A/N: Sooo, guess what? I have a new chapter for you guys! :) This one gets rather cute and sad at the same time, and I hope it was worth the wait!
Disclaimer: See my profile.
Chapter Seven: Early Morning Anger
Reid had intended to leave the bedroom as soon as he'd tucked Morgan in, and leave the little boy be. But he'd turned around for just a moment to make sure Morgan was asleep, and was unable to take his eyes off of him. The boy was clutching at the bed covers with one hand, bunching them around his neck, and he was gently sucking on the thumb of the other hand. He was sound asleep, and he looked so, so peaceful…
Reid sunk into the chair beside Morgan's bed, not taking his eyes off his sleeping form. Morgan was definitely tired out; he'd fallen asleep within seconds of being tucked into bed. The events of the day- playing hide and seek- must have drained Morgan of all his energy. The only movement coming from the boy was the rising and falling of his tiny chest as he breathed in and out. The calmness in the room allowed Reid to think, something that he hadn't allowed himself to do in depth through the day, not wanting to show Morgan how much this was affecting him. As he watched Morgan sleep, he couldn't help the sadness that filled him.
"How could this happen to you?" Reid whispered. "How could somebody have done this to you? How could somebody have turned you back into a child? What could you have done to deserve this?"
Even though Reid was speaking aloud, there was no answer to his questions. Not that he was expecting any; he may have hoped for them, but he knew that hope was futile. Despite how peaceful Morgan looked now, Reid knew the turmoil that was going on in his mind during his waking hours. Morgan yearned to be back to his old self again. He hated what had happened to him. Reid could imagine that, especially for someone with a personality like Morgan's, being turned into a child again would be absolute torture.
"Reid?" Reid thoughts were interrupted by a voice from the doorway. He looked up, startled, to find Garcia standing there watching him. "You okay?"
"I- uh, yeah…" Reid said, his eyes drifting from Garcia back to Morgan. "Sorry, I know I said I was going to come back out, but, he… he just looks so peaceful, sleeping, I- I couldn't help but watch him."
"Hey, don't worry about it," Garcia told him. "I don't mind, really." She followed Reid's gaze, her eyes alighting upon Morgan. "He's adorable when he's sleeping, isn't he?"
Reid nodded. "He is. Don't tell him we think that, though. He'll hate that." He fell silent again, his hands unusually still in his lap.
"Okay, what are you thinking up in that big brain of yours, doctor?" Garcia asked.
Reid sighed, running a hand down his face before speaking. "I'm worried, Garcia. I'm scared. What if we can't figure out how he became like this? What if we do, but we can't figure out how to change him back? What if he's stuck like this, and can't be turned back into his old self, and has to grow up all over again? Or what if he's just stuck in a child's body for the rest of his life?"
"Hey, Reid, you can't think like that," Garcia said. "You gotta think positive. We have to believe that we can get Derek back to his old self again, or we'll never be able to do it. And if he sees that we think he'll never become an adult again, then he'll start to believe it, and he'll lose all hope. And we can't have Derek lose hope. We have to make this as easy on him as possible, and hope is the only thing that's going to get him through this."
"I know," Reid sighed. "I just… I worry, you know?"
"I know," said Garcia. "We all know. It's who you are Reid, and we don't mind that at all." She moved closer to Reid, resting a hand on his shoulder in comfort. "And I know how much Derek means to you. You're his best friend, and vice versa. It's natural that you feel so worried about him."
"I don't know about the me being Derek's best friend thing, but thanks, Garcia," said Reid. "I am pretty sure his best friend is you, though."
"You can have more than one best friend, you know," Garcia pointed out. "Different types of best friends, too." Garcia glanced at her watch. "I should probably go. Kevin will be waiting for me, and since he doesn't know about Morgan…"
"Of course," said Reid. "Go ahead."
"Will you be fine here by yourself?" Garcia asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine," Reid assured her. "I don't think Derek's going to be awake for a long time, yet. JJ's coming back in the morning, anyway."
"As long as you're sure. I'll be back in the morning, too. JJ has my laptop, and maybe if I'm able to retrace Morgan's steps and tell him where he was, it might jog his memory. So it's probably best if I do all that stuff here."
"Okay," Reid sighed. "See you in the morning, then."
"Hey. Make sure you get some sleep too, you know," Garcia told him. "You can't keep watch over Derek all night."
Reid chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Garcia. I will. Goodnight."
Before leaving the room, Garcia moved over to Morgan's bed and gently stroked the sleeping child's hair. Then she was gone, the room descending into silence once more. Reid still sat in the chair watching Morgan. Garcia had told him to get some sleep, but it was still rather early. He could stay here with Morgan for a little while longer. Maybe he could read a book, though. Searching through Morgan's bookshelf, he found one that looked appealing and settled back into his chair, opened the book and began to read.
The next thing Reid knew, sunlight was streaming in the windows to Morgan's bedroom. He blinked rapidly, trying to wake himself up, and shifting the book that lay open on his lap onto the floor. He looked over at Morgan, relieved to find that the little boy was fast asleep. Reid had held out some hope that Morgan would have become his old self again in his sleep, but he knew that hope was futile. There was no way changing Morgan back would be that easy.
As Reid watched Morgan, though, the young boy began to stir. He shifted under his sheets, removing his thumb from his mouth and yawning softly. Finally he began blinking, and then he opened his eyes and turned to look at Reid.
"Morning," Reid said softly. "Did you sleep well?"
Morgan nodded, looking slightly confused, like he couldn't remember where he was. Reid wasn't surprised; Morgan had been almost asleep when Reid had carried him to bed, anyway. "I put you to bed last night, if that's what you were wondering, Derek. I hope you don't mind."
Morgan shook his head. "Don't mind, but that's not it." The sleepiness in Morgan's voice was evident, and it made his voice sound even smaller and more childlike than it already did. Morgan was trying to figure something out, but he was still far too tired to think straight. He rubbed at his eyes with his fists, trying to clear them and stop them from itching. He then blinked rapidly, trying to bring his vision into focus properly. First his vision focused on Reid, but then one had clutched at the clothes he was wearing and he looked down, examining them properly. Morgan had been far, far too tired to even know or care what clothing he had been put into. He had barely even registered that he was being dressed at all.
"You changed me?" Morgan realised.
Reid nodded. "Derek, I'm sorry, I know that's not something you would want me to do, and I know that it must embarrass you, but you were far too tired to dress yourself and you couldn't wear what you were already dressed in to bed…" Reid trailed off, when he realised that Morgan was paying more attention to the clothes he was wearing than to what Reid was saying. Yes, Morgan was embarrassed about Reid having to dress him- that was something Morgan had never wanted to happen. But that wasn't what Morgan was focused on right now. He was focused on exactly what he was wearing.
Morgan may have dimly registered that he was being dressed the night before, but he'd had no idea what Reid had dressed him in. The material his pajamas were made out of was soft; softer than anything Morgan had ever worn before. They were a pale, sky blue colour, and had pictures of cartoon ducks on them. And they had feet. Feet. Reid had dressed him in footie pajamas. Morgan felt almost humiliated; footie pajamas were something he would never ever worn. Yes, he was a little kid now, but he absolutely hated wearing them. Even if they were really comfortable…
"Footie pajamas?" he said out loud, finally, to Reid.
Reid hesitated for a moment, knowing that finding out he was wearing footie pajamas had probably embarrassed Morgan to no end. Morgan was one of the toughest, manliest men Reid had ever known, and footie pajamas were, well… childish and cute. Nothing Morgan would even dream of wearing.
"I'm sorry, Derek. I really didn't want you to have to wear something like this," Reid apologised. "I really didn't. I know it's definitely not something you'd want to wear, but, well… you were way too tired, and JJ didn't pack many types of pajamas in this bag, and this was the first thing that came to hand, and…" Reid trailed off, unsure of what else to say. "I'm sorry." And it sounded to Morgan like Reid wasn't just apologising for dressing him in footie pajamas. He was apologising for the whole situation he was in.
Morgan was just about to say that it was fine, that it wasn't Reid's fault, when he suddenly stopped. He'd shifted his position and sat up in bed, and he'd felt the material he wore under his pajamas. The strange feeling, stretchy material. A sneaking suspicion was growing in Morgan's mind about what the material was. Morgan swallowed, feeling slightly horrified.
"What else am I weawing?" he asked Reid in that small voice of his. Reid looked away from him and remained silent, like he was afraid to answer Morgan. "Weid? What am I weawing?"
"I didn't really have a choice, Derek," Reid said. "JJ told me to put one on you, she had Henry has to wear one and that all children this age have to, and it's just a precaution-"
Morgan basically began ripping apart the buttons on his pajamas, trying to open them to get a look at the underwear he was wearing. He didn't have very much strength in his tiny little fingers, so it was slow work, but he finally got the buttons open. And he could finally see exactly what he was wearing underneath his pajamas.
Morgan had been right in thinking that the material was stretchy, and that it wasn't something he'd ever worn before- or at least since he was a child the first time around. The white piece of clothing was something Morgan had never even dreamed he'd be wearing, not even in his nightmares. He was wearing a diaper. A freaking baby's diaper, just in case he wet himself. He could barely believe it, but yet he was.
"You put a diaper on me?" Morgan said finally. His voice may have been tiny and childish and had a singsong tone to it, but Reid could still hear the anger that was building there. Morgan was beyond angry. Morgan was absolutely livid.
"Derek, I'm sorry, I-"
"No, Weid, no 'sowwy'!" Morgan exclaimed. Morgan's anger was punctuated by his inability to pronounce 'r' sounds, but the intent behind his words was evident. "You put me in a diaper!"
"I had to, Derek, I didn't have a choice!" Reid defended.
"Coulda put me in normal underwear," Morgan huffed, crossing his arms across his chest.
Reid bit at his lip and looked away from Morgan, like he did when he really didn't want to say something. "I- I couldn't, Derek. I really, really couldn't." Morgan could hear the apologetic tone in Reid's voice, and while it didn't make him any less angry, it made him curious about what Reid had to say.
When Reid realised Morgan was watching him and waiting for him to speak, he opened his mouth again. "I didn't really have a choice other than putting a diaper on you while you're sleeping, Derek," he began. "JJ told me, because she has to do the same thing with Henry. You're really, really young now, and while you're sleeping you can't control your bladder. I'm not saying that you will, but it is quite likely that you will urinate while you are sleeping."
Morgan just stared at Reid, his tiny mouth opening in horror. He was very possibly going to pee himself while he was sleeping. He had never felt so humiliated in his life. "Still don't wanna wear a diaper," he muttered, refusing to look Reid in the eye.
"It's only while you're sleeping, Derek," Reid said. "You don't have to wear one during the day."
"Nuh uh. Not gonna." Morgan stuck out his bottom lip, looking at Reid in defiance. He was acting more and more like a disobedient child, but he didn't care. Reid was not going to make him wear an overnight diaper.
"Well, I'm sorry, Derek, but you're going to have to," Reid said. "And there is no way you can stop me from putting one on you."
The conversation was stopped from going further by the sound of a knock at the front door. Looking back at Morgan, who still looked very angry, Reid hesitated. He felt that he should try and calm Morgan down; placate him a little bit before he went and answered the door. But when the knock came again, Reid sighed. "I'll be back in a minute," he promised Morgan, before heading for the front door.
Reid had his suspicions about who it was, and sure enough when he opened the door it was to find JJ and Garcia standing there.
"Morning, Spence," said JJ, handing several papers to Reid. "Here are your leave forms."
"Thanks," Reid replied, but his distraction was evident in his voice.
"Something up?" JJ asked.
"Derek's not happy," Reid sighed. "He's… well, angry."
"Angry about what?" Garcia asked.
Reid looked at JJ meaningfully. "It was, well… what I dressed him in to put him to bed. It was bad enough that I had to dress him at all, which he was embarrassed about, but not too embarrassed. And then he realised that I'd dressed him in those pajamas with the feet in them, which embarrassed him even more. I mean, he hated that when he realised. But, it was really- really what he was wearing under his pajamas."
"The overnight diapers that I gave you for him to wear," JJ realised.
"Yeah, he figured out he was wearing one, and he definitely wasn't happy," Reid admitted, looking away from JJ and Garcia. "He was really angry."
"I can imagine," said Garcia. "Poor guy. He goes from being an adult to being a child so young he has to wear a diaper while he's in bed? If it were me, I'd be as angry and embarrassed as Derek is."
"I didn't have a choice," Reid muttered.
"I know you didn't, Reid, don't worry," said Garcia. "He'd definitely be more embarrassed if he had wet himself than he is now for having to wear an overnight diaper."
"Where is Derek, anyway?" JJ asked.
"He's still in bed," Reid replied. "I was, uh, I was trying to calm him down when you guys arrived."
"Should we go get him, then?" Garcia suggested.
"I'll stay out here," said JJ. "He's more likely to calm down if it's just the two of you."
"I'm not entirely sure he's going to listen to me right now," Reid protested. "I'm the one he's so angry at. And he's even more stubborn now than he ever was as an adult. And that was very stubborn."
JJ had to laugh. "Come on, Spence. At least try and calm him down. You're still the one he's most likely to listen to."
"He's worse than Henry," Reid muttered to himself.
"I heard that," said JJ. "Just go in there, and if the two of you together can't calm him down, I don't know what will."
Reid sighed. "We can try, I guess," he said. "Oh, and Garcia? Whatever you may think, don't, under any circumstances, tell Derek that he looks cute. Because that's definitely not going to achieve our purpose."
"Gotcha," said Garcia, walking off before Reid to Morgan's bedroom.
When the two of them reached the bedroom, it was to find Morgan sitting up in bed, watching the doorway for any sign of them. When he caught sight of Reid though, Morgan looked away quickly, folding his arms across his chest.
"Can we talk, Derek?" Reid asked gently. Morgan shook his head, steadfastly refusing to make eye contact with Reid. "Come on, Derek, please?"
"Don't wanna talk," Morgan said. "You made me angry."
"I know I made you angry, Derek, and I didn't mean to," said Reid patiently. "But can you try to see things from my point of view?"
Morgan didn't say anything, but he didn't protest either, so Reid took that as his cue to continue. "I know you don't want to wear an overnight diaper, Derek. If I was in your situation, I wouldn't want to wear one either. And if I had the choice, I wouldn't make you wear one. But that's the thing. I don't have the choice whether you wear an overnight diaper in bed or not. You need to wear one, because you're only very little now, and while you're sleeping you won't have control over your bladder. You won't be able to stop yourself if you did need to urinate. I'm sorry, but those are the facts. And besides, Derek, which would you rather: wearing an overnight diaper, or wetting the bed?"
"Wearing an overnight diaper," Morgan muttered.
"There we go," said Reid, approaching the bed and crouching down beside it. "Can you look at me now?" Morgan finally turned to face Reid, looking and feeling a little ashamed. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," Reid said. "I definitely don't mean to."
"I know," said Morgan dejectedly. "Sowwy, 'Pencer." Morgan had finally given up on trying to pronounce Reid's last name properly, knowing that while he was a child, it was never going to happen. Of course, he couldn't pronounce 'Spencer' properly either- the 'sp' sound was just too hard- but the end result was less embarrassing.
"That's okay, Derek," said Reid. "Can I have a hug?" Morgan nodded vigorously and wrapping his little arms around Reid as much as he could, hugging him tight. Garcia couldn't help but smile at the sight, and found herself wishing she had her camera on her. Oh well, she thought to herself. She'd definitely have it net time.
After a minute, Reid removed himself from Morgan's grasped and looked at the little boy. "Did you want something to eat? Or did you want to use the bathroom first?"
Morgan thought for a moment. "Bafroom," he finally decided.
"Okay," said Reid. "Garcia can go wait in the living room with JJ, and I'll wait out here for you." Reid didn't bother asking Morgan if he wanted any help; he knew what Morgan's answer would be. He lifted Morgan down off the bed, and the little boy tottered off into the bathroom.
It was several minutes before Morgan reemerged, looking rather sheepish. He regretted yelling at Reid now. Reid was his best friend, no matter what Morgan's age was, and he was just trying to look after him. He was just trying to make this whole situation as easy on Morgan as he possibly could. He hadn't meant to embarrass Morgan in the slightest.
"It's okay, Derek," said Reid. "I'm not angry at you."
"You're not?" Morgan said, surprised.
"No, I'm not. You're in a very difficult situation. It's understandable that things like this would make you angry. I don't blame you. Now do you want to get dressed now?"
Morgan nodded his head. "Can I pick my clothes?" he asked timidly.
Reid smiled. "Of course you can. They're all in this bag over here." He led Morgan over to where the bag sat on the ground and opened it, revealing the clothes within that used to be Henry's. "Pick whatever you want, Derek."
Morgan searched through the clothes for a few minutes, before pulling out what he wanted to wear. Reid wasn't surprised when he saw what Morgan had chosen: plain jeans with a light blue shirt with a picture of a hockey stick on it. Reid remembered how much Morgan loved hockey. And he wasn't surprised, either, when Morgan pulled out a pair of regular underwear. Reid didn't say anything; instead he just quietly left the room so Morgan would get changed. In a situation very much like the day before, Morgan suddenly appeared in the doorway to his bedroom, holding his shirt in his hands. Without a word, and without even looking Morgan in the eye, Reid pulled the shirt down over the little boy's head. He then led Morgan into the living room, where JJ and the Garcia were sitting on the couch, the latter of whom was typing furiously.
JJ looked up when Reid and Morgan entered the room. "Spence. Derek," she said. She both sounded and looked surprised. Anxious. Hopeful.
"What is it?" Reid asked. Morgan, desperate to know what was going on, moved to stand as close to Reid as he possibly could, his eyes on the still furiously typing technical analyst. "What did you find?"
"Garcia's been tracking Morgan's movements the night he… the night this happened to him," JJ explained. "And she-"
"I found something!" Garcia suddenly interrupted, stopping her typing. "I- I know where Morgan was! I found something!"
A/N: Gee, I wonder what Garcia's found, huh? Sorry, but you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out! Gee I'm such a tease, huh? Please don't kill me... And I go back to uni on Monday, so I don't know how often I'll be able to write, but I'll be sure to update soon! :)