Author's Note: Special thanks to JJmyst, CeeCee333, Casie01, hcky202141, ReadingRed, Kimd33, AndreeaRaducan, mummacass, Flames101, sez101, Whiitewolf, CMLeoLover, IniTiniNini, natexserenafan, jenny crum, BAUMember, RubyDragonJewel, Daisyangel, CSIflea, Christiangirl, Ju Fonseca, taylor, Guest, and SSA Rebecca Fae for the reviews. So, you guys really seemed to like that last chapter. Hopefully, you like this one as much!

Chapter Twenty-Nine

JJ came into consciousness as if sucked through a wormhole. She couldn't remember exactly what she had dreamed about, but she knew it hadn't been completely pleasant. Not surprising, really; she always had bad dreams when Henry was sick as her worry seeped into her unconsciousness. It made sense that she would do the same with Jack.

Blearily, JJ glanced over at the clock. It was just after five am, meaning Jack had made almost seven hours without throwing up. She laid her hand on his forehead, finding it cool. His fever had broken sometime during the night. JJ moved to scoot back under the comforter when she spotted a shadow out of the corner of her eye.

"Holy shit!" she screamed.

"Mommy!" Jack shrieked, throwing himself around JJ still mostly asleep.

The shadow froze. "JJ, it's me."

JJ peered into the darkness, cradling Jack close to her. He whimpered twice before returning to dreamland. "Hotch?"

"Yes."

"You're lucky that I don't have my gun!" she hissed.

Hotch sat down on the bed. "I'm sorry. I just got in. I took a red-eye commercial flight as soon as I could. I went to Jack's room first, but he wasn't there. Obviously."

Nodding absently, JJ repeated, "Obviously."

"You looked very sweet curled up together," he admitted, ducking his head.

"Dad, you're home," Jack yawned, opening his eyes.

Hotch brushed the hair from his forehead. "Hey, Buddy. How are you feeling?"

Shrugging, he was already drifting back to sleep. "Better." Jack lifted his head suddenly. "Daddy, will you cuddle with me?"

"Of course." Hotch shuffled to the other side of the room. He toed off his shoes, removed his jacket and shirt, and took off his belt, leaving his pants and white t-shirt on. He slipped under the blanket on the opposite side of the bed as JJ scooted out.

"Where are you going?" Jack asked her, alarmed.

JJ paused. "I, um, was just going to sleep in your room for a bit."

Hotch stopped Jack's protests with a hand to his shoulder. "It's a big bed, JJ, and there's a kid between us. I think we can share."

"Okay, okay." She settled back in the bed, smiling when Jack cozied up to her once again.

"Is that my shirt?" Hotch whispered after Jack fell back into sleep.

Her face heating up, JJ was relieved that it was too dark for him to see her face. "Apparently, I never replaced them in my go bag after the last sleepover I had at Penelope's, okay? I didn't think you'd mind."

Reaching over top of Jack, Hotch squeezed her hand. "I don't mind. In fact, you are welcome to wear any of my shirts at any time."

"Shut up." She pulled her hand away, but was secretly pleased. She propped her head on one head, absently rubbing Jack's back with the other. "Did you guys solve the case?"

"We found her. She'll need a lot of therapy, but in time, I think she'll be okay. She has a good family, despite their involvement in politics," Hotch remarked. "The rest of the team should be back this afternoon. I really could have used you out there to smooth things over with the governor. No one else seems to have your mediation skills."

Again, she blushed. "Thank you, but I'm glad that I was here… for Jack."

Hotch raised his head on his hand, too. "I'm glad, too. Did I hear right when you woke? Did he call you 'Mommy'?"

"Um," she pussyfooted, "he did. He called me 'Mom' earlier, too, but I'm pretty sure that it's because he's sick and half-asleep. I'll be back to JJ soon."

"Maybe. Or maybe he's reached a turning point. Maybe he's begun to put you into that mother role."

JJ let out a long, shaky breath. "I want to believe that, but I'm too afraid to hope."

Hotch itched to caress her face, but held back. "He talks about you all the time, you know; you and Henry. He talks about your visits for days before and after you come. He wants to know any stories that I can tell him about you. I'm tell you, JJ, this boy adores you."

"That's good because I adore him, too."

"He's not the only Hotchner man that adores you," Hotch confessed.

JJ tossed her hair back. "I always knew Sean had a crush on me."

Hotch shot her a glare that she was able to see through the tiny amount of light coming through the windows as the sun made its way up. "I was not referring to Sean."

"We talk about this," she told him, quietly.

"We did," he concurred, "but then you flirted with me."

Biting on her bottom lip, JJ conceded his point. "I did. I'm sorry."

This time, he did reach out and touch here, running his thumb over her wrist. "Don't be sorry. And I promise that I'm not going to push you on this. I know where you stand and I agree that Jack needs to come first."

"But?" she prompted.

"But I'm still going to flirt with you as long as you flirt back." He sighed. "If you're really uncomfortable with it, I'll stop."

JJ stopped rubbing Jack's back to cover the hand on her wrist. She squeezed his hand. "I don't want you to stop… as long as it's not in front of the boys."

Hotch exhaled at great length. "Agreed. And not in front of the team."

"Well, anymore than we already have in the past." They both chuckled. JJ played with his fingers. "I don't want you to get hurt, Hotch, if it never goes any further than flirting."

"JJ, how long have you known me?" he asked, plainly.

She hesitated. "About a decade."

"And how many women have I been involved with over that time?" Hotch pressed on.

"Um, two. Plus, you had that really weird thing going on with Kate," JJ answered.

He frowned. "Weird thing? There was no weird thing. We were just friends. Anyway," he continued when she made a noise of disbelief, "the point is that waiting until you're ready is not a hardship for me. And I happen to think you're worth it."

Rolling her eyes, JJ huffed. "And I think you're nuts."

"I'm pretty sure that Rossi would agree with you," Hotch joked. Rossi's pestering of Hotch to get a love life was well known throughout the BAU.

"You should get some sleep, Hotch." JJ laid her head back down. "You've had a long night."

Hotch nodded, laying his own head on the pillow. "For what it's worth, Jayje, I'm glad that Jack called you 'Mom' and I hope for his sake that he continues to do so."

JJ remained quiet for a few minutes before responding with a soft, "Thank you."

Neither of them noticed as they drifted off to sleep that their hands were still linked.