Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters belong to CBS and I'm just borrowing them for my fun.

It had been a bad one, certainly not their worst case ever, but it hadn't been pretty. They caught the Unsub but it would be a long time before the events of the past week had settled in the minds of the ladies that were seated in the back booth of the local bar. Dealing with the worst of society did take its toll.

After deplaning and debriefing at the office JJ, Emily, and Garcia decided they had a desperate need to unwind. Which lead them to the local watering hole where they consumed far too much alcohol, which, as inevitably happens when a group of women get together, lead them to discussing the merits of the men they found themselves surrounded by on a daily basis.

It started off fairly innocent. Who was most dedicated? Who could score a confession by just looking at the suspect? Who would you want covering your six? Who told the funniest stories? Who was the sweetest? Who could be counted on to remember your birthday? From there it progressed downward. Again, as tends to happen with a group of women. Who had the best smile, the best arms, and the best legs, which inevitably lead to the best ass?

"No seriously," Pen stated, trying to wipe the smile from her face. "I'm not saying that you would need to be rescued," she glanced at Emily knowing that the woman was more than capable of handling herself and would gladly share that fact with anyone, or hurt anyone that might suggest differently, "BUT if you did who do you think would be the best person for the job?"

JJ took a large slurp of the fruity margarita then propped her chin on her fist. "Hotch."

"You're like a freaking parrot tonight." Emily quipped. "Serious Aaron Hotchner is NOT Superman, contrary to your beliefs." JJ had answered pretty much every question the same way. The blonde obviously had it really bad for the boss. Emily rolled her eyes then said, "Okay, I hate myself already for asking, but why?"

Penelope giggled, "as much as I hate to say this, I kind of agree on this one. But I stand firm on the issue of Derek's ass."

"Thank you, and please!" She added indignantly. "Next time you see Hotch, I implore you, take a good gander at his ass. It's a freaking work of art." With that proclamation she took another large drink.

Emily shook her head. "I'll grant you that it's nice, but I don't think it qualifies as the best."

Pen shook her head. "If I promise to look at Hotch's ass can I tell you why I agree that he would be the person you'd go to for a rescue?" She waited until both JJ and Emily urged her to get on with it. "Okay here is what I think. As far as rescuing goes it really all depends on the situation. Like, if you needed rescued financially, you would go to Rossi. If you needed brute force, Derek would be the obvious choice. But, if say you were working the Times crossword puzzle you'd go to Reid." She interrupted their giggling over her last comment. "Are you with me so far?" She glanced at her friends and waited for them to nod. "Okay, but if you think about it, Hotch could probably do all of the above. He'd know what to do in any situation. Because, and this is the important part, he never gets flustered. Like ever." She paused and looked at her friends. "No seriously, have you ever seen him get flustered?"

JJ smiled softly. "I'd like to fluster him." She wiggled her brows. "He has extreme concentration; can you imagine what it would be like to have the focus leveled at you?"

Emily shared a grin with Garcia. "No, but obviously you have."

Picking up her drink, JJ nodded. "You're right, I have. A lot. Probably waaay more than I should."

"Oh my God. You're totally hot for Boss Man and you're totally admitting it." The admitting it part had taken both Pen and Em by surprise.

JJ giggled. "Yes, yes I am." She frowned and looked at her empty glass. "Hey, who drank my drink?"

Realizing the monumental-ness of the occasion Emily jumped up. "Holy shit, I'm on it! Hold that thought!" True to her word she came back with another round of drinks and a promise from the bartender to keep them coming.

"So Jayje, explain to us this fascination you have for our esteemed leader." Pen asked sliding a fresh drink in front of her.

JJ leaned forward for the drink and whispered, "Guys, I think I might be getting a little drunk."

"That, my sweet gumdrop, is the beauty of rum, now dish!"

After sipping at her drink she looked over at her friends. "Eh, what's to tell? I mean, seriously, you don't think he's dreamy? Hello, have you seen him in a pair of jeans?" She glanced at Pen, determined to hold her to her promise. "Because that, my friend, is when you should really be checking out his backside."

"I think he's attractive, but I don't know if dreamy is a term I would ever use to describe Aaron Hotchner." Emily sneered. "And if I had to pick one of the guys that I would want to do the horizontal hokey pokey with, I'm pretty sure it would be Morgan."

"HEY!" Garcia lowered her glass to the table. Then she grinned, "Although, I totally concur, very nice choice. I'll give even go so far as to admit that I've wondered about Reid. You know, he's probably studied it thoroughly and has a full process." She snorted. "Plus I think being that he is a good student, so he could be taught to do all the stuff that I specifically like."

Both Emily and JJ laughed out loud at that statement. Before Emily breathed, "I just want to see Derek naked; he really wears those tee shirts." She rubbed her finger across the top of her glass. "I just want to know what he looks like under the wrapping." She sighed again dreamily before adding. "What about Rossi? He is considered the lothario of the FBI." She hesitated merely a split second before adding. "I'd probably do him."

Looking at the two of them like they'd lost their minds JJ asked incredulously. "So let me make sure I'm getting this right, neither of you have ever imagined getting naked and sweaty with Hotch?" Then she scoffed. "That's just crazy! You both need to have your eyes checked."

"Yeah, like if we had we'd admit it to you now that we know you're in love with him! We've both seen you with a gun. Which, btw you're still wearing." Garcia retorted, causing Emily to let out a peel of laughter.

"Whatever. I never said I was in love with him." JJ argued. "But come on, Rossi is old enough to be my dad, and Spence is like a younger brother." She shivered for effect. "Oh, I'll grant you that Morgan is pretty to look at but jeez, I have a feeling he'd expect a thank you in the morning."

"I think he'd probably have earned it." Emily responded laughingly. "JJ, why in the world haven't you made a play for Hotch? You're both single. Maybe you aren't in love with him." Here Emily pierced her with a look that said she wasn't exactly buying that fact. "But," she continued, "You are obviously ridiculously hot for him." She looked over at Penelope. "Did we know this? How did we not know this?" Then back at JJ. "How long have you felt like this?"

JJ twisted the glass in her hands and mumbled honestly. "I think since probably the minute I stepped in the BAU and saw him."

Penelope's mouth dropped completely stunned by the admission. "Oh my goodness. He was married you hussy!"

JJ flushed, "I know, and he was such an awesome husband. No offense to Haley but what was she thinking? He was completely devoted to her." She shrugged, more than a little embarrassed by her confession. "I didn't want to have an affair with him or anything like that, but I was extremely envious of her."

"Um, she died Jayje."

"I know, and that is totally, incredibly sad but before that she divorced him!" Her tone was incredulous. "He was out saving the world and being awesome and she divorced him."

"There was probably a little more to it than that." Emily interjected.

"Maybe." She pushed her now empty glass away. She knew, logically, that there was more to it than that but she had always felt a little bit defensive of their Unit Chief.

"You know, sometimes it just seems like it's him against the world. He puts so much on himself and no one seems to care." It sincerely broke her heart and made her angry. "Elle blamed him for getting shot and not having her back. Like it was his fault! Then when we did what we had to because of Doyle everyone lashed out at him for not letting them in on the secret. Like that was something we wanted to do!" She said to Prentiss then interrupted Garcia before she had a chance to protest. "Oh, I get it, we lied, but there was a reason. A very good reason." She glanced pointedly at Emily. "Don't even get me started on Foyet. Again, that was so not Hotch's fault." She nodded her thanks as the bartender placed another drink in front of her. "He does so much and he deserves to be appreciated for it."

The tone of the evening had changed quickly from fun and flirty to a little somber. Emily and Penelope exchanged surprised glances at the emotion their friend just shared both wondering how long this had been buried in the too private blonde. "Jayje, are you sure that you're not in love with Hotch?" Emily queried.

JJ shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to put a name to the emotion she felt for Aaron Hotchner.

"Sunshine is Hotch the reason that you and Will split?" Although they were the very best of friends neither Emily nor Penelope pushed JJ for answers when she had told them that they had decided to divorce shortly after they had married.

JJ sighed heavily and took a large gulp of her drink; for a moment it didn't appear that she was going to answer Pen's question. "No. I love Will, and for a while I was in love with him, but the reality is we were just two very different people and we wanted different things. He thought when I said 'I do' that I would be ready to quit the BAU and settle down find a job with a more tradition schedule and pop out another two , maybe three kids. When he realized that wasn't what I wanted he asked for a divorce."

Pen's mouth dropped. "He asked for the divorce?"

Emily reached over and squeezed her friend's hand. "Oh Jay, I'm so sorry." She took a sip of her refreshed drink and sat back in the booth and looked at her friend with narrowed eyes. Why shouldn't her friend have the happiness she deserved? "You know, you and Hotch really do have a lot in common."

Nodding her head in agreement Garcia quickly caught on to Emily's line of thought and started listing exactly what they had in common. "You're both disgustingly dedicated."

"No more so than the rest of the team."

Conceding that point, Garcia continued. "Okay, but you are both workaholics, when the rest of us are ready to call it a day the two of you have just hit your stride. You're both single."

"The entire team is single." JJ scoffed.

"You both are single parents." Penelope raised a brow at her knowing she couldn't challenge that factoid. "You're both incredibly fit and attractive."

"Seriously Pen, point out the uggo on the team?" JJ smirked. "I'm sorry, what, you can't?"

"I think what our friend is politely trying to point out is you and Hotch would probably be very compatible."

"Oh my God, can you just imagine the babies?"

JJ choked on her drink. "Whoa. While that's all nice in fantasy land let's not forget that he is also my boss. Therefore none of this could actually happen. Jesus, how the heck did we end up here?" She asked referring to the vein of the conversation.

Emily grinned, "Easy, with each drink your obsession with Hotch came shining through. I don't know how you manage to function around him when you are consistently undressing him with your eyes."

"Eh, I'm passed undressing him, I just imagine him naked all the time now." JJ joked.

Garcia chuckled. "You know, I bet the two of you could have a relationship and be completely discreet…"

"Sure, could you imagine JJ's evaluation?" Prentiss looked over and JJ and pretended to be Hotch, speaking in a deepened voice. "Baby, I'm going to need you to lift that skirt up and bend over my desk."

Groaning at the image JJ swatted at her. "Thanks for putting that in my head, you realize that I'm going to blush uncontrollably for the entire review now."

"Not to mention that you'll also be a little short of breath and wet." Penelope teased.

JJ flushed. "Yeah, probably."

"If you were in a relationship every time you'd go in his office I'd imagine you doing dirty things to him." Emily stopped, jaw dropping. "Oh gawd, I'm going to imagine that now! I can't undo this." She rubbed her temples as if she were trying to erase the image.

"How is this different from you wanting to see Morgan naked, or doing Rossi?"

"That was just hypothetical. Like if all the planets aligned or it was the end of the world and we were the only two people left kind of scenario. You, however, are completely different. You are in love with Hotch!"

"What! No, I'm not. Jeesh, who's the parrot now?" She scoffed. "I just find him attractive, forget I said anything. Please."

"Oh, Sugar Plum, you are officially the Queen of Denial."

JJ turned on Garcia. "Why? How is this any different than your infatuation with your Chocolate Adonis?"

"Oh sweetie, I love Derek Morgan, he is truly a bright spot in my world. But at the end of the day it is just a harmless flirtation."

Emily looked at Penelope trying to gauge if she truly meant what it was she was saying. "So, if someone were to ask Morgan out you wouldn't be offended or hurt?"

Garcia just rolled her eyes at her. "God, go for it already." She turned her focus back on JJ. "Now, missy, let's get back to you…"

"Seriously Pen you're making more out of this than you should."

"Eight years, Peaches."

"Yes, but…"

Emily looked up from watching them volley back and forth just in time to see Rossi, Morgan and the object of their conversation walk through the bar doors. "Uh, guys?" The men's eyes alighted on the group in the corner in an obviously animated discussion as they made their way towards them.

"I don't know how you can think feelings that haven't gone away for eight years can just be ignored."

"Why can't we just let this go, I've obviously had too much to drink, we can forget I said anything." JJ whined.

"JJ, Pen."

"I can't just forget it Jayje, I don't think you can either."

"I think I can, I've lived happily for the past several years without any problem."

"How can you say that? Why do you think you and Will wanted different things? Uh duh, of course, you wanted different things, you wanted Ho…."

"PEN!"

Both ladies stopped just as the men reached their table. Garcia's eyes huge and JJ's face beet red. "Gentlemen, what brings you here?"

"Pretty sure the same thing that brought you, Baby Girl." Morgan tilted his head wondering what they had just interrupted.

JJ scooted to the end of the booth. "I, uh, need a drink."

Rossi raised a brow, "you've got an almost full one in front of you, Jen."

"Yeah, no more alcohol for me." She started to stand, forgetting that her purse was at her feet and fell directly into Hotch's body causing both Emily and Penelope to dissolve into a fit of laughter.

"Are you okay?" Hotch helped her regain her balance, keeping hold of her arms not sure if she was steady to stand on her own.

"I'm fine." She couldn't meet his eyes. "That is, unless it is possible to die of embarrassment."

Rossi scoffed. "You probably made Hotch's week, he's usually good at deflecting come-ons. Good for you for not giving him a choice."

JJ's eyes popped open and up to Hotch's as the blood drained from her face. "I tripped; I wasn't coming on to you." God, she hoped they hadn't overheard the conversation they had been having before the men joined them.

Hotch winked at her and taking the hands that remained on her upper arms rubbed them gently. "Relax JJ, that's Dave lame attempt at humor, unfortunately he forgets that he's the only one that thinks he's funny. Sit back down and tell me what you want." He glanced over at Prentiss who had overheard his comment and snorted, erupting into a new fit of laughter. "How much have you ladies had?"

"Obviously way too much." JJ glared over at the two fools she called her friends. "Can you get me a cup of coffee and a glass of water, please?" Although his mere presence had already had her sobering up a bit. Please God, if she could only make it out of there tonight without making a complete fool of herself.

Sooner than she could have expected Hotch was back with her drinks as well as one for himself and Rossi and Morgan.

"This is nice we should make a rule that we always have a drink together following a case." Rossi took a sip of his scotch. "Sometimes it helps to just let it all go."

Waking in the morning she didn't recall whose idea quarters had been but considering the fact that her boss was lying in the bed beside her there was a pretty good chance that she had lost badly. Or won greatly depending on your interpretation. How in the name of all that was holy was she going to get out of this?

"I know you're awake, JJ." Hotch propped his head on his elbow and looked down at her.

JJ opened her eyes and realized all of her imaginations didn't come close to measuring up to the real deal. And she hadn't even seen below the waist. "Hi." She smiled, timidly. "Uh, how did we end up here?"

The smile on Hotch's face slipped. "Shit. You don't remember?"

JJ tried to shake her head and grimaced. "I vaguely remember someone suggesting quarters." She blushed as flashes of images of the two of them intertwined, fused together popped into her head.

"God damn it! I knew I should have left last night, I told you that we needed to slow down. You told me that…" He stopped, "I'm sorry, I had more than I should have last night as well and you were, well let's just say you were very persuasive. Not that I needed a lot of convincing." Guilt flushed his cheeks, making him even more endearing. He ran his hand over his face. "I'm not sure sorry can even cover it."

So the images weren't a dream? Oh. Wow. "So we…"

"Had sex? Yeah." He nodded before adding. "The fact that you don't remember anything isn't very encouraging." At her questioning look he continued. "I haven't since…"

JJ's brow furrowed wondering what he might be trying to tell her. "Oh. Oh!" He hadn't had sex since his split from Haley.

"Exactly."

Her slim arm reached out from underneath the covers and her hand grasped his. "If I thought movement was at all possible I would suggest that you refresh my memory. " She blushed as she smiled up at him. "Hotch, I have images but I thought it was a dream." A really, really good dream.

"You don't have to assuage my conscience, JJ. I should have listened to my head last night not my…"

"I might not recall exactly what happened, yet." She interrupted.

"Or anything that happened." Hotch countered.

"But I do know that I wanted it to happen." JJ admitted before asking bravely. "Did I enjoy it?" God, how embarrassing to have to ask that!

He chuckled and blushed and she was reminded once again how handsome she found him. "The fact that you have no memory of it makes me question it, but last night you gave every indication that you did." He brushed a strand of hair off of her face. The small gesture had her heartbeat kicking up.

"And you?" She whispered, biting her bottom lip.

"Are extremely sorry that you are suffering a hangover." His hand caressed the side of her face. "I'm fairly certain that you are addictive, and I'm not even close to being done with you." He tried to read her reaction and couldn't. "Is that going to be a problem?"

She started to reply just as the phone began to ring. "JJ? Pick up the phone Buttercup. I need details! Did Boss Man see you home safely?" She snorted. "I just bet he did! Where are you? Why are you not answering? Oh my gee, is he there? He's there isn't he? I knew it! I knew it…"

"Are you going to pick up your phone or do you want to answer your door when Pen arrives in twenty minutes?" Hotch asked over Garcia's rambling.

"Honestly I'm really afraid if I move my head it may fall off."

"Whew, and here I thinking you might be worried that there was only one sheet left on the bed and if you were to move one of us would end up exposed." His grinned widened at her telltale blush. "If it helps, I might not have an eidetic memory like Reid but I have pretty good recall of what exactly that sheet is hiding."

"Hotch!"

"You called me Aaron last night." He winked, before moving to the side of the bed. "You might want to close your eyes bashful I'm getting out of bed. I need to find my clothes." He sat up and moved slightly towards the edge of the bed.

"Try the living room." JJ's jaw dropped and her eyes popped wide open as she turned to look at Hotch who had stopped moving at her suggestion. "Oh my God! Persuasive? I threw myself at you!" The alcohol fog was lifting as she had a clear image of launching herself at Hotch as he escorted her into her home. "I launched a full frontal attack."

"Let's just say the alcohol gave us the freedom to let go of our inhibitions and give in to what we both wanted." Hotch smirked.

His comment triggered another memory. David Rossi had cornered her while they were getting ready to leave saying almost the same thing verbatim. "I see Dave spoke to you as well."

Hotch just shrugged. "It was good advice. Life is too short. I want to be happy. I want to be with someone who makes me happy."

"And you think that's me?" The sheer idea of it thrilled her as much as it astounded her.

"Yeah, I do." His look was conveying the same message.

JJ had a clear vision of them undressing one another in her living room, and of what she did once he was fully unclothed. "I made you happy last night." This time it was a statement, not a question.

Hotch chuckled. "Several times. I'd like to think we made each other happy. Let me know when you remember everything if there is anything you want to reenact."

Hotch turned around again intent on leaving and giving her the space that she needed. JJ stared at the strong line of his back. He truly was a beautiful man. "Hey Aaron, do you think you could slide back over here?"

His head whipped around. "What about your head?"

She smiled, lifting the sheet to welcome him back. "I'm willing to risk it if you are."

Thank you for taking the time to read. Constructive criticism welcome. I'm a newbie, so please be kind. :)