Disclaimer: We don't own Criminal Minds.

A/N: Hey everyone! This is our newest JJ/Hotch fanfic creation, and we hope you like it. Some of the flashbacks in this one will seem VERY OOC but there is a very good explanation for that--alcohol does crazy things to people :). So, anyways, we hope you like this one just as much as our other stories and, as always, please review and let us know what you think!

Prologue

Aaron Hotchner watched the blonde woman across the table from him carefully. She was finishing up the final press release after catching the UnSub in Atlantic City--another serial killer that murdered women, only this time it had been different. This time, the UnSub had fed his victims to his four dogs.

"Hotch, if you'll just give me a minute, I have to fax this out and then we can go." She said, looking up at him slightly. She knew that the reason he offered to stay behind was to make sure she was okay, and truthfully she was grateful for it. Not that she would ever admit it out loud. She stood, but was interrupted by her ringing cell. Will

Seeing the look on JJ's face, he immediately offered to help. She had been through a lot in the last six hours, and didn't need to be any more stressed out. "I'll fax them, you can take the call." He offered, stealing the files from her hands.

"Hi Will." JJ sighed, it had become a frequent occurrence for Will to call while JJ was on a case and complain about being left home with Henry.

"Jayje," He said shortly as she winced, this was not going to be the comforting conversation that she needed, "I can't do this anymore."

"Can't do what Will?" JJ asked,

"I'm leaving. Henry's with the neighbors--they'll be waiting for you by Saturday. I won't be here when you get back. Goodbye JJ." He said, not allowing her to interrupt before he hung up the phone.

"Coward." JJ muttered, trying to fight the stinging that hit her eyes. Is that how this was supposed to end? What a joke.

A knock on the conference room door startled her a little, the case having brought up old memories of her time in Georgia. "Everything okay?" Hotch asked, concern swirling in his eyes.

Normally, JJ would have tried to hide it, pretend everything was fine and that she was just as okay as she had been ten minutes ago--but after everything that had happened today, she just couldn't hold up that facade anymore. "No, everything is not okay." she answered, her voice shaking a little a she crossed her arms over her chest. "This has been the day from hell. First, I almost get kidnapped by our UnSub, cut up, and fed to dogs, and second, Will just decided that he just suddenly couldn't handle Henry and I anymore--that was him calling to tell me he left Henry with the neighbors and that he's just leaving. Bastard couldn't even stay until I got home from the case later tonight to take off, he had to leave our ten month old son with my 80 year old neighbors."

Stepping into the room, and closing the door behind him, he realized that he had never seen JJ this broken and fragile before. Even when she had been attacked by Tobias Henkel's dogs and Reid had been kidnapped, she had still been the strong, confident Jennifer Jareau he had always known. Seeing her like this, broken and nearly crying, made him conclude that nothing he could say right now would comfort her--so he just wordlessly went over to her, hugged her, and let her cry. "I'm so sorry, JJ. I know you loved him."

"You want to know something funny?" she asked, a cold and emotionless laugh escaping her lips. "I don't think I really ever wanted to marry him, I just wanted have someone there after the really bad ones. The ones that start the nightmares all over again, so much so that you try and stay awake so you won't have to see the bodies again--their eyes staring up at you."

They stood there for a moment, him holding her as she broke momentarily. This was why he had stayed, he knew what it was like to try to keep a family together, and if he were honest with himself, he was hoping that he could be there for her like this.

"JJ, why don't I buy you a drink?" He offered. Sure, it wasn't always wise to drown sorrows in alcohol, but it helped.

"I'm not really in the mood to be hit on by random strangers." JJ sniffed, "Maybe we should just--"

"I'll be at your side the whole time, you need a chance to relax." He pointed out, smiling softly to himself at the irony--he was telling her to relax.

Apparently she caught the irony of the statement as well, "Well, I would hate for people to think I was uptight." She smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes.


JJ groaned as she shifted in the large bed, the light was beginning to come through the thick blinds and seemed to taunt her. She was wearing someones large t-shirt, that much she knew because none of her t-shirts fit this loosely on her. Her eyes fluttering open, she looked down to see which of Morgan's t-shirts she had inadvertently stolen this time, only to be surprised by the words Georgetown Law staring back up at her. "But Morgan went to Northwestern..." she mumbled, and shot up in the bed when she realized Hotch telling her once that he had gone to Georgetown.

Seeing the man who's t-shirt she was currently wearing, sitting in one of the chairs in the room she noticed the gold ring on his finger. "Oh no...no, no, no. Tell me we didn't do what I think we did?"

"If you mean did we get married last night, then the answer is yes. The owner assured me that it was legal too, when I went back to find out this morning." Hotch said carefully.

JJ looked down at her own left hand in shock, laughing slightly when she saw a gold dice ring and a ring pop situated prominently on her left hand. Almost unconsciously she licked the ring pop, then grimaced "Eww. I hate cherry."

"Do you have any idea how this happened?" JJ asked, confused after a moment. She remembered vaguely talking to Will on the phone, and him telling her that he was leaving, but nothing after that.

"I think it was sometime between the last bar we went to and then us ending up in my room, but it's still fuzzy. "Big Joe", as he insisted I call him, and his wife Marian did inform me, however that my credit card will have a nice payment of two hundred dollars on it for their "deluxe" wedding package." He grumbled, opening up the aspirin bottle on the table and swallowing two--his head was killing him.

Handing her two aspirin and a glass of water, JJ's mind flashed back to something of last night.

"Here, JJ." He smiled, slurring her name slightly and enunciating each letter. "Have my glass of water."

She gulped down the small cup, then giggled as she remembered him ordering something very different from water. "Hotch, that was straight vodka."

"Oops." He chuckled, then looked at the bartender to refill his drink. The bartender shook his head slightly, knowing that the two FBI agents were wasted.

"Candy, let's get some candy." JJ suggested, slurring slightly as they left their third bar of the night and started walking back towards the hotel.

Noticing an all night gas station on the corner as they made the block, he stopped her just outside the door, "Wait here." he informed her, only to come back ten minutes later with a cherry ring pop. Completely smashed himself, he fumbled with the wrapper a minute before removing it from the sucker and pushing it into his pocket. Jokingly he got down on one knee, "Jennifer Catherine Jareau will you marry me?"

"Seriously?" JJ asked, her tone sounding like a high school cheerleader's. "Absolutely, I will marry you."

"Yes!" he laughed, something very uncharacteristic of him, as he stood and slipped the candy ring on her ring finger.

"Look we can just get married now, tonight!" JJ decided, noticing "Big Joe's 24 hour wedding chapel" across the street, "Big Joe will marry us and we won't have to worry about our stupid ex's getting in the way, or stupid Strauss, or anyone else."

"Race you." Hotch said, immediately sprinting across the street.

"CHEATER!" JJ screamed as she ran, quickly passing Hotch and beating him to the other side of the street.

"If you call me a cheater, I won't marry you." Hotch pouted, panting only slightly but slurring every word.

"Fine. You're not a cheater. Let's get married!" Her last phrase had reached an uncharacteristically high pitch.

JJ moaned slightly and snatched the water and aspirin from his hand.

"You ok?" He asked concerned, of course this was not an ideal situation, but if she were ill that would make matters even worse.

"Yeah, Fine." She replied as she gulped the last glass, "I just remembered you giving me my 'engagement ring'." She held up the ring pop on her hand, "and racing you across the street."

At her last statement, he suddenly remembered part of their night at the bar.

"Hotch-man." JJ slurred slightly, giggling at the new nickname for her boss as they sat down at a table in their second bar.

"Jareau-woman." Hotch replied, causing JJ to erupt in a fit of giggles.

"I bet I can down a round faster than you can." She challenged as their round seemed to magically appear.

"You sure you want to bet on that?" Hotch asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Race you!" She yelled as she grabbed the mug and began drinking.

He immediately picked up his mug and chugged as fast as he could, to no avail--JJ had beaten him soundly. "I want a rematch!" He insisted.

He covered both of his eyes with his hands. He had the best of intentions, how did it end up like this? If Morgan had been in his place, he would have laughed it off--but Hotch couldn't do that and neither could JJ--What had they gotten themselves into?


A/N 2: So what did you think?? We hope you liked it!! OH and if you haven't seen this on either my profile or KDZL's--we're both open to ideas that you guys may have for one shots or maybe small chapter fic stories. So feel free to PM us with any ideas for a JJ/Hotch story if you have them!