Author's Note: Special thanks to Flames101, Kimd33, Katia XD, Sazzita, IniTiniNini, tannerose5, CeeCee333, AvngAngl, jenny crum, Daisyangel, BAUMember, mummacass, Christiangirl, Lalina92, Guest, pandorabox82, Guest, and TVHollywoodDiva for the reviews! Debating a couple of ways to go after this chapter. I don't want to bore you too much with the kids' getogethers, but at the same time, I need to establish those relationships before the truth comes tumbling out.

Chapter Fourteen

"Hey," JJ said, knocking on the open door of Hotch's office. "I just heard from Reid; the team landed safe, but in the middle of some nasty weather. They're gonna wait until tomorrow to go to the police station since it's all hands on deck to deal with the storm."

"Okay," Hotch replied, shutting the folder in front of him. "I'll let Garcia know that she can head home."

JJ nodded. "I'm going to head out, too. We're still on for dinner and a movie tonight, right?"

Putting down his pen, Hotch peered up at her. "JJ, I'm not going to go back on my word. I told you that Jack and I would meet you and Henry for dinner and we will."

"I know. I know," she insisted. "Logically, I know, but I can't stop this feeling in my stomach that says that this could all disappear at any moment. I know that I don't deserve this; being part of Jack's life, not after everything that I've done. I-"

"JJ," Hotch said, sharply, cutting her off. He stood and walked over to her. "It's not about deserving or... not deserving. If it was, I wouldn't deserve him, either." He shook his head when JJ opened her mouth to protest. "I think Jack needs you. You're a great mom and he needs one. You've been looking out for him for years, even if it's from afar. You love him. You care about him. You would do anything for him, including giving him life." They both chuckled over that. "I doesn't matter if you deserve him because he deserves you."

JJ wiped a tear from her eye. "For what it's worth, he deserves you, too."

Hotch leaned towards her, whispering, "Thanks."

"Hotch," she breathed out. Her lips opened sightly as she lifted her head.

"Have you heard from the team yet?" Garcia asked, popping in the doorway.

Hotch jumped away from JJ while she covered her mouth to stop from shouting in surprise. JJ rubbed her chest, distractedly. "Uh, yeah. Reid called. They're not going to check in with the police until tomorrow due to the flooding out there. We can all head home for the night."

Hotch gave Garcia a tight smile. "I was just on my way to see you to let you know."

"Uh-huh." Garcia didn't bother to hide her disbelief at Hotch's statement.

"I'll, uh, see you guys tomorrow," JJ stammered before hurrying from the office. She reached the bottom of the stairs when she felt someone grab her arm and pull her down the hallway. "Garcia, what the hell?"

Garcia pushed her against the wall, gently, and pointed her finger. "Don't you 'what the hell' me! What the hell did I just walk in on?"

Eyes widening, JJ shook her head. "No- nothing. We... were talking about our kids."

"Oh, please." Garcia rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid. I know when two people are about to kiss and you two were about to kiss!"

"I think you're seeing things," JJ protested as she began to inch away. "Things have been tough with Henry lately and Hotch was just offering some advice and comfort. He's been though this with Jack."

Garcia muttered. "That's not all he was offering."

JJ rubbed Garcia's upper arm. "Garcia, I love you, but I think you have romance on the brain. I can pretty much guarantee that's never going to happen between Hotch and me."

"Okay," Garcia replied, as JJ walked away.

Gathering her things from her desk, JJ hastily headed towards the elevator, afraid of being stopped by either Hotch or Garcia. It was only once she was in her car that she allowed herself to relax. Despite her protests to Garcia, she was certain that Hotch had been moments away from kissing her and that she had been doing everything but physically throwing herself at him.

She berated herself, even as her mind began to wonder what would have happened if Garcia hadn't interrupted. Were his lips as soft as they looked or were they rough? Did he taste as good as he smelled? Would he purr if she suckled that spot just below his left ear like he usually did in her dreams?

"Get a grip, Jareau," JJ berated herself, turning the car onto the highway. "Even if he was interested in you, which he isn't, it would just make things incredibly complicated in an already impossibly complicated situation. If anything, he was getting caught up in this notion of Jack having a family and I can't let any fantasy happen. I can't hurt Jack or Henry like that. No. I have to stay focused on the boys. There's no room in my life for anything else."

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"'Cars' is so cool!" Henry exclaimed. He was laying on this stomach in his living room watching the movie. Jack lay next to him while Hotch and JJ sat on opposite ends of the couch. "Lightening McQueen is awesome! Right, Jack?"

"Right." Jack waited until Henry turned his attention back to the screen before rolling his eyes. "Cars" was an okay movie for a little kid movie, but that's exactly what it was: a little kid movie. But he knew that the trade-off for hanging with Henry instead of just his dad and JJ was that he would have to watch things appropriate for Henry's age. "I think Mater's pretty cool, too."

Henry nodded and blushed. As far as he was concerned, Jack was the coolest kid in the world and if he thought Mater was cool, then so did Henry. Between pizza for dinner, getting to watch a movie on a school night, and spending time with Jack, Henry was having the best night ever.

"I think Henry's having the best night ever," JJ whispered to Hotch, her eyes glued her younger son.

"I'm glad," Hotch replied, keeping his voice low. "Jack's enjoying himself, too. He likes being a big brother." He flushed furiously at JJ's grin. "I- I mean, he's always the youngest with his cousins and- and-"

JJ reached out and laid her hand on his arm. "It's okay. I knew what you meant. Henry still goes to his old sitter's after school until I can get to him so he's the oldest. I think he's glad to be looking up to someone instead of being followed around by a toddler."

Hotch grabbed her hand and held it in his own. "This is a bit awkward, isn't it?"

"Yes, but we'll work through it," she assured him.

"Hey, Mama?" Henry called out as the credits began to roll on the movie.

Hotch dropped her hand quickly as JJ answered, "Yes, sweetheart?"

Henry glanced briefly at Jack. "Can we do this again tomorrow?"

"Well, probably not tomorrow, but we can definitely do something together soon," she promised. Sheepishly, she turned to Hotch. "If that's okay with you and Jack anyway."

"I think that's agreeable." Hotch winked at Jack, who was watching them eagerly. "In fact, I was thinking that we could all go over to Uncle Dave's on Thursday and swim in his pool. It's an indoor pool. He asked Jack and I to check on the house while he's out of town. How does that sound?"

"Yay!" the boys both cheered.

As Henry jumped into her arms, JJ mouthed, "Thank you."

Hotch ducked his head. "Okay. Well, Jack and I need to get home. He needs to get a shower and ready for bed."

"Aw, Dad," Jack moaned.

"JJ, we'll make solid plans tomorrow. Henry, we will see you on Thursday." Hotch stood and walked towards Jack. He leaned down to Jack's ear. "What do you say?"

Jack stepped towards JJ. "Thank you for dinner and for letting us watch the movie. It was a lot of fun."

JJ pulled him into a hug. "Thanks for coming and hanging with us. I'm glad you had a good time."

"Bye, Henry." Jack said, as he and Hotch left the afternoon.

"Bye!" Henry yelled after him. He tugged on his mother's shirt when the door closed. "Mama, can we have pizza and movie with Jack again?"

JJ smiled. She was overjoyed by how the evening had progressed despite the earlier weirdness in Hotch's office. "I think that's a distinct possibility."