A/N: Hey! Got some great response to the first chapter, thank you very much! Great response always gets me feeling like updating quickly, so here you go! I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

Chapter 2:

Hotch glanced at his desk clock wanting to stay conscious of the time. Deciding he had just enough time to finish up the case file before JJ came and whisked him away, he kept working. Too bad his mind wasn't really on work. Instead, it was focused on the aforementioned blonde.

Hotch was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his eyes off of the petite, blue-eyed beauty whenever she was around. Ever since the week before, when he'd had her in his bed, he just couldn't stop thinking about that night or her, and how he wanted similar nights with her in the future.

But she'd confused the heck out of him when they'd talked. It had been more than obvious that she'd enjoyed herself—for him, he'd go so far as saying it was the best night of his life. So why, afterwards, did she say she wanted to take things slow? What did that even mean?

He rubbed at his eyes. It was also obvious, today, during the consult meeting, where JJ's mind had been, it was written all over her face what she was remembering. And when their gazes met that second time, he could see what she was seeing: clothes being ripped off, bodies sliding together, cries for more. It was no wonder that she'd looked so flushed in the conference room. It was becoming apparent to him that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Still, why did she want to hold back?

There was a knock on his door and he answered it with a quick, "Come in." Not looking up when the door opened and closed, he assumed it was JJ come to pry him from his work. "Just a few more signatures and then we can head out."

"Hotch," he heard Rossi's unexpected voice. "What did you do?"

Hotch dropped his pen to look up at his friend quizzically. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"With JJ?" Rossi clarified.

Still unsure of what he meant, he said pointedly, "Dave, I've got to go, so can you just spit it out."

The man came to sit in a chair in front of his desk. He was looking at Hotch like he'd just committed a heinous crime.

"I just bumped into JJ; she looked like the hounds of hell themselves were chasing after her," Rossi explained. "She also looked like she was going to be sick."

Hotch frowned, instantly worried. "And you think it's because of something I did?" Rossi raised an eyebrow in answer. "I haven't seen her since the meeting, Dave."

"I don't mean something you did today." Rossi frowned at him.

Hotch looked at the man trying to decipher his meaning from the look he was giving him. For the life of him, he couldn't figure it out. And he was beginning to get annoyed with him for holding him up in here instead of telling him where JJ went so he could go see if she was all right.

He got up abruptly. "Where is she Dave?" he asked tersely.

"Washroom, I believe," Dave said, forthcoming.

Hotch made his way to the door and was stopped by Dave's voice.

"Don't go stomping in there. Be gentle, she's not feeling well," Dave recommended.

Hotch gave him a look that he hoped conveyed his incredulity. What did he take him for, a big oaf? JJ and he may have shared that one special, ultimately, confusing night together, but she was still his best friend, first. And he was definitely concerned enough to be sympathetic.

He exited his office, quickly making his way through the bullpen. She wasn't at her desk, so he knew she must still be in the washroom. He frowned, not being able to forget that Dave believed she was sick because of something he did. He had no idea what he'd meant, but felt bad anyways.

Finally reaching the washroom, he knocked tentatively on the closed door. There was no answer. He pushed open the swinging door a crack and called out, "JJ?"

A groan was his response, followed by her voice saying, "Ugh, who told you?"

He took that as his cue to push the door all the way open. He found JJ sitting on a couch, looking pale. He rushed to her side.

"Hey, Dave told me you looked sick," he explained his presence.

She quickly glanced his way and then off to the side. "I was sick, now I have a pounding headache," she informed.

He took a seat next to her, putting a hand to the top of her back in a comforting gesture. She flinched in response. Ok, something was definitely wrong…

"JJ?"

She stood up quickly, still not looking him in the eye. "I'm fine now, we should go pick up the boys. We don't want to be late."

"Are you sure you're still up for it?" Hotch asked tentatively.

She shot him a frown and then looked away, never once meeting his eye. What had changed from this morning to now? Rossi was right, he had done something, but whether it was to make her sick, or make her angry, he did not know. And he certainly had no clue what it could have been.

"I'm not going to disappoint Jack and Henry," she denied.

He followed her as she abruptly left the bathroom; she headed straight for her desk, grabbing her bag to pack her things. They instantly attracted the attention of Reid and Morgan who had been in the middle of a conversation. They took one look at JJ, worry crossing their features, and then to Hotch for answers. But he was at a complete loss.

"JJ, are you ok?" Reid hesitantly asked.

"I'm fine," she said shortly, not looking up from her task.

Morgan glanced Hotch's way and then back at JJ. "You don't look fine."

"Will everyone just stop!" she shouted; Hotch could see that she instantly regretted her outburst. She took a breath that seemed to calm her marginally and then said, "Please, I'm fine, really."

She turned away from the two men to face Hotch, briefly making eye contact. He tried to get a quick read on her and found something akin to hurt in her eyes. "I'll be waiting at the car, ok?"

"Ok," he said, dazedly. She gave him a curt nod and then left.

Morgan let out a low whistle. "What did you do?"

Hotch looked up, surprised, that once again, he was getting the blame. "Nothing," he answered, not so confidently.

"Strauss?" Reid suggested.

Hotch shook his head. "She's not in today."

"Well someone did or said something to her," Morgan said, surely. "I haven't seen her that pissed off in… never."

"Maybe you should retrace her steps," Reid tried again. "See who talked to her today."

Hotch looked at his watch, then in the direction that JJ had departed in.

"No time. We've got to pick up Jack and Henry."

"Good luck," Morgan offered sincerely.

Reid gave him a sympathetic look; it seemed they both believed he'd need it.

JJ put her aching head against the cool glass of the window. She was waiting by Hotch's SUV, feeling completely stupid. She'd lost her cool. She couldn't believe she'd lost it. She worked with a bunch of damned profilers, and as much as everyone said you never profile a team-mate, JJ now knew herself how hard it was to turn the skill off.

So… stupid…

She'd gone and had some kind of meltdown in front of every one of them. There'd be no hiding from their questioning stares come Monday, especially when they all conferred together in a "What's wrong with JJ?" diagnosing session.

But she just hadn't been able to help it. When Emily and Penelope had said Hotch was dating, she felt something break inside. She now knew that it had been her heart.

God, when had things gotten so complicated?

They were only supposed to be friends, that's all. But, who was she kidding? All that time spent together had always been leading up to that one night. And it had meant something fierce to her when it had finally happened. She had thought that it had meant something to Hotch, as well. Turns out she was wrong.

She wiped at a tear that slipped from the corner of her eye. How could she have been so stupid to have fallen for her boss?

Because, a quiet voice said inside her head, he's completely wonderful…

Wiping at another tear, she replied to the voice, than why is he going out with someone else?

Hotch quickly went up to his office to grab his things and found Dave in there. He barely contained his groan of frustration. He didn't have time for more cryptic questions. He needed to get down to the garage and make JJ tell him what's wrong.

Ignoring the man, he went about gathering his things anyways. Dave didn't seem to find his lack of communication at all telling.

"Did you talk to her?" Rossi wanted to know.

Hotch spared him a grimace. "Did it look like she was in a talking mood?"

Dave frowned in turn. "So, you didn't ask her?"

"Ask her what, Dave?" he replied, completely exasperated.

How did things go from JJ and him passing secret, lustful looks at each other just this morning to her being thoroughly pissed off at him? It wasn't even noon!

Hotch stared at the man who suddenly looked reluctant to speak. It was not a look he'd ever seen on David Rossi. The man was known to speak his mind even when it would have been better to shut his mouth.

"You should ask her if, maybe…" Rossi started slowly, "… she's pregnant?"

Hotch's mouth dropped open in surprise. He quickly attempted to cover his reaction. He shrugged and looked away. "Why do you think I should be the one asking her that personal question? I'm her—"

"Save it, Hotch," Rossi cut him off. "It's pretty obvious. It's written all over both your face's when you look at each other."

He let out a sigh. "You think she could be… She couldn't be… we were care—"

Hotch thought back to that night. No, no they weren't careful. They were too caught up in the moment to think of something as trivial as birth control options.

Rossi nodded his head. "Just be gentle when you ask. Obviously, she's already stressed. Don't make it worse."

"I won't," he replied, again, offended by the implication that he'd be anything less than a gentleman. He walked to his door saying, "Shut the door behind you, Dave."

He made his way through the bullpen, very aware of several pairs of eyes on him, a million thoughts swirling in his head.

Was JJ pregnant? Was this the source of her sudden animosity towards him? If she was pregnant, what would they do?

He didn't have the answers to all the questions. But one thing he could say for certain was that if JJ was pregnant, that baby would be one loved kid.

The idea of him and JJ having a child together was a dream he'd had often of late. He'd always thought that it would only ever remain a dream, at least until the night they'd slept together. Even though she'd said they should take things slow the fantasy had only intensified. He was finding it harder to deny that he would very much like to start a family with her. He wanted JJ oh so badly. Maybe he could still have it…

"Ok, Aaron," he spoke to himself, alone in the elevator. "First things first…"

He nodded to himself. Yep, first he needed to know why she was mad at him and then he could proclaim his undying love for her.

His eyes widened at his sudden realization. "I love her," he said in wonder.

A happy feeling coursed through his body. It suddenly felt like he'd known all along, but had just forgotten somehow. Now he remembered. Now he could make things right.

Stepping into the parking area, he made his way towards his parked car.

From afar, he could see that JJ wasn't doing so well. She was leaning against the side of the SUV like it was the only thing holding her up.

Finally, reaching her he placed a hand on her shoulder, only to have her jump three feet into the air.

"Oh God, Hotch," she exclaimed. "You scared me!"

"Sorry," he murmured. He gazed at her intently, not letting go. Thankfully, color had returned to her face. But, she still wasn't meeting his eye.

She tried to turn in his grip, but he held her firmly in place. "Hotch, let's go," she said impatiently.

He shook his head. "In a second, first, why aren't you looking at me?"

She gave a snort of impatience. "This is ridiculous. We're going to be late."

"No," he said firmly. "Look at me, JJ."

"Fine," she exclaimed harshly.

She looked up into his eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes were red, like she'd been crying. He searched her eyes. He wasn't going to break eye contact until he knew what was wrong.

And then, there it was, like he'd seen before only briefly, the hurt, the pain. Only this time he knew without a doubt that he'd caused it. He only wished he knew what he'd so he could make it up to her a thousand times over.

"JJ…" he murmured gently. His had reached up, wanting to touch her cheek, just wanting to feel her. But she flinched and he dropped his hand automatically.

"Hotch," she said his name so resignedly. "We need to go."

He stepped back, nodding, also resigned. He wasn't going to get anything from her at the moment. He'd have to try something else.

"Ok, let's go," he agreed.

He stepped around his car, unlocking it. She got in and he followed suit. He shot her another look. She looked so sad. It broke his heart.

Well that's it for now. Another angst filled chapter. Hope you enjoyed.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and alert this story. And thanks to those who left me lovely reviews: MarkandLexiefan; SkySydfan24 (thanks! Me too, there are some definite good ones out there, but they're so hard to come by! I write my own to keep myself entertained); newsyd; cannybairn; angry penguin (you called it, more angst :) ); dramaaddict8807; ilovetvalot; vtangelchix; angel85qcca (thanks! Will do :) ); jekkah (lol); and DracoMalfoysSweetGirl92.

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