Title: Einstein's Theory
By: Sonia
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Jason Gideon/Spencer Reid
Spoilers: Plain Sight.
Summary: Sometimes it really is the thought behind the gift.
Feedback: If you have something to say, please do so.
Disclaimer: I'm not making a dime from all this hard work. Oy!
Notes: Thanks to Serene & Renee for the very quick and helpful beta.
The dialogue is from memory since I don't have a copy of the episodeto refer to.

{} Denotes thoughts.


"I forgot to give this to you at the party." Jason Gideon handed a brightly wrapped box to the resident genius of his team, Dr. Spencer Reid, over the chessboard between them.

"You don't give birthday presents." Reid stated.

"Open it." Gideon watched as Spencer opened the present. Reid pawed at the bow and popped the lid off the small box. Inside were two large colorful tickets. His face showed his confusion.

"Tickets to the Red Skins." The name of the team tripped off his tongue in a clumsy way. "Why thank you."

"Have you ever been to a football game?" Gideon questioned, already knowing the answer, as he always seemed to.

Spencer gave a little smile. "Frankly, I didn't know there was a professional football team named this until just now."

"It's a good time. You'll love it."

"You're coming with me, right?" Reid asked with a hopeful tone of voice.

Jason's gut tightened with surprise. He never thought that Reid would ask*him*. {Now what do I do?} He wondered apprehensively.

He would give anything to be able to accept the unexpected invitation. He would love to interact with Spencer as he experienced something so new and foreign.

The sights, smells and the noise of the crowd would flood his database-like mind and overwhelm him. Imagine Reid, with his powers of perception and facility for collecting data, in a crowd of 50,000 people? That's why he gave him the tickets. Gideon knew it would be an amazing experience for him and fascinating for the person who got to watch him go through it. Deep down Gideon wanted that opportunity. He just didn't think he would ever get it of course. Why would Reid ask him to go with him? He'd ask a friend or maybe a pretty young woman to accompany him. The last person to come to mind would be his over-the-hill mentally fucked up boss who just happened to have the hots for him.

There were several reasons why Gideon kept his amorous feelings to himself. A few of them would be obvious to anyone. First he is Reid's supervisor at BAU. Anything more than friendship between them is forbidden by FBI regulations. If they did get together, which was highly unlikely, one of them would have to transfer. Then there was the fact that Gideon is Reid's elder by a couple of decades. He asked himself all the time, was this example of the old man using a much younger one to keep time at bay? There was an element of that in his infatuation with Reid, Gideon realized. He enjoyed the life in Spencer's eyes, his incredible sense of wonder at the world.

Then again it could be as simple as Gideon was lonely. He hadn't been involved with anyone for years. He could be looking to use Spencer to sate his loneliness, the voice inside his head would say. He dismissed that thought right away when it occurred. He wasn't capable of doing something like that. OK maybe he was when he was much younger and more selfish. This time it was different. He knew if he listened carefully, his heart would tell him his feelings for the brilliant doctor were legitimate.

He also loved working with Reid. He liked listening to him quote his beloved statistics. He had an enthusiasm for his work Gideon had lost. The last few years had sucked all the joy out of his existence. Jason Gideon was a broken man. The lost of his team in Boston damn near killed him in body and mind. His return to work a few months ago has been made easier by the concern of his new team especially his friend Aaron Hotchner. Having a team made him give a damn about life again. With their help, he had found his drive again. At first, Reid had shown a level of curiosity about his new boss Gideon had found disconcerting. He felt like a specimen under a microscope. Then he began to enjoy their one on one conversations, usually conducted over a game of chess. He purposely kept things about himself a mystery, not only for self-preservation, but it served to entice Reid into seeking him out more. He noticed Reid's interest in him getting more personal. Was it just intellectual curiosity run amok or something more? Gideon still had no earthly idea if Spencer really liked him as a person or was he just another puzzle to figure out. Reid's high-pitched voice broke into his ruminations.

"You are coming with me, right?" Reid asked again.

He tried to look causal as he dismissed the gesture. "Nah. There's a football fan on the team that would love to go. They're a Redskins fan to boot."

Spencer frowned. "Who?"

Gideon forced out the sentence. "The only person who calls you "Spence." He left out the part about how he hates it when she does that. He didn't like the presumptive air JJ took with him. He had no right to feel that way, but he did.

Spencer's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "What makes you think I would want to go with her?" Reid bowed his head in shamed surprise. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. The deep blush on his cheeks that followed was quite attractive Gideon noted.

"Don't you want to?" He wanted Spencer for himself but he knew better. JJ is intelligent, very pretty, in a blond way, and she had expressed an interest in Reid. She would be the perfect choice for a first relationship.

The fact that Reid had not had a girlfriend of any kind was painfully obvious. His awkwardness around women was quite pronounced. Jason found it endearing and, frankly, quite a turn-on. The thought of being the one to introduce Spencer to his sexuality was extremely enticing. For more nights than he wanted to admit to, Gideon had stroked himself to completion with that scenario playing out in his mind.

Reid shook his head. He was still looking down, so his remarks were actually addressed his lap. "I know it's quite apparent to everyone that I've never dated um...anyone. I don't want to take her out. She may get the wrong idea."

Gideon was floored. "What would be the wrong idea? She's a nice girl. She's interested in you socially. She'd be perfect."

"Exactly." Spencer mumbled. Once again he turned crimson; Gideon was starting to get alarmed. The possibility of Spencer passing out was just a few open blood vessels from reality.

"Doctor, she would be a great date. She could teach you about football and well...she's experienced with men."

Spencer blinked rapidly at Gideon's words. Gideon put up his hands in a defensive posture. "I didn't mean anything derogatory about her."

"I know. JJ is great and I'd be an idiot to not want to go out with her. I mean if she said yes that is."

Gideon leaned forward and said softly "You're not an idiot. The whole world knows that. Is it that you want to take someone else?"

Reid's throat seemed to close up on him. He nodded yes.

Jason sat back. He struggled to sound neutral on the subject.

"Who is she? Is it someone outside of work?'

Reid placed both hands on the table in front of him. He screwed up the courage to look Gideon in the eye. He took a deep breath and stated in a shaky voice.

"It's not a she and I don't really know anybody outside of the people on the team."

Gideon purposely kept his facial expression placid. He ran through the list of people they worked with. Aaron is happily married and expecting a baby. Reid would never admit to something so inappropriate. That was not in his character. That left only one person.

{Christ, he's fallen for Morgan.} How could he have missed that? He mentally slapped his own forehead. Derek Morgan is a stunningly handsome man with a beautiful smile, a sculpted body and is smart as a whip, an obvious choice for a first crush. Gideon felt a sharp stab of jealousy as he pondered the situation. His heart pounded uncomfortably in his chest. He knew he had a vested interest in Spencer, so his advice would not be purely altruistic but it still would be sound.

"Look, Derek isn't gay and I don't know how receptive he would be to being the subject of your affections." He said gently.

"For your information, I'm not gay either. Technically, I'm bisexual. Although, with my lack of experience, I'm a no-sexual at the moment." He stopped and took a deep breath. His next words were rushed out.

"Besides, he's not the team member I'm interested in."

Spencer said it so softly, Gideon wasn't even sure he really had spoken. Then he looked at Reid's revealing face. He found his answer. Spencer's penetrating gaze left no doubt as to whom he was referring to. Reid looked away from Gideon with a slight panic in his countenance.

Gideon was, for perhaps only the second time in his life, left speechless. Why would this beautiful young man want him? He had, of course, hoped his feelings were returned, but he never thought they would be. Now he was being handed everything he wanted on a silver platter. Gideon longed for the situation to be different. There were just too many obstacles to them being together. It was better to turn him away now. It would be damn near impossible to do it later. If they ever touched or, God forbid, kissed he would be done for. Yes, its better this way, he lied to himself.

Gideon gathered himself. He shook his head in a negative way. "No. I can't. It wouldn't be right. Take JJ to the game. She's a safer
choice than me, a better choice." He tried not to communicate his own disappointment.

Spencer's entire physical being deflated. It had taken everything he possessed to confess his interest in him to Gideon. Jason could see that his rejection wounded him.

"I've completely misinterpreted the situation, haven't I? You're not interested in me." Reid mumbled in a defeated voice.

"I am interested." Gideon said before he could stop himself.

The simple declaration seemed to lift the grayness from Spencer's face. Gideon hated seeing the hope in his eyes, knowing he would have to be the one to take it away.

"We shouldn't go down that path. Just try it out with Jenny. She's the one for you."

The words tasted like sour milk in his mouth.

When Spencer looked over his shoulder at JJ,he felt nothing. She was fifteen feet away at the back of the plane. She was sitting by herself, quietly flipping through a magazine, completely unaware that their conversation concerned her. Reid knew she wasn't "the one". The one he really wanted was, literally and figuratively, right in front of him. He got up from the table.

"You're right. She's perfect." Jason looked up at the grinning young doctor. What the hell just happened here? Gideon's head was spinning. One minute Reid was devastated from his rejection, the next he's smiling and agreeing to go out with someone else.

"Doctor?"

He bent over the table towards Gideon. "You're right. I'll date her for a little while and get some experience at social interaction. Then when you're ready we can go out." He said in his adorably clueless way.

"Spencer, you shouldn't use her like that." Gideon hissed angrily.

Spencer shrugged. "Why not? She won't know the truth, I promise. We'll go to dinner a couple of times. I'll treat her with the utmost respect and she'll be none the wiser." Reid moved closer to whisper into Jason's right ear. Gideon couldn't help but lean into the tempting heat of his breath.

"You miscalculated, Gideon. I just needed to know if you felt the same way about me as I do about you. Now I know."

He stood back up and said softly " I don't want to give up on this. Please reconsider."

Gideon started to respond when Reid cut him off. "Please....Jason." His soft brown eyes spoke volumes. Gideon felt his resolve weakening.

"I can't promise you anything but I'll think it over. OK?"

Reid was satisfied with that. "Thank you. Now onward to speak to Miss Jareau, before I lose my nerve. Oh before I forget."

He reached for the chess piece he needed and placed it back on the board with a sly grin.

"Checkmate." Gideon's mouth dropped open with shock as he looked over the board.

{When did this happen?}.

Reid turned and started moving towards the back of the plane. He stopped briefly, took out his Sidekick and typed a short message. He then took the seat opposite JJ.

Jason's phone signaled him he had a text message. He opened the phone and read:

"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."

Jason smirked at the quote from Einstein. It was perfect for the situation. When he looked up at Spencer, he was stunned to find Reid looking at him with undisguised lust. Realizing he had been caught, Spencer turned a shade of red that Gideon had never seen on a human face before. A wave of tenderness for the young doctor swamped his soul. He completely surrendered to it.

Jason took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. The plane suddenly seemed very small. The revelations of the last few minutes had stirred his mind, spirit and libido in a rapid-fire fashion. Despite the difficulties, it would be worth it to get to know the man Jason had just caught a glimpse of. They would have to have a serious talk about discretion and possible consequences, of course.

Spencer Reid would indeed get what he wanted after all.


The End