A/N: Hey all. Here's the conclusion to It Will Rain. Hope you enjoy. This chapter is probably more on the stronger T side than M. But, I'll leave it rated M just to be on the safe side.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

Chapter 2:

Later in the day, JJ decided to take Reid's advice one step further. She marched herself over to Hotch's hotel room door and knocked on it. Instead of waiting for him to come to her, something he might not do considering his outburst earlier, she'd go to him and let him explain. It was the grown up thing to do, she was proud of herself for thinking so rationally. She was determined, now, to hear him out. But, when the door opened to reveal Reid instead of the tall, dark and handsome man, her face fell.

"He's not here," Reid conveyed apologetically.

JJ looked past him, out the balcony window. The sunny sky from before was now nowhere in sight, replaced by clouds and a rainstorm.

"He left a note saying he went out…"

"He's out, in this?" she said incredulously, worry for her one-time boyfriend on her face.

Reid shrugged. She said goodbye and went back to her room.

Entering the lonely space, she immediately went to the window, looking out at the overcast day. Where is he? her brain wondered.

So much for doing the grown up, rational thing… now she feared she'd never get a chance to fix things with the man she loved. Her mood now matching the sky outside, she unthinkingly opened up the sliding door to the balcony and stepped outside.

It was cold and so very wet, but none of that mattered. The only thing she cared about at that moment was the fact that she had most likely screwed everything up with him, the man who'd been haunting her dreams for eight long years.

It was hard to get out of her mind the brief one month that her dreams had become a reality, making losing him harder than if he'd remained a dream.

But, hey, he was the one who broke up with you, the angry voice—the one that she associated these days with Hotch—suddenly reappeared. He was the one that convinced you to leave Will for him. Only to then break up with you a month later. Why is he mad? You're the one that has the right to be pissed off.

"But… but, Reid said," she replied to the voice out loud.

Whatever Reid said doesn't change the fact that he ended things; what excuse could Hotch have for breaking up with you that gives him the right to be mad?

JJ honestly couldn't think of any. That's right, the voice shot back angrily. There isn't any.

She continued to stand out there, oblivious to the rain falling down around her, shivering from the cold or anger, she wasn't sure which one. When suddenly a knock came at her door. She was just able to hear it over the pouring rain.

Absently, she went to the door, pulling it open without first seeing who it was through the peephole. When she saw who it was, though, through her ire, she found herself attempting to shut the door on him.

Hotch's hand shot out quickly, catching the door in time, forcing it to remain open. He looked just as furious as she felt. She backed up into the room, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest. He followed her inside, shutting the door behind him.

Turning back around she took in how his black dress shirt and pants were molded to his body. He had most definitely been out in the downpour.

"You are going to listen to me," he bit out sharply.

She looked off to the side indifferently. Yes, she'd basically promised Reid that she'd hear Hotch out when he finally came to talk. But, she'd rekindled her fury, making listening objectively hard.

"What's there to talk about?" JJ replied shortly. "You said we were over, so here's me being over you."

She sat down on the hotel bed only then realizing that she too was soaked through. Glancing down her body, the already thin pale yellow blouse did nothing to hide her body underneath. JJ met his eyes and she could tell, through the anger, that he'd been eying her with a different kind of heat. Hastily, she recovered her breasts with crossed arms.

"I said we should take a break and before I could explain what I meant you were jumping to conclusions," he accused.

Not caring if she looked indecent or not, she jumped off the bed, coming to poke him in the chest. "What else could you have possibly meant?"

He grasped the index finger, taking hold of her hand gently. Not letting go. "If you had listened, I could have told you that what I meant by taking a break was that we should take things slow."

"Slow?" she echoed; her mind in a sudden fog, caused by the skin to skin contact. "Why slow? I thought… I thought you loved me?"

He let go of her hand; instead, he gripped her shoulders and gave her a bit of a shake. His intensity frightened her a bit. "You married him, JJ! And then you divorced him, just like that."

"I did that for you!" she protested, wrenching her body away from him.

She turned away from, giving him her back. JJ knew when he'd come to stand behind her, though. He was close. His body heat radiated towards her, heating her chilled bones.

"Yes, I know," he replied, calmer, yet still a far cry from his usual stoic self. "But, things were moving so fast… we were practically living together… how were you to know that I was who you wanted?"

She turned around, blue eyes blazing. "I knew! I loved you! I still love you… God, Hotch, don't you know the biggest mistake I ever made was ignoring my feelings for you and marrying him?"

"So, why did you do it?" he demanded.

The accusation in his voice made her falter. "I was scared, confused… I don't know…" She took in a shuddering breath, gaining some confidence. "All I know is that I fixed it when I figured it out. I divorced him. But then…" She gestured at him, feeling defeated by him.

He took in her words silently; she could see he was thinking things through. A light in his eyes, a moment later, told her he'd come to a bit of realization. He let out a harsh sounding sigh. "But then… I went and pushed you away," he conceded.

She let out a matching sigh. "Yeah…"

He turned away from her, giving her the chance to take in how the black fabric stretched across his tense back muscles. "I am such an idiot…" he muttered.

Tentatively, she closed the distance between them, touching his back. "If you're one, I hate to think what that makes me…"

He whirled around on her, taking hold of her hand once again. "Do you understand what I was trying to do?"

She nodded her head, and then just as quickly, shook it. "No… no, I don't."

Hotch looked at her intently for a good minute before replying. "JJ, we've been coworkers and friends for a very long time… and then we jumped into a relationship… I wanted to make sure that you knew what you were getting into with me… and that you had a chance to back away…"

"Did you want me to back away?"

"No," he replied swiftly and adamantly. His hand came up to cup her cheek, tilting her head up so their eyes met when he added, "No. I love you. You were the best thing to happen to me since Jack… I only… I just wanted you to be sure."

"Aaron, I was sure. I've been in love with you practically since day one… When you told me you loved me that was it for me and Will. That was what I was waiting for. I was so sure. I am so sure."

"I'm an idiot," he said harshly. He took in a deep breath. "What are we going to do now?"

She smiled. It had all been a big misunderstanding. He really didn't want to be apart from her.

"You love me?" she asked to make sure.

"Yes."

"And I love you…"

Slowly and deliberately, JJ moved so that she pushed her body against his. His arms quickly dropped to encircle her, pulling her ever closer. "You're going to kiss me… and where we go from there… is anyone's guess…"

Hotch grinned, tipping his head closer. "Oh, am I?"

She perched up on her tip-toes, lips millimeters from his own. "You are if you know what's good for you…"

Taking her advice, he closed the remaining distance between them, touching his lips to hers, in a speedy, chaste kiss, that was so not enough for JJ. She pressed forward, demanding more. Her tongue ran along his closed lips, urging them to part, deepening the kiss.

She'd missed him so much. Even though she'd done her best to avoid him and had been angry at him through their whole separation, she'd still ached for him something fierce.

There was a reason why she'd fallen for him practically the second he'd interviewed her for the media liaison position. There was a reason she continued to love him even through his marriage, birth of his child, his divorce, and her mirrored life events. He was the best man she'd ever known, loving and caring, determined and devoted; he put other's happiness first, even before his own.

Even through his misguided attempt to give her space, he'd been thinking about her needs and wants. Someone needed to show him that he mattered too, that his happiness mattered. And she would be the one to do just that.

Her hands went to his chest, touching the wet fabric that covered his skin from her fingers. When her fingers started for the buttons, he caught her hands up in his, pulling away from the kiss.

"JJ?" His eyes questioned her.

"I want this…" she breathed out adamantly. "I want you. Just… don't ever hurt me again… Ok?"

He shook his head. "Never… never again. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Her hands made quick work of the buttons, sliding the black material off his shoulders. When his hands went to reciprocate, he said, "You're wet?"

"Oh, you know, just singing in the rain," she said, laughingly.

Her shirt came off just as fast. Soon, the rest of their clothes lay in a pile on the floor, and they lay together on the bed.

JJ opened her arms to him and he came to hover over top of her. His hands splayed across the flesh of her abdomen, teasing a trail upwards, until he cupped her breasts in his hands, massaging gently. She moaned out her approval, before her own hands gripped his hips urging him forward.

She wanted him, needed him. It had been too long since they'd been together.

Hotch getting the message, thrust forward, entering her smoothly, crying out his own pleasure. JJ held on tight, matching his rhythm as he moved in and out of her.

One of his hands came down to snake around her leg, hooking her knee up, making his thrusts feel so much deeper, bringing them so much closer.

They were together now and that's all that mattered.

"JJ?"

"Mmm…" she murmured from the vicinity of his chest.

Her fingers trailed random patterns across the bare skin. She felt truly relaxed for the first time in weeks. This was where she was meant to be, by his side, always. She just hoped he knew that now.

JJ propped her chin up on his chest to look up at him. She found him watching her with his dark eyes. The love in them was plain to see… maybe he did know.

"I'm sorry—"

She abruptly placed her hands against his lips. "Don't be. I'm the one who should be sorry—"

It was his turn to shush her with the same gesture. They lay there, in a moment of silence, before both laughed out loud.

"Can we at least both agree that we did something we shouldn't have and that we'll both never consciously do something to hurt one another again?" Hotch asked reasonably.

"Yes," she agreed quickly.

"Good," he answered decisively.

Replacing her cheek against his flesh, she was surprised when he suddenly chuckled.

"What?"

"Strauss is going to kill us?"

"I think dying is the least of our worries. We should worry about our jobs first," JJ said, grimacing.

She loved her job. Loved her new role in the team. But, she'd decided a long time ago, that this was worth it. He was worth it.

He pulled her hand from his chest, bringing his fingers up to his lips, kissing the tips of each one, like he couldn't resist the action anymore.

"Oh, our jobs are safe… don't worry. I've done enough favors for her in the past month to keep us in her good graces for the next ten years… No, she's going to kill us because she lost the bet…"

"What bet?" JJ asked suspiciously.

"The bet she and Dave had about us… he bet we'd be back together by Christmas, she bet it would take till Easter…"

JJ leaned up again, to eye him incredulously. "They bet on our relationship and told you about it?"

"Nope." He grinned. "Reid told me."

JJ smiled. "I love Reid."

"Hey," he said, giving her a mock pout. "Don't go getting any ideas now… you're all mine."

"I wouldn't dream of it…" She giggled, giving his lips a peck. "Besides, Reid's on the verge of making his own love connection, he'll want nothing to do with me..."

"Fine by me."

Sometime later, as they lay together in blissful silence, JJ asked, "So, have you figured out where we go from here?"

"No idea…" he answered truthfully, giving her cheek a tender caress. "I'm good, though, as long as we go together…"

Well that's it for this one. I hope you enjoyed!

A big thank you to everyone who read and alerted, and to those who reviewed: beaglelover719; NothingWithEverything; jekkah; JenTWCSINYFAN; and CMPerty.

I hope you'll let me know what you think of this last chapter! Thanks!

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