Author's Note: Look, an update that's not months in the making! Special thanks to ReadingRed, AndreeaRaducan, Christiangirl, hcky202141, Kimd33, Flames101, BAUMember, mummacass, IniTiniNini, Jjmyst, jenny crum, Daisyangel, Lalina92, Lwenherz, Guest, RubyDragonJewel, CrazyPainter, Beachgirl25, and pink calalily for the reviews!

Chapter Twenty-Six

"How'd it go?" Hotch asked when JJ opened the door. He stepped inside, but hovered near the door.

She glanced back at Jack, who was casually sitting on the couch, watching television, and sipping juice. "I think it went pretty well." JJ lowered her voice. "He wants to tell Henry. He wants them to do 'brother stuff' together."

Looking pleased, Hotch questioned, "What's brother stuff?"

"Well, apparently, for you and Sean, it's a lot of 'staring and sighing' and you telling Sean what he's doing wrong in life," JJ explained.

"You can't say our boy isn't observant." He flushed when she grinned wildly at him. He pulled on his collar. "So, what is 'brother stuff' for them?"

JJ shrugged. "I'm not sure exactly. I think we're going to have to let them figure it out, but I suspect it's going to involve a lot of superheroes."

Hotch studied JJ for a moment. "So, I guess you're going to tell Henry then."

"Yes," she hissed. She briefly closed her eyes. "I'm going to have to talk to Will about how to tell Henry. Do you... um, do you want to be involved in that discussion?"

"I... think it would be better if I didn't. It's going to be confusing enough for Henry without my involvement," Hotch told her.

She nodded. "I figured that would be your answer. It's just nice to have someone on my side, you know? Will has to be on Henry's so he's not alienated from both parents."

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Hotch leaned down close to her ear. "I am always on your side."

"Hey, Dad!" Jack called out, noticing his father for the first time.

"Hello, son. Thanks for noticing my existence," Hotch deadpanned.

Jack tilted his head. "Huh?"

Hotch just chuckled. "So, are you ready to head out? We need to stop at the grocery store before going home."

"Sure." He placed the juice on the coffee table and walked over to the grown-ups. He hugged JJ. "Thanks for letting me come over, JJ." Jack took a deep breath. "Can we do this again next weekend?"

"Absolutely," JJ assured him after a quick glimpse at Hotch for confirmation. "Thanks for spending time with me."

Hotch squeezed her hand as he followed Jack out the door. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

Jack and Hotch were quiet as they got in the car and drove towards the grocery store. Hotch nearly jumped out of his skin when Jack spoke. "Dad, can make hamburgers for dinner?"

"Sure," Hotch agreed. "So, Jack, how did everything go with JJ?"

"Okay, I guess." He sighed and turned his head to stare out the window. "Did you know that JJ has all kinds of scrapbooks about me?"

Hotch thrummed his fingers against the steering wheel. "I did. She showed them to me."

Jack chewed on his bottom lip. "She has a locket of me and one of Henry, too."

"I did not know that." He waited a few minutes for Jack to say something else, but Jack remained quiet. "JJ mentioned that you'd like for her to tell Henry that you're, um, that-"

"That I'm his brother?" Jack offered.

Hotch huffed, amused. "Yes, that you're his brother. It also means admitting that you share the same mother, at least, biologically."

Fleetingly meeting Hotch's eye in the rear view mirror, Jack shrugged. "That's okay. That's what she is, right? And she's not so bad."

"No, she's not," Hotch concurred. "She's not so bad at all."

CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM

"JJ, can I see you in my office?" Hotch called out from the doorway. He had been staking out the bullpen waiting for her arrival Monday morning.

"Sure." She dumped her bag and her jacket on her desk before traipsing up the stairs. She ignored the worried glances between Reid and Garcia. JJ closed the door behind her. "Everything okay?"

Hotch leaned against his desk. "I was going to ask you that. Did you and Will talk to Henry last night?"

JJ nodded, standing next to him. "We did."

"How did it go?" he questioned, a bit exasperated.

"It went okay," she sighed. JJ giggled when Hotch bristled. "Sorry. I just had to take the opportunity to tease you." She took a deep breath. "I have to have lucked out and gotten the most easy-going kid in the world. He gets taken hostage and barely blinks. His father and I divorce and he remains well-adjusted. I tell him that he has a brother that I've kept secret his entire life and asks how quickly we can set up a play date and if they can share a room when Jack stays over." She stiffened. "I told him that probably wasn't going to happen."

Hotch laid his hand on JJ's forearm. "It might, if Jack asks."

Laying her hand on top of his, she asked, "How do you feel about that? I don't want you to think that Henry and I are trying to take over his life, usurp your place in it."

"I don't." Hotch shook his head. "I know my place in Jack's life. I don't think you're going to swoop in and steal him from me."

"Good."

"But," he leaned his shoulder into hers, "I did have an idea with the boys. I was thinking that since Henry goes with Will every weekend that we start a standing arrangement every Tuesday and Thursday for the boys to get together at least for dinner, maybe some time before or after."

JJ chewed on her bottom lip, thinking his proposal over. "Where do you want to do these meet-ups?"

Shifting nervously, Hotch removed his hand from her arm. "I was thinking at your apartment or at mine."

"Okay." She looked at him. "Starting tomorrow?"

"Yeah... as long as that's okay with you." He grinned when she nodded. Hotch breathed in deeply and shaky. "We still have to talk... about the kiss. I know this isn't the appropriate place, but it's the only time that we're going to be without the kids in the foreseeable future."

JJ closed her eyes, a pained expression crossing her face. "The kiss was... amazing. And unexpected. And something that we shouldn't do again." She opened her eyes just in time to catch disappointment flash through his features before he shut it away. "Things are so complicated already, Hotch. Think of how Jack lashed onto the thought of us dating as a reason that we were telling him the truth now. I think it would hurt the relationship that Jack and I are trying to build."

Hotch attempted to curl the ends of his lips upward with little success. "You're right. I know you're right."

"But I'm not saying no ever," she continued. "I don't want you to wait for me; I'm could never ask for that, but..."

"I understand," Hotch interrupted, not wanting to draw this out any further. His heart was racing and he felt a log forming in his stomach. "And you're right; we should be focusing solely on the boys right now." He abruptly gathered her into his arms when she opened her mouth. "We'll be okay, JJ. You, me, the boys; we'll all be okay."

She nodded, taking comfort in his arms. She wanted to believe him. But a tiny voice in the back of her mind was calling him a liar.

A/N2: I hope no one is disappointed that we didn't see Henry's reaction, but I figured that we've gone over what happened enough times and didn't need to go over it again.