AN: This is it for this one. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Please send reviews of what you particularly did or didn't like about the story as a whole, as well as this chapter. All constructive reviews are welcome.

It was two weeks later. Reid was starting to look more like a law-enforcement officer and less like the bad end of a bar fight, and Hotch had agreed that he could go back into the field on the following Monday. In anticipation of that, Kate noticed that Reid was working especially quickly in an attempt to clear his desk of all the open files, including the ones other members of the team had slipped onto his pile when they thought he wasn't looking. At first Kate had been appalled at the audacity, until she'd caught Reid laughing about it one day when he didn't realize she could hear him. "I'm a genius with an eidetic memory," he'd told her. "Do they really think I don't know exactly how many files I had on my desk when I went to lunch?" Kate had just shaken her head at him, realizing again that there were a lot of things about the team dynamics she simply had not figured out yet.

Still, she couldn't help sending a concerned glance his way when she saw him stop and work out the fingers on his right hand. His reading and his thinking were just as good as they'd always been, but the fingers which had been broken ached if he used them too much, and he tended to let his arm lay across the desk when he got tired, which made the stitched-up wound protest. Morgan happened to be walking into the bullpen from a training session in the gym downstairs, and he too saw the genius gently clenching and unclenching his fist.

Morgan was behind Reid, so the doctor couldn't see what Kate could. Morgan started to say something to the younger man, and then stopped. Kate felt like she could actually see the shift inside Morgan's head as he re-evaluated whatever he was about to say, thought of something new, and then proceeded, trying to sound as if the pause had never occurred and the words coming out were completely natural. "Hey, Pretty Boy, wanna go to lunch? I'm starving." Morgan continued walking up toward his office as if totally unconcerned with the reply. Kate was impressed; she could tell that Morgan was trying to give Reid an option to stop working for a while without appearing to baby him and his wounds. He really had taken their previous conversation to heart, as well as the one she knew he and Reid had had after she left Reid's apartment two weeks before. He was doing his best to treat Reid like that man he was, without letting go of the little brother he wanted to be.

"No, thanks, Morgan. I'm going to eat at my desk," Reid replied. "I still have a lot of folders to get through, and I have to get out of here by five o'clock."

That stopped Morgan. He turned and came back down the stairs toward Reid's desk. "What do you have going on tonight that you need to leave early for?" he asked suspiciously.

Reid grinned mischievously. "Not that it's any of your business, but if you must know, I have a date. And that's all I'm going to tell you about it, so don't even try."

Kate had to stifle her laughter as she watched Morgan obviously battle against the almost unbearable urge to tease and pry. In the end, he swallowed hard and merely said, "Okay. I'll bring you a sandwich. And, if you want me to, I could fill out some of the blanks on the paperwork for you so you'll only have to write your actual conclusions. That should save you some time and give your hand a break too."

Reid's grin widened. "That would be great, Morgan. Thanks."

"Just let me get my wallet, and then I'll be right back with lunch," Morgan asserted, jogging back up the steps toward his office again.

To her great surprise, Reid actually winked at Kate and chuckled before returning to his work. Morgan passed by on his way out to get the food, and Kate threw him a thumb's up gesture. He nodded and continued on without any other recognition, but she saw him smile as he walked out the door to the hallway.

Not even five minutes had passed before Kate let herself be distracted again by someone talking to Reid. This time JJ had come down from her own office and sat on the corner of his desk, waiting patiently for a minute until he finished writing and looked up at her. "Hey, Spence, I was wondering if you wanted to come over for lunch on Sunday. Henry's been dying to see you, and I think you've healed up enough that we can tell him the superhero version of what happened to you without scaring him."

"Oh, gee, JJ, I can't. I've already got lunch plans. Could we maybe make it for dinner instead?"

Again Kate watched one of her teammates struggle against the desire to pry into the young genius's business. Finally JJ swallowed hard and replied, "Sure, dinner would be fine. We can't make it too late, though. Do you think you can be there by five?"

"That shouldn't be a problem," Reid assured her. "My lunch date has to be at work by 4." And he started reading the next file without giving her any more information than that. JJ waited for a moment, as if hoping for more data, then gave up and slid off his desk without another word.

After she had walked away, Kate noticed Reid smirking behind the file. "You're enjoying this," she accused him.

"Absolutely," he replied, now outright laughing. "I don't know how long it's going to last, but for the moment they're all being so careful not to pry, I can drive them absolutely crazy."

Kate couldn't help chuckling as well. "I can't believe you ever doubted you would be a good little brother."

At that moment Garcia passed by them, her arms loaded with three laptops. "Oooh, laughter," she exclaimed, plopping the computers down on Kate's desk and pulling up a nearby chair. "C'mon, spill the joke. I want in on the happiness."

"This is your tale to tell, Reid," Kate proclaimed, throwing up her hands. "I'm staying out of it."

Reid had to take a deep breath before he could stop chortling enough to talk. "It's a long story, Garcia. Suffice it to say, everyone's happy because I have a date tomorrow night."

To say that Penelope Garcia squealed at that point would be an understatement akin to saying she occasionally wore color. "Oooohhhhhh! Who is it? Where are you taking her? What are you going to wear? Oh, you have to wear something purple, you look so good in purple, and not just one sock either, at least the scarf and maybe the purple shirt, too. Are you bringing her flowers? Or candy? Or both? Or you could bring her purple flowers and they could match your shirt, that would be supremely awesome!"

The original squeal had brought Rossi out of his office. He was standing on the landing up above them, watching the tech analyst inundate Reid with questions and suggestions, a wry grin on his face. "Penelope," he called dryly, raising his voice just enough to be heard over her babble. "As much as I hate to interrupt the obviously scintillating conversation you're having, I thought Hotch told us to let Dr. Reid have some personal space."

"Oh, but, sir, I . . .". Suddenly Garcia seemed to realize what she was doing. She looked up at Rossi, and then turned, wide-eyed, back to Reid. "Oh. Oh! Oh, boy wonder, I'm so sorry, this is exactly what I'm not supposed to do. I just got so excited." She huffed out a breath of air and set her face into an expression of studied indifference. When she spoke again, it was in carefully modulated tones. "I hope you have a very nice time, Reid." And with that, she picked up her laptops again and strode off to her lair.

Reid managed to hold back his laughter until she was out of hearing distance. "Thanks, Rossi," he managed, and the older man gave him a small salute before returning to his own office.

Wrapping his arms around his chest, Reid moaned through his chuckling. "Ouch. My ribs still hurt."

"That's your own fault," Kate informed him. "You're terrible." She wondered why it had taken her so long to realize that Reid could give as good as he got when it came to teasing. Maybe it was just that his tended to be more subtle than his compatriots.

"What did I do?" Reid asked innocently, finally able to talk clearly again.

"You're lying," Kate proclaimed.

Reid looked offended. "Is it that hard for you to believe that I have a date, Kate Callahan?"

"A date, no. Three dates? That's a different story. You told Morgan you have one tonight, JJ you have one Sunday, and Garcia you have one Saturday. You're trying to make them insane."

"I'll have you know," Reid said, "that while it is true that I am very much enjoying the power that comes with knowing they've been virtually ordered to leave my private life alone, it is not true that I am lying. I really do have three dates this weekend."

Kate eyed him skeptically. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"Who said it was a girl?"

"Really? Then who's the lucky guy?"

"Still wrong." Reid's smile was becoming positively devilish.

"Oh, come on, Spencer. What, you're dating an asexual orangutan?"

Reid shook his head. "Actually, I am dating two females and one male. Not simultaneously, mind you. Consecutively."

Kate stared at him in amazement. "You have three dates with three different people this weekend?"

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your ultimate goal), Morgan walked in with his and Reid's lunches at that precise moment. Even a direct order from Hotch wouldn't have been enough to make him let that information go by unheralded. "Three dates? With three different girls? You dog!"

"Actually," Reid corrected, "Two women and one man."

"You're bi?" Morgan asked, surprised. "Not that I care, but I had no idea."

"I really consider myself to be more pansexual," explained Reid. "It's not so much the gender of the person as the person him or herself to whom I am attracted. Actually, I believe all people fall somewhere along the hetero/ homosexual spectrum, with most people tending more toward one end or the other."

He took a breath to continue, but Morgan cut him off. "Forget that, Pretty Boy. Tell me about these three dates."

Garcia was once again crossing from her lair above them, and she couldn't help but overhear, particularly because she didn't want to. "Three dates? Did you say three dates? I only know about one date. When did I miss two other dates?" She knocked on JJ's office door and stuck her head inside. "Did you know Reid has had three dates? Or is having three dates? Oh, I don't even know which." She left JJ's office without waiting for an answer and headed down the stairs. "Are these past-tense dates or future-tense dates?"

JJ came out of her office and started to follow Garcia. Just then, Rossi stepped out of his door as well, intent on nothing more than getting a cup of coffee. Hearing Garcia's tirade, he put out a hand to stop JJ. "What happened to Reid's personal space?" he asked the blond profiler.

"Forget personal space," JJ answered. "Apparently Reid has had or will have three dates, and we know nothing about it. Besides," she lowered her voice, "Hotch has been in his office with the door shut all day. What he doesn't know . . . "

"Right," Rossi nodded. "Normally I would err on the sides of the angels, but now you've got me curious." He and JJ proceeded down the steps together. The team, minus Hotch, gathered around Reid's desk, inquisitiveness overcoming promises of privacy.

"Hold on," Reid demanded, holding up his hands and silencing their questions. "I don't know that I want to share everything with all of you. Besides, I have a lot of work to finish."

"Tell you what," Morgan suggested. "You tell us about your three dates while we eat lunch, and we'll each take a couple of your files for you."

The other profilers nodded eagerly, with the exception of Kate, who was too busy studying Reid's microexpressions. Only she noticed the twinkle in his eye as he seemed to ponder Morgan's proposition.

"All right," he finally agreed. He picked up the remaining folders on his desk and handed two to each of the others. "Garcia, since you can't do a consult for me, would you be willing to fill out the rest of the online leave form I have to finish before payday? It's on the server under my name."

"But of course, my little don Juan," Garcia exclaimed. "You need but ask." Her voice lowered as she demanded, "Now, dish."

The entire group moved up to the round-table room, some of them grabbing their lunches on the way. Kate watched her teammates as they ate and listened to Reid's explanation of how he's been asked out by the mother he had saved from a vicious rape, the nurse who had cared for him in the hospital, and the detective who'd covered his case. Apparently Detective Pearson had ignored their advice and decided to check out Reid's sexual preferences for himself.

"I didn't want to turn any of them down," Reid concluded as he ate the last bite of the tuna sandwich Morgan had brought him. "Besides, I'm not ready to date anyone exclusively at this point. And before you ask, yes, each of them knows I'm going out with the other two, and they're all fine with it. So I'm not a 'dog', as you would put it, Morgan."

"Heh, hem." While they were all listening to Reid, Hotch had come out of his office and was now standing in the doorway, clearing his throat. "Personal space," he reminded them sternly.

Suddenly everyone remembered work that they had to do somewhere besides where they were. They all filed quickly by Hotch, making excuses for their behavior as they went. Kate was the last to leave except for Reid. As she went out the door, she heard his voice. "I don't know what they were all doing in here, Hotch, but I'm done with my work for the day. I was thinking I might take off a little early."

Kate stopped to hear Hotch's reaction. "Spencer Reid, I know exactly what you're up to, so don't think you're getting away with anything."

Some of the wind went out of Reid's sails. "No, sir. Sorry, Hotch."

Kate glanced back in time to see one of those rare Hotchner smiles. "Good job. Someone's got to keep these miscreants in line. Now go home. I understand you have a date to get ready for."

Hotch went back into his office while Reid went down to pack up his things. "Is there anything that goes on in here that Hotch doesn't know about?" Kate asked him.

"When you were a kid, was there anything you and your sister did that your parents didn't know about?" Reid countered.

"Not really."

"Then there you go." And Kate watched their little brother head out to get ready for his weekend dates.