A/N: Hi again. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please R&R! Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or Smallville (though, I think a crossover episode would be wonderful :) )

Chapter 3:

JJ didn't turn around at Hotch's calls. She couldn't believe she'd let herself think they could be together now. It was so obvious that they couldn't. He'd moved on. He'd found a taller, more attractive woman to be with. And she was still alone.

She hadn't been able to stop herself from blurting out a harsh comment at his teasing remark. She'd known he was only joking; Hotch had never been the type to be cruel or mean to the people he cared about. Still…

The situation was so messed up!

From the second she'd laid eyes on her former boss sitting across from her alone, all she'd wanted to do was get out of her seat and jump him. And then having that other woman get thrown in her face… well, it was like her heart broke all over again. And she couldn't stay there and watch the man that she essentially loved act all love-y with someone that wasn't her.

Rejection once was hard enough. Twice would squash her heart into a pulpy, unfixable mess.

Time to tell Bruce that it just wasn't meant to be.

She was about to re-enter the dining area when she was suddenly pulled back by her arm. She whirled around, angrily, knowing exactly who it was manhandling her.

"Hotch, let go," she gritted out.

"I just need to explain," he protested, but let go of her arm nonetheless.

She remembered his last explanation to her. Logical as it was, she still resented him for backing off. "I think I've heard enough explanations for one year."

She turned back around; looking at his startled face was too much. She just had to get out.

"She's Sean's girlfriend!" she heard Hotch blurt out quickly, stopping her in her tracks.

A flicker of hope sparked somewhere deep inside her. Slowly, she turned around giving him a scrutinizing look, wondering if he was lying. But he'd never lied to her in his life that was the problem.

"What?" she asked for good measure. She'd listen to his reasons now.

"JJ," he started. "That woman out there, that's Janine, Sean's girlfriend for a year now. They invited me out to dinner."

"Where… where's Sean?" she stuttered out, hope making her anxious.

He grinned then. "He's parking the car."

"So… so, you aren't seeing her…"

Hope was roaring back to life.

Hotch stepped towards her, grin still on his face. He reached for her hands, holding them in each of his own. "JJ," he said sincerely. "I'm not seeing anyone."

A smile overtook her face, just before she threw her arms around him and brought her lips to his in a heated kiss.

She just couldn't help it; the hope mixed with relief was suddenly playing havoc with her emotions. All she wanted to was hold him and never let go. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. She was both happy and sad. Happy for this moment right then, but also sad for the lost time they'd endured.

As she continued to kiss him, she quickly realized that happy was definitely winning over.

They pulled apart after a minute. JJ grinned up at him, suddenly not wanting to take her eyes off him. She was surprised by the strained look on his face and she was struck by the sickening sense of déjà vu.

"What is it?" she said cautiously.

"JJ," he started slowly; his arms were still around her, though. A good sign? "I'm not with anyone, but you are…"

"I am?" she said, confusion in her voice.

Hotch nodded in the direction of the dining room and JJ almost laughed out loud. She managed to hold it in and just grin instead. "You mean Bruce?" she exclaimed, a giggle slipped out. "Bruce is nice, but he's definitely not you."

"Still, if you're seeing him—" Hotch began gallantly.

She pressed the palms of her hands to his chest getting him to stop. "Hotch, it was a set up. Garcia didn't want me to spend Valentines alone. So, she thought I should try Bruce out and then ask him out for the 14th. It was just a trial."

Hotch's smile was back. "And, what's the verdict?"

JJ did laugh then. "No way in hell."

He pulled her to him then, hugging her tightly. "Good," she heard him murmur, making her heart soar, "Good."

He held her out at arms length again, not letting go, though. She really was enjoying all this touching.

"There's so much we need to talk about, so much we need to figure out," he was saying.

"Let's get out of here," she suggested. "I can get out of this date and we can go."

"Sean and Janine invited me out for a reason," he said sullenly. "Let me find out what it is…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. Taking one off, he pressed it into her hand. "Here, meet me at home. And I'll be there right away. Ok?"

She smiled at him. She was ecstatic that things might actually be fitting into place.

"Ok," she assured. She leaned up on her toes to give his cheek a kiss. "Hurry ok. I can't wait to… talk."

There was a whole lot on her mind other than just talking.

He grinned. "For sure."

JJ rushed back to the dining room, knowing she'd been gone for an extraordinarily long time.

Poor Bruce, he was still sitting right there, waiting patiently. He really was a nice guy, but they had nothing in common. In fact, she was sure he'd get a long with Emily great; she was a huge Smallville fan too.

Hmm… she'd definitely suggest that idea to Garcia.

"JJ, are you all right?" Bruce asked concernedly.

"Umm… yeah…" She didn't take her seat. "Something just came up. My babysitter needs to leave early so…"

Henry, in actuality, was Will at the moment.

She hated lying. But she couldn't outright say, 'Bruce, you bored me to death,' because he seemed like a decent guy.

"So… you've got to go," he said sounding dejected.

JJ felt horrible, but she consoled herself in knowing that she'd soon set up the handsome man with someone who could appreciate him.

"Yeah," she said, apologetically. She grabbed the single rose and a piece of paper off the table. "Thanks for the rose and the uh… love poem."

He visibly cringed. "You're welcome… the uh… love poem was Penelope's idea."

She nodded. She could have guessed.

"Well…" she said awkwardly. "Umm… see you around."

With a wave of her hand, she started on her way, eager to get to Hotch's place and even more eager for the moment he'd join her.

Well that's it for now. This is definitely looking like it will reach the five chapter mark. So, stay tuned for two more chapters.

Hope you all enjoyed! And thanks for all the awesome reviews I'm getting: spk; Hotch Fan; JJandHotch4ever96 (hope this doesn't count as a cliffhanger); Myspaceisdaocean; Tokala (glad you like it!); canny-bairn (consider them knocked :) ); tbird1965(it's definitely my favourite pairing); Zolidfy; and deeda (thanks so much!).

It's a long weekend here. So, hopefully I can get another chapter out by Monday. We'll see… :)