Hotch walked away from Morgan, and was heading in JJ's and Em's direction.

"Oh shit," Em muttered.

"Don't worry about it," JJ whispered to her. "Got it all under control."

"JJ, conference room," Hotch said. "Now!"

Now it was JJ's turn to mutter. "Oh shit." She rolled her eyes before starting to get up.

"Aw, he's got a soft spot for you," Em said. "Don't worry about it."

"Thanks," JJ said with a small smile towards her friend, then followed Hotch into the conference room.

"Oooo, JJ's in trouble," Morgan mocked as they went. JJ flicked him off behind Hotch's back before entering the room. Hotch closed the door and the blinds.

"What," JJ asked with a bit of a harsh tone.

"That's what," Hotch said, not raising his voice, "What is up with you today?"

JJ shrugged.

"Alright," Hotch said. He was starting to get angry with his favorite young agent, and raised his voice slightly as he talked, "In that case, let me give you an idea of how you've been acting. You called my boss a 'Wicked Witch.' Now sure, I get why you'd think that, but I've had enough trouble with that woman in the past, and so have you. On any other day, you wouldn't have said that. You also wanted to kill both The Strauss and your colleague, Rossi. Now, I get it, we are all a little ticked at Rossi right now, but wanting to kill him or even joking about it is out-of-line. You know that. All of this tells me that there is something wrong. So, are you going to talk to me or not?"

JJ looked down, shuffling her feet.

"JJ, look at me," Hotch said with a softer tone. She slowly looked into his brown eyes. "You can talk to me. You know that, right?"

JJ nodded, sighed, then said, "I know. I'm ok, Hotch, nothing to worry about."

Hotch knew there was something there, but he decided to wait until the normally cheerful agent was ready to tell him herself. "Ok," he sighed," So I don't need to worry about any more of the comments?"

"No sir."

"And you are going to approach the job with a more positive attitude?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright, then let's get back to work."

-

Meanwhile, the Three Stooges in the other room had been doing what the team seemed to do best, gossip about each other. Reid jealously glared at the door. Wish I was in there with her, he thought. Morgan and Em were conversing about the situation.

"What's the deal with those two," Morgan asked his brunette friend.

"Don't know. They usually get along, though."

"Yeah, but they've been at each others' throats all day."

Em nodded, "I think that JJ is pissed at Hotch for whatever reason, and Hotch has decided that enough is enough."

"Sure it isn't a lovers' quarrel? They've always seemed very close."

Em wiggled her eyebrows, then snorted. "Nah. Besides, Hotch isn't allowed to have any more lovers. He isn't a pimp."

"Huh?" Morgan looked puzzled.

"Oh, nothing," Em said, "They have a mother-daughter relationship. I kind of envy it, actually."

"You want Hotch to be your mother," Morgan asked with a grin.

Em was caught slightly off-guard. "Well, no," she said with an embarrassed smile, "you know what I meant!"

"Yeah, I was just yankin' your chain a bit. Oh, here they come." Right then, Hotch and JJ walked out. JJ faked a smile, but the profilers saw how infuriated she was simply by looking into her blue eyes. Hotch, on the other hand, looked tired and stressed. He was pale, he had bags under his eyes, and he was not the typical Super Hotch that they were all accustomed to.

"Back to work," Hotch growled at the rest of his team. And for once, they actually tried to do a little.