imagine having limited access to Jack. She had to wonder if Will had this overwhelming fear that she would keep Henry from him when they had split. She imagined this is how Hotch felt when Haley moved out with Jack.

JJ sat down and the table and laid her head on her arms. She didn't know how this was possibly going to work. She'd have to find another job. It was bad enough to see him with another woman but she didn't know how they could go from the relationship that they had forged back to polite coworkers. She'd kept her feelings for Aaron Hotchner buried long enough, she wasn't sure she could do it again. She wasn't sure she wanted to.

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He used her house key, uncertain if she would answer the door had he knocked. The slight sniffing sounds lead him to the kitchen. His heart ached when he saw he seated at the table with her head laid on her arms. Not sure what to say he lamely stated, "The kitchen looks nice."

"Why are you here?" JJ didn't even lift her head from the table.

The entire ride over he thought about what Rossi had said. He had ignored his feelings for JJ long enough. He just hoped that Rossi was right about hers, too. "When Jack said that to Beth, I was stunned. I didn't know what to do. I still don't. I'm in love with a woman that I shouldn't be, and have been stringing along another one thinking it would help me get over the one that I want."

His words confused her and she brought her head up. Her swollen eyes pinned him. "Which one is which?" She asked, her lips trembling.

"JJ." He moved to her quickly and bent in front of her, his hands moving to the sides of her face, gently thumbing her tears away before pulling her close and capturing her lips softly under his own.

"I am really mad at you." She uttered that statement from the sanctity of his arms.

"I know." He held her tightly, unwilling to let her go. "I was completely wrong. You have every reason to be mad at me." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

"Why did you say you shouldn't be in love with me?" She wanted to know.

Hotch gently caressed her face and shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

He watched as her eyes grew stormy and she growled, "It matters to me, Aaron."

"No, JJ, you don't understand, it doesn't matter what I thought. I do love you, so whatever lame reason I used to convince myself why I shouldn't is irrelevant. I'm not going to fight it anymore." He leaned down and captured her lips again. "So don't blame me when Morgan is your new boss."

"What!"

Hotch laughed at her stunned expression. "Don't worry we'll figure it out." He stood and pulled her up to him. "Can you forgive me for being a stupid asshole?"

"Do you promise not to let it happen again?" She responded. "I cannot believe I spoke to you like that. I was so furious at you."

"You had every right to be furious with me." He was amazed by his own foolishness. "I really am sorry, JJ. You know you're going to have to be patient with me, I can be kind of dense when it comes to relationships."

She lifted a brow. "Are we in a relationship?"

"We've been in one for months." He shook his head. "No wonder Beth was nervous about you. She saw what I was too stubborn to recognize."

"I really don't like the idea of giving Beth credit for anything." JJ replied sullenly.

He smiled down at her and said logically, "If she hadn't prompted me to act like an idiot who knows what would have happened?" He suddenly stopped speaking and looked at her in shock. "Shit. I still have to talk to Beth."

She should have realized that he would need to but she really didn't like the idea. "Can I suggest a public place?" Her hands fisted in his shirt.

"You know I'm not sleeping with her, right?" He blushed at the admission. "She'll probably be relieved when I break it off."

She realized he believed that and quickly set him straight. "No she won't. She was working pretty hard to get me out of the picture because she wanted you all to herself." She smiled up at him. "I can't fault her logic. I wouldn't be too keen on sharing you either."

He leaned in and kissed her again. "That's not going to be an issue."

"Why didn't you sleep with her?" JJ couldn't help but ask. She knew that Beth had been willing. It was evident in her body language and the lingering touches that she would initiate whenever JJ was around.

Hotch stared at her intently for a minute then answered with complete honesty. "Because whenever we got close to that situation it was never her that I was picturing myself with."

"Who did you imagine yourself with?" JJ asked, huskily, fairly confident that she knew what the answer would be.

"I think you know the answer to that." He confirmed as his hands framed her face.

"I know." She grinned, "I just wanted to hear you admit it." She replied, mischievously, as she pressed her lips to his. "In fact, I think we should work on making that imagination a reality." She saw the desire reflected in his eyes. "Like now."

"I'm not sure…"

JJ pressed a finger to his lips effectively stopping whatever he'd been about to say. Whether it was the fact he was still technically in a relationship, that he hadn't come here with this in mind, whatever the reason she didn't care, nothing else mattered but the two of them. She loved him and he loved her. "That's okay. I am." She took his hand and led him out the door towards the stairs.

"Well," He said, grinning, "We do both have the day off."

Thanks for reading!