Reid's Gift To Himself – Chapter 8
A/N: This is for the CCOAC 17th Challenge – New Year's Resolution. This is the final chapter of this story. The deadline is 1/31/12, and I can't take the strain anymore of continually asking the 600 people who have read all, or parts of this story … to please leave me feedback in reviews. I thank those of you who have left a review, and to those who are following this story. Albert Einstein once asked a question, which sometimes drives me hazy, "Am I, or are the others, crazy?" That's what keeps going through my mind, wondering why this story doesn't have more reviews. Oh well … I say 'all is fair in hell'. If you didn't like this story, try reading and reviewing my other stories. They are very different from this one. This story means more to me than the other stories. I've always known that writers must write for the readers, and only sometimes will they appreciate what you've written for yourself. Good Luck, to everyone who entered this 17th Challenge! Bless all of you, especially FanFiction.
*** Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Criminal Minds. This story is only for entertainment and for improving my writing skills. ***
January 2nd
Reid started the workday by pressing the snooze button on his alarm, laying back down and doing his "10-minute what would so and so be doing" routine. Today he pictured Morgan refusing to get up, and it worked! Reid shut off the snooze alarm and got ready for work. He made a notation in his notebook, and then packed it into his bag. He planned on making notations throughout the day. He hoped. No, he was sure that he could manage even if he had to break down 50 more minutes into 5-minute sessions. That should be easy to accomplish since he worked with chit-chatty gabbers. All he had to come up with were some opening statements, or questions. Then, just like Hotch had described, it would be their turn to respond, or reply. 'Piece of Cake' as they say, which doesn't make any sense at all, but I guess this is how they feel … that it should be easy. Like all those other stupid saying, 'easy as pie' and 'easy-peasy'. It's bad enough I'm starting this year off thinking about these phrases. Thank the gods, I don't actually have to say them to anyone. I'm so glad I came up with my list of conversational fillers, well a list anyway:
#1 – What do you like to do in your spare time?
#2 - Do you know what your your name means?
#3 - What is your favorite holiday?
#4 - If you could meet anyone in history, who would it be?
#5 - If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Reminder:
Just stay in the present moment, moment by moment, and the conversation will flow easily and naturally.
They are my family. They love me even though I'm different from them.
Reid drove in to work, knowing that by the end of today he would be either very exhausted, or very excited. Those were his usual reactions to failure or success. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle going home on public transportation. Usually, Reid arrived to work first. The rest of the team would arrive in varying order each day, except for Rossi. Rossi never came in early, usually he was the last one in each morning … just short of arriving late. Reid was extremely surprised to find Rossi already in the bullpen.
"What are you doing in so early? Has something happened?" Reid asked, nervously.
"I'm waiting for you, Kiddo!" Rossi chuckled. He was holding a medium-sized gift bag and sitting on the edge of Morgan's desk.
When Reid sat down, Rossi set the bag on the floor between them and said, "Take a look." As Reid looked through the items in the bag, Rossi explained his plan for today.
Each of the items in the bag had a small note attached to them. There was a bag of Dunkin' Donuts coffee, a coffee mug that read 'I am a Genius.', an nice looking tie and tie clip, a 'Dummies Guide to the Internet', and another book titled '14,000 Things To Do When You Have Nothing To Do'.
"A Dummies Guide?" Reid asked, holding up the offensively titled book.
"It's just another way into conversation with the team. You'll explain that you don't want to be a Garcia, but you want to start doing a little bit more on the internet. The book title alone will keep them occupied for days every time they see you reading it." Rossi explained, smirking.
Rossi pulled out the coffee mug and put it on Reid's desk, as he said, "I love this! As Garcia would say, 'that's because it's true.'"
Reid sat there shaking his head and laughing loudly. "It is true, isn't it?"
Rossi told Reid to hide the tie, tie clip, and the two books. They would be used later today, or tomorrow, if needed. This morning they would start the ball rolling with the DD coffee and the mug. Rossi told Reid to say that he brought the coffee himself, but that he didn't know who had left the mug on his desk. They folded up the gift bag and stuffed it in Reid's desk drawer. Then they went to start the coffee brewing.
"mmm … mmm!" Rossi and Reid heard Garcia before they even saw her. She entered the breakroom looking even more excited than she usually did this early in the morning. "Do I smell French Vanilla?" Garcia asked as she made her way over to the counter and grabbed up the bag, "Dunkin' Donuts! Who brought this in?"
Rossi waited for Reid to take the credit, but Reid just stood there looking a combination of nervous and embarrassed. Rossi rolled his eyes and said, "Well it wasn't me. It was you, wasn't it, Reid?"
"I just thought it'd be nice to start the work year off … nice." Reid said, with a grimace that was supposed to be a smile. He couldn't believe that he said the word 'nice' twice. Now he was rhyming in his mind. Before he could get too far down that dismal thought track, Garcia spoke.
"Thank you, Reid. This is perfect. I think we should do this every Monday. We'll rotate turns on who buys it, and they can choose whichever brew they want. It'll start each week off with a kick!" Garcia reached out and tickled Reid's stomach, making the three of them start giggling.
"Happy New Year, Guys!" Morgan called out, as he and Prentiss entered the kitchen.
"I love French Vanilla. Who brought it in?" Prentiss asked, picking up her mug from the counter.
"So this is where everyone is, goofing off in the breakroom!" Hotch said, standing in the doorway, trying to keep a stern look on his face. "And what's that smell?"
As JJ scooted around Hotch and entered the room, she said, "We're not goofing off. This is the breakroom, so that means were on break. What's going on, Guys?"
The coffee was almost ready. It was making those loud spurt noises. Prentiss had subtly positioned herself directly in front of the coffeemaker, with one hand poised to grab the pot.
"Oh no, Missy!" Garcia said, as she gently nudged Prentiss back from the counter. "Get in line, just like the rest of us. You and Derek are fourth and fifth."
"She's fifth. I entered before Prentiss, so I'm fourth!" Morgan made clear to everyone.
Hotch was still standing in the doorway, wondering what was going on with his team. JJ burst out laughing and said, "Ha-Ha Hotch, you're last because you're still in the doorway."
Morgan, Garcia, and Prentiss joined in with JJ as they continued laughing at 'poor Hotch'. Rossi smirked at Hotch, as Hotch gave in and laughed. Hotch said, "Well, if I'm last, I deserve to know what I'm last for?"
No one had noticed that Reid had somehow managed to drift furthest away from the coffee, as each person had entered the breakroom. Even Rossi hadn't noticed, and he was pissed at himself when he finally did notice. As Garcia told the team about the new weekly Monday rotation list that she was going to send around, Rossi walked over to Reid. "What's wrong, Kiddo? This is good."
"I just didn't know what to say. Every time I was almost ready to say something, someone else said something. I'm too slow at this." Reid explained, calmly. He wasn't upset, or nervous though. Having spent all that time recently with Rossi, had made a big difference. He just didn't have a spontaneous tongue like the rest of them.
"Listen to me, Reid. This is a perfect moment. We're all standing here in a good mood on the first workday of the year. I don't want to tell them your resolution, but I really think that we should tell them something. Believe me, they will make it a lot easier for you, in every way that they can. We all love you, Reid. You do know that, don't you?" Rossi finished quietly. Reid nodded his head, as he continued staring down at the floor.
Rossi had noticed that the breakroom had gone quiet, even though the team was all there. He was glad that Reid hadn't noticed, yet. Rossi reached down and took Reid's mug from his hands. He said, "You see this? We can never ignore this, no matter what you do, or how you act. They always try to get you to do things with them. It's not that they're trying to change you. They just want to do something for you, to try to be helpful to you. Their mistake is that they don't know what you need them to help you with. And they'll never know if you don't tell them." Rossi put his hand on Reid's shoulder and continued, "Don't tell them anything that we've been discussing about me and you, our otherness. Just tell them that you want to learn to chat more with them, and you want them to help you. Believe me, they'll be thrilled." Rossi chuckled, as he waited for Reid to say something.
Reid was again, thankful that he had Rossi as a friend, as a best friend. He was smiling when he finally looked up at Rossi. Just as Reid was about to say something to Rossi, he saw the team all standing there quietly. Thinking back, quickly, and noticing how he and Rossi were on the far side of the breakroom, and Rossi's voice had been lowered, almost a whisper … Reid realized that the team hadn't overheard anything. Rossi winked at Reid and kept his hand on Reid's shoulder as they walked over to the coffee counter.
"Thanks for the coffee, Reid, and for starting us off on our new Monday routine. We've been waiting for you to pour the first cup. In your … new mug?" Hotch questioned. The rest of the team smiled, nodding as they made way for Reid to approach the coffee pot.
"Hold it up, Pretty Boy. What does it say?" Morgan asked, trying to read the mug through Reid's fingers.
"I am a genius." Reid said, as his face heated up.
"We all know that, but what does the mug say?" Garcia asked, as she took the mug from Reid. "You are the cutest thing!" Garcia practically shouted. She handed the mug to Morgan, who was fourth. Garcia gave Reid a great big hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Morgan, Prentiss, JJ, and Hotch just stared silently at the mug for a few seconds. Reid was glad that Garcia still had a hold on him, because he was thinking of running. Morgan twisted the cup around, and it said the same thing, 'I am a genius.' They laughed and handed the mug back to Reid.
Reid was so happy as he took his mug from Morgan, and poured himself the first cup of Monday coffee. Reid insisted that he didn't know who had given it to him. That he had found it on his desk when he came in this morning. Reid watched his team, no, his friends as they took their turns in order and poured themselves a cup of coffee. They kept smiling and chuckling as they kept looking at Reid and his mug. Once everyone had poured themselves some coffee, they just stood there still looking from Reid to his mug, from Reid to his mug. They were waiting, but Reid didn't know what they were waiting for. He looked at Rossi, and Rossi nodded his head, encouragingly.
"Hey Guys! I made a resolution and I sort of need your help to keep it." Reid said, looking at his friends.
"What do you need, Reid?" Hotch asked.
"We'd love to help you with anything." Prentiss said, as the others nodded in agreement.
Rossi held his breath, hoping that Reid wouldn't say too much. Deciding to make sure of that, Rossi said, "Just tell them what you told me this morning … about chatting with them." Reid caught Rossi's wink, and understood not to tell too much.
The team was more than willing to help Reid learn to chitchat. They were so glad to be able to teach the genius anything. Reid did explain that he was trying to learn more about the things that they liked, so that he could have more things to say to them. The girls 'awwed' at Reid, as Morgan and Hotch clapped Reid's shoulder and back.
After a few more moments of chatting about chitchatting, Hotch said, "Ok, everybody. We have work to do. Let's do a quick toast to the new year, and Reid gets the first sip."
Everyone called out Happy New Year and clinked their mugs. They each held their mugs near their mouths so that they could sip after Reid. Reid took a sip and the team doubled over in laughter. Once again, Reid didn't know what was so funny because he had never looked at the bottom of his mug.
Rossi reached over and tapped the bottom. Reid raised his mug high enough to see. He was so shocked to see that printed on the bottom of his mug was 'Did you know that …' The team loved it, and Reid's reaction.
It was so … Reid!
A/N: This is the final chapter of this story. I hope I've done a decent enough job telling this tale. This wasn't how I expected this story to end. It just worked itself out this way. As this story has now ended, I'll leave you with a powerful scene from The Family of Blood. It has nothing to do with this story. It just moves me. As I said, this story was more for me than it was for you.
Son of Mine said, "He never raised his voice. That was the worst thing — the fury of the Time Lord. Then we discovered why — why this Doctor, who had fought with gods and demons, why he had run away from us and hidden. He was being kind. He wrapped my father in unbreakable chains forged in the heart of a dwarf star. He tricked my mother into the event horizon of a collapsing galaxy to be imprisoned there, forever. He still visits my sister, once a year … every year. I wonder if one day he might forgive her, but there she is. Can you see? He trapped her inside a mirror … every mirror. If ever you look at your reflection and see something move behind you just for a second, that's her. That's always her. As for me, I was suspended in time, and the Doctor put me to work standing over the fields of England, as their protector. We wanted to live forever. So the Doctor made sure that we did." Thank You to the BBC for 50 years of Doctor Who!