Rossi looked at the groom.

"So, you nervous?"

Will gave him a shaky smile, and gave him a shrug.

"Only if she doesn't come back down."

CHAPTER THREE - SINK OR SWIM, TAKE ME IN

They drove for about three hours, until Hotch pulled off to the side of the road, turning into a small motel.

The light that said "Vacancy" flickered, and JJ couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive about the place. It was a little after eleven o'clock at night, and the motel, called the Heron Blue, though seemingly normal, didn't seem all that safe to her, but she followed Hotch to the front desk.

"One room, please, one night only."

At that, he looked over at her, making sure she was okay with his assumption. "Unless you want your own room? I just thought that you needed to talk, so it would be easier if we just stayed in one."

JJ shook her head.

"One room is fine, Aaron. You'll take the chair."

He let out a small laugh and quickly paid for the room and then the two of them walked back outside, key in hand.

After walking into the small motel room and tossing their bags on the floor, JJ was surprised to see that the place was clean and well-maintained.

To pardon the pun, the walls were heron blue, and the chairs were a soft shade of sand. Pale wooden nightstands were on either side of the bed, along with a matching dresser across the room, on which rested a flat screen television.

It seemed they put all their money into keeping their patrons happy.

Sighing, JJ slid onto the bed, enjoying the feel of the comforter beneath her fingers, keeping her gaze from Hotch.

She listened as he put a few things away in one of the drawers.

She continued to keep her eyes averted as he unpacked the few things that he had in his bag, and simply listened to the sounds of what he was doing. Every now and again, the sound of a zipper or a snap, and she found herself smiling.

It was too easy to pretend that they were on a getaway, and at that thought, she quickly shut down any more thoughts of that nature.

They were there to talk about why she couldn't marry Will, not for her to entertain wrong thoughts.

After a few minutes, she felt a depression on the bed as Hotch sat down next to her.

"So…how do you want to start?"

JJ shrugged, unsure of what to say, everything suddenly seeming ridiculous. She had run away from her own wedding! With her boss, no less, who had been there with a date…oh god, Beth. She had completely forgotten that she'd torn him from his evening with his girlfriend.

Her eyes snapped up to his, her tone worried. "Hotch, what about Beth?"

At that, his eyes comically widened, and he quickly stood and grabbed his phone from where he'd placed it on the dresser.

She watched with a slight grin on her face as he waited for Beth to pick up, and then listened to his side of the conversation.

"Beth, hey, it's me…yes, I know I should have called you first…no, no, no, nothing like that. Look, JJ just is having an emotional crisis of sorts, and I felt that she needed a friend to talk to and…wait, what?" He paused, and JJ watched his expression turn to one of frustration. "No, Beth. Her mom is about the last person she needs to talk to right now…well, you know how smooth Rossi is? Mrs. Jareau is better than that, which is why JJ needs to talk to a friend, not someone who'll try and change her mind…because I've known her the longest…"

At this point, JJ felt as though she was listening in on what was supposed to be a private conversation.

"…We needed to leave for a very good reason. JJ would have been under pressure from the expectations coming from several people, as well as feeling obligated, and she deserves to have a chance to figure everything out without all of that hanging over her head…"

At hearing this, her heart paused for a moment, and then resumed beating.

Is that what he was doing for her?

After thinking about it for a moment, she realized that it was the sweetest thing that anyone had ever done for her.

A faint smile crossed her lips and she stared at his profile as he finished his call.

"…No, this has nothing to do with…Beth, please, now is not the time to have this conversation…"

At this, she was confused by his words, and realized that she now had no context for what the two of them were talking about, so she attempted to ignore what she heard, but being as she couldn't escape the room, her ears still caught every word.

"…Yes, I understand the situation…" A long pause, and when Hotch spoke again, it was with a tone of defeat. "…No, you're not wrong, but that doesn't mean…alright. Give my love to Jack…bye."

With that, he flipped the phone closed and caught JJ's eye.

"Sorry about that. I can't believe I forgot about her, but at least it's taken care of."

She gave him a look.

"Is it? It didn't sound like-" He cut her off, his tone almost harsh. "JJ, we're here to talk about you."

She looked down towards the floor, not meeting his eye, and he immediately regretted his tone, so he slowly sat back down next to her on the bed, placing his right hand on top of her left, briefly noting that she had taken off her temporary engagement ring.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice low and reassuring. "I didn't mean to take my anger out on you. Those are my issues, not yours."

JJ stared at where his hand lay over hers, and simply said, "It's okay. I know you didn't mean it."

She then lifted her eyes back to his and smiled.

He gave her a faint smile in return and then slowly pulled his hand away and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, turning his head so that he could still look at her.

"So…what makes you think you don't love Will?"

She drew in a sharp breath at his blunt question, but realized that he was most likely not going to pull any punches in his interrogation, so she quickly told him what had occurred to her when she had been alone in the room wearing the wedding dress.

"As soon as I had put on the dress, I started to feel nervous…but not the good kind of nervous. More of the what-the-hell-am-I-doing kind of nervous..." She paused, and then continued. "And that was when I realized that I had never had that feeling of absolute rightness with him, you know?"

She looked at him, and he gave a faint nod, so she continued.

"I mean, I loved him in some way, but I wasn't in love with him, like having the feeling that if something happened to him I would want to die, too…and after he nearly died, I realized that I reacted out of a maternal instinct, thinking that Henry needed to have his father. Not once did I think: I need to have him in my life. Only that Henry needed him in his."

After saying this, she saw Hotch nodding his head, and she gave him a faint smile.

"Why are you nodding?"

He looked at her and an uncomfortable smile crossed his lips.

"Let's just say that I know the feeling."

At hearing this, her thoughts flashed to the part of the conversation that she'd heard him having with Beth, and she quickly put the pieces together.

"Oh…"

He just faintly nodded once more and then slowly stood, walking over to the nightstand and flipping open the phone book. He stopped on a page and then pulled out his cell and quickly dialed a number.

"Yes, I'd like two large pizzas please; one with everything, the other just cheese." As he said this, he looked over to JJ for confirmation and she gave him a smile and nodded. He remembered what she liked. Of course, that was to be expected after spending years traveling together.

He then sat back down, but this time in the chair just opposite the side of the bed.

She watched in amusement as he stretched out his legs and then leaned back his head and closed his eyes.

JJ started to lay down on the bed, but he stopped her by saying,

"Nuh uh. One of us has to stay awake for the pizza, and since I paid for the room, you're getting this one…"

She looked at him in surprised, but threw her legs back over the edge of the bed and walked over to the dresser, where he'd left his wallet as well. She started to reach for it, making sure his eyes were still closed, but he then said, "You touch my wallet and I will shoot you."

She heard the joking in his tone and let out a small laugh.

"Just when I think I know you, Hotch…"

He smiled, his eyes still closed.

"I thought we'd already covered this, JJ; it's Aaron."

She couldn't stop smiling.

"Alright, then…Aaron."

As she instead reached into her own bag and pulled out her wallet, she couldn't help but notice how easily the two of them interacted. Yes, they'd always been closer than anyone else on the team, but this was different.

This simply felt…right.

Sink or swim, take me in
hold my hand, running through the sand

PART 3/?