Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and all its characters belong to CBS. I don't own any of them.
A/N: Thank you all for your kind reviews! I have added a sentence in Chapter 1 to update Garcia on the ages of the kids. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter too!
It was an hour later when JJ woke up. Rossi, Reid and Morgan were at the table discussing about the case when they heard the blonde stirring. The 3 stopped their discussion immediately, waiting to see what the toddler would do. The 3-year-old sat up on the bed slowly, rubbing her eyes before looking around wildly.
Suddenly, a soft sob escaped her mouth. JJ was clearly afraid about waking up in an unfamiliar environment. The pitiful scene of a toddler craving for familiar comfort set Rossi into motion. He walked quickly to the bed and scooped the disoriented girl into his arms.
"It's okay JJ, you're fine. You are in my room with the rest of the team." Rossi soothed immediately, bouncing the girl slightly as he brought her to the table.
Reid and Morgan looked on in shock. This was not the reaction that they were expecting from JJ. However, they knew that this was not the adult JJ at play. Throwing their concern about JJ being unlike adult-JJ was thrown to the back of their heads as they soothed JJ in their own ways.
"Hey JJ, look at me! I'm a kid too. It's fine. We will be fine. Hotch will find the son of a bi- Watkins and we will be back to normal." Morgan said quickly. After a few more sobs and pats from Rossi, JJ calmed down considerably. She lay quietly in Rossi's arm, sucking her thumb. As she started calming down, the adult JJ in her started to fill her conscious mind and she jumped slightly out of Rossi's arms, snatching her thumb out of her mouth.
Wiping her saliva-covered thumb on her shirt, JJ immediately apologized, "Oh god guys. I'm not suwe what's happening to me. My emotions awe all over the pwace. It's like I'm thwee again!"
"JJ, I know you just woke up, but you are kinda 3 again." Morgan replied slowly, as if scared to make the blonde cry again.
"But it's fine. We will take care of you JJ. I'm sure that Hotch will find a cure for all of you." Reid added quickly, "And if he can't, I have an IQ of 187 remember? I'd probably be able to come out with a cure for you." The last statement managed to get a soft smile and laugh out of JJ and Morgan.
"What did I *yawn* miss?" Emily said from her position on the bed. Before anyone could answer, she looked down at her too-large shirt that was now more like a dress. "It wasn't a dream was it?" she said sadly.
"No, it isn't Emily. But Weid says that he will make a ture (cure) for us." JJ said, giggling.
"Oh my god JJ, you are so cute! I just wanna squish you!" Emily said as she threw the duvet off her and rushed to her de-aged friend. "At least we are de-aged together." She said.
"Misery likes company doesn't it." Rossi replied.
A soft knock at the door stopped all the conversations. Reid stood up to open the door.
"Hey Reid, how have they been?" Hotch asked as he brought in the bags that he had been holding, putting them on the floor next to the table.
"They are sitting right here, and they have been good." Morgan replied, sounding a little offended.
"Right. Sorry Morgan. Here, these are some clothes that you can wear." Hotch said, trying to change the topic. He bent to pick the rest of the bags and turned to the girls. "And here are yours."
Knowing that there was an item in the bag which may cause JJ to not be very happy about, Hotch tactfully suggested that he brought them back to their own rooms where they could have a little privacy.
In JJ and Emily's room, the profiler took out a plain T-shirt and jeans and passed it to Emily who took it gratefully. She was extremely thankful that her boss had chosen a plain looking outfit. She shuddered at the thought of what she could be wearing had it been Garcia who did the shopping.
With Emily settled, Hotch turned to JJ and passed her another set of clothing – a plain yellow dress and a pull-up. JJ looked at the garment her boss held in his hands and her jaw dropped.
"I'm not a baby you know Hotch," she said softy.
Hotch looked closely at his agent, thinking how he was going to explain to her that in her current predicament, pull-ups are a precaution which might very well turn into a need.
He picked JJ up and set her on the bed, bending down so that they were of the same height.
"JJ…" He cleared his throat, "I know that this is not easy. I know that you are embarrassed, but you know that this is something we have to do now." He reasoned with her softly.
Thumbing away the tear drops that fell on her cheeks, Hotch continued, "I promise you that once we are sure you are uhm... potty trained, we will get you something more appropriate."
JJ looked down at the garment before looking up into her boss' eyes. Knowing that it was futile to argue with the man, JJ held out her pinky and whispered, "pwomise?"
"Promise."
Hotch turned around to give JJ some privacy as she changed into her new outfit. As he stared at the wall in front of him, Hotch mused about the promise that he made to his de-aged agent. Deep down, Hotch knew that this promise was not only about the pull-ups. It was a promise to his agents that he was going to find the man who did this to them and age them all back to normal. Yet, with only the note in hand, he knew that this promise might be one that he would be forced to break.
"I'm ready" A soft voice called from behind him.
Turning around, Hotch couldn't help but smile. JJ sure was adorable as a child.
The toilet door opened, and Emily walked out, looking a lot more comfortable now that she was in clothes that fit right.
"Let's go back to Rossi's room, we still have a case to solve." Hotch said as he held the door for the girls.
Back in Rossi's room, the team crowded around the table with the kids sitting on the bed. The team had casefiles strewn all over the place as they tried to look for the smallest of clues which could give them an idea of where Watkins might be.
"Watkins escaped through a trap door at the back of the warehouse. Local PD was unable to find him. They have combed through the area, but nothing stood out." Hotch updated the team.
"I received a note from Watkins back at the station." He continued, passing around the picture of the note to the rest of the team.
"Hotch find me for the cure. Only one can be chosen. Make the decision fast. End one of their childhoods now." Emily rattled on as she read the note.
"Only one can be chosen? Is he only going to pwovide the cuwe for one of us?" JJ asked. The 3 children turned to look at one another with horrified eyes.
"The cure wasn't sent with the note. He wants us to go to him for the cure. Local PD has already issued an APB but they have yet to find him." Hotch said solemnly.
"Cocky, isn't he?" Rossi said, staring at the note.
"Hey guys, I don't think he is even in Vegas anymore…" Reid said as he scrunched his eyebrow, cocking his head to one side.
"If I'm right, I think he is back in Quantico waiting for us."
Looking at their confused faces, Reid continued, "Look at the note carefully. See how he addresses it to the entire team before addressing it just to Hotch? I think he did it on purpose."
"Look at the way each sentence is written, it is not his style of writing. Focus on the first letter of each sentence."
"H-O-M-E," JJ read off.
"Pretty boy's right! Come on guys. Let's go! Watkin's waiting for us, we need to –" Morgan shrieked, jumping onto his feet and pulling onto Emily's hand. "We can't leave now Morgan." Hotch cut him off midsentence.
Looking at the frown that crossed the young agent's face, Hotch said with a smile, "It's dinner time now. I'll call the pilot. We'll leave after dinner."
Turning to Rossi and Reid, Hotch ordered, "Reid, I need you back at the station, there are some loose ends we need to tie up. Rossi get the kids ready and pack the bags. We will meet at the jet."
A/N: How's this chapter? There will be more focus on the kids in the future chapters. Please Review!