Summary: Ben wants to take up softball, and asks for Derek's help with convincing Spencer.

There was one day during the week where, if he was home, Derek would leave work early and pick up the kids from school, sparing them from going to the after school program and giving them an afternoon at home. After getting them at school, he cleaned up around the house a bit while the two of them were doing their homework.

"Papa, can I ask you something?" Ben asked, looking up from his textbook.

"If it's math, ask Daddy," Parker started, clicking her pen and putting it into her pencil case, "Papa's not very good at math, or science, or history."

He leaned against the counter, eyebrow raised. "Then what am I good at?"

"…Being the world's greatest Papa?" she suggested.

"Yeah, yeah, you little kiss-up. Don't you have a bedroom to clean?"

She groaned, putting her textbooks away and setting her backpack by the door, walking to her bedroom and closing the door behind her.

Once he was sure she was actually cleaning and not just sitting in her room reading, he walked over to the table, taking the seat beside Ben. "What's up, little man? Is it your homework?"

He shook his head, closing the textbooks. "I finished it all already, but I need your help."

He raised an eyebrow. "Okay, talk to me."

Ben picked up his backpack off of the floor, setting it on the table, unzipping the front pocket and grabbing a piece of paper, holding it out to him. "I need you to talk to Daddy about this."

"What, did you get a bad grade? Daddy's going to be fine with it," he started, opening the paper but still looking at Ben. "And if you got in trouble at school again, you know I'm going to come to your rescue, it's my job as Papa." He saw Ben shaking his head and raised an eyebrow, looking down at the paper. After reading it, he smiled to himself. "You want to play softball."

"I do. I think I could be really good at it once I learn how." He put his things into his backpack, zipping it up and looking up at Derek. "Parker gets to do gymnastics and she's awesome at it. I want to be good at sports too, or at least have the chance."

He smirked, kissing the top of Ben's head. "I'll tell you what, we're going to have a deal. You have great grades, you're a good kid, and there's no reason in this world for me to say no to this because this is actually pretty awesome. Your Daddy and I both play on the softball team at work, and I'm going to try to play on that when I talk to him. I'm going to talk to him tonight, and you'll get your answer tomorrow morning. Deal?" he asked, putting out his hand.

Ben thought about it before nodding, shaking his hand. "Thank you, Papa."

"Anytime, kiddo. Now, I believe you, just like your sister, have a dirty bedroom."

He nodded, putting his backpack beside Parker's and walking to his own room, starting to clean up.

After dinner that night, they let Ben pick a movie for them to watch until story time. Spencer wouldn't admit it, but the fact that his kid still wanted story time even though they were older felt great. Derek watched as Ben picked out a baseball movie and smirked, shaking his head.

Spencer turned to him. "…What?"

"Absolutely nothing." He wrapped an arm around his shoulders, kissing his cheek. "Nothing at all."

Ben put the movie in, taking a seat beside Parker and grabbing the remote, pressing play.

Once story time was over that night, Spencer walked into the bedroom, sitting beside Derek and resting his head on his shoulder.

"Long day?" Derek asked, rubbing his arm.

He nodded slightly, running a hand over his face. "Luckily, tomorrow's my day to leave work early and get the kids, so I get a little bit of a break from the monotony."

"Are you up for a talk?"

"Depends on what?"

Derek straightened up. "Ben asked to talk to me after he finished his homework today, and I need to run something by you."

Spencer froze. "…Who did he correct now?"

He shook his head. "Nothing like that, it's actually a good thing, if you think about it."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"Ben wants to do something, and I want you to hear me out before you say 'no'."

"Okay?"

He cleared his throat. "His school is starting to talk about sports and involvement in them, and he came home with a flyer for Little League softball. He really wants to give it a try-"

"Derek, you talked me into letting Parker do gymnastics and a short three months later, she was in the hospital unconscious. You can't tell me you want the same thing to happen with Ben. You talked me out of reading the literature on it and I later found out it is possibly the most dangerous sport to put your child in, and it doesn't even have equipment. You want to have our son around balls that can fly at high speed and bats that can swing and cause serious damage?! That's-"

He cupped a hand over Spencer's mouth, looking him in the eyes. "I said I want you to hear me out. Our son, who has done everything to please you over the years - doing extra credit assignments when he had a perfect grade, and entering and winning spelling bees – wants to do something for himself for a change. He wants to prove that he's more than just a brain to his little friends, even if he doesn't admit it. He wants to be one of the boys, and I don't want to deprive him of that."

Spencer pushed his hand off. "I don't either, but it's dangerous."

"So is walking down the street or riding his bike or running in the schoolyard, but he does all of that. Anything can happen at any time, and you can't just shelter him forever on the possibility that something could happen to him. You're not nearly this paranoid about Parker-"

"Because Parker's not my baby. She's my daughter and my little girl, but she's proven that she can hold her own and take care of herself. Ben's shy and nervous and I worry about him. I can't help it, it just happens."

Derek sighed, running his fingers through Spencer's hair. "I think we should at least let him try it. It could be his favorite thing in the world, like Parker with gymnastics, or it could be a bad decision and he'll realize it. But our kids aren't going to learn any life lessons unless they have new experiences."

"You did not just use my argument for Parker having her first sleepover on Ben joining sports."

He smirked. "As a matter of fact, I did."

Spencer took a deep breath, sighing. "Derek, the amount of injuries he could get-"

"Bruises heal, broken bones can be reset, those teeth are going to be lost anyway."

"And-"

"He's going to learn how to be on a team. Who knows, he could take it as a way to be just like Daddy and Papa, because we have our team. He could have one of his own to be proud of and feel a part of something."

"But-"

"We'll figure something out for him getting to softball and Parker getting to gymnastics. It's not exactly fair that we say we do equal treatment, but won't let Ben join a sport just like his sister."

He exhaled, looking up at Derek. "Fine, but the first sign that he's not enjoying himself and wants out, I don't want you pressuring him. I want him to make these decisions on his own."

"Okay, that's fine by me. One condition."

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "You're giving me a condition to me saying yes to something?"

"Yes, actually."

He groaned. "I'll bite. What is it?"

Derek grinned. "We have to teach him how to play."

Spencer blushed, swatting at Derek's chest and leaning back against the headboard. "Fine. But the tale of our first game together stops at the game winning homerun. He doesn't need to know anything else that happened that day, deal?"

"Sounds fair to me."

The following morning, Spencer poured cereal into bowls for Parker and Ben while they were getting dressed for school. He then sat down at his seat, coffee and crossword puzzle in hand, while Derek was making their lunches in the kitchen.

"Is Ben still going through that 'I want plain peanut butter sandwiches' phase, or is it safe to put jelly on them again? Because, I have to say, it's almost as annoying as his sister's 'those poor peanuts' phase." Derek asked, unzipping their lunch boxes.

"He likes jelly again, though he'll only eat grape, whereas Parker only wants strawberry right now," Spencer explained, clicking his pen and starting to write.

"And Ben wants the strawberry jello, while Parker wants the lemon lime?" He gave him a thumbs up and Derek finished packing up their lunches. "String cheese, Ben gets the apple juice, Parker gets the fruit punch, they both get an apple – his is red, hers is green, and with that?" he zipped up the lunchboxes, "our children are far too selective."

Spencer laughed to himself. "Or we need to stop being suckers and falling for the eyelashes and pouts."

"That too." He set their lunchboxes on the counter. "Parker, Ben, come eat your cereal. We have to get going soon."

Parker ran out of her room, kissing Spencer's cheek before sitting down, pouring the milk into her bowl.

"Spencer, what's a six letter word for 'major suck-up'?" Derek asked, motioning toward her.

He smirked. "P-a-r-k-e-r? Oh look, it fits!"

Parker stuck her tongue out, taking a bite of her cereal.

Ben came out of his room a minute later, turning to Derek and giving him a look.

"Ask your father," he asked, pointing to Spencer.

He walked over, taking the seat next to Spencer and tapping his fingers on the table. "…Daddy?"

He clicked his pen, setting it and the crossword down. "Yes?"

"…Did Papa talk to you last night?"

"He did."

Ben bit down on his lip. "Did you talk about me?"

Spencer smiled. "We did."

"…Papa promised me I'd get an answer this morning."

"Oh did he?" Spencer asked, turning around to face Derek.

"…Maybe?"

Spencer rolled his eyes, turning to face Ben. "So you want to play softball?"

He nodded. "I do. I could be really awesome at it, Daddy. And I can make more friends and be part of a team and I'll keep my grades up, I promise. Please."

He raised his eyebrows. "That's quite the argument. It's a good thing I said yes, or I'd feel like a real jerk."

Ben shot out of his chair, wrapping his arms around him. "Thank you, Daddy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He kissed the top of his head. "You're very welcome. And tonight after Papa gets home from work and we have dinner? The three of us are going to start running drills in the yard, get you ready for tryouts."

He gasped, running into the kitchen and wrapping his arms around Derek. "Thank you, Papa!"

"No problem, buddy." He rubbed his back. "Now go finish your breakfast."

He gave him a smile before walking back to the table.

Spencer picked up the kids from school that afternoon, bringing them to a sports store before taking them home. He was able to pick up a pack of balls, a helmet, a few bats, gloves for all of them, as well as a few other things he'd read up on during the day that could help.

"Daddy, I need a new mat for my backbends," Parker reminded him.

He looked at her. "I'll get you a mat if you promise to not do another back handspring in the house, or in the backyard without supervision. Promise?" he asked, putting out his pinky.

She nodded, wrapping her pinky around his, putting the mat into the carriage, along with a new leotard.

"What's wrong with your old one?"

"Nothing, but I needed a purple one."

He shook his head, pushing the carriage toward the register.

While the kids were doing their homework, he sat in the living room on Derek's tablet, reading as many articles as he could find about putting your child in organized sports, as well as reading up on softball injuries that could occur. He'd blindly trusted Derek when they'd put Parker into gymnastics, and wasn't happy how that turned out, so he was going to be ready this time. Not only were there injuries that could occur from being hit by balls or bats, but there were overuse injuries where he would be extremely sore. He made a mental note to stock up on heating pads and ice packs, because he had a feeling that Ben would be just like his Papa, very willing to play sports and try new things.

Derek came home and the four of them had a quick dinner before going into the backyard. Derek opened up the packages, setting everything on the back deck. He held out the glove to Ben.

"This needs to stay on your hand the whole time you're in the outfield, do you understand? You can't catch the ball with your bare hand, even if you want to, because it's going to be going really fast, and if you do, it's really going to hurt."

Ben nodded, pulling the glove onto his hand and wiggling his fingers.

"How hard was it to find a left-handed glove?" he asked Spencer, putting on his own.

"That was the last one in the store," Spencer explained, taking out Parker's glove and handing it to her. "Just like she got the only purple girl's glove."

Parker smirked, picking up one of the balls and tossing it in the air. "Can I be Benny's cheerleader?" she asked, turning to Derek.

"I think Ben would really love that, wouldn't you little man?"

Ben smiled, nodding. "Someone needs to tell me I'm good!"

"I think you'll be good," Spencer offered.

"You're my Daddy, you have to say it. Parker will actually say if I'm bad."

Derek laughed to himself, putting on his own glove and picking up a ball. "He's got you there."

Spencer pointed across the yard. "Parker, I want you to stand there and toss the ball to your brother. Be careful."

She nodded, running over and standing. "Right here?"

"Perfect."

Derek squatted beside Ben. "Hold your glove out like this," he told him, showing him, "and try to catch the ball. Once it's in your glove, close your fingers around it. Think you can handle that?"

"Uh huh."

"Spencer, go stand next to Parker, we'll show them how it's done."

"…No offense, Derek, but I think hitting is my strong point. I'm not that great of a catcher."

"That's not what I think," Derek said, winking.

Spencer grabbed the ball off the ground, throwing it at Derek. "That is not what I meant."

Derek laughed to himself while Spencer rolled his eyes, standing next to Parker and flexing his glove.

"What did Papa mean by that?" Parker asked, looking up at him.

"Absolutely nothing. If you get up in the middle of the night, don't trip over him sleeping on the floor."

Derek put a hand to his chest, faking pain.

Spencer shook his head, showing Parker how to hold the ball. "Now, just throw it right to Benny."

"Ben, all you need to do is try to get to the ball and catch it," Derek instructed, "and remember to close your fingers."

Parker hummed to herself, taking a step back before throwing the ball. Ben kept an eye on it and ran, putting his gloved hand up and catching it.

Derek whistled, clapping his hands. "Good job, Ben."

Ben smiled, proud of himself, and Derek quickly showed him how to throw the ball properly.

"I'll show you how," he started, gripping the ball," head's up, Pretty Boy."

Spencer held up his glove, catching the ball. "Got it."

The four of them ran drills for a while until Derek was positive that Ben had a handle on it.

"Okay, buddy, now we're going to work on your swing." He pulled over a tee, setting it in front of him. "First you're going to practice on this, then we'll try throwing you the ball, does it sound good?"

He nodded, reaching behind him and picking up a bat.

Derek picked up his own, standing off to the side and showing him how to swing. "Something tells me you're going to be a lot easier to teach than your Daddy."

Spencer scoffed. "I had just had him when you taught me. Excuse me for having been sleep deprived and unwilling."

Derek shook his head. "It's all in the hips buddy, just swing and follow through," he said, going through it in slow motion.

Spencer took Parker's hand, walking with her and sitting on the deck while Derek taught Ben.

"See how my hips move?" Derek asked. "Just like that."

Spencer smirked. "I see," he mumbled, which warranted a laugh from Derek.

Ben grabbed a ball off of the ground, setting it on the tee.

Derek took a few steps out, stretching out his glove. "Right to me, little man."

He nodded, taking a deep breath and putting the bat up, before swinging.

Parker gasped, clapping her hands. "You did it!"

Spencer watched as Derek had to run after the ball and smiled. "Wow, Ben, I think we found your sport!"

Ben smiled, proud of himself.

Once it started to get dark, Spencer got up. "Sorry, Ben, we'll have to pick up on this again tomorrow."

He pouted. "Daddy, just one more pitch?!"

"Fine, one more." He looked at Derek. "Just one more."

Derek nodded, tossing the ball in the air and looking at Ben. "You ready, little man?"

"Yep!"

He smiled, pitching to him underhand, Ben swinging and the ball going across the yard.

Spencer raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Come on, Ben. Let's get inside."

After both kids had taken a bath, the four of them sat in the living room, unwinding with some ice cream.

"Is Daddy good at softball?" Ben asked.

Derek smirked. "Daddy didn't want to play at first, but I taught him, we needed him to play… and at first, he stunk like a skunk-"

Spencer gasped, swatting at him. "Excuse you, I wasn't even supposed to play."

"But," Derek said, as if uninterrupted, "we were down by a single run, I was on base, and Daddy needed a homerun for us to win. I gave him a pep talk, the other team started talking about how he couldn't play, and he used that to fuel his fire. He ended up getting the game winning homerun and sliding into home on it."

Ben gasped. "Really?!"

"Really," Spencer said. "Though, at first after I hit the ball, I didn't know what to do, so I just sort of stood there until I heard all of your aunts and uncles yelling at me to run."

Parker giggled. "Of course you run after you hit the ball, Daddy, it's the rules."

He shrugged. "The entire game, I didn't hit anything, so I didn't know what to do."

Derek wrapped an arm around him, kissing the top of his head. "But Daddy came through when Papa needed him most, and we beat the secret service team for the first time in years, but definitely not the last."

Spencer smiled, shaking his head. "Pretty sure we've beaten them every year since."

"Well, with our secret weapon," Derek said, rubbing his arm.

Parker made a gagging noise. "Ew."

Ben nodded his agreement. "Very ew."

"Well, you little ew-ers, it's time for you to go put your dishes in the sink and brush your teeth, because it's almost bedtime."

Parker groaned, getting up and walking out to the kitchen, putting the bowl in the sink, Ben following.

Spencer looked up at Derek. "I think I'd like a replay of that victory party tonight," he whispered, "think you can get the kids down early?"

"I can definitely make that happen."

Every night since then, they would devote at least a half hour to teaching Ben how to play softball. Spencer went through everything to sign him up and, luckily, his practices were on Thursdays, while Parker had gymnastics on Mondays, meaning they didn't have to move around their schedules to get him there. On the first day of practice, Derek and Spencer both left work early so they wouldn't miss it. They had Parker work on her homework and then read for fun while the practice went on, so she wouldn't be bored.

"Where do you think his coach is going to put him?" Spencer asked, motioning toward the field.

Derek shrugged, opening a water bottle and taking a sip. "From what I've seen in the yard, he'd be really good in the outfield or on a base. He just wouldn't be able to pitch or catch without some extra training."

Spencer smiled slightly. "Benjamin Morgan, sort of even sounds like an athlete."

"Or a scientist, or a doctor, or anything really. It's just an awesome name," Parker added, turning the page in her book and humming to herself.

Derek raised an eyebrow. "…Thank you?"

"You could've given him a really bad one that sounds like he wouldn't be anything, so," she reached over, patting his head, "good job."

He turned to Spencer. "…Was that an insult or a compliment?"

"From her? A compliment."

Ben walked over to them after practice, unzipping his bag and putting his things inside.

"Did you have fun, little man?" Derek asked, sitting up straight.

He nodded. "It's really fun, Papa. I got to play centerfield and third base, and I was really good at both of them."

Spencer stretched slightly. "That's awesome. When's your first game?"

"Next Saturday, and I even get a jersey with my name on it!"

Derek exhaled, whistling. "That's impressive." He turned to look at Parker. "What do you say, cheerleader, think you can come up with a few things to say by next Saturday?"

"Definitely. It's going to be so cool, you're going to be jealous."

"Oh, I'm sure."

Over the next week, Ben continued to run drills with Derek, while Spencer helped Parker with her gymnastics, spotting her while she did her flips so nothing happened to her. On the day before Ben's first game, Spencer sat at his desk in the bullpen, looking across at Emily.

"So, Aunt Emmy," he started.

She raised an eyebrow. "And what is it you want from me, Reid?"

He smiled slightly. "And now I realize I can't use 'Aunt Emmy' anymore."

"Indeed, you can't, because it's always attached to you wanting something."

He shrugged. "Your godson has his first softball game tomorrow, and he wanted me to ask you if you could be there, but I suppose if that's just me wanting something, then I'll just tell him you're too busy."

She scoffed. "You will do no such thing. What time is his game? I'll be there."

"Noon at the field down the street from our house. He's excited to wear his uniform for the first time – he tried on the jersey for the first time at practice last night and refused to take it off."

She laughed softly. "That sounds so adorable."

JJ walked over, sitting down at her desk. "Does my nephew have his first softball game this weekend?"

"That he does, and he wants all of his aunts and uncles there to see his debut."

"…Is he that good, or does he take after you and need a cheering section?"

He rolled his eyes. "He's great and I'm telling him you said that. Now, question is," he started, pointing up to Rossi's office, "how?"

Emily put up her finger. "I'm taking care of it." She dialed his number, putting the phone on speaker.

"Yes, Prentiss?"

She smiled. "Hello to you, too. We have a godparent duty to fulfill."

"…I already taught the kid to swear in another language for you, what more do you want?"

Spencer gasped, turning to Emily. "That was your idea?"

She shrugged. "I thought it'd be entertaining. So, Rossi, Ben has his first softball game tomorrow and needs a pretty awesome cheering section. Please tell me you're in so I'm not sitting there as the lone godparent so he knows I love him more."

"…And here I thought the only guilt trips I'd get related to the kids would be from Reid." He shook his head. "I'm completely free tomorrow, just give me a time and a place."

"Noon, ballpark down the street from our house," Spencer said, picking up a case file and setting it on his desk.

"I'll see you then."

Emily smirked, proud of herself and hanging up. She saw Spencer giving her a look and shrugged. "What? I could've had your child learn a lot worse."

Derek leaned against Garcia's desk. "So, sweetness, favor time."

"…Okay, date night is tomorrow. I'll watch the two perfect offspring."

He smiled. "Okay, two favor time."

"I'll bite. What is it?"

"Your nephew needs his fairy godauntie at his first softball game tomorrow, cheering him on. He's really nervous that he's going to tank and embarrass himself, and he could use all of the help he can get to boost his confidence."

She frowned. "He is not allowed to doubt himself, I told him this at least twenty times."

"I know, and he knows it, but this is the first time he wants to succeed in something that's not academic, and he wants to show everyone that he's more than just a brain."

"I promise, I'll be there. If need me, I'll even make some awesome posters with glitter and the whole nine yards."

"I think he'd really appreciate that. You should work with his sister, because she's designated herself his official cheerleader. Spencer even got her some pom poms that match his uniform."

She gasped. "That is going to be so adorable! Please tell me everyone else is in?"

He nodded. "Everybody's going to be there to see his first game, so," he crossed his fingers, "let's hope it goes well."

She crossed her own fingers. "I'm so with you on that one."

On Saturday morning, Spencer and Derek were woken up by Ben jumping up and down on their bed. Spencer groaned, burying his head in Derek's chest.

"Your turn," Derek mumbled.

Spencer shook his head. "Before 7:00 a.m., he's yours."

"He's yours 24/7, you just choose sleep over parenting this early," Derek tried to reason.

"You bet," he whispered, yawning softly and falling asleep.

Derek sighed, turning to Ben. "What's up, little man?"

"It's game day!" he announced.

He checked the time. "…It's also 6:30 in the morning. Are you just a little excited?"

"Uh huh!" he said, nodding.

Sighing, Derek wiggled out from under Spencer, taking Ben's hand and walking to the kitchen.

"Okay, softball star, what's for breakfast this morning?"

"…I get to choose?!"

"Mhm, Parker gets to choose before her big gymnastics meets, it's only fair."

He smiled, putting a finger to his chin and thinking. "Eggs and toast and waffles?"

Derek clicked his tongue. "That's an awful lot… but I think we can handle it."

Ben clapped, taking his seat at the table as Derek turned on the coffeemaker.

After Derek finally had some coffee in his system, he made breakfast, putting everything on the table and setting it. "You have a choice, little man. Wake up Daddy, or wake up Parker?"

"Parker," he said quickly, "she wakes up after one word. Daddy takes a small army."

"Isn't that the truth?" He kissed the top of Ben's head. "Just don't annoy her, because if she swings, I can't be held responsible."

He gave him a thumbs up before climbing off of his chair, walking to Parker's room.

Derek shook his head, walking to their bedroom and kissing the top of Spencer's head. "Our little all star and I made breakfast, and there is a whole pot of coffee waiting with your name on it."

Spencer poked his head out from under the blanket, looking at the time and sighing. "Remember when we were able to sleep in?"

Derek nodded, taking his hands and pulling him up. "B.C. – before children."

Spencer mock laughed, kissing his cheek and taking his hand, walking out to the kitchen.

After breakfast, Ben immediately ran to his room to put on his uniform.

"…He does know he doesn't need to be at the field for another three and a half hours, right?" Derek asked, pointing to his bedroom.

Spencer shrugged. "He's excited. Leave him be."

"If he stains that thing before his game-"

"We won't let that happen."

"Worrywart," Parker mumbled, flipping through the channels.

Derek pointed to her. "She gets that sass from you."

"She could've gotten worse, believe me."

Ben ran out of his room a few minutes later, standing in front of them.

Derek laughed to himself. "Little man, you are looking sharp. What number did you get?"

He turned around, pointing to it. "Number 4, 'cause I'm the 4th Morgan."

"Can't argue with that logic," Spencer said, reaching over for Derek's phone and taking a picture, sending it to Fran. "You definitely look like a Little League player."

Ben smiled proudly. "I do?!"

"You do, little man," Derek assured him. "What position are you hoping to play today?"

"Coach said I get to play a base today, 'cause I'm really good with catching and tagging the base."

"Can't wait to see it," Derek told him, kissing the top of his head.

When they finally made it to the field, Ben set his bag down by the bench before taking a ball out, tossing it in the air and catching it while he waited for the rest of his team to come. As they slowly started to show up, he got more and more nervous, setting his things back down. He walked over to the benches, getting Spencer's attention.

Spencer raised an eyebrow, taking the few steps down and sitting in front of him. "What's up, Ben?"

He chewed on his cheek. "You're right, I shouldn't play. Take me home."

Spencer frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I don't wanna play, I'm gonna be bad."

He sighed, putting up a finger. "Give me a minute and we'll talk, okay?" When Ben nodded in agreement, he got up, asking his coach if he could talk to Ben for a few minutes, pulling him away from practice because of his nerves. When that was allowed, he walked over, patting Ben's back. "Pick a spot, we're going to have a world famous Daddy and Ben talk."

Ben thought to himself before pointing to a tree off to the side. Spencer put a hand on his back. "Let's go."

They both sat down under the tree, Spencer tucking his legs under himself. "Why don't you want to play?"

"I could be really bad and be the team disappointment! I don't wanna do that. I want them to win."

Spencer sighed, pulling Ben into his lap and kissing the top of his head, rubbing his arm. "You have been working really had to be good, Ben. You practice with Papa every single night, and you go to your team practices. You know how to play, and your coach even trusts you enough to put you on a base. I don't think he'd do that if he thought you were going to be bad."

Ben sniffed. "But if I'm bad, it's my fault."

He shook his head. "It's only your first game. If you are bad, which I really doubt because you're your Papa's son and you succeed at every sport you've done in gym class, and you're my son and generally just succeed at everything you try, then you have time to get better. Your whole career isn't decided by this one game."

"It's not?" he asked, wiping his eyes.

Spencer smiled. "Not by a long shot." He ruffled his hair. "If you're not good, you have time to learn and be better. Everyone is entitled to their bad days, and if you have one, you'll just show them how great you are next time, because Morgans don't give up."

"But what if nobody likes me?"

Spencer smirked. "Oh, I doubt that. You're going to have your own cheering section, buddy. All of your aunts and uncles cleared their schedules so they could be here today. Even Uncle Dave is coming."

Ben gasped. "But he has his cigar people meetings on Saturdays."

Spencer laughed to himself. "And he told them 'you guys can wait, because my godson is going to kick some serious butt at his first game'."

"Really?!"

He nodded, kissing the top of his head. "Really."

Ben turned around, pulling Spencer into a hug.

"What's this for?" he asked, rubbing his back.

"Being the best Daddy ever," Ben mumbled against his shoulder.

"Well, in that case?" he pulled him in tighter. "Thank you for being the best son ever."

Ben smiled, taking Spencer's hand and helping him up. "So you're really going to cheer me on the whole game, even if I stink?"

"Oh you bet. I'm going to be front row the entire time, and nobody's going to be able to silence me."

When Spencer sat down beside Parker again, Derek looked over. "Is everything okay?"

He nodded. "He's got a case of the jitters– he needed a famous Daddy pep talk."

"Did it work?"

He pointed to Ben on the field, playing catch with one of his teammates. "You tell me."

Derek smiled, kissing the top of his head. "Good job."

A few minutes later, the team slowly started filing in, until they were taking up the first and second rows of the bleachers.

"How's the little guy feeling?" Emily asked, resting her elbows on her knees.

Spencer shrugged. "He's a little nervous, which is to be expected, but after a little talking-to, he's excited for the game."

"I'll bet," JJ said, rubbing his shoulders, "and how nervous are you for his first game?"

He patted her hands. "We're not going to discuss it."

She laughed softly. "So I'll take that as a 'very'?"

Spencer kept his mouth shut but she turned to Derek, who nodded.

Shortly before the game started, Ben ran up to the fence separating the bleachers, linking his fingers in.

"How are you feeling, all star?" Rossi asked, leaning forward.

He smiled slightly. "Good, Uncle Dave. Really scared, but good!"

"You know, your Daddy's first game?" Hotch started, pointing to Spencer, "he didn't even hit the ball until the last inning. I think you'll have him beat in no time."

Spencer gasped. "How many times do I need to say that I had just had a baby?!" he inquired, motioning toward Ben in front of them.

Ben giggled. "It's not his fault, and he won, didn't he?"

Parker nodded. "Game winning homerun and RBI."

Derek raised an eyebrow, looking over at her. "Since when do you know baseball terms?"

"Since I read a book on it yesterday," she said matter-of-factly.

Rossi smirked, looking at Ben. "Tell you what, kiddo? No matter what the result of the game and how you play, we go to lunch after the game, all of us, my treat."

Ben gave him a smile and a thumbs up. "I'll be great, Uncle Dave. You'll see."

"Yes you will, but just in case you need a little extra confidence?" Garcia stated, digging through her bag. She pulled out a few posters, unrolling them, revealing several posters made up with paint and glitter with his name and encouraging words. "We've got these for you."

He gasped. "Those are awesome, Aunt Penny! Parker's cheering and you have signs, it's so cool!"

Derek motioned toward the field. "Time for you to go finish warm-ups, little man." He leaned forward, kissing Ben's forehead through the fence. "Good luck, you're going to be great. No matter what, have fun and we love you."

Ben gave him a thumbs up and turned to Spencer. "Morgans never give up, Daddy. Just like you said. I'm going to be good."

"All I ask is your best," Spencer said, kissing his forehead. "Go have fun."

He waved to everyone one last time before running back to his bench.

"Morgans never give up?" Derek asked, looking at Spencer.

"No, they don't." he reached over, lacing his fingers with Derek and squeezing his hand. "No matter what, ice cream sundaes tonight?"

"Sounds perfect."

When the game started, Garcia handed out posters and pom-poms to everyone on the team. After Ben went out to his base, he turned to his side and saw all of them cheering for him. He blushed, kicking the dirt in front of him, before pulling on his glove and standing next to the base.

Spencer turned to Parker. "There's six innings in Little League. Think you can be entertained that long?"

She rolled her eyes. "Daddy, it's my little brother, of course I can do it. He stays at all of my gymnastics meets and doesn't get bored ever."

"She told you," Hotch said with a laugh.

They all kept a close eye on him, occasionally cheering him on so they didn't blow his concentration. When a ball was hit in his direction, Derek watched in silence as if it was in slow motion, while Spencer gripped Derek's knee.

"Come on, Ben!"

Ben stood underneath the ball, holding his glove up and crossing his fingers with his other hand. He felt something land in it and gasped, tossing the ball to the pitcher and jumping up and down, proud of himself.

Derek whooped, clapping his hands together. "Good job, little man!"

Parker squealed, waving her pom-poms. "Great job, Benny!"

At his first at-bat, he couldn't hide his blush when the whole team cheered and called his name. He was pleasantly surprised with himself when he hit the ball the first time, running for first base as fast as he could. When he got there safely, he clapped his hands together, turning to Spencer and giving him a thumbs up. Spencer smiled, giving him one right back and clapping.

The entire game, Ben was extremely happy. Not only did he catch almost all of the balls that came his way, but he was part of a double play and ended on base nearly every single at-bat. It felt great that he was a part of something non-academic, and doing very well at it. He was on his last time out in the field and his team was winning, meaning if they could get the three outs, they could win their very first game together.

"Come on, Benny!" Parker called out, "three more outs and you win!"

Derek smiled, rubbing her back. "Keep it up, Princess."

The team got the first two outs, leaving them one away from victory.

"Go, Ben!" Rossi shouted, clapping.

Spencer smiled, leaning forward and keeping a close eye on him.

"You can do it, little man." Derek said, squeezing his hand.

The ball was hit low and Ben gasped. "I've got it!" He ran forward for a diving catch, cupping his gloved hand around the ball, and putting all of his focus on it. Face down on the grass, he held his gloved hand up.

"…Derek, why is he still down?" Spencer asked, pushing himself up.

Derek sighed, getting up and taking Spencer's hand, running out to the field. By the time they made it there, Ben's coach was sitting beside him.

"Ben, what's wrong?" Spencer asked, rubbing his back. "Is it your head? Your arm? Your back? Are you okay?"

Derek sighed. "Come on, Ben."

Ben sat up, pouting and putting a hand to his mouth.

Spencer sat next to him, running a hand through his hair. "What's wrong, buddy?"

Ben moved his hand away, showing it to Spencer, who exhaled, relieved. "It's just your tooth."

"The ground made it fall out!" Ben whined, sniffing.

Derek smiled, helping him up and brushing off his uniform. "It's a good thing, it was supposed to fall out. It's a baby tooth."

"No one told me this!"

Spencer laughed to himself, thanking his coach and looking at his mouth. "You're not bleeding. If it wasn't supposed to come out, you'd be bleeding and we'd be rushing you to a hospital right now. Trust me, Ben, it's not bad."

Derek took the tooth from his hand. "We'll keep this clean, put it under your pillow, and the tooth fairy will come and give you money for it."

"…I get money for the field taking my tooth?"

"You get money for your baby teeth coming out," Spencer explained. "Now come on, give me a smile. You just won your first game."

Ben sighed before giving him a grin, Spencer instantly spotting where the tooth had fallen out. "Two victories in one day," Derek said, patting his back. "First won game and your first lost tooth. I'd say that's good reason for Uncle Dave to buy all of us lunch." He led him over to the bench, Spencer following.

"Are we okay, macchiato?" Garcia asked. "You took a pretty hard hit to the ground."

He nodded, opening his mouth and pointing to the void. "It made me lose my tooth!"

Parker gasped. "No fair, I didn't lose my first tooth 'til I was seven."

He shrugged. "Had to beat you to something."

Rossi chuckled, getting up. "Come on, everyone. For a game well played by the little all star? Time for lunch."

They all sat in the restaurant, waiting for their food to arrive.

"What do you mean I get money for my tooth?" Ben asked, looking around at them.

Garcia smiled. "Well, kiddo. The tooth fairy exists, and she needs a ton of teeth for her awesome tooth-related projects, so when you lose one, she gets an alert on her computer, just like I do when we're all working. Then that night when you're fast asleep, she comes and takes it, and to thank you for your donation, she leaves you money. I think that's a fair trade, don't you? I mean, you're not using the tooth anymore…"

He thought about it before nodding. "I think it's awesome. She can have all of them, 'cause I'm saving up my money."

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Can't tell you, it's a secret."

He turned to Derek, hoping for an answer, but only got a shrug. "Little man, why don't you take your jersey off? Grass stains are more than enough for one day, don't you think?"

He sighed dramatically, slipping the jersey off. "I guess."

Spencer smiled, taking it and putting it into Ben's bag.

"So what was the best part, Ben?" Hotch asked, leaning forward on the table.

Ben clicked his tongue, thinking. "My first hit was awesome, and so was my first catch, but I think the best part was having you guys there!"

Emily smiled, ruffling his hair. "Glad we could be there to see you, super star."

"What about the game?" JJ asked.

He sighed, chewing on his cheek. "My third hit, 'cause I made it all the way to second base. That was so cool."

"I'll bet."

Parker tapped her fingers on the table. "I liked your last catch," she explained, "it was so awesome that you got it when nobody thought you could. Everyone was really happy for you, and I got to say 'that's my brother!'."

"Nuh uh."

"Oh yes she did," Rossi told him. "Walked around the stands, pointing to you and telling everyone who would listen 'the game winner is my brother'."

Ben smiled appreciatively, leaning over and hugging her.

Garcia held up her video camera. "So, Ben, think I should send this to Sports Illustrated now, or wait for when you're a superstar so I can make the big bucks?"

He giggled. "Aunt Penny, you recorded the whole thing?"

"Oh you bet I did! Your grandma would never let your Daddy and Papa hear the end of it if she didn't get to watch your first game in some way or another."

Ben looked over at them. "She has a really good point."

Parker nodded. "She's still mad you forgot to record my first recital."

"It's not my fault someone," Spencer started, nudging Derek, "forgot the camera and left his cell phone in the car."

"No, but I did remember the diaper bag and our son, so cut me a little slack."

"Children," Rossi said, shaking his head, "it's not your bickering time, it's celebrating Ben time."

"Grazie, zio Dave!"

Rossi smirked. "Nessun problema, Ben." He turned to look at Spencer. "Relax, Reid, it's safe Italian."

Ben enjoyed the time celebrating with his aunts and uncles, and even got a group picture with them for his room, to have as a memory of his first game. That night at home, Spencer and Derek made ice cream sundaes while Parker and Ben were watching a movie.

"So, I'd say his first game was a success," Derek said, taking the whipped cream out of the fridge.

Spencer smiled, nodding. "Despite the lost tooth and his little freak out, I'd say so, yes." He took the scoop out of the drawer, opening the ice cream lids. "So, Parker doesn't want to eat vanilla, Ben doesn't want to eat chocolate chip, and neither of them will have sprinkles that aren't rainbow?"

"Correct."

"…We really need to stop letting them have choices," Spencer joked, scooping the ice cream into the bowls.

"Another day," Derek told him, spraying the whipped cream into all four bowls, "tonight, we celebrate."

Spencer shook his head, picking up their bowls up while Derek grabbed the kids', walking out to the living room. "So, what are we watching?"

"Oliver and Company," Ben said, thanking Derek as he set the bowls in front of them, then sat on the couch beside Spencer.

"Shouldn't you two be on date night?" Parker asked, digging her spoon into her ice cream.

Spencer shrugged. "After the day we had, we decided date night doesn't matter as much as celebrating Ben's big day."

Ben smiled appreciatively, taking a bite of his ice cream and leaning back against the couch. "Thank you, Daddy."

"For what, kiddo?"

"For letting me play." He looked up at him. "I really like it, and I have more friends, and I'm really good at it."

Spencer smiled, bending down and kissing the top of his head. "No problem, I'm glad you like it. Just promise me something."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"Keep the injuries to little things like scraped knees and lost teeth."

He scrunched up his face, thinking. "We'll see."

Spencer gave Derek a look, but he shrugged. "He may be a Morgan who never gives up, but he's also got Reid in him, and they're accident prone."

Spencer nudged Derek, smirking and sitting back on the couch.