A/N--Thanks to everyone who's reviewed/alerted this story.

October

"Hi Dad!" Jack called happily from the top of the playground as Hotch walked to the bench where Hailey was sitting. It was Friday and Hotch was getting Jack for the weekend. Hailey's new live-in boyfriend didn't really care for Hotch, so they decided it might be best if they met in a neutral place.

After the sticky divorce, one would think that the pair hated each other, but that was far from the truth. They had being civil down to an art. They were actually reaching the point where someone could call them friends. So as Hotch plopped down, Hailey laughed at the grunt he made.

"That bad of a day?" Hailey asked, wondering what could actually evoke a reaction from her usually stoic ex-husband.

"Yep." Hotch said shortly, not wanting to reveal too much to his ex-wife.

"Aaron, what on earth is the matter?" Hailey finally asked after a few moments of painfully awkward silence.

"JJ's upset." He grumbled. "Well, she says she isn't, but I know her better than that."

"I'm sure you do." Hailey smiled. She loved JJ. Any woman who could encourage Aaron to spend more time with his son was ideal in her eyes. If she had to pick a step-mother for Jack, JJ would be it. When she and Aaron split, she'd been worried if he'd ever move on. He was a constant thing, she didn't know if he would get used to the change. But when she found out that he had begun dating the blonde woman that he had worked with for years, she couldn't have been happier for him.

"Her sister said that she was wasting her time with me. That I only want her because she's young and inexperienced. She told her that I'm never going to commit and that she should cut her losses and move on." Hotch relented. If anyone could tell him what he should do, it was Hailey.

"How did you find this out?" Hailey asked curiously, there was no way JJ would ever tell this to Hotch.

"She told Garcia, who then told me." He muttered.

"Then why is she mad at you?" JJ didn't seem like the type to take things out on others, Hailey was confused.

"She isn't. She's upset that her sister would say anything like that to her, but she hasn't said anything about it to me." Hotch explained. "I just don't want her thinking that it's really the case. I don't want her to think I don't intend on marrying her someday, because I do. I just need time."

"Why?"

"Hailey, I love her, I want to spend the rest of my life with her. You should know as well as anyone--" Hotch tried to explain but Hailey cut him off.

"No, I understand why you'd want to marry her, what I don't understand is why you need time." Hailey said, shaking her head.

"We've only been dating for three months. The best three months of my life, but I think that's a bit soon to be asking her to marry me." Hotch supposed confused. If anyone should know that he wanted to take his time, it was Hailey. He had loved her fiercely, and the divorce had not been easy on him.

"Do you love her?" She asked, understanding his reservations, but also knowing that he needed to risk a lot for this relationship to work.

"Absolutely, have you not heard a word I've said?"

"Then why are going to make her wait for forever?" Hailey cried exasperated.

"It's been three months!" Hotch defended.

"But by the time you pluck up the courage to ask her, it will a whole lot longer than three months." She pointed out.

Hotch just gave her a disbelieving look.

"Aaron, by the time you actually asked me to marry you, we had been dating for nearly ten years. I don't know JJ all that well, but I think she might want to get married before you two have been together for a decade." Hailey pointed out, not wanting to laugh, but remembering how long it had taken Aaron to take the next step in their relationship.

"We dated ten years and look how that turned out." Hotch pointed out.

Hailey looked at him sadly, "Aaron, I'm sorry for what happened between us, I wanted it to work but I gave up. Not every other woman will." She replied, grateful that time had taken a lot of the anger out of their failed marriage. "But just because you're scared doesn't mean that she is."

"I'm not--" He tried to defend himself, but at her knowing look simply relented, "I'll ask her. I will. I just don't want to do it quite yet." Hotch resented that Hailey could read him so well.

"You love her. And I think that if you did choose to ask, it would be the real thing. I think you'd make it." Hailey informed, hoping that he wouldn't give up on the peanut gallery just yet.

"It would be. I just want the timing to be right."

"And how do you know that it isn't right now?" Hailey asked knowingly.

Hotch just shook his head, refusing to respond. He didn't need to justify himself to her.

"Don't let your stubborn ways keep you from real happiness Aaron." Hailey said, standing up from the park bench. "I'm going to go, have a nice weekend."

Hotch watched as Hailey walked away, it reminded him of how she walked right out of his life. He was determined to not let JJ do the same.

The words that Hailey had spoken to him were like a weed, creeping up in every spare crack his mind contained. He certainly loved JJ, but he wasn't sure he was ready to ask her to take that leap in their relationship. He didn't want to make her move faster than she was ready.

"Jack's asleep." JJ said, plopping herself next to Hotch on the small couch. "Poor kid didn't even make it through the entire story."

"What did you read him?" Hotch asked, trying to conceal the contraband thoughts he had been harboring since earlier that afternoon.

"'Horton Hears a Who' seems to be all the rage these days." JJ laughed, cuddling closer into Hotch's open arms.

The couple sat quietly for a moment before Hotch finally spoke. "Are you ever going to tell me what your sister said?"

"Megan's boyfriend doesn't want to commit, so she's taking it out on our relationship. Emily told me that it's classic projection." JJ dismissed.

"You told Prentiss but not me?" Hotch asked disbelievingly.

"I didn't want you to feel like I wanted to force you into anything." JJ explained, hoping he'd understand.

"But you still could have told me." Hotch smiled. "I don't consider your sister the most important factor in our relationship."

JJ nodded. "I know." She smiled timidly. "I just don't want you thinking that I'm expecting a ring anytime soon. I mean, I'm fine going as slow as you want to."

"What do you want? How fast do you want to go?" Hotch inquired curiously, from the sound of it, it was he who was keeping the pace in their relationship, not JJ. When she had been with Will, he had listened as she admitted the many times that she felt pressured into marrying him. He had always assumed that she was as reticent as he was.

"I don't think that there is anything I'm not ready for with you." JJ admitted sheepishly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

JJ took in a deep breath. "When you ask if we want to move in together, I'll ask whose place. When you say you want kids, I'm going to ask how many. If you ask to get married, I will ask how soon." JJ explained. "I'm ready for it all with you Aaron. But I want it to be on your terms."

"I guess I just assumed that you wanted to take it slow." He said, genuinely perplexed at how such a beautiful woman could love him.

"Slow? What about our relationship has been slow? We've only been 'together' for three months." She teased, then seemed to understand the sincerity of his statement, "when I was with Will, I think I knew that it wasn't right, I just didn't want to fail at another relationship. When he cheated on me, I was devestated, but now I realize I was also a little glad because it meant that I wasn't the one who destroyed the relationship. Maybe I forced him to do what he did, but---anyway, it's not important. What is important is that it's never felt so right to be with someone before." She said as she snuggled closer to him.

Hotch leaned down and kissed her right then, suddenly knowing what he had to do.