Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds in any way.

Notes: Sorry about the wait, stupid RL. SPOILERS 7x13 True Genius

Thanks to my fantastic beta Little Miss Artist!

Enjoy!

On We March
#24: Birthday

Word: Birthday
Season: 7, episode 13 - True Genius
Length: 700

There was a troubled frown on her face as Emily walked back into the police station where the rest of the team, sans Hotch and Reid, sat. He wasn't sure where exactly she had gone, only that she went to talk to Reid about whatever had been bothering him.

It had been a strange case, a hard one, especially for Reid. A hand delivered note from an Unsub wasn't usual and Morgan had felt a jolt of fear when the guy had said he'd been told to give the envelope to Reid.

You're not as smart as you think you are.

The words haunted Morgan. The fact that Reid either hadn't noticed or hadn't commented on the fact that Morgan was sticking extra close to him since the note only served to unsettle Morgan more.

But there was something else besides the Zodiac copy-cat killings bothering Reid. It started before the case, but Morgan had yet to find out what it was.

"How'd it go?"

"Reid figured out something on the case from the comments. Something about a newspaper, he's talking to Hotch about it now. Apparently it was written in code that was coded into another code."

"Why am I not surprised Reid figured that out?"

"Because Reid is brilliant, but that's not it."

"What?" Morgan asked, nervous worry stirring in his stomach. What could have happened? More contact from the unsub? Another note for Reid?

"His birthday." Morgan didn't understand. Did the unsub say something about his birthday?

"What?"

"Reid. His 30th birthday."

Fuck. Oh Fuck. Fucking hell in a fucking handbasket.

Reid's 30th birthday was two days ago. But that was only the second day on the case and they were busy and working really hard and god damnit, he'd forgotten. Forgotten even though there was a sticky note on his desk he'd put there almost a month ago that very specifically had a reminder about Reid's birthday, and even though there was already a few nicely wrapped gifts hiding in Morgan's closet, and even though he had already figured out a plan to go home early that day under the pretense of not feeling well in order to make a cake and set out a few decorations to surprise Reid…despite all that, he'd still forgotten. And thirty too. That was a milestone. That was when you weren't young anymore. That was when you left youth behind and began to creep towards middle age. That was when you were supposed to really settle down and get your plan for life pretty much set.

"I know," Emily said as she read the look on his face. And for a second Morgan felt both anger and a bit of relief. As terrible as he felt, at least he wasn't the only one who had forgotten. It was a testament to how busy they were that not one of seven team members remembered. And at the same time, he was mad at them. How could not one of them remember? He was the kid of the group after all. Garcia was back home with her computers, how come she didn't have a reminder or something set? But...that wasn't fair, not when he, Reid's partner, hadn't even remembered. Maybe she had a reminder and had simply dismissed it, thinking she'd remember to say something later.

"We need to throw him a party or something when we get back," Morgan said.

"Yeah," Emily agreed. "He deserves that." He did. Reid worked hard and had accomplished a lot in his few short years. Add in a shitty childhood and his unfortunate tendency to attract danger…no one deserved the simple delight of a birthday party more than Reid.

"We'll have to get some balloons, some cake…we'll cue the others in. And it'll need to be a surprise too. But I can't be the one to bring him to it or he'll catch on. Tricking a genius is not easy."

"I'll do it," Emily said with a fond smile. "I'll tell him Hotch wants to see him or something. Freak him out a little."

"Perfect."

And really, a small but pleasant party that included the rest of their team – the rest of their family – was better than what Morgan had planned. And Reid deserved the best.

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