A/N: Here's another chapter. The end of this chapter is M-rated. I hope you all like it!

Special thanks to jenny crum and snuggleUP!

I don't own criminal minds!

Chapter 27: Crumbling walls

JJ was standing outside the house, her hand clutching her arm as the blood seeped through her fingers. It was only a graze, but the blood didn't stop. But as she stood outside the house where she nearly had been killed, she couldn't stop thinking about one thing. And that was Hotch. Just Hotch. Seeing him, talking to him and just being with him after what she had just been through. She wanted to do nothing more than lose herself in him completely and to tell him the truth. But the events that just transpired only proved that her job was dangerous and that any knowledge or involvement in their case could hurt Hotch, so she couldn't tell him anything.

JJ's eyes fell upon the car across the street, and she noticed two agents standing around it, and when she looked even closer she saw a body slumped over and blood on the window. Wheeler had been shot. He was someone she knew. He was a colleague, someone she laughed with. She couldn't believe it. He was the first casualty in the case, and it would only make their dedication to the case increase. Losing an agent, a friend, was never tolerated.

''JJ?'' Owen called out as he ran out of the house to check in on her. She had disappeared before he had been able to see her injury. ''JJ?'' he repeated as he stepped behind her.

She turned around slowly with both of her hands by her side, her hands covered in blood. Her head suddenly started spinning and she felt her body go weak. ''I…I…pain…'' she mumbled as her eyes closed and her legs caved in.

Owen was able to keep her from falling to the ground. He lifted her up in his arms and noticed that the wound on her arms wasn't the only one. He noticed blood coming from her shoulder and he realized she had been shot twice, and the adrenaline had kept her going. He ran towards one of the SUV's and put JJ in the backseat. ''Sanders, you're in charge. Go through the house and look for any evidence linked to our case and clean up any trace of JJ's and our presence!'' Owen ordered. He then turned towards another agent. ''Brooks, I need you to drive us to the hospital now!'' Owen yelled. Everyone got into action and Owen jumped into the car and pulled JJ close to him as he put his jacket on her wounds to lessen the bleeding from her shoulder and arm. He could still feel her pulse as his own heart pounded in his chest. He had pushed JJ too far this time. And he knew that. Her face had been filled with fear and anxiety when they managed to get into the house. She had fought off three men on her own, and she had survived. It was a miracle. She was a miracle.

JJ was sitting on the hospital bed across from Owen as he sat in a chair. It made her relive the time she had fought off Isamm Hawsawi and he had been at the hospital with her as well. Only this time she came closer to death than ever before.

So she stared off into the distance with her hands in her lap. Her arm and shoulder had been bandaged. The shot to her shoulder had been a through and through, so she was extremely lucky. No damage had been done, so she could go home after the doctor had given her a prescription for painkillers.

''What do I tell Aaron?'' she asked out of the blue, her eyes at the ground as she waited for an answer from Owen.

He rose from the chair and walked towards JJ. He sat down on the other side of the bed without her permission. ''Usually you're not supposed to have to tell anyone that anything happened to you, except people at the CIA.'' he declared. ''But…but tell him we got in a car accident. Tell I drank too much or something…'' he suggested sadly.

''You want to take the fall for this?'' JJ asked in amazement, not expecting that he would offer her a way out of a very bad situation.

''I just want you to be happy, JJ. No matter what!''

Tears sprung into JJ's eyes at his words and she rose from the bed and walked towards him, putting her one good arm around as her head rested on his shoulder. ''Thank you, Owen.''

''This is what partners do for each other.'' he whispered while she pulled away. He walked away from the bed when he heard the phone in JJ's purse vibrate. He took it out and saw that the ID was Hotch. He handed the phone to JJ and walked out of the room to give her the privacy she deserved.

JJ stared at the screen, her heart filled with fear and excitement at once. She answered the call and put the phone to her ear, afraid of how he was going to respond since she had so abruptly left him in Virginia Beach. ''Hi,'' she greeted.

Hotch was pacing through his apartment, surprised that she picked up her phone at all. ''Hey,'' he responded, not exactly knowing what to say to her or how to act. ''JJ, can we please talk about what happened last night? I don't want to leave things the way we did.''

''Neither do I.'' she agreed as the doctor walked into the room at the same time. ''My apartment in an hour?''

''Sure.''

The line went dead and JJ threw her cell back into her purse. She turned her attention to her doctor who handed her a note for the prescription painkillers. ''Thank you, Dr.'' she said softly.

''Three pills a day should help with the pain.'' he explained. ''And I recommend that you keep pressure off your arm, so it'll heal quicker.''

''I will!'' JJ said. She grabbed her purse from the chair and walked into the hallway where Owen was still waiting for her. She stopped right in front of him as she received a small smile. ''What are you smiling at?''

''You just got really lucky, JJ.'' he answered. ''This could've been much worse, but you're walking away with two flesh wounds.''

''I know.'' she breathed out. ''Do we have any idea which Russian group was involved with Warren? Or how Hawsawi even knew about the weapon?''

Owen stopped JJ and stepped in front of her. ''JJ, stop!'' he insisted. ''I'm going to drop you off at home, and you're going to take a few weeks off.''

''What? No!'' she exclaimed.

''JJ, listen to me.'' Owen began, his voice tender and filled with understanding. ''Take some time off to figure things out. You deserve this. Besides Collins probably wants the same for you right now.''

JJ shook her head in disagreement. ''There's no way I can convince you?''

''No, there isn't.''

''Fine, drop me off then.'' she said to Owen as they walked through the hospital, side by side. JJ knew Owen was trying to look for her best interest, and she felt more comfortable trusting him after what he did for her. She believed in him again. Maybe it was because he finally realized she was moving on or because he really did want her to be happy. Either way, JJ was fine with it.

Once JJ got home, she rid herself of her clothes she had worn the entire night. She changed into a clean pair of jeans and crème colored oversized sweater that warmed her up. She then sat down on the couch, waiting for Hotch to come over. She had no idea what she was going to say to him, or what he even had to say to her. It was all messed up in her eyes. She was lying to him, she was betraying him in a way. And she didn't know if she could carry on the relationship while she had to keep on lying to him about everything.

And before she could find an answer to her concerns, a knock on the door startled her. She jumped up from the couch and walked towards the door. She put her hand on the doorknob and breathed in deeply, preparing herself, before she opened the door.

When the door opened, she was faced with Hotch, who looked back at her with a pained expression. It mirrored her own in every way, and she hated it. She couldn't stand it.

''Hey, come in!'' she said softly. She closed the door behind him as he walked inside after he pressed a quick kiss to her head. ''Do you want something to drink?''

''Water would be nice.'' he said, noticing that she wasn't herself at all. He followed her into the kitchen and took the water from her hand and then walked back into the living room where he didn't sit down because the tension was too much. ''Are you okay?''

She put her water down on the counter in the kitchen and joined him in the living room. She stopped at a distance from him and then gazed back at him. ''I don't know yet.'' she said truthfully. ''There's a lot going on in my life right now, with…with work and…I…uhh…I think we need to slow things down. Stop seeing each other, you know.'' she croaked out as the tears rushed to the surface.

''What?'' Hotch asked in complete disbelief. ''You want to break up?''

''I think it's for the best!'' JJ said sadly, watching him turn his back towards her.

He turned around and closed the distance. ''It's not, JJ! It's not for the best and you know that.'' he contradicted. ''Something is going on with you. Something is keeping you from being honest with me.''

''That's not true!'' she said, but her voice went dead at the end of the sentence. It was true, but she didn't want to admit it to him.

''You can't tell me what you do at work! You don't talk about your family or your friends.'' he said as examples. ''The first week I met you, you ended up in the hospital because you tried to fight a guy at your job! You're not normal!''

''Do you believe that this is what I want?'' she asked him. ''Do you really believe I want to be that person with you, Aaron?''

''JJ, listen. I like you this way.'' he said to make her realize that she was perfect just the way she was. She was perfect to him. ''I love you this way!'' he added. ''All I know is that something is bothering you and whatever it is, you don't seem to want it.''

She stayed silent and Hotch closed the remainder of the gap between them. ''What do you want, JJ?'' he asked as he cupped her face gently.

JJ looked up at him and her worries, her fears from early faded away. She let go. Completely let go and lost herself in his arms, burying her head against his chest as she listened to his heartbeat. ''I want you!'' she whispered, her voice muffled by his shirt. She pulled her head away from his chest and looked up into his brown eyes, feeling her world become better in an instant. ''I love you!'' she croaked out as a tear fell down her face. ''I love you and it scares me.''

''I know it does, but I'm not going to hurt you. I promise.'' he said happily, feeling more complete than ever. Their relationship was progressing quickly, but everything was still natural and normal.

She put her arms around his neck and stepped onto her toes to kiss him gently. He responded to her kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist. JJ deepened the kiss as her tongue ran along the seam of his mouth, asking for entry. She moaned as their tongues made contact and the kiss quickly heat up, his hands taking a hold of the sweater. He tried to lift it over her head, but JJ's breath hitched when she tried to put her arms above her head.

Hotch stepped back in response and looked at her in confusion. ''What happened to your arm?'' he asked after JJ had taken off the sweater on her own. He saw the two bandages and his heart skipped a beat. She had been hurt, and he couldn't believe she didn't tell him.

JJ saw his expression change, so she stepped forward and stroked his face caringly. ''I'm fine!'' she whispered as her lips nearly touched his. And before another word could escape her mouth, his lips crashed onto hers.

As they stumbled their way to the bedroom, Hotch ripped off his dark blue t-shirt and let his jeans fall to the ground in the bedroom as JJ did the same things with her own clothing.

They were left standing across from each other in only their underwear, both with desire and love in their eyes. Hotch stepped forward and picked JJ up from the ground, lifting her up into his arms with legs wrapped tightly around his waist.

He put gentle kisses on her neck and then slowly went down to her breasts as he pushed her up against the wall behind her. His body was responding rapidly, and he felt himself losing that famous control he had. But around JJ it snapped. Especially when he had her pressed up against the wall like that. His kisses turned dominant and rougher as he kissed her mouth again, claiming her lips, and also her body.

JJ could almost hear him think. Her body was aroused as he held her up. Her arms were around his neck and their kiss was intense and filled with desire, as if they hadn't been with each other in years. There was a want, a need between them that turned them both on. It was amazingly intense.

JJ could feel his arousal pressed against her core, so she rocked her hips forward gently as she kissed him deeply. ''It's okay!'' she insisted, knowing he wanted to keep his control and probably wait until they reached the bed. But even JJ was more ready than ever. She didn't want to wait.

''Thank god!'' he groaned against her breasts as he held onto her. He pushed her further against the wall and managed to push his boxers down. He put his head against the crook of JJ's neck and he started to kiss her neck once again, as he pulled her panties to the side. He then pushed forward gently, filling her completely.

JJ moaned against his neck at the feeling of him buried deep inside of her. In a way it made her feel complete, and she never wanted to forget that feeling. It was exciting, so amazing.

Hotch pulled back and thrust forward again as he held onto JJ tightly. He set a steady pace, going faster and deeper with each thrust he inflicted. JJ's moans in his ear made him lose sense of reality and everything around him.

JJ's felt herself nearing the edge as she moved her lips against his in a passionate and dominant kiss. And with one last push of his hips against hers, she lost herself in his arms. Her body went weak and she held onto him for dear life.

All it took for Hotch was one last deep thrust and he followed JJ over the edge. He pulled her flush against his body as he carefully dropped down to the floor with JJ in his arms, feeling bittersweet.

She was still holding onto him, her head buried against his neck. ''I love you.'' she said happily.

''I love you too!'' Hotch said in happiness. That moment, those few minutes in time, he would never ever forget. He had found something very real with JJ, and he knew someone like her would never come into his life again.