A/N: Hey all! Sorry for the long wait, I'm back at work, so unfortunately all my updates will be slow coming for a while now. Anyways, this is the final chapter of Connection. The M-rating continues into this one, just to be safe (though, it's probably more like a stronger T-rating). It's been fun writing this story. I just wanted to say thanks again to Fanatical Writer for letting me adopt her idea. :) Anyways… please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

Chapter 3:

JJ lay silently, head pressed to Hotch's bare chest, enjoying the peacefulness of the early morning, relishing in the feel of the rise and fall of his chest with every breath he took. She wasn't sure if he was awake yet, but she knew that he if he wasn't he soon would be awakened by the cracks of sunlight peaking around the curtains.

Her hand absently ran up and down his side as she thought about their shared night. It was a night full of nothing but passion and a need to fulfill all their hidden desires and no words. They'd fallen asleep sometime after 3am; without a word Hotch had urged her to take position at his chest, answering her unasked question of whether she should stay the night or not. When he'd kissed the top of her head she found it really hard to stave off the tears of bliss that threatened to overwhelm her so suddenly.

There had been no time to think about what they were doing after it'd begun. Now, in the early am sunlight, she could think clearly about what they'd done and it put a smile on her face.

After months of sharing secret looks and coveting momentary touches she'd done what she'd been craving to do. She let out a chuckle at how thoroughly she'd done it, too.

"What's so funny?"

Surprised, she leaned up on an elbow to see that Hotch was very much awake. The smile that came to her face at just looking at him was brilliant. "Morning," she hummed in answer.

Hotch's fingers ran through her hair, urging her to meet him half way to kiss his smiling lips.

"Mmm…" she murmured when he pulled back, still lost in the sensation. Every single one of her nerve endings called out for him to touch her.

When she finally opened her eyes it was to see him watching her with a very pleased and lustful look in his eyes. As much as she wanted to take him up on that look, they'd spent the whole night not talking. JJ conceded that maybe it was time for some conversation.

His lips had already moved on to make contact with the skin of her collar bone. If she let it go on any further she knew she wouldn't be able to stop and the next thing she'd know they would have spent the whole day as one tangled mass. Definitely not a bad way to spend a Saturday, but she knew they had things that needed discussing.

"Hotch," she breathed out, breath already coming out in short spurts as his fingers tickled up along the inside of her thigh.

"Aaron," he mumbled, his lips closing around one already straining nipple.

She let out a moan as she tried to concentrate on the things that needed to be said. "W—What?" she stuttered.

He let go of her breast and instead trailed open mouthed kisses back up along her jaw. He leaned back briefly to shoot her a heated look. "I think after last night you can call me Aaron, now," he let her know humorously.

She gave him a grin. "Ok… Aaron," she said, his name feeling so right on her lips. He'd resumed touching her, and for a moment she let herself get lost in his roaming hands and lips.

"JJ…" he murmured from somewhere near her belly.

Now, how'd he get down there? she mused, mind becoming a foggy haze.

"… You are breathtaking…"

He fluttered a handful of kisses there and she knew as they moved lower and lower where he was going next.

"Aaron," she managed to get out quickly. "Come up here."

He grinned, swiftly doing as told. His body pressed against hers, she could feel how much he wanted her. She really wasn't doing very well with this talking business.

JJ looked into his dark eyes, seeing his lust there, but also seeing something much deeper. He really did care for her. Her hand went up to cup his cheek; she rubbed her thumb across his skin, feeling the prickliness of his beard's morning growth. She cared for him so much.

"I want you, Aaron," she whispered, letting her thumb trace his full lower lip.

She gazed into his dark eyes willing him to get the double meaning. A flash of recognition passed through his eyes, she saw, and when he said his next words, 'I want you, too" she knew they had a deeper meaning, too.

This time when they kissed it was her that initiated it. She gave a mental shrug. What was one more time? They could really talk later…

"We need to get up," JJ suggested from at his side.

Hotch could hear JJ breathing heavily, attempting to recover from their activities from a moment ago. He groaned out loud. He was exhausted. She'd tired him out and now she was suggesting they get up? She was evil, he thought happily.

JJ sat up, pulling the covers up around her. "Come on, you're just hungry," she mused.

He gave her a look as she watched him from over her shoulder, amused. He tried to reach for her. "Yeah, for you," he said earnestly.

Now that he'd had her he'd found that his appetite for her body was unsurprisingly insatiable.

She laughed, moving a tad more out of his reach. "Aaron," she protested laughingly. "Come on, I'm hungry."

He supposed it wouldn't do for her to stave. He needed her, he mused, gladly. Hotch moved to get out of bed; he hadn't felt like this in a while, energized, like all was right in the world and nothing could go wrong. He had her to thank for the reawakening.

Hotch looked over his shoulder to see she was slipping on her underwear. "What are you doing?" he wondered, pouting.

"Hotch, you can't expect me to walk around your house naked," she replied logically.

He nodded. "Yeah, I can. You're beautiful to look at," he said seriously.

He watched her shiver with desire. A second later, she was shaking her head. "If Jessica comes back with Jack it would be very awkward… Do you have a long t-shirt or something? I'd like to give my clothes a wash."

Sighing in resignation, he pointed at his dresser. "Top drawer."

JJ stood, made her way across the room and pulled out a white t-shirt. She slid it over her slender body and then turned to face him, a big smile on her face. "Now, while I try to find my shirt, why don't you go make us breakfast, er…" she glanced at the clock on the nightstand, "… lunch," she finished.

He stood up chuckling. He gave her a quick kiss and grabbed a t-shirt of his own. And then he headed for the kitchen.

"JJ, you don't have to do that," Hotch protested from his spot on the couch. "I can clean it up later."

JJ was standing in his kitchen cleaning up the little bit of mess they had made making lunch. At work, she was known for being super messy, but her messes never extended past Bureau walls. "Just, one last dish," she said as she ran the dish under the water for a rinse, and then placed it in the dishwasher. "Done!"

"Good, now come here," he ordered gently.

She gave him a smile before she walked around the kitchen island and into the adjoining family room. Hotch extended a hand for her and she took it. She giggled happily when he pulled her down into his lap, arms wrapping around her. He gave her a searing kiss, that could have went on forever. But both pulled back a minute later. They'd spent all day avoiding talking about things, now they knew that it was time.

JJ settled into his lap, back pressed against his chest, head settled at the crook of his neck. His arms were wrapped around her waist, so she took his hands in her own entwining their fingers together.

"So, what made you come over last night?" Hotch asked after a moment's silence.

She let out a sigh, "You gave me a handshake, Aaron," she said, tone incredulous. "After all we've been through… for God's sake you drove me to the hospital when I went into labor… I think we deserved more than a handshake."

He chuckled. "So, you came over because you thought we deserved a hot and steamy night?"

She could tell he was joking, but she still gave his hand a light slap in irritation. "No," she said, lengthening the short word for emphasis. "That was not planned…"

Silence again.

After a minute, it was Hotch who broke it. "But… I'm glad it happened."

She turned in his arms to see that he had a pleased smile on his face. She smiled back at him. "Me too."

He pulled her back down into his arms and wrapped her in an even tighter embrace; she savored the feeling of being encircled by him. She felt safe, protected. She never wanted to leave.

"Aaron," she began. "I came over because that handshake felt too much like a goodbye forever… I don't want to say goodbye to you."

"JJ," he said, voice surprisingly gentle. "I told you I would try to get you back, that wasn't just talk. I'm going to figure something out."

She shook her head. She wasn't just talking about the work side of their relationship. "It's not just work… I feel something for you, Aaron, a connection… don't you feel it too?"

Again she turned to face him when he let out a chuckle. She gave him a confused look. She didn't think this was anything to laugh at.

"Do you think last night would have happened if I didn't have feelings for you?" Hotch asked her, amused. "I've been waiting for this moment for a while, JJ."

"You have?" she asked unsurely.

"Yes," he said simply.

That one word sent a wave of happiness throughout her body. It was exactly what she wanted to hear.

"So," she asked slowly, her hand came up to cup his face. She just couldn't get enough of touching him. "What exactly are we going to do about this?"

"About you not working with us anymore or about the fact that I'm just realizing that I can't go a day without seeing you?" Hotch asked her happily.

She gave him a smile. "I think they're the same thing…"

He leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. "Well… I'm going to do everything in my power to bring you back to us," he assured. "In the meantime, I think we need to have regular meetings everyday…"

"Oh," she said, a grin threatening to overtake her face, "And where exactly will these meetings take place?"

A mischievous smile overcame his features. "I don't see why my bedroom wouldn't continue to work…"

She laughed happily. He closed the distance between them kissing her lovingly. When they pulled back from the kiss it was to look into each other's eyes.

JJ could see how much he wanted this, how long he'd been waiting for it. She realized that he'd been waiting for her throughout her relationship with Will, and she wished now that she would have realized a long time ago that her and Will weren't meant to be. She'd lost so much time with Aaron. Six years now, that's how long she'd known him, and if she'd had a clue back when they'd met they would have been together for those six years.

Oh well, she thought. We've got the rest of our lives to make up for it.

She gave his lips a peck.

"JJ?" he murmured.

"I want this," she replied.

She didn't have to elaborate on what this was, she could tell he knew. "I want this, too," he assured her.

He pulled her back down for what was probably their hundredth kiss but definitely not their last.

Well that's it for this chapter. I really hope you enjoyed. No promises, but I'm really thinking of a sequel to this story where it takes their story throughout the rest of the season 6 and maybe into season 7. If this idea appeals to you, let me know. I'll probably have to finish at least one more of my unfinished stories before I begin, though.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing: Andi; deeda; darkness7eyes; Fanatical Writer; flashpenguin; canny-bairn; and jekkah

Thanks again!