“But what are we going to do now?” JJ asked everyone. She was sitting beside Morgan on the bed, one hand resting protectively on Reid’s back. “Spence can’t just stay like this!”
“We’ll have to see if the guy has some way to turn him back.” Hotch said seriously. His eyebrows were drawn down as he stared at Reid. “Until then, someone’s going to have to take Reid for a while. He can’t stay alone like this.”
“We don’t even know all the side effects yet.” Emily added in from where she sat in Reid’s reading chair. “This could wear off by tomorrow, or not at all. Is it just his body that shrunk? Or did his brain go back in age as well? Does he retain all his memories? What parts of him are a kid and what parts are an adult?”
“I’m wight hewe!” Reid snapped out. His bottom lip was jutting out once again. “Don’t talk about me like I’m not hewe.”
The other five agents tried to smother their grins at the lisp filled rant. It was JJ who stroked a hand over his hair, gaining his attention. “Sorry about that, Spence. We just, we don’t understand what’s happened to you and we don’t know how to act with this. But we weren’t trying to exclude you. Just…”
“You wewe pwofiling me.”
She smiled at him. “The situation, more.”
“Well why don’t any of you a’k me? I’m the one that would antew them.”
Laughing, Morgan shifted his grip. “Kid’s got us there.” He said jokingly. He looked down at his best friend and couldn’t stop his grin. “Ok, Reid. You feel like any memories are missing? You know who all of us are, I see. But you remember others in your life? All those useless facts that rattle around in that enormous brain of yours?”
“Be quiet, Mowgan.” He snapped out. “They awen’t u’less. They come in handy tometimes!” Looking down at his lap, Reid sighed. “I know who my Mom and Dad are. Diana and William Weid. I wemembew evewyone. Elle. Gideon. All of them. I think like an adult but I feel like a kid, too.”
“How do you feel like a kid?” JJ asked him gently.
Little spots of color appeared in Reid’s cheeks. “Evewything I feel is mowe. My emotions awe all ovew the place. I can’t contwol them vewy well.”
“So an adults mind but a toddlers physiology.” Rolling her eyes, Emily sat back. “Great. Won’t that just be a blast? Our resident genius going through his terrible twos.”
“No kidding.” Hotch said jokingly. “I thought I was done with this when Jack grew out of it.”
A loud voice broke into their joking. “It’s not my fault!” Reid cried at them. To all of their surprise, his bottom lip seemed to be trembling.
Automatically JJ reached out, taking him blanket and all from Morgan’s arms. She stood up with him, cradling him to her shoulder while she glared at the room. “He just got done telling you guys that he’s got a toddler’s emotions and what’s the first thing you decide to do? Make him feel bad? Make fun of him?” Angry, she turned and stormed from the room, whispering soothingly to Reid.
The remaining agents all looked at one another. It was, surprisingly, Hotch who spoke up. “She’s right. If he’s got his brain in there, but feels the way a kid feels, then it doesn’t surprise me that we made him cry. Kids are sensitive at that age.”
Morgan sighed, running a hand over his head. “Add on how sensitive Reid is all the time anyways and now he doesn’t have the adult control over it he’s always had…”
The room grew silent for a moment except for JJ’s soothing murmurs floating down the hall. Finally Hotch stood. “Let’s get back and see if our guest is awake yet. If he is, it’s time for some questions.”
“Careful questions, Aaron.” Rossi reminded him. “The bureau finds out about Reid, you know what’ll happen to him.”
“He’ll become a test subject.”
That thought had the four of them shuddering. Quietly, they filed from the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Out in the living room, JJ walked with a sniffling Reid cradled to her shoulder. He seemed more embarrassed than upset by it all. When the others finally came out, she turned so that Spencer was facing away from them, trying to save him a little modesty. His face buried further against her neck.
JJ spoke up before any of them could. “We need some things for him. He can’t go around without clothes and such until this is fixed. I think some of Henry’s things might fit him ok for now.”
“Good idea, Jage.” Emily told her. She brought a hand up, stroking the back of Spencer’s hair. “Don’t worry, Reid. We’ll talk to the guy and see if we can find out some answers for this.”
“Yeah, kid. We’ll do our best to fix this.” Morgan reassured him.
Against JJ’s neck they all heard a muffled “Tanks.”
Leaving them to their business, JJ pulled out her cell phone and called Will. It took fifteen minutes to fully explain to him what was going on and then another five for him to get over his shock. But once he had, he promised to come drop off some things for them before he left. As much as it broke her heart, JJ knew they had a case they’d be leaving for in a day and Will was taking Henry down to visit family in New Orleans.
When she hung up the phone, JJ turned around. It took everything she had not to startle and drop Spence when she saw Dave sitting on the couch. The rest of the room was empty and the front door was shut. “Thought you might like a hand here.” He said with a grin.
“Wossi?” Spencer piped up. His head lifted so that he could peek and see who it was. When he saw no one else, only a smiling Dave, he seemed to relax a little. Right at that moment it didn’t seem too bad to have Dave there. Maybe because Dave tended to act like everyone’s favorite Uncle. A comforting force in your life, but never pressuring.
Rising, Dave Rossi moved over to him and JJ. “Yep. Thought I’d hang out with you for a while, kid. That ok with you?”
Chewing on his lip, Spencer nodded. There was something important he wanted to say, it was obvious on his face, but equally obvious was that he didn’t really want to say it. But the way he squirmed a little gave JJ a slight clue.
Smiling, she looked to Dave. “I think someone needs a little male assistance right now.”
After a second, the light dawned on Dave’s face. “Oh! Well, that’s simple enough. Come on, short stack. Let’s go take care of business.” With one easy move he had Spencer—blanket, baggy clothes and all—swept into his arms. He carried him down the hall and into the bathroom.
Once in there, he set Spencer down on the floor. Then, looking from the kid to the toilet, he bit the inside of his lip in thought for a minute. “Can you hold it for a minute longer?”
Hesitating, Spencer finally nodded. Still Dave hurried as he took off down the hall and grabbed a stack of books from Spencer’s room. He brought them back in, setting them on the floor in front of the toilet. “Not the best stool, but it’ll do the job. Now I can give you a little privacy.”
When Dave left the bathroom, not fully shutting the door, he heard Spencer’s muttered cursing about his books being on a dirty bathroom floor. He couldn’t stop himself from grinning. After a minute he heard the toilet flush and then Spencer’s voice calling out “Wossi?”
“What is it, kid?” He asked as he stepped back into the room.
Spencer stood on the floor, blanket clutched tight to preserve his modesty, his little cheeks slightly red. “I can’t weach the tink.” He mumbled.
“Well, that’s easy enough.”
In one move Dave had Spencer scooped up and at the right height to reach the sink. Between the two of them they got Spencer’s hands washed and dried and then he was bundled up completely and gathered up in Dave’s arms. Just as he carried him out, someone knocked on the door. Spencer squeaked, turning his face to hide it against Dave’s neck. It was obvious he didn’t want anyone to see him.
What surprised Dave was how much Spencer was clinging to him. Not just because Spencer was the most introverted person he knew, but because it was well known that Spencer was the closest with JJ and Morgan and Garcia. He’d thought that, once they were done in the bathroom, Spencer would want to go back to JJ’s arms. But he was clinging tightly to Dave’s shirt, as if he didn’t want to be let go, or as if he was afraid he’d fall.
Will’s warm southern voice flowed in from the living room as Dave made his way back out there. It surprised and saddened him to discover that Spencer had such a small apartment for a home. But it was purely him. Books were on every available surface.
“Hey, Will.” Dave greeted him. He smiled at his friend’s husband and son. “Hey, Henry.”
“Hey there Rossi.” Will greeted him. Looking with curious amazement at the bundle in Dave’s arms, he tacked on “Uh, hey Reid.”
There was a muffled ‘hello’ but that was the best that Spencer seemed to be able to do. Dave had a feeling that once they got the kid in some proper clothes, he’d perk up a little. JJ must have been thinking the same thing. She held a diaper bag in her hand, clothes visible through the top of it. Behind her sat a stroller as well as a car seat. Oh, Spencer was going to love those. Dave resisted chuckling.
Since he seemed to have been chosen Spencer’s guardian for the moment, he reached out for the diaper bag with a resigned smile. “Here, hand it over. We’ll go and get ready.”
Once he had the bag, Dave took back off down the hall. Once in the bedroom, he shut the door for privacy and set the bundled up toddler on the bed. “All right, kiddo. Let’s see if any of these fit you, ok?”
The very first thing he searched for was underwear. It would make the job easier on the both of them if he had underwear. Dave laid out two different sizes on the bed and turned his back. “Try those ones out, see if they fit.”
Spencer watched the back of Dave’s head for a moment, debating if he was going to really stay facing the other way. The only way he was going to get dressed, though, was to get out of the blanket. Quickly he shed the blanket and his old clothes and reached out, grabbing the underwear and pulling them to him. He looked at both and held them to himself, then tried on the one that fit the most. He sat back down, pulling the blanket around him again but leaving his old clothes off to the side.
“Otay, Wossi.”
The older man turned, his mouth quirking at the flush to Spencer’s cheeks. “What size were those?”
Flushing even more, Spencer looked down. “Eighteen to twenty fow.”
Dave searched in the bag again, pulling out a pair of blue jeans and a simple blue shirt in that size. “So, you think he made you, what, about two?” he tried to distract Spencer as he held the jeans out.
After a moment’s deliberation, Spencer sighed and stood, using Dave’s arms to brace on as he climbed into the pants. He refused to be embarrassed about standing in his underwear. If Dave wasn’t going to say anything about it than he wouldn’t either. He’d focus on the question.
Looking at his size, Spencer thought back to the baby book he had and the growth his mom had diligently tracked. “If I’m the tame as when I was little, then I’d be about twenty fwee months. Uting yow height as a judge, I think I’m about thiwty fwee inches.”
Dave shook his head while pulling the shirt over Spencer’s head. “The fact that you know your growth from infancy is both amazing and frightening, Spencer Reid.” He teased him.
“I wead it in my baby book!”
“Still amazes me.”
Fully distracted now, Spencer pulled the diaper bag over, sifting inside until he found socks. He pulled out a green sock and a black one. His little fingers fumbled slightly as he tried to pull them on. Eventually he got them on, though Dave silently reached out and straightened them. He said nothing about the mismatched color; they all knew it was one of Spencer’s quirks.
Next Dave brought out a pair of shoes, pushing them onto Spencer’s feet and strapping the Velcro. Then he scooped Spencer up again, balancing him on his hip and slinging the bag on the other side. Together, the two set back out to the living room.
Thankfully to Spencer, Will and Henry were already gone. He hated the idea of people looking at him and knowing that it was him trapped in this tiny little body.
JJ’s smile seemed to light up the room. “Looks like I was right. Eighteen to twenty four?” she guessed. Spencer’s blush answered that. “Figured. Well, I called Hotch and he’s got the guy down at the local PD instead of our building. Easier to question quietly, he said. He told me to go ahead and bring Spence down whenever we’re ready.”
“Bring him down?” Dave said in surprise.
“Yeah. Hotch thinks that you’ve got the right to see the guy, Spence, and to see what’s going on. Watch the interview, even, if we can sneak you into the room. But that means you’ve got to go down there acting the part of a two year old. Think you can manage it?”
The frustrated expression on Spencer’s face was adorable. “How does a two yeaw old act?” He asked her. “I don’t wemembew being two!”
“Well, they certainly don’t use words like remember.” JJ teased. Her smile took the sting out of the words. “If you just don’t talk but for ‘hi’ or ‘bye’, then we’ll just tell everyone you’re shy. Saves us the trouble of trying to groom you into talking right. Sound good?”
When Spencer finally nodded, the other two agents smiled at one another, their tension just barely visible underneath the surface. “Well, let’s get going, then.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time they reached the police station, none of the three were very happy. Spencer sat furiously in the backseat, inside of the baby seat that he had come to loathe in just this short car ride. It had been a battle royal when he’d discovered that they expected him to sit inside of it. There was no way he was going to sit inside of a damn car seat! If Morgan saw, he’d never let him hear the end of it. Never!
JJ had tried bargaining with him, she’d tried reasoning with him. She’d even tried to question him about accident statistics on kids his size and car crashes. His response to her had been to not crash.
Finally the matter had been solved by Dave. He’d simply stepped forward, scooping Spencer up and depositing him in the seat. The shock of having Dave do that, combined with that little fear that comes from being the small boy in the hands of someone much bigger and stronger than you, kept Spencer still enough that Dave got all the straps done.
The rest of the way in, Spencer had said not a word. He’d been battling back and forth between being furious with Dave for picking him up like that or with JJ for not taking his side and being terrified that he was so small and vulnerable and in the complete and total control of someone else. He’d worked hard to get to the point he had in his life where he wasn’t just the little guy anymore. He could hold his own.
But now he was stuck in a body that was physically just shy of being two years old. That meant that he wouldn’t even be able to climb up on a toilet without either assistance or a stool. He couldn’t quite get his fingers to work right, either, to undo and do buttons. Dave had had to button his coat for him! He wouldn’t be able to cook his own food, or eat whenever he wanted. He wouldn’t be able to go out and wander the streets or go to a library and sit and read for hours. Nothing. Hell, he wouldn’t even be able to bathe on his own!
Something wet splashed on his hand. It was then he realized that tears were spilling from his eyes. Embarrassment had him trying to wipe them away, but his traitorous little body just kept producing more. He sniffled once, trying to pull it under control.
The car was finally parked and he heard JJ and Dave climb out. Quickly he brought his arm up, using his sleeve to wipe off his face, hoping maybe they wouldn’t notice. But the instant Dave opened the back door, he saw the pink cheeks and the red-rimmed, watery eyes. He sighed softly. No matter how stressful this was for any of them, he reminded himself that it had to be a million times worse for Spencer.
Gently he reached over and unhooked his straps before hooking his hands under Spencer’s armpits and pulling him over. He set him on the edge of the seat right by the door, letting his legs dangle. Then he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to dry the little boy’s face. Once Spencer’s face was dry again, Dave pocketed the cloth and then scooped the little boy up. He slung the diaper bag over his free arm while JJ shut the door for him.
“Remember, Spence. No talking.” JJ reminded him. The toddler simply rested his head against Dave’s shoulder and snuggled in closer. It was a nice feeling, to cuddle up to someone when he was hurting inside. It brought back memories of curling up with his mom while she read to him. Warm and comforting without being smothering. Surprisingly, he found himself starting to drift a little, eyelids drooping as Dave carried him inside.
The agents made their way in, weaving expertly through the police officers and toward the back where the conference room and interrogation rooms were. Once he was sure no one was looking at which of the two they went into, Dave ducked into the back room for interrogation. He found Morgan and Prentiss both there, watching through the glass as Hotch questioned the man they’d brought from Reid’s house.
They both looked over when Dave and JJ came in, eyes traveling to the small form snuggled into Dave. Their lips curved at the same time when they saw the way that Spencer’s eyes were drifting shut and his thumb was just barely sitting against his lips, like he was resisting sucking his thumb with all his might.
“Hey, pretty boy.” Derek said softly, running a hand over his hair. “Pull your thumb out and wake up if you want to watch the interview.
Spencer shuffled slightly against Dave, his thumb sliding from his mouth. “Fowty five pewcent of two to fwee yeaw olds tuck theiw thumb.” He mumbled lightly. Ignoring their laughter, he shifted his position again and rubbed a fist over his eye before looking through the glass.
Hotch had just got to the good part of the interview. “What were you doing in Dr. Reid’s apartment this morning. Mr. Raymond?” He asked the man in a soft, hard voice. “You were found unconscious on his floor.”
The man, Raymond, looked agitated, his eyes darting around the room. “Was my baby ok?” He demanded of Hotch. “You didn’t hurt him, did you?”
“Your baby?”
“Yes!” Raymond shouted. His hands tapped nervously on the table. “I need to go get him. He needs me, you know. I worked hard to plan this! He needs me to take care of him. He’s not even two yet!”
They all watched as Spencer’s eyes locked onto the interview room. All signs of exhaustion were gone from his face.
“There was no baby there, Mr. Raymond.”
“Yes there was!” Raymond screamed so loudly that spittle flew from his mouth. Some of it splattered down his chin. “I brought my machine and everything! It was going to work this time!”
This time? The agents exchanged horrified looks. The man had done this before!
Hotch remained calm. “You’re machine? What machine is this, exactly?”
“My de-aging machine! I took forever perfecting it this time. The last few times it didn’t last even a year, or even six months. But I was hoping I’d fixed it! I even took longer to pick the right baby! He’s so smart, so pretty. I looked at his baby book. He was a beautiful child.” A dreamy smile covered Raymond’s face. “Just beautiful.”
Instinctively Dave held Spencer just a tiny bit closer. He thanked God that Morgan had gone to check on the kiddo and found him before this pervert had woken up and taken Spencer off with him. They never would have found him. They would have been looking for an adult, not a child.
“I was going to raise him up right! Not like everyone else did. I even researched him this time. He didn’t have any kind of childhood! So I was going to give it to him.”
“And what about when he wasn’t a kid anymore?” Hotch asked him. “What were your plans then?”
“Oh, that’s simple. I’d just shrink him back down. The de-ager only works until they hit eight, anyways. Then it accelerates their growth at a rapid pace until they’re back to adults. Or, I hope. I’ve never been able to test that part. But I would have just shrunk him down again! He was going to be my perfect baby.”
“I thought maybe you were going to tell me you had a re-ager somewhere as well.” Hotch said with a fake laugh. No one who didn’t know him would have heard the hope in his voice.
Raymond scowled at him. His moods shifted quicker than the breeze. “It doesn’t work like that! This didn’t work right this time either. It blew up! It didn’t hurt him, did it? I want my baby!”
Hotch rose from his chair and exited the interrogation room. He came into the observation room a moment later, a detective walking behind him. The man started at the sight of Spencer in Dave’s arms, but Spencer had seen him first and had closed his eyes, letting his thumb go back into his mouth. Better if they thought he was asleep in here. Anyways, it gave him time to think. To try and calm down what he was feeling inside.
“Well, Agent Hotchner.” The detective said. “What do you make of him?”
“I’d say he’s suffering from a major psychotic break right now. He’s built delusions about a machine that changes someone’s age back to childhood and reverts back to adulthood at the age of eight. What he was planning on doing in that apartment, who knows. But Agent Morgan was there, babysitting this child here. Maybe the shock of not finding his intended target combined with the child in the room built his delusions. My recommendation for him is to be committed for psychiatric evaluation immediately.”
“Yes, sir. We’ll get right on that.” The detective looked over to where Dave was gently swaying, one hand on Spencer’s back. “I hope the kid’s ok. You folks all take care.”
As soon as the door shut, Hotch moved to say something to Spencer, but Dave shook his head and gestured at the little boy. He was sound asleep.
Sighing softly, Hotch watched the toddler sleep and wondered what the hell they were going to do now. “I sure hope the kid’s ok, too.” He said softly.