Author's Note: I want to thank our loyal readers that are sticking with us. I know my postings are sporadic these days and I apologize for it. I've received a couple of negative anonymous reviews over that very issue. Real life, especially mine, is complicated. Going from a loving two parent household to a single parent with a husband fighting in a dangerous war is difficult. I'm not asking for sympathy, just please be patient. I promise, I'm writing as fast as I can, but I want to bring you guys something of quality instead of garbage I wrote on the fly.

And finally, as some of you may or may not know, there are some changes coming for our favorite show and we have opened a "Show Spoilers" thread for readers and authors to discuss their take on episodes and upcoming plotlines.

As ever, I don't own Criminal Minds.

When Past, Present, and Future Collide

Chapter Five

Drawing in a deep breath as she put her hand on the doorknob, JJ wondered exactly how her day had brought her to this point in time. How had her entire private life suddenly become open to scrutiny? Better yet, how had she fallen right into the middle of what was obviously a modern day retelling of the Hatfields and McCoys? How?

Because you were nosy, Jareau, she chided herself as she rapped on the door then quickly twisted the knob. And with your less than stellar luck, you'll fare no better than the proverbial cat who succumbed to the dangers of curiosity!

Jerking his head up as he watched his door open once again, Dave mentally steeled himself for a reemergence of the she-devil that had apparently returned once again like a bad penny. But instead of the blonde curls of the Evil Ex, he quickly recognized the welcome face of the one woman he could actually stand to see at that moment.

"Jen," he said with an almost sigh of relief, waving his hand in the air as his other hand was automatically picking up the evidence of the candy cavalcade that had invaded his office. "Please don't tell me we caught a case. Please."

"Nothing like that," JJ said as she smiled gently, closing the door behind her. "I just thought I'd pop in and make sure you were..."

"Not on the verge of grabbing a sniper rifle and heading for the roof?" Dave asked dryly, well aware of his ex-wife's reputation for sending him into fits of discomfiture that were well known throughout the Bureau. "Don't look at me like that," he muttered, glancing up at JJ, her jaw dropped in shock, "You don't know that woman like I do."

"Something you want to vent about?" JJ hedged, slowly moving toward the chair in front of his desk, uncertain whether she should sit or not, needing to reserve her options for a hasty retreat.

"You heard it all, didn't you?" Dave asked, quirking a knowing eyebrow as he caught the sudden flush of the young blonde's cheeks.

"It wasn't my fault," JJ said quickly. "Hotch held me hostage outside the door," she explained, more than ready to throw her boss under the proverbial bus. She'd simply been on an errand to deliver a few simple files when she'd been commandeered.

"And he sent you in here to make sure that I wasn't either suicidal or homicidal. It would have been a toss-up. Brenda Leigh has the tendency and tenacity to make me both depending on the occasion," he informed her with a heavy sigh, leaning back in his chair as he picked up a stray candy wrapper.

"Does she also make you crave a diabetic coma?" JJ asked, frowning at the collection of wrappers in his trash can.

"She has a candy addiction. She eats it when she's nervous, or agitated, or angry, or...hell, she never stops eating," Dave grumbled, crumpling another wrapper and tossing it toward the nearby can with accuracy. "Never did learn the art of cleaning up her mess though," he said, his tone not entirely unaffectionate.

"Sounds...interesting," JJ offered weakly, sliding into the seat carefully.

"Oh, there are a lot of adjectives that describe Brenda. Annoying. Persistent. Thorn in my ass," he ground out, his brow furrowing as he fought down another wave of annoyance at his ex-wfe.

"Dave," JJ questioned softly, alarmed by the deep red flush blanketing his cheeks, "are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine now. The black plague has left the building," he said, waving a hand toward his closed door. "God, I hope she's left. Knowing Brenda, she's tapping her foot in the parking lot just to make sure I keep my end of the bargain. But I'm on my way to recovery. I've just got one final commitment to her to keep to her."

"I see," JJ murmured, though she truly didn't. He was divorced. His obligations had ended, hadn't they?

"Then," Dave continued as if she had never spoken, violently thumbing through his address book, "I'm going to find a judge somewhere in this godforsaken country that will declare that I'm free and clear from this point onward!"

"I...ahhh...so you're swearing off the opposite sex forever? Because of your ex-wife? And evidently, men named Will," JJ noted, raising an inquisitive eyebrow and offering him a steady look .

"Boy," Dave grumbled, frowning, "You really did have that little ear of yours pressed against the door, didn't you?"

"Under duress," JJ said quickly. Too quickly.

"I'll bet," Dave smirked, meeting her blue gaze. Pausing in his search for the new mayor's number in LA, he smiled. "Swearing off women forever, huh? That might be an interesting route for me to take."

"Seems like a waste of a man in his prime," JJ said innocently, shrugging her slim shoulders. "Besides, tell the truth, you still like her," she said, referring to the Rossi proclaimed she-devil that had vacated his office earlier.

"I admire her," Dave admitted easily as he flipped to the correct page. "She's good at her job. Although, I gotta say, her taste in men sucks. Present company excluded, of course," he grinned. "Doesn't change the fact that she's a royal pain in my ass when she makes up her mind about something. But, this," he said, tapping his address book, "is officially my last favor in the former matrimonial department."

"Asking you to save her ex-lover's job was a bit..."

"You'd have to know Brenda Leigh," Dave snorted, rolling his eyes. "She honestly believes she's doing the right thing. Besides, if she was happier with the Pope, she didn't need to be with me," Dave shrugged.

"But she wasn't," JJ declared as she shook her head. "She married somebody else."

"His problem now," Dave grinned. "Brenda's idiosyncrasies are no longer my problem. At least not for long. And then..."

"You're swearing off women associated with the name Will or Pope?" JJ raised an eyebrow.

"With the right influence, I might be persuaded to rethink that position," Dave said slowly, his eyes slowly heating as he stared across his desk at her. "You know anybody that might be able to help me reconsider my options, Jen? I mean, the right woman could make all this drama seem like a bad dream."

"Even if she was once involved with a guy named Will?" JJ asked softly, her eyes softening as they stared into his.

"If she swore to me that he was completely and totally in her past, I could definitely make an exception. Especially under the right incentives," Dave offered with a crooked grin.

"Incentives, huh?" JJ smirked, arching one blonde brow as she leaned forward. "What kind of incentives?"

"Well, if she offered to have dinner with me tonight and never once mentioned that dreaded name, it would certainly be a solid step in the right direction. And then, if she kissed me goodnight and made me forget my own name, I'd say she was definitely worth having a Will in her past."

Laughing lightly, JJ winked. "Make your phone call, David Rossi. And pick me up at eight. I might manage to make you forget your name before the appetizer even arrives."

And as he watched his beautiful blonde colleague walk out his office door, David Rossi knew his day had just gotten a hell of a lot brighter.

Hell, he might have to send Brenda Leigh a thank you card.

But, then again, maybe not.

Finis

Dedicated to my husband and all our heroes fighting overseas!