Author's Note: Special thanks tojenny crum, Christiangirl, CeeCee333, Kimd33, alex, hcky202141, AndreeaRaducan, Lalina92, BAUMember, CSIflea, CMLeoLover, RubyDragonJewel, IniTiniNini, Guest, aver, natexeserenafan, Flames101, Daisyangel, and Guest for the reviews. I've gotten some new follows so please, drop me a review and let me know what I'm doing wrong/right. I lied last time; I needed one more transition chapter. Hopefully, this also reforms Jessica in everyone's eyes!

Chapter Thirty-Six

"Jack," Jessica called, glancing out the living room window, "your dad's here! Get your stuff together!"

"Uh, hello," Hotch stuttered when the front door opened before he had a chance to ring the bell.

Jessica ushered him in. "Sorry. I've been waiting for you."

Hotch glanced around, nervously. "Is- is everything okay?"

"Your son is driving me insane," she admitted, chuckling at Hotch's stunned expression. "He is so excited about your trip that he's bouncing off the walls. And it is driving me in-sane."

"I understand," he told her with a sympathetic tone. "He's barely slept the past week and every night before bed, we play a hundred questions about what we're going to do at the beach."

Studying him, Jessica tilted her head and folded her arms. "You don't seem too excited to be going. I thought you'd be bouncing off the walls like your son: an entire week away from work, in the sun, with a beautiful woman sunbathing next to you."

Hotch started. "Wha- what do you mean?"

"I," she narrowed her eyes, "thought that you and JJ were getting along better."

"What do you mean 'better'?"

Jessica scratched the top of her head. "Okay, I can't tell if you're really that dense or if you're in complete denial. Either way, I'm kind of over it. I know you like JJ."

Swallowing hard, Hotch's eyes grew wide. "Of course, I do. She's my friend."

"Stop being an idiot." She took a calming breathe. "You like JJ. Not as a friend. Have you told her?"

"Yes," he croaked, "but she doesn't want to do anything about it because of Jack."

Jessica gestured for him to sit on the couch, taking the chair for herself. "Does that mean that she likes you, too?"

Hotch rubbed his face with his hands. "I don't know that I should be talking to you about this?"

"Would you rather talk to Dave Rossi about it?" She grinned at his horrified expression. "Look, Aaron, I'd like to think that after everything we've become friends." She stared at him until he agreed. "I don't expect you to be loyal to Haley for the rest of your life. I mean, there was Beth and I kind of liked her."

"No, you didn't," he stated, plainly.

Jessica barked. "Okay, I didn't. But I do like JJ. I know we had a bit of a rough patch earlier, but that was only because I was terrified of losing Jack." She bit her lip, sheepishly. "I've gotten to know her over the years through our e-mail exchanges. And I have to say, I can see why Haley was so afraid of your friendship."

Frowning, Hotch asked, "What do you mean?"

"You guys… work. She makes you smile and you keep her grounded. And that thing you guys do with your eyes? It's incredibly rare. I can easily see you as a couple that goes the distance," Jessica expounded. "You know, if only you would start the distance."

"Hey, I tried!" he shouted, defensively. "She told me that she didn't want to get involved while things with Jack were so tedious." His shoulders fell. "She didn't ask me to wait for her."

Jessica raised an eyebrow. "But?"

Hotch stared intensely at the floor. "But she flirts with me… sometimes and she lets me flirt with her, as long as we keep it away from the boys." He stood and walked to the television. "And yet, every time I do, I feel so guilty like I'm pushing her into something she doesn't want, but is too polite to say no to."

"Really?" Jessica shot him a look of complete disbelief. "Do you really think that JJ wouldn't put you in your place if you were making her feel uncomfortable?"

"She'd kick my ass," he chuckled.

Slapping her knee, Jessica exclaimed, "Damn right, she would! And you would deserve it. But she's not. She's being receptive to you. JJ is a mom first, though, and of course, she's thinking of Jack, but that doesn't mean that she isn't also thinking of you."

Hotch sighed. "Which leaves me right where I am. I was looking forward to vacation, to spending time with JJ, and the boys, of course. But I was hoping to spend time with just her, too, after the boys went to bed, but now..."

"Have you talked to Jack about it?"

"You want me to talk to my son about my love life?" He spun around, an incredulous expression upon his face.

Unable to hold back, Jessica laughed. "No! Well, not exactly. Have you talked to him about how he sees her now? He called her 'Mom' when he was sick, did you know that?" Hotch nodded. "He only wanted her. Jack talks about her all the time, what they did, what they're going to do."

He sat back down on the couch. "It's been such a short time."

"In some ways, it has," she agreed. "However, Jack's known her his entire life. He's always liked her. The truth was hard on him, at first, but he seems, to me, ready to fully embrace her as his mother. Have you talked about that at all?"

"We-"

"I like JJ, Dad," Jack announced, softly, from the doorway.

Hotch jumped, startled by Jack's appearance. He cringed as he tried to recall the exact words in his conversation with Jessica to see if Jack might have overheard anything inappropriate. "I know you do, Jack."

Jack shuffled into the room, standing next to Jessica. "I mean, I would be okay if she was your girlfriend." He shot a quick glance to his aunt. "You're happy around JJ. I think she's happy around you, too. She smiles a lot and she stares at you when you're not looking."

"She- she does?" Hotch croaked. Two red dots appeared on his cheeks as he berated himself for taking advice from his child. "Are you sure that she's just not smiling because she likes to smile?"

"Yeah!" Jack rolled his eyes. "JJ has 'Mom smiles' that she gives to me and Henry and she has 'Friend smiles' that she gives to Miss Penny and Uncle Dave. She has 'I can't sigh smiles' that she gives to Mr Spencer, but she gives you a smile that she doesn't give anyone else. Dad, if you want JJ to be your girlfriend and if JJ wants to be your boyfriend, I think you should. Henry thinks so, too."

Eyes twinkling, Hotch scoff. "You've talk to Henry about this, huh?"

Jack nodded. "Yep. We talk about this stuff when you and JJ are talking about grown-up stuff. We think that it would be neat if we all lived together."

"Even the kids are behind you." Jessica reached out and rubbed Jack's back. "Take the time on this vacation to talk to JJ. Tell her what Jack said. See what happens."

Hotch looked between the two, a smile slowly unfolding across his lips. "I think I will."