CHESS

(Reid Series; fic #1)

SUMMARY: Gideon is trying to teach Reid how to 'think outside the box'. One way of doing this is by playing chess. All goes well until Reid loses one too many times and throws a bit of temper tantrum. Gideon is left to handle the 'boy genius'.

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Criminal Minds nor anything affiliated with the show or CBS…though a girl can dream! 

A/N: This is the first story in the Reid saga…please enjoy!

A/N2: Anything in the big quotes ("") is a direct quote from the episode "Compulsion". I am aware that some quotes are taken out of text…I did this on purpose!! Thank you for being so understanding!

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PROLOGUE:

Reid waited at his desk for Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Gideon before making his move. He stared at the chess board intently. It was almost ten minutes before Gideon came back. Reid made a move; proud of himself. Gideon didn't hesitate with his move.

"Check…Check mate in three moves," Gideon informed an astonished Reid.

"What?" Reid asked as he looked at the board before him. He really didn't like losing when it came to chess and to make matters worse he had yet to beat his superior in a game.

"You know, you'll beat him when you start learning." Teammate Derek Morgan said from his desk.

"Learning what?" asked a bewildered and slightly annoyed Reid.

"To think outside the box," Morgan answered.

Reid turned back to the game board. His concentration was interrupted when teammate Jennifer Jerue, JJ, came and introduced herself to new teammate Elle Greenway. Before he could look back at the board SSA Aaron Hotchner, Hotch, gathered the team for a new case…a serial arsonist at a college.

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The case was brutal…none of what the team had on arsonist seemed to play a factor into the case. Serial arsonists never leave a fire yet theirs did…so why did he leave?

"This isn't right!" Reid exclaimed.

"What the matter," Asked Gideon.

Reid turned to the older man, a frown on his face. He tried to calm himself down before answering the question.

"None of it adds up," Reid explained softly.

"Like what," Gideon replied.

"There seems to no reason for the arsonist to be starting the fires. Something's not right but I don't know what." Reid said frustrated.

"You have to think outside the box." Gideon smiled.

"Yeah…what does that mean?" Reid asked.

"It means sometimes the answer isn't in what you know; it's in what you don't know." Gideon explained.

"But in this situation what exactly is the box?" Reid asked trying not to show his frustration.

"The standard profile of a serial arsonist; if everything you know goes into the box what's left?" Gideon asked in his teaching voice.

Reid pondered the answer briefly. "What you don't know; the unknown."

Gideon nodded, "Sometimes you have to get creative. Even if you think it's utterly unlikely; you have to think of things that no else has thought of."

Reid sat and thought about he didn't know. After a few minutes he shook his head; there were too many things he didn't know.

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Gideon was in the science building, pondering the phone call the BAU had just gotten, when he came upon a bulletin board where the students had displayed the three body problem. (Don't ask me; I don't know…has to do with physics) He stared at the board, something drawing him to it.

A noise brought him out of his revere…it was a member of the school campus security. After talking to the boy for a bit, it hit Gideon just what it was that bothered him. He took off on a dead run.

"Caron; he said Caron not Karen," Gideon said as he sped into the room where the BAU team was hold up in.

Gideon looked at Reid, his eyes wide. Reid nodded his head as he spoke, "its Hebrew…"

Gideon nodded back, "…its god's burning anger."

The team all stood up and began speaking at once. "So it's a religious thing?" Elle asked.

"Do not jump to conclusions. Religion might be part of it but it's not the main compulsion."

Elle and Morgan argued with Gideon for a moment; for them the situation called for jumping to conclusions…with the two deaths they were more then eager to end the fires. It wasn't that Gideon wasn't…he just knew better…they were missing something but he didn't know what.

Reid drifted away from the group, thinking, "compulsion…"

While the rest of team went out in search of answers Reid stayed in the room, looking at the tape of the fire that claimed its first victim. He watched as the unsub moved the door handle three times.

Unable to sit Reid walked up and down the room. After a few minutes he sat back down the monitor to watch the fire again. He was writing on a board when Gideon stuck his head in.

"Keep thinking; remember, it's just like chess. You can't just look one move ahead you have to think three moves ahead." Gideon left the room with those words.

Reid walked back and forth before grabbing his bag and heading out of the room to look at the places where the fires happened. He knew almost immediately what they had all missed. He ran back to the room where Hotch and Gideon were talking.

"I know why the profile never fits!" He exclaimed.

Hotch and Gideon sat upright, listening to the youngest member of the team explain his idea.

"The unsub starts the fires because of he suffers from an extreme manifestation of OCD…obsessive compulsive disorder." Reid focused on Gideon. "He does everything in threes and if I'm right…he'll have to kill again."

Reid started the tape of the first fire while he continued to explain, "There's actually a form of OCD where the person has an excessive fear of committing sin. He suffers so much anxiety that he feels compelled to do something to expel that anxiety…like setting fires.

"Where's the behavioral analysis?" Gideon asked.

"First there were three fires, now if you look at the tape you'll see that it looks like someone's trying to break into the room of the person taping…he's not. He's turning the knob three times because he feels compelled to. It's a trinity of threes Gideon. The first fire happened on March 3rd…3-3 at 3 pm. Everything has to do with three…from the fires to the victims. It all fits Gideon…if we were to look and dig we'd find threes every where."

Gideon nodded his head; he agreed with Reid. Hotch was obviously thinking when he frowned.

"What is it?" Gideon asked alarmed.

"I think I know who it might be. And it's not a he but a she." Hotch looked at Reid, "Clara Hayes. When we were talking with the physics students who solved how the arsonist set the bomb I noticed she turned her ring in three intervals of three. When she told us the ingredients for the bomb she said sugar three times."

"Find her," Gideon said harshly.

Reid called Morgan and Elle and explained what he knew. "Hotch and Gideon are already looking for her; you two are supposed to go to her apartment."

When the two got there they were shocked to discover just how right the youngest member of the team was. In the end it was Hotch who found Clara. She was holding three kids hostage. Not wanting to take a shot Hotch tried to talk her down to no veil. Gideon finally stepped in…sadly the shot had to be taken.

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The case had worn the team out. Though they had managed to save three lives it was the two deaths that stayed with them the longest. The two supervisors knew that the team was anxious to get home but as it was late, it was decided that instead they'd spend the night.

Reid was wide awake. The fact that it was his thoughts that had saved the day was new experience for him. He was so happy that when Gideon offered to sit in the lobby and play a game of chess with him, he quickly agreed.

The game started at a slow pace, one that Gideon had set; after a few moves though it was clear to him that Reid was now taking risks. He tried to warn the younger man to take his time but Reid wouldn't listen.

Gideon understood how Reid was feeling so he tried to be patient and hold back. After Reid started gloating though, he'd had enough.

"Check mate," Gideon declared.

Reid looked at the board astonished, "You cheated!"

"Reid…" Gideon started.

"NO!" Reid yelled as he swiped his hand across the board, sending chess pieces flying everywhere.

Gideon didn't have time to react before Reid knocked over the board itself. He suddenly stood and stormed away, running into, literally, Morgan and Hotch.

"Watch were you're going!" Reid snapped.

The two men could only stop and stare as the youngest member of the team stormed to the elevators. They walked over to Gideon.

"What was that about?" Morgan asked.

"He lost," Gideon explained.

Morgan looked to the elevators in confusion. He was brought back by Hotch's voice.

"You need to talk to him," Hotch said.

"I will…let's just get back home first." Gideon replied. Hotch started to speak but Gideon stopped him, "I understand that his behavior should be dealt with now Hotch but this is not the place."

Hotch nodded and together the three men went to the hotel's restaurant to eat. When they were done they all went to sleep. They were back in DC by the time the office opened the next day.

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Back at the office no one went home. There was paperwork to be done and new cases to be started. An hour later Reid was still storming around and snapping at people. Gideon had enough.

"Reid, come with me," he said sternly.

Scowling Reid did as he was told, not bothering to ask questions until they got into Gideon's car.

"Where are we going?" Reid demanded to know.

"I suggest that you keep your mouth shut. You'll find out soon enough," Gideon sternly replied.

It wasn't a long wait, only twenty minutes or so, before the two pulled up to an apartment complex. Reid knew immediately that it was Gideon's; his confusion could now actually be felt by the older man.

Gideon motioned for Reid to sit one couch while he pulled a chair up for himself.

"Care to explain what happened at the hotel?" Gideon asked.

Reid crossed his arms silently telling his superior he wasn't going to explain anything.

"You're in enough trouble as it is Spencer…talk to me." Gideon suggested.

When Reid still refused Gideon decided to help him along. Pulling the boy up Gideon took his spot on the couch. Before Reid could react the older man had pulled him across his lap and delivered two quick swats.

SWAT, SWAT "OW!" Reid yelped.

Reid instantly tried to get up but Gideon's hold was too strong for him to break.

"This is your last chance to explain yourself," Gideon warned. When Reid remained silent the older man sighed sadly but still raised his hand and brought it down…hard.

SWAT, SWAT "Your behavior reflects," SWAT, SWAT "not only you," SWAT, SWAT "but the BAU." SWAT, SWAT "I understand that you," SWAT, SWAT "are under extreme," SWAT, SWAT "pressure but you," SWAT, SWAT "will NOT," SWAT, SWAT "behave like that again." SWAT, SWAT "Do you," SWAT, SWAT "understand me?" SWAT, SWAT

"Y-yes, sir," Reid stammered through his tears.

Gideon stopped, pulled Reid up, and sat him on the cushion next to him. "Would you like to explain your behavior?" He asked.

"I don't know." Reid cried. "I just thought that…I mean since I…"

"Maybe you wanted to show everyone that you can help the team? And when no one noticed you thought you had to win at chess?" Gideon asked gently.

Reid nodded his head. "I just don't want anyone thinking that I can only spew facts."

"Nobody thinks that; Hotch and I definitely don't…if we did, you wouldn't be on the team." Gideon explained.

"I'm sorry," Reid whispered.

Gideon gave Reid a quick hug before turning to him once again. "We're not done yet. You threw a temper tantrum and have been rude to Hotch and Morgan. That's not expectable; not now, not ever."

Reid nodded his head, fully expecting to be suspended or confined to the office so he was surprised to once again find himself up ended over his superiors lap. This time, though, Gideon quickly unbuttoned Reid's pants and pulled them down to his knees, leaving the 'boy genius' in his boxers…which offered little protection from the swats.

Gideon worked methodically from the upper thigh area to the sensitive crease on the backside. Reid was silent during the first pass but as Gideon started his third, Reid could no longer hold back the tears.

SWAT, SWAT "OW!" SWAT, SWAT "Gideon…" SWAT, SWAT "Stop…" SWAT, SWAT "Please!" SWAT, SWAT "I'm sorry!" SWAT, SWAT "No more!" SWAT, SWAT "AH!!" SWAT, SWAT

When he was done Gideon pulled Reid's pants back up and flipped the boy over on his lap; allowing Reid to cry on his shoulder.

"It's ok Spencer…I got you." Gideon said gently.

"I'm so, so sorry Jason." Reid sobbed.

"I know son; alls forgiven though." Gideon replied. "Shh…It's going to be ok son."

Reid's tears finally started to subside and Gideon help him stand. With a final hug Gideon sent the younger man into the bathroom to freshen up. When Reid came back out Gideon turned to him once again.

"When we get back to the office, I want you to apologize to Hotch and Morgan. Afterwards you are to stay at your desk the rest of the day." Gideon's voice was firm.

"I can't sit!" Reid panicked.

"Yes, you can and yes, you will," Gideon said gently. "Everything's going to be fine Spencer. After lunch you will leave for the day."

Reid wanted nothing more then to argue but a throb in his backside quieted him. It was a quiet ride back to the office…

EPILOGUE:

Reid apologized to Hotch and Morgan; both quickly accepted the apology. For Reid the three hours of having to sit at his desk was brutal. Two things made it easier…one, Gideon allowed him to kneel on his seat for the first half of his time and two, the seat was cushioned.

After lunch Gideon took Reid back to his apartment once more and the two spent the rest of the day talking. By eight Reid had fallen asleep on the floor…Gideon didn't want to wake him but also didn't want him to get sore so he helped the younger man onto the sofa and covered him up. When Reid was once again asleep Gideon smiled down at him. 'I don't know how we got here Spencer but something tells me we'll be here again.' Gideon went into his room to sleep…waiting to see what the future would hold.