Sonny'd had a bad feeling before they entered the damn cave network - add in a creepy tunnel that dead ends at some old statue? Asking for trouble. And Spenser just had to go and touch the damn thing.

Rated T. Age regression/de-aging. Kid fic.

Baby Clay doesn't like doctors and Sonny doesn't like the kid terrified.

Chapter Three

How it happened Sonny did not know, but he refused to question the magic of Davis: she had shoes and socks waiting for Clay beneath his hammock when he woke up. They wouldn't land for another twenty minutes.

Size 4T green boots and black socks. Clay had lit up like Santa himself had arrived.

"Never Question Davis," Sonny told Clay, booping the kid's nose witb each word before he tied the shoes for him. Clay laughed, but his hands stayed tightly wrapped on the edges of the seat Sonny had sat him in.

Jason cleared his throat and Sonny had barely turned his head before Clay launched himself at his chest. Sonny caught him and then stood up. In the past 24 hours he had, somehow, grown accustomed to the burrowing.

"That answers one question," Jason sighed, and a hand ran through his hair. With a weak smile Jason stuck his thumb over his shoulder, "Doc wants to take a look at him ASAP. Said he let it slide during the flight since the kid was asleep, but now-"

"First thing we land?" Sonny scrunched up his nose.

Jason nodded. "Bright side," Jason clapped his hands together, "You don't have to help with the HVT, and debrief will hold off till tomorrow."

That was probably because they wanted the medical results in, but Sonny nodded his head. Jason gave an awkward wave to thd kid and backed away.

Sonny looked down at Clay, "How ya doin' kid?"

"Fine."

His voice shook. And so did the rest of him. Knuckles white from his grip on Sonny's shirt. Spenser was a horrible liar, adult or child.

"I ain't a fan of doctors much either." Sonny nodded his head toward Trent, who was packing up his hammock a few paces away, "I know a guy once who hated doctors so much, he convinced a nurse to help him -"

"Sonny!" Ray appeared, summoned by some paternal instinct to ruin good stories, and glowered. "Don't go teaching him anything like that!"

Trent snickered behind Ray and Sonny tsked, "But its funny? Kid needs to laugh, don't he?" Sonny looked down at Clay, who was smothering himself via hoodie.

"He's got your face to look at, don't he?" Ray clapped Sonny on the shoulder as Clay burst into giggles. Trent and Ray went about their disembarkment procedure as the plane came in for landing.

Sonny shook his head and took a seat. "Traitor," he whispered to Clay, who grinned up at him with gleeful eyes.

"But it was funny."

The kid's grip loosened so Sonny let it slide. This time. He did ruffle the kid's hair though, took pleasure in the pout that this produced.

'Rushed' to medical wasn't 100% accurate, there were no gurneys or sirens. But Sonny had certainly never been pushed into an exam room where the doc was already waiting for them.

It was the team doc, which Sonny took as a good sign. He side-eyed the very obvious two-way mirror, but Jason or Blackburn would be included in whatever little interrogator party was happening. 'Take the wins you got' his mama had told him, so he did.

"Hello, Mr. Spenser," Doc greeted the kid directly, stooping slightly to meet his eyes.

Sonny was liable to pop a button if Clay gripped his shirt any tighter. "How about we do my check up before Clay's, huh doc?" Sonny gave the man a deliberate eyebrow raise and he nodded.

"Of course," Doc straightened and gestured towards the table. Sonny took a seat, Clay refused to clammer off his lap until the doc had brought the tray over and stopped paying obvious attention.

He wanted to draw blood first and Clay's eyes were wide as saucers as the man prepped the needle and then Sonny's vein.

Clay kept no more than inch between them the whole time, even squeezed Sonny'd hand as the doc stuck the needle in his twig-sized arm. Clay watched the doc exchange the first vial for the second, which he hadn't done with Sonny, and thenimmediately turned to look at Sonny.

Sonny ruffled Clay's hair as the doc took the tray away, "No worries, Baby Spenser. The Doc's just overly thorough - makes ya feel like a pin cushion, but it pays off."

"Okay," Clay rubbed at the tape on his arm, lower lip stuck out in a pout even as the doc returned with cookies and juice.

The rest of the, very thorough, physical went much the same: the doc examined Sonny so Clay would let him near. It was slow going, from the blood pressure cuff to the ear light to the reflex check. Eventually they got to what Sonny affectionately called the pyschobabble portion of the show. The last bit.

"Mr. Spenser, can you tell me how old you are?"

Clay looked at Sonny. Sonny nodded. "Four and a half."

"And what's the last thing you remember before waking up in the cave?"

Another look. Another nod. "Uncle Jerry's house."

"Alright. What were you doing?"

Look. Nod. "Sleeping."

"What happened between falling asleep at your Uncle Jerry's and waking up with Mr. Quinn?"

Clay just scrunched up his nose and his eyebrows.

"Mr. Spenser?"

"I don't like this," Clay burrowed into Sonny's side.

Sonny put an arm around the kid. He looked down at the tiny fingers clinging to his shirt hem and then back up at the doc, "You got any more ~relevant~ questions?"

The doc took a step back and Sonny felt a twinge of guilt about his tone before Spenser climbed up his torso and into his lap.

"We can finish up later, when I've got all the test results back." Sonny nodded and stood up, sweeping an arm underneath Clay's legs to better support what was now a whimpering sack of potatoes. The sniffling noise really had Sonny wanting to punch the doc, but it wouldn't have done much good.

Plus Ray AND Jason would be on him about his temper after that. Not worth it.

Clay hiccuped and wrapped his arms around Sonny's neck.

Sonny's fingers twitched.

Thanks for reading! Reviews Appreciated!