Chapter Five / Champions of Bowling

Season One / Episode Five Pt 2

Elle and Monica had been sitting in the living room, ignoring the conversation between the men for minutes when they realized that Cheryl was missing from the room. It was Monica who noticed her lack of presence first, voicing her thoughts to the brunette who frowned in response as she mumbled, "I think I saw her go to the kitchen ages ago." There was a moment where Monica remained seated, her head tilted to the side as she watched Reid turn the computer around and show the team his notes from the phone calls before she suddenly got to her feet, startling both the men and Elle as she headed towards the kitchen. She could hear the clicking of Elle's heels on the wood behind her, which made her all the thankful for her continuous support. 

When they arrived in the kitchen, Cheryl had her back to the entrance with one arm raised up and what seemed to be a green bottle in her hand. Elle recognized what was happening first, pushing past the doctor to get the underaged girl away from the wine and glass in her hands. Cheryl frowned as the woman placed them in the highest shelf she was able to, whining as she said: 

"Look, I know I shouldn't drink but under the circumstances you think you could let this one slide?"

Elle turned back to face her, leaning against the counter as she hooked one leg behind the other and raised her eyebrows threateningly, "He's going to call back. We need you at your best."

Cheryl paused for a moment, looking down at her hands to pick at the skin around them before she murmured, "Have you had many cases like this?"

"I've seen my share of abductions," Elle responded thoughtfully. Cheryl looked upwards to glance to Monica, expecting her to answer but her co-worker continued to speak, "Dr. Choung is new to the BAU, she worked as a surgeon beforehand and was on the more medical side of the FBI before this unit."

Monica gave a firm smile with a nod of her head, "I saw the aftermath of all the surviving victims from time to time."

"I don't know how you two do it, this job." Cheryl spoke, letting out a light sob all of a sudden. She was quick to place the back of her hand over her mouth as she looked upwards to blink away the tears by looking into the light, "How do you stomach it?"

"The men that we hunt down are cowards." Elle informed the blonde girl, straightening her posture as if to control the new swarm of anger filling her body, "For the most part they target the weakest members of society; women and children. There is nothing I'd rather do, and I am positive Dr. Choung agrees with me, than to put the bastards away."

"I just wish you could get them before they snatch someone." Cheryl croaked out, dropping her hand to show her bottom lip trembling wildly out of her control.

Monica tilted her head to the side, a soft sympathetic smile on her face, "Cheryl, you said it yourself and now we have the evidence to prove it. Trish is alive. Continue trusting that connection between you two, that feeling will be your saving grace... And your sister's too."

The doctor felt it was fitting information to give the young adult for when the fifteen minutes finished, the interaction for the cash was to happen between Cheryl and her alone. Monica did not voice how uncomfortable the idea made her, how the UnSub wanted Cheryl to be alone at 3am without the presence of the team. It was almost as if Hotch felt her nerves, because moments later he informed the team that they would follow in a car to make sure the safety of Cheryl was kept even outside of the house. He took Morgan with him at the set time to the car park for the transfer — the girl's very own guardian angels.

Monica waited in the living room, sitting aside Gideon in the sunken fancy chairs from the Davenport's money. She could feel Gideon watching her out the corner of her eyes, but she paid no attention to the older man. Her leg was bouncing furiously, thumb pressed against her lips as she bit away at the dead skin around her nail. She was a bundle of nerves ready to burst, and Gideon was simply looking out for her.

  It was her who leapt to her feet when the door swung open, Morgan entering first as he informed the group, "Cheryl's alright."

Mr. Davenport let out a large sigh, dropping into his own chair as the blonde girl entered with Hotch. She rushed to her father, pulling him into a tight embrace that made Monica furrow her eyebrows at the desperate hold as Morgan made his way towards the doctor, standing behind her to whisper into her ear, "You were right about Cheryl."

There was a moment where that would have made Monica happy, that her at-home training to become better at profiling was actually paying off, but she was quick to realize at what cost her success was. The blonde girl that sought comfort with Monica was just as much as a victim to this entire situation as her sister was. She felt fucking sick.

The doctor bit her bottom lip as she went to follow Morgan into the kitchen, though the pair were quick to be forced to stop as the phone began to ring. He sent a look to Hotch over his shoulders as he made his way towards the phone, holding a hand up to silence the room as he accepted the call.

"That was fun, wasn't it?" The UnSub joked, though his voice was deeper than usual showing that he was driving to hide his clear irritation with the situation, "A little running around, getting our pulses racing? Are you there, Cheryl? Are you there? Tell me you didn't feel a slight tingle, a thrill run up your spine? Huh? But those clever and cunning FBI agents deduced my little plan just in time. They figured it out. If they hadn't, I would have had you both. The whole set... The matching pair."

"Why are you doing this?" Cheryl questioned from her father's side, causing Morgan to raise his hands in her direction to silence her. The blonde paid no attention to him.

The UnSub let out a heavy sigh, "Because you asked me to, Cheryl. You asked me with your glances. The way you talk, those little gestures."

Almost as if he could sense what the girl was going to do, Morgan lent over and muted the call. Cheryl glared at him, a frown falling on her face as she folded her arms across her chest and snapped, "What are you doing?"

"Do not answer this man!" Morgan informed her, eyeing her carefully. The teenager thought for a second yet as the look deepened from Morgan, she raised her hands in defeat and nodded her head.

"You asked for this," the UnSub hissed again as if knowing there was a conversation happening on the muted call, "You asked for it, Cheryl."

It seemed that the blonde held no promises to Derek Morgan however, as she barged him out of the way and without even having to look at the button, pressed it. Morgan let out an annoyed groan from behind her, burying his face into the palm of his hands to hide his frustration as Cheryl shouted, "What do you want?"

"What do I want? You!" The UnSub bellowed, loud enough for the girl to stumble away from the machine. Monica took a deep breath, cracking her knuckles to distract herself from the shiver running up her spine, "It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but I promise you, we will be together."

It was Gideon who led the team to the kitchen when the phone call disconnected and there was no obvious sign of communication to happen soon, almost as if he could no wait to get away from the thought of the phone. Reid had gone off to find himself a little area to calm himself down, stating it would keep him more alert to avoid communications, but Monica knew that the poor boy was exhausted mentally and physically and without the proper coffee he used from the BAU he was unable to stay awake. He felt like he was letting the team down if he was not at his best, so he had gone to lat down. Elle had gone with him originally, before returning to the kitchen with their two now empty mugs of hot chocolate as Hotch turned to Morgan and said:

"Crime of obsession is your specialty. Your lead, Morgan."

The man's shoulders widened at the offer of leadership, his posture significantly straighter than before, "I think we should re-check everyone on Davenport's staff against the profile of a stalker."

Elle, who stood aside Monica to rinse the mugs turned the sink off and frowned as she looked at Morgan, asking, "Aren't stalking behaviors pretty diverse?"

Morgan nodded his head as he took a sip from his glass of water, "There's overlap. Narcissistic. Inflated self-worth. History of bad relationships."

"Okay, so, what do we know so far about our UnSub?" Monica quizzed as she rolled her shoulders, the ache growing worse the more she stood up. Her contacts had started to grow fuzzy in the last hour or so of being in the house, not used to this much use and Monica had forgotten to bring her eyedrops to keep them moisturized. Gideon had told her to go into the same room as Reid when he noticed the deep blinking from her as if he also knew what was happening, but she had shaken her head and made herself a coffee instead.

"He is probably white, obviously male," Morgan huffed as he crossed his arms, hooking one ankle around the other. "Sophisticated speech patterns."

"Sophisticated yet bizarre," Gideon grumbled under his breath. Upon the realization that the rest of the team could hear him, the older man looked up from where he peeled the orange and continued, "He rarely used contractions. It's not 'you're', it's 'you are'."

"This guy is full of himself is what you're saying?" Monica questioned him, raising an eyebrow, "He is trying to make himself seem smarter than what he actually is."

Gideon nodded his head, reaching for a small knife before slicing a perfect orange piece, "You're right again, Choung. Whatever position of authority or level of success this guy had, he had to struggle for it."

Hotch's voice dropped to a whisper as he spoke, causing the team to lean in, "We also have to face the possibility at this point-"

"That Trish may already be dead." Elle finished, huffing at the end. Hotch nodded his head as silence swallowed the group. Gideon was the first to break it up, nudging Monica with his foot. She turned around to look at him, eyebrows knitted together before he held his hand out with the first orange slice he had cut. She hesitated as she looked at it, glancing around the group to confirm that she was behind handed the first slice before giving the man a soft smile and accepting. In the darkness of the case, Gideon still was able to bring light to Monica's life by giving her the slice first. Elle noticed this, reaching over, and holding her hand out for her own which she received.

"You know, so far he's called every play," Morgan informed the group as he accepted the orange that Gideon shoved into his hands, and then into Hotch's, "I say we apply some pressure, make him sweat.'

"Well, there's only one way to do that." Gideon hummed.

The team found themselves standing around the machine once again as the phone rang, all frowning except Gideon who seemed too comfortable for the situation they were in as he lounged in an armchair. Monica kept placing her weight on either foot, keeping the blood rushing as her legs ached with each passing second. Morgan lent over to her and whispered it looked like Gideon was counting in his head, and Monica took a moment before she nodded her head in agreement. Whatever light conversation the pair were making was cut off as Mr. Davenport looked around furiously to the agents remaining still before he moved forwards to the phone. Gideon shot up from his seat, "Hold on! Hold on!"

He allowed the phone to continue to ring for longer, so long that even Hotch had started looking a little confused by what was happening. Gideon finally accepted the call, though the moment he clicked the button and the phone turned to a soft static, he hung up again. Mr. Davenport snapped, "What are you doing? Agent Gideon..."

But the phone rang again, and he shut up. Monica frowned as Cheryl looked from her to Elle, the bags underneath her eyes significantly darker than she last remembered them being but the older woman did not look at the blonde in fear she would snap and tell Gideon to call off their plan. The agent accepted the call once again, leaning downwards and placing hands on either side of the machine as he called boredly into the microphone, "Hello?"

The UnSub growled, his voice deep and rough, "Tell me there was a technical issue with the line because if you actually just hung up on- "

Gideon pressed the button again and the phone call ended. One second passed. Then another second. Then the phone was ringing, just like clockwork. While the team was getting the desired reaction from the UnSub, the fear was rolling off the Davenport family at alarming speeds as Mr. Davenport glared at Gideon stating, "What... What, what are you doing? You're going to drive this guy crazy. Just answer the phone!"

Gideon, his face stern, raised a finger, "Please, be quiet."

That seemed to annoy Cheryl, who barged past Elle and shouted, "Somebody has to answer it!" The woman latched onto her and pulled her away from the machine. Mr. Davenport took this as his chance to move forward too, crashing into Morgan and Hotch who stopped him from nearing the phone as he added on to his daughter's complaint:

"Just answer the phone, for God's sake." Morgan shoved him back with the tips of his fingers, informing him to sit down or he will be forced. Mr. Davenport did not sit down but took a few steps back away from Gideon, realizing he will never reach him.

"Are you out of your mind?!" The UnSub hissed into the phone after Gideon answered it, the kidnapper literally swarming in rage. "You do realize... You do understand that I'll kill her? Do you-"

Jason Gideon hung up again, and Cheryl let out a shuddery breath from the grasp of Elle. There was a pause, and Monica felt butterflies flutter in her stomach before the phone rung again and Gideon let out a breathy thank you to the roof, as if he was directing it to God. Mr. Davenport however felt anything but thankful. He launched himself at Gideon once again, Morgan stepping to the side so he crashed into him, "You're killing my daughter! Pick up the phone! Pick up the- Son of a bitch, pick up the phone!"

Elle held onto Cheryl as the girl covered her mouth with her hand, sobbing furiously. Monica slowly moved her way away from the pair, standing aside Hotch as she looked up at him and whispered, "We need to remove them. Cheryl..."

"You know we can't, Choung." He responded softly so that no one else could hear their conversation and Monica frowned, nodding her head. His gaze flickered down to her for a brief moment, his sympathy deep with his eyes but she did not take it too seriously. It still felt like they were torturing the Davenport family. By the time the two had settled down, falling into silent sobs into their respective caregivers, Gideon slowly nodded his head and pressed the accept button.

"She is dead!" the UnSub bellowed, "You hang up on me again and I rip her open!"

Gideon, with a faint teasing tone in the back of his throat, responded, "I'm sorry, you must have the wrong number."

Mr. Davenport placed a hand over his mouth as Gideon hung up on the UnSub once again, his body shaking from what Monica could tell between the tangle of limbs between him and Morgan who was holding him back as he glared up towards the older agent and hissed, "You killed her."

"No."

"Then what the hell do you think you're doing?" Mr. Davenport sobbed towards him.

Gideon gave a soft sympathetic smile, though Monica personally thought it was a little too late to appear empathetic as he said, "I'm saving your daughter, Mr. Davenport. Have a little faith."

The phone rung again, and Gideon did not spend nearly as long as usual to wait for the phone to ring out. He looked up towards Hotch, who gave an encouraging nod, before he answered. The UnSub's voice was calmer than before, yet deeper. It was as if he was trying to hide the pure rage he felt, to appear reasonable, "Put Cheryl on the phone.

"No, you're finished talking to Cheryl."

The UnSub scoffed, "Listen to that tone of authority. Just like your published work, Agent Gideon. Fascinating to hear the same arrogant quality in your own voice. You are a bit of a pedant, Jason. A bit didactic?"

Reid, who placed the headphones on at the long conversation began taking down his notes again on the laptop. Monica, still stood aside Hotch, felt the man tense up as Gideon asked, "Well, that's a very interesting conclusion. You sound intelligent and you certainly sound educated, and we both know that's not true."

"Oh, I know about all of you." The kidnapper hissed, "The ambitious Agent Hotchner. Do you want to be Director of the FBI someday, Agent Hotchner? Would you step on Jason Gideon to get there? I think you would. Post-traumatic stress is a very good excuse. Even your sick, pregnant wife can't get you to leave your post! Then Jason Gideon, an expert in the criminal psyche yet unable to diagnose the autistic leanings of the very insecure Dr. Reid. Well, maybe he can make money counting cards in Las Vegas."

"The lovely Elle was promoted too soon. She doesn't have what it takes to make it in the BAU boys' club. You're not a threat to me. You're no threat to anyone!" Elle scoffed from behind Monica at his words, "Don't even get me started on Asian representee, Dr. Choung. A former surgeon is now hoping she can save people before they end up in a hospital bed. News flash for you sweetheart, you were never a hero, and you certainly are not one now. And token Derek Morgan wants to be taken seriously but he is just a pumped-up side of beef. I know who you are! I know how you think! And I know what to do next! Do you?"

The room was silent as the phone call disconnected, the UnSub having hung up on them. Monica sent a look towards Morgan, who shrugged his shoulders before flexing his muscles  subtly which made the woman smile ever so slightly at the humor of the man though she knew it was inappropriate at the time. He was just trying to lighten the dead silence. Mr. Davenport, however, was not taking fun in the situation as he groaned, "What the heck was that? Why did he say that he knows what to do next? Is he going to hurt my daughter?"

"He was grandstanding," Gideon explained.

"You don't know what. You can't possibly know that."

Gideon's eyebrows furrowed slightly, not in a harsh judgmental way but one of sympathy, "Mr. Davenport I have learnt more in the last five minutes than in the last 24 hours."

Mr. Davenport rolled his eyes, "Oh, really? Well, I don't understand. Why is he focused on you right now?"

"Because we are interfering in his relationship with the girls." Morgan explained carefully, hoping that a different voice would calm the father down. With his experience in sex crimes, it would make sense that he would be more qualified for this part of the conversation. Monica gave an encouraging nod in his direction.

"He said he knows all about you."

"Apparently so. What he did is profile us, Mr. Davenport which is what we have been doing to him." Monica hummed, folding her arms over her chest, "He is doing it to show us how smart he is. He can achieve the same level of intelligence as an officer at the FBI."

"Oftentimes, the best profilers are the UnSubs themselves." Reid informed, the headphones hanging around his neck, "They're the ones that are able to walk into an arcade full of children and pinpoint the boy or girl that can led out quietly."

"But he made a mistake because he gave us something he didn't expect." Elle added, causing Mr. Davenport to furrow his eyebrows.

"Which is?"

"He told us how to find him."

Monica sat aside Cheryl in the black SUV, Morgan drove the car and Elle sat across from him in the passenger seat. Cheryl was dressed in Monica's FBI Medic Jacket and a baseball cap to conceal her identity as much as possible but she had since removed it once she sat next to the doctor with such anxiety it emitted off her like sound waves. The ride was quiet, no one daring to say a word as they removed the teenage girl from her family home to a safety house. The blonde had reached over to grab a hold of Monica's hand someway through the drive, and in response she gave it a comforting squeeze which caused her to give a soft smile in return – one that fully expressed just the fear she was feeling. Monica felt cruel for no reason, as if she was the UnSub and causing all the trauma to the Davenport family.

When they arrived at the Safe House, it was Elle who took Cheryl away to a room as the main officer on the case that Monica had a pleasure of meeting toward the first hour of their arrival, Shyer, instructed that he was going to patrol the outskirts of the property to prevent any access of sort. Monica had sat down at the small circle table shoved into the corner with Morgan, the pair later being joined by Elle who groaned after minutes of silence, "That poor girl. You still think she is a wack job, Morgan?"

Monica gave a weak laugh as Morgan glared at her, "I'm going to get a glass of water. You two want one?"

Elle rolled her shoulders back, a hand running through her hair as she shook her head, "I should return to Cheryl. She shouldn't be alone, just in case. Get one for Monica, she looks dehydrated."

"Ouch." Monica grumbled, and Elle sent a sweet smile before leaving them. Morgan looked at her with raised eyebrows and she rolled her neck, "I do want one, actually. Thanks."

Morgan saluted her weakly as he walked away, a stupid grin on his face to lighten the mood and Monica could not help but return it. She sat there when he disappeared from her view, a downturned line with her lips appearing at the silence in the house. Rustling could be heard from outside, as if something was crawling in the bushes but Monica knew well enough it would be critters that'd scary her if she shined a torch in its direction. But she was right in thinking that the environment was too silent; there was no running water, or movement of glasses being pulled out of the cabinets. Nothing, until a thud in the general direction Morgan had disappeared to.

Her heart was pounding in her ears, filling the silence with a steady rhythm which she would have once been happy for but it only deepened her unease. Monica's hands were placed on her gun that rested in the holster, each step calculated and placed carefully to prevent as much noise as possible and to not alert any attention to herself. She slowly removed the firearm, holding it tightly as she raised it to her eye level and lent against the wall aside the doorway into the kitchen. The doctor breathed in for five seconds, breathed out another five and then listened for anything. More silence – no footsteps or shuffling. She braced herself, raising the gun once again before stepping outwards and aiming the gun at the average height of a man with her finger hovering over the trigger.

No one was there, no one but the body of Derek Morgan laying on the floor. Her heart began pounding again but she focused on controlling her breathing as she walked over to him, gun raised as she checked the other entrances to the room before deeming it safe and returning the weapon to her side as she stood over Morgan. The phone in his pocket suddenly went off, such a jarring noise in the silence that Monica felt herself jump and reach for her gun as if ready to ward off the UnSub. Controlling herself with quick paced breaths, she moved to kneel aside him while she reached for his phone and flipped it open, pressing it against her ear.

"Morgan, the UnSub is Shyer." Hotch called through the phone, a sense of urgency in his voice. Monica's fingers were pressed against Morgan's neck, feeling the steady pulse against her finger tips as she let out a sigh and spoke:

"It's Choung, something happened to Morgan. Guessing Shyer attacked him." She looked around for any signs of a wound, perhaps a drug injection or something but nothing seemed to have pierced his neck. However, as she rolled him over she spotted the burnt mark in his shirt, "Taser wound. Make sense, he's a cop. I'm gonna go after him now, he will have gone after Cheryl by now. Get an EMT on the way."

"Is Morgan alright?" The doctor recognized slight fear in Hotch's voice, and for some odd reason it made her feel that more calm. At least her boss cared for his team.

"He'll live if that's what you want to know." Monica huffed, rising to a standing position before hanging up on the call. She shoved Morgan's phone into her back pocket of her pants, once again pulling out her gun. There were sudden thuds from across the house, almost as if something was crashed against a wall and then a high-pitch scream. Shyer found Cheryl. The doctor cursed to herself as she rushed over, gun in hand once again.

The door swung open as Monica rushed through it, gun raised in the direction of the UnSub who scowled at the appearance of another woman. Elle, from her position on the floor, seized the opportunity of distraction to rise to her feet before slamming her body into the chest of Shyer, swinging her elbow behind her into his nose. Monica moved forward as the man dropped to the floor, holding his nose, and whining with shut eyes. The doctor gestured for Cheryl to come to her, which the blonde did without a moment of hesitation as Elle flicked the hair out of her face and cursed though she did not hesitate to aim the gun once discarded on the floor at the UnSub.

"Thanks for that, Choung." Elle mumbled, moving over top of Shyer and aiming the gun directly at the centre of his head. Monica could feel the tense body language from Cheryl pressed into her side, and Elle seemed to realize who else was in the room, "Take Cheryl to the EMTs when they arrive. I'll get Trish's location."

The case finished quite quickly after that. Gideon and Reid went to the building that Shyer gave to Elle after some potentially unethical methods. The Davenport family was reunited in the ambulances, clutching onto each other as if there was potential for them to disappear once again. The EMTs stated that no serious physical damage was done to Trish aside from a use of sedatives, meaning she should be able to start her therapy lessons faster than usual. Cheryl had originally begged for Monica to stay, to help Trish grow as a person with the comfort she was provided. Monica wished she could have said yes, but standing behind her was Elle and Hotch watching the situation with soft gazes, and she knew better than to grow emotionally attached to the kin of the victims. Mr. Davenport did reward them with a bottle of red wine, however which the team opened on the plane ride home.

Morgan, after being cared for by both Monica and the EMTs, groaned loudly about his war wounds on call with Garcia while he lounged on the couch in the plane, his phone since returned from Monica's pockets. Hotch had said that those injured on cases got priority for it, Monica decided not to say that stretching the burns would take longer for it to heal because Morgan seemed quite proud of his efforts. Monica had snuck into the plane's toilet to remove her contacts without alerting (or disgusting anyone) before she climbed into the chair across from Elle and curled up against the window, drifting off into a sleep she so desperately needed. When she awoke from a bit of turbulence for a brief moment, both her and Elle were tucked into throw blankets, the third of the set resting on the lap of Jason Gideon as he read a book with his glasses perched on the edge of his nose. Monica went back to sleep seconds later with a soft smile on her face.

But Friday came quickly, and the team was smart to finish the reports for the case before the weekend arrived. Some took longer than the others as they took as much extra sleep as they could, but by Friday night they had all finished it. Monica found herself in the BAU bullpen waiting for Reid to finish one of Morgan's reports for a case he had avoided and given to the younger man when she spotted Anderson leaving the building. A smile appeared on her lips as she jogged over to him, "Hey Anderson! You got plans for tonight?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Not really. Why?"

"Want to come ten-pin bowling? My friends plus some of the team are going to the local alley, and they could use an extra person." Monica gave him a wide smile, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. Anderson blinked, surprised by the offer.

"Can I bring my boyfriend?"

Monica gave a soft smile, "Course, as long as you become my wingman. Only hot women go bowling and I really need a break from men."

Anderson nodded his head, turning around to head to the elevator. Monica watched him for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and heading back towards Reid who was shuffling all the papers into the report with his eyebrows threaded together in determination. Then, within a snap of a second, Monica spun around on her heels and looked incredibly at Anderson who had done the same thing to her as they both questioned to one another:

"Wait, what?!"

The future conversation was cut off by Reid rushing up behind Monica, his hands grasping onto the satchel he always carried as he gave a thin lipped smile, "All done. Thanks for waiting for me, Choung."

Her distraction averted from an equally confused Anderson, as she gave the genius a smile, "Don't worry about it, Reid. You're on Team Doctors now, I'll treat you like one for tonight. You all ready for bowling?"

Reid nodded his head, brushing past her to head to the elevator as if leading the way. Monica gave a downturned smile before she shrugged her shoulders and followed after him. As she passed Anderson, she turned to him and grabbed a hold of his hand, giving it a soft squeeze, "I'll see you and him in half an hour. Get ready to lose!"

The teams were separated into plainly named Team A and B. On Team A was Monica, Reid, Chandler, Aubrey, and Nydia. Then, on Team B was Morgan, Garcia, Anderson, JJ, and Anderson's boyfriend (plus lead-pilot for the BAU), Ajay. Reid spoke about the unfair advantage they had with having an extra person on their team, but Chandler had scoffed and begun his bowling, rewarding himself in a Spare on his first turn. Reid had since said anything against the fairness of the game, either in fear or admiration.

Chandler and Nydia were the pros of Team A, much to the cheering from Reid once he broke out of his shell of quoting references from Star Trek no one understood except Ajay and Anderson. Consistently the pair would be getting Spares, and the occasional Strikes if they felt like going harsh on the opposite team. Aubrey averaged six pins every time he bowled, Monica above him by just one with seven pins. When Monica hit her only Spare, she proceeded to do a little disco dance to More Than a Woman by the Bee Gees as it blasted over the stereo in the bowling alley which made Elle and Morgan nearly drop to the floor in laughter. Reid, on the other hand, continuously got gutter balls and a lucky three if he managed to hit the pins. It was then that Monica discovered that the man had never set foot in a bowling alley, never as much as touched a bowling ball (it was why the team proceeded to not tell him just how unsanitary the balls were because he would freak out.) After ten bowls for each member, Team A was sitting on a combined score that rested just under 500.

On Team B, Elle seemed to be the only one who would even the playing field. When she got her first Strike on her second go, Chandler had whistled a tone that caused her to stick a finger up at him and for her next bowl she dedicated it to him and proceeded to get a Spare. Monica believed she was imaging little bodies of the men she hated both from work and outside, and used that anger to win. Morgan talked a big game about being the master of bowling, and many believed him but after his first bowls that matched Reid's horrible game, the team quickly disapproved of his lies. Garcia pretended to be horrible so that Morgan would assist her, a joke at the beginning and then when the man went off to the toilet she showed that she was the best player by getting two Strikes in a row. Elle had complained when she returned to her shitty playing when Morgan returned. Anderson, though better than Morgan, was still horrible at the game and made some remark that he would thrash them all at minigolf if it came to it while Ajay knocked down an average of seven pins each bowl. JJ was just as bad as the rest of the team though her excuse was because her home town was so small they were not able to afford a bowling alley. Monica thought it made sense. After ten bowls, Team B was sitting on a combined score of 460, thirty-ish beneath Team A.

Chandler and Nydia jumped up and down, grasping onto each other and cheering loudly much to the annoyance of the other teams bowling at the same time. Morgan grumbled something about the deal they had made at the beginning, heading to the bar the buy the worst alcohol drink they could make up for each member of the team to shot. All were good players and took the bet seriously, shotting the concoction made before Elle had to rush to the bathroom to throw up what entered her system.

Reid stood aside Monica as the pair watched their team drink copious amounts of water to mask the flavor, the young adult glowing as if he was the sun. He looked down at Monica, who felt his gaze and met it with a grin as he said, "Thank you for inviting me, Choung. Not many people do. They think I'm weird."

She bit the inside of her cheek as she softened her gaze, "Oh, you are weird Reid but you're part of the team. We all love you even if it means including your dogshit bowling."

"I'll be better for the next tournament, don't worry!" He informed her, nodding his head importantly as he shoved his hands into his front pockets of his pants. Monica gave a gentle smile even though he had averted his stare back to the suffering members of their team. She followed his gaze to Morgan, Elle and Garcia clutching each other with their tongues hanging out as if the air would remove the aftertaste. JJ was drowning herself with a bottle of water, and Anderson and Ajay were resting against the couch with more alcohol entering the system to balance out the feeling.

Monica felt the smile spread into a grin once again.

Kai's Notes !

^^ notes for this episode bc i actually thought this episode didnt exist and now its one of my favourite in terms of moni eps

I. monthly update for moni is here with a softer ending chapter!!! while the ep itself sucked n so did the writing towards the end of it, its still all good and fun bc we got friends out of it

II. not much to say in terms of the chapter, aside from i hope you all enjoy <3