Playing Games by JuliaBC

"I talked to Alex," Reid told JJ casually, just dropping it into the conversation one day. "I told her you were expecting. She sends her best wishes."

Astounded, JJ actually stopped walking. "I forgot to tell her myself, didn't I?" She asked, looking troubled. "How could I have forgotten?"

"It's been a busy few weeks," Reid said, gently and briefly touching her arm so she'd start walking again. "I'm not surprised you forgot."

"But Alex...I'd hate for her to think that I've forgotten her," JJ said. "Even though I did just that."

"It was okay," Reid said. "And...Alex said she'd like to drive down this weekend."

"That's eight hours," JJ emphasized. "Was she serious?"

Reid pushed his messenger bag strap higher up on his shoulder. "Yeah, she was. She wants to see how we survived a year without her. She wants to make sure we are still surviving. Emily would do the same, but she's really busy."

"I know," JJ sighed. "I called her, the day I actually had a doctor check it...I'd only done the test when you figured it out, you minx. Hey, Spence, you knew about it before that, didn't you? On the plane...and I was only just beginning to have an inkling."

"What can I say, I know my friends," Reid replied. "And I know that you normally would never vocalize food cravings. It's only when you're menstruating or pregnant. And I knew that it was too soon for you to have your period."

JJ was even more astounded. "Good god, Spence. You keep track of these things?"

"It's my memory," Reid protested. "There are certain, sometimes subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle, shifts in a woman when she's on her period, that even some clueless men can see. Emily, for instance, ate a boatload of chocolate when it was her time of the month."

"Emily always ate a boatload of chocolate," JJ said. "What I mean is, I think that was just an excuse. She seemed to breeze through her periods." She got a funny look on her face. "I cannot believe that you are the person I am having this conversation with."

"Periods exist!" Reid said. "They shouldn't be shoved into dark corners, like they're only something to embarrass and inconvenience women!"

"How do you know when I'm on my period, Spence?" JJ asked, a suspicious tone in her voice.

"Ah, as I was saying," Reid said. "You are much more subtle than Emily. But I think we all notice it, because you just walk a little slower and get this dazed look on your face sometimes."

"This is a very interesting conversation," JJ said, an even stranger tone in her voice now. "What about Garcia? Seaver? Jordan Todd. We were just talking about her—Alex!"

"They all have tells," Reid said, not noticing or simply ignoring how disturbed JJ was at this point. "Garcia I cheat with. She always takes a blend of tea called Moon Cycle. And that isn't hard for anyone to deduce. Jordan straight out gave up and left work for a massage, and she only had one while she was here. I think she had really bad cramps."

JJ was nodding along.

"Seaver..." Reid's face turned a light pink.

"Now you're embarrassed?" JJ asked.

"She got backaches," Reid said. "One case she just snapped and Hotch sent her back to the hotel. And Rossi sent some tylenol to her. She made it through. Now Alex. She had it worst: backaches and cramps. And migraines, really vicious migraines every month. That first case we were on, she got them really bad and I got her some tylenol, which masked the problem." He smiled. "Otherwise, I'm not sure Hotch would have let her join the team permanently. It was bad, before I got her it."

JJ burst out laughing and slung her arm around Reid. "You never cease to amaze me, Spence," she said. "Okay, so far we've covered Alex visiting and the teams' collective menstrual cycles. Now what? Hey, what about Kate?"

Reid bit his lip. "She got horny," he said, flat out. "Always left work early. You know, some women would never even consider sexual intercourse on their period, but for some select women, it's what they want. Oh, and did you know that with women who live together, their menstrual cycles will eventually coordinate?"

"How much reading did you do on the subject?" JJ asked. "And why?"

"Maybe because I've always felt slightly guilty that men have no equivalent," Reid said. "Come on. Kate's waiting for us."

They walked into the hospital, where an exhausted Kate lay on the bed.

"How are you?" JJ asked, darting forward.

"They tried to send me home," Kate said. "But I refused to get up off of the bed."

"False labor is a bitch," JJ said.

"You can say that again," Kate said.

"Where are Chris and Meg?" JJ asked. "Did you send them home already?"

Kate grinned. "Yes, but they refused to go. They're down in the cafeteria now; you just missed them, actually."

Reid's eyebrow hiked up. "Oh?"

"Anyway, he doesn't want to come out yet," Kate said. "And I'm too tired to leave."

"Your hatred of hospitals, overcome by one baby?" Reid joked.

"I know," Kate said, gritting her teeth. "Thanks for coming, you really didn't have to."

"That's okay, we had a really illuminating conversation on our way over her," JJ said, shooting a glance at Reid that made him laugh. "And Penelope would have come, but she got swamped."

"Understandable," Kate said.

"We came prepared, too," Reid said. "JJ brought the cards from Trivial Pursuit to take your mind off of things."

"Ooh, really?" Kate asked, perking up a bit.

"Yeah, we have about half an hour," JJ said. "Which should enough time to play a few rounds. The first person to ten points?"

She withdrew the deck from her purse, settling into one of the armchairs the room had. Reid's only option was a very uncomfortable looking folding chair; he stayed standing.

"Okay," JJ began. "This is for Kate. What nationality was Chopin?"

"Give me a doozy, why don't you?" Kate said. "Oh. Um. Germanic, so...Swedish?"

"Polish," Reid answered and JJ just shot him a look.

"Spence, what's the best known artificial international language?" JJ said. "Get this one."

"Esperanto, of course," Reid said. He swiped the deck from JJ. "JJ, Who lived at 221B, Baker Street, London?"

"Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Hamish Watson," JJ said. At Kate's puzzled glance, she shrugged.

"What's with the Hamish?" Kate asked.

"Emily got me hooked on the BBC's Sherlock," JJ said. "And it's a factor in one of the mysteries." She took the deck back from Reid, then separated it into two. "Now we both have some cards. Okay, Kate. Who cut off Van Gogh's ear?"

"He did," Kate said. "Which I cannot fathom."

"Yeah," JJ said. "Spence, where did Salvador Dali live?"

"Figueras," Reid said. "He's such a fascinating character. And for you, JJ. What Spanish artist said he would eat his wife when she died?"

"DO NOT tell me," JJ said, immediately clapping her hands over her ears. "I will take it as a fail, but do not give me the answer to that question."

Reid just laughed.

Kate lay on the bed, looking both repulsed and amused. "There's no combination like you two," she said. "Even Derek and Penelope can't match you."

"No, they can't," Reid said. "Though we would've gotten an even better reaction from Garcia to that question."

A/N: If you're curious, Reid won, then JJ, then Kate. Of course.

I've found that I love to write Jeid (strictly friendship, though.)

And yes, the period talk was inspired by Kiran Gandhi running a 5k without a tampon to shed light on the subject. Go Kiran! (That's something I, someone who runs 5ks, would never dare do.) What an amazing person :)

The questions were taken from classicweb . com