Two Dress Shirts Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Not Mine

A/N – Dave's a little over the top here but I kind of always picture him as a pot stirrer. Adorable and lovable but definitely a troublemaker…

Any talk of relationship would have to wait as the team ended up being called in on a new case and were back at the airstrip before the day was out.

"What happened to B team? Can't they contribute every once in a while?" Derek grumbled as he lugged his go bag onto the plane.

"It's busy time for lowlifes. They're on a case in California." Rossi told him as he focused on the fact that once again JJ and Emily were huddled together as they waited for take-off. "What's going on with the two of you? Are you experiencing bi-curiosity? Because I've always been kind of interested and would enjoy watching."

Hotch looked up from his files. "Dave! Have you taken your annual sensitivity training? If so you may want to consider taking it again." He suggested.

Emily snorted and looked over at JJ announcing. "You know, I'm considering trying it for one night and letting him watch just to see him stroke out."

"Oh I'd stroke out all right." He gave them a lascivious grin.

"Oh, eww, Dave!" Both Emily and JJ made disgusted faces, definitely not meaning it the way Dave took it.

"Damn it, Dave!" Hotch shouted.

"What?" He asked with a charming shrug.

Hotch looked at Rossi clearly upset. "That is completely inappropriate. I believe you owe your co-workers an apology. You would never say something so degrading to Morgan or Reid."

"Please, it's an equal opportunity world. I say tasteless stuff to them all the time." He replied honestly.

Reid shook his head. "It's true, he does."

Morgan looked at the older man. "Yeah, although you say something to me about stroking anything I might have to break you."

Rossi chuckled. "I'm not looking to go Brokeback big guy, but if the ladies are up to something I think I want in on it."

"That's it!" Hotch slammed his hand on the table. "Consider this a formal warning. You wouldn't let anyone speak to them like that, don't think it is acceptable for you to do so."

"It's okay Hotch…" JJ started but abruptly shut up as she read his expression.

"Jeez, what has your tighty whities in a twist?" Rossi mumbled, but a fierce look from their leader had him turning back to the girls and offering a slightly insincere apology. "Ladies, I am very sorry for my insensitive comment."

"I still want the required training completed within forty eight hours of return to normal duty or you will have an official write up in your file." Hotch barked.

The rest of the flight was made in relative silence. They did a little brain storming and strategizing about the upcoming case but other than that it was quiet. No one wanted to risk their leader's obvious temper.

CMCMCMCM

JJ made her way to Hotch's room shortly after checking in. She wanted to know what was bothering him, and she foolishly wanted to believe that she alone could fix it. He'd been expecting her.

"Hey." She said, taking in the loosened tie and the scotch on the rocks. "What's going on with you? You don't usually let Dave's antics get to you." She frowned as he swirled his drink. "You don't usually let anything get to you."

He watched as she moved in the room and sat on the edge of his bed. Unable to stop himself he spouted. "He's flirting. I've been working with David Rossi long enough to recognize the little games he deploys when he's getting ready to hit on a co-worker." He took a sip of his drink. "Next he'll start in with the touching. It won't be exactly inappropriate but he'll find excuses to put his hands on you." Then Hotch would have to kill him. "I told him from the beginning that you were off limits."

His admission stunned her. "I'm sorry, what?" A little kernel of hope blossomed.

He didn't heed the tone in her voice and continued. "We never had anything that looked like that, my ass. Smug little bastard. He's wanted you from the day he saw you." He stated, pacing the length of the room.

"So what, you warned him off me because you wanted me for yourself?" She asked, trying to wrap her head around his obvious anger and the reasons for it.

The pacing stopped immediately and he looked over at her. "What? No. This was back when I was still married." He was so angry he didn't take into account how badly his words sounded.

Just like that her dream plummeted. "Of course, you didn't want me then. You barely want me now other than to scratch your itch." She stood from the bed. "But where Dave is concerned I'm off limits. Good thing you're here to warn him off otherwise I might just fall into bed with him too."

"What?" He looked at her and truly saw the anger and the hurt in her expression. "Wait, I never…"

Her voice broke as she stated, "This was a bad idea we should have never started this to begin with. I don't know what I was thinking." She moved quickly towards the door praying that she would exit it before she fell apart.

He was half a step behind her. "Wait, JJ, I.." She opened the door and ran directly into Rossi.

"Whoa, Kitten, I'm used to women throwing themselves at me but give me a minute to catch you." He chuckled before realizing she was actually crying and struggling in his grasp. "Hey, I was just kidding. I'm sorry." He stood transfixed as she slipped from his hold. His eyes traveled from the hurt woman to the fury of his friend. "Well, I guess that explains why you aren't interested in dating."

"Watch it, Dave." He cautioned.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" The older man asked.

"No." He looked down at his drink. "She doesn't want me to chase after her." He finished the contents of his glass and moved to pour another.

Rossi moved into the room and closed the door. "I think you might have misread the situation, pal."

"We had a mutually satisfying agreement with the understanding that it could end whenever either party wanted it to." He closed his eyes as he swallowed the strong liquid. He just never assumed that day would arrive so quickly.

Rossi watched him for a moment. "So that's it? You're ready for it to be over." He gave a slight smile as the younger man looked at him, his expression bleak. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

"I was in here ranting about you wanting her." He glared at Rossi. "All that shit on the plane both today and the other day. You were out of line." And the thought of the suave older man swooping in and charming her brought out the green eyed asshole in him.

Rossi chuckled. "Here I was trying to get under Derek's skin and caught you in my web."

"What are you talking about?" Hotch asked him.

"Morgan has been mooning over one of them. He pretends to be engrossed in his music and deep thinking." He scoffed. "Like I couldn't see through that."

"He's interested in JJ?" Jesus, was Reid next?

"He's interested in one of them, I didn't say JJ specifically." He watched as Hotch strode to his bedside table and grabbed his phone. "What are you doing?"

"Garcia? Hey, I need JJ's room number." Hotch groaned as he listened to the analyst drone on about JJ not being part of a plot to find him a woman. "Garcia. Garcia. GARCIA." He paused long enough to hear the first sniff. "Garcia, I need to know JJ's room number because she is my woman. The only one that I want. I just need to convince her." He scrubbed a hand over his face. "No, I'm not bullshitting you. Yes, Garcia. No, I'm not telling you that. Because I think the first person that hears me make that declaration should be JJ." He clenched his fist as she let out another sob. "I promise you that I will do everything in my power to make her happy. Garcia, I can't do that if you don't tell me what fucking room she's in." He pleaded.

Rossi laughed at his friend's discomfort. "You know you could have probably gone to the front desk for this information. It might have been easier."

Hotch waved a hand at him to shush him. "Thank you, Garcia." He sighed with relief now that he had the room number. "Yes. Okay. I understand. Garcia. Garcia. GARCIA. I have to go, I have to go and find JJ." The analyst wasn't done speaking and promising him dire circumstances should he disappoint her Gumdrop. "Okay. Alright. You know what? Why don't you talk to Dave?" He tossed the phone at his friend before racing to the door.

He was in the corridor and finally in pursuit when Morgan approached him. "Hotch. Hey." The younger man appeared nervous. "I, uh, need to talk to you. It's important."

What the hell was it with his team seeking him out all of a sudden? "Can it wait?"

Morgan took in his boss's disheveled appearance and shook his head. "I'd rather get this off my chest now."

Glancing longingly in the direction he yearned to go he turned back to his subordinate. "Okay. What is it?"

Morgan frowned at Hotch's obvious impatience. "Do you think we can have this discussion in my hotel room rather than in the middle of the hallway?"

"Fine." He conceded begrudgingly. Hotch followed his agent back down the hall in the other direction then waited until he opened his room and ushered him in. "What's this about, Derek?"

Derek wiped his suddenly damp palms on his pants. "I, uh, I need to disclose to you that I've been having an intimate relationship with a fellow team member." He winced as Hotch lost most of the color in his face. "I, ah, know that it is against regulation."

"How long?" Hotch bit out.

Derek frowned, not sure why that was relevant, but the look on Hotch's face had him answering. "Ah, about four months."

Hotch closed his eyes. "Four months." She'd been seeing Derek during the time she'd been with him. He felt eviscerated, he knew that he agreed to a no strings relationship but he thought she felt something for him. At the very least he assumed that she hadn't been sleeping with anyone else while she was sleeping with him.

Derek had been worried about coming clean to his boss, now he was just worried period. "Are you okay, man?" The man looked like he lost his best friend and was in danger of losing his supper.

"What?" Hotch fought to focus on the man in front of him. "Oh, sorry, okay. Is that all?"

Derek's jaw dropped. "Okay? Is that all?" He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting but this wasn't it.

"I'm not sure what you want me to say." He wasn't sure he was going to be able to leave the fucking room with his dignity intact.

"What the hell is going on? Are you sick, Hotch?" He asked his supervisor in confusion.

"There is a good chance I'm going to be before the night is over." He headed towards the door. "Now if you don't mind I have a perfectly good bottle of scotch in my room that needs my attention." He made it to the door and paused. "Do you love her?" He couldn't prevent the question from pouring out.

"Yeah, I do." Morgan answered and was even more baffled by the slump of his leader's shoulders. He couldn't prevent asking again. "Hotch, man, are you okay?"

He didn't know if the other man heard and chose to ignore him or what but he didn't answer, he just opened the door.

"Well, hello…Oh, Hotch." Emily squeaked out. "Hey." Her eyes were big as saucers. "I was just coming to see if Derek wanted to …" She broke off as she got a good look at the man. "Hotch, are you alright?"

"No." He answered honestly and made to move past her.

"Hotch? Hey, I don't mean to be an ass, but can you give me some kind of clue as to what you're going to do with the information I just told you?"

"I'm going to go to my room and consume a fifth of scotch. Possibly order another bottle." He stated as he began his lonely trudge down the hall.

"But are you going to separate Emily and I?" Derek called after him.

"What the hell did you do?" Hotch heard Emily hiss.

"I disclosed our relationship." Derek told her proudly.

"Are you crazy?"

"Probably." He told her. "I'm not hiding it. I told you that." They were focused on one another and did not see Hotch stop and turn back towards them completely baffled.

"WAIT!" Hotch growled while moving back towards them. "Emily." He pointed at the woman. "You're having a relationship with Emily?"

Derek looked at him odd. "Yeah, I told you that."

Hotch shook his head. "No. No you definitely did not." He gave a slight chuckle and glanced down at the scrap of paper waded in his hand and quickly moved the opposite direction down the hall leaving the pair to stare after him curiously.

Emily and Derek shared a puzzled look. "How much of that first bottle did he drink?" She asked inquiringly.

Thanks for reading! As always, thank you for the comments. I love to hear what you think about my stories. Big thanks for the folks that favorite and follow, too. Hope you're all still with me!