Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.

Calling all CM readers and authors! Join us for our first Profiler's Choice CM Awards on Fanfiction. net! Help us choose the best of the best of the CM stories on ff. net, and let your voice be heard. Anyone with a ff. net account is eligible to nominate. Please check out the nominating ballot and rules at Chit Chat on Author's Forum at http:/ forum. fanfiction. net/topic/74868/30888142/1/. All rules and information are on the forum.

"So who's next?" Derek asked mischievously.

"I'll go," JJ volunteered. "Here's my information. One, I never wanted to have kids. Two, I can tie a knot in a cherry stem with my tongue. Three, I loved life in a small town."

There was a minute of silence before Dave broke it. "Is it a new policy that female agents have to be orally proficient?" He asked Hotch, imagining JJ's tongue tricks. "And if it is, why the hell didn't I know about it?"

Hotch, who was just as shocked as his best friend, shook his head. "I'm just as surprised as you are!"

Reid swallowed hard, "I think number one is the lie, you're too good with Henry not to have wanted kids." Derek nodded his agreement with the genius, while Emily shook her head.

"I think number two is the lie," she said confidently. "You like the big city too much."

Garcia shook her head, "Number three is the lie; I've been to too many bars with you and I know you would have used that trick before." Hotch and Dave wouldn't even hazard a guess at this one, in the interest of sparing themselves sexual harassment training…well, another sexual harassment training in Dave's case.

JJ grinned, "Garcia was right, number three was the lie; it just sounded so cool when you said it, Emily."

Everyone laughed and then Spencer agreed to go next. "Here are my truths and a lie. One, I know where Gideon is and we talk a couple of times a year. Two, I once failed a math test in college. Three, as a kid, I was on Teen Jeopardy."

Derek didn't need a minute to think about his answer, "Number two has to be the lie! Can anyone see Reid flunking anything?"

Everyone except Rossi agreed with Derek. "Number one is the lie," he said confidently.

"How did you know?" Spencer asked him, a little surprised that the older agent was able to read him so well.

"Because I actually do talk to Gideon a couple of times a year and he's never mentioned keeping in contact with you," Rossi told him gently.

"Oh," Reid said, trying to process what Rossi had just told him.

"Wait, you failed a math test in college?" Derek couldn't believe it.

Spencer nodded, "I was twelve and my mom was in one of her funks. I thought if I failed a test, it would bring her out of it, at least enough to get mad at me, but it didn't work."

There was silence until Penelope spoke up, "How did we not know you were a contestant on Teen Jeopardy?"

The young genius winced; he really wished he hadn't told them that. "Because I pulled Cindy Brady and lost badly." Most of the agents knew what he meant and began laughing, but he had to explain it to Rossi. "Once the cameras turned on, I froze."

"I am SO finding that episode on Youtube!" Garcia cackled, while Reid turned red with embarrassment. He knew if anyone could find the episode, it would be their technical analyst.

Rossi smiled, "I guess I'm next." The rest of the team nodded, so he began to give his truths and a lie. "One, I'm allergic to dogs. Two, rumors of my debauchery back in the day have been greatly exaggerated. Three, I hate to fly."

"The dog thing is your lie," Emily said confidently, knowing the man had a big chocolate lab waiting for him at home.

JJ shook her head, "It has to be the exaggerated libido; I've heard rumors about the old David Rossi, and believe me, no one could keep up that pace without massive amounts of protein supplements and/or drugs." Everyone else agreed with JJ and Rossi finally nodded, but gave a sly grin.

"Actually the lie in number three is that the rumors haven't been exaggerated. If anything, people have been lowballing the numbers," he said wickedly.

Everyone groaned and laughed at this. "Wait," Emily said, "You're really allergic to dogs?"

Dave nodded, "I discovered that right after I adopted Mudgie, but by that time I had already bonded with him and there was no way I was going to give him up, so I take daily allergy medications."

"All that for a dog," Spencer said, shaking his head.

Garcia grinned at the exchange, and then turned to Hotch. "You're the last one, mon Capitan!" She told him.

"Okay," he said taking a deep breath. He knew he was taking a risk with his, but he needed to get it out in the open. "One, I've never dated a co-worker. Two, I took a woman's studies class in college and failed it. Three, I can cook just about anything."

"Number two is the lie," Garcia said. "Can you imagine the bossman failing anything?"

Spencer and Derek agreed with her, while JJ thought it was number two. Dave gave his boss a funny look and said number one was the lie, much to the amusement of his co-workers, and Emily abstained from giving her opinion. Instead she sat in her seat, looking unnaturally pale.

"Number one is the lie," Hotch told them and then waited for their reactions.

"You failed a woman's studies course Hotch?" Derek said, almost on the floor laughing.

Hotch gave a rueful grin, "Well, that class wasn't what I thought it would be about when I signed up for it."

Dave snorted while JJ marveled at the fact that her unit chief was a good cook. Finally he saw the light bulb go on in Garcia's head. "Wait, so you've dated a co-worker before?" She asked and he nodded. "Which one?" Garcia wanted details.

Not knowing what to say, he just looked at Emily, who gripped his hand and then cleared her throat. "Me," she said.

Once again there was silence, which Hotch broke. "Look guys, we didn't mean to deceive you, but we didn't want Strauss or anyone else breathing down our necks until we were sure it was going to work out."

"And is it working out?" Dave asked quietly.

Both Hotch and Emily nodded in unison, "It is Dave," Hotch told him. "I love her."

"And I love him," Emily said softly. She couldn't believe Aaron had done this. She had been pushing him for awhile to make their relationship public knowledge, but he'd been dragging his heels with it. She was happy he'd finally decided to share their happiness with the team.

"How long has it been going on?" Garcia asked.

"For about six months," Emily told her, feeling like a horrible friend for keeping this from her.

There was more silence, when suddenly Reid piped up, "I win!"

"Win, what do you mean you win?" Hotch asked, confused.

"I had six months in the betting pool. I'm just glad we played this stupid game, otherwise it might have gone to seven months."

"BETTING POOL?" Emily and Hotch shouted in unison.

"Yes, betting pool," Dave responded calmly. "You didn't really thing you could keep this a secret from us, did you? We all knew you both were meant for each other even before you knew it."

"So you guys don't have a problem with this?" Emily asked.

"Are you both happy?" Garcia inquired and both Hotch and Emily nodded their heads. "Then that's all that matters."

"If you want, I'll talk to some of my contacts in the director's office," Dave offered, "That way maybe you two won't get harassed over your relationship."

"Thanks Dave," Hotch said.

The various team members returned to their seats, their excess energy having been burned off. Once they were somewhat alone, Hotch squeezed Emily's hand and wrapped his arms around her. "If this is the result, I think I'm going to have to play these games more often," he told her, before bringing his lips down gently upon hers.

The End