The van started to pull back as Reid stared out the window pensively.
Gideon had been the closest thing to a father he'd ever had. He'd worked so hard to get Reid as much experience out of life as possible. Just knowing he'd been out there had made Reid feel grounded, like he had a place in the world. With him gone now…it just wasn't right, and despite Rossi's words, Reid didn't want someone else to fill that void. There could be no one else, if for no other reason than that Gideon was the only person who'd ever managed to beat Reid at chess - and he had always beat him at chess, in spite of all of Reid's skills…
One last game of chess…
"Wait!" Reid cried out abruptly. "Stop the car!"
He opened the door as the van jerked to a halt, before anyone could even ask what was going on.
One last game of chess…
Reid was flying through the door of Gideon's cabin before he even knew he'd started moving. The chess set of gold and silver figures still sat there on the table. Had he been playing, he would have moved the knight, and he almost had, but…
His eyes darted across the board, pieces moving in his head. No, not the knight, but the…
He moved a piece. Moved another from the other side, knowing what Gideon would have done, knowing he'd know what Reid was doing. Back to his turn; he moved again. Back to Gideon. He could almost feel Gideon there, sitting at the table, moving the pieces through his hand. Another turn. Another. Another…and…
Checkmate.
Reid stared at the board, breathing heavily. He'd taken the silver side, knowing gold had been Gideon's…and there, the gold king was in checkmate.
He'd done it. He'd won. Sure, he hadn't been the one playing the game from the beginning, but…even after death, Gideon had managed to give him one final game of chess, and Reid had won.
"Reid?"
The voice of one of his colleagues came from the door. Reid turned.
"Everything alright?" they asked.
"Yeah," Reid said, trying to stop panting. "Yeah, sorry. Let's go." And he walked out the door and back to the van.
Gideon was still gone. He would always be gone. But somehow, a bit of that darkness that had settled over Reid had lightened, and for the first time since he'd first heard the news and come to the cabin, he felt like he could breathe again.