Chapter 6

JJ paced slightly in the Conference Room of the large precinct. Not only was she frustrated at the inability to help nail down this UnSub, but she genuinely had no idea what she was going to do. Will's ultimatum weighed heavily on her mind, the prospects of spending the rest of her life with him sent a ripple of queasiness throught her, though she wasn't sure why. Will loved her, so why was this so hard?

Hotch smiled as he watched JJ run a frustrated hand through her blonde hair. Had he just envisioned the whole thing? Like some crazy subconscious fantasy that he had never acknowledged?

"Is everything okay JJ?" He asked, unable to keep the concern out of his voice.

"Yeah." She rubbed her temple, exhibiting the stress she felt. "It's fine. It's just personal."

"You want to talk about it over coffee? I'll buy." Hotch offered, picking up his coat. "I'm giving everyone a twenty minute break to clear their heads. We need to take a step back and hopefully find a different angle to look at it."

"Yeah, okay." JJ mumbled, grabbing her things. "Coffee sounds great."

"So what's going on JJ?" Hotch ventured as they sat down in a small local diner near the precinct with two steaming cups of coffee.

"Will is what's going on." JJ sighed, giving up on holding anything back from Hotch. She had always found it easier to talk to him than most of the people she knew for some reason. "He gave me this stupid ultimatium."

"An ultimatum for what?"

"Well he sort've...kinda proposed and told me that I had until New Year's to decide. He basically said that if I don't want to marry him then he wants to end things between us." JJ admitted, feeling a strange sense of relief at telling someone about what was happening, but odd at the fact that the first person she chose to tell was the main reason she was considering saying no to Will.

Hotch gaped at her in shock. This can't be happening, can it?

"I know, right?" She rolled her eyes. "It's so childish." She sighed, "I mean, I get where he's coming from. He deserves so much better than me, and I just..." She shook her head in derision, "No guy would put up with what I put him through. I mean, I get called away all the time and--"

"JJ." He interrupted her, shaking his head. "Why would you say he deserves better than you?" He was genuinely baffled. He had no idea that there was even the slightest crack in JJ and Will's relationship.

"He just does." She admitted. "With our hours? Like I said, no guy would put up with what I put him through."

"I would." Hotch said quietly, looking out the window next to their booth.

"What?" JJ asked, startled. Had he really just said that to her?

"Wait a second. JJ didn't all three boys parents mention that they had taken them ice skating just before they were kidnapped?" Hotch questioned, the billboard across the street giving him the final piece of the puzzle.

"Yes, but they all went to different ice rinks." she responded, trying to keep up, her mind still trying to figure out his earlier comment.

"But what do all ice rinks have to keep you warm after you finish skating?" Hotch asked pointing to the add across the street that read 'Winter Wonderland Hot Chocolate Stands. Book online for your ice skating venue activities today.', "Call Garcia and have her find out if all three venues had one of these stands and who was running them the day the boys went with their parents."

"Okay..." JJ nodded, taking out her phone.

"Let's get back to the precinct" Hotch decided while JJ waited on Garcia to pick up. "We need to be ready to move if she finds us a suspect."

Hours later they had successfully captured the UnSub, and Hotch found himself lying awake in the middle of the night, contemplating what to do. On the one hand, he knew JJ had the ultimatum with Will. If that was true, then was his entire dream true? More than that, what should he do? Should he go and stop her? Or let her go?

He had to know. There had to be an answer--he just wasn't sure what.

Deciding to go for a quick run on the hotel's treadmill, he pulled on his favorite pair of Georgetown shorts and an old t-shirt and headed out the door with his hotel key in hand. Realizing once he got to the gym he hadn't put on his tennis shoes, and that he had spent the whole walk thinking about JJ, he realized he didn't really feel like running anyways.

Climbing into the elevator he was joined by none other than Morgan and Garcia coming back from dinner.

"What's up Boss-man?" Garcia questioned.

"Just thinking" Hotch said dismissively. "I can't decide what to do." He wasn't about to divulge the complete truth to his well-meaning colleagues, but hoped that his response would be enough to satiate Garcia's quest for endless amounts of information.

"When in doubt just go with your heart, man" Morgan chimed in. "It's the best advice my mama ever gave me."