"How old are you? Twenty-nine—"

"I'm thirty."

Spencer Reid's alarm rang next to him on his nightstand, but he had already been awake for nearly an hour. Had his life really reached a point where he would wake up to his own chaos of thoughts? He glanced at the date on his clock, confirming what he already knew. His twenties were officially over, reaching a new landmark in his life: thirty. Sighing, he tossed back his sheets and got ready for the morning, pausing only to look in the mirror.

When had he developed such an older look about him? His eyes were glossy and tired, his hair was short and tangles, and the dark circles under his eyes appeared more prominent than before. Not long ago was he the new kid, wearing big glasses and a puppy-eyed expression. Recently, however, his expression changed into a rather somber one, even on his birthday.

While sitting on the metro with a coffee cup in his hand, he briefly dreaded the possibility of what his team would do this year. For the first seven years, his friends had gone overboard with his birthday. His first birthday celebrated in the BAU consisted of streamers and confetti around his desk along with a small cake. The next included a ridiculous, large birthday hat and a cake with trick candles. For his twenty-fifth birthday, he got a fourth of a cake and a fourth of the birthday song sung to him. On his twenty-sixth birthday, the team all came to his house that Saturday morning bringing cake and balloons. The next birthday occurred while on a case in Tampa, and they all took him out to a bar and celebrated it there. The following year consisted of another cake and party in the BAU office. And along with a small party on his twenty-ninth birthday, Morgan managed to convince all the agents in the bullpen to buy him a small pack of sugar to go with his coffee.

So yes, Reid was a little more than hesitant when he stepped out of the elevator. He pushed open the glass door and saw Morgan, Prentiss and J.J. sitting around Morgan's desk. They were chatting happily about something, laughing just the way they always had.

Reid felt the usual jolt in his stomach he felt every time he looked at J.J. recently. He could barely stand to be in the same room with her, let alone talk to her now. Every time he looked at her, he could hear every apology and every consoling comment she had thrown his way when he had visited her house, but now he knew that every one of them had been meant to deceive him.

"Hey kid," said Morgan, who noticed him walk in. J.J. and Prentiss turned around and smiled at him in greeting, which he responded to by putting his head down and rushing to his desk.

"Morning," he muttered.

"We were just talking about Lynch and Garcia," Prentiss informed him.

"And about when he's just going to pop the question," J.J. added, trying to get Reid to look up.

Reid nodded, still avoiding eye contact. He flicked through some of the new paperwork on his desk for something to do. Had they really forgotten?

"Morning, my sweets," said a beaming Garcia, bounding in wearing everything orange one could possibly wear without looking like a complete pumpkin.

"Morning," all but Reid said, turning away in an obviously guilty manner. Garcia looked confused, but carried on with, "Well, here is another stack for each of you." She passed them all a few more files each, including J.J., as part of her new training. "Have fun," she said, and turned to leave. She passed Rossi and Hotch, who said hi to her and the team and then carried on their own conversation as they made their way to Hotch's office.

Reid couldn't believe it. His entire family had actually forgotten his thirtieth birthday! Granted, things had been a little hectic around the bureau, what with Prentiss having recently returned and the court barely letting the team off. Were they really so wrapped up in everything else that they had spaced his birthday all together?

The day toiled on, and his paper work was done within a few hours. Morgan asked if he would finish a few out of his stack, which he accepted without complaint. When the clock on the bullpen wall showed five o'clock, Reid gathered his stuff and stood to leave.

"What's the hurry, kid?" Morgan asked him as he hurried past his desk.

"I've got some stuff to finish at home tonight. See you guys on Monday." He could feel Morgan's and Prentiss's eyes on the back of his head as he walked out and to the elevator. Truth be told, he wanted nothing more than to get away from both of them.

Not that them forgetting his birthday really mattered, he reflected as he marched up the stairs to his apartment. The more he thought about it, he was rather glad that the team hadn't gone to any trouble over it. Then what was it that bothered him so much? It wasn't as if he had never missed a birthday party before. When his mother wasn't hospitalized, she had forgotten his birthday four times. He had received a phone call from her since then on his birthday, however.

Sure enough, when he got home, there was a message left on his answering machine. He listened to it as he made himself dinner.

"You have one new message."

"Hello, Spencer, this is your mother. I know you are probably very busy saving some person right now, so I'm glad that I could leave you a short message.

"Thirty years ago today I was laid up in a hospital in severe pain. I was off my medication at the time, and had already suffered bad headaches and episodes shortly before going into labor. But I clearly remember every detail of those seven hours waiting for my son to be born. Mostly the pain, but that's beside the point.

"The best part about that night was seeing my small angel fall into my arms. I knew, from that split second when I looked in your dark brown eyes, that you were special. You were meant to do great things. I've always told you, Spencer, a mother knows.

"And you never proved me wrong. You grew up into the most brilliant boy I have ever laid eyes on. You flew through school learning whatever the world could throw at you. You stuck by my side through all of it, dealing with me even when your own father couldn't. You were special.

"Then you took a wide step into the big FBI and have saved hundreds of lives since then. I could never tell you how proud I am of you, Spencer. You have done great things, and you always will.

"I know that life can be tough on you, especially at your age. But I know you, Spencer. I know that you are strong, brave and intelligent. No matter what hurdles life throws at you, I truly believe that you can handle anything.

"So I'll end with this: I love you, Spencer. Happy birthday."

"End of new messages."

Reid stood in his kitchen with a pot of water sitting on the stove behind him. He wasn't surprised that his throat stung with the effort of choking back tears. So not his entire family had forgotten….

Real quickly, about the timeline, I'm going with what I got. Most websites say that his birthday falls around October 9th, so that's the general time here. Also, it says that Prentiss comes back after seven months, and she died in March, so that leads us back to October. Hopefully it all fits just between It Takes a Village and Proof. :) Let me know what you think!