He couldn't help but watch her sleep. Even on the plane, surrounded by profilers who could easily piece it all together. It didn't matter. His eyes went to her and stayed there.
He knew how lucky he was to have her. Knew that, without her, he'd have been completely lost - to the job, to his own demons. He came home every night to an amazing woman and two beautiful little boys, and he felt whole again.
And he knew that if he forced her to keep their relationship secret for too much longer, he would lose all of that.
There was a sound to his right, and he looked up to see Dave taking a seat next to him. Forcing his eyes to the file in front of him, Hotch waited for him to speak.
"How long?"
"Excuse me?"
Dave nodded toward the sleeping JJ. "How long?" he asked again.
He could have lied. Pretended he didn't know what his friend was talking about. But as he looked over at her, he realized that he couldn't do it anymore.
"Almost six months," he said quietly.
Dave nodded. "She's good for you."
"I just hope I'm good for her."
"She's not looking for a big declaration, you know."
Hotch turned, frowning at him. "What?"
"JJ. She doesn't need you to make some announcement to the team."
His frown deepened. "Then what does she need?"
Rossi shrugged. "For you to not keep her swept under the rug. Sit next to her during a team dinner or a briefing. Talk to her on the plane. Maybe even hold her hand if we all go out to the bar. She just needs to know she's not some dirty secret." He clapped his friend on the shoulder. "You are good for her, Aaron. You just have to prove that you want her."
With that, Dave got up and moved back to his spot with Emily and Morgan. For a long time, Hotch just sat there, working his way through everything the other man had said. Finally, he closed the file and got up, moving with purpose across the plane.
Pulling a blanket down from the overhead bin, he gently covered JJ, smiling as she sighed in her sleep. Then he took a seat next to her, leaving one hand on her shoulder as he opened up the file once again.