Playing Games by JuliaBC
A/N: Sorry for the long silence! I was having a really hard time finding inspiration to write. A lot of stuff happened recently, and then 10x18: Rock Creek Park was really...not inspirational. Yes, I know, it had tons of Reid. But I found the actual episode to be incredibly boring. And having seen the Manchurian Candidate, and hearing before hand that it was inspired by it, I totally knew that the UnSub was the mother. (SPOILER ALERT)
The game this time is Balderdash. I had a hard time getting the...format for how the gameplay would work down. If it seems stiff, apologies.
"Considering that we've gone for simpler games lately," Reid said, coming up to Kate and placing a box down at her elbow, "I was thinking we'd go for something more educational."
"Balderdash?" Kate asked, picking up the box.
"It was this or Apples to Apples," Garcia said, coming into the room with steaming mugs of tea. "And Apples to Apples is too crazy a game to play with just four players."
Their trip to the animal shelter had been snowed out; they'd planned to meet at Garcia's apartment because it was closest to a good shelter, but once they'd reached it, snow had started to fall.
Meg finally emerged from the bathroom, patting her hair rather self-consciously. "Well, I finally got my hair under control again," she said, walking over to the table rather slowly and sitting down next to Kate. "What's this?"
"It's a word game," Kate said slowly, then looked to Garcia.
"You get cards with weird words on them and guess the definition," Garcia explained cheerfully. "I'm going to the Dasher for this round; it rotates. So, I read off a word, you guys write what you think the definition is and I read them out loud and try to not reveal the answer by my reactions to the guesses. Then you guys vote on which definition you think is correct, and I reveal all. The player with the most votes gets one point, the player who guessed the definition gets two, and if no one guesses the correct meaning, the Dasher gets three. Got it?"
The game was quickly set up, and Meg sipped her tea rather morosely, as her plans for the afternoon had certainly not been to hang out with Kate's weird new friends. The animal shelter she'd agreed to, but she hadn't agreed to something that even remotely educational.
Kate sighed as she studied her niece, wondering when things had changed, when Meg had decided that school was no longer worth the bother, but almost anything, even her score on Candy Crush, was definitely worth staying up past her curfew.
"Okay," Garcia said. "Here is the first word. Ginglymus."
"What?" Meg burst out. "That's, like, not even a word."
"But it is, my friend," Garcia said. "Come on, hazard a guess. If it's wrong, all the better!"
Reid had written down his definition almost immediately, folded his paper over and handed it to Garcia. "Doesn't the expectation of finding what it really means excite you?" He asked, eyes dancing as he looked at the teen. "Isn't knowledge worth having?"
"Sometimes," Meg grumbled, and reached for her pencil.
Kate studied the word; etymology had never been her strong suit but she did have a fair grasp of Latin and Greek roots. She didn't think this word was either and gave up trying to get the correct definition and said it mentally, in her head.
Words could give you images, sometimes. Inexplicably, whenever she heard the name George, she thought swimming pool.
Ginglymus. Sounds like a piece of equipment. Something you'd find in a toolbox.
She wrote down, a type of tool, and handed her paper in. Garcia shuffled them and read aloud.
"A hinge joint," she read. "A type of tool. A sex toy."
Kate spat out the mouthful of tea she'd just swallowed, accidentally showering Garcia.
"Yikes!" Garcia said, jumping back in surprise. "Yeah, it was funny, but not quite that funny."
"It wasn't funny," Kate said. "Because I know who wrote it."
She turned to shake her head at Meg, who just rolled her eyes. "I thought these submissions were private."
"They don't stay private," Garcia said. "You vote on which you think it was, and then the one with the most votes gets points. You kinda have to reveal your identity then. Besides, you're playing with profilers. Not that it takes a profiler to surmise that our friend Dr. Reid would never write sex toy."
"If that was the definition, I would," Reid protested. "Don't treat me like a shrinking violet."
"Most shrinking violets can be quite scandalous behind closed doors," Meg encountered, and Kate once again choked on her tea.
"What?" Meg exclaimed. "It's a trope, a cliche character on TV shows. The girl who's really shy in the hallways but has some sort of secret online life? Do you even watch TV anymore, Kate?"
Garcia and Reid waited in uncomfortable silence for Kate to reply.
"Maybe this game requires more players for anonymity," Kate finally said. "You're right, Meg. I shouldn't have said it was your answer, even though it was."
"God, can you just stop it?" Meg said, standing up and looking at Garcia. "Do you have any books to read? I just don't feel like playing."
"In there," Garcia said. "Do you like science fiction or bodice rippers? That might be all I have. Plus some technical manuals."
"I'll manage," Meg said, and left the room with her back ramrod straight.
"Let me apologize for Meg," Kate said. "She's never been this rude in company before."
"She'll grow through it," Garcia said. "I wasn't insulted, just entertained."
Reid met Kate's eyes. "To be honest, she reminded me of you."
"What?" Kate exclaimed. "I mean, we have similarities, but that conversation was not something I'd say."
"I think it is," Reid said. "Have you forgotten what songs you chose for karaoke?"
Kate colored, her cheeks becoming a flaming scarlet.
"I have!" Garcia said. "I remember your face from that night, but at point I was feeling more than a little tipsy and don't recall what you actually sang."
"It doesn't matter," Kate said. "And if Mr. Eidetic Memory says anything further on the topic, he'll find himself with a lap full of hot tea."
"Haven't you already choked on all of it?" Reid shot back and Garcia's mouth dropped open.
"Burn!" She crowed, and Kate stood up.
"You two are nuts," she said.
"But that's why you love us so much, right?" Garcia said. "Come on, sit down again."
"I think Meg was right," Kate said. "There's no way we can keep our guesses private with this small number of players, and Reid will win anyway.'
"Oh, Kate, you aren't a quitter," Garcia said. "Come on!"
"We can play a variation," Reid said. "There's a two player variation where you guess the definition."
"I have a better idea," Kate said. "Let's pick an entirely new game."
"No thanks," Garcia chirped. "Sit down again. Here's your word: dilettante."
"I know what it is," Reid said immediately. "But you can still guess," he added as an aside to Kate and she rolled her eyes.
"You are just too kind," she drawled. "I'm guessing it has nothing to do with debutante." Silent for a moment, she finally spoke. "Someone who is really wishy-washy?"
"That's better than I thought you'd do," Reid jumped in, completely cutting off Garcia when she opened her mouth to define it. "A dilletante is a person who cultivates an area of interest, such as the arts, without real commitment or knowledge. For instance, Garcia's passion for knitting. She has no idea how to knit, but loves the idea of it."
"That's not really a very good example," Garcia said, "but you were right. And Kate's wishy washy kind of fits into that."
"It does," Reid nodded.
"Ineffable," Garcia said. "That is, that's your next word."
Reid was already smirking and Kate burst out laughing.
"Okay, so everyone knows the definition but me? This is how this is going to play out?"
Reid nodded, a huge grin on his face.
"Well, I think I know it," Kate began. "But I can't think of the words. It's, like, impossible to describe."
"Correct!" Garcia exclaimed.
"Pardon?" Kate asked, looking up from her tea.
"Ineffable is the inability to express something in words, because it is too great or extreme usually," Reid stated.
Kate blinked. "That wasn't even intentional. I was saying that I was unable to describe it."
The other two burst out laughing, and Kate gradually joined in, until Meg curiously poked her head in.
"What are you guys laughing at? Did someone spike your tea?"
"It's just impossible to describe," Kate apologized, wiping her eyes.
That was how the rest of the afternoon was spent, in laughter and tears, until it was time to leave.
The snow had stopped, and Kate felt rather subdued as she tied a borrowed scarf around her neck as they left Garcia's apartment.
"Hey, you want to stop by my apartment?" Reid said. "It's right over there. You and Meg could borrow some books."
Meg looked at Kate, and Kate realized it was for approval: Meg wanted to go.
"Of course," she exclaimed. "You two can go ahead. I'll just text Chris really quick."
Reid gestured for Meg to go ahead, and the teen laughed nervously before stepping forward.
Kate typed a quick greeting, but then tucked her phone into her pocket and started walking, purposely staying a few steps behind Reid and Meg to hear what they said without interrupting their conversation.
"What type of books do you like?" Reid was asking, breaking a silence.
"Fantasy, I guess," Meg said. "I like books where a modern heroine is tossed into a magical world and has to use her wits to get out."
"Like The Chronicles of Narnia?" Reid asked.
"I guess," Meg said. "C.S. Lewis is okay, but he's got a bit too much allegory."
Kate startled at hearing such a big word fall off of Meg's tongue. The girl was smart, but usually coated it in layers of 'coolness'. It was relieving to see her show off a little.
"I like Tolkein better," Meg continued. "Though his female characters are few and far between, their total kickass-ness make them stand far above a lot of other heroines."
"What did you think of Peter Jackson's Tauriel?" Reid asked, curious.
"What did you think?" Meg asked.
"She was okay," Reid began. "I've always been disappointed with how books are never translated correctly onto the screen, so my hopes are never too high. The storytelling is just completely different, so I understand that you have to change things. Tauriel did her job, I enjoyed watching her scenes."
"I think if Legolas hadn't been smitten with her I would have liked her more," Meg said. "The Kili thing was okay."
Kate grinned as their conversation progressed, glad to see the two getting along so well.
As they walked, Reid turned around and winked at her, leaving Kate to flush.
So he'd noticed.
Well, whatever. It was no secret she wanted everyone in her life to get along.
A/N: Have never played Balderdash either, but I think it's my most requested at this point. I got the words from
Wordnik. com
quizlet. com
alphadictionary. com
And Yay! This is the first time I've actually written Meg. I'm a bit nervous about it, so please tell me if she rang true to how she is on the show!
I'm going to have a Balderdash Part II; the whole team will play at some point. And in case you've noticed, I really like Reid with a Backbone and Sassy!Reid.
Oddly, the thing that inspired me to write this was the COMPLETE lack of Kate and Reid in ALL the previews, promo photos, press headings etc. related to the next episode, Beyond Borders. Seriously. Not even a footnote. What I was looking forward to, now...not so much.
And you can find Balderdash on amazon, using the keyword balderdash.