AN: Just so we're all clear, I did not steal this story. I posted the first chapter back then and I simply re-uploaded it to my NEW account. I even posted an author note to the other story saying I would be reposting it here... I am the owner of this story on both account. I'm the same person. Thanks! I will only update the story here and will delete it from my other account tomorrow morning.

Now without further ado, here's the second chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. All mistakes are mine.

As they exited the hospital, the group split after short goodbyes. It had been decided on their way out that Rossi and Reid would drive the black Dodge Charger back, stopping by their hotel to check-out and to pick up everyone's go-bags on the way to the airstrip. The two men hadn't complained, relieved to get away from the children for a while. It's not that they didn't like kids. They simply weren't used to be around them much and weren't exactly sure how to respond when JJ or Morgan talked to them.

The moment they got to the parking lot across the street, Morgan started running, screaming, "Last one to the car is a headless chicken!" completely ignoring Hotch and Emily's protests.

He sprinted in a straight line between two rows of cars, dodging wing mirrors as he went. A few seconds later, JJ wriggled herself free out of Emily's arms and took off after him, yelling at him to wait for her.

"It's not fair, Derek! You didn't tell me!" JJ cried indignantly, her little feet hitting the pavement hard, trying to catch up with him. Her breath came out in little puffs, bright blue eyes shining, her blonde sandy hair floating behind her.

Morgan grounded to a halt, and turned around panting a little.

"Come on, Jay! We can both get to the SUV before Hotch and Emily, hurry!" He grabbed her hand when she finally joined him, and they darted together between cars, laughing hysterically.

Hotch and Emily exchanged nervous glances, unsure if they were supposed to run after the kids. Technically, his agents were grown adults and they could do as they pleased. The doctor had warned him that they would eventually act like children, but Hotch just wasn't ready for that kind of behaviour.

"What is going on with them?" the unit chief asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I don't know, shouldn't we stop them?" Emily replied, biting the corner of her mouth.

Hearing the squeals of excitement and the incessant streams of giggles reverberating around them, the adults quickly decided not to intervene. Scanning the lot to make sure there were no moving vehicles in their vicinity, Hotch shrugged.

"Maybe running will tire them out," he said, completely at loss.

Emily only nodded in reply, focused on tracking the little blonde head at all times. They simultaneously picked up their pace, anxious to get the kids inside the safety of the car.

JJ was struggling to keep up with Morgan. Her little legs weren't as fast, and she couldn't match his strides. He kept pulling her arm, encouraging her, but she couldn't go on.

"Derek," she said winded, "I have to stop."

Morgan looked back at her and released her hand. He slowed down before coming to a stop. JJ put her hands on her knees, trying to regulate her breathing.

"JJ, you can't quit! We're almost there."

JJ raised her head, hair damp with sweat falling in front of her eyes.

"What are we even doing, Derek?" JJ asked bewildered, brushing back loose strands of hair. Her voice was shrilly, and she flinched inwardly at the sound.

Morgan wasn't sure what she was asking him, but he figured 'running to the car' probably wasn't the answer she was looking for. They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, both horrified at their actions.

"We're acting like children," Morgan finally admitted. "What is going on with us?"

The realization hit him in the stomach like a ton of bricks. He had blamed his childish behaviour earlier that afternoon on stress and anger, but he couldn't explain why on Earth he was running in a parking lot, trying to get away from his partner and his boss. Were they turning into actual kids?

"We need to ask Hotch what the doctor told him. Right now," JJ said, pulling him from his thoughts. She had a cute determined look on her face.

"No! If we do, he'll get suspicious. He'll think we can't do our job or some shit. No, we have to be subtle about it," Morgan started. JJ rolled her eyes at him.

"Are you serious, Derek? Because we just ran away squealing from him and Emily. He is Aaron Hotchner, profiler extraordinaire! Don't you think he knows we're not acting like ourselves?" the blonde asked clearly exasperated. "And if that didn't give it away, we're the size of peanuts!"

JJ could feel her temper flaring. Her fists balled of their own accord and she gritted her teeth. Ever since they had been shrunk, the little blonde had a hard time controlling her emotions.

"You are so stupid sometimes, Derek Morgan!" JJ spat at him. "You're just scared of what Hotch will say."

Morgan who had started to walk away whipped around and looked at her, eyes wide.

"What did you say to me?" Morgan took a step closer to his friend. JJ was right, of course. He was scared. But being afraid wasn't an emotion he dealt with well. He often masked it with anger and resentment.

"I said you are stuuuu-pid!" the blonde yelled at him.

Without thinking, the boy pushed JJ hard, sending her skidding across the ground. The little girl shrieked in shock, eyes burning with unshed tears. She had landed hard, and her pride was hurt. She stared at her skinned palms, blinking furiously in an attempt to swallow the tears. She was not going to cry. JJ couldn't believe Morgan had shoved her like that. She looked up at him, her usually clear blue eyes were veiled with hurt.

"You hurt me," she whispered so softly he had to strain his ears to hear her. Morgan felt a pang of guilt at her words. He didn't know what came over him, and of course, it made him angrier. He didn't like feeling vulnerable.

"Well, you deserved it," he said in spite of himself.

JJ's mouth snapped open and she blinked at him a few times before bursting into tears.

"Morgan what the hell did you do that for?" Emily asked, her voice betraying the frustration she felt. Emily Prentiss, queen of the compartmentalization, had a hard time processing the fact that her two best friends had been turned (and acted) into children.

Hotch and Emily had witnessed the whole scene from afar. They had been shocked at the speed at which everything had turned from playful to hurtful.

"She deserved it," Morgan grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. He stared had his feet, refusing to meet Emily's eyes.

"I did not!" JJ exclaimed between shuddering breaths. "I just told the truth!" She balled her fists and brought them to her mouth. She chewed on the skin of her fingers to keep herself from crying. JJ was mortified by her reaction, but she couldn't control it. Tears kept coming down heavily and soon she found herself gasping for air as choking sobs racked her tiny body.

Hotch scooped her up quickly and rubbed her back, "Okay, JJ. Calm down, it's okay, you're okay."

The little girl instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shirt.

"I…I…don't know…know what's going on with me," JJ said as she drew in shaky breaths. It was a pitiful sight, and Morgan's insides churned up with guilt once more.

"Nothing is wrong with you, sweetie," Hotch assured her. "You've had a long day. Let's get to the car."

By the time they reached the SUV, Hotch was beginning to feel a headache coming on. He fumbled for the keys, trying to get JJ to release her tight grip around his neck.

Feeling a phone buzzing in his left back pocket, Hotch hurriedly reached for it and without checking the caller ID, he swiped his thumb across the screen. He cradled his cell against his shoulder, unlocking the car doors at the same time.

"Ho-"

"Derek Morgan! Where the hell have you been?" Garcia screeched into the phone as soon as she heard the line clicking on.

"Garcia, it's me," Hotch said distractedly, "JJ, will you get in the car please, and I promise we'll talk about it then, thank you."

"Is everything okay, Bossman? Why are you answering Morgan's phone, is he okay?" the tech asked, worry evident in her voice.

"I can do it myself! Stop watching me!"

"Hotch, was that…JJ? What is going on?" Garcia asked baffled by the snippets of conversation she could hear in the background.

"Yes, we've had…a situation. Everyone is fine, Garcia. We're on our way to the airport now. We should land around 11PM," Hotch informed her.

"Hotch, ask her to go shopping for clothes," Emily reminded him as she struggled to keep Morgan from hitting JJ again. "Derek Morgan, I swear to God if you hit her one more time…"

Guessing that Emily's threats were empty, Morgan stuck his tongue out at her and quickly pressed the release button of JJ's seatbelt. The boy smirked in satisfaction when the little blonde wailed in frustration and Emily stared at him with wide eyes. Children really were sadistic.

"Oh, Garcia, one more thing," Hotch said, covering his ear with his hand to block out the screams coming from the car, "I need you to buy some kids clothes before we get back. Everything you think they might need. Size 4 for JJ and size 10 for Morgan."

"JJ and Morgan?" Garcia repeated suspiciously, "As in my cupcake and my chocolate thunder? Hotch what is going on?"

"Thanks, Garcia," he ended the call and turned off the phone completely before the tech analyst could say anything else.

It was about 6PM when the team had finally been ready to board the jet. The sun was slowly setting, colouring the skies a myriad of pinks. The view was breathtaking and the air was still warm. It was a perfect late summer night.

On the plane, JJ and Morgan sat facing each other. They were both being uncharacteristically quiet. Emily had convinced them earlier – with a promised to stop at the nearest McDonald's – to apologise and make peace.

They sat calmly, feet dangling in the air, both lost in thoughts. JJ was listening to her iPod, an earbud dangling off, and Morgan had his DS in his hands but he stared at a black screen. The rest of the team was sitting at the other end of the jet, talking in hushed tones. They were no doubt discussing their 'shrunk colleagues' predicament.

"What do you think will happen to us?" JJ's whispers broke the silence.

"I don't know," Morgan answered, shaking his head, "but I doubt they'll let us go home by ourselves. I wouldn't."

JJ sucked in her bottom lip and nodded in agreement. Morgan was right. Based on their behaviour that day, they couldn't be trusted on their own.

"Do you think they'll call our parents?"

"Nah… Not right away anyway. Whatever happened to us is probably classified," Morgan said with a shrug. He loved his family, but he wasn't sure how he felt about them seeing him like this. He hadn't actually worked out his feelings on the whole situation. So far he just knew he hated it.

JJ leaned back in her seat and resumed kicking her feet nervously. She stared out the little window, thumb in her mouth, biting her finger until it bled.

"Shouldn't we let JJ and Morgan have a say in this?" Reid asked, clearly uncomfortable discussing about their friends when they were sitting a few feet away. "Technically they are still adults, and the doctor said…"

"No offense, Spence, but that doctor had no idea what he was talking about," Emily scoffed. "You weren't in the car with them. They are turning into real children faster than he predicted."

"Prentiss is right. They were behaving as Jack would," Hotch agreed. "Besides, we're simply coming up with a plan, Reid. We'll make sure they are consulted before taking any final decisions."

The young genius made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat and went back to reading his book. He had no intention of continuing this conversation. His knowledge of children was limited at best, and for once in his life, he did not feel equipped to handle the situation.

"Shouldn't we call their parents and let them deal with their offspring?" Rossi suggested fully knowing it wasn't a possibility. The thought of having two kids – even though they were his colleagues – running around the BAU was enough to make him consider early retirement for the second time.

"You can't be serious, David!" Emily hissed through clenched teeth, her eyes wide in outrage. "They got kiddified," she raised a hand to stop Reid, knowing he would most likely try to correct her, "on a federal case. They are certainly both traumatized, and you want to ship them back to their families and say what? Here's your child, welcome back to the 70's?" Her rant came to an end, and she took a few deep calming breaths. She scrubbed her face with her hands, aware that she had over-reacted. Today couldn't end soon enough; it had been a nightmare from the start.

"I don't need to remind any of you that this situation is highly confidential," Hotch added. "Nobody except this team and the assigned scientists working on the antidote are to know about what happened for now. The media would go wild, and JJ's and Morgan's lives could be endangered."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Rossi said. "Take turns babysitting until they are themselves again? My house isn't actually childproof, Aaron."

"Children require a stable, safe and nurturing environment to thrive," Reid chimed in, his eyes never looking up from his book. "Moving them around from place to place would be detrimental to their emotional health." He peered over his novel and dragged a hand through his hair.

"Especially JJ's. She seems to be an extremely anxious child," he said as an afterthought.

"Why do you say that? You've barely been with her since she was shrunk," Emily asked, suddenly feeling very protective of her best friend.

Reid jerked his head in the little girl's direction. "She is prone to tears, clinginess and she's constantly displaying physical signs of anxiety.

Emily shook her head, and retorted, "Anyone would be if they were in her shoes."

"Morgan is, and he isn't. I simply think they would benefit from stable living conditions. Yours and Hotch's place, of course, is best suited to satisfy children's needs."

With that said, Reid went once again back to his reading.

"Well, the genius as spoken," Rossi said, reclining in his seat. He had a half-smile plastered on his face, clearly pleased Reid hadn't deemed him fit to take care of children.

Hotch nodded tersely as if they had resolved the matter and called the kids.

"JJ, Morgan, could you two come over here for a moment, please? We would like to ask you a few questions."

Emily watched JJ's reaction closely. As opposed to Morgan who simply shrugged and jumped to his feet, JJ seemed to shrink back in her seat. She slipped off the couch warily and step toward them slowly with two fingers in her mouth. The tip of her tongue would poke out intermittently and teeth indentations were visible on the digits she was sucking on. This little girl had the looks, but none of her friend's assurance. Had JJ really been this painfully shy as a child? It was quite a turn from the cheerful kid she had been when the team had been eating ice cream that afternoon.

"Don't suck on your fingers, sweetie," Emily said gently, tugging at JJ's elbow. "You'll hurt yourself." She grabbed a tissue from the box next to her to wipe the drool off JJ's hand.

When she was satisfied the little fingers were dry enough, she spun JJ around and sat her on her lap. To her amazement, JJ didn't protest at being lifted. She dropped her head back against Emily's shoulder and stared at Hotch, waiting for him to talk.

"What did ya want to talk to us 'bout?" Morgan demanded grumpily. "You figured out what you're gonna do with us?"

"We didn't decide anything, Derek," Hotch said, "but we think it would be best if you came to live with me or Emily while we figure out how to change you back into your adult selves."

Morgan glared at Hotch and then at Emily. He knew it was futile to argue, they were right, but it didn't mean he had to like it. He groaned a couple of times for good measure and schooled his face into false gravity.

"Hotch, do you have an Xbox?"

"I do," his boss answered with an uncertain frown.

JJ knew right then that Morgan had thought this through just as she had, and she couldn't help the giggle that bubbled and escaped through her part lips.

"Do you have a soccer ball and a basketball?" Morgan continued his interrogation.

"Jack does, yes."

"A'right, I'll come live with you. But I don't eat broccoli, I don't go to bed at 8 o'clock and I decide when I take showers."

Hotch nodded his approval, relieved it'd been so easy.

"Am I allowed to play with Jack?" Morgan asked Hotch very seriously.

Taken by surprised, the unit chief's stoic expression faltered for a brief moment.

"Yes, of course."

"Cool, it's a deal man," Morgan said before walking back to his seat. He picked up his Nintendo DS and resumed his game as if nothing had happened.

"What about you, Jayje?" Emily prompted looking down at the girl on her lap. "Do you want to go home with Hotch and Morgan?"

JJ seemed to consider the question for a while, but she knew what she wanted, and she wasn't going to give in as easily as Morgan.

"I can't go back to my 'lace?" she asked around the finger she had stuck back in her mouth.

Hotch and Emily exchanged a look.

"JJ, we don't think it's safe for you to stay home alone," Hotch said using his 'dad voice'.

"But am an 'dult. I have my own place."

"We know, Jayje," Emily tried to assuage. Though JJ's voice remained calm, she could feel the tension in her friend's body. "Your apartment isn't adapted to…your size."

"Yours isn't either," JJ replied.

"No, you are right, but Hotch's is. He's got all sorts of…things to make sure Jack can reach what he needs, right Hotch?" Emily looked at her boss expectantly.

Speechless, the unit chief simply nodded. Never in his life did he think he would have this conversation with his colleagues.

"No, I don't wanna live wiff boys," JJ said with finality. "What do I get if I go home with you?" she asked, glancing up at Emily. She had taken her forefinger out of her mouth and her chin glistened with saliva. Instinctively, Emily wiped it with the pad of her thumb.

"The privilege of spending time with Sergio?"

"Oh!" JJ exclaimed, genuinely enchanted by the prospect of it. "I also want bubble bath every night." Well, there went her resolve. The little blonde knew deep down she should keep arguing to maintain her independence, but she didn't actually want to be alone and she really did love Sergio. And Emily.

"That can be arranged," the woman affirmed, nodding.

"Okay, Hotch. I'll go home with Em'ly."

They both let out an audible sigh, relieved at how easy it had been to get the children to agree.

Emily sat back in her seat, wrapping an arm around JJ so the girl wouldn't fall. She thought JJ would go and join Morgan, but to her surprised, she shifted on Emily's lap so she could rest her head on her chest. Emily stroked her hair and could feel more than she could hear JJ humming, lulling herself to sleep.

Now that the pressing matter had been settled, the adults were only too happy to talk about mundane things and decompress for the remaining of the flight. The conversation was often interrupted by Morgan's cheerful whooping noises as he beat his game and more often than once, Hotch had to remind the boy to stay in his seat.

Eventually, the jet began its descent where a much frazzled Penelope Garcia waited for them at the airport.

AN: Feedback is always appreciated! Please feel free to leave suggestions of what you would like to read in the next chapters. xx

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