A/N: Um… hi? Anyone out there? Lol. So sorry guys. I have seriously not been feeling the writing lately. Trying to get back into it; this chapter is my guinea pig. We'll see how it goes…

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

Chapter 2:

~ 9 months ago:

"All right, everyone," Hotch announced to the team as the plane touched down. "You're all great, but I really don't think I can stand to see you all anytime in the next few days."

The team chuckled at his attempt at a joke, all but one that is. Hotch's eyes slid over to the morose-looking blonde member of his team. JJ's foot twitched rhythmically against the carpeted floor. She seemed more than eager to get out of there and he didn't blame her one bit.

They were just returning home from Denver; a child-abduction that actually had a happy ending. It had taken six days to figure out the child, a little girl of three, had been taken by her biological mother. They'd found Clara safe and sound; a great ending to a tense case. Though, it had been heartbreaking to witness and know that they were taking her from a mother who'd cleaned up her act specifically to get her child back. Too bad she'd gone about it all wrong, jeopardizing any future she could have had with her daughter. But that was another matter entirely.

It was during the case, about three days into it, that JJ had received a phone call from Will. Hotch had been present for the call; she hadn't bothered to find a private area to take it. He wasn't one to delve into the private lives of his co-workers or friends, even one he cared for as much as JJ, but after he'd felt the need to pry when whatever was being said made JJ turn pale as a ghost.

After several moments of silence on her end, she hung up. He immediately asked her what had happened; looking at him through a hazy fog, she told him that Henry had fallen from the monkey bars at school and broken his arm.

Hotch urged the distraught former media liaison to go home, that they could handle this case without her. But, as concerned as she was, she knew that Henry would be all right. He had his dad to look after him for now.

Hotch didn't push her further. And, to JJ's credit, she'd remained focused on the job—albeit with a perpetual frown marring her pretty features.

So, now he wondered, if Henry really was ok—which he had to be; there was no way JJ would have stayed on the job if he wasn't—why was she storming out of here, a panicked gleam in her eye?

He stood up a second after JJ had and started to hurry after her, ignoring Rossi's call to hold on a moment.

"JJ!" he called to her, catching up to her just inside the airport terminal. "Wait up. I'll drive you."

She'd turned at his initial call, but looked hesitant to accept his offer. Still, she paused long enough for him to close the remaining distance between them.

He took the keys right out of her hand. She frowned up at him. "Come on. Who, out of the two of us, looks like they actually got any sleep last night?"

"Thanks," she replied, sarcastically.

He chuckled lightly, which brought a relaxed look upon her features, the first one he'd seen on her in days.

They started walking side-by-side and he commented offhandedly, "Oh, you know you look great even when going through hell and back."

It was only after she glanced at him sharply, surprise written all over her face, that he realized what he'd just said to her. He noticed a blush coloring her cheeks and then she was facing forward again. "No, I don't," she stated, matter-of-fact; but her voice warmed with her next words. "But, thank you for saying so."

Hotch had been doing that a lot lately, slipping up. Letting a glimpse of his feelings show through his obviously cracking-up friendship-façade. He knew he needed to watch himself. He needed to hide his feelings better. But Hotch was finding it harder and harder to ignore the fact that JJ was wonderful and that he was so in love with her. He'd reached the point where Dave had figured it out—not good—and called him out on it; and even Garcia was giving him suspicious looks. If those two found out, the rest of the world wasn't far behind.

They walked the rest of the way to the parking garage in silence. Hotch sensed that JJ wasn't in the mood for idle chit-chat, worried only about her son. He was just glad he was able to accompany her home because he was certain she hadn't slept for days.

Reaching the government-issued SUV, Hotch went for the driver's side, leaving JJ to the passenger seat with one more grimace thrown his way.

On the road, Hotch finally asked, "So, how is Henry doing?"

He threw a glance her way when she didn't answer right away. She was biting her lip. "Will says he's ok."

"That's good. What does Henry say? In my experience, after the initial pain of the break, he'll think the cast that comes with it is the coolest thing ever. I know Jack did, after he broke his wrist skateboarding."

He waited for the on-coming traffic so he could turn left into JJ's community; she didn't live too far from the airport. It had been a planned for convenience on her and Will's part, he remembered her saying just after they'd bought the home together. Hotch remembered JJ being so excited that she'd be able to quickly go home after a case or, at least, stop by for a quick hello if she needed to head back to Quantico.

Turning, Hotch observed that JJ hadn't answered. "JJ?"

His eyes were on the road, so he didn't expect her to blurt out, "I don't know! All right." He also didn't expect her to sound like she was on the verge of tears.

Ok, what the hell? he thought worriedly. Seeing a convenience store coming up ahead, Hotch manoeuvered the vehicle so he was pulling into the parking lot a second later.

He put the SUV into park. He'd felt like something was off ever since JJ had told him about Henry. Sure, she'd been focused on the case. But if everything was under control at home why had she been so antsy, so nervous and jumpy. That hadn't been like JJ. And this wasn't either. It was time for some answers.

Turning to her, she instantly backtracked, "Forget I said anything, Hotch." Her eyes pleaded with him to leave it.

For a second he wanted to heed her words; he'd do anything for her. Anything but ignore the obvious pain she was in.

He shook his head. "JJ, please, what do you mean you don't know?"

"Aaron…" she tried one more time, using his first name, he suspected, to get him to back off. Maybe she was on to him too, he considered.

But, he wanted to help her, not brush off whatever this was. He gave her one hard stare and she caved. "Fine," she spit out, exhaling an annoyed-sounding breath. "I don't know because Will won't let me speak to Henry."

"What?" he exclaimed, slamming his hand down on the steering wheel, inadvertently hitting the horn, scaring a poor old lady walking her cat—yes, her cat was on a leash.

"Hotch!" JJ scolded, shooting the old lady an apologetic look.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he attempted to regain his composure. He took a few deep breaths, but he could still feel the anger he felt towards a certain southern detective bubbling just below the surface. "What do you mean he won't let you speak to your own son?"

She hesitated in going on; he guessed his initial reaction made her think twice about telling him more. He'd pry it out of her if he had to. It was sounding a lot like Will was keeping Henry away from his own mother. No way in hell was he about to stand for that.

"He's mad at me," she went on tentatively. "For not coming back when he told me what happened. When I called home to speak to Henry later, he said that I could just come home if I wanted to do that."

Hotch shook his head furiously. He was seeing red. How dare this guy keep JJ away from Henry? How dare Will put down JJ for providing for her family? He'd heard the stories before. That Will was displeased with the hours JJ put in at the BAU. Hotch got it, more than anyone else, how hard this job was on a marriage. But, Hailey never kept Jack from him. No matter the hour, he'd always been able to see his son. Will had hit a new low in Hotch's eyes. He had half a mind to go over there and—

A soft hand on his forearm halted his increasingly volatile thoughts. "Aaron," JJ said softly. "Please, I've… I've got it under control."

The red cleared from his vision as he focused on her concerned face. He wanted to believe her, he really did. Hotch, above anyone else, knew how strong she was; after all, he knew every single detail about what had happened to her in Afghanistan and again later when she was tortured on American soil. He knew. But, the tears that threatened to pour from her beautiful blue eyes told another story: she was hurting. Bad. And it was all thanks to her husband.

Once again, Will was dropping the ball in the husband department. The guy must not have a clue. It was the only explanation. He had no idea how great of a partner he had by his side and how his actions were jeopardizing that fact. Because one thing was certain, JJ was strong and Hotch knew she wouldn't take much more of this crap.

"Do you?" he asked quietly, needing to make sure.

"Yes," she murmured, but her voice trembled and a tear slipped down her cheek.

He sighed. She didn't, not yet at least. But he'd pretend, for the moment, with her that she did. "Come on; let's get you home to your son."

"Thank you, Aaron."

They reached JJ's modest home ten minutes later. JJ didn't even wait for Hotch to pull alongside the curb to open her door. She was out a second later, rushing for her front door. Hotch was only a step or two behind her.

To both their surprise, the front door burst open before either of them reached it. Will stepped out, looking antagonistic already.

"What's he doing here?" he greeted surly. Hotch didn't have to get any closer to know that Will had been drinking. It wasn't even noon yet. What was going on in the Jareau-LaMontagne household?

His finger remained pointed like a gun at Hotch. It didn't intimidate him; he still made his way up the front lawn. "JJ, why don't you go inside and see Henry," Hotch suggested, ignoring Will for a moment.

She hesitated, glancing between the two men. It was obvious that she didn't want to leave them alone together. Hotch nodded for her to go on, instilling in one look that at least one cool head would prevail. JJ rushed inside.

"What are you doing here?" Will repeated icily.

He pointed to the parked SUV. "Driving JJ home; she was too worried to drive herself."

"Yeah, well, maybe she should have come home when I told her to," Will slurred. "Woman doesn't know her place… It's in the kitchen." The man laughed at his own statement.

The red was back.

Hotch closed the distance between them. "I'm going to chalk that idiot statement up to you being drunk. You're a good man, Will. Or at least I thought you were… Instead of burdening your wife further, you should have set her mind at ease. And you sure as hell shouldn't have kept her from speaking with Henry."

Will's face hardened. "It's none of your business."

"It is. JJ is my friend. And if you keep treating her this way, I'm going to—"

"What?" Will taunted. "Beat me up? Make me disappear?"

Hotch drew in a calming breath, taking a few steps back. "I won't have to do anything, Will. JJ's a smart woman. Mark my words, she'll be the one leaving you, if you don't smarten up. And she'll take Henry with her. And, at this rate, the way you're acting, I don't know if you'll ever see your son again…"

It was a threat, yes. One that Hotch was more than willing to help out with.

"You can't say that to me."

"Someone has to. You're acting like a child," Hotch continued. "Someone needs to tell you to get your act together, or else you're going to lose your family. That is a guarantee."

For a moment, it seemed Will would take Hotch's words to heart; a look of clarity crossed Will's features. But a second later, it was gone; Will's face turned into an ugly sneer. And he was telling Hotch to go or else he'd call the police.

He didn't, not before seeing for himself that JJ and Henry were ok. And only after JJ asked him to leave so she could talk to Will. She'd assured him that they would be fine.

So, he left; but, he would be back. He didn't trust Will, not anymore.

Present Day:

"… Instead of comforting JJ, assuring her that you could handle the situation until she got home, you made it worse."

"I was only trying to—"

Hotch shook his head. "No, Will, you were using your son as blackmail to get JJ to come home. It's actions like that that got you supervised visits with your own son. And it's actions like that that cost you JJ and your family."

"Oh, and it wasn't because you swooped in right after I left with toys for my son and chocolate for my wife? God, Hotch, you used a tough time in our marriage to steal her away from me."

Will was referring to the fact that he'd gone over to JJ's the next day with a get-well toy for Henry—a ruse to get inside to check up on them—and a box of chocolates for JJ. He'd found her looking not so good. He'd asked her what was wrong and she'd told him that Will had left the night before, but not before giving her and Henry a scare with his shouting.

He remembered asking her to get out of there and luckily she'd told him she was packing a bag for her and Henry to stay a few days with Garcia.

"I'm sorry she felt the need to turn to me when you weren't there for her Will," he started, then paused. "No, wait. I'm not. You should have been better to her. You should have realized you had the best woman out there choosing to be with you. But you didn't.

"I'm glad. Because it's seeing your mistakes that make me want to be so much better. I strive every day to be better than you Will. So, thank you."

Will was seething by this point. But, Hotch couldn't hold back. He'd tried to be kind in the past, tried to see the man that Will was once and to offer him advice so he'd find that man once again. But it hadn't worked. So, now, all that was left was to give him a piece of his mind that was a long time in coming.

"Will, you are the big—" Hotch began.

"Aaron?"

JJ stuck her head out through the patio doors.

All anger faded from him. He looked from her to the pathetic shell of a man that was Will—this wasn't worth it. He wasn't worth it—and then back to his lovely girlfriend. He had JJ, that was all that mattered. And he'd treat her right.

"Everything all right?" she asked suspiciously, her eyes darting briefly to her ex-husband but not lingering.

"Yeah," he said following her inside.

He placed a hand on her back, guiding them back to the living room.

"What was that all about?" she wondered curiously.

"Nothing. Just giving him some advice, you know, man to man."

That's it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed. I believe there's an epilogue left at least… So, more to come (I think).

Anyways, thanks to everyone who's been reading. And thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter: aaronhotchnerlove; Princess Lauryn; Hmmm; spk; Casie01; Guest #1; MaddieNicole; Dante 101; Guest #2; Guest #3; Andi; Christiangirl; dreamsnatcher; BAUMember; 1029; cooey95; angry penguin; JJmyst; mummacass; Lalina92; and jekkah.

See ya!