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It had been hell for the team for the last few months, with back-to-back cases each more horrifying and deplorable than the last. It had clearly taken a toll on JJ and everyone seemed to have noticed. They finally closed their last case in Detroit. It was a horrifying and depressing scene, the unsub’s mind had snapped due to untreated head traumas he suffered as a child as well as clear signs of psychopathy. He had explosively mutilated his victims with his fists and random objects in the vicinity before feeding them to pigs and burning his clothes. A cycle he would rinse and repeat over and over.
The team was walking towards the jet, each looking tired and slightly traumatized. “Hey.. JJ you doin okay ?” Derek asked, his duffel bag was slung over his shoulder, he had separated from the group in order to walk with JJ. She seemed to be more exhausted and drained then the rest of the team but it almost seemed like there was something else. “Yeah.. yeah no I’m good.. This case was just a lot..” she muttered out. Derek seemed to have accepted the answer but there was a clear hint of skepticism in his eyes. I mean she wasn’t lying. This WAS an intense case, and the last few cases have been treacherous for them all. But the only thing JJ could think about was regressing, slipping on one of her onesies and having her mama tie her hair up in pigtails. Emily always loved doing JJ’s hair and JJ loved the feeling of her fingers in her hair.
She was snapped out of her thoughts once they arrived at the jet. She climbed in and took a seat by the window right next to her ma- I mean Emily…everyone else seemed to have spread out around the cabin, Spencer and Rossi were playing an intense game of chess while Hotchner read over the closing files and Derek slept, his headphones turned up to full volume. She kept fidgeting with her sleeves, trying her hardest not to slip when she felt a hand on hers, it was Emily ! She looked up and locked eyes with her for a moment, “Are you slipping princess ?” Emily asked, her voice barely above a whisper so that only JJ could hear. “N-no !...” JJ stuttered, she didn’t want to slip on the plane and surely not after such a horrible case, she knew Emily was tired too and probably didn’t want to deal with a clingy and tired little. Emily placed JJ’s head on her shoulder so that she could relax and draped her brown coat over her girl. She knew she was slipping but didn’t want to show it, so she decided she was going to treat her to an extra special day tomorrow since it was their first day off in months, feeling a surge of protectiveness fill her as her caregiver space and maternal love for her bunny takes full effect.
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It was 9AM the next day, Emily stirred and pulled JJ close to her holding her tightly as she said in a groggy and sleep-filled tone “Good morning my love.” JJ nuzzled into her neck and mumbled against her skin “morning”, she was clearly still tired and clearly wanted cuddles. Emily picked her up and laid her against her chest on the bed, stroking the top of her head and whispering “I have a big day planned for us princess”. JJ popped her head up from her chest, curious. “What do you mean ?” Emily giggled and cupped her cheek “What I mean is I’m gonna spoil my little bunny rotten” JJ blushed bashfully and buried her head back into Emily’s chest, feeling a small amount of guilt creep up. “But it’s our first day off in months Em… I don’t want you to have to be responsible for me when it’s one of our rare opportunities to relax.” Emily sighed and combed JJ’s hair with her fingers. A calming touch that JJ always melted into, “My love I want to do this. I want to keep my baby in my arms and spoil her. I have a few plans made for today but let’s have breakfast first.”
She stood up with JJ in her arms and walked down to the kitchen. Placing her on the counter and opening up the fridge. “How about….” A small playful smile touched her lips “double chocolate chip pancakes ?” JJ gasped and nodded eagerly. Kicking her feet “Yes yes yes ! Can I mix the batter ???” She begged. Emily laughed and nodded her head while shutting the fridge with her foot. Her hands filled with ingredients for homemade pancakes as she sets them on the counter and turns to JJ “How about I put in all of the ingredients and you can add the chocolate chips and stir ?” “Okay mama !” JJ chirped as she patiently waited for Emily to measure out everything into the bowl.
Once Emily had finished, she gave JJ a bag of chocolate chips. Not even two seconds later before Emily could realize what happened, JJ had managed to dump half of the bag into the bowl. “Oh, oh ! Okay… well i guess they’re triple chocolate chip pancakes now” Emily said chuckling as she took the bag away from JJ. She giggled and whined softly but quickly that went away once Emily handed her a big spoon and started the stirring process with her. Placing her hand on top of JJ’s and guiding her for a moment before letting her take control. “Good job bunny ! I’m gonna set up the stove. Now you gotta stay there because the stove is VERY hot alright ?” JJ nodded her head obediently. She loved being praised by Emily. It made her feel safe and secure in her regression as she stayed seated on the counter mixing the batter.
Once the pan was hot and buttered-up, Emily gently took the bowl from JJ. Making sure she had a clear view of the pancakes being poured onto the pan. It sizzled and popped softly which made her giggle and kick her legs on the counter while her thumb found its way into her mouth. Once Emily finished pouring out the pancakes she quickly put down the bowl and gently tugged JJ’s thumb out of her mouth “Those are yucky pretty girl why don’t we use this ?” She pulled out a pastel green pacifier with a beige bunny planar on the center. JJ instantly reached for it. Popping it into her mouth and suckling contently while Emily went back to flipping the pancakes and laying a few strips of bacon down onto the griddle. Once those were cooked up Emily lovingly arranged everything onto the plate so that the pancakes looked like clouds and the curved bacon looked like a rainbow. JJ gasped once she had seen the masterpiece, she felt so loved it made her almost cry. Once Emily had her situated in the chair she cut up the pancakes and helped feed her girl so that syrup didn’t glue her hair together.
They finished their meal and headed towards the bathroom. “Do you want mama to help you bathe or are you a big girl ?” Emily asked lovingly as she set JJ down on the toilet, “I not big enough mama…” JJ admitted bashfully. She felt embarrassed not being able to wash herself in this state but the last time she tried to she squirted shampoo directly into her eye instead of on her hand. “Aww my love here let me set you up a nice morning bubble bath” Emily cooed while starting the water and pouring in copious amounts of bubble soap and a bath bomb to make it purple and sparkly. Once she got JJ in the tub it was all over from there…
“Mama look ! I have a bubble beard !”
“I see that sweetheart. It seems you’re also giving the floor a bubble beard.”
JJ: *slams her arms down*
Emily: *Now soaked*
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Once they both had dried off and JJ had calmed her giggles at Emily’s wet state, Emily carried her girl into the bedroom to get changed. “What are we thinking today hunny bunny ?” JJ blushed at the nickname and eagerly blurted out “I wanna match with mommy !” “I love the idea pretty girl !” Emily cheered as she pulled out a few matching outfits. Each more cuter than the last. JJ decided that she wanted to wear green today. The color always made her hair pop and Emily couldn’t get enough of it. She happily dressed JJ in a solid colored textured sage green short-sleeved onesie with a pair of super light-denim shortalls. Matching her with a green blouse and denim jeans and tying JJ’s hair into half-up half-down. “You ready to go, pretty girl ?” Emily chirped while picking up JJ, “Where are we goin mama ?” she asked while wrapping her arms around Emily’s neck, “I was thinking maybeeeeeee the park ?” JJ gasps as Emily continues, taking small pauses to help with the suspense “And maybeeeeee the toy store ? And if you’re a good girl I may even get you ice cream-” before Emily can finish her sentence JJ starts bouncing in her arms, squealing and kicking her legs “Yes ! Oh my gosh your da best mama in the da world !” she cries out while hugging her Mama. She’s never been out shopping while little and was excited to be with Emily for the whole day.
They both threw their shoes on and headed to the car. Emily buckled JJ securely into the back seat and walked to the driver side, getting in and immediately playing the sound track to Tangled, JJ’s favorite Disney movie. They decided to take a more scenic route towards the park, JJ pointing out and babbling over every animal she spotted. Once they arrived at the park Emily stepped out of the car and quickly unbuckled JJ, the park was pretty secluded, most families not coming here because of the dense trees that surround the park itself. It was perfect for them, their own little oasis where JJ can play happily without worrying about the judging and prying eyes of society. Emily took a seat on a bench close to the tree-lining while JJ happily bolted to the pastel blue monkey bars first, bending her legs so she could hang from them and move across as normal.
After a while of sprinting from the big red twisty slide to the bright yellow rock wall and finally back to the monkey bars again, she rushed up to Emily slightly panting as she jumped eagerly and asked “Mama swing ?” Emily giggled at her lack of sentence structure, a clear sign she was regressed and definitely under 5. “You want Mama to push you on the swing ? Of course I can bunny ! “JJ ran towards the swings as Emily followed, sitting and smiling eagerly as Emily stopped and took in the sight. Her little girl… smiling wide. A smile she hasn’t seen from her since they started this grueling case grind a few months back, she wanted to cry from how pure she looked and how blissfully happy she seemed. She sucked in her tears and walked over. Kissing her Bunny on the cheek before getting behind her and pulling her by the swing seat, pulling JJ up above her head and flinging the swing down. As the swing rose up high into the sky Emily ran under it yelling “Underdoggggg !” Making JJ gasp and giggle loudly as she spots Emily standing at a distance in front of her, watching her swing back and forth blissfully content with her life in this moment. After about 30 more minutes Emily decided it was time to leave. It was 3PM and she could bet that JJ was hungry and a little tired. She was gonna swing her through a fast food joint and then let her take a nap on the way to the Toy store. Once JJ had been buckled in she soon fell asleep, her pacifier slipping out haphazardly in her mouth, Emily giggled to herself as she leaned her seat back in the car and took a nap as well.
Emily awoke to the sound of soft sticky peels and tiny giggles, she peaked open one of her eyes to see JJ placing stickers all over the car door. They were small and there were only three so Emily wasn’t upset, in fact she found it kind of cute that JJ was “customizing” the car. “I see someone woke up” she said in a slightly teasing tone as JJ froze and looked over at Emily, giggling softly while saying “hehehehe… hi Mama.” Emily giggled and fixed the seat so it was upright, taking the stickers and saying “I’ll let you keep those on the door but no more okay Hunny Bunny ?” JJ whimpered softly but nodded her head “Sorry Mama..” she said in a slightly guilty tone. “Oh Bunny it’s quite alright, no one’s mad. Now let’s get you fed, you must be starving from all that playing “ JJ nodded and said happily “nuggies mama !” “You want Nuggies princess ? I’ll get my girl nuggies.” Emily chimed as she started the car and went to the closest fast food place, parking the car again and putting JJ in the front seat so they can both watch “James and The Giant Peach” on Emily’s phone while they eat their food. Once the movie was done and they both finished their meals, Emily cleaned up JJ’s face and popped her back into the backseat. “Okay pumpkin ! Where do you wanna go next ? The toy store or the Ice cream shop ?” “Toy store ! Toy store !” JJ cheered as she bounced in her seat. “Okay bunny, okay !” Emily giggles as she starts to drive again. They arrive at the Toy store and JJ seems to be even more excited than before ! She knew she had to hide her regression but she was so excited she could barely contain herself as Emily helped unbuckle her and held her hand. “You gotta hold my hand okay princess ? Mama doesn’t want you leaving her line of sight.” JJ nodded her head as they walked, quickly tucking her pacifier into her pocket before Emily pushed open the store doors. It was a small old fashioned styled mom and pop shop Toy store, with many dolls and wooden toys lining the shelves with multiple plushies in one big basket. JJ eagerly rushed towards the doll section, dragging Emily with her when something catched her eye. Hanging from the ceiling are multiple beautiful hand crafted circular spiral mobiles, each one decorated with beautiful bright colors that catch the light perfectly. It wasn’t until JJ noticed Emily asking the store employee for the one that she was staring at that she realized how long she had been star struck by it. A full 5 minutes, and who could blame her ? It was a stain-glass piece with small wire framed animals separating each perfectly broken shard of glass. She decided to also pick out an adorable blue and white spotted stuffed dog and another doll to add to her growing collection. They quickly paid and headed to the car, JJ happily bouncing her new plushie in her arms while Emily carried the bags. “Okay my love, last stop… ice cream !!!” “Yayyyy ! Ice cream ice cream ice cream !!!!” JJ cheered as she climbed into the car “I have 5 scoops” she declared as Emily started the car “No you can have 2 and you can pick whatever flavors you want.” JJ pouts and adds to Emily’s statement “choco pwinkles !...” She caves and decides to agree “Fine, fine you little negotiator, you can have chocolate sprinkles.” Emily chuckled as she pulls out of the parking lot and onto the main road heading towards the ice cream shop close to home, by the time they get there it’s already 7PM and the sun is starting to set. They head up to the window with JJ pointing eagerly at 2 different flavors as well as the chocolate sprinkles. The server (who seemed to understand what was happening to Emily’s relief) politely smiled and gave JJ two big scoops with a big spoonful of chocolate sprinkles. “Here you go buddy !” The server said cheerfully to JJ, she blushed and gratefully accepted the ice cream as Emily ordered her own cone, double chocolate chunk with brownie bits. She sat next to JJ at a table nearby and wrapped her arm around her, letting her get as messy as she wanted since they were gonna bathe once they got home. “It’s better to let her have these memories then worry about stains” Emily thought to herself as she ate her ice cream neatly, occasionally dabbing her lips with a napkin. Once they had finished, Emily dabbed off some of the still-wet ice cream on her bunny’s face before laughing and leading her to the car, opening up the trunk and having her sit in the back so she can fully wipe off her face and hands with the wet wipes Emily kept in the diaper bag in the trunk. “Messy, messy girl” she teased as she finished wiping off her hands and face, sitting next to her and holding her close as they watched the sunset hit the skyline. “Best mama ever” JJ sighed as she nuzzled against Emily. “And you’re the best bunny I could ever ask for.” Emily responded with, never wanting this moment to end.