A/N OK, big old author's note coming up, making the following points:

a) So...after my Christmas collection, I realized I still had this ol' chestnut sitting around on my laptop. Taken from the LJ community 64damn_prompts, I decided that since there were 64 of them, I should split them up into three parts. Hence, therefore, there will be two 20-something chapter stories following this one!

b) Most of the oneshots will be totally unrelated - if I'm linking any of them together, I'll make it obvious! :)

c) And finally, I'll write at the start of each chapter which characters it's going to involve, although I'm fairly confident that all of them will be JJ/Hotch in some way - don't worry, I normally make it clear what happened to Will! ;)

Anyway, I really hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or the LiveJournal community from which I took this prompt list.

Character/Pairing: Hotch

Rating: K+

Prompt: #1 - 2am

It's 2am as Hotch sits on his front steps, joggers and t-shirt not doing much against the fresh breeze.

2am used to mean late night talks with Hailey. It used to mean waking up to go to Jack, it used to mean sitting in the rocking chair until he fell asleep again.

But then the BAU was thrust into the spotlight, more people across the country suddenly needed their help, and then Hailey and Jack were gone.

For Rossi, 2am might mean the end of a late-night rendezvous with one of his many admirers. Or it might just be returning home to an empty house and falling into bed alone.

Dancing until the early hours, Morgan will give Garcia a ride to her apartment, make sure she gets inside, wait for her face to appear at the window so he knows she's OK. He'll circle her block a few times just to be certain, before heading across town to his own home.

Prentiss tries to stay as long as possible within the safety and sanctity of the BAU. 2am, for Emily, means dark dreams and broken nights. She sits in front of the TV, files scattered across the coffee table, and works until the light comes scattering through the window.

If he is asleep, it doesn't matter, but Reid is scared of the dark. 2am is full of dark. He likes the quiet, the calm that comes after a day full of storms.

Now Hotch knows what 2am means to the people he works with, his own need for a case seems pathetic in return.

But it's something in his life to look forward to. JJ always calls him first, and no matter what, sounds happy to speak to him. And he likes it.

Not that he's excited about having a new case- a new case means another victim, another suspect. Another few days of getting into the minds of the sick and twisted, of knowing them more than he ever intended to.

Hotch knows he shouldn't, but there's just something about her that catches him unawares, and suddenly he starts looking forward to those 2am phone calls.

Right on cue, his cell phone rings. He looks down at it, smiling slightly, and flips it open.

"Hey, JJ..."