The Truth

When JJ woke up next, she once again realized she wasn't alone. It took her a few seconds in the dim light, and she had to turn her head to the left. After another moment, she noticed this person looked like they were tied up as well. It wasn't Jackson Carter.

It was Hotch.

"Hotch?" she whispered worriedly. Oh no, she thought to herself. Please don't let him be in danger because of me.

The Unit Chief lifted his head with a groan. "JJ?" he asked, his voice no louder than a whisper.

"Oh, Hotch, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

"JJ," he said again. "Don't be crazy. This isn't your fault."

But it is, she thought. If Carter hadn't discovered her feelings, he wouldn't have been abducted. She pushed those thoughts away and asked, "Are you hurt?"

Hotch let out a sigh. "My head feels awful, but other than that, I'm fine."

"Yeah, he's got a strong swing," JJ agreed.

"What about you? We've been worried sick since you went missing."

"How long ago was that exactly?"

"Not even ten hours, but due to Carter's timeline with victims, we were terrified."

JJ found it interesting that the fearless Aaron Hotchner used the word terrified to describe himself, but pushed that aside for now. She explained to him what had happened since she was abducted, leaving out her dream and the majority of her conversation with Carter. Hotch was silent throughout the whole thing, so JJ had no clue as to what he was thinking.

Once she was done her story, Hotch sighed. "He got me like he got you. I received a text telling me to come to the woods behind Carter's house alone. He said you would be there. Once I got there, I was hit on the head, and that's all I remember."

JJ frowned. "You went alone? Did you tell anyone?"

"I told Morgan if I wasn't back in twenty minutes to have Garcia track my phone, which I left by Carter's house."

JJ was still unsettled. "That was risky and so unlike you. You know better."

Hotch was silent, and before JJ could say anything else, a door creaked open. Bright light shined down from the upper part of the room as Carter slunk in. The two profilers hissed at the sudden light.

"Wonderful, you're both up," Carter said, shutting the door behind him. He clomped down the stairs and strode over to the corner opposite JJ. A small work light clicked on, and JJ couldn't see what he was doing due to his back obstructing her view. She glanced at Hotch and saw him frown in confusion. He craned his neck slightly to try and see what Carter was doing. After a second, Hotch's eyes widened and he looked at JJ. Before he could mouth something, Carter turned around.

The first thing JJ saw was the syringe. It was filled with a clear liquid. Her thoughts immediately went to Reid and his problems with Diluded. Oh please, no.

Carter eyed the two agents before saying, "Agent Hotchner, welcome to the party."

Hotch's face became the perfect poker face as he said, "I didn't know I was invited."

Carter clucked his tongue. "Of course we were. You got my text, didn't you?"

"I suppose I did," Hotch said coolly.

"And you came without backup, just as I had hoped. Isn't that against protocol?"

Hotch didn't answer.

"You just came running to save Agent Jareau. That probably gave her some hope."

To the untrained eye, Hotch's face remained expressionless, but JJ had been around profilers long enough to pick something up. What she saw was Hotch's eyebrows furrow slightly in confusion.

"Hope?"

Carter ignored his question and instead said, "What do you feel about relationships in the workplace?"
JJ winced internally. So it had finally come to this. She would be embarrassed, and would have her heart broken right before she died due to some overdose. The blonde profiler had given up on the chances of Hotch loving her ages ago. She knew nothing good would come of her pining after him.

Hotch hesitated before answering. "I don't think it's a good idea….."

JJ's heart shattered, but she couldn't focus on that for long. Carter's face lit up with Hotch's words. He whipped his head around to focus on JJ. "You see? You can't have him."

Hotch turned and looked at JJ with a questioning look in his eyes, but JJ was staring at Carter.

"I told you," she said through gritted teeth. "I. Don't. Love. Him."

Had she been looking at Hotch, she might have noticed a crestfallen look cross his face, but she was too focused on the syringe coming closer to her arm.

"Fine," Carter said. "Keep lying. You won't be able to in a second." With that, he plunged the needle into JJ's arm. She let out a hiss of discomfort. Carter stepped back and smiled a sadistic smile. "The truth serum should be working soon."

JJ's mind raced. Truth serum? Now she would be forced to reveal her true feelings for Hotch while he sat right next to her listening. He already said he didn't approve of relationships in the workplace. If she survived it, she would be forced to transfer. That's the only way, she thought sadly.

After a few minutes, Carter clapped his hands together. "Alright, let's get started. I'll start with something simple, just to make sure the serum is working. What is your name?"

"Jennifer Jareau, but my friends call me JJ."

"Do you have any kids?"

JJ tried to keep this information tucked away, but she couldn't stop herself from saying, "A son. His name is Henry."

This seemed to please Carter. "What's his father's name?"

JJ closed her eyes as she heard her voice say, "Will LaMontagne Jr."

"Is he your fiancé?"

"No," she replied.

"Your boyfriend?"

JJ hesitated slightly, and then said, "No." Her voice was no more than a whisper.

Hotch had remained silent throughout the conversation, but when he heard JJ's last answer, he let out a small gasp of surprise. The team didn't know JJ and Will broke up. They knew they were having problems, but that was it.

Carter seemed thrilled with JJ's answers. "Do you love him?"

Again JJ tried to stop herself from saying it, but her mouth seemed to move on its own accord. "No."

"Are you in love?"

JJ's heart beat wildly. They were almost there. "Y-yes."

Carter had a huge grin on his face at this point. He looked between the two agents before saying, "Who do you love?"

JJ clamped her mouth shut as tightly as she could. At first she thought she was in the clear after a few seconds passed, but suddenly her mouth popped open and said the name she had been trying to avoid saying.

"Aaron Hotchner."

Hotch's head whipped around and he looked at her with wide eyes. JJ kept her head down, tears pooling up in her eyes. She didn't want to see his face. She didn't want to see the disgust and pity that was on his face.

Carter laughed crazily. "You love him! Did you hear that, Agent Hotchner? She loves you! But you don't like office romances right? What do you have to say to her?"

JJ was terrified to hear what Hotch had to say, but before he could even open his mouth, the basement door banged open.

"FBI!" Morgan yelled downstairs. JJ wanted to cry in relief. Carter's eyes widened in shock. "Jackson Carter, put the syringe down. You are under arrest for the murders and rapes of five women, and the kidnapping of two federal agents."

Morgan cuffed Carter while Reid and Rossi freed Hotch and JJ.

"You okay, kid?" Rossi asked JJ.

"Yeah," JJ breathed. "Just a head wound. I'm so happy to see you guys…" She trailed off as he watched Reid lead Hotch from the basement. Her stomach was fluttering with worry.

He probably hates me now, she thought mournfully.

"We're happy to see you too," Rossi was saying. "Come on, you need your head checked out." He led her up the stairs, which JJ was grateful for. Her head was throbbing painfully, and she wondered exactly how hard Carter hit her.

Outside the house, Rossi brought her over to an ambulance where a medic was waiting to look her over. JJ stopped in her tracks.

"Do I have to go to the hospital?" she groaned. Rossi chuckled.

"Probably not," he said with a smile. JJ gave him a feeble grin as she continued to walk towards the ambulance. For the next ten minutes, the medic looked over her head thoughtfully.

Finally he said, "Possibly a concussion. I need to run a proper test to be sure. You'll have to come to the hospital."

JJ moaned. Before she could argue, however, a familiar voice said, "That won't be necessary. I'll make sure she gets her head checked back at Quantico."

JJ turned and saw Hotch standing there. Her stomach lurched at the sight of him. On first inspection, he looked fine. She saw him rub his head gently, and she knew he would have to get tested too.

The medic frowned, then nodded and walked away after telling JJ she could go. She thanked him and stood up, chancing a glance at Hotch. He looked back at her, and his gaze softened slightly. He tilted his head to the side, and said, "Walk with me."

She followed him down the house's dirt driveway. They didn't go far, just past the chaos of police and federal agents. After a few moments, Hotch stopped walking and turned to face her.

He bit his lip, and looked away. He seemed to be struggling with what to say. Finally he exhaled and said, "About what you said in there…."

JJ cut him off. "Look, Hotch, don't worry about it. I won't let it get in the way of my job. If it makes you uncomfortable, I can get a transfer or-"

He held up his hand. "Wait, who said anything about a transfer?"

"I-I just thought-"

"You thought I wouldn't want to see my girlfriend every day?"

That floored JJ. Did he just say girlfriend?

Hotch looked at her, and she saw something she had never seen before in his eyes: fear. He was scared he had frightened her. But that means he was serious. JJ couldn't believe it. Her heart soared higher than it ever had before.

Hotch interpreted her silence as a bad sign. "If you want to forget what I just said, you can. I didn't mean to-" he was cut off by JJ pressing her lips to his in a fervent kiss. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back. The kiss let out all the feelings they had been hiding for the past few years. JJ never felt this way with Will.

Entirely too soon, they pulled apart gasping for air. "But what about what you said about relationships in the workplace?"

Hotch shook his head. "I said it to make Carter trust me."

JJ smiled at that, and Hotch did as well. He kissed her again, gently and sweetly. When he pulled away, he whispered, "You have no idea how long I've waited to do that."

JJ grinned. "Me too."

Hotch smiled and said, "I love you, Jennifer Jareau."

"I love you too, Aaron Hotchner."

THE END

A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and alerted this story! It really made my day. I'm new to writing fan fiction, and I really enjoy it, so if anyone wants to see a JJ/Hotch or Hotch/Prentiss story, let me know! Somethings I won't do (smut), but I'm up for anything. :) Oh, and please leave a review for this story! I would really appreciate it :)