Bridge Over Troubled Water – Part 2

Sorry for the delay with the last chapter but have had major real life catch up. Then it was a struggle to get back into the flow, so this chapter hasn't gone as I wanted (I nearly gave in a finished it on the last chapter – it was a good place to stop.) Anyway here goes, hope you enjoy it.

. . .

Hotch was hovering, he knew he was, but there was nothing he could do about it. He hated feeling nervous, it wasn't in his nature, yet recently it was something he had to get use to. He had forgotten how long women take to get ready. Surely JJ was nearly done. He didn't want to be first at the Rossi's New Year party, but he didn't want to be the last either. As he paced the room, he considered calling through to her. In the end he went to find her.

"You OK?" he asked, entering her bedroom.

"Mmm," JJ was fiddling aimlessly with her perfectly straight hair.

"What's bothering you?" Aaron asked as he placed his hands gently on her shoulders.

"Will . . . the team . . . everything . . . nothing."

"Sorry, I should of thought," Hotch mentally kicked himself for forgetting to ask earlier how Will had taken the news. "I take it Will didn't take it to well."

"He was great, as he always is. But his eyes told another story, as they always do. He can't lie to save his life. He said he understood and that he was OK with it. I had to tell him before Henry said something."

"Jay, we haven't done anything wrong," Hotch brushed her cheek reassuringly, "You have been honest with him. We have nothing to hide."

JJ nodded slowly. "Will the team see it that way?"

Hotch couldn't stop the giggle escaping; however JJ's scolding look soon reigned him in. He was just as nervous as she was about sharing their news with their friends tonight.

"My guess is they will be fine," Hotch was unaware of how he was staring into her clear blue eyes. "But if it helps, I'm just as worried as you, and I've got to work with them."

Even JJ had to smile at that.

. . .

Rossi opened the door.

"So you've made it," he smiled, kissing JJ on the cheek. "No Will?"

JJ looked at the ground as Hotch glared at Rossi. Rossi took a step back, allowing his guests in.

"Will and I separated in the summer," JJ managed. This was going to be harder then she thought, after all she had spent months lying to her friends, each time they had questioned Will being missing. Now she had to tell them the truth.

Rossi now understood the Hotchner glare, unjustified he thought, he was a profiler not a mind reader after all.

"I'm sorry," he could more than sympathise with JJ, after three failed marriages. Rossi took their coats and indicated the way through to the others.

Following JJ, Hotch felt for her hand and squeezed, it couldn't get worse, could it.

"JJ," Garcia called as she entered the room. Running up to her best friend she gave her a huge hug, then looked puzzled as she realised Hotch had arrived at the same time as JJ.

JJ fixed her best liaison smile. May as well get this over and done with she thought as she faced the whole team for the first time in ages.

"It's great to see you all again, but before we spend the evening enjoying ourselves," JJ paused. "For those of you that don't know, Will and I separated in the summer." The mumbled apologies started straight away. JJ let the team settle again. She looked at Penelope and Spencer; both had a similar look on their face. They both knew how hard JJ had found telling them, let alone the rest of the team. JJ took a large breath and looked at Hotch for support. Raising an eyebrow, in question, was this the time to tell the team about them? She decided not.

. . . .

The evening seemed to fly by, JJ had forgotten what it was like when they all got together. She missed the team desperately. It may have been more than twelve months since she had the left the BAU, but time had not healed. With everything that had happened between her and Will in 2011, she was glad to see the back of the old year. Realising that she was staring at Aaron, she knew she had something good to look forward to in 2012.

She couldn't take her eyes off him as he went towards the kitchen with Rossi. JJ smiled silently to herself, if anyone would had told her two years ago that she would fall madly in love with Aaron Hotchner, she would have laughed in their face. But here she was, well and truly his.

Penelope watched her friend with great curiosity. She felt so guilty that she saw so little of JJ and Henry, but had she really lost touch with her best friend that much. Pen was pleased by her friend's happiness, yet was perplexed by the cause. If she hadn't of known her better she would have sworn that JJ was spending the evening staring at Hotch, but surely not, after all it was Hotch, their boss. Now Morgan, she could understand how spending the evening staring at him could put a smile on any girl's face.

. . . .

"I'd appreciate your thoughts on something," Rossi said as they entered the solitude of the kitchen.

"Really?" Hotch questioned "If I can help, I will."

Rossi looked at his friend and colleague, as he poured their drinks. He was trying to figure out if he was about to get his head bitten off, or if he was about to get away with what he had to say. Either way he was going to say it, he wasn't going to stand back and watch without making sure that Hotch knew what he was doing.

"The thing is I have a friend, I'm concerned as he seems to being falling in love with his colleague . . "

"Ex-colleague," Hotch interrupted, smiling at Rossi's vague attempt at covering their identities.

"Ok, ex-colleague, but I'm worried. It's a risky situation for both. She's recently separated, there are kids, and it could get messy."

Hotch nodded slowly. "Or everything could be just fine. Now unless you have a crystal ball, we're not likely to know the answer tonight, are we?"

Rossi stared at Hotch, just as he suspected; JJ and Hotch, who'd have thought it.

"Was anything happening between you while she was still at the BAU?"

Hotch nearly choked on his drink. "Now you are pushing your luck. No, and you know it. Nothing happened until months after she asked Will to leave."

"Months . . . long time to wait."

"Cut the sarcasm, you are hardly the prime person to give relationship advice. We haven't entered this relationship easily. We are more than aware that this will affect Henry and Jack, but we have to cross each bridge as we come to it. In the meanwhile, can you try to be happy for us? Don't we both deserve that?"

Rossi nodded his agreement and headed back to the others.

. . . .

As the clock neared midnight the conversation changed to resolutions.

"Well I can hardly give up chocolate; you all know I'm addicted to Morgan! So it has got to be something else."

"How about you don't give up anything, I love you just the way you are."

"Aw, you too, Babe," she swooned. "How about you JJ, any promises for the year ahead?"

"Just the one, never to lie to my friends again," she looked around the group in front of her, lingering as she reached Aaron. "And to start the year honestly, I have something else to tell you."

"What she means is we have something to tell you," Hotch interrupted, he wasn't about to leave JJ to tell the team on her own, as he moved round the room to sit next to her.

"We?" Morgan queried.

"We," Hotch confirmed. "JJ and I are together," he smiled down at his lover, while the team let the information sink in.

. . . .

Thank you to everyone who has followed this story. I would never have written this pairing if it wasn't for the original challenge through Chit Chat on Author's Corner, Tonni and Tricia do an amazing job of organising all the challenges. They have got me to try writing things I wouldn't have done without the prompt.