If my calculations are correct, Reid will be 30 yrs-old this fall. :D

A Good Man- Social Calls

Spencer Reid stared blankly at his phone. It was a Saturday morning and he had absolutely nothing better to do than wait for the BAU to call him. Across from him on the bed was his go-bag, his messenger around his shoulder, and his Converse tied tightly to his feet. Reid felt almost ashamed of all of the above facts.

And he almost felt more ashamed that the phone started ringing. With a sigh he answered it after the first ring, and before the person on the other line could say anything he said, "Yeah, I'm on my way now."

"It's a bad one, Reid," Hotch sighed.

"They always are." Without waiting for a reply Reid hung up and headed down to his car. 'Every time,' he thought to himself, 'it never fails.' Once he made it outside his apartment building, though, he found Hotch, Garcia, and Morgan waiting with smiles on their faces.

"It was Garcia's idea," Morgan replied defensively, though his own smile was just as big as hers.

"Come on Boy Genius," Garcia grinned, "we've got work to do."

Before Reid knew it he was standing next to his three friends and knocking on David Rossi's door. 'It's better than a case, at least,' he murmured.

"Glad you could make it," Rossi grinned as he invited the profilers in.

"Where else would we all be?" Garcia smiled back.

The next few hours went by in a blur, and if Reid didn't have an eidetic memory he wouldn't have even remembered where he was. Soon enough the youngest profiler couldn't take the happy-go-lucky atmosphere anymore, and he quietly made his way out onto Rossi's backyard patio.

Minutes ticked away as the young man stared blankly out into Rossi's back yard. They weren't on a case, the team was together, no one's life at was stake-so why wasn't he happy?

"Would you mind some company?"

Before Reid even had time to whip his head around and see who it was Hotch was already by his side. "What's on your mind?" he asked patiently.

"When you called me this morning, I was sitting on my bed waiting for the phone to ring. My go-bag was ready, my messenger was beside me, and my shoes were tied. I didn't have any plans for the day just in case we were called in," Reid sighed. The younger profiler shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. Hotch immediately recognized it as a 'nervous tick' that he'd seen Reid do more than a couple of times. The section chief didn't reply to his subordinate as he was sure he wasn't done talking yet. A few seconds later he was proven right. "I'm almost thirty, Hotch. No kids, no wife, not even a girlfriend. I have no social life outside of work, because I'm married to the job."

"Reid," Hotch frowned, "we all go through that. It's, unfortunately, apart of the job. I know that doesn't make it any easier, but you're not alone anymore. You've got seven other people on this team- a single dad, a guy with three ex-wives, a married woman with kids, two single, childless kids, and another who has a new girl every night. We knew what it's like- we know how hard it can be. Sure, you're situation is different, but-"

"I know Hotch," Reid smiled sadly. "It's just- it's hard to think about it sometimes. And this 'party'? It's hard to enjoy it when I expected a work call. Switching between the two modes- it's hard," Reid laughed humorlessly.

"Well, I guess you need more practice, then," Hotch almost smirked. "Don't worry- it'll be someone else than me next time." Reid just grinned at that, unsure what else he should say. Hotch suddenly stood up straight, motioning for Reid to follow suit. "Why don't we get back in there?" Hotch suggested.

"Yeah, of course," Reid nodded. He started following Hotch back into the house when he paused for a minute, causing Hotch to do the same. "Thank you, Hotch," Reid said, the corners of his lips turning up a bit.

"Any time, Reid." Then, with a quick exchange of smiles, they re-entered the house.