(Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or it's characters) Jesus! I just spent 5 minutes looking at the word character because I thought I'd spelt it wrong and then suddenly it lost all meaning. Anyone else get that or is it just me?

I'm sorry for the long delay! I've been insanely busy; my photography coursework is due tomorrow and I've been trying to step up my game at college, so I'm afraid revision came before writing this week :'(

But I'm back!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Thank you ahowell1993, WishForBetter, AZCatmom, Diana, Hippiechic81, Guest, fishtrek, K, Ash59, Guest, Sherryola, Angel1178, Rebecca1, poorbear123, Guest, Guest, Daisyangel, qwef, and morer.

Oh and also, purplecat21 for your pm.

I took all of your reviews to heart, and I'd love to respond to you all here, but I just don't have time. If you have an account I will try and PM you. I must apologise for upsetting everyone... I mean, I am glad you had an emotional response to the update, I just wasn't expecting that ;)

So the big question is whether Spencer will be cured or not. Now, I wrote this story to explore the latter, I just love this genre and since there aren't as many de-aged fics as I hoped, I decided to add to it. Now that doesn't mean a cure is completely out of the question, but I won't be pushing it. Maybe in the future I will decide to end this story, but at the moment I'm enjoying it too much to just pack it in.

I understand some of you may stop reading and I'll be sorry to see you go, but I'm also writing this story for myself and I'd like to keep writing small Spencer.

Anyway, thank you all for your support. Please keep reviewing! I love to hear what you think!

Enjoy!

Oh and all mistakes are my own ;)

"Aaron..." JJ pressed, watching her boyfriend fold away his clothes after putting on a clean suit. He didn't reply and instead pulled Spencer's hoodie from the bag.

"Aaron," she said a little more persistently.

"What?" He grunted, keeping his voice low as not to wake Spencer.

"We don't have to leave tonight. We still have a few days that Spencer could see his mom."

"So he can have his heart broken again?" Hotch snapped protectively.

"Come on. It's his mother. He-"

"If we go and see her again she will be no different. The doctor even said that it was one of her better days: how many of those do you think she has?" Hotch closed the bag, but JJ's soft touch made him hesitate in zipping it up.

"I know. But that's not going to change. She's only going to get worse."

"Exactly," grunted Hotch.

"No! Not "exactly"! Spencer could," she lowered her voice when Spencer shifted. "Spencer may not have much longer with her."

"He needs some more time," Hotch muttered, zipping up the bag.

"Anyway," he gave JJ a placid smile, "We have a case."

JJ sighed and rubbed her face. She gave the sleeping boy a quick glance. He'd cried himself to sleep, but he'd been in and out and when he seemed to finally have drifted into a semi deep sleep Hotch got a call from Rossi about a new case in. The Italian had insisted on them staying in Vegas but Hotch argued that there was nothing they could do there which had led to a quick explanation of the day before; Hotch was sure to leave out some sensitive subjects. JJ was freshly showered by the time Hotch had hung up. She had a feeling she wasn't getting anymore sleep. The case happened to be in Oregon so the team would stop off at Vegas to pick up their three agents on the way.

The only problem was that it was four in the morning and Spencer had only had five good hours of sleep, which, in JJ's book, wasn't enough.

"I guess we should get ready then," JJ sighed. She stood up and grabbed her pyjamas when Hotch's soft palm stopped her. Her held her wrist gently and pulled her towards him.

"We're doing the right thing," he whispered, stroking a finger down her cool cheek. "With Spencer I mean. We can make him happy."

JJ huffed and fell into his lap. She looked up into his warm brown eyes and pursed her lips.

"I know. But she is his mother a-"

"And if she was herself she would want this. She'd want us to look after him," Hotch cut in. Blue eyes met his dark ones and they took in each other as if they'd never had the luxury of eye contact before then.

"Besides," he leaned in and whispered breathily; teasing her lips with the closeness of his own. "You secretly love him calling you Mummy."

Before JJ could argue, Aaron's lips pressed into hers and she found herself pushing back; her hands jerking up to grab his face and pull him closer. His hands roamed down to her waist exploring her figure. The kiss was ravenous, like a tangle of hungry carnivores. JJ's fingers dug into Hotch's normally flat and unexciting hair which was now tussled beneath her nails. The bed creaked slightly under the passionate kiss, but Spencer didn't stir.

JJ pulled away and sucked in air before looking back at Aaron with an affronted expression.

"If that's the case," she panted. "Then you secretly love him calling you Daddy."

Hotch's smile grew and he was leaning in once again.

"And so what if I do?" He smirked. This time it was JJ's lips that found his.

Hotch tapped his fingers against their bags as they waited for the jet to land. JJ rubbed Spencer's back as he slept in her arms. They saw a smaller plane land amongst the big ones and they hurried after the official who'd been appointed to them.

They got to the jet quickly and exchanged brief greetings with the team before buckling into their seats; Spencer still dozing on JJ's lap. When they were in the air, they unhooked themselves from their seats and Hotch lay Spencer on the couch. The small boy whimpered a little before turning his back and snuggling against the pillows.

"What happened?" Rossi demanded; no longer able to suppress his curiosity.

Hotch sighed as he took his seat beside JJ whose eyes were glued on Spencer.

"She's gotten worse," he muttered. The team tore their eyes from the toddler and looked at Hotch.

"How so?" Rossi questioned, his hands falling thoughtfully to his lap; the case file he'd been looking through was left discarded on the table.

"We weren't holding much hope that she'd recognise him as he is now but..." JJ chewed her lip and shook her head sadly. "She didn't even know that she had a son."

A small gasp lifted from the team.

"At all?" Emily asked. JJ and Hotch shook their heads.

"We tried to tell her. Spencer told her that he was her son and she started to get hysterical."

"That's...that's awful," Emily mumbled through her hand. She looked down at the small boy who seemed tense as he slept and she wondered how a person like him could have been dealt such a bad hand in life.

"I know. Spencer didn't sleep much last night, so he's exhausted. It's best not to mention it," Hotch added, looking each team member in the eye. No one argued with the order.

"How much longer do you think she'll last?" Rossi asked quietly. He prayed that Spencer was too deep in sleep to hear him.

"At the rate she's been deteriorating," Hotch simply gave a sad shake of his head in answer before continuing. "Her Doctor didn't seem too hopeful."

"Poor kid," Morgan hissed, gazing at Spencer who had just rolled onto his front, his hands supporting his head and his pale face and red eyes no longer hidden. His expression didn't appear peaceful as it normally did in sleep; instead his brow was furrowed slightly and his lips moved as he mumbled incoherent sounds.

That kid never stops thinking, Morgan thought.

"Let's discuss the case," Hotch said, changing the subject for Spencer's sake.

"Okay, But one more thing. I thought Strauss said that Spencer couldn't come on cases until he turned 'two'?" Emily put in, her eyebrow raising questioningly.

Hotch sighed and wiped a hand over his face.

"She did," he groaned.

"What are we going to do with him?" JJ asked Hotch, cursing herself inwardly at her forgetfulness.

"We can tell the station he's your son-"

"And how's that going to make us look? FBI agent's bringing their kid on a case!" Hotch growled and the Italian raised his arms quickly as if the unit chief were about to strike like a cobra.

"So what excuse are you planning to use when he is able to come on cases?" Morgan asked while folding his arms and fixing Hotch with a straight face.

"I-I'm not sure."

"Look, why don't I take Spencer to the hotel and I'll work from there?" Emily offered. The team all sent her incredulous looks (except Spencer, of course) that made her roll her eyes.

"What!?"

"You want babysitting duties?" Morgan said doubtfully, a smug smile on his face.

"I wouldn't call it that. It's Spencer," She retorted. She felt pretty confident until she saw the look JJ and Hotch shared with each other, amusement written over their faces.

"Okay, Em. Good luck," was all JJ said. Emily scowled and raised a quizzical eyebrow at Hotch. His expression was closed off once more so she had no such luck in profiling him.

"Did you bring our go bags?" JJ asked.

"They're in the overhead locker; we brought Spencer's too."

"Perfect," JJ hopped up and pulled down the bag her and Hotch had packed for their trip to Vegas. "I'll pack the essentials for you, Em," she said as she pulled out Spencer's rabbit and some random clothes.

"Is that really an "essential"?" Prentiss asked, emphasising with air quotes. JJ frowned and looked at what she'd pulled out. She pointed to the rabbit and Emily nodded.

"Of course it is! He's actually quite attached to it."

"Really? Or are you attached to it and just think he looks cute when he sleep with it?" The corners of Emily's mouth twitched up as JJ's mouth bobbed open and closed as she searched for an excuse.

" ...You'll see," she finally grumbled. Zipping up the bag, she stepped over to Spencer who was still on his front and she gently placed the soft rabbit in his limp fingers. His fingers unconsciously grasped the soft stuffed animal and pulled it close to his chest.

"See!" JJ hissed in a loud whisper. Emily just shook her head and watched as JJ filled Spencer's backback up with the "essentials", otherwise known as clothes.

Spencer was still asleep when they arrived at the airport. Hotch carried him off, once agin leaving JJ to lug their bags out.

"Okay, So we'll set up at the station and you call us when you have Spencer settled down," Hotch said, offering the still sleeping boy to Emily who stared back at her boss with wide eyes. She carefully took Spencer in her own arms where he whined and wriggled until he was comfy. His thumb slipped back into his mouth, while his other hand grasped his rabbit tightly.

"Wait, Hotch, What about a car seat?" Emily adjusted Spencer and he nuzzled his face into her neck.

"It's okay; a taxi will pick you up. Just strap him in with you and hold him tight," Hotch said. Emily gaped at him as he turned away to help JJ with the bags, leaving her more anxious than she had previously been.

The team arrived at the police station and found a conference room already set up for them.

A tall, older man staggered over to them, extending his hand out to each agent. They took into account his sweaty palms and nervous disposition.

"Thank you for coming so soon," the officer panted. "We have another victim; went missing three hours ago," he handed a photo to Hotch.

"That means we only have twelve hours to find her," Rossi said, looking at the image of the young brunette.

"Exactly. We're drowning here."

No sooner had Emily tucked a still dormant Spencer in bed and hunkered down with her file did he wake up.

"M-Mom?" Spencer whimpered, his arms reaching out for comfort of some kind, but finding none. Emily grimaced and held her breath, seeing if he went back to sleep; he didn't.

"Mmm...M-Mom..." He whined. Small eyelash's fluttered and a set of hazel eyes peered around the unfamiliar room. Spencer's breath caught in his throat and he shot up from beneath the covers; his head whipping from side to side. Small whimpers escaped his lips and he grasped the covers tightly.

"Hey," Emily said, jumping from her seat so he could see her. Spencer still trembled, so she stepped closer.

"Hey, Handsome. It's me."

"W-whewe awe we?" He whispered, looking back and forth for Hotch or JJ.

"We're on a case," Emily explained. "You were still asleep so-"

"Not in Vegas?" He asked groggily

"No. Not anymore."

"Oh. W-whewe's JJ?"

"She's working at the station with the rest of the team."

"Why awen't we thewe?" Spencer's brow fell heavily as he stared at the sheet; deep in thought.

"Because you're not allowed on these sorts of cases, remember?"

"Oh yea."

Emily hesitated and a silence elapsed momentarily.

"You wanna talk about it?" She asked cautiously. Spencer hung his head and twirled the sheets in his hands.

"You mean my mothew?"

"Yes. I don't want you to hide what you're feeling; it'll only make it worse."

Spencer looked up slowly and Emily took in the watery brown eyes and the gritted teeth determined to stop his lower lip from trembling.

"W-what's youw welationship with youw mothew like?" He asked. Emily stared at him, taken aback and unsure of how to answer his question.

"Uh...well, I guess you could describe it as a 'love hate' relationship," she said.

"You love her, wight?"

"Yes, of course."

Spencer took a deep breath and nodded.

"I love my Mom. Even when she told me I was a spy wowking fow the govewment. Ow when she said she hated me..."

"She doesn't hate you, Spencer," Emily insisted.

"I know... it's just... to hew, I don't even exist anymowe. A-and sometimes...sometimes I hate hew fow it" Spencer looked down at his hands, shame leaking from his quiet voice. "It's not her fault b-but I blame hew," he shook his head; disgusted with himself.

Emily watched him carefully as his head fell into his hands. She sat on the bed beside him and looked up at the ceiling.

"You know, I used to tell myself that I hated my mother," Emily said. This caught Spencer attention and wet eyes peered up. "She was always too busy. I thought she forgot I even existed. But I was wrong. She hadn't forgotten me and I didn't hate her. She always loved me, even though she didn't show it. Spencer, did you know that when I met your mother she threatened me?"

Spencer's eyes bulged out and he gaped up at Emily. He shook his head in shock.

"Well she did. She said something along the lines of, "You better hope nothing happens to my son, or I'm holding you accountable." And also something about killing me if I let you get hurt."

"I'm so sowwy!" Spencer gasped.

"No, Spencer, that's not the point. She has always loved you and she always will. Beneath her dementia she is still there and she still has a son, who she is proud of and who she loves."

A single tear fell down Spencer's cheek and Emily thumbed it away.

"I-I don't want to lose her!" Spencer sobbed. Emily caught him in her arms and just held him as he cried, brushing her fingers through his hair and maying anything that could sooth his broken sobs.

"So the first five victims were practically destroyed," a young officer pointed out to the already well informed DBI agents.

"The over kill could be personal; maybe a woman in his life hurt him in a way that he feels he must reciprocate," Morgan suggested, cringing at the battered images of the victims.

"Possibly his mother. These women were all mothers. Perhaps he is rebelling against his mother; they may be surrogates," JJ added.

"But then surely they would be older. These women are all new mothers."

"Maybe the mother of his child," Hotch put in.

"Can we have less maybes and more solid answers!" The sheriff snapped. He ran a hand through his unkept hair and turned away from the team.

The team exchanged hesitant looks; this one wasn't going to be easy.

Spencer's stomach rumbled loudly and he dropped his pencil and wrapped his arms around himself.

"You hungry?" Emily asked sarcastically and Spencer's lips curled up softly.

"A little," he whispered.

"McDonald's sound good?"

Spencer shrugged his shoulders.

"Morgan's going to bring us some," she fumbled with her phone. "He'll take over for a bit."

"K," Spencer mumbled.

Emily sighed and watched Spencer. He had started writing the digits of pi on the notepad provided by the hotel. He was at 350 digits when Morgan arrived and he would've written over that number if he had real control over the pencil.

"Hey, Princess," Morgan grinned. He threw a bag of kids carrot sticks at her. "Thought you'd need your strength," he chuckled.

"Ha Ha!" She grumbled sarcastically, throwing the carrots back at Morgan who had to drop his bag on the table to catch them.

"Yours is at the station. If you hurry it might still be warm."

"Be sensible," she warned, giving Morgan a serious look, he raised his hands in his own defence. Emily turned to Spencer and stroked a hand through his hair. "See you soon, Handsome. Look after Morgan."

Spencer giggled and Emily heaved a sigh of relief, thanking god that he wasn't emotionally stunted.

Morgan didn't even wait for the door to close before tearing into his meal.

"Hey, Pretty Boy. Food," he said, dropping a box before Spencer.

"Really?" The small boy grumbled as the happy meal was set on the table in front of him.

"You think you can take on an adults meal?" Morgan asked, eyebrows raised. Spencer mumbled something and reached out for the box.

"You even get a toy," Morgan said in an animated voice to which he recieved a glare from Spencer.

Spencer pulled out the fries and nuggets and tried to avoid looking at the toy.

Morgan opened his box and pulled out a Big Mac. He sunk his teeth in and groaned as the orgasmic flavour filled his mouth.

"So good," He muttered.

Spencer took a bite of his chicken nuggets and his own eyelids fluttered as the taste hit his tongue.

Morgan set his burger down momentarily and with much resistance. He leaned over and plucked the happy meal box from the table, pulling out the plastic bag discarded at the bottom. Spencer's eyes flicked up suspiciously as he went in for another nugget.

"Aw Cool!" Morgan gasped; ripping off the bag and feigning surprise. Spencer's eyes shot up at the older agent curiously.

"What?" Spencer asked; craning his neck to see the toy.

"I think it's Star Wars," Morgan mused, turning the toy around and scowling at the strange parts.

"Hey! That's mine!" Spencer squeaked; he jumped up on his chair and reached out for the toy. Morgan held it high above his head and chuckled lightly.

"You mean the toy you didn't want?" He sneered. Spencer shook his head desperately.

"No! No I didn't say dat!"

"I'm pretty sure you did," Morgan singsonged. He held the toy high and Spencer tried to jump to grab it.

"Peas!" Spencer pleaded. He stretched out and almost toppled off the chair. Morgan quickly took pity on the tiny agent seeing as he was coming dangerously close to falling off his chair.

"Well, if you're sure," he shrugged offering the toy to Spencer who snatched it up eagerly. Morgan hadn't been lying. Spencer gaped down at the mini R2-D2 in his hands. He started fiddling with the parts and checking the accuracy of the model against the film version.

Morgan chuckled and chomped back down on his Big Mac.

"Look at dis, Mowgan!" Spencer held up the toy, but kept it tightly in his grasp for fear that Derek would steal it. "It even has..."

Spencer waffled on for 15 minutes, occasionally pausing to shove a fry in his mouth and take a quick bite of his chicken nugget. Morgan listened while eating his own food; information going into one ear and straight out the other. He didn't stop the boy; he didn't have the heart.

"...and in fact the movie waises qwestions such as, awe thewe othew wowlds in ouw univewse? And if thewe awe othew life fowms on them. So it-"

The sound of a door opening interrupted Spencer's lecture and the two agents glanced up instinctively.

"Are you boring Morgan to death, Spence?" JJ laughed, shutting the door and dropping her files on the table.

"No," Morgan and Spencer said in unison; both gave JJ an innocent look that she couldn't dispute.

"Aaron wants you back," JJ said and Spencer went to get out of his chair. "Not you."

"Oh," Spencer pouted and dipped a loose and now cold fry into his sauce; his head resting in his palm.

Morgan got up and Spencer tried to grab hold of his shirt and pull him back.

"Can I come too?" He asked, looking up at JJ and Morgan with big, brown, puppy dog eyes.

"Nu-uh. You and me are staying put," JJ said and she ushered Morgan out.

"Can I at least look at the case?" He whined.

"Nope. I've had orders from Aaron."

Spencer groaned loudly and dunked his fry a little too roughly into the sauce and pulling out only half of the fry that had gone in.

"How about we watch a film?" JJ attempted to please him. She pulled out her tablet and offered it him.

"Do...do you have Staw Waws?" He asked slowly.

JJ rolled her eyes. "Of course I do."

The case lasted three more days. Spencer perked up throughout and was almost back to his normal self. As they were packing for the long flight home Spencer made an unusual request.

"But, Spence, you know it will be the same as last time, right?" JJ said, her brow furrowing anxiously.

"Yea, but I'd like to see hew... I don't know how long she has so... I-I'd Just like to sit with hew and talk..." Spencer's voice faded away and he stared down at his toes, rubbing the heal into the carpet.

Hotch and JJ exchanged a glance.

"Spence," JJ started, but Hotch interrupted, forcing Spencer to look up.

"I'll take him."

"What?"

"I'll take him," Hotch repeated and then he looked back down at Spencer. "If that's what you really want?"

Spencer nodded eagerly.

"Then I'll take you back."

Spencer didn't know what to say; his mouth opened and just as quickly, closed. In the end he stumbled forward and fell into Hotch's arms.

"Fank you!" He murmured into Hotch's shirt. Aaron wrapped his arms around Spencer and squeezed him reassuringly. His eyes caught JJ who had her arms folded.

"We'll be back home in a few days," he assured her, but she remained in her stance.

"You'll have to carry your own bags this time," She snickered.

Sorry, I know that was a little anticlimactic after the wait. I really wasn't with it this chapter so I apologise if it's awful. I'll try to do better in the next one.

Please review and tell me what you thought.

See you soon.