A/N: First of all... wow. When I posted the first chapter of this story, I definitely did not expect the response that I got. Twelve reviews on that one chapter is just awesome! :) It seems a lot of people agree with me when I said that I think there really needs to be a de-aged Morgan fic, huh? :P Normally I wouldn't post a new chapter this early, but I felt that you guys deserve it! So let's see exactly how Morgan's doing, shall we?

Disclaimer: See my profile.

Summary: When Morgan fails to show up for work one morning, what the team find at his house is most definitely not what they expected. De-aged Morgan.

Chapter Two: To Comfort a Child

It wasn't until JJ spoke Morgan's name that Reid's mind fully registered that the little child sitting on the floor in front of him was in fact Derek Morgan, his teammate and best friend. Logic and facts, everything Reid knew and had trusted in his life, was telling him that this wasn't possible. Yet his eyes were telling him that it had happened. Derek Morgan had turned into a child.

Morgan reflexively shrank back as JJ touched his face, turning his face away from her. Reid could scarcely believe this; Derek Morgan was the strongest, toughest, most courageous man he had ever known. And yet here he was, a little boy, shying away from JJ's very gentle touch. "Morgan?" JJ whispered soothingly, trying to draw him and his gaze back to her. "What happened to you?"

"I d-d-don't know," Morgan stammered in that tiny, tiny voice of his. "I just woke up and my head just f-felt wrong, and I just felt l-like crying, and then I opened my eyes and everything was b-bigger, and then I g-got out of bed to get the ph-ph-phone but I fell over and h-h-hurt myself, and I just couldn't stop crying… and then you guys were here, and you're so so much bigger than me!" Tears began to gleam in the little boy's eyes, and it was then that Reid and JJ realised Morgan had no idea what had happened to him.

JJ motherly instincts had her wanting to reach out to Morgan, but the profiler part of her told her that this wasn't a good idea. Morgan was confused and instinctually scared, and he still had no idea what exactly was going on. "So you don't know what's happened to you? You haven't looked in a mirror?" JJ asked softly.

Morgan shook his head vigorously. "N-n-no. I couldn't get any further before I f-f-fell." He looked up at JJ and Reid, suddenly even more terrified. "Why? What's happened?"

"I think it's best if you see for yourself, Morgan," Reid said, speaking for the first time since JJ and Reid had seen Morgan.

"D'you think you can walk?" JJ asked. Morgan tried to push himself to his tiny feet, but he couldn't get up. "Here, let me carry you." She reached out her hands to him, but Morgan pulled away from her again.

"No! You can't carry me!" he cried. "No way am I letting you carry me!"

"Do you want me to bring the mirror to you?" Reid suggested. Morgan nodded instantly and Reid headed into his bathroom, bringing back the full-length mirror that rested there. "You might want to… well, prepare yourself for this," he said. "This is really going to be a shock."

Morgan nodded, and Reid placed the mirror in front of him. Morgan's eyes grew wide, and his tiny mouth fell open. He could not believe what he was seeing, and yet the evidence was right in front of him. "I'm- I'm a- I'm a little kid!" he exclaimed. "How-how did this happen to me?" Tears began to fill Morgan's eyes again, and suddenly he was crying, his face red, blotchy and screwed up, his tiny hands in fists, tears running down his cheeks and his tiny body wracked with sobs.

"Oh, Morgan…" JJ reached out to the tiny boy again, intending to comfort him, but he shrunk away until he was leaning against his bed. JJ looked up at Reid, who was looking rather panicked. "He's not going to let me touch him," she said quietly as she went over to Reid, so Morgan couldn't hear her over his sobs. "We never really hugged or touched very often or spent very much time together when he was an adult, so he's not really used to my touch or my presence. And now he's very scared and very confused, because he's a little kid… add all of that together, and there is no way he's going to let me near him while he's crying."

"What are we going to do, then?" Reid asked, still rooted to the spot. He wanted to do something, anything, to help Morgan, but he had no idea what.

"I think he'll let you comfort him," JJ said.

"Me?" Reid exclaimed, loud enough to make Morgan start and cry even louder. Reid flinched when this happened; the sound definitely wasn't something he liked to hear, and he felt bad for making the little boy even more upset. "Sorry," he said, more quietly. "But why me? I'm horrible with kids! Don't you remember about the 'Reid Effect'?"

"You're great with Henry," JJ pointed out. "And this is Morgan, Reid. You guys spend time together all the time, both at work and outside of work. You're best friends, and you're probably one of the people he trusts the most in this world. And he touches your shoulder or your hair or something all the time. He's the one you go to for comfort; now it just needs to be the other way around."

"Okay," Reid said after a moment's pause. "I'll try. But I can't guarantee this is going to work." Reid slowly moved closer to Morgan, crouching down in front of him. "Morgan? Derek?" he said softly. Morgan resolutely refused to look at him. "Derek, it's just Reid. You're best friend. It's me. Look at me."

Morgan finally looked up, and Reid could see the extreme level of fear and sadness in the little boy's eyes. "R-R-Reid," he managed to choke out. "How did this happen to me?"

"I don't know," Reid admitted. "I don't know, Morgan, but I'm going to find out."

"But what if you c-c-can't? W-what if I'm stuck like this?" Morgan said, his sobs intensifying again.

Morgan looked so small, so sad and so scared, Reid knew that he had to comfort him. He reached out his hands to the little boy, and unlike with JJ, Morgan didn't resist. In fact, he almost fell into Reid's arms, clutching at Reid's shirt and crying into it. After a few moments, and deciding that Morgan wasn't going to pull away, Reid put his arms around the boy and held him close to his chest, stroking his back gently with one hand. Morgan clung to Reid, refusing to let go as he cried himself out. Reid knew that normally, Morgan wouldn't do this. He also realised that Morgan's mind, the part of him that was still an adult, didn't want to do this. But while part of Morgan's mind was still an adult, he now had the mind and body of a child. And because of this, his instincts and his body were telling him that he needed comfort right now. He needed Reid to hold him as he cried. And so Reid held him.

Eventually, Morgan's tears began to subside and he sat still in Reid's arms, letting out small sniffing sounds every now and then. Reid didn't want to move, because he knew that this would startle Morgan out of his arms, and the little boy still needed his comfort. He merely turned his head to look at JJ, who had been watching him.

"We need to call the team," she said softly. "They're going to be wondering where we got to."

"The team?" As if suddenly realising something, Morgan pulled away from Reid's chest, while still in the genius's arms, and looked up at JJ, horrified. "No! They can't see me like this!"

"Morgan, sweetie, they're going to have to know," JJ told him. "Hotch is the one that send Reid and me here. And the whole team was worried about you. We can't lie to them."

"Don't call me sweetie!" Morgan yelled in a voice as loud as he could muster; which was still a lot quieter than his adult voice. "Don't! I don't like it!"

"Okay, Morgan, we won't call you that," Reid assured him. "But we have to tell the team. You do understand that, right?"

Morgan looked like he still wanted to protest, but eventually he nodded his tiny head. "Just the team?"

"Just the team," JJ promised.

"Can… can you tell them not to come here, pwease?" Morgan stumbled over the r sound in the word, unable to form the sound properly. "I don't want them to see me yet."

"Of course," said JJ. "I'm going to go out into the living room, Reid. I don't really think Morgan wans or needs to hear this. I'll be back in a bit." JJ walked out of the bedroom, leaving Morgan and Reid alone.

Both of them were silent for a long while. Morgan still sat in Reid's arms, both wanting and not wanting to move. The part of him that was still an adult knew that this was incredibly embarrassing; he'd just cried himself out in his best friend's arms, for crying out loud! But the rest of Morgan didn't want to move at all. Reid's arms and body were warm and comforting; oh, so comforting. He wanted to stay as close to Reid as he could possibly get. He didn't want Reid to leave him. The feeling was incredibly strange- but what was even more unusual was that- since he was currently in Reid's arms- Morgan liked it.

"Do you think you've finished crying?" Reid asked after a while.

Morgan nodded, but before he could say anything he let out a huge yawn. He felt rather confused; he'd only been out of bed for a few hours, so why would he be tired?

"You need to go to bed," Reid said. "Get some sleep."

"Not tired," Morgan grumbled, but he ruined his own argument by yawning again. He rubbed at his eyes with tiny fists, trying to keep them open.

"You are," Reid said. "You've been crying quite a bit; that makes anyone tired. Especially since you're a very small child. You get tired very quickly. You need to sleep, Morgan."

Morgan wanted to protest further, but now his eyelids were beginning to droop. He was angry about the fact that being so young now made him tire quickly, but sleep sounded so good right now. His nice, warm bed… so comfy…

Before Morgan knew it, Reid had picked him up. He wanted to struggle, or get Reid to put him down, but instead he instinctually snuggled in close to Reid's chest. He didn't want to like Reid holding him, but he did. He really, really did.

When Reid began to lower Morgan into his bed, Morgan involuntarily clutched at Reid's shirt. As embarrassing as the feeling was, Morgan didn't want Reid to put him down.

Having far more strength than Morgan now, it was easy for Reid to pry the small child's hands away. He placed Morgan in the bed, tucking the sheet and the comforter around his little body. Looking down on the child, whose eyes were now very heavy, Reid instinctually brushed some of Morgan's black hair away from his face. "You can sleep, Derek," he whispered. "It'll be okay. It will."

As Morgan's eyelids closed, Reid turned to leave, but he felt something tugging at his shirt. He turned around to find Morgan gripping his shirt tightly, his eyes pleading. "Don't leave me," Morgan begged, before he could stop himself.

"Okay," Reid said, pulling the chair in the corner of the room closer to Morgan's bed and sitting down it it. "I won't leave you. I promise. Now close those eyes and go to sleep."

Reassured now, Morgan finally closed his eyes and snuggled deeper into the bed. Within only a few minutes, Morgan's breathing evened out, and Reid could tell he had fallen asleep. He looked so peaceful now, almost… content, even though Reid knew he was far from it.

Morgan's tiny body looked almost swallowed by his bed. I don't know how this happened to you, Morgan, but I will find a way to fix it. I will get you back to normal, Reid promised silently. But even as he thought this, Reid wondered if it really was possible. He couldn't help but wonder if Morgan would be stuck like this, forever.

*CMxSRxDMxFF*

As Reid was holding Morgan and then putting him to bed, JJ was in the living room, pulling out her phone and calling Hotch.

"Agent Hotchner," Hotch said when he picked up.

"Hotch, it's me, JJ," JJ said. "We're at Morgan's."

"What did you find?" Hotch asked, his tone suddenly urgent. "Is Morgan there?"

"Oh yeah, he's here," said JJ, and then she paused. She had absolutely no idea how to tell Hotch what had happened to Morgan. She had no idea how to tell him that one of his agents had been turned into a very young child. "He's… well, he hasn't been attacked or kidnapped."

"JJ? What's happened to him? Is he hurt, sick?"

"Ah, well… Hotch, I really don't know how to put this without you thinking I'm crazy. I mean, it completely defies logic. If Reid wasn't so worried about Morgan, I'm pretty sure his head would've exploded."

"JJ, just tell me," Hotch insisted.

"Hotch he's, well… somehow, he's turned into a small child," JJ finally told him.

There was silence on Hotch's end of the line; JJ wondered whether he was trying to think of all the reasons why she would be wrong. Either that or he'd gone into shock, rather like Reid had done. Eventually Hotch said, "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Positive, Hotch," said JJ. "The child we found sitting in Morgan's bedroom is definitely him. For one thing, he responded to his own name. And he knew exactly who Reid and I were. He was also very resistant to being treated like a child. It's definitely him, Hotch."

"Where's Morgan right now?" Hotch asked.

"He's, uh, well, he's in his bedroom, crying his eyes out," JJ said. "He knew something had happened to him when we got here, but he didn't know exactly what, so we showed him his reflection, and, well, he didn't take it very well. Reid's with him right now."

"Reid?" Hotch repeated, sounding surprised. JJ didn't blame him; Reid had never been very good around kids.

"He may just be a little kid, but he's still Morgan. He wouldn't let me touch him, because when he was an adult I didn't spend time with him very often or hug him or anything like that. But Reid… Reid's his best friend. He's used to being around Reid and touching Reid. Even as a child, he just instinctually is comforted from being near to Reid, because he's so used to him," JJ explained. "And because Reid is gentle and quiet and comforting and restrained, and that's exactly what Morgan needs right now. He doesn't need anyone completely fussing over him."

"I'm coming over there," Hotch decided.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," said JJ.

"Why not?"

"Morgan asked me to tell you not to come here, yet," JJ replied. "He's not readt for you to see him. You or anyone else on the team coming here would probably just freak him out right now, Hotch."

JJ heard Hotch sigh on the other end of the phone. "I'm going to have to tell them, though," he said.

"Of course. I know that, and Morgan knows too. Are you… are you going to tell anyone else?"

"No. Nobody else needs to know about this. We need to keep this within the team, otherwise it could be a complete disaster. And I'm almost certain that Morgan wouldn't want anybody else to know what's happened."

"No. No, he wouldn't," JJ agreed, sighing. "God, how are we going to figure out how this happened to him? More importantly, how are we going to figure out how to change him back?"

"I don't know," Hotch admitted. "I'm going to have a meeting with the team, and we'll figure out where to go from here. You and Reid stay with Morgan. He may only let Reid comfort him, but you're the one who knows how to look after a very young child."

"Okay, Hotch. Call me when you've talked to the team." JJ hung up the phone, walking back into the bedroom where Morgan and Reid were. Her eyes immediately sought out Morgan, finding him lying in his bed surrounded by his comforter, sound asleep. His chest was rising and falling slowly, and his tiny thumb was in his mouth.

"He's going to be embarrassed when he wakes up and realises he's doing that," JJ commented, alerting Reid to her presence.

Reid slowly looked away from Morgan and up at JJ. "Probably," said Reid. "But for now, he's calm and he's sleeping. And I don't want to move him."

"He does look peaceful," JJ agreed. "How long has he been asleep for?"

"Maybe about twenty minutes," Reid replied. "I don't know. I just held him for a while. It seemed to really comfort him."

"Of course it did," said JJ, as if it was obvious. "Reid, he trusts you, then and now. Probably more than anyone else. Whenever either of you has a problem, you turn to each other. If anyone's going to be able to comfort Morgan, it's you."

"I guess…" said Reid, still not sounding convinced. "What do we do when he wakes up?"

"I don't know," JJ admitted. "If he's anything like Henry, he's going to be grumpy. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Spence." JJ put her hand on Reid's shoulder and both of them watched the young boy sleep, wondering how on earth the rest of the team would react when they found out what had happened to Morgan.

A/N: Aww, poor Morgan :( I didn't know something could be so cute and so sad at the same time, but apparently it can. I hope you enjoyed the second chapter just as much as the first one! Again, reviews would be greatly welcomed and appreciated :) Thanks for reading!