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

Special thanks to BAUMember, Christiangirl, snuggleUP, cRiMiNaLmInDsObSeSsion!

I don't own criminal minds!

Chapter 34: Moving on

The apartment was filled with a dreadful silence that caused Hotch to pace through the living room. He had arrived in Seattle just an hour earlier and during his flight he had gotten the call from Haley that they had decided to turn off the machines. Her mother had died, and now Hotch was waiting in her apartment for her to come home. He didn't know what to think, or even feel. His heart was breaking for Haley, and he couldn't imagine how hard it must've been for her to make such a hard decision along with her family. But every other part of him longed to get home, to go back to JJ.

He turned around the couch one more time when he finally heard a key in the lock. He froze and then rushed to the door but before he got there, the door swung open and Haley was standing in the middle of the doorway. Her hair was messy, make-up smudged, and her eyes red as the tears still originated from her eyes. Hotch had only ever seen her like that once before and that was in the aftermath of losing their baby. The sight made his insides crumble, and his only instinct was to walk towards her, but his mind kept his heart from doing what he longed to do, knowing Haley always had a touch of being manipulative and he wasn't about to betray JJ. So he carefully stepped forward, his face softening as they finally made eye contact.

''Hi,'' Haley croaked out, nearly choking on a simple greeting. The death of her mother had taken its toll, but seeing Hotch again was the cherry on top. ''Aaron…'' she breathed out as she stepped forward, stopping right in front of him.

''I'm so sorry.'' he said heavily. His arms hang to his side and then she rushed forward and got into his embrace. He immediately tightened his grip around her.

Haley immediately began to sob into his chest while he pulled her closer, holding her tightly just like she remembered. She hadn't forgotten what it had been like to be with him. And his presence was everything she needed in that moment. She needed someone who knew her better than anyone, and that person was Hotch. He knew her better than her own family. She needed him more than anything.

''Is there anything I can do for you?'' he whispered sweetly.

She pulled away in response and stared back into his eyes. She leaned on her toes to make distance smaller, ready to kiss him when he pulled away at the last second before the kiss actually happened. He was at the other side of the living room within seconds, staring back at her in disbelief.

Hotch couldn't believe it. He had come to Seattle as a friend, to support someone he had known for most of his life, but it had suddenly become very clear what Haley's intentions were. ''Haley,'' he began but she held her hand up and interrupted him.

''I just thought we could distract each other.'' she defended. ''Maybe try to be together again.''

In response, Hotch dropped down to the couch with his hands covering his face. It really was a nightmare for him. How am I going to tell her? I'm with JJ. How do I tell her? he asked himself in deep thought. He didn't want to break Haley's heart even further, but the thought of possibly breaking JJ's and betraying her seemed far worse than telling Haley the truth. He had moved on. He did still love her, but he was no longer in love with her.

''I'm…I'm with someone, Haley.'' he stumbled.

Her mouth fell open in surprise. She thought he would've taken more time to move on from their relationship, but apparently not. ''How long?''

''Haley, I don't want to get into this right now.'' he reasoned with her, but the look on her face told him otherwise. She wanted to know.

''Aaron, how long?'' she demanded.

Hotch rose from the couch, grabbed his bag from the ground and threw it over his shoulder. He walked towards the door, and turned around before opening it. ''Today is our three month anniversary.'' he stated. ''We've been together for three months and I love her, Haley. I just do. I've moved on and you should too.''

''Aaron!'' she called out when he was about to turn around. ''We'll never move on from each other. We were are supposed to end up with each other. Maybe not now, but we will.''

He didn't respond. Instead, he turned his back to her and walked out the door feeling like a complete idiot. He had come down to support a friend and Haley had only been after getting him back and it sickened him. He should've listen to JJ when he had the chance, and now he had to tell her what Haley had planned. It angered him. So he turned around and knocked on the door, his hand colliding with the door loudly. Once it opened he was faced with Haley in tears, but this time he wasn't going soft on her. ''I need you to listen to me!'' he stated forcefully. ''I'm happier than I have ever been, Haley. I won't let anyone, or you, screw up what I have right now.'' he said, noting not to drop JJ's name. He knew Haley would easily call up his colleagues and ask about JJ, which was the last thing he wanted. ''Unlike you, she loves me for who I am, and that includes my job.'' he went on. ''I would love nothing more than for us to be friends but after the stunt you just pulled, I think we shouldn't talk to each other at all anymore.'' he ended and then turned back around and walked away from the apartment as quick he could. He realized he had just been mean to Haley after she was already in a horrible situation, but he couldn't let her think he'd ever come back to her. He had to be clear, and it actually lifted a weight off his shoulders that had been there ever since he and Haley ended their engagement.

In DC, JJ was standing in the operations room at SAD across from Collins and Owen. She had been asked to come because they had an important matter to discuss according to Collins. Fortunately, it was in the afternoon so JJ's hangover was almost gone, but the images of the night before were still replaying in her head. Her time with Emily had been fun and exactly what she needed. But the fact was that Hotch was in Seattle with his ex, and he hadn't contacted her since he left. And not to mention that she opened herself up to Owen by telling him once again how much he had actually hurt her, which put the personal in the professional, and that was the last thing she wanted.

But as she stood in operations she was easily able to push her worries to the side. Compartmentalizing had been one of the things she was good at and with her job that was very important.

Collins cleared his throat and walked up to one of the computers. ''During our briefing with the department yesterday some new strategies were brought to our attention.'' he began confidently. ''One of our top analysts worked with a hacker before joining the agency. We contacted the hacker and politely asked him to help us track down Asad Hawsawi or…'' he then looked at JJ, knowing they both hadn't mentioned Christian Ward to Owen yet. When he received a nod from the blonde he knew he could mention the name without truly upsetting her. ''Christian Ward.''

Owen was completely stunned. Not only did he not know that they were looking into Ward, but he didn't know that his colleagues actually suspected him of colluding with Tyler Warren. ''Christian Ward?'' Owen repeated in disbelief. ''You think he and his bosses are involved in this?'' he asked Collins and JJ, realizing they both were in on it.

Collins pushed a button and photo popped up on the screen. A photo with a very familiar face that had been burned into JJ's memory. ''When was that taken?'' she croaked out.

''This morning.'' Collins replied. ''The hacker found him on surveillance cameras and immediately sent us these images.'' he explained as more photos popped up on the screen.

JJ turned her back to the two men, realizing what this meant. It meant she was at risk now. Any contact she had with Warren could've tipped off Ward as to who she really was. She sat down in a chair, thinking of what to do next. What was their next step? Was she going to admit everything to Owen about her previous assignment? Could she even do it? And what about Hotch? In that moment it was all crashing down on her. Her job, and her newfound personal life.

''I can get to Christian Ward.'' she said bluntly.

Her words made Owen turn around and face as if she was being stupid. ''What makes you think that?'' Owen asked. ''How can you possibly turn this guy, JJ? We know he's involved with a Russian mercenary group, but that's it.'' he continued on. ''You only followed him on your last assignment. There's no way you can make contact with him.''

JJ eyed Collins and then turned her eyes back to Owen. ''My assignment was above your clearance, Owen.'' she began, knowing he would soon realize he had been lied to. ''I didn't follow Christian Ward. I was developing him as an asset for six months while I was in Russia.''

''You what?'' he asked angrily. ''And you knew about this?'' Owen asked, directing his question towards Collins as his face filled with anger and pain.

''After a failed meeting with a former Russian Intelligence officer who was willing to defect, I tasked JJ with the assignment.'' Collins responded calmly. He knew Owen couldn't believe that he had been kept out of the loop. But JJ's assignment had to be kept under wraps.

''I posed as an American weapons dealer, interested to get into business with the rumored Russian group.'' JJ explained. ''After approaching Christian, he kept denying he was interested in any weapons, but I stayed under. The relationship turned intimate and I gained his trust, but I never found any proof that he was involved with a mercenary group.''

''Intimate?'' he repeated in sadness, his heart stopping for a moment. The fact that JJ had been intimate with a man for an assignment, broke his heart.

JJ decided to ignore Owen and return her attention to the problem they had. ''I can contact him and pose as Alexandra Harrison again. I can do this, sir.'' she suggested. ''It's the best way for us to get any further with this investigation, and it's the only way for me to keep my cover.'' she went on. ''If Ward is really who we think he is, he probably knows I worked with Warren and right now I have the advantage to spin the story any way I want to. I can claim to have worked with Warren under a different name to get to the weapon because a client was interested.''

''That sounds like a plan.'' Collins agreed. ''But you'll have to be extra careful after you've contacted him. You'll be at risk, so you can't visit the agency anymore.'' he ordered. ''Owen will be acting as your handler. Good luck, Jareau.''

''Thank you, sir.'' JJ said hesitantly as he walked out of the room. He left both Owen and JJ in an awkward silence. JJ knew he'd be upset with her for hiding the real motive behind an assignment, but it was her job. And Owen had to understand that better than anyone.

''I can't believe it.'' he breathed out. ''I can't believe you actually slept with that man during your assignment.''

She folded her arms across her chest defensively. ''Really?'' she snapped. ''What about you in Paris? You slept with a woman to get something for the CIA?'' she reminded him. ''What's the difference, Owen?''

''That's not what I mea…'' he tried to say but she caught him off.

''Oh, wait!'' she said, her tone of voice sarcastic and filled with pain. ''You cheated on me while you did it!'' she spat out angrily. She walked to the door and as she had her back turned towards him, she could feel his eyes boring into her back. ''You broke my heart, Owen. You. Broke. My. Heart.'' she stated in vain as she turned around. ''It was my first assignment on my own and maybe I was lashing out after we broke up, or maybe I just did it for the sake of this agency. I don't know.'' she went on. ''But what I do know is that we don't do this job for ourselves. We do it for the good of the country.''

With those last words she walked away from him. The truth was that she didn't know who she was on that assignment. She never knew. Every mission meant a new identity with another target and living another lie. It wasn't easy, and no one had any right to question her. Especially not Owen.