A New Life

I would love to hear your opinions and look to working further on the story. This is a follow-up to Undercover Family. How do they survive being children?

I do not own or have connection with the "Criminal Minds" program or its characters.

Chapter Twenty-One. An Adult Baby

He was uncomfortable sleeping in his bed. He started to twitch and whine about it. He has had someone listening and coming to help him for over a year now and just assumed that someone would come if he whined or began to cry out loud. All of a sudden there was someone there pushing him and telling him to stop. This is weird, why didn't they pick him up? He doesn't want to open his eyes and puts his thumb in his mouth. It was weird too, what was happening? Where was momma and why hasn't she picked him up yet? Someone was pushing him again and telling him to shut up. The voice was young and quiet as if the person didn't want to wake anyone else up. He didn't care because he was uncomfortable and wanted attention paid to it. He struck out and pushed the other person away and cried out, "Momma!" The other person says, "Wake up, you're dreaming or something and you need to wake up now. You need to see what you look like now. Wake up." The other person pushes him again. He says, "Leave me alone, want momma to pick up." The other person says, "The only way momma is going to be able to pick you up is with a forklift." He opens his eyes and looks at the other person, "What are you talking about?" The other person says, "Get up and look at yourself in the mirror?" He looks at him and then decides to do it. He pulls his legs over the edge of his bed and it seems to be much smaller than he is used to it being. He stands up and does not wobble or anything. He walks over to the wardrobe with its mirror on the door and sees what seems to him to be a stranger. There was a person that he hasn't seen in seven months and didn't even believe that he would ever see again. He reached up to his chin and felt hair sprouting from it and looks at his hands which seem large and strong. Looking up again, he reached out to the mirror and expected to fall into it like Alice. He thinks to himself that he must be dreaming and reaches up to slap his face.

Ouch, that stings and tears well up in the eyes of the person looking out at him from the mirror. All of a sudden there are arms around him and momma is there stroking his hair.

"Do you know who that person is?"

"I think so but it seems like he is from a dream or something like that."

"That is the man that you used to be and still are."

"I am a man?"

"Yes, very much so."

He turns around and looks down from his six foot two inch height to her five foot six inch height and says, "I don't feel very comfortable momma."

"Of course you don't, why don't we go to the bathroom and clean you up." He looks at her and nods his head while grabbing her hand and she takes him to her bedroom and gets a bag with his name on it from the trunk. They both head into the bathroom and she strips him down and has him go into the tub of warm water. She gets out the shaving kit and scrapes his face to remove all of the hair on his chin, cheeks and neck.

When they finish and get out of the tub, she dresses him in a pair of disposable underwear and tan slacks and light blue shirt. He wants her to finish up because he is hungry and starts to fidget when she was buttoning up the shirt.

"Stand still so we can finish up here. I know that you are hungry but you need to let me finish dressing you." He looks down at her and bends his head to kiss her on the lips. She responds to the man's kiss as they stand in the bathroom. After the kiss, they look at each other and she smiles shyly as he smiles deeply and stares darkly into her eyes. "You are hungry, right?"

"I want to go eat Becca."

The two leave the room and head to the kitchen where Sean has already started cooking a breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast with jam and juice and milk.

Momma says, "Good morning Sean, thank you for cooking breakfast. Where is everybody else?" Sean did not answer he just stood there and looked at his big brother with a great big smile on his face. Aaron walks over to him and the brothers hug deeply.

Sean says, "I can't believe it, Spencer came running into the boys' room and said that you had come back. I am so thrilled to see you again Aaron."

"It is good to be seen as an adult again."

"Boys, let's get breakfast on the table." They go into the dining room, each with a platter of food. David had the drinks all set up for everybody and smiles widely when he sees Aaron. The two hug and Aaron sits down in the chair that had been placed in his spot. He looked at the food that had been placed in front of him by momma and at the fork and spoon placed near the plate. He remembered how to pick up and hold the fork but it had been a long time since he had. He picked it up and speared a bit of the eggs to bring to his mouth. Half of it spilled off before getting there but it was more difficult when he got to his mouth and began to chew.

"Chew well Aaron." He looked up from his food at momma and looked around at everyone watching him. It has been a long time since he fed himself with a fork and it was something that everyone was curious about in how he would be able to handle it. He put the fork down and picked up the spoon to see if it would be easier for him to eat with. He scooped up some of the potatoes and brought it to his mouth. It was easier than the fork and less of the food fell off the utensil. It was good that he was given food to eat at the day care center and encouraged to feed himself even when he just used his fingers. He picked up the toast and bit off a piece. He chewed carefully before swallowing. It was the glass of orange juice which did him in because when he lifted it, his hand shook a little and then the glass tipped over and spilled all over the table. Everyone jumped up from their seats and Jennifer and Sean went to get towels to clean up the table. Aaron just sat there and looked at it. He wanted to cry because he wanted to show so much that he wasn't that much different than before and that despite being dependent for so long he could still do things. Momma went over to her man and lifted him out of his seat to move him away from the table.

"It is all right Aaron. It will take time to regain strength and ability. You are still a good man." He looks at her as if he wanted to cry but kept the emotions at bay.

"I am hungry Becca."

"I understand." The table was clean now and the others sat back down and finished off their food. They cleared the table except for a plate of food for Aaron since he hasn't eaten much yet. Momma and Aaron sat down and the others left to finish dressing and leave them alone. Momma picked up the spoon and he opened his mouth for her to feed him, which she did not do. She placed the spoon in his hand and guided him to feed himself. Sean brought in a sippy cup with juice and one with milk for Aaron to drink from. The brothers looked at each other and a look of support and love passed between them. Momma patted Sean and smiled gratefully at him and the boy left the two alone again. It took a while but Aaron finally ate and drank enough to leave the dining room and get cleaned up.

The family headed to the institute where Aaron had a physical and was tested once again to determine his cognitive and spatial abilities. The others went to their respective rooms and momma was in the office while Aaron was being tested. An assistant brought Aaron to her office for lunch which she fed him in the same manner that he ate breakfast. After lunch, he returned to take the tests until he got upset and screamed at one of the testers. He went to a corner and curled up because he didn't want to be there. He has had no control over his emotions for over a year and it will take time for him to regain control over them and right now he was tired and wanted to be left alone. The testers called momma to come and check him out.

When she arrives, she walks over to him curled up in the corner.

"Aaron, is everything all right sweetheart?" He looks up and then stands up to hug her.

"I am sorry that I acted so badly. I…I don't know why I did. What has happened to me?

"Nothing has happened to you but you have had a nap after lunch for over a year now and your body has scheduled itself to that. I brought you back for tests after lunch because I had hoped that you would be able to handle it. It is first day back from complete dependence and it will take time to control yourself and your needs. Come on, let us get you cleaned up and rest for a while." He takes her hand and she kisses him after a quick hug. They head back to her office after she lets the technicians know to reschedule the tests for the next day.

In her office, she undresses and cleans him up and then places him on her couch for a nap. After he falls asleep, she heads out of the office and tells her secretary to keep an eye on him for when he wakes up. She goes to check on her children in their respective rooms and lets the head of the rooms that she would be picking them up shortly after naptime. She goes back to her office where Aaron was still sleeping. After he wakes up, she gives a small snack and they head downstairs to get the rest of the family.

At home, it was a fun time with everybody helping to fix dinner and prepare the table for eating. Aaron hasn't had to do any chores since he was too little for anything, however now that he is big again they have set him with Spencer and Emily in getting the table set. That they are giving an easy and simplistic job does not escape his notice and he wonders a little if they really see him as an adult or just a large child. Since the alcohol incident has changed him in many ways he wonders what he really is. His thoughts lead to whether he is capable of working and leading people or if he should just quit and try to do something that does not require him to read or write or use the abilities that he once had. As he works and muses about his future, Spencer is watching him and changing the things that Aaron does because Aaron just sets them without focusing or putting them in the most usable positions. Eventually the table is set and the food prepared and everyone is seated and eating dinner. Momma helps Aaron by guiding and supporting his hand with its spoonful of food. He also drinks from the sippy cup. They want no more liquid all over the table.

After dinner, the family spends the night in the living room either watching television or playing with toys. Aaron seems to be in a quandary because he really doesn't like what is currently on the tv but thinks that he is too big now to play with the toys that he has been comfortable playing with for the past year. He sits on the sofa next to Rebecca and watches her crochet. Her fingers are using the needle quickly to create the afghan that she is currently working on. This does not bother her because she has often been watched while crocheting. Many people find it interesting how quickly the fingers can move with that needle and yarn. Especially since she is also watching the others doing what they are doing and talking with them. She multitasks quite well. The hours quickly go by and she begins to notice little bodies drooping and mouths yawning. It is at this time that she puts away the yarn and gets up to encourage Spencer and Emily to get dressed in their pajamas and go to bed. She will have to wake up Aaron to do so since he fell asleep on her shoulder sitting on the sofa and does so after the other two are in bed.

He says, "Go 'way, sleeping."

"I know but let's go do it in your bed with your pajamas on."

"No, here fine."

"No, it's not, come on Aaron." He just snuggles deeper into the sofa. Derek comes over and tries to encourage the man to get up as well by lifting him up and with the help of Sean and momma he was able to get the man into the little boys' room. Momma has Derek put him on the changing table and has the others go back to the living room while she changed his disposable underwear and put a pair of pajamas on him. He has wakened enough to get off the table and walk to his bed where she tucks him in. He curls up with his thumb in his mouth and falls back to sleep.

The others go to bed soon thereafter.

The next few weeks are similar with Derek and Jennifer getting ready to move out and the others either working at Quantico or being at the institute during the day and the nights are family time. Momma works and Aaron spends the day with her in her office and works on his reading exercises. He continues to have difficulty adjusting to a more adult schedule so he still takes a nap on the doctor's office couch after lunch. It is at this time that the director comes to see her. He looks at the sleeping man on the couch.

"Hello Rebecca."

"Hello Director."

Looking over at Aaron he asks, "Is there any chance that I will ever get my agent back?"

"I am not sure that I understand the question. Could you clarify it for me?"

"I saw his test results and I don't see my agent in them."

"As you know the alcohol incident caused some brain damage. It took away his ability to read, write and do simple arithmetic, but these are learned abilities not inert or what makes a person. They do determine who you are or what you can do. They can be relearned."

"Can they? What is the time frame that we are looking at here?"

"Time frame is unknown. It could be six weeks, six months or six years. There is no way to tell how soon Aaron can learn what he needs to know. We need to remember that adults learn in a different than children do and Aaron will have to now learn as an adult. There is no way of knowing how long it could take."

"Right now he is as capable as a mentally disabled person and I need him mentally able. I would like to put him in a rehabilitative facility which may be able to help him better than you could."

"You want to institutionalize him and take him away from his brother and the people who care about him. This is a man who took the most difficult position in our experiment: a position of dependence and need for others to take care of him. We didn't expect the problems with the machine which cost him even more by making him younger and more dependent. He suffered an accident when given alcohol which hurt him. He has struggled to keep his identity of being an adult in a baby's body and you want to tell him now that it doesn't matter because you can't see him as an adult now. Being able to read, write, add and subtract make someone an adult and since he can't do that you want to just shut him away to protect what? The bureau, yourself, the experiment, what? We have to ask this man to sacrifice more of his identity and self-worth for that. I don't think that it is a good idea for you to institutionalize him but I don't have a say in it, do I? You have already made your decision and can take control at any time."

"Yes Doctor I can and I believe that it would be best for him. I have already been discussing it with a facility and they will be ready for him soon."

"I'll have him ready when you want to pick him up. Good bye director." He stands up.

"Good bye doctor."

For the next thirty minutes, she sits in the chair remembering the man and the baby that Aaron had been for the past 15 months. She doesn't see anything through the film of tears in her eyes as she tries to formulate the conversation with him and with Sean about what the director wants to do. She wipes her eyes when she hears him begin to move and wake up. Rising from her chair she goes over to him and sits on the coffee table in front of the couch and smiles at him when he opens his eyes. He smiles back at her and gets up. She changes his disposable underwear at the large credenza turned into a changing table and then has a snack with him. After the snack, she takes him to the education room where they pick up Sean and then the daycare where they pick up Emily. David and Spencer are in Quantico today. They go home.