Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

Jake's Series #2

I jump up the curb and open the door to Jake's. I am late again, which I am sure she'll give me a hard time about. The minute I walk into the bar I see her at our usual booth and head over to it.

"Sorry," I greet her. I set my hand on her shoulder and briefly squeeze it. I move to sit down and see her smile at me. She shakes her head, dismissing my apology.

"It's okay, Hotch. Abby kept me company when she could."

"Remind me to leave her a hefty tip, then." I peek up at JJ and wonder if she really forgives me for my tardiness. "I'm sorry," I repeat.

She shrugs. "It's life in the BAU, I understand that better than anyone." She pauses and wears a tight smile. "It isn't like you needed to cancel this time, right?"

Her jesting falls flat and I see her grimace before I look down in shame. I really need to do better with keeping my commitments. Maybe I'll start flying the jet home myself in order to make it back on time.

"Oh, I didn't mean to…I understand, that's all." She looks at me with her big blue eyes and I feel my heart tug.

"I know you do. But that doesn't mean I like to keep a beautiful woman waiting," I grin at her. JJ squirms at my compliment; she is never good at accepting them

Abby comes over to us with a smile on her face. "I guessed the usual," she says and hands me a scotch.

"Well done! Thank you, Abby." She leaves to attend to other patrons so I look back at JJ. There are remains of a blush on her cheeks which tells me I embarrassed her by calling her beautiful. I shake my head because she should be used to being called beautiful by this time in her life.

I take a sip of my drink. The liquor feels good in my mouth and down my throat. "How's Henry, Jayje?"

Her face brightens when I mention her son. "He's doing better. He is finally falling into a routine again which helps."

"That's good. I knew he'd be fine," and I mean it.

"Yeah, and you just love being right, don't you?" she teases me, referring to the conversation we had the first time we met here. It is amazing how much we have found out about each other over the past month or so. I wonder if the excitement I always experience just before we meet is an indication my feelings for her are changing.

I smile and take another sip of my scotch. "Sometimes," I admit with a snicker. She rolls her eyes at me and lifts her beer to her mouth. I take the chance to change the subject. "Garcia's in a play, did you know?"

"I thought she didn't want anyone to know about that?"

"No she didn't. I saw the flyer for the show." I can tell she knows there is more to the story than what I am telling her.

"Oh Hotch," she groans. "What did you do?"

I immediately go on the defensive. "I wasn't my fault…really." I wince when I think about how I inadvertently ousted Garcia to the team.

"Hotch," she says. Her voice is a mix of criticism and mild disbelief. She tilts her head and waits for me to explain.

I don't care about her tone as much as I do about the name she uses for me. I tilt my head to mirror hers. "When are you going to call me Aaron?" I ask.

My question throws her off guard and it is clear that she looses her train of thought. "What?"

I set down the glass I'm holding and cross my arms on top of the table. "My name is Aaron, JJ."

"I know that." She gets nervous under my gaze and begins to pick at the label of her beer bottle, a habit of hers I have grown accustomed to.

"Good," I say and know better than to push it too hard. I wonder if she will actually begin to use my Christian name from now on. I can only imagine how nice it would be to hear it from her lips.

JJ finally looks back up at me and gives me a genuine smile which I know is most likely because she has found a way to get back on topic. "You still haven't told me how you blew Garcia's cover," she chastises me. There is no longer criticism in her voice, but I can tell she is curious.

"I needed her do a press conference, she was nervous and when I asked her how it was different from being on a stage the team had walked up behind me." I shake my head. "They heard everything, of course," I grumble out.

She giggles—actually giggles—at my confession. "Talk about bad timing on your part. How mad was she?"

It takes me a second to answer her because I am fascinated by her behavior. This is the first time I feel like she is 100% carefree with me and I love it.

"Well, she told me she didn't like me anymore," I tell JJ.

"Aw, what's not to like?" She shifts in her seat which makes blonde hair fall from behind her ear and frame her face. Her smile is big and it accentuates her rosy cheeks. All of it makes me see her in a new light that I am finally forced to acknowledge.

A thought sneaks into my head: yes, what is there not to like about this amazing woman?

"Exactly."