Disclaimer: I don't own CM. I don't own any of the music mentioned (except my own personal copies, but I have neither the rights nor the permission.) I'm making no profit. Please don't sue me.


Better for Everyone

Chapter Two

"Aaron, look, over there. See the brunette with the bob? She's totally checking you out. Go talk to her," urged Rossi.

"Dave, do you not see her? She's nothing but skin and bones, and she looks happy about it. That's not the type of person I want to be with."

"You have found a problem with every chick we've pointed out, man," Morgan complained. "One girl was too tall. Another had her hair dyed the 'wrong' color. That one you talked to had an annoying voice. You started to walk over to another, heard her laugh, and walked away. A different one's pants were too tight. I appreciate standards, but there comes a time where it's just too far, Hotch."

"Hey, just because I don't want meaningless relationships doesn't mean I have unreasonable expectations."

Reid just snorted.

Hotch turned around to glare at him when he stopped dead in his tracks: coming through the door was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Rossi noticed his reaction and turned to see what had caught his friend's attention. After a moment, he saw her: long dark blonde hair that fell in soft curls all the way down her back, held away from her face with a butterfly clip; calf-length deep, dark pink dress that hugged her curvy figure; champagne-colored shrug and heels; and the widest, bluest eyes Rossi had ever seen. The woman looked like a deer in headlights, though the other girls with her looked right at home.

Hotch's profiler instincts kicked in and he assessed her. Not too tall, probably actually pretty short without the heels, though she didn't appear to wear the heels for added height. Well, that's strange. Her makeup was very natural; if her face wasn't so flawless, he'd think it to be bare skin. She didn't look comfortable here. I wonder if it's a club setting she's not accustomed to, or a social one in general that puts her ill at ease. Although contradictory, she also looked independent and self-assured- she wasn't stuck to her friends' sides, she didn't look afraid.

"It looks like you like her, Hotch. Why don't you go talk to her?" asked Reid.

"Yeah, go ahead, buddy. See if you've still got some charm in ya!" Dave egged him on.

"You can't leave here without talking to somebody for more than twenty seconds," contributed Morgan.

Deciding that talking to the mystery woman would at the very least get his friends off his back, Hotch decided to approach her. "Fine. If I go, will you guys leave me alone?"

"For now. Do you know what percentage of promises made are actually kept?"

"Not now, Reid," the three other agents responded in unison.

"Okay, okay. Go... get 'em... Hotch." He accompanied his 'words of encouragement' with a rather weak shoulder punch.

"Thanks," was the dismissive chuckle.

Bolstering his courage, he walked across the room to where "mystery lady" had sat down.


"Jaye, those guys are all over you!" Donna squealed quietly, spotting the four agents eyeing the girls.

"It's really more the tall, stern one. The others look like concerned friends, checking out their bud's pick," said Stacy.

"He's not stern, he's... authoritative," corrected Cassie.

"Whatever he is, I will admit he is quite handsome."

"Really? Jaye, I wasn't expecting you to cave so quickly! We just sat down and you admitted you like someone!"

"No, Cass, I said he was handsome. Lots of men are handsome. 'Handsome' and 'OMG I like him' are two totally different things."

"Ooh, deflecting! Methinks we have found the winner."

"Just hush, Stace."

"You know, the younger guy with 'em, he's cute in a dorky sort of way. I'd date him," mused Donna.

"You don't even know the guy! He could be a serial killer for all we know."

"Killjoy." She stuck her tongue out at Jayezma, then said, "Over there, at that table near the end of the bar. Let's hurry before someone fills it in!"

Cassie grabbed Jaye's arm and practically dragged her to their destination. When they arrived, Stacy pulled a chair out and Donna gently pushed the 'woman of the hour' into it.

"Sit there and look pretty. Scratch that, you are pretty. Look flirty," instructed Cassie.

Jayezma leveled the perky redhead with a withering glare.

"C'mon. That guy was interested. He needs to know you're available."

The blonde just shook her head, setting her curly locks into motion. A waiter came by and took their orders. The other three girls each ordered a different type of wine, while Jayezma ordered sparkling cherry-grape juice.

As Hotch watched the woman down the last of her drink, he moved in.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but may I have a dance?" he asked, kicking himself for not saying "miss". Sometimes, he remembered his upbringing a little too well and forgot that, other than the occasional old-fashioned girl, young women were often offended by "ma'am".

He was quite shocked when he heard her reply, "How could I turn down such a polite invitation? Of course!" She flashed him a bright, if hesitant, smile and slipped from her perch at the table.

As they headed out to the dance floor, Hotch said, "I'm Aaron, by the way. To be honest, I thought I'd offended you with that 'ma'am' comment."

"Oh, no. If my accent don't give it away, I've got a Southern raisin', too. I find it... refreshing to meet a gentleman such as yourself. I'm Jayezma."

"Jayezma. Interesting name. I like it, though."

By now, they were dancing to Elvis' "Promised Land".

"I love the music in here. Jayezma's actually more of a nickname; it's really 'Jessmarie' (Jayez-mar-ray), after both my parents."

At the quirked eyebrow her dance partner gave her, she clarified, "My daddy, Jesse, and my mama, Marianne."

"Ah. My parents never told me where they got my name from. And I agree, the music is great."

"Oh, I can't stand most of the new stuff. I grew up listening to Daddy's records. Some of his stuff was on eight tracks or cassettes, but I learned how to use a record player by the age of three!"

"Wow. You must have been a musical child. I was never that into music until I started at the job I have now and found that it really is true, what they say about the calming properties of music and all."

"I was, at that. Music has always been my escape."

They continued to go back and forth, laughing, joking, and telling little bits about themselves for three more songs.

"You are quite the dancer, Aaron."

"You aren't doing too bad yourself. I don't know many women who can dance like you are in four inch heels."

"I always preferred heels to flats or sneakers. They were just more comfortable."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah." Seeing that he wasn't convinced, she added, "I have strange feet. Of course, my favorite type of footwear was 'barefoot'."

A Dion and the Belmonts song went off. "Can I buy you a drink?" asked Hotch. Seeing her hesitation, he added, "I've enjoyed dancing with you, but my lungs need a rest. This is high-energy stuff!"

Laughing, she consented. They grabbed a nearby vacant table, but it took the waiter a minute to come by. In the interim, Jaye said, "I hope you're not trying to get me drunk. It won't work."

"I didn't intend to. You hold your liquor well?"

"I've no idea; I don't drink. Alcohol has just never appealed to me. I guess my relatives drank enough for the rest of us in their shine-runnin' days."

Hotch just laughed, a deep, hearty chuckle; his friends would be proud.


"Do you see him? He's actually smiling!" Dave exclaimed.

"Dude, I didn't know this was possible! Why didn't we do this before?" asked Morgan. "Don't answer that, Reid. I'm in no mood for sciencey answers."

"I had no idea Hotch could dance like that. This is probably good for him."

"You don't know how right you are, kid," Rossi told him.


"When was the last time you saw her so happy?" asked Cassie.

"Umm... when she and Faith were asked to do a mother-daughter duet at the Christmas pageant?" supplied Stacy.

"When Jimbo hit that home run in Little League?" suggested Donna.

"I mean when her kids weren't involved. I knew her back home; she was only ever this happy around my cousin. The way her face would light up when he came walking towards us from the plane whenever he'd come back from a tour- pure happiness. I want her to find that again. He'd want that for her."


Author's Note: I hope everyone likes Chapter Two!

More to come!
~Dixie