A/N: It's finally back, guys! I had THE WORST writer's block ever- I wrote about the first two paragraphs, then was absolutely stuck on what to write next! But now I am back, and at least I already know exactly what to write in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy this one!

Chapter Nine: Bath Time

After standing there for a while, the team finally realised that there was no point remaining in Darius West's house anymore, so they all filed slowly out the front door and headed for the SUVs. The team all knew that Reid would be headed back to Morgan; he was on leave, after all, and they knew that there was no way Reid would leave Morgan anyway. JJ had debated whether to go back to Morgan as well, but in the end she decided against it- she needed to get back to work and she felt that Reid needed some time alone with Morgan.

While one SUV headed straight back to the BAU, the other one- containing Prentiss and Reid- headed back to Morgan's house. When they pulled up out the front, however, Reid remained in his seat with his hand rested on the door handle. He was dreading getting out of the car, and having to go tell Garcia and Morgan that Darius would not be changing him back.

"Hey, Reid," said Prentiss softly, sensing Reid's fear and turning around from her position in the driver's seat to face him. "We will figure this out, okay?" she whispered. "We will get Morgan back to his true adult self." She reached out with her hand, taking one of Reid's and squeezing it. "We will. I promise you that."

Reid sighed. "Yeah, I know," he replied, sounding like he believed the exact opposite. "I gotta go." But he paused for a moment, his hand lingering in Prentiss's. The two of them were motionless, just staring at their joined hands, before Reid finally turned and climbed out of the SUV.

Garcia's head snapped up as soon as Reid walked into the room. Her expression was hopeful, but that hope faded away as soon as she saw Reid's face. "You didn't find him?" she said sadly.

"No, we found him," Reid sighed. He looked around the room for a moment, before seeing Morgan curled up on the small seat beside the couch, sound asleep.

"Poor little guy," Garcia whispered. "He wanted to wait for you to come back, but he just couldn't wait any longer. Hold on, if you managed to find the guy, why isn't Morgan…"

"He refused to turned Derek back, and then he just… he just vanished into thin air."

"So he's not turning Derek back?"

Reid shook his head. "And if we don't figure out how to do it ourselves, then Derek's going to be stuck like this forever."

"He… he is?" Garcia gasped, looking over at the sleeping child. "But- but Reid! We can't let that happen! We can't!"

"You think I don't know that, Garcia!" Reid snapped. Garcia jumped back, started. "Sorry," Reid said, looking over at Morgan to make sure he didn't wake up. "I'm… I don't think I'm handling this very well."

"I'm not surprised," said Garcia. "None of us are. But given how Morgan is like a brother to you… I can see how it would be even worse on you."

"Yeah, it's hard," Reid agreed, sinking onto the end of the couch closest to wear Morgan was sleeping. "It can't be easy on you either, Garcia. I mean, you and Morgan mean so much to each other."

"Yeah, we do. But for the person who you see as a big brother, who you go for advice to be turned in to a toddler… that's tough on anyone."

"I don't think anybody else who has a friend that they see as a brother has been in this situation before, Garcia," Reid pointed out.

Garcia let out a humourless laugh. "Yes, I suppose that's true," she said. Suddenly her phone beeped, and she reached over to check it. "That's Hotch," she sighed. "He wants me to get back to the office and do some work there, so it doesn't appear suspicious or anything. You gonna be right with Derek on your own?"

Reid nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine," he said. "Go, get back to work before Derek wakes up. He won't want to say goodbye to you."

"Yeah, you're right." Garcia rose to her feet, bending over Morgan's tiny, sleeping form and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "See you later, little man," she whispered, waving to Reid before leaving the house.

Reid was motionless for a long time after Garcia had left, just staring at Morgan as he slept. How was he going to tell Morgan that they weren't going to be able to turn him back into an adult yet? More importantly, how was he going to tell Morgan that they might never be able to turn him back at all?

It was a long time before Morgan finally stirred, letting out a loud yawn and sitting up in his chair. "'Pencer?" Morgan said sleepily, wincing when the child's voice escaped from his mouth. He looked down at his still tiny body. "I'm still a kid?"

Reid nodded. "I'm afraid so, Derek," he said sadly. "We found the guy who did this to you, but he refused to turn you back."

"So I'm stuck like this?" Morgan cried, his bottom lip beginning to tremble.

"We're trying to turn you back still, Derek," Reid insisted, but it was too late. The tears had already begun to fall. And then Morgan was wailing, the loud cries escaping from his mouth as he sobbed. Reid didn't even have to think; he leapt off the couch and pulled Morgan into his arms, holding the little boy as he cried. He rubbed the child's back soothingly, whispering nonsense into his ear to try and calm him down. "That's it, Derek, let it all out. It's okay…"

Finally Morgan was out of tears and he sniffed, rubbing at the remnants of the tears with his tiny fist. "Here, let me," said Reid gently, wiping the excess moisture away with a finger. "Do you want me to put you down now?"

To Reid's great surprise, Morgan shook his head. He didn't want Reid to put him down. Being in Reid's arms comforted him; it made him feel safe and content. He didn't want Reid to ever put him down. After a moment though, Morgan spoke. "Can we pway catch?" he asked timidly.

"I don't see why not," said Reid, carrying Morgan into the backyard, on the way pausing to pick a soft and squishy ball out of the bag of toys. He wanted something soft so Morgan wouldn't hurt himself, and that wouldn't be too hard for his little hands to catch. When they reached the grassy area of Morgan's yard, Reid set the Morgan down and walked a few feet away from him.

He held the ball in his hands, ready to toss it to Morgan. "You ready?" he asked the child.

Morgan nodded fervently, his arms outstretched. "Thwow it to me!" he ordered Reid.

Reid laughed. "Okay, Derek, here we go!" he said, throwing the ball lightly to the little boy. Morgan caught the ball and pulled it down to his chest, laughing excitedly.

"I did it!" he cried.

"You sure did, kiddo," said Reid. "You sure did. How about tossing it back to me now, yeah?"

Morgan nodded, throwing the ball towards Reid with all his might. Reid caught the ball in two hands, and Morgan clapped happily. "Nice to see you still have your sporting ability, Derek," said Reid, readying himself to toss the ball to Morgan again.

The two of them played catch for a good part of the day. While Reid himself got bored after awhile, Morgan stayed interested, happily throwing the ball to Reid and then catching it again. Reid knew that the adult Morgan would've gotten bored with this long ago, but the simplicity of the child's mind he had now was keeping him entertained.

Finally, though, Morgan stopped throwing the ball and frowned. "My tummy's making noises," he informed Reid.

"Guess it's time for dinner then, Derek," said Reid. "C'mon."

Dinner was fairly uneventful for the two of them that night. Morgan let out a small sigh when set the fairly plain meal in front of him, and Reid knew it was because Morgan desperately wished he could eat the food he used to eat but now couldn't

When Morgan had finished eating Reid cleared his throat, feeling unsure about what he was about to say. He had no idea how Morgan would take this. "Derek, you uh- you need to have a bath," he said finally. "You haven't really washed since you were turned into a child, and you're getting dirty and you can't really have a shower, now, so…" Reid trailed off, looking apprehensively at Morgan as he did so.

"You're going to give me a bath?" Morgan said. When Reid nodded, Morgan cried, "No! No, Pencer, I am not letting you see me with no clothes on!"

"Derek, you have to have a bath at some point," Reid pointed out. "You don't want to get smelly, do you?"

Morgan shook his head. "No, but I don't want you to see me naked!"

"Derek, I already had to dress you for bed when you had already fallen asleep, remember? And I've bathed Henry plenty of times before," said Reid. "And I promise you can wash yourself and undress yourself as much as you can, okay? I just have to lift you into the bathtub and lift you out again, and supervise you while you're I there, okay?"

Morgan didn't answer; instead he just turned away from Reid, refusing to make eye contact. He knew that Reid was right- he hadn't bathed since he'd been turned into a child again, and it wouldn't be safe for him to have a bath without Reid in the room. He was very, very small now, and if he was left to have a bath unsupervised, there was every chance that he may accidentally drown. But Reid was going to see him naked! His best friend was going to see him naked! He was going to see everything! Granted, there wasn't even that much to see anymore, but still… this was beyond embarrassing. No man wanted their best friend to have to see them naked. Sadly, Morgan realised, there was no way around this.

"Derek?" Reid said, making Morgan realise that he had been silent for a very long time.

"Fine," Morgan muttered. "But you're not allowed to undress me. And I wash myself."

"I promise," said Reid sincerely. "You coming, then?"

Morgan nodded, and Reid lifted the little boy into his arms. He carried Morgan into his bedroom, placing him on the floor in front of the train set. "You stay here while I run the bath, okay?" Reid left the room, and Morgan could hear the bath running from where he sat playing with the trains. He'd loved trains when he was a child the first time around, and it seemed that that hadn't changed.

Finally, the sound of running water stopped and Reid re-entered the room. "Bath's ready, Derek," he said. "Here, let me take your shirt off for you." Morgan lifted his arms up instantly and wordlessly, and Reid lifted the shirt over the child's head. "You go into the bathroom, and call me when you're undressed, alright?"

Morgan nodded and tottered into the bathroom, Reid closing the door behind him so he couldn't see anything. Morgan got undressed slowly; the task was rather difficult with his tiny hands and stubby fingers, and he wanted to prolong the time before Reid had to help him into the bathtub as long as he possibly could.

Eventually Morgan was fully undressed, naked and shivering slightly. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Morgan called out to Reid waiting in the bedroom. "Pencer! I'm weady now!"

The door to the bathroom opened, and Reid appeared, looking cautious. Morgan's hand automatically went to cover himself up, even though there wasn't that much to cover up in the first place. Reid, very tactfully, wasn't even looking- he just strode straight over to Morgan and picked him up, lowering him gently into the tub.

Morgan nearly jumped when he hit the water- it was a little bit hotter than he had expected. This was also the first time he had noticed that the tub was filled with bubble bath. It was very childish, but then again, Morgan was a small child now. The bubble bath tickled him, but he liked it.

There were toys in there for him as well, Morgan realised. A small, yellow rubber tuck, a plastic ship, and a plastic shark. He wanted to feel upset about the fact that he had to have toys in the bath with him to keep him entertained, but, well… he didn't. He really wanted to play with them.

"I've just gotta wash your hair first, Derek," Reid informed him. "This probably isn't something you've had to worry about for awhile, huh?" Reid wasn't wrong there. When Morgan was an adult he'd had a fully shaved head, but now he had enough hair that it needed to be washed. At least he didn't have to shave anymore. His face was as smooth as anything. "You might want to close your eyes."

Morgan nodded and closed his eyes tightly. He felt Reid pour water over his head, before massaging the shampoo into his hair and rinsing it out, followed by the conditioner. Finally Reid said, "You can open your eyes now, Derek."

"Can I pway wif the toys now?" Morgan asked.

Reid laughed. "Of course you can."

Morgan handed one of the toys to Reid. "You can be the ducky," he said. "You have to twy and get away fwom the shark." Morgan's shark chased Reid's duck around the bath, Morgan squealing with delight whenever he managed to catch the duck, not even realising that Reid was slowing the duck down on purpose to let Morgan catch him.

Eventually though the bath water started getting cold, and Morgan began to shiver. "Time to get you out of the water," Reid declared, lifting Morgan out of the tub and wrapping a soft towel around him. He used the towel to dry Morgan's small body, before handing Morgan his footie pyjamas and a nighttime diaper. "I know you don't like wearing these, but I promise it's necessary. I'll wait out in your bedroom, and you come out when you're dressed, okay?"

Reid left the room and Morgan was left alone, holding the towel around his naked body. He stood there for a long moment, shivering, dreading having to put on the diaper. Reid was right- he hated having to wear that thing. It was so, so demeaning- he should be a fully-grown man, but now he was a very young boy who had to wear a diaper so he didn't wet the bed!

Morgan shivered again, and then he had no choice but to put the diaper on and get dressed so he didn't catch a cold. He pulled it on, the fabric once again feeling strange against his skin. He then pulled on the footie pyjamas, and it wasn't until he'd pulled the sleeves over his arms that he realised he wouldn't be able to do the buttons up. His fingers were just too small. So he headed out into the bedroom, where Reid was waiting.

"Can you button it up for me, pwease?" Morgan asked. Nodding, Reid moved over to Morgan and began buttoning up the little boy's pyjamas, before putting him into bed and tucking him in.

"You go to sleep, now," Reid whispered. "You've had a long day."

"Can… can you stay wif me til I fall asleep, pwease?" Morgan asked.

"Of course I can," Reid said, settling into the chair beside Morgan's bed. Morgan closed his eyes, and felt Reid stroking his hair as he drifted off. A small smile crossed his face as he felt the gentle hand on his head, and finally he fell asleep. Reid pressed a kiss to Morgan's forehead, before heading out into the hallway and pulling out his phone.

"Hello?" Prentiss's voice answered.

"Hey, Prentiss, it's me," said Reid softly.

"Hey, Reid, how is he?" Prentiss asked.

"He was really upset when he found out that we weren't able to get him turned back, but he's okay now. I just put him to bed."

"That's good," said Prentiss. "Did you need anything?"

"No, I- I don't know," Reid admitted. "I just… I really needed to hear your voice."

Prentiss was silent for a while before she answered. "I miss having you around the office, Reid. It's not the same without you here. But this whole thing… it must be so hard on you."

Reid sighed. "It's definitely not easy," he agreed. "I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to look after a little kid, even one that used to be an adult. And what… what if he gets stuck like this forever? What do we do then?"

"Let's not think about that, Reid," Prentiss told him. "We will figure this out, and get back the Morgan we all know." Prentiss took a deep breath before continuing. "The rest of us were talking, and, well, you need to take Morgan out. He can't stay in the house forever. He is a very young child, after all- he's going to get bored and go stir crazy."

"I know," said Reid, "but Morgan's not going to like that. He's not going to want anyone else to see him as a child, even though nobody's going to know who he is. And I don't know if I can look after him in public by myself. I won't know what to do."

"I've taken Henry out by myself plenty of times, how about I take the day off tomorrow and come with you?" Prentiss suggested. "I know I haven't seen Morgan since he was turned into a child, but I think he knows I'm going to have to see him at some point."

"Alright," said Reid. "I think… I think that will be best. See you tomorrow, then."

"See you, Reid."

Reid hung up the phone and stared at it for a long moment, before heading into the spare bedroom to read a book before it was time for him to head to bed.

A/N: I wonder what Reid and Prentiss will do on their day out with Morgan? Guess you'll just have to wait and see! :P

Also, I've put a poll up on my profile, asking if you guys would like this story to end with either Morgan getting turned back into an adult, or getting stuck as a child forever and forgetting that he was ever an adult. I have plans for both possible endings, but I have no idea which one I want to use. Your input would be very much appreciated!

Any and all reviews will be very welcome! :)