Chapter 4: Jumping in

It was only a few minutes past 7 p.m. when Hotch and Jack arrived at the small apartment that JJ and Henry resided in. It was as neat as a pin and had obviously had some hasty cleaning as vacuum tracks were still visible on the carpet. But Hotch didn't care and JJ didn't care if he noticed, they had more important things weighing on their mind after the FBI had practically turned the whole team upside down, especially by putting the two agents in marital roles.

The two Hotchner's had barely walked through the door as Jack gave JJ a wave and ran excitedly to play with Henry. The younger boy had had become equally as excited to see another child in his home and eagerly went to show off his toys and room to his guest.

For reasons neither agent could explain there was a feeling of awkwardness in the air as they were left alone. It had never been an issue before, of course this was the first time JJ had dealt with her generally businesslike unit chief standing awkwardly in her kitchen, his large frame making it seem even smaller than it had before he had arrived and automatically went to place the pizza on the kitchen counter.

The agents all spent so much time together that aside from the gathering at Rossi's or when one may be injured or in danger, they tended to limit socializing with each other outside of work or even visiting at each other's homes to allow for that small measure of a personal life that did not involve the coworkers they all tended to see more than anyone else in their lives.

"I don't feel entirely comfortable with the idea of taking Jack into an undercover assignment." Hotch spoke up first, his deep voice serious and eyes intense as he watched his son running down the short hallway with Henry behind him.

"Me neither," JJ agreed, eyes also on her son. "But I can't bear the thought of leaving him behind." She admitted honestly. "I don't know how I could focus on our assignment if my thoughts were constantly on him if we were apart for that long with no contact."

Hotch considered her words for a moment, realizing they echoed his own deeper sentiments exactly. He knew Jessica would be willing to keep Jack as long as needed, but the thoughts of how long he may have to go with no contact with his son at this phase of the child's life made a knot start forming in his stomach.

JJ studied his face and the expressiveness in his dark eyes were currently revealing that she had verbalized his feelings as clearly as she had her own. The thought of leaving Henry with his father for an indefinite amount of time made her nervous. While their parting had been generally amicable, on occasion she got the feeling that Will was trying to use their young child as a pawn. There was also his busy schedule as a police officer to take into account. His job was generally riskier than hers considering the time he spent on the streets in unknown situations.

"Do you think if we got there and felt there was danger to the boys they would let us leave?" She finally asked tentatively.

"I would imagine so, perhaps if we made sure that was an option…." Hotch's voice trailed as he considered the possibility.

"I would be with them at all times, and armed." She added, pretending like she was still trying to consider the options even though it was already obvious which way she was leaning.

"I'm sure we could come up with a viable reason for them to leave if there was any perceived danger," Hotch tried to assure her as well as himself about the decision he knew they were about to make. She felt self-conscious as he seemed to study her for a moment as if evaluating her ability to protect the children.

"So it's decided, we'll take the boys." JJ finally said, verbalizing the inevitable conclusion, feeling a sense of relief that they were currently in agreement. Not only was she glad she didn't have to part with her child indefinitely, she was also glad because the thought of playing a married couple without children would have brought a whole different set of challenges.

"I trust you to guard them both with your life. I wouldn't put my money on anyone who tried to come between you and either child even if you didn't have your glock. They'll be in good hands." Hotch assured her, letting her know clearly that he trusted her to care for his son as much as he knew she would protect her own.

Upon hearing his words JJ unexpectedly felt a small lump form in her throat at the faith he was showing in her, quickly looking away after the intensity of the look they had exchanged as this was said.

"What should we expect in this undercover training we're starting tomorrow" she finally asked, obviously changing the subject and hoping he would have some insight to help her prepare for what the next day might bring.

"Mostly routine things," he said, having some basic knowledge of how the undercover setup worked. They'll probably want to start with some basics, confirming some of the details for us about our covers. Eventually they'll probably take a few pictures of us together in various outfits and settings to establish some photo's for the house, keep working with us to help us get our story straight of how we met, things like that. In addition I imagine they'll meet with us separately on occasion to work on our individual roles, such as learning all about NYPD procedure and whatever you have to learn for your role." Hotch hesitated before he continued, knowing that trying to shield either of them from some of the challenges to come would be a disservice and ultimately end up hurting them more than helping, so decided to continue in his usual straightforward manner. "They'll also want to make sure before we go that we can successfully pass as a couple." He said bluntly, making it easy for JJ to understand what he was saying.

"They'll make sure we can touch each other without jumping," she said candidly, correctly interpreting his meaning.

"Something like that," Hotch admitted wryly, "after all it wouldn't look very convincing if we kept a 3 foot distance throughout the assignment.

JJ felt her mouth go dry as she tried to imagine being close to the older agent in that way. Their closest contact to this point had been an arm on the elbow and a handshake, now she was suddenly supposed to be able to act like the dutiful and attentive wife under the eyes of total strangers.

Hotch could clearly read the look of nervousness on her face and decided they might as well get it all out in the open now. "We also need to practice calling each other by our first names, I can call you JJ or Jennifer," he said trying the unfamiliar name for their newest profiler on his tongue.

"Please, keep it at JJ," she quickly requested with a grimace. "I never have liked being called by my full name."

Hotch smiled in acknowledgement as he could see her processing. "So I need to get used to calling you Aaron," she began trying not to stumble over the unfamiliar sensation of addressing him by his first name in private as opposed to only using it as an introduction to others.

"Or we could skip first names and just do honey and sweetheart." He said with a dry humor saw her briefly smile in amusement at his attempt before a cloud came over her face.

"Hotch, I mean Aaron, I don't know about this." JJ let her confidence waiver, the enormity of the role suddenly weighing on her. It had begun sinking in even more that she would be expected to call him by his first name, use endearments, appear to be the attentive wife in public and among all the while act perfectly comfortable as if she had been doing it for years. She couldn't even wrap her mind around the small voice that kept trying to pipe up telling her that at some point they would probably have to kiss so kept pushing the thought back as quickly as she could.

"So how do they train us to become that familiar with each other?" She couldn't help but ask, trying to imagine the techniques the FBI would use for that particular debacle.

"I don't really know," Hotch admitted, suddenly feeling as awkward as a teenager on a first date as he considered the question. "I assume the only way to get used to it is by just jumping in and practicing," he suggested tentatively. "We can wait until tomorrow and see what they have in mind."

"I can't think of any other way either," JJ slowly agreed. "Though I think don't know if I want the added pressure of being watched by other agents as they treat us like puppets when we start this." She said, knowing what she was suggesting and seeing the realization of what she was suggesting and then agreement in his eyes as his adam's apple bobbed slightly.

JJ resisted the urge to step backwards and stood rooted to her spot on the floor as Hotch, "no Aaron" she quickly corrected her thoughts, took a tentative step towards her. She knew he was only trying to create a different comfort zone for their relationship knowing they needed be able to stand in each other's personal space areas as husband and wife which would be a much different distance than the usual space as FBI agents and that it would be slightly easier if their first time doing so wasn't under the evaluating eyes of unknown agents.

In just two steps from his long legs the trim blonde found herself standing just a breath away from the man now clearly standing in her personal space. She realized that he seemed even taller than usual considering their new proximity. Even though the two adults were still not touching his presence seemed overpowering to the shorter woman as she again felt the urge to step back into her comfort zone.

Hotch watched her eyes closely seeing the urge to flee quickly flash across her face before she got the determined look on her face that he had often seen when she was facing a difficult situation at work. That look and her quick step forward was about all the warning he got before he saw her eyes squeeze shut and before he could say anything he felt her arms wrap around him.

His immediate reaction was one of shock that she had taken the initiative to make the next move. He was frozen for all of a moment before he loosely encircled his arms around her, still feeling like an awkward teenager at his first dance. They stood for a beat and then another as they each silently processed the new closeness they now found themselves in.

JJ couldn't help but notice the feel of the solid muscles hidden beneath the suit jacket where she had slid her arms. It wasn't much longer before she found her presence of mind and forced herself to let her muscles start relaxing and tried to be less wooden as she tried to start breathing again, even though she had not yet found the courage to open her eyes.

With their bodies touching, it was easy for Hotch to detect the change in posture as she made the concentrated effort to relax. As he looked down at the blonde hair that was currently tickling his neck, he could feel himself also begin to become less stiff as he registered the feel of her contrasting softness against him. They slowly adjusted their stances searching for a more comfortable fit. JJ found herself momentarily at a loss as to what to do with her head considering the height difference, finally shifting until she felt her head come to rest in the crook of his neck. As she settled Hotch reflexively pulled her a little tighter to turn the hug into a more intimate embrace that a couple might share as opposed to the awkward coworker hug they had initially begun.

They continued to stand silently, still not speaking as they both silently understood that words weren't needed as they continued to cope with the sudden changes in proximity that was brought on purely by the necessity of their jobs as opposed to their own personal desires. Though for his part Hotch couldn't remember how long it had been since he had last held a woman in his arms and indulged himself in the rare treat, trying not to focus on the motivation behind it as he sniffed the shampoo from her hair that smelled like honey and vanilla.

Meanwhile JJ felt a small flush on her cheeks as she found herself becoming acutely aware of the warmth emanating from his body, in addition to the smells available to her that she had never noticed before. She noticed the spicy smell of aftershave and then the subtle smell of soap and laundry detergent before they mutually took a small step backwards and looked at each other appraisingly.

"Well we managed that." She said laughing shakily as she looked at her boss in a slightly different light.

"True, even if you looked like you were about to jump off a cliff." Hotch couldn't resist the urge to tease her slightly and take some of the focus off their recent proximity.

"Out of the blue I'm supposed to be hugging my boss. How do you think I would react?" JJ countered quickly. "Imagine suddenly being told you had to get used to having to cuddle up to Strauss," she retorted, almost snickering at the mental image she had presented and Hotch's expression in response.

"Point taken," he finally conceded. "So should we practice again?" Hotch suggested, hoping she wouldn't realize that part of his motivation was the selfish desire to feel her soft curves against him again.

JJ raised an eyebrow briefly but this time was able to step back into his embrace without closing her eyes, finding her previous spot more easily as she fit against him.

As he again rested his arms around her, Hotch had already started reminding himself to think of this as nothing but necessary preparation for an undercover assignment, trying not to let his mind wander further as he enjoyed the contact more than he knew he should. As they continued a moment longer JJ felt a smile starting to form until finally Hotch had to ask what she was finding amusing when he took a step back and saw the look on her face.

"I'm sorry," JJ finally admitted, "you just don't look like the hugger at work, and I just realized you're actually pretty cuddly."

"Cuddly?" Hotch arched an eyebrow at the decidedly less than masculine term.

"You know what I mean," JJ said, not buying into his offended act. "What you aren't surprised by any of this?"

"I'll admit I never imagined us like this," Hotch said mildly, not elaborating that he thought dreamed and imagined were two different verbs, so he wasn't technically lying.

AN: Thanks to all who reviewed, jekkah, amelia, deeda, jltmysterylover, Calleigh Logan, and whiteswan. You guys make it fun to update as I try to stay on my toes and hope the new chapters meet your expectations. Considering I've been writing on this since November and am up to 36k plus words and still building, I think it's safe to say I can manage regular updates for awhile longer *grin*. Willl try to get chapters a bit shorter but going by natural plot breaking points currently.