I was sitting at work last night when this song came on the radio. I could see Hotch confronting JJ before the wedding and pointing out all the reasons why she should say no to Will. But a woman's heart can be a tough nut to crack when she is blinded by love.

I don't own Criminal Minds. If I did, I would dispose of Will so I could allow myself to watch the next season.

Song prompt: "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins.

Against All Odds

JJ pushed the hair back from her face and set her purse down on the table beside the door. It had a been a long week with bank robberies and almost losing Will and Henry; now she was getting married in the morning. Yawning, she rubbed her eyes. It hadn't been in her plans to go out with the girls, but since her mother was taking care of Henry, and the guys from MPD were taking Will out to celebrate, she thought it couldn't hurt. Strip clubs were definitely not her scene.

Now she was bone tired. A bath sounded so inviting. Heading toward the hall, she nearly jumped out of her skin by the sudden pounding on the front door. Rushing over, she checked the peephole.

Throwing the deadbolts, she opened the door. "Hotch…"

"We need to talk," he stated dispassionately.

"What about?" She shrugged. There was no reason for the BAU Chief to be on her doorstep this late in the evening.

"Let me in." It wasn't a request.

Surprised by the command, JJ stepped back and let him in. "I was going to go to bed early to get ready for tomorrow."

"When were you going to tell me?" he asked as his dark brown eyes focused on her.

She bit her lip. "About what?"

"Don't play stupid with me, Jennifer; I know you better than that! When did you know that you and Will were going to get married?"

JJ tossed back her hair. "I didn't know that I needed to get your approval," she countered back. Crossing her arms over her breasts, she took a stance that dared him to defy her.

"I'm not saying that you need approval to throw your life away. I just thought you might have come to me before you made a decision that will forever alter your life," he said.

"I am not throwing my life away. I am marrying Will because I love him," she stated firmly.

Hotch raised his eyebrow. "Do you? Because five months ago you were ready to kick him out of your life for good."

"Things change."

"Like the decisions based on emotions when life throws you a curve," he pointed out. "Yeah, I know all about that."

Her blue eyes sparked with anger. "I have the right to change my mind."

"Even if that decision is the wrong one?"

JJ took a step forward. "Who are you to tell me what decision I make the right or wrong one? Your track record isn't exactly pristine."

Hotch sighed. "And that is why I can say that you are making the wrong decision by marrying Will."

"Why?" she demanded.

"Why what?"

"Why is it a bad decision?" She spread her hands wide. "You come over to my home and drop this and what…? Do you expect me to say: Oh wow! You're right! Thanks, Hotch!"

Hotch stayed quiet.

"Why?" she repeated.

The seconds ticked by like minutes as the air crackled between them. In the distance, the phone rang.

"You should get that," Hotch said.

"That's why I have a machine. Now answer my question." Her eyes narrowed into slits as she continued to stare him down.

"It's a bad decision because he isn't right for you," he began.

"What did you do, profile him?" she spat.

"No. I profiled you. I've watched how you've changed since you've been around Will La Montange. I see how he makes you jump thru hoops and the demands he puts on you." Hotch watched as JJ's eyes held his, then broke away. "Have you forgotten all those times he demanded that you quit the FBI? Do remember how he made you choose between being a parent or a profiler?"

"He was going thru a hard time," JJ excused. "He wanted to be with me…I was…making it hard for us to be a couple."

"You were the one flying down there every chance you got to be with him. How many times did he fly up here to be with you?" Hotch asked.

"We get more time off than he does."

"And what about the three times he asked you to marry him but you turned him down?" he reminded her.

JJ pushed a lock of hair from her face. "Things were crazy. Haley…the hearing…my transfer…it all happened so suddenly…"

"You could have married him while you were at the State Department. So, why didn't you?" Hotch took a step toward her.

"I wasn't ready."

"And what about how he endangered Henry's life by withholding medication so you would have to rush home?" Hotch's voice softened with each step he took.

"He was…" JJ searched for the right words, "…angry at me for choosing the team over our sick son."

"You could have called in and told me that Henry was ill and you needed to spend time with him. You more than had the days on the books. But you didn't, why?"

JJ shook her head. "Henry had just seen the doctor and he had the medication…"

"Why didn't you want to stay with your son?" Hotch asked again. This time he emphasized each word.

JJ swallowed. "Because I needed to get out the house and away from Will!" she yelled. "Okay? Are you happy? I chose the team over my son and I almost lost him! I have had to live with that guilt every single day!" Her chest heaved as emotions threatened to overwhelm her. "Then I almost lost him again. What was I supposed to do when Will asked me to marry him?"

"You could have said no."

"Henry wants a father!"

"Henry has a father."

"Henry asked me to marry Will and make him his real daddy. I couldn't turn my son down."

"But you can put yourself thru eternal hell?" Hotch quipped.

"Henry deserves to be happy," JJ said.

"And you don't? What about what you want, Jennifer?"

With the back of her hand, she wiped a tear off her cheek. "I'm a parent; my child's needs come first," she protested.

Hotch nodded. "I know that, but what they want and need shouldn't dictate your happiness. Twenty years from now when Henry is gone, is he still going to run your life?"

"That's not fair!"

"I know about fairness…hell, I've lived on the opposite end of the spectrum more than once. But I also know that you can't let someone guilt you into things. Haley used to do that to me," he admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"Guilting me because I worked a job she didn't approve of. More than once she would call the office demanding that I drop whatever I was doing to rush home. Sometimes Jack wasn't even ill; she just wanted to see where my loyalties lie." He let his words sink in. "The worst one was when she claimed that Jack had a rare disease and wouldn't tell me what it was." He let out a heavy breath full of sadness and frustration.

"Was Jack really ill?" JJ breathed. Her eyes wide with fear.

"No. Haley wanted to see how far she could push me. And this…this is exactly what Will is doing to you. Jennifer, you deserve someone who will treat you and your job with respect…"

"Who?" her voice cracked. "You?"

"I…" Hotch paused. "I'm seeing Beth."

"Yeah, and Morgan is pining for PG, while Rossi hooks back up with Strauss," she stated matter of fact.

"Jennifer…"

"And let's not forget that Reid has his nose in a book," she continued uninterrupted. "So, I guess my chances of find a good man are not good."

"It's not like that," he protested.

"It is like that. I'm set to walk down the aisle with Will tomorrow. I can't back out. My mother is here and the team will be there." She pressed two fingers to her forehead to try and ward off the headache that threatened to come on.

"I can't let you do this."

"I don't have a choice. He loves me."

"Does he love your job?" he argued. "Is he going to accept what you do?"

"He says he can. He says that he can learn to like it."

"And if he doesn't, then what? Now you're married to him. It's not as easy to walk out of the door when vows bind you to one another. What happens when he puts his foot down and says that as your husband he forbids you to leave on a case? Then what are you doing to do? Defy him? Obey him?"

"Hotch…don't do this," she whispered.

"Don't do what? Point out the truth?" he retorted smartly. "So, everything is great and the wedding is wonderful. You have a beautiful honeymoon. But after all the glow wears off and life settles down, there will come that morning when the phone rings and you have to leave for Oregon or Montana to rescue a child or stop a serial killer."

"I know this!" she flared. "I've thought it over a hundred times. I will cross that bridge when I come to it."

"And what about the bridge you are going to have to cross when Will's job puts him in the line of fire again. His job has more risks than yours…"

JJ covered her face with her hands. "I know! God, I know! I don't need you to point this out to me! I hate that Will is a cop and that he works in DC! That's his choice!"

"And the FBI is yours!" Hotch stated. "I'm pointing out the hypocrisy here! Can't you see it?"

"Maybe I don't want to see it! Maybe I deserve to be happy! I want to come home to someone every night who is happy to see me! I want to be held and loved! Is that too much to ask?" she shouted.

"It's not too much, but make sure it's with the right person."

JJ blinked back her tears while staring down the man she admired and trusted…maybe even more than the man she was going to marry.

"That's rich coming from you."