Spencer Reid/Matthew Gray Gubler One Shots

The Young Genius - Spencer Reid

Madison looked across the park towards the chess tables. She sighed and ran a hand through her long brown hair. Her nephew, Parker, sat at one the tables, fully engrossed in a game of chess with a young man. He really needed to stop escaping the nanny every time they came to the park.

Madison carefully picked her way through the rambunctious children that littered this beautiful haven in Quantico, Virginia. As she got closer, she slowed her pace, keeping her eyes on the young boy as he neared checkmate. She stopped, always amazed at his abilities.

"Checkmate," She heard him say.

The older man cocked his head to the side and then with a small smile, nodded his head. "I'm impressed kid, that was a really thought out move."

Madison crossed the short distance and stood next to table, her frame looming over the small boy. "Parker, are you going to ditch the nanny every time she takes you to the park?"

His big brown eyes looked up at her, his mother's eyes. He put his head back down and continued to stare at the chess pieces.

Madison turned her attention to the loser of the match. "Hi, I'm Madison. Thank you for playing with him. Honestly, all he does is play chess and keep his nose buried in his computer." She reached her hand towards the stranger.

He looked at her hand, "I'm sorry, but I don't really shake hands. I'm Dr. Spencer Reid and your son here...well he's a genius."

"Genius? Wait, what?" Madison put her hand back at her side. "You just met him, how would you know that?"

"He obviously hasn't mentioned this to you, but we have a standing weekly game scheduled. Well, when I'm in town we do."

Madison blinked and shook her head. "Parker...I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to make plans like this and not let me know."

The little boy shook his head and looked up at Dr. Reid.

"He doesn't talk much, hasn't since his parent's accident a couple years ago." Madison tried to explain her nephew's lack of word usage. "If he's such a genius Dr. Reid, why is he struggling in school?"

"You can call me Spencer and it's because he isn't being challenged. I speak from experience in telling you that if we aren't challenged academically then we tend to focus on the things that bring us joy and use our brain power. He enjoys chess and the computer because they are things that work his mind that make him think. You might want to consider moving him up a couple grades or several grades."

Madison was speechless. It made sense. Both of Parker's parents had been incredibly smart but it surprised her that they hadn't mentioned his high IQ to her before. "I'm not sure he's ever been tested."

"Being tested doesn't really mean anything more than numbers and I tend to lean more towards the non-quantifying the IQs of geniuses'. It is just a number after all." Spencer started to remove the chess pieces but Parker placed his small hands over the board.

"Parker, we need to get back home buddy. There isn't time for another game." Madison reached for his bag, picking it up off the ground near his feet.

"We could play one round of lighting chess. I started teaching him a few tips and tricks last week when we played. It would be good to get in another practice round." Spencer looked up and met her eyes and Madison found herself giving into the request and she slowly sank down onto the stool next to Parker.

Parker's eyes lit up and Madison watched in awe and amazement as the two boys sped through the complex game. It was only a matter of minutes before Spencer called out checkmate and Parker tipped over his king. His little face was all lit up when he turned to look at her and her heart just about burst. She hadn't seen him smile that big in quite some time and obviously spending time with the young doctor was really doing him some good.