Disclaimer: I swear on my CM DVDs to return CBS's toys in the same condition as they were when I borrowed them.

A/N: I have to thank Jekkah and whimsical-one for their encouragement with this story; I am in your debt ladies. Jekkah, I hope this improves your mood.

With Aaron fresh off of a short case and resting up for the race the next day, Beth decided to join her friend Sue at a local club the night before the triathlon, a new place that just recently opened downtown. Halfway through her second Cosmopolitan, her attention was drawn to a group of women coming through the door, laughing and drawing the attention of half the men in the room. She admitted they made a striking group: a blonde, a brunette and a redhead, dressed for dancing and obviously out for a girls' night. She allowed her eyes to follow them to the bar when she recognized the blonde from the news: it was Aaron's teammate, JJ. Which of course meant that the other two were probably Prentiss and Garcia; the redhead was just as flamboyant as Aaron had described her to be. Once they'd gotten their drinks, they just so happened to settle in at the table just behind her and Sue. Though she knew it was rude to eavesdrop, she couldn't resist the opportunity to learn more about the people Aaron worked with. So, with one ear and a portion of her attention on what Sue was drunkenly rambling about, she settled in to listen to the trio behind her.

Their talk about the samba class they'd just come from didn't interest her much, nor did the revelation that Garcia has placed a couple of 'nanny-cams' in JJ's house so they could see how Reid handled baby-sitting JJ's son, though the idea had the three women in hysterics for some reason. However, the mention of Reid soon led to talk of their other teammates, which definitely interested her. After some gushing from Garcia over Morgan's good looks and a bit of teasing for Prentiss about Rossi, it soon became apparent to Beth, even without looking at them, that the two women were doing their level best to get JJ roaring drunk. The reason for that soon became apparent when, seemingly out of nowhere the conversation turned to JJ's relationship, with Prentiss asking about her boyfriend's out-of-town trip over the past week. JJ scoffed at that and brushed her off, saying things were fine but even to Beth her tone wasn't exactly convincing. Her suspicions were confirmed a few minutes later when Prentiss passed through her line of vision on her way to the bar for more shots and Garcia spoke up behind her.

"You know Peaches, you're going to have to tell them sometime. You can't hide the breakup forever. They're going to figure it out."

That brought a huff from JJ, "Damn profilers," which only made Garcia laugh.

"You're one yourself now Gumdrop, so give it up. What happened? All you've told even me is that you broke up. So, tell me everything now, all of the details, or do so after several triple shots of Cuervo. It's your choice."

"I'll take the Cuervo first. Can we please change the subject?"

Prentiss came back to the table followed by a waiter with a full tray just in time to hear her comment and replied, "It's your hangover. So if we're not talking about you and Will, what other good gossip is there to talk about?"

Garcia's next giggled comment caused Beth to stiffen, though she knew that none of the women knew what she looked like, "How about the Boss-man; any word on how that new relationship of his is going?"

Prentiss scoffed at that, "How would I know? He doesn't talk about her at work."

"What about you JJ? I know you spoke to her at least once. Give!"

A chair scraped across the floor as Prentiss apparently turned hard to glare at her friend, "You never told me that! Start talking Blondie!"

A groan and a thump followed; apparently JJ decided to try and ignore her friends by dropping her head to the table. When it became obvious that the effort was futile, Beth heard a glass clink and a groan, "Geez, I don't know much more than you two. I know they've been to dinner a couple of times and that Hotch asked her to take care of Jack's kitten for a few days when we were on a case. That's all."

"So why was she calling you?"

"Apparently Nuit got sick and she needed the vet's name. It was that case where we were out in the boondocks a couple of weeks ago. His phone was out of range and apparently Hotch gave her my number as an alternate in case she needed to reach him."

"Damn, I don't envy you. Why is it you always end up being the go-between? First Haley, now the girlfriend?"

Garcia's comment piqued Beth's curiosity; she knew Haley was the name of Aaron's late wife. JJ had been the one she'd contacted as well when she couldn't reach him? Why? Her answer came from JJ a moment later, "You know why Pen; I'm the one who always had to know where everyone was. It was part of my job. It was logical." Garcia's opinion of that response was an indelicate snort that had Prentiss laughing her head off before asking, "That still doesn't explain why you're the only one other than Rossi who knew for sure that he was dating. Or that you knew the vet's name for that matter."

"He told me." Now that was a surprise to Beth as well as the other two women, who demanded further explanation, "He told me a couple of weeks ago about Beth when we took the boys to the park. As for the cat, I'm the one they dragged to the shelter to pick it out with them. You wouldn't believe how hard it was convincing Henry that he couldn't have one too."

"And since when do you and Hotch take the boys to the park together Miss JJ? Or pet shopping for that matter?" Thank you Garcia; she'd like to know the answer to that as well.

"It started last year after I transferred; the boys always like playing together and I missed talking to him. We've been friends for a long time, you know that. And then it made for a convenient way to discuss your situation Em." The women fell silent for a few moments before JJ continued, "And now with Hotch covering Strauss's job and training for the triathlon, I occasionally take Jack on the weekends to give Jess a break. Henry and I met them at the park the other week and I took the boys to the zoo afterwards."

"Does that mean that he knows about Will as well?"

"Penelope!"

"JJ, what about Will? Start talking, now." Prentiss sounded ticked now and even though Beth was burning for more answers regarding Aaron's friendship with his coworker, she found herself morbidly drawn into the drama playing out behind her.

"We broke up, alright? We were having problems even before I went over to the DoD and coming back to the BAU was the last straw. I told you weeks ago that it was a long story Em. He's looking at apartments in D.C. this weekend; he's joined the DCPD and is moving closer to work. That's why I had to ask Spence to baby-sit. Will is taking Henry next weekend." There was a pause before Beth heard a glass thunk down on the tabletop; the blonde was quite obviously not happy about this turn in the conversation.

"Why didn't you tell us? I heard you tell Morgan that you two had plans for Valentine's the other week."

"Obviously, I lied. I didn't want everyone coddling me or giving me pitying looks. I'm doing fine; it was pretty much over for us before I transferred anyways. I was just trying to make it work out for Henry's sake."

"So who's taking Henry during cases?"

"Jess watches him for me during the day and Pen's been taking him at night when we're away." This brought another exclamation of outrage from the brunette, directed at the redhead this time.

"Penelope, you should have told me!"

"She swore me to secrecy!"

"Bullshit!" A pause, then, "Wait a minute, Jess is keeping him during the day? That means Hotch knew about it too! And you didn't tell me?"

"You've had enough going on Em. I didn't want to worry you." JJ's voice sounded slightly slurred now; apparently, the other two women's goal of getting their friend completely sloshed was nearly met, "Can we please drop it now? We're supposed to meet the guys at the finish line tomorrow and I really want to just enjoy this evening. Please?"

"Sure Peaches, we'll leave it alone…for now." The three women were quiet for several minutes, before moving on to more mundane topics. The change in conversation let Beth refocus on her own companion and she realized that Sue had pretty much passed out at the table. Deciding to leave, she finished her drink and roused her friend enough to call a cab to get them home. She'd learned a lot more about Aaron and his team tonight, but she wasn't sure that she liked what she'd learned. Maybe that old phrase about eavesdropping was true after all…you never heard anything good when you did it.