Almost spoilers for 'Poison', where Gideon is seen at an orchestra.

A Good Man- Pick your Vices, Learn your Virtues

"You can pick as many vices as you please, but your virtues will only be learned over time."

-Author Unknown

It was one of the things he still regretted. More accurately, it was one of the things he could still afford to regret. Ever since the day Jason Gideon had joined the Behavioral Analysis Unit it had been the one thing that got him through the whole experience, and even before that he had been closely related to it and its practices. The thing had become a vice of him, though he'd always categorized it as a virtue to those who could do it. He used to, he once thought glumly, but with age it had soon become forgotten from his mind.

It was one of Jason's strongest regrets that he hadn't shown his young protégé the joy of music. He should have taken him to a concert to show him the calming effects of a stringed instrument's bow, the healing complex of the harp, the joyful harmony of the trumpet. He should have told Spencer that the vice of his got him through the days where he just couldn't find it in himself to let go of the case they had been working on. When it wouldn't leave his mind he let the flute's whisper and the saxophone's triumphant exaggerations take control of the thoughts of harm that coursed through his mind.

Now, as Jason watched a young father and his kid pick out a trumpet from the outside window he couldn't help but think of that vital mistake he had made. Looking back he hoped that somewhere Spencer was out there done with another case and doing something he loved, something other than chess or books or schooling. The older man sighed and just pulled his jacket a bit closer to him. It was getting colder outside, and as the wind whipped snow all around him to and fro, he realized that it was time for him to go home.

~* That same time in Virginia *~

Spencer Reid practiced a quick scale before launching in to his first attempt at a new song. He just hadn't been getting it, and he wished that there was someone out there who could help him.

Unfortunately, just as he went to touch the keys with his fingers again, his damned phone started ringing. With a sigh he quickly put away the keyboard and pulled out his phone. It was a text from Garcia; they had a case. Spencer frowned as he threw on his coat and his purple scarf. His team had just gotten off a case, and he wasn't sure he was quite ready for another one. Before he left he took a look at himself in the mirror. Like always he frowned at what he saw, because each time he looked his appearance became more fatigued and more grown- and in the worse way possible. The last few years at the BAU had been tough, but he'd manage to get through. "It's just another case," he said to himself in the mirror, as if telling his reflection would make him believe it more. He didn't, of course. Deciding he had stalled enough Spencer grabbed his messenger bag and started out the door.

At least it was only another case…..