Anger flamed through Jess as her boss ,Hotch, told her that they had to close the case about her missing husband and colleague, Derek Morgan.
"YOU CAN'T GIVE UP ON HIM! HE'S STILL ALIVE!" Jess yelled, as she looked at Hotch, "You can't give up on him, he's one of us!"
She let out a sigh as she realized it was time to investigate a house where there were reports of a man being held captured in the attic.
As she sneaked through the house, hand on her revolver, she heard cries ,but not just any cries. She rushed to the door, her heart was pounding. "MORGAN!" she yelled waiting for a response
Then came the yelling of Morgan. "JESS! HELP ME PLEASE!" he cried back. Jess felt her heart tearing to pieces hearing his wails turning to grunts.
She took a few steps back and took a leap and kicked the door with such force it fell off the hinges just as Hotch and the rest of the team came running up.
All of a sudden, she fell onto her knees, wheezing. Morgan felt his heart pound as he forced himself onto his feet. The team arrested the guy who had abducted him. As he himself kneeled down to her.
She was shaking as she moved her hand to point out where her asthma inhaler was. He noticed she had dropped it as she kicked the door in. Quickly Morgan raised to his feet to go pick it up. He kneeled back down and helped her take a few breathes ,but it wasn't helping her. He frowned knowing that was a bad sign.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she held onto him falling into his arms as she whispered out ,"He-Help!" as her hands tightened around his shirt as she tried to get her breathing back to normal.
Morgan held her lifting her up into his arms as he finally yelled at Hotch. "Call 911! She needs an ambulance." As her head fell floppily against his chest. She whimpered in pain as she tried to take deep breathes again, but it was only getting harder.
Hotch called 911. Morgan looked down at Jess. "Calm down baby girl, shhh it will be okay baby, shhh Morgan has you." He whispered as he held Jess close to him. She rant her fingers down the bruises on his neck quietly before burying her face into his chest again.
The ambulance officers rushed into the room making Jess freak out as they tried to take her from Morgan's arms. Her wails becoming louder, her coughing sounding like a barking seal.
"Can you place her down on the stretcher?" one of the officer asked Morgan. He slowly stroke Jess' hair "I'm going to be with you. I love you Jess." he whispered into her ear.
Jess gave a slow nod as she passed out in the ambulance. A couple of hours later when she woke up, Morgan wasn't in the room. She found herself in her brother, Spencer's, arms. She cuddled up close as she told him she was hungry. She then looked around. "Did Morgan go to get something to eat?"
Spencer held his sister close in silence for a few minutes, how could he tell her that Morgan had been abducted again, she had been through so much already and she was still weak. Jess looked up into her brothers eyes, they were so familiar, she could read them without him having to say anything, she felt a fear begin to grip her throat, so it was difficult to talk,
"Something's wrong, Spencer where's Morgan?" Spencer swallowed,
"Jess," he began quietly, he stopped and took in a deep breath,
"Jess," he started again, "He's been abducted again." Jess collapsed against her brother as tears began to creep down her cheeks.
"No, Spencer I can't lose him." She whispered holding onto him tightly and that night, she lay awake sobbing for him.
Spencer watched her, it was painful to see her like this, she was so weak at the moment, he was worried that she might not be able to cope if they did not find Morgan soon.
She was his only family, his mother was in a mental instruction and he did not want her to be in one but what happened next day was not something he expected.
He woke up to find that she had wet her bed and was crying as if she was a toddler as well sucking on her thumb.
Jess looked at him from her bed, there was no recognition in her eyes, they where wide and staring innocently at him, similar to a child's eyes,
"Who you?" she asked in a babyish voice. Spencer looked around for a doctor, trying not to freak out in front of Jess, something was horribly wrong with his sister. Spencer focussed on Jess as she sat up straight in bed, waiting for a reply from him. Spencer cleared his throat,
"Jess, it's Spencer, you know me, I'm your brother," he said as calmly as he could. Jess shook her head, he eyes brimming with tears of fear,
"I want my Mummy!" she shrieked. Spencer cringed as he heard the sounds of running footsteps, that had at least got the attention of the Doctors. Jess screamed again as tears started to spill down her cheeks, just as the Doctor came in sight.
"Doc, I don't know what happened, she woke up and she can't remember me." Spencer said as Jess once again shrieked "I want my mummy! I want my mummy!"
"She thinks she's a child but she may go home, maybe come up with where your mother is." The doctors suggested and Spencer took her home but did a stop at the shopping centre.
As they walked inside Jess saw candy and said "I want candy!"
Spencer went to grab her hand but she ran off into the crowd, towards the candy store. Spencer ran after her, but he had already lost sight of her in the crowds. Spencer headed towards the Candy Store, kicking himself for being so stupid, how could he had been so thoughtless to bring Jess here in her mental state, she was a child, she had no idea of the dangers she could run into.
Spencer arrived at the colourful entrance of the Candy Store, it was crowded with parent and kids. Spencer pushed the door open and looked up at the bell as it rang in his ear, he couldn't see Jess anywhere and he was starting to panic now.
"Jess!" Spencer yelled searching through the candy store, his heart pounding as he looked for her and he sighed with relief as he saw her, he grabbed her hand and decided to buy a leash for her.
Soon he found a pink and black one and had the shop keeper placed it on her, Jess was less than happy and she shrieked out "NO!" and the shopkeeper said "She will get used to it soon."
Jess threw herself on the ground having a tantrum and shrieked out "NO!", she slammed her hands into the ground and Spencer looked embarrassment as he pulled her up into her feet.
"Jessika Claire Reid, if you do not listen to me, I'll have to punish you." Reid warned as he got some stuff including diapers etc.
Reid drove Jess to her apartment and packed her stuff up because he was taking her to the house.
As he got her settled into his house, she said "Thirsty Spence." And Spencer asked "What do you want?" and Jess said "Strawberry mooshake?" which was her name for a strawberry milkshake.
Spencer frowned and said "Maybe later. You must choose something else." And Jess pouted out angrily and looked like she was going to have a tantrum, "I want Mooshake!"
"You can have one for dessert if you behave and choose another drink now." Spencer said trying to make a deal with her.
"Apple Juice." She cooed out as she played with some toys that he had bought her and Spencer went to make her fresh Apple Juice.
After she finished her food, he got out a pink toothbrush and said "Okay, time to brush your pretty whites." And she looked confused at him.
Reid found himself needing someone so he called JJ and waited for her to pick up.
"Jareau here." JJ answered and Reid said "I need your help, It's Jess, she thinks she is a toddler and I don't know how to take care of her, please teach me."
"I'll come over right away," JJ answered, she could ask him what had happened when she arrived at the house.
Reid put the phone down with a quiet sigh of relief, he knew he was way out of his depth here and was worried he wouldn't be able to take proper care of Jess in her current state.
Spencer turned his attention to Jess, then looked at the pink toothbrush in his hand. Jess looked at the toothbrush,
"Pwetty," she said. Spencer managed a smile, at least she liked it, so hopefully no tantrums or pouts this time. Spencer held the toothbrush up,
"Okay, we are going to brush your teeth Jess and make them all shiny," he explained in as simple terms as he could. Jess pouted and Spencer just held back a groan. Jess opened her mouth and stated very clearly,
"I want my mooshake!" Spencer put the toothbrush down, trust Jess to be a difficult toddler, he thought, he would have laughed if the situation Jess was in hadn't been so serious.
Reid jumped as the doorbell rang through the house, he closed his eyes in a moment of relief as he realised it must be JJ. Reid looked at Jess sitting with her bottom lip stuck out in a pout, he cleared his throat and made his tone lively,
"Jess we have a visitor, isn't that exciting?" he asked. Jess forgot about her milkshake and looked around expectantly as Reid went towards the front door quickly.
Reid opened the front door and saw JJ standing there, he let a sigh of relief out before he could stop it,
"Glad to see you, " he said, "How are you with difficult toddlers?" JJ rose an eyebrow as she noted Reid's more than flustered expression,
"What's been going on, you sounded in a panic on the phone, where's Jess?" she asked as she stepped into the house. Reid shook his head,
"Follow me, you have to see for yourself," he replied, "She's had some sort of breakdown, she's been through a lot of stress recently and then Morgan..." Reid trailed off as Jess came into sight.
Jess looked at Spencer,
"Mooshake!" she demanded.
Spencer glanced at JJ as she gasped, "What?"
Jess stamped her foot hard,
"I wanna mooshake noooow!" she wailed, winding herself up for a full blown tantrum. Spencer told her in the strictest tone he could,
"Jessika! I will send you to bed right now if you don't be good!" Jess pouted again, but didn't try to push her luck.
JJ looked at Jess, her mouth dropping open in shock,
"Whaaat?" she mumbled. Reid turned to her and explained in an urgent whisper,
"Try to act normally, Jess has reverted to childhood, something snapped and this is what happened, I can't deal with her like this, I don't have any idea how to look after a toddler, she won't even have her teeth brushed."
JJ got control of herself, her eyes wondered to the neglected pink toothbrush,
"Jess," she said brightly, "Why don't you show me what a big girl you are and brush your teeth and afterwards we can play a game." Jess's pout vanished and she went and picked up the toothbrush, she held it up to JJ,
"You help pwease?" she asked brightly. JJ's eyes went to Reid's briefly,
"Get some rest," she told him, "I'll take over for a while."
Reid said "Thanks JJ." As he walked to his bedroom and Jess noticed him missing and her bottom lip began to tremble.
"Spence?" Jess cried out. Her voice was fearful.
"Sshh" JJ said softly."Its ok Jess. Spencer will be back soon."
Jess looked up at JJ her eyes still brimming with tears, but something in JJ's voice reassured her. She picked up her toothbrush and handed it to JJ.
But just as she did so, a Loud knock sounded on the door.
Someone yelled, however, whatever the person said was incomprehensible.
JJ turned to Jess and saw her eyes widen with fear.
Trying to make her voice as calm as possible she said, "Its ok Jess, I'm sure its just the next door neighbor, Elphias Greene."
When JJ made her way towards towards the bathroom door however, Jess ran forward and grabbed her arm."Don't leave me alone." she pleaded.
"It shall just take a minute Jess. If i don't open the door now, Spencer shall wake up and he needs some rest."
The person outside the front door showed no mercy. His yells reverberated through the house, and just as JJ predicted, woke Spencer up.
Spencer walked out and said "Whose yelling? That isn't Elphias." And Jess got scared from the yelling and began to cry really hard clinging to JJ who looked worried at Spencer as they heard the guy who was yelling sounded like he was crying.
JJ walked over to the door leaving Jess with Spencer and checked the peephole and opened it quickly to see Morgan shaking hard and he was really upset.
"Morgan stop yelling, you are scaring Jess and well she isn't in a good condition." JJ said calmly.
Morgan stared at JJ for a moment."What? What's wrong with her?" he said, worry and anxiousness replaced the fury that was previously etched into his face.
"Who is it JJ?"Spencer asked.
"Its Morgan, Reid." JJ said moving aside and revealing the figure of Morgan.
Jess peeped out from behind Spencer's arm."Who is Morgan?" She asked.
"Jess."Morgan said, his throat very dry. "Jess its me, Morgan." For a split second he thought she was pulling his leg.
He had expected her to run up to him and fling her arms around his neck after his last disappearance, however on seeing the blank look on her face, he realized she truly did not recognize him.
"Jess?" He said weakly again, fervently hoping this was all a bad dream.
When the chief told him that Jess had been taken to Spencer's house because of some injury he had not been prepared for this.
"Morgan" Spencer said slowly, "Morgan come in and sit down. I shall explain what has happened to Jess once you do."
He stared blankly at Spencer then Jess and then JJ unable to comprehend anything.
Morgan sat down while Jess watched and she then looked at JJ and said "Mooshake?" and JJ looked at Spencer who nodded as he sat down to explain to Morgan.
"She thinks she is a child and has no memories of adulthood, the day after you got abducted again, I woke up to find she had wet her bed and didn't know who I was." Spencer explained.
However that night Jess woke up from a bad dream, she sobbed as she called out "MORGAN! MORGAN! MORGAN!" howling loudly and Morgan rushed to her and Jess reached up to him still sobbing.
Jess sat up in bed still sobbing as Spencer skidded into the room, his hair a mess and still in his night clothes,
"Jess?" he asked out of breath as Morgan came running up behind him, looking just as dishevelled both men having been woken by her loud sobbing.
Jess looked up at Spencer, tears still creeping down her cheeks,
"Spence," she sobbed, then her teary eyes went to Morgan,
"I know you," she mumbled. Morgan felt relief run through him,
"Thank goodness," he gasped going to walk forward, but Spencer stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm, he had been studying Jess's face quietly, he knew his sister inside out,
"Wait Morgan, something still isn't right with Jess," he whispered in Morgans ear. Morgan stopped slowly, he wanted to go to Jess, but looking into her eyes, he realised Spencer was right, they eyes were still wide and child like.
Jess's eyes went to Spencer again, then settled on Morgan, she may have remembered who he was and that she loved him very much, but nothing else had come back to her.
"I no want to sleep alone...Morgan stay." She whimpered sadly.