"The Macarthur Grants, better known as Genius Grants, have been awarded for the 2016 year. Among the recipients is Dr. Spencer Reid…"
Will coughed up his drink, pausing the TV.
"Cher! Cher, come here!"
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"Look."
Play.
"…Reid, of the metropolitan DC area. Dr. Reid holds PhD's in Chemistry, Engineering, and Mathematics."
"Did he tell you about this?"
"No." She's already on her way out the door.
Everybody had heard. Everybody except Reid, that is. So he wasn't expecting the bombardment he received upon entering the BAU.
"Spence, why didn't you tell us?"
"Spencer, congratulations, kiddo!"
"Could somebody please tell me what's going on?"
"Oh, come on, pretty boy. Stop playing dumb. We're not mad, we swear."
"I honestly-"
Reid was cut off by Garcia's swift walk, as she dropped a newpaper in his lap. "First page," she said.
Reid scanned the page… then again… then again.
"Oh come on, kid, 20,000 words per minute up there. You're time is up."
"I didn't apply for this."
"I might have had something to do with that."
"Mike?"
"Don't be angry Spencer, but we knew you would never do it. We have to give it a shot."
"Who's we?" Spencer nearly shouted.
At the same time, "Who's Mike?" came from the team.
"Well, your advisees, of course. And the rest of the department."
"Dr. Michael Saunders, professor of Organic Chemistry at Caltech." It was Garcia that spoke, gesturing the man that had spoken before here.
"You knew about this?" Reid's eyes narrowed.
"Hey, do you think just anybody could have fooled the McArthur Grant board besides yours truly?"
"I don't understand."
"Oh honey, your friend Mike here googled the goddess of Quantico and asked if we could send an application in your name. I made it happen."
"Sorry to interrupt," Rossi chimed in. "But can I ask with the grant is for?"
"$625,000 dollars over the course of five years. No strings attached."
"And your research is?"
"Psychosis and its sibling disorders. Dr. Reid here is one step away from finding a cure."
"Oh my god, Spence, that's amazing!"
"How long as you been working on this?" the unit chief asked.
"I started when I was in college, an assistant in Mike's lab. I couldn't get any results, though, so I stopped. Then when Emily left…"
"Dr. Reid's been flying back and forth, working with his lab assistants, but when the grant rolled around, he didn't seem interested. But his money is just what you need. It's the last push."
"…Wow."
"They don't call 'em 'Genius Grants' for nothing," laughed JJ.