A/N: YAY! Chapter 9 is up! Sorry for the delay, it was my birthday last week so I was busy celebrating! As always, thank you for the reviews, they've been fantastic and I wish I had time to name you each by name but I got to get going. (I just really, really, really wanted to get this posted!) This chapter has a tiny surprise which I think is fairly obvious, so I hope you will all enjoy it.
And, as a belated birthday present, please review! :-P
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.
Jake's Series #9
It has been a while since we've been to Jake's. With Emily's funeral and briefings about the case Aaron and I have found little time to spare. The free afternoons and nights we have managed to grab have been spent separately, each with our boys, with the exception of only a few times.
I smile at the memories flitting through my head of the hours we spent watching Disney movies with Jack and Henry. The four of us would cram on the couch with Boo at our feet begging for some of our popcorn. We had had movie nights before, but the past two times were different. While we haven't disclosed anything to the boys, we have allowed ourselves to be more affectionate around them.
Everything seems to be settling into place and we are happy.
I turn and look for Aaron, who went to the bar to order our drinks. We're here on a Saturday night, so Abby is busier than we are used to. Fortunately, we were still able to grab a booth and while it isn't our normal one, it is a place to sit nonetheless.
I spot Aaron just as he turns to me with a sexy gleam in his eyes. He is in my favorite pair of jeans and has on a casual, gray pullover sweater that suits him well. He looks relaxed and he's smiling at me, which makes me tingle. I can tell he is just as excited to have a night to ourselves as I am.
"JJ!"
My gaze shifts from Aaron to Morgan's surprised face. I give him a sincere smile and get up to hug him. "Morgan! What are you doing here?" I haven't seen him in almost two and a half weeks and when his arms wrap around me I remember how much I miss my friend.
He releases me and cocks his head to the side. "Getting my drink on with some friends of course!" He raises his beer in his hand and shakes the bottle slightly. "You look good Jayje. Holding up well I take it?"
I see a hint of sadness in his eyes when he realizes the reasoning behind his question. I know he is remembering that the last time he saw me was at Emily's funeral which immediately eliminates his lighthearted attitude.
"Morgan?" I turn and see Aaron has approached with our drinks. He offers me my vodka tonic and I smile my thanks. I watch as he takes a sip of his scotch and holds out his hand to Derek.
"Hotch! It's good to see you out!" Morgan says, all smiles. Aaron's presence must have knocked Derek out of his slump and I'm glad for it.
"You as well." Aaron motions towards our booth. "You're going to join us?"
Derek nods. "Yeah, yeah that would be great! My buddies are scattered in this place anyways."
We move to our booth, Hotch and I taking one side and Derek the other. The minute we sit down Aaron rests his left hand on my thigh, giving it a light squeeze. Our eyes meet and I know that he is assuring me that we'll have our alone time later tonight.
We must have shared our gaze for too long and left our eyes uncensored because Morgan slaps the table.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you two—" he pauses and points at us. "Are you two here together?" Morgan switches his eyes between Aaron and me and a knowing grin appears on his face.
I know Aaron is frowning at him and so I offer a smile to make up for it. "Just catching up," I cover. "What friends are you here with?" I ask, trying to deflect his focus and referring to his earlier statement. Aaron and I have never talked about how we'd make our relationship known to the team, but I sense he doesn't want Morgan to find out now, in a bar.
Derek narrows his eyes and I make my face remain impassive. He doesn't immediately answer me and I'm at a loss with what to do. He is a profiler after all. I have to resist inching away from Aaron because I know it'll only make us look even more guilty.
"Do you need a refill, Derek?" Aaron asks.
Morgan's attention is briefly diverted and he nods. "Yeah, but I can get it." He moves to get up but Aaron stops him.
"No need."
Suddenly I get the shock of my life. Aaron pulls me towards him and places a kiss on my temple. "I'll be right back," he tells me softly. He gives Morgan a stern, yet victorious, look that orders him to play things cool. When Aaron edges out of the booth I silently berate him for leaving me to deal with the aftermath of his revelation.
With a small, anxious smile I move my eyes to the man seated across from me. His jaw is hanging open and he has been rendered speechless. I begin to laugh at his expression and lift my drink.
"Need something a little stronger?"
He shakes his head and blinks, finally regaining his bearings. He smiles, in disbelief most likely, and rests his arms on the table. "How long ago did you manage to break the Aaron Hotchner out of his shell?"
"A while now," I tell him and it is almost impossible for me not to gush. This is the first adult I've been able to admit my relationship with Aaron to and it feels invigorating.
"Man! How did I miss this?" he laughs. "We just worked a case…" Morgan's eyes suddenly cloud over and he clears his throat. I reach across the table and grab his hands, giving them a squeeze. Derek looks down at the tabletop, avoiding my eyes.
"Hey! Aren't you impressed that we managed to fool a team of profilers?" I say in an attempt to lighten the mood.
He huffs out a breath and the ends of his lips quirk upwards. "Yeah. Yeah that's pretty good." His voice is still laced with disappointment over thoughts of Emily and I wince, knowing I could take away most of his guilt with one confession.
I see Aaron approach with Morgan's beer and he slows. He gives me a searching look and I know he knows what's wrong. He comes up to the table and holds out the beer. "Drink up, Morgan," he instructs.
Derek lifts up his head and pulls his hands from mine. "Thanks, man."
"Sure," Aaron replies as he takes his seat next to me. We fall into silence and I know we're all thinking of our lost friend.
"Come on, boys. You know she'd be pissed that we are moping right now. It's a Saturday night, let's have a good time, okay?" I'm eager to get Morgan feeling better and hope it isn't a lost cause at this point.
I'm rewarded with a smile from Derek and he raises his bottle. "You're right about that!"
The three of us clink our glasses together and I feel the tension ease. Point one for Jareau.
"Okay you two, out with it!"
Aaron and I share a knowing look before we look back to an eager Morgan. "Out with what?" Aaron teases, pretending to be oblivious. He hides his smiles by taking a drink of his scotch. He replaces his hand on my leg and moves his thumb away from his fingers and back in a slow caress.
My smile grows bigger and once again I'm tingling all over. The things this man could do to me with the simplest of touches!
"Uhm, you know Garcia is going to flip out when she gets wind of this, don't you?" Derek's eyes are dancing with nothing but mischief.
Aaron's thumb stills. "And this is our business to tell," he warns.
Morgan leans back and holds up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, no argument there." He takes a swig of his beer and continues. "But she will. Like, crazy flip. She's not going to be able to talk about anything else for a good month. She'll probably plan a party or something," Morgan teases.
"No, she won't. And you're going to make sure of it, Morgan," Aaron says. I begin to laugh and he looks at me with big eyes.
At this moment, Aaron Hotchner is officially afraid of Penelope Garcia.
And judging on his face, Derek knows it too. He snickers and his eyes crinkle with amusement. "That she doesn't ramble on and on about it for two months or throw you a party?"
"Both!" Aaron replies in his best Hotch voice.
His tone has zero affect on Morgan. "Does anyone else know?"
"No, you're the first." Aaron casts a suspicious glance at his subordinate. "And why should that matter?"
I duck my head to hide my smile. I can tell Aaron is second guessing himself about exposing our relationship to Morgan. Personally I'm not worried, but maybe I just don't care about being so secretive any longer. It was fun having Aaron to myself, even enticing at times, but after confessing things to Morgan I find I want the whole world to know about Aaron and me.
I want to shout from the rooftops that Aaron Hotchner is mine.
"Because this is just too juicy not to talk to someone about!"
I shake my head at him and sigh. "You're starting to sound like Garcia!"
Aaron smirks beside me and agrees. "I'm afraid JJ's right."
The three of us continue drinking and talking for the next hour during which Aaron laughs twice. After the second time, Derek is obviously floored and finally says something.
"Hotch man, I've never seen you like this," he exclaims. "It's great! JJ's pretty damn good for you if you ask me." Morgan smiles at me and I know he is happy for us.
Aaron wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me to him. "Yeah, she is," he says as he looks squarely into my eyes.
My heart skips a beat and my breath stops. The affection he isn't bothering to conceal from Morgan thrills me. Before, whenever the team got together outside of work, he was still composed and never this lighthearted. Maybe Derek is right, maybe I have changed Aaron Hotchner for the better. Even though he was already wonderful, the thought elates me.
"Okay, lovebirds, I'm out. I need to round up the guys and hop to bar number four," Derek explains as he stands.
"This is your third bar tonight?!" I blurt. What time had he started drinking?
"Yes ma'am!" he answers happily. "And at least four more to go!"
I shake my head at the crazy, but loveable, Derek Morgan. I make Aaron scoot out of the booth so I can stand up and embrace Derek. "Good to see you, let's not make it so long before next time, okay?"
We pull apart and he rubs my upper arms. "You got it Jayje." He shifts his gaze to Hotch, who had sat back down, and gives him a lazy, mock salute. "See you Monday, Hotch."
"Take care, Morgan," he says, raising his glass to him in farewell.
I watch him leave us and turn back to our table. I lower myself into the seat Morgan just vacated while Aaron slides my drink over to me. "That was nice," I say.
He looks towards the direction Morgan went and nods. "Yeah, it was. He has been taking things the hardest. I'm glad he is out having fun."
I don't say anything which gets Aaron's attention.
"What?"
I feel a smile creep onto my face. "I like it. That we told him."
"It wasn't presumptuous?" he says. He gives me a nervous look which surprises me since he exuded nothing but confidence around Morgan. "I haven't even taken you out on an official first date." He pauses and gives me a critical look. "We should have done that tonight but someone wanted to come here instead."
I crinkle my nose and take a sip of my drink. "I missed this place. This can be our first official date!"
Aaron shakes his head defiantly. "No. I refuse to let Derek Morgan be a part of our first date!" he insists good naturedly.
I giggle in response. "Okay, that's fair." Aaron nods, signaling the issue is settled. "I'm still glad we told him about us."
"You are, are you?" Aaron goads. He smirks and I know he is just as happy about it as I am.
"Yes. I'm the luckiest girl out there and I want everyone to know it!"
Yes, it is a corny line but no, I don't care.
First, Aaron blushes, something I still find adorable, and then he winks at me.
"Okay. But JJ? Please don't tell Garcia during work hours. I don't think I'd be able to handle it."
