Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, no copyright infringement is intended

A/N: Hi everybody, here's the third installment of the trilogy. Hope you enjoy it.

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"Baseball!" Reid said as he put down the consult he was reading. "What are you talking about?" The group was gathered around their desks in the bullpen taking a few minutes break and shooting the breeze.

"Somebody," JJ waved her hand around, "Nobody knows who, decided to organize a tournament for all the departments and I think the marines are putting a team in too. We couldn't very well say no. It's all for charity."

"Yeah, so we're just trying to figure out who our ninth player is going to be," Morgan explained. "There's us seven and Anderson's in so we just need one more player."

"When was all this decided," Reid asked?

Emily laughed, "When you were away frolicking in Canada."

Frolicking, Reid thought of the frigid waters of the Kicking Horse River and the rescue of Megan Gautier. That was the last term he would have used. But there were other times…

"Reid," Morgan snapped his fingers in front of the young profiler's face and Reid jumped out of his reverie. "Are you listening to us? What about Allie," Morgan asked?

"Allie?"

"Yeah, for our ninth player," Emily said.

"Well, she just had surgery a little while ago so I don't…What do you mean ninth player? You guys, that's six, then Anderson is seven," Reid responded. "You need two more players."

"Reid, oh my God, when have you started having trouble with math?" JJ held up her hand and started counting off on her fingers. "Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, Emily, Garcia, you, me and Anderson, eight," she proclaimed.

"Just a minute JJ, I'm not playing baseball," Reid retorted loudly.

"Of course you're playing Reid." Morgan told him. "You're a part of this team so you're part of our team."

"Morgan," Reid said quietly so as not to be heard by everyone. "I don't play baseball."

"Reid," Morgan boomed as Reid squinted his eyes closed and gritted his teeth. "Everyone plays baseball."

"Not me," Reid stated matter of factly.

"Reid, I know it's been a long time since little league," Emily added. "It has for all of us. You don't have to be Babe Ruth or anything."

"Look guys, maybe we shouldn't pr…" JJ started when Reid erupted.

"Why will none of you ever understand? There was no little league for me. When kids my age were playing baseball, I was in my room studying subjects like advanced physics and calculus, meant for students much older than me. My mother needed me. I couldn't just run off to play baseball. Yes, we had baseball teams at my school but they were made up of kids five or six years older than me. When I sat in class, the desks were made for adult sized people and my feet didn't even touch the floor. I was excused from physical education because the equipment was too big for me and the boys were too rough. I've," Reid whispered the next words as if it was some horrifying admission, "Never played baseball." He grabbed his empty coffee cup and headed for the break room.

"That went well," Emily said sarcastically.

"Well, if he won't play," Garcia raised her right hand like she was taking an oath. "I vote for not putting together a team. If we all play and he doesn't, it'll just be one more time he's shut out."

"Maybe we just need to think of a better way to convince him, something cerebral," Emily suggested.

Everyone had dispersed when Reid arrived back at his desk, JJ and Garcia had returned to their offices while Morgan and Prentiss were at their desks working on their own consults. No one spoke to him as he sat at his desk and delved, once again, into the problems of a frazzled detective named Roscoe Fines from Tempe, Arizona. He stood after a few minutes and headed for Garcia's office. He knocked softly on the door. "Enter ye who seek the truth," Garcia called from inside her lair.

"Hi Garcia," Reid said as he entered. "I'm wondering if you could look up everything you can find on these three women." He handed the computer tech a piece of paper. "And could you get me a map of Tempe from Apache Boulevard to East University Drive east of Price Freeway," he added.

"Sure sweet thing, sit down and I'll have that for you right away." Her fingers flew over the keys and her babies went to work finding all there was to know about the three dead women in Tempe.

Reid sat in the chair and said nothing for several minutes. There was no sound in the room except for Garcia's fingers tapping the keyboard, playing a melody as deftly as any concert pianist. When he could stand the silence no longer, he spoke. "Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?" She never took her eyes off the screen and her fingers continued to tap on the keys.

"You know, because of the baseball game." He didn't look at her but down at his hands resting on his lap.

Garcia's fingers stilled on the keyboard. "No, I'm not mad at you sweet boy, a little disappointed, maybe."

"But Garcia, I…" Garcia put her hand over his mouth.

"None of us are going to be great, well maybe Morgan and JJ, they're both athletic, and probably Hotch because, well, he's never bad at anything. I'm likely going to look like a fool but you know what, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we go out there and have some fun and the team won't have as much fun if you're missing. I was going to suggest voting to not put in a team if you wouldn't play."

"No Garcia," Reid protested, "You shouldn't do that!"

"No," she agreed, "We shouldn't. I just didn't want you feeling left out like you did when you were a kid. But if we don't put a team in, who suffers, our charity."

"What is the charity," Reid asked?

"Each team got to pick their own and half of the proceeds of each game will go to each team. So it doesn't matter if we win or lose, our charity still gets half the money."

"That's really great Garcia," Reid replied. "What charity did you guys pick?"

"The Schizophrenia Research Fund."

The room was silent as Reid stared at Garcia, tears welling up in his eyes. "Garcia," he choked out, "I…I don't…"

"Baby boy, we love you and we all know how heavily your Mom's affliction weighs on you. So we thought that if we could help, that if we did something then maybe your babies and grandbabies might not have to worry."

"I don't know what to say Garcia," he uttered as he looked at the face of his dear friend but her expression told him and he choked out the only thing he could, "I'll play." Garcia printed out the information he needed and he headed back to his desk.

Garcia smiled when the door closed and said to herself, "You were wrong Emily, with Reid you don't go for something cerebral, you just aim for that great big heart."