Author's Note: Another story written for ilovetvalot and the 'Pick a Pair Challenge'. I'm cheating a little, because only this first chap has to deal with this song, while the Title and the other chaps are inspired by 'Love Like Crazy' by Lee Brice.

This is the first of a multi-chap, so let me know if there's something you like to see. Some of you may be annoyed because you think I'm portraying Dave as a bad guy. Let me set the record straight here. Dave isn't a bad guy. Dave and JJ break up for normal adult reasons: someone wants something the other isn't prepared for. Just like in normal relationships, both sides mess up a little. And, as I learned from the Bachelorette, if something is as good as the relationship between JJ and Dave was, it wouldn't end unless it ended badly.


JJ pulled up her hair into a messy ponytail, wincing as she wiped the sweat that had pooled on the back of her neck.

Sometimes, she hated Phoenix.

Actually most of the time outside the month of January, she hated Phoenix.

But she was dealing.

She frowned as she leaned back in her chair, stretching after hours of mind-numbing paperwork. It used to be that every file meant something, that each piece of paperwork filed in triplicate meant they were that much closer to helping families find some sense of peace.

Now, there were no dead bodies to look at or government secrets to cover up.

No, now all she did was schedule monthly press releases to tout their latest products.

She glanced out the window, her eyes landing on the tall palm trees that always seemed out of place here in the middle of the desert.

She missed the beautiful fall leaves, the budding flowers at springtime and the way the road smelled after a quick summer shower.

In short, she missed most of her old life.

But, there was no going back now.

Not after what had happened.

"I love this. Just us." He smiled, running his fingers through her soft golden hair as they cuddled in a still passionate—albeit exhausted—embrace. "I don't ever want this to change."

She frowned, internally debating whether to share the news she had been keeping secret for the last two weeks. "It can't always be the same." She blurted out. "Dave—"

He smiled, "JJ, just think of it. You. Me. Henry. That's all we need, we're complete like this. We don't need anything else to make us happy."

Her mouth opened slightly to correct the direction of this conversation. Given what an amazing father-figure he was with Henry, she hadn't even considered that he might not want more children. But she had to think about more than just her and Henry now, and if he didn't want to be a part of her growing family, she needed to know now.

Before all the paperwork went through.

He cut her off before she could get a word in. "I know we said this wasn't going to be complicated, but Jen I want to be with you."

She smiled at his admission, knowing how much it took him to say that.

Maybe that's why they fit so well together, both of them were terrified of taking that next leap.

She supposed it had something to do with the way Will left—in the middle of the night after cleaning out every penny she owned—but when David Rossi swooped in with his checkbook and his musky charisma, she thought she had found her soul mate.

Now her life was about to change for the better.

And he had to decide now whether he wanted to jump on that bandwagon.

"What about kids?" She asked suddenly.

He paused for a minute, shifting to get a better look at her in the dim lighting. "You want the truth?" He asked, already knowing the answer as he drew light circles on the back of her hand he was still holding.

She nodded, unable to deal with anymore lies—the beauty of her new-found fling with the FBI play-boy himself.

"Kids scare the hell out of me." He admitted. "I'm not good with them at all."

"Dave," She frowned at his words, "Kids love you. Henry loves you."

"Henry loves everybody." He hardened his gaze as he thought about the little boy's exiting father. "And I'd never do what La Montagne put you through. If that kid was mine, I'd always make sure I paid for my responsibilities."

"But—?" She prodded, sensing a reservation behind his words. Maybe honesty, in this case, was not even close to being the best policy.

But she had to know.

She had to know if they were just looking for a good time, or if this was something that would withstand the ages.

She couldn't just be looking for a good time anymore.

"But I'm old. I'm fifty-four JJ." He shrugged, wondering where this sudden indepth discussion of their relationship was coming from. They had agreed that this was supposed to be simple. It was just supposed to be fun. And though he felt himself falling for her, she knew he wasn't ready for a huge commitment.

His statement before had been hard enough.

Seeing the uncertainty in her eyes, he added. "I'm old enough to be your son's grandfather."

"So you don't want kids at all?" She sputtered, searching for solid ground as she felt the entire world crumbling beneath her.

She had really thought this was it.

How wrong she was.

"Don't get me wrong—" He hedged, sensing that there was something he was missing and hoping he hadn't just put his foot in his mouth. "I love your boy like he was my own. I just—I couldn't let a mistake like that have to deal with me as a father when I'm in my seventies."

"A mistake?" She whispered, blinking at words that hurt more coming from him than they had from her cousin. Her drug addict cousin that agreed to let her adopt Gunner and Charlotte after she got her welfare check next month.

"Well that's obviously what it would be." He shrugged, narrowing his eyes as he saw something behind JJ's gaze that worried him.

"I—I should go." She mumbled, stumbling out of bed as she tried to fumble around in the dark for her clothes.

"Jen—Damn it Jen what's going on?" He tried to stop her, floored by her reaction.

"I'm adopting my cousin's one year-old twins." The words stumbled out of her quickly before she could stop them as she abandoned looking for her underwear, and pulled on her slacks.

"What—?" He gulped, his mouth suddenly going dry as he watched her pick up her blouse from off the corner of the dresser where it had landed haphazardly. "What do you mean?"

She hesitated, unsure of how much she wanted to reveal.

"My cousin…she…" JJ searched for the right words while her fingers stumbled over the buttons on her blouse, "She's an addict." She fell silent as if that was all the explanation she needed. Truthfully, Tiffani's situation was almost impossible to describe.

"And?" Dave prodded, blinking rapidly as he tried to process the information.

JJ sighed, "She's talked about how her kids were a mistake, how much she didn't want them. I was worried about them. So, last week, I asked her if she had thought of adoption." She shrugged as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "I've already filed the paperwork."

She didn't mention how it disgusted her how easily Tiff had been willing to part with her children, and had only grown more mortified when her own flesh and blood had asked if she could terminate contact with them permanently.

That single solitary conversation had only cemented the feeling that this was the right thing.

And while JJ was far from believing that she was the perfect mother, she tried damn hard. Though that was the only thing she could give the twins, she hoped it was enough.

At the very least, it was better than the future they faced with Tiffani.

"Are you kidding me?" He jerked away from her in shock. "When were you planning on telling me?" He asked instantly.

She had to have known about this for a while.

And she had just led him through a conversation where he made an ass of himself without telling him why.

"I didn't think it was important." She backed away herself, already feeling tears sting behind her eyes. "I thought—I should go."

"Maybe you should," he spat, instantly regretting his words as he stumbled out of bed behind her. "Wait. Jayje, I didn't mean that." He frowned, hoping he hadn't managed to mess up everything that was good in her life.

"Yeah." She looked at him, her eyes red as she tried to keep tears from brimming in her eyes, stopping him in his tracks. "You did."

So here she was again, a single mother with no money.

Karma was a bitch.

But, glancing down at the picture of the three happy children on her desk, she realized she wouldn't have changed it for the world.

That night, she had changed her plans to return to the Bureau and prepared to get as far away from him as physically possible. Her next stop was the bank, quickly securing a loan to repay Dave for his help. And now, though she made plenty of money, she lived in a small home in Northern Scottsdale, barely making ends meet as she tried desperately to pay back all of the debt her ex-boyfriend had amassed in her name.

She didn't need anything else from David Rossi.

A broken heart had been plenty.

Her phone beeped and her receptionist's disembodied voice came through easily. "Ms. Garcia called to let you know she was picking up your kids from daycare." She explained, quickly rattling off her messages. "And you have two visitors out front."

JJ frowned, glancing down at her schedule. She didn't have any appointments today, and other than Garcia who had packed up and followed JJ across the country, she didn't know many people here. "Send them in."

The door opened and the first figure that entered caused her to erupt in a wide smile. "Hotch. It's good to see you. You look good."

"You look good too JJ." Another, painfully familiar voice murmured, stepping out from behind Hotch and into her office.

It only took one glance for her smile to drop, her eyes to hardening and her jaw setting defiantly. "Get out." She stood, anger and hurt fused together as it reminded her of the hole in her soul that he had ripped open. "Both of you."

"I made him bring me here, JJ." He smiled softly, his eyes full of regret. "I had to see you."

She snapped before she could even stop herself, "It's Jennifer to you." She shot quickly, livid that with one appearance he could bring up feelings she thought she had long ago buried. "You saw me. Now turn around and go home."

"I—" He started slowly, trying to piece together the speech he had rehearsed hundreds of times during the late night hours.

Hotch frowned as he watched the interaction. He had warned Dave not to upset the woman he looked to as a sister, and if JJ hadn't made him promise, he would have kicked the crap out of David Rossi a long time ago.

JJ's assistant chose that moment to step in apologetically, interrupting his explanation. "I'm sorry Jen, but Mr. Foster needs your approval of the press release by three, and Jonas Webster needs you to call him back as soon as you get a moment."

JJ smiled, relieved. "Dave, I'm busy. I really don't have the time to talk to you, so you can show yourself out." She fought the urge to shoot him a glare that contained half of the hatred toward him she felt. "Hotch, make sure you call when you get home safe."

"Of course JJ." Hotch smiled, kissing her gently on her cheek as he attempted to guide Dave out of her office.

"I'm not leaving until we talk." Dave stood, rooted defiantly before relenting slightly and taking one step back toward the door. "But I get you're busy. Dinner tonight?"

She glared at him now, unable to stop herself. "No." She wracked her brain for some kind of lie that would make a plausible excuse. Deciding to settle on the truth, she shrugged, "The kids have been sick, I—"

"Then let me bring you dinner." He cut in quickly, leaving her little room for argument. "Please."

She was about to decline anyway, to tell him to go to hell and stay there, but the pure desperation in his eyes gave her pause.

"I don't get home until five-thirty." She relented slightly, still hesitant. "I'll text you the address." She sighed, knowing that she was going to be kicking herself for months for giving in so easily.

But she wasn't exactly thinking with her head.

Damn her stupid heart.

"I'll be there." He agreed, grinning for the first time in a while at the thought that he just might be able to pull this off.

He just might be able to get her back.