A/N: Here's next chapter. I hope you all like it!

And I have decided to write this story as it comes to me, which is what I've always done, so I hope you all will enjoy what comes next.

Special thanks to jenny crum, 2Addicted2YourLove, chen88212, waiyeex90, snuggleUP, K8e1 and BAUMember!

I don't own criminal minds!

Chapter 24: Compromise

JJ dropped down on the couch in the living room, hoping the man upstairs was still asleep. She had her bag and laptop by her side. She pulled out the files from the Schmidt investigation and she laid them out on the coffee table. She had to start looking into his disappearance because she had been caught up in spending time with Hotch for the past five days that she had completely forgotten about the task she was assigned by Collins. And he was the last person in her life she needed to disappoint.

So she opened up her laptop and the file. She took out the pictures of the crime scene and carefully started to study them. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary in the pictures. The apartment was a mess. Items were scattered all over the living room, suggesting a struggle. Well, the pool of blood proved a struggle, but that wasn't what JJ needed to find out. They already knew why Howard Schmidt was targeted. What she needed to find out was by who. She took the laptop and put it on her lap. She quickly accessed CIA databases and started typing in the date of his disappearance. She then accessed security surveillance footage from outside of Howard Schmidt's apartment. She knew analysts had probably done the same thing already, but JJ also knew that it was very easy to miss something when you were watching surveillance footage for hours at a time. So she started the feed and sat back on the couch, ready to be up all night to look for anything suspicious.

JJ was about two hours into viewing the footage when she heard footsteps on the stairs, so she quickly logged off and opened her email for Chemicaltech Industries, pretending to work on something for her cover. She realized it was stupid to do something for the CIA with Hotch close by, but she had to do something. Her job was still important to her and the case her division was working on had priority over everything, yet she was away with her boyfriend. Which made her feel a little guilty in that moment.

''What are you doing down here?'' Hotch asked hoarsely. His eyes were small as he walked over to the couch where JJ was sitting.

''Just some work.'' she responded easily as she closed her laptop, forgetting about the files that still lay on the coffee table.

If hadn't been early in the morning Hotch would've been sure that he saw a case file laying on his coffee table. A file very similar to the once they used at the FBI. A file for a murder case, or a missing person. So he stepped forward to confirm his suspicions, and he indeed saw a case file on the coffee table. ''What are you doing with a case file that belongs to MPD?'' he asked curiously as he sat down on the edge of the couch.

As a response JJ quickly gathered all the pictures and pages in a hurry, hoping he hadn't seen a name on the report. She had screwed up. ''Oh nothing. Just something for work.'' she lied.

''Really?'' he asked in surprise. ''What are you working on?''

''Nothing important.'' JJ denied anxiously. She sat forward on the couch and looked at Hotch, his expression filled with suspicion. She couldn't have expected anything else the man was a profiler after all. He was an expert at behavior, and she on the other hand was an expert at lying which she wasn't doing very well around him.

There fell a silence between them while JJ looked away because she felt his eyes at her. Then as if she was saved, the shrilling sound of her phone startled her and nearly made her jump from the couch due to the tension that had arisen in the room. She grabbed the phone and immediately put it to her ear without even wondering who could be calling her in the middle of the night.

''This is JJ.'' she greeted confidently.

Owen was on the other end of the line as he stood in the middle of JJ's apartment, panic in his voice. ''Oh thank god, JJ.'' he breathed out.

''Owen?'' she whispered, hearing the panic in his voice almost immediately. She knew him well enough to know that something was going on. ''What's going on?''

''I've been calling you all day!'' he said with concern. ''I went to Warren and he told me you took a week off, so I went to your apartment as a last resort and you're not here.''

''In the middle of the night?'' she exclaimed. ''What the hell is going on?'' she added, realizing she had to stay calm because Hotch was still sitting next to her on the couch after all.

''I've been tracking Warren all day and today we finally got something.'' he explained. ''He had a meeting with Asad Hawsawi at his house.''

''What? Are you kidding me?'' JJ asked as she rose from the couch and walked towards the kitchen so she had a little more privacy. ''We've been looking for him ever since his brother broke into Warren's office at Chemicaltech. The guy has been a ghost and now he appears in DC without the CIA not knowing?''

''Yeah, I know. This is shocking, even to Collins.'' Owen said. ''He needs us to come in to discuss further actions.'''

''Yeah, of course. I'll be there in three hours.''

''Wait! Three hours?'' he questioned angrily. ''Where are you to be exact?''

''I'll explain it later.'' JJ said before she ended the call. She breathed in and out deeply as she clenched the phone tightly in her hand. She turned around and nearly bumped into Hotch because he was standing right behind her. She took a step back, and looked into his worried eyes.

''Everything okay?'' he demanded. Her demeanor was off. She suddenly looked very different. Her eyes had gone distant and her face was stern, like he hadn't seen before. ''JJ!''

Her eyes snapped up at his at the tone of his voice. ''I have to go. Now!'' she stated simply as she tried move past him, but he blocked her path. ''Aaron, please!''

''Is this about what happened four days ago?''

JJ stepped back as everything fell into place. She knew exactly what he was getting at. She was about to say those three words, but she stopped. ''I don't know what you're talking about.'' she avoided.

''You want to know what I think?'' he challenged, ready to fight for her if she was scared of what they had. Or if they were moving too fast. He was ready to do whatever it took to keep her around.

''What do you think?''

He cupped her cheek gently for a moment and then let his hand fall down again. He looked into her eyes, seeing so many emotions in them. But what got to him the most was that she looked scared, fearful even, and he didn't know why. He didn't have a single clue. ''I think you're scared. Of. Us.'' he started off. ''I think you're scared to admit that you love me or that there's a possibility for you to love me.'' he went on. ''I think that Owen broke your heart so badly that you're afraid to love again, and you're trying to protect yourself.''

He was right. Completely right. The words that fell from his mouth were true. But to her it was so much more than just that. Saying those three words would open up her heart to the possibility of hurt, and she couldn't do that again. But it wasn't just that. It was so much more than that. It was her job, her life, the risks that came along with it. It was everything. So she couldn't say those words to him, even though she wanted to. Very badly.

So she walked forward and put her hands on his chest as she looked up at him. ''Aaron, I have to go. It's urgent. Something is going on at work, so I have to leave now.''

''How is it even possible that your job is more demanding than mine?'' he wondered out loud.

JJ broke away from him and stepped back. ''Aaron, we can talk later. I really have to go.'' she repeated. ''Can I borrow your bike?''

''Yeah, go ahead.'' he croaked out as the disappointment filled his heart. He watched her storm back into the living room where she began to gather her belongings and within a few seconds everything was in her bag, and she was running upstairs to grab her remaining things.

As JJ packed her things, Hotch was standing in the middle of the living room, waiting for her until she left. About four minutes later she was coming down the stairs, fully changed and ready to go. She was wearing dark blue skinny jeans, a black top and the jacket he loved on her so much. His eyes followed her every move, and he felt his heart sped up as she walked towards him and kissed him quickly. Then she grabbed the keys and walked out the door.

Even when she was outside, hopping onto his bike, he couldn't help but look at her. He watched her until she disappeared from his sight. And then he dropped down to the couch and he was left wandering what had gone wrong for JJ to leave so sudden.

It took JJ a little over three hours to get to Langley and inside the building. She was walking through the halls as quickly as she could. The building seemed deserted, like it usually was at night. But she knew as soon as she would walk into her division, the entire bullpen would be crowded because of what Owen had told her.

And her thoughts were confirmed the moment she opened the door and walked inside. Analysts were sitting behind their computers, people were in the briefing room where pictures of Asad and Isamm Hawsawi were filling the screens. She didn't stop to talk to anyone. Instead, she walked towards operations where she had spotted Owen and Collins as well. She opened the door and walked inside, making eye contact with Owen and Collins.

''JJ, Owen, I need you in my office now!'' Collins ordered while he walked out of the room at first. He followed on foot by his two agents. The three of them stepped into his office, and neither of them sat down, knowing the situation wasn't meant for sitting down.

Collins threw his door shut in anger and she stepped right in front of JJ. ''Where have you been?'' he yelled at her.

''I was out of town, sir.'' JJ replied immediately, knowing she had screwed up and the consequences could be major for her. ''I'm sorry.''

''Your apology isn't good enough, Jareau.'' Collins expressed in anger. ''What if we had located Asad Hawsawi and you weren't ready to take a strike team to arrest him? What then?'' he asked. ''I assigned you this mission because I believed you were ready, that you were good enough.''

''It will not happen again. I promise.'' JJ spoke briefly. She looked at Owen for a moment, and from his expression she knew Collins was seriously pissed off at her, which he had every right to be.

''What was so important for you to be out of town for?'' Collins questioned her for clarification. ''JJ?''

She looked up at him. ''I was with my friend. The one I told you about.''

In response, Collins walked away from JJ and stepped behind his desk and sat down. ''Owen, take JJ into the conference room and brief her on our plan. This seems to be perfect timing.''

''Of course, sir.'' Owen agreed. He moved to the door and held it open for JJ as he held files in his hand. He closed the door behind JJ and followed her inside the conference room next door.

JJ sat down in one the chairs and waited for Owen to sit down next to her. He opened the files and laid them out in front of JJ. ''I found these pictures on Warren's computer.'' he explained as he spread them out.

JJ looked down at the pictures in shock. They were pictures of her. Pictures that were taken at events for Chemicaltech Industries. ''Why are these important?''

''It suggests that Warren is interested in you, JJ.'' Owen started off. ''We need someone he trusts and likes to get close to him in order to get more intell.'' he went on, seeing JJ's expression change drastically.

''Close?'' she repeated. ''You mean sleep with him?''

''Whatever it takes, JJ. This is extremely important.''

She rose from the chair and started pacing through the room. She had given up so much for her job already, and now it was just becoming too much to handle. ''I thought we didn't do these kinds of missions anymore.''

''Collins wants you on this, JJ.'' he interjected. ''You've known Warren for a few months, he likes you, and we need this right now.'' he went on. ''And maybe this is what you need right now.''

''What's that supposed to mean?'' she snapped.

''It seems that you're getting too comfortable with your cover, so this might help you put things into perspective.'' he answered simply.

JJ stopped and stepped right in front of him, feeling the anger coursing through her veins. ''Is that what you think?''

Owen rose from chair. ''Collins is concerned.''

''Collins? Not you?'' she demanded as she turned her back towards him. Not only was she angry, she was disappointed. She never thought they would suggest to her to get close to her boss to get intell from him, or to learn more about him. She knew it was part of her job, but this time she had someone she wanted to be loyal to. If she had been single she would've done it more easily. But now she just didn't want to.

''Were you with him this week?'' he asked, interrupting JJ's thoughts and causing her to turn towards him again.

She quickly decided to avoid his question because no answer would satisfy Owen. She knew that much about him. ''Was this your idea?''

''No, it wasn't. Trust me!'' Owen croaked out. Of course it wasn't his plan. He didn't want her with Warren any more than she wanted to. He didn't want to see her in pain because of something the agency needed, but it was their only option. JJ was the only one with a way in. ''Relationships while undercover are dangerous, JJ. Not just for you, but for him too. You just have to look out, okay.'' he said carefully, moving towards the door. ''The mission is very simple. You go into work tomorrow, talk to Warren and get him to invite you over to his house. You'll be wearing a listening device and a com in your ear so we can monitor you at all times. That's it. Nothing bad has to happen.''

JJ grabbed the file from the conference room table and was ready to go home to review everything when the urge to speak to Collins suddenly arose. So she held the files in one hand while she left the conference room and calmly walked back into Collins office where he was looking through reports.

''I thought I didn't have to these kinds of missions anymore.'' JJ said as she held the files in the air. ''After Christian Ward you promised me!''

''I'm sorry that you're having trouble with this, JJ.'' Collins began. ''But if you don't go through with the mission I will pull you off this assignment and I'll assign you another mission. It's your choice.'' he said absentmindedly.

JJ turned back around, angry with the lack of consideration for her. It just showed her how shallow their jobs really could be. And that was the part she hated the most. Yet, she knew she had to do it.