(Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or it's characters)

Thank you guys so much for your reviews! I was so happy!

Thank you Sarry22, Hippiechic81, Astrahan, fishtrek, FallWithMeOffACliff, laily. spenstar, and E.J. Morgan.

So college work got a bit full on today, so updates might become a little varied and I apolagise for that, I'm trying to balance this with college and I'm a little behind right now.

Previously:

"How did you do that?" She gasped.

"Mother's instinct. We've all got it; even you." Emily shook her head doubtfully.

"I wanna see Emily's motherly side!" Chortled Morgan earning himself a punch in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Go put the shopping cart back or else you will be seeing my angry side."

Hotch made his way through the hotel corridor and saw Morgan and Rossi waiting for them. He threw his keys at Morgan as he juggled his handful of bags, with Emily in the same position behind him.

"Is Pretty Boy still asleep?" Morgan asked as JJ came into view.

"Nope," came a groggy voice. Spencer lifted his head from JJ's neck and tried to give his best glower at Morgan, but he ruined it with a yawn.

Spencer squirmed in JJ's arms feeling incredibly embarrassed as she carried him through the front door. She sighed and finally put him down, taking his hand.

"I tan walk," jibed the small boy, pulling his hand away and taking a cautious step.

"Fine, but if you fall I will be carrying you again," JJ warned and Spencer swallowed thickly. The team dropped the majority of their bags on the bed as Spencer used the wall to steady himself.

"Reid, you're going to need to tell us what happened," Rossi said, taking a seat and watching as Spencer stumbled slightly and melted further into the wall. He fisted his eyes and yawned.

"I was unco-uncon...'leeping most of de time," Spencer mumbled tiredly. "An..." Spencer was cut off by his own small yawn.

"Maybe we should talk about it tomorrow after we've all had some sleep," JJ suggested, restraining herself from picking up the toddler and tucking him in the extra bed in the corner of their room.

"Good idea. And we can speak to Jarvis and find some kind of antidote that can turn Reid back," Emily added a little dishearteningly, glancing at the bag of toddler clothes and wishing Spencer could just stay that small.

"Come on, Spence," JJ held her hand out to him. "Let's get you into some proper pajamas."

"Wait...am I not 'taying wid Mowgan anymowe?" He asked, rubbing his eyes yet again.

"We thought that it'd be better if you stay here tonight, considering we're both parents and Morgan's..."

"What, you don't think I can handle the kid?" Morgan scowled thoughtfully.

"No, no, we just-"

"I'm only joking, JJ. You can have him; now I get a room to myself," cackled Morgan, rubbing his hands together wickedly. Spencer stuck his tongue out at him; almost losing his balance as he stumbled into the side of the bed and wrapped his hand in the duvet. JJ pulled out the pajamas Hotch had picked out for Spencer and smiled at the design. She pulled off the tag and slung them over her shoulder.

"Come on, Spence," she said making a grab for the toddler, fearing he may try and dodge her. Spencer practically fell into her grasp and closed his eyes as she lifted him into her arms. This isn't too bad, he thought as he snuggled into her warm grasp. Either way, he was so tired that he was beyond caring.

"See you guys tomorrow," she waved at the others and ducked into the bathroom, the door shut quietly behind her.

"You think he's okay?" Emily asked nervously. The team exchanged a variety of looks but it was Hotch who replied.

"He will talk to us when he's ready. We shouldn't rush him."

"I could string that bastard up," growled Morgan; his teeth gnashing together.

"And that's why you won't be interrogating Jarvis," Rossi added.

"As long as I don't have to see him." Morgan hopped off the small single bed and grabbed his phone.

"I better call Garcia again before she kills me for taking so long," he smirked, pressing speed dial and placing the phone to his ear.

"Did you tell her?"

"I did, but she didn't believe me. Sh-" a smile filled his face when Garcia's angry voice rippled through the phone.

"Hey, Baby Girl!" He stood up and motioned to the door and with a wave started to exit. "I know! Chill, Mama, we've been busy...shopping. Aw, don't be like tha-" the door shut behind him and the team exchanged an amused look.

"Derek Morgan; not only did you forget to call me, you also went shopping...WITHOUT ME! You have broken more than one golden rule an-," Morgan held the phone away from his ear as he trudged to his and Reid's room.

"Hey, I'm sorry, we had to get the kid some clothes." Garcia huffed something unintelligible and Morgan rolled his eyes.

"I have something for you; maybe then you'll believe me," he found the photo of Spencer sleeping in the trolley cart and sent it to her. He waited a second before an 'aw' deafened him.

"It's really him!"

"Yes! I tried to tell you!" Morgan exclaimed.

"Come on, hot chocolate, would you have believed me if I told you something like that. Anyway, what am I still doing here, it's my turn to go shopping!"

"Garcia, we don't know how long he's going to be like-" the phone beeped to signal that Garcia had hung up.

"-just don't go overboard", he sighed to himself as he shut the silent phone.

He opened his door just as Rossi and Emily came out of Hotch and JJ's room.

"How'd it go?" Emily called.

"She's gone shopping," Morgan chuckled, slipping into his room.

Hotch rummaged through the shopping bag and examined the clothes JJ and Emily had picked. He snorted when he picked up a set of dungarees.

He lined up the outfits and counted how much his girlfriend and Emily had bought the kid. There was a pair of denim jeans which weren't Reid's style along with the dungarees that Hotch knew would make Spencer groan. There was also a pair of chinos and checkered shorts. He grinned at the small hoodie that had the words 'troublemaker' on the back, it described the kid perfectly. The tops weren't much better; one was navy had an alien spaceship spaceship on the front and the other came with a blue flannel shirt and had a dinosaur on the front. At the bottom of the bag was a light blue shirt covered in small embroidered airplanes and a tiny waistcoat topped it all off.

Hotch pulled over his bag, where he had purchased colourful vests and several pairs of socks that Spencer could mix up. The girls had also got him a cheap pair of shoes; clearly, there hadn't been much choice.

He matched the spaceship top with the jeans, laying it out on the chair and folding a vest and odd socks on top (and slipping a pull-up underneath.) he hung the hoodie over the arm in case the next day was cold and the shoes on the desk. He was putting the other clothes away when JJ strolled in with a sleeping Spencer cuddled in her arms. They shared a grin but didn't speak.

JJ carefully folded back the bed sheets on the small single bed beside the window. She lay him down, waiting for him to settle into the mattress before pulling the sheets over him. Hotch saw the fluffy rabbit discarded on their bed and he threw it to JJ.

"Thanks," she whispered, sneaking the rabbit into the boy's hands. He made a tiny noise in his sleep before sighing and bringing his thumb to his mouth.

JJ tiptoed over to the bed where Hotch had been watching them.

"You're lucky he was practically asleep and didn't notice your choice of pajamas," giggled JJ, sliding onto the bed next to her boyfriend.

"Don't you like them?" Hotch asked, giving JJ his best puppy dog eyes.

"I love them. Spencer, on the other hand, might not...," Hotch shrugged and pulled her into a kiss.

"I bought them for our enjoyment, not his. I mean, come on, they're pretty adorable"

"Oh, I'm not arguing with you."

Spencer woke up with a start, panting and whimpering as he tried to shake the bad dream. He glanced around the room looking for something to offer him comfort.

JJ and Hotch were sleeping on the big double bed. Spencer bit his lip anxiously knowing his need for affection was just a childish whim that his body was demanding. He heard the tap drip in the bathroom and he scrambled from his bed, landing with a soft thud on the floor. Hotch stirred but didn't wake. Spencer stood up, his small toes trying to keep their balance when he suddenly realised he'd forgotten something. He reached his hand blindly up and searched for what he'd lost. His fingers touched something soft and he pulled the rabbit down and help it close to him.

His fingers brushed something else soft and he looked down and almost fell over. There was a happy looking monster on his pyjama top, it's fur was fluffy and gentle on his fingers, but he was still horrified that he'd slept in such a flamboyant outfit. The tap dripped again and pulled the trembling toddler from his thoughts. He rushed over to the big double bed and tried to hop up.

He reached up but realised he was too small.

"H-Hotch," he whimpered, his bottom lip trembling as he glanced nervously at the bed. There was a big gap between the bed and the floor and Spencer had a feeling that there was a monster hiding under there. His mind flashed back to the lab and when Jarvis revealed his tray of instruments. He pulled the sheets desperately.

"Ho-Hotch," he mumbled a bit louder; tears began to prickle the corners of his eyes as he tried to avoid looking down where the monster could be waiting.

Hotch rolled over and heard a small voice. He opened one eye and through the blurriness he saw a toddler stood beside his bed, reaching his leg up and trying to climb the bed.

"P-peas..." Spencer pleaded. Hotch reached out, still half asleep and helped Spencer onto the bed. He closed his eyes and almost instantly began snoring softly again.

Spencer eyed Hotch curiously, glancing down and huffing out in relief when he saw no monster sat waiting to eat him. He saw a gap between JJ and Hotch and the scared child inside him couldn't hold back anymore and snuggled between them, sighing when he felt safe once more, with his rabbit in his arms and two members of his family beside him, keeping him warm.

JJ woke up and stretched she looked over at Spencer's bed and jumped up when she saw that Spencer was no longer there. She whipped her head around at Hotch and felt her panic vanish. Spencer lay between them; his rabbit pressed up against his face. Hotch had moved in his sleep and his arm was now acting as Spencer's pillow. JJ smirked at the sweet picture they created. She snuck off to use the bathroom before they woke up and demanded her attention.

She came out changed and refreshed to see Hotch pulling his socks on and Spencer sitting up and rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Morning boys," she chirped, leaning down and kissing Hotch's cheek and stroking Spencer's bed hair.

"Mrrmpf," Spencer grunted, hiding his face in the pillow and relaxing.

"Oh no you don't," teased Hotch. He pulled the boy out from the pillow causing him to moan louder.

"Let me 'leep," Spencer grumbled.

"Do you want to get back to normal?" Spencer hopped up suddenly, almost jumping off the bed in excitement.

Hotch turned from the window to the sheriff who was still staring at Spencer curiously.

"Has he talked yet?" The sheriff shook his head and cleared his throat, finally acknowledging Hotch.

"He said he wanted to talk to you guys, but since then; not a peep," the sheriff grimaced, his gaze slipping accidentally to Spencer who was trying to jump up and look through the window. It was lucky JJ had his hand in hers or he would've fallen over more than once.

"Rossi," Hotch motioned Rossi into the room, leaving the dumbfounded sheriff with JJ and an increasingly frustrated Spencer. Hotch followed quickly and shut the door.

Dr. Jarvis snapped his eyes up to the agents and his lips pursed in a thin line.

"Can't deal with him? You want me to get rid of him?" Rossi slammed his hand on the table, a bout of anger suddenly coming over him.

"There's nothing wrong with him!" The Italian snapped.

"Oh really?" The doctor raised his eyebrows his pursed lips turning into a grin. "Then why did you come here? I'm guessing you want an 'antidote'." The agents didn't answer and Jarvis laughed aloud. "So there is something wrong with him!"

"You have kidnapped 5 people and killed 3. Right now you're looking at a life sentence in maximum security prison. You do know what they do to child killers in prison?" Hotch growled. Jarvis shivered convulsively and sent the agent daggers. "You tell us where the antidote is and we can organise something fo-"

"Antidote!" Jarvis roared with laughter, wiping tears from his eyes. Rossi's fists shook with anger. "You don't get it; there is none!"

The two agents exchanged an anxious glance while the doctor laughed.

"The plan was never to speed up the aging process; I never even considered how to revert the effect of the first drug." Hotch's jaw clenched and Rossi had to hold him back so he couldn't spring on Jarvis and wrap his hands around his throat.

"Son of a-"

"So do you still want to keep him?" Jarvis examined his nails with a bored expression. "I can still dispose of him for you...free of charge." Rossi let go of the younger agent, hoping he would strangle the bastard. Hotch took a deep breath and turned to Rossi.

"Have CSI search all of his locations."

"You won't find anything, agents. I disposed of all of my ingredients and cleaned the whole lab while I waited for the effects of the drug to work on your agent. The drug didn't work as planned," sighed the doctor.

"Why did he fail?" Rossi asked calmly, causing the doctor to look up with a frown.

"Excuse me?"

"Why did he fail? What were you trying to achieve, because Dr. Reid is younger than all the other victims."

"Not young enough, I'm afraid. I made a special batch for your agent and he still ended up being a year too old."

"Why?"

"Why what?" Snapped Jarvis.

"Why was he too old?"

"I wasn't trying to make a toddler. I needed the strain to revert the patient back to a newborn or earlier," his face grew dark and serious and Rossi took a seat opposite him. Hotch was still stood seething at the man, but he managed to fold his arms and not lash out.

"What was your plan?" Rossi asked, his brow furrowing thoughtfully. Jarvis shrugged.

Hotch felt himself burn with anger and he had to leave the room before he attacked the doctor.

"I was experimenting; I never had a plan for what I would do after. I-I have made groundbreaking discoveries!" He exclaimed. "I shouldn't be sat in an interrogation room explaining my actions; I should be accepting a Nobel-peace prize," he laughed again, shaking his head slowly.

"You practiced on innocent people without their consent. You killed them when they didn't work, for Christ sake! You're delusional if you think you'll ever get out of here," it was Rossi's turn to laugh and Jarvis snarled like a feral dog.

"It's not my fault that the patients were failures. I really thought your agent would work, as soon as I saw him I just had a feeling. He proved me wrong."

"He does that," Rossi Hissed, thinking back to all the times Reid had corrected him. He stood up and turned his back to the doctor.

"Wait...Wait! Where are you going!?" He Yelled, trying to get to his feet, but his chained hands refused him movement any further than from his chair.

"You can't help us; we can't help you."

"Wait! I can't go to prison! You said...you said about a deal!" He cried.

"You have nothing for us. I hope you rot," Rossi spat, slamming the door behind him and pinching the bridge of his nose.

Hotch was stood with his fists clenched, grinding his teeth.

"What are we going to tell Reid?" He muttered and Rossi grimaced.

JJ watched Rossi and Hotch interrogate Jarvis for a minute before she noticed how Spencer was hopping from side to side and trying to pull his hand from her so he could see. She sighed and lifted him up, he didn't seem to mind because he could see what was going on, that was until JJ turned her back on the window and carried him out.

"Wait, JJ! I want to see!" He whined, peering over his shoulder to try and see what was happening.

"JJ!" He shrieked, pushing her away with his small arms.

"Hey what's up, Pretty Boy?" Morgan asked as they rounded a corner. Spencer didn't reply and continued to glare at JJ.

"Someone's throwing a tantrum because I didn't let him watch the interrogation," she sighed, holding the toddler tighter to her chest.

"It's not a tantwum!"

"Well, it sounds like it. Look, Kid, people are already staring at you, you're just drawing in more unwanted attention. How d'you think it looked having a 21-month-old in the interrogation room," Morgan said sternly, holding Spencer's arm still. Spencer opened his mouth to argue but stopped himself when he looked at the situation rationally.

"I just want to know..." he mumbled sadly.

"I know you do, Spence, so do we, but this isn't the way. Just sit here and wait, Okay. I'm sure Rossi and Aaron will figure it out." She released the now calm boy and set him down in a spinning chair. He sat with his head hanging down, feeling embarrassed about his previous outburst. You're not 2, you're 26, now act like it, he chided.

Morgan saw how glum the toddler looked and decided to cheer him up. He took hold of the back of his chair and started spinning it gently until Reid looked up in bewilderment.

"Mowgan-"

"Hold on, Kid," Morgan spun the chair a bit faster and Spencer gasped, gripping onto the armrests for dear life. After he got other his initial shock he giggled happily, watching the world blend into one blur.

"Not so fast, Morgan. You'll make him sick," Emily's voice called from somewhere that Spencer couldn't see. He saw her red top whiz by but that was it.

"Faster!" He Laughed, bouncing his legs and feeling the chair pick up speed.

Hotch and Rossi walked into the officer anxiously. Rossi lost the rock paper scissors match and he had the job of telling Spencer he wasn't going to be 26 anytime soon; in 24 years maybe.

A small giggle reached their ears and both their eyes shot up to see Morgan spinning a chair with Spencer glued to it, a grin smacked over his lips and his legs kicking the leather excitedly.

Rossi cleared his throat and the team turned around; Morgan let go of the chair and let it keep spinning with Spencer still grinning madly. "Uh...what's going on?"

"Uh...nothing," Morgan grabbed the chair and Spencer's head lolled, his eyes crossing as he tried to see straight.

"What did he say?" JJ asked, her fingers crossed behind her back but she was still unsure what she was hoping for. Spencer blinked, swallowed hard and looked up at Rossi who had stepped closer to him.

"There's no easy way to put this, Kid," Spencer's eyes widened as he searched Rossi's face for an answer.

"There is no antidote..."

Uh oh, Spencer's not going to like that!

Please review! I'd love to know what you think!

See you in the next chapter.