Playing Games by JuliaBC
"I can't believe they sent you home," Garcia told Kate, staring at her. "You're still so...so pregnant."
"Exactly," Kate said, looking as exhausted as she felt. "But I wasn't giving birth so they sent me home. And now here I am to stay, stuck on the couch...until I need to pee again."
"Yowzers," Garcia said, and sat down, rather heavily, next to Kate on the couch. "Suddenly, I'm happy to have never been pregnant. JJ made it seem like a breeze, but maybe it isn't for everyone."
"How many times did JJ go to the hospital for false labor?" Kate asked.
"Never, I don't think," Garcia replied. "I think she had some of the pains, but she just kind of ignored them because she's...well, she's JJ. She's superwoman."
"Yes, she is," Kate murmured. "And she sent you over to me. Thanks, Penelope."
"I'm glad to be here," Garcia chirped. "Especially since Meg is out with Chris and you're all alone, Kate."
"There was Penny," Kate said. "But she doesn't like me that much."
"Ooh, where is my adorable namesake?" Garcia said, looking around as if the kitten might appear out of nowhere.
"She really likes to explore, and to get caught in tiny places," Kate said. "You can go look for her, if you wanted to."
"Eek, I will," Garcia said, standing up. "If I take more than five minutes and I haven't found her yet, call me back. Does she have a regular hiding place?"
"Not yet," Kate called as Garcia peeked around, searching for Meg's kitten. "She's still discovering all of her options."
"Ah," Garcia said and continued to look.
"I heard that Agent Blake was going to visit this weekend," Kate said, and she heard Garcia pause.
"Yeah, she is," Garcia called back. "She's going to spend the night at Reid's. We're having a barbecue at JJ's. You're invited too, if you feel up to it," Garcia added, poking her head back into the living room.
"Has Hotch been interviewing?" Kate asked. "To replace me?"
"Honey, we don't interview to replace people," Garcia scolded. "No one could replace you, just as you didn't replace Alex and she didn't replace Emily."
"Is he?" Kate asked again.
A pause. "Yes."
"Oh," Kate said, her voice small. "I don't know why but that hurts, way inside."
"It's okay for it to hurt," Garcia said. "You didn't want to go."
Kate leaned farther into the sofa cushion, as a gray kitten snuck into the room and rubbed against Garcia's legs.
"Penny!" She cooed, immediately leaned down to scoop her up.
Kate watched the maneuver with narrowed eyes. "I will never understand how you can bend over in those heels and not lose your balance," she remarked. "What a skillset you possess, Penelope."
"I love shoes as high as these so I've learned to do anything in them," Garcia said happily, cuddling Penny and sitting next to Kate again. "Ooh, you knew I was looking for you, didn't you, sweetheart?" She said, rubbing her nose against Penny's. The kitten meowed, and Garcia meowed back.
Kate laughed. "Did you just meow back at her?"
"Of course," Garcia said. "She's talking to me. Don't you know this? See, cats don't meow to each other. They communicate with purrs and stuff. They reserve meows for humans. Like me. So I'm meowing back."
Kate was silent for a moment, and played with a frayed edge on the couch. "Do you want to drive me over to JJ's tonight?" She asked. "I'd really like to see Blake. I met her, a while ago, and I'd like to see her again."
"Did you work with her or just meet her?" Garcia asked.
"We crossed paths during a shared case," Kate said. "I was undercover investigating and we needed a linguist. Andi sent me."
"Wait," Garcia said. "Hold on a second. Does that mean she didn't know you were FBI?"
"Yes, it does," Kate said. "I was deep; my name was Marilee and I had the thickest southern accent you've ever heard."
"So will she recognize you?" Garcia said.
"Probably, I don't know," Kate answered. "I mean, I'm sure Andi told her afterward that she'd just assisted in our investigation. And she probably saw me at the Benjamin that night."
"Whatever the case is, this will be fun," Garcia said. "Come on, I'll help you up the stairs and you can change out of your...pajamas?"
Kate chuckled. "They didn't use to be pajamas," she said. "But I have been sleeping in them."
"Okay, time me," Alex Blake asked Reid, handing him her watch.
Her hands moving like lightning, and her brain working twice as fast, she flew through a crossword puzzle and placed her pencil down.
"Two minutes!" She crowed, and slapped Reid's hand in victory.
Reid took that moment to pull her into a hug. "I missed you, Alex," he said.
She pulled back, and Reid saw the tears in her eyes. "How'd you do without me?" She asked. "How are you?"
"I'm good," Reid said. "I've healed...from everything. Wounds both physical and emotional."
She watched him, her eyes alert and searching. "You have." She stated simply, and reached out to ruffle his hair. "What about my replacement? How'd she do? Why did she leave?"
"To spend time with her baby, she was expecting," Reid said. "I guess I never did tell you that. We haven't talked in a while. You stopped answering my calls, Alex."
"I know," Alex said. "There was a point in time where I had to let go of this, of you, of everyone. To live, Spencer. I had to do it."
"I understand," Reid said. "And if it brought you to this point, I'm not disappointed. You're back with us, if just for a weekend."
Alex nodded. "Yes, I am."
"Okay," Reid said. "It was a long drive for you. Do you want to rest or something before we go over to JJ's?"
"That would be nice," Alex said. "Actually, I want to read to you."
Reid's eyes lit up. "Really? It's been a long time since that has happened."
"Not since you were a child?" Alex asked, going to her bag.
"Since my mom," Reid answered. "Yes."
"Well, then it's high time you were read to again," Alex said. "Just one passage from this. Have you ever read Sigrid Undset?"
"No," Reid said. "Is she good?"
"She's fantastic," Alex said. Reid settled into the chair next to her and she began to read, her voice soothing both of them.
Morgan slung his arm around Kate, smiling wide. "You haven't popped yet?"
"No, I'm still waiting," Kate said, giving him a side hug in return. "Ooh, it's good to see you, Derek."
"And it's good to see you, too, Kate," he returned. "You ready for this?"
"Yeah, I think so," Kate said. Garcia came hurrying up behind them.
"Why haven't you gone inside yet?" She asked, shoving past them. "It's time to see Alex."
"Okay," Derek said and guided Kate inside, and she was grateful for the help. Yes, sometimes as a woman she liked to assert her independence and mow her own lawn, open her own doors and pull out her own chairs.
But right now, she was very willing to let Derek do all of that. And, you know, almost carry her inside.
Well, that was an exaggeration, she reflected, her feet shuffling forward. She'd be off her feet by now if it was Derek Morgan carrying her.
"Hey," Hotch greeted them, a beer in hand. "You made it, Kate? You look tired. Are you sure about this?"
"I'm fine with this," Kate said, slipping forward to give him a hug without thinking twice. He returned the hug after the tiniest moment of hesitation, holding her close before releasing her. "I wanted to come," she said, smiling up at him. "It's been too long since I've seen the team together."
From the kitchen emerged a tall, older brunette. Kate pulled away from Hotch and took Derek's arm again, since he was the one offering help. "This must be Alex Blake."
"Marilee," Alex returned, a grin playing at her lips. "I should have known our paths would cross again. Andi told me afterward that you were FBI but she didn't say your name."
"Marilee?" Hotch mouthed to Derek, and Derek shrugged.
"Kate Callahan, actually," Kate said, extending her hand.
"Alex Blake, former professor of linguistics at Georgetown," Alex said with some amusement in her voice. "Wow, you're far along. Do you know what you're having?"
"I wasn't planning on finding out, but I had some false labor last week and accidentally learned that I'm having a son," Kate replied.
"That's amazing," Alex said, an awed tone in her voice. "Have you picked a name?"
"We're still in discussion about that," Kate said. "I think Chris was really expecting a girl, so he's a bit lost right now."
"The prospect of having a son is so shocking?" Alex joked. "My husband...never mind."
"Okay, who's Marilee?" Morgan said, breaking a silence.
"Kate was," Alex said. "I got mixed up in her investigation once upon a time. Damn, you had a heavy southern accent."
"Yes, I did," Kate said. Behind Kate, JJ emerged from the kitchen, her own baby bump tiny in comparison to Kate's.
"Will and Dave misjudged the cooking time," she said. "We've got half an hour before anything will be hot. And Spence, my hero, happened to bring Apples to Apples."
"I did," Reid said, popping up behind her. "This is a very old Christmas present that I never opened."
"Oh, from who?" Hotch asked, looking curious.
"Would you believe me if I said I forgot?" Reid hedged, placing the still plastic wrapped game on the dining room table.
"No," Hotch said, a frown wrinkling his brow.
"Haley," Reid said. "And you. It was a joint gift, but I think Haley picked it out so..." He shrugged, unapologetically breaking the plastic wrap and opening the box.
Hotch shook his head. "I should have known not to ask," he said, slipping past JJ and Alex into the kitchen. "I'll pass on this one," he said. "I'm going to join Dave and Will out back."
"I don't think Will would be up for it, but could you ask Dave if he wants to play?" JJ asked, and Hotch nodded his reply.
The players, Morgan, Kate, Reid, Garcia, Alex and JJ sat down, finding seats. "Is it okay to play on the dining room table?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, we're just going to eat outside," JJ said.
"Ah," Kate answered as the cards were dealt.
"For six players, six apples win," Reid said. "So. Let's start."
A green apple card was chosen by JJ. "I guess I'm first," she said, unintentionally seated at the head of the table. "Evil: Wicked, corrupt, depraved."
"That's a heavy word to start out with," Garcia said, but shrugged as she picked a red card and placed it face down next to JJ. The others passed in their cards, JJ shuffled and read them.
"Love and Marriage. Elizabeth Taylor. Abraham Lincoln. A bad haircut. Milking a cow." She snorted at each one, and burst out laughing at milking a cow. "Okay, everyone here is officially insane," she said. "I'm going to pick a bad haircut simply because nothing else is that bad."
"Mine!" Garcia chirped and grabbed the card. She seemed to rethink her enthusiasm when Dave entered a moment later and saw the card sitting in front of her.
"I thought you didn't like to be labelled," he drawled and Garcia just winked at him.
"Did you come to play?" Reid asked. "We can still deal you in."
"No, I'll just watch for a minute or two," he answered.
"Okay," Reid said, as Morgan took the next green card.
"Flaky: Foolish, eccentric, crispy." He shrugged as he placed the card on the table. "Make of that what you will."
This took shorter than had evil. Kate picked her card quickly and slid it next to Morgan.
"Rock and roll. Salads. Sigmund Freud. Bill Clinton. High heels." Morgan read after he finished shuffling. "Wow, that's a list."
He considered the cards. "You know, I have this strange desire to profile what each of you picked but I won't. My favorite, I suppose, is Bill Clinton. I never did get over him seducing Monica Lewinski."
"Did you hear the seminar she gave about it?" Reid said as JJ took the card from Derek, triumphant. "She had some powerful things to say."
"Yes, she did," Alex agreed. "About how she was one of the first people to be an internet sensation, and not in a good way."
"I missed that one," Derek said and Kate picked the next green card.
"Sloppy: Messy, careless." She read the card and placed it on the table.
"Is it still too late to deal me in?" Dave asked, suddenly wanting to join.
"Of course not," Reid said, quickly dealing him seven red cards.
"Babies. Hospital gowns. Killer whales. Meg Ryan. Rappers. The CIA." She read the cards out loud and couldn't stop the laughter. "Okay, we've got some diabolic minded people playing. I don't even know what to pick. I think, however, that the person who put babies in was too confident that I'd pick it so I'm taking Meg Ryan instead. I never got over those overlong coats she was always wearing. They drove me insane, because she's, like, 5'8" and has no excuse. Okay, I'm short and I still take time to get things tailored."
Garcia took the card, and frowned. "Now I'm evil and sloppy."
"Don't take it so seriously, baby girl," Morgan assured her.
Reid took the next green card. "Glamorous: Beautiful, dazzling, stylish."
As the cards came in, Reid announced them. "Toy poodles. Woolly mammoths. Marilyn Monroe. GI Joe. Elvis Presley. Cold pizza." He considered the cards intently. "Wow. I'm going to have to go with Marilyn Monroe."
"Mine," Alex admitted, extending her hand for the card.
Garcia looked at her enviously. "Now that's good fortune," she said, taking the next green card and reading it out. "Overwhelming: Exhaustive, breathtaking, monumental." She looked around the table. "Be prepared to really awe me this time."
Kate considered her cards, unsure what could ever overwhelm her lively friend and couldn't help but slide Dr. Seuss to the center.
"Dr. Seuss. Hey!" Garcia said, looking around the table to see who'd slighted her. "JFK. Hiroshima. Goldfish. Lance Armstrong. Kisses."
She considered the cards with narrowed eyes, obviously disliking all of the choices. "Hiroshima," she sighed, and Alex reached for the card, then picked up a green one.
"Organic: Natural, clean, biological."
"I love organic food," Garcia said. "I love your garden, Jayje."
"I do, too," JJ said, smiling wide. She seemed very at ease with Blake here, Kate reflected. She hadn't seen that kind of peace of JJ's face in a long time.
"Okay, the choices are," Alex read. "Ladybugs. Jodie Foster. Fur. Maple syrup. Salsa dancing—okay, I have to disagree with this one. There is no way on this earth that salsa dancing is organic. It's torture, plain and simple. Okay, last one. Panda bears."
Kate blinked, as she had been the one to select salsa dancing. Hmm. Interesting.
"I'm picking maple syrup," Alex said finally.
"That was mine," Dave said. "And now it's my turn to judge. Smooth & Creamy: Silky, velvety, rich."
Kate giggled as she picked the card poison ivy, thinking that it would tickle his unique sense of humor, but when he read the words out she knew she wouldn't get the card. Yes, there were people here who knew the team better than she did, that much was apparent.
"Nosebleeds. Midnight. Poison ivy. Mae West. Milk duds. Hamburgers." Rossi read out his words and looked around the table. "Come on, buck up a little. Mae West."
"Gotcha," Reid said, and took the card with delight.
The game went on and Kate grew more and more troubled as she didn't get a single card.
"It takes a while, that's all."
Alex's voice broke the silence that Kate was treasuring, much later that evening.
"Even more than a year, or even two," Alex continued, joining her on the back deck. Night had fallen, dinner was long eaten and inside, the team was talking about the old days. "This is still a hard team to break into. There's a bond here that I can barely comprehend myself and sometimes, it is hard when you try so badly and then you still fall short. But they still love you, Kate."
Kate looked at Alex, at the complete understanding the women had.
"Thank you," Kate said. "You didn't need to come after me."
"I probably didn't," Alex said. "But I want to know you a bit better before I leave. And I think I know you enough. Just keep trying. Stay around, if not for their sake, then for yours." Alex's eyes softened as she looked at Kate. "You need them a lot, Agent Callahan."
"Yeah, I do," Kate said. "I didn't want to leave, you know. But...time is so fleeting and I was too afraid of the moments I'd lose with this one."
She placed her hands over her stomach.
Alex made a choked sound. "I, uh, I had a boy. Ethan. Um. He died when he was nine, and I want every single moment back. Take those moments, Kate. Don't be ashamed and don't second guess your choice ever again. This team will still be here."
They were both crying, silent, painful tears now. Kate blew her nose, loudly, and straightened. "Ah, the stars are finally out," she said. "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight."
Staring up at the sky, she took the hand of the woman next to her and squeezed tight.
"Happiness. For all of us."
Alex repeated the rhyme, a moment later, but she didn't vocalize her wish. Kate wondered, for a very long time after, what Alex had wished, but she never found out.
A/N: This is my longest chapter yet. Eek!
Of course, Apples to Apples is real. You can find it on Amazon. And a lot of other places. Enjoy!