A/N: Hello all! Again, sorry for the long wait. I've been working on my Christmas Gift Exchange fic. I started it, and then I rewrote it completely. So, this story had to be put on hold for a bit. Sorry about that. But, I'm back again. And I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

Pre-Wedding 5:

"So…"

Hotch glanced up from his drink to look at the man sitting across from him. Rossi had invited him out to get a drink. He thought it was because of the case they'd just come back from. They'd found the kidnapping victim alive, but the un-sub had gotten away. Cases like that could keep your head twirling in 'what ifs' if you didn't somehow try to distract yourself. So, this was initially why Hotch thought Rossi had invited him to the upscale bar. Now, Rossi's tone made him think otherwise.

"So…" Hotch prompted.

Rossi squinted at him, giving him the look Hotch liked to call "attempted X-ray vision," before continuing, "I heard something interesting from Emily…"

Uh oh, Hotch thought anxiously.

"Yeah, speaking of Emily, you know she and Garcia came up with a nickname for you," Hotch tried to distract him.

Rossi just gave him another look and went on. "She said something about you picking out JJ's wedding dress. When did you become a fashion designer, Hotch?"

"Shut up Dave," Hotch said dryly, not wanting to talk about that day. He felt that that was a private moment he'd shared with JJ. That's why he'd left so quickly when Garcia and Emily had shown up, that and well he'd felt his feelings were going to overwhelm him.

"Seriously, Hotch, what are you doing picking out another man's fiancée's dress for her?" Rossi scrutinized.

"Really, we're going to talk about this?" Hotch replied tersely.

Rossi held up his hands in a 'so-sue-me' gesture. "We're just concerned… Emily says she saw some… intense looks passing between the two of you," Rossi elaborated. "JJ's with Will."

"Trust me, I know that," Hotch said grudgingly, taking a swill of the hard alcohol.

"So…" Rossi prompted.

"Look, Dave, it's nothing, ok. I ran into JJ outside the shop. She seemed down so I offered to help her out to cheer her up. That's all. I'm not sure what Emily is seeing."

Rossi nodded. "And the looks you two were sharing… is something going on between—"

"No."

"Because, Will is—"

"No, Dave, just no! Nothing is going on between JJ and I," Hotch practically shouted.

"Ok, ok," Rossi said, backing off.

They sat there in silence. Hotch really didn't want to keep talking about this. And yet… he had no one else to talk to. He definitely couldn't talk to JJ.

"The looks were all me…" he admitted quietly.

Rossi let out a sigh, feeling for the younger man. "That's not what Emily says… she specifically said something about JJ staring longingly after you when you left."

Hotch gave a snort of disbelief. "She probably was sad to see the only other sane and normal person leave the shop. You should have seen Penelope and Emily they were acting crazy…"

"I don't think that was it, Hotch," his friend denied.

"What am I supposed to do with this information?" Hotch questioned, his voice harsh.

"That depends," Rossi shrugged, unfazed by Hotch's hostility. "How do you feel about her?"

That silenced Hotch. He took a sip of his drink. How did he feel about JJ? She had certainly become a close friend, especially of late. The play-dates between Jack and Henry weren't only bonding time for the kids, but between them as well. He thoroughly enjoyed every minute he spent with her. And he knew he cared for her.

So what did that all add up to?

"Do you… love her?" Rossi tentatively asked.

"No," Hotch said quickly and forcefully.

"Are you sure?"

Hotch remained silent. Again, he had no idea how he felt about her. All he knew was that lately his heart wouldn't stop racing in her presence. He would take every chance he could get to touch her. He knew her sadness caused him pain. And all he wished for was for her and Henry to be eternally happy.

"Look, it doesn't matter how I feel, ok," Hotch avoided. "JJ loves Will. And she's going to marry him. End of story."

He downed the last of his drink and stood up. Pulling out his wallet, he threw a few bills on the bar.

"I'm going, see you at work," Hotch finished.

Hotch hoped that Emily hadn't told everyone of the wedding dress incident. He didn't want more of his friends trying to give him helpful tips. He just wanted to get over these feelings… he needed some time away from all this nuptial talk. And then once JJ was married he'd hopefully be over her. Until then, he didn't need everyone and their mother analyzing the situation.

"Eat your breakfast Henry," JJ scolded her two year old toddler.

"I don't wanna, mommy," Henry protested. "I want oatmeal!

JJ threw a frown at Will. Currently, he was sitting at the table reading the newspaper, oblivious to the situation he'd ultimately caused.

"We don't have any, Henry," JJ denied. "Now eat your cereal."

"No," Henry shouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

JJ let out a sigh. "Will, this is all you."

"Hmm…" Will mumbled, lowering the paper. "What's up?"

JJ frowned. "Your son won't eat his breakfast, because he wants that sugary oatmeal you gave him the other day."

Will smiled, putting the paper down. "Now son," Will began. "You want to be a big boy, right?"

"I want to be like you daddy," Henry eagerly answered.

Will chuckled. "Well then, you need to eat your breakfast."

And it was that simple; Henry picked up his spoon and continued to eat the healthy non-sugary cereal she'd bought for him. She looked from father to son, amazed.

"That was great, Will," she praised. She would remember the 'be like daddy' strategy for next time.

Will smiled at her and then went back to his paper. JJ took a sip of her coffee going back to the paperwork she had to finish reading for work.

"June first," Will suddenly spoke up.

JJ glanced at Will. "What?"

Will dropped the paper once again. "June first; I was thinking that would be a perfect wedding anniversary date. Neither of us will ever forget it."

JJ's heart started to race. June first wasn't that far away, it being the end of March. That would only be two months away.

"But… that doesn't give us time to uh… to uh… plan," JJ stuttered. "It's going to be near to impossible to book a church or… or reception hall."

Will's smile turned into a proud grin. "Done and done."

"What?" JJ nearly squeaked out.

"I booked them last year," Will answered.

"What?" JJ's voice neared a new pitch.

Will pulled his chair closer to hers. He reached for her hands, engulfing them in his own. "I've bee thinking about this for awhile. Last year, I drove by this church… and for some reason I just knew that was the place. So I got out and booked the date."

"But… but… what if I don't like it?" JJ asked lamely.

"Trust me, you'll love it," Will assured. "And if you don't we'll find somewhere else."

He was still smiling. JJ didn't have the heart to protest it further. "O… Ok…"

"Ok?" Will asked eagerly.

"Ok," she said more firmly.

She had already committed to marrying him. What did it matter when it happened?

"Hey Henry, your mommy and daddy are getting married June first," Will said excitedly.

"Yay!" Henry exclaimed.

"Yay!" JJ echoed, throwing in as much enthusiasm as she could.

"My mom's coming into town next week to help us with the planning," Will said, trying to relieve her stress, but all JJ could think was 'Oh great, another person to be enthusiastic around.'

"How'd the wedding dress shopping go last weekend? Did you buy anything?"

"No," JJ lied.

She tried her hardest not to grimace. She had, in fact, bought a dress. After Hotch had left the store JJ had immediately purchased the dress he'd chosen for her. But for some reason, it felt wrong to tell Will about it.

"That's ok, my mom will love to help you out," Will assured.

"Great," JJ said, smiling, hoping it didn't look strained.

"Yeah," Will echoed, suddenly standing up. "I've got to get to work. We'll talk more later…" He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. "Love you."

"Love you too," she murmured.

"See you later buddy," Will said to his son.

"Bye daddy," Henry piped up.

JJ watched her fiancée leave the room. Staring off into nothing, JJ had to ask herself why this was all so difficult.

Well that's if for now. I know it's short. But, hopefully I'll be updating this weekend.

Thanks to everyone who's alerting this and reviewing: Hotch Fan; Zoldify (yeah I should have used a thesaurus, but I was too tired. Thanks for the review!); deeda; kdzl; and JJandHotch4ever96 (Will's a great guy, but yeah I love Jotch too. If you want to read a story where Will is removed from the picture nicely you can read my fic For You, Always.).

See ya all soon!