A/N: Here's next chapter! I hope you all like it.
Special thanks to jenny crum, K8e1, BAUMember, 2Addicted2YourLove and Christiangirl!
I don't own criminal minds!
Chapter 19: The gala
Two weeks later…
JJ was standing in the lobby of Chemicaltech with anticipation and excitement. She had been looking forward to the annual gala, but most of all she was looking forward to seeing Hotch again. It had been two long weeks since she last saw him, but they still managed to talk on the phone every day and their relationship continued to grow, even though they were miles apart. There was something easy about their relationship. They didn't have big expectations from one another. And for Hotch that was perfect with his demanding schedule.
JJ's eyes darted across the crowd of fancy dressed people, hoping she would find Hotch somewhere between them. He had just arrived back in Quantico that same morning after his case in Riverton and he had promised JJ to meet her at the gala. But even JJ knew that he could get called away on a case any moment, and that any time she had with him was limited. Not just because of his job but also because of hers. She had no idea how much longer she was going to be in DC, but she didn't want to think about it. Instead, she was focusing on the time that she did have. And then she finally raised her eyes to the entrance and she felt her heart skip a beat as she watched Hotch walk into the building in a very dashing tuxedo. ''Aaron!'' JJ called out happily as she started to walk towards him.
Hotch's eyes immediately landed on the blonde as soon as he heard her familiar voice, and once he saw her, he froze. She kept walking towards him, but he was just frozen in his tracks. He was blown away. She looked absolutely stunning in the strapless chiffon evening dress she wore. The pear pink color brought out her eyes, even at the distance he was standing at. He had no words while his heart started racing, or better yet pounding, in his chest. Her hair was in a beautiful updo and a few lose strands framed her face perfectly.
JJ stopped in front of him and noticed his shock almost immediately. So she stepped back and made a twirl with a smile on her face. ''Do you like it?''
He finally snapped from his haze as he took her hand gently and lovingly. ''You look…uh…wow…just stunning. There are no words for it.''
''Thank you!'' JJ whispered, leaning forward to close the distance between them. She leaned in a little further and let her lips press against his gently.
Hotch kissed her back passionately but pulled away before he couldn't force himself to stop. ''God, I missed you.'' he groaned as he held her close to his body. ''I have thought about you so much!''
JJ looked up into his big brown eyes with anticipation and happiness. ''Yeah, me too.'' she said breathlessly as she took his hand. ''Come on.'' she whispered as she took his hand and pulled him with her. She walked towards the elevators and they both stepped inside in silence. And even in the elevator they were both silent as the tension was rising. It wasn't the bad kind, it was very good, but like JJ had said before, she wanted to take their relationship step by step, which was going to be a nightmare to stick to.
She hurried out of the elevator and swiped her ID to get into the wing with offices. She knew Hotch was following just by the sound of his footsteps behind her. Once the doors were closed she turned to the left and opened the door to her office, pulling Hotch inside with her.
And instead of letting him look around the office, she put her arms around his neck and claimed his lips in a dominate kiss that blew him away.
His hands found their way to her waist as he pushed her towards the desk in the middle of the office. He had a feeling it was her office, but he didn't care to ask. Kissing JJ was the only thing he was interested in in that moment. The feeling of her lips, her tongue and her body against him was too overwhelming to be thinking about anything else.
JJ groaned into his mouth, the heat coiling in the pit of her stomach. Her hands wandered down his chest appreciatively as she felt the hard muscles beneath her fingertips. She felt his lips leave her mouth and moving onto her neck.
But with a simple knock on their door, their moment was over as they both straightened themselves up within a moment's notice. JJ walked towards the door, only to reveal a devilish looking Owen standing on the other side. Just like Hotch, he was wearing a tuxedo to fit into the crowd. But from the conversation he had with Collins two weeks earlier, she knew he was going to do more than attending the gala that night. She still couldn't get over the fact that Collins was allowing him to go in alone.
But in that moment that didn't matter. She never intended for Owen and Hotch to ever meet, let alone for the CIA to find out that she was dating someone as she was still working undercover. And she knew that Owen would figure it out just by looking at her. So she looked up at him casually as he smiled widely at her. ''Hi, what are you doing here?'' she asked in a whisper as Hotch walked towards her and ended up by her side, looking at both of them with a small smile on his face.
Owen ignored JJ's question when he noticed the tall man standing beside his partner. He had never seen him around the office before, so he knew he had to be a friend of JJ's. And by the way he held his hand on the small of her back it suggested they were more than just friends. Just the thought was like a knife to his heart. So he stepped forward and extended his hand. ''Hello there, I am Owen Riley.'' he introduced as JJ's face filled with concern.
Owen? The Owen. The moron who broke JJ's heart into pieces. Hotch thought to himself as he looked at the younger man. He was probably a few years younger than himself, which didn't really worry Hotch. He just never thought he'd meet the man who broke JJ's heart. He hated him without ever having met him. ''Hi, I am Aaron Hotchner.''
JJ watched the two men exchange names as her heart started beating a mile a minute. This wasn't exactly the situation she wanted to be in. She knew Owen would get jealous and Hotch could possibly poke holes in the things she had told him. So she stepped between the two men before either of them could say another word. ''Owen and I worked at a law firm in London together a while ago before I transferred here.'' she lied to Hotch. It was part of her cover. Her working history was at a London law firm so she decided to casually throw it into the conversation to hint at Owen to go along with her. She knew Owen's cover had the same working history at the London firm, but she just wanted to be clear.
Owen knew exactly what JJ was doing. She was signaling him, letting him know that Hotch had nothing to do with their case, which meant JJ had a personal relationship with him. ''So how do you know JJ?'' he asked with a smirk on his face, as his was torn into little pieces because JJ had been lying to him.
''We met a few weeks ago.'' Hotch replied shortly as he looked down at the blonde who obviously looked distressed.
''Owen, can you give us some…'' she tried to ask when a phone started ringing. She looked to her side to see Hotch staring at his phone. ''Take it. It's fine.'' she encouraged.
He stepped to the back of her office as he answered the phone while JJ kept standing across from Owen. She felt frustrated to say the least. Her time with Hotch kept being interrupted and she was so sick of it, especially since Owen was now involved in the interruption.
''Nice guy!'' Owen mocked. ''Collins is going to go ballistic when he hears about this!''
JJ was about to warn Owen to keep his mouth shut when Hotch beat her to it. ''I have a new case.'' he announced sadly. ''I have to go, JJ. I am so sorry about this!'' he apologized sincerely.
''It's fine, Aaron.'' she promised. ''You should go.''
Hotch looked at Owen for a moment. ''It was nice to meet you.'' he spoke politely. He then proceeded to put a soft kiss on JJ's cheek and he leaned towards her. ''Keep the dress. You owe me a dance when I get back.'' he whispered.
''Yeah, of course.'' JJ said with a smile on her face. ''I'll see you soon!''
JJ watched Hotch walk out as Owen stayed in the office with her. All JJ could think about was that she barely had spent any time with Hotch once again, and it was really starting to bother her. But she knew they both led two very busy lives, so she just had to deal with it.
''Why didn't you tell me?'' Owen asked, his voice filled with pain.
''Because this is my life, Owen. This is the part of my life I want to keep private. This is real and it's none of your business.'' JJ snapped as she stormed out of the office with Owen following her on her heels.
He pulled her back by her arm and made her stop. She whirled around in anger. ''This isn't your life, JJ!'' he said to give her a reality check. ''This will never be your life. He may believe it and for a single moment you may as well, but we both know it's not.'' he went on and JJ was about to walk away again when he once again pulled her back. ''He doesn't know your real name, your family or your past. How the hell do you expect this to turn into anything real?''
JJ stepped forward, closing the small distance between the two, but it just didn't bother her anymore. It didn't mean anything to her. ''Did you ever stop to think that it's the life I want?'' she demanded. ''That I just want a life of my own without the secrecy and the danger. A life without the knowledge of how to kill people. It's all I want.''
''You can't change who you are, JJ. You will never have a normal life and you know it.'' he said sadly. ''And not to mention that about a year ago you didn't want to settle down. You didn't want to be at one place all the time.'' he added in despair. ''How in hell did that change?''
''It changed because for the first time in my life I know what it's like to have a normal life and to feel normal.'' she said. ''Aaron is nothing like you, Owen. He's sweet, he's caring and he gives a damn about me.'' she cried out. ''He doesn't run away at the first sign of something real!''
''I was…'' he stopped.
''What?''
''I was scared, JJ.'' Owen admitted, the tone of his voice changing from pain to passion. ''With the lives we lead, commitment was the last thing on my mind and you were suddenly so serious about us that it scared me.''
She could feel his pain, but she was sick and tired of all his excuses because he didn't really have one. ''I wasn't asking for a serious commitment, Owen. I was just looking for a little bit of acknowledgement from you that you cared for me.'' she said angrily. ''But you turned your back on us and loving you was the biggest mistake of my life.''
''Is that what you believe?''
''Yes, because I could've never been in a relationship with someone who didn't love me back!''
He shook his head as he realized how messed up their past was. How many mistakes he had made and what he had lost because of it. He had lost everything he ever wanted in life. The only person he could ever see his future with. ''But I did, JJ.'' he said boldly. ''I did love you and I still do.''
''Owen,'' JJ began as she stepped forward, closing the distance with tears in her eyes. ''I'm with Aaron now. You have to move on just like I did.'' she said as she turned her back towards him to walk away and leave him behind.
''He'll never understand, JJ. Your secret, what you're all about.''
''Maybe not.'' JJ agreed in a whisper. ''But at least I know he'll never hurt me the way you did.''
Owen stepped in front of her to stop her one more time. He couldn't let her go without trying to explain, to reason with her. And as he looked into those blue eyes, he flashed back to all the wonderful and exciting moments they had shared together. They were the perfect team, personally and professionally. ''Can you tell him your secret, JJ?''
''I don't know. But that's between him and me, Owen.'' she croaked out, feeling his pain. He was staring back at her with watery eyes, and it was the first time she had seen him so vulnerable. Unfortunately, he was a year too late to lay his feelings out on the table. ''We have an important job to do here.'' she went on. ''We need to put that ahead of our personal feelings no matter what.''
There fell a silence between them as they both just stared at each other, and JJ just couldn't hold out much longer. She owed him nothing anymore. She didn't owe him an explanation so she was ready to leave their past behind. ''I am going downstairs.'' she announced in a whisper. She took one step forward and put her hand on Owen's shoulder for just a second before she walked past him and left him standing alone, not knowing that the tears of loss and regret were finally streaming down his face as she walked away from him.