A Special Friend Part 7

As/N: Thank you for your great reviews. Thanks to VirgentSerpent for beta.

Daniel looked disbelievingly at Gideon. "I-I'm n-not s-so s-sure a-bout t-that, S-Sir…"

"Gideon. Call me Gideon, please. And yes, be sure. If it hadn't been for you, I'm afraid Spencer would either be in hospital or worse… dead. Now stop this nonsense. Don't underestimate yourself. And Garcia is right; he'll open up to you as soon he gets to know you better, he is just protective of his 'little brother'."

Daniel tried to relax, though he wasn't so sure they were right.

oOo

Spencer looked irritated at Morgan who was laughing. "It's not funny, Morgan!"

"Yes it is."

"No. And you better stop interfering in my friendship with Daniel. No matter what you say or think about him, I won't stop seeing him!"

Morgan raised his hands, palms up, outstretched in a placating gesture. "Okay, okay, kid. Chill out. I was just saying that I didn't think he would be such good company for you, I just thought I'd give you some brotherly advice on that. It's just an opinion, that's all. " He threw an arm over Spencer's shoulder, "advice you're free to take or leave as you see fit."
Reid shot Morgan a skeptical, assessing look, trying to decide if he could be trusted or not. Not seeing any deception in his dark eyes, he decided for the moment to accept his answer. "Good. Just remember you said that." Then, with no further words, he turned around to join the others at the table.
Morgan smirked and whispered to himself, "it's such a shame I don't have eidetic memory." Then laughing to himself quietly, he followed his brother back to the table.

Garcia made sure not to get up and let Morgan have his seat back. And she didn't care about the looks he gave her. She didn't want him to scare Daniel away, as he'd nearly succeeded to do. So Morgan disappointedly took Garcia's former seat.

"Where is your family, Daniel?" Morgan asked.

Daniel didn't look him in the eye. "M-momma i-is t-the o-only f-family I-I g-got."

"And do you live far from here?" Morgan continued.
Daniel shook his head from side to side, slowly. "N-no. M-my momma d-doesn't l-let me g-go f-far from th-the house."
"I see." Morgan regarded the young man thoughtfully, "and do you two get along well?"
Daniel glanced fleetingly up at Morgan, clearly uncomfortable with the questioning. "F-fine" He finally answered, quietly.
Morgan nodded his head and then opened his mouth to start questioning him again, but Spencer kicked him hard in the leg, shooting him a hard, angry glare in silent warning. And Garcia gave Morgan a warning look and Morgan just shrugged. Garcia then turned her attention back to Daniel. All profilers had noticed that Daniel didn't stutter as much when he talked to her as he did when he talked to the rest of them - well except from Spencer. When she asked him about his interest in pyramids, he talked non-stop and without stuttering. Morgan looked at Daniel, clearly impressed and Spencer smiled smugly at Morgan and his eyes told him; I told you so!

And Morgan's eyes told Spencer; Yeah, yeah kid. I guess I was wrong about the kid. So sue me.

Even Hotch and Gideon looked impressed at Daniel. There was more to that kid that met the eye.

The all started to talk about simple things that weren't threatening to Daniel, so he could feel more comfortable and relaxed, and his stutter started to even out. He excused himself as he had to use the restroom because of all the coffee he'd drunk. He made a mental note to remember not to tell his momma that he'd been drinking more of that beverage than he was allowed to, and that he was planning to drink more of it before his curfew. He wasn't happy when he noticed Agent Morgan following him. As he looked behind him as he looked at Morgan he stumbled into a waiter and cups with coffee crashed down on the floor; luckily the hot coffee didn't land on Daniel and burn him. He didn't notice that he was about to place his right hand in the middle of the broken coffee cups. Morgan hurried to pull Daniel away from it. Daniel didn't notice that Morgan only did it to prevent him from getting injured, so Daniel crawled away from him and placed his arms protectively over his face. "Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!"

Morgan was shocked at the reaction from Daniel. He slowly went to him and bent down and talked quietly so as not to seem threatening. "Shh, kid. I'm not going to hurt you." Knowing that Daniel was showing signs of being a victim of past or present physical abuse, Morgan was worried that Daniel's momma was abusing him. Morgan felt that it was strange that he suddenly felt protective toward a kid he'd just met. He now knew how Spencer felt. And now he felt guilty about the things he'd thought about Daniel before he even got to know him. That he'd thought that he wasn't good enough for his 'little brother'.

Spencer and Gideon hurried to them; the girls were about to do the same but Hotch prevented them from it. Telling them it was the best for Daniel if he wouldn't have too many spectators watching his breakdown. It was hard enough for him.

oOo

Gideon made signs to Morgan to let Spencer calm Daniel down. Morgan nodded sadly and stood up and backed up a few steps.

Spencer gently placed his right arm around Daniel's left shoulder and sat down beside him. "It's okay Daniel. Don't be afraid. Morgan won't hurt you. He just wanted to prevent you from getting hurt. You were about to place your hand in the middle of the broken coffee cups which still had some hot coffee in them. And if he hadn't pulled you away, you not only would have a cut on your hand, but also a very nasty burn."

Daniel slowly pulled his arms down to his side and looked slowly over to Spencer. "R-really?"

Spencer nodded. "Yes really."

Daniel blushed and looked down at his lap, ashamed. "S-sorry A-Agent M-Morgan."

Morgan went back to him and bent down at Daniel's right side and placed a hand on his right shoulder. "It's okay kid. No need to be embarrassed or ashamed. Friends?"

Daniel looked slowly up at him, and gave him a small smile. "Friends." Daniel slowly offered Morgan his right hand and smiled brightly. Morgan took his hand. "Friends!" Now Gideon, Spencer and Morgan smiled brightly too, especially Spencer. He was happy that Daniel was finally accepted by his family. Now nothing would be in the way of Daniel and his friendship.

As they were finished shaking hands Morgan let out a deep sigh. He wasn't happy about what he was going to ask Daniel. "Daniel. What I'm going to ask you, please know it's not to offend you. Daniel… Does your momma hurt you? "As Daniel looked confused at him he explained further. "Does your momma hit you bad, so you hurt a lot? Does she do things to you that aren't right?"

Daniel shook his head furiously. "No momma is the best! She only spanks me if I disobeys her or put myself into danger!"

"Are you sure? Don't be afraid to tell us the truth. We'll protect you and make sure your momma won't hurt you ever again."

Daniel still kept shaking his head furiously. "No she doesn't! She loves me as if I was really her son, and I love her as if she's my momma. I love her very much. Please don't take her away from me." Tears started to well up in Daniel's eyes. Spencer rubbed his hand up and down of Daniel's back soothingly.

While Gideon, Morgan and Spencer were with Daniel, Hotch made sure that the strangers, who were curiously looking over at the crying man-child, went back to their seats and minded their own business.

"Okay, if your momma didn't hurt you, who did?" Morgan asked

Daniel thought about it and frowned. "I don't know. I-I can't r-remember."

"Was it the man that tried to assault you? Is he the one that hurt you, Daniel?" Spencer asked. Daniel shook his head. "No. M-Momma came in time before h-he d-did."

"Are you sure?" Daniel nodded. "Okay." Spencer stood up and helped Daniel do the same. "Let's get to the restroom, so you can freshen up a bit." Gideon looked over at his 'son' proudly. Proud that he wasn't only treating Daniel as a friend, but also acting like Daniel's big brother. When he thought about it, they could be twins and Spencer could be the first one who'd been born.

TBC