A Special Friend Part 9

A/N: Special thanks to MyalternateReallity for beta.

Hotch brought the car to a stop and parked the car right beside the apartment building to Daniel's home.

"Okay, here we are," Hotch called and turned around to smile at their charge before opening the door and getting out of the car.

"Thanks. I can go from here on my own. Thank you so much for the drive and sorry for...," Daniel said and looked shyly down at the floor.

Spencer saw his hesitation and his heart went out to his new friend and instantly reached out to reassure him, patting him amiably on the back and smiling kindly at him, "Hey, there's nothing to be sorry for. You hear?"

Daniel looked up at him with a faint smile, "Thanks."

Gideon looked at the young man and said, "Spencer is right there's nothing to feel sorry about."

"That's right, so no more apologies. Okay?" Hotch added, smiling at the young man and then offering him his hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Daniel."

Daniel gave shyly his hand. He was relieved though that Hotch didn't expect to follow him up to the apartment. "You too, S-Sir," he said quietly.

"See ya soon, Daniel. We should do this again sometime, it was fun," added Spencer.

Daniel smiled, "Yes it was except from when I flipped out..."

Spencer shook his head and waved his hand in the air dismissively, "Hey, I said not to worry about that, okay?" He offered his friend a smile before clapping him in the back lightly again, "You sure you don't want us to walk you to the door at least?"

"Yes I'm sure," Daniel said.

Gideon noticed some people close by that looked a lot suspicious. Gideon made a sign to Hotch. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to let Daniel walk up on his own.

Hotch looked at Gideon then and followed his gaze to the far side of the block, close to the corner and slightly hidden by some trees. They were staring suspiciously at them, their eyes firmly set on Daniel and instantly understood Gideon's silent message.

Hotch nodded his understanding and added before Daniel could walk away, "I'd really feel better making sure you got there alright, Daniel."

Daniel gulped, "No it's okay. I'm fine."

Hotch shook his head determinedly, "I insist. We got you here this far, we may as well see you to the door." He threw an arm around his shoulders, finishing the argument there and walking him to the apartment building.

Daniel pouted, "I-I'm not a kid." He knew it was kind of a lie as he knew he kind mentally was, but he hoped that Hotch didn't know that.

"I know," Hotch tried to appease the young man, "It has nothing to do with that, it's simply a matter of courtesy."

Spencer smiled and rolled his eyes behind Hotch's back, knowing full well that courtesy had nothing to do with it. It was simply Hotch and probably Gideon too, judging by the looks he'd seen him throw Hotch's way earlier, being their usual mother-henish selves.

Spencer's smile widened, knowing that was a sign they were warming up to their friend already and possibly without their even knowing it yet.

When they arrived to the door of the apartment Daniel said, "We're here. Thank you for following me up here, but I can handle the rest now." He was kind of afraid for them to meet his momma.

Hotch chanced a covert glance in the direction of the suspicious men in the corner to assess the situation before leaving Daniel and was somewhat concerned when he noticed they had moved so they could still see them and had their eyes still fixed on Daniel.

Gideon noticed the men too and said, "No sorry, Daniel. We'd like to get to know your momma."

And Daniel pouted once again. He looked over at Spencer for help.

Spencer noticed saw the desperate plea in Daniel's eyes, he didn't quite understand why Daniel didn't want them to meet his mom but he'd ask him later, now he had to try and talk Hotch and Gideon out of staying.

"Maybe we shouldn't intrude," Spencer said. "I think his mom had a job meeting at home now." He fibbed a little, surprised at how easy the lie had spewed out of his mouth

As Gideon till saw the men fixating their eyes on Daniel, they couldn't risk Daniel to be on his own. "No sorry," Gideon stated.

Spencer bit his lip nervously, "Come on, Gideon. We can meet her some other day. We'll see each other again anyway, there's no rush, right Daniel?" Spencer turned a nervous smile on his friend.

Gideon then gave Spencer a sign to look at the men.

Spencer frowned and looked to where Gideon indicated, and then stared back at him with a puzzled frown on his face then looked back at Daniel.

He figured they should warn Daniel. Spencer looked back at Gideon and motioned in Daniel's direction, mouthing 'tell him.'

Gideon shook his head. He didn't want to worry Daniel in his fragile state.

Spencer frowned; he couldn't understand why Gideon wouldn't tell Daniel something like that and looked back in the direction of the men, trying to decide if he should just tell him himself. His friend's safety may depend on it.

"Well, are we gonna stand here all day or are we going in?" Hotch said, trying to break the heavy silence that had suddenly befallen and trying to get Daniel to forget whatever insecurity he was harboring inside.

Gideon nodded. And Daniel sadly opened the door.

They all went inside, Spencer lagged behind for a moment trying to see what the men did before following them in.

The men were standing a few meters away on the sidewalk pretending to be having a conversation but their eyes fixed on them instead. And for a moment there, Spencer's and their eyes met, and he shuddered slightly. Who were these men? What did they want? That Spencer didn't know, but by what he'd seen reflected in their eyes told him all he needed to know. They were dangerous.

Mrs. Miller heard the door. "Sweetie, is that you?"

"Yes, momma. I'm home. Spencer is with me and so are his dad and a friend."

Spencer hurried inside and to close the door behind them; leaving the suspicious, nasty-looking men behind. He went to stand beside Daniel, waiting for Mrs. Miller to come greet them.

Mrs. Miller went to greet them. She hugged Daniel. "Aw sweetie, I've missed you. Did you have a great time?"

"Yes momma," Daniel answered obediently.

"That's good Sweetie." She then turned her attention to Spencer, "Hi Spencer. How are you doing?"

"Fine, thank you, ma'am," Spencer smiled.

She nodded satisfied then she studied Hotch closely. "Who are you?" She asked.

Hotch smiled, trying to look as friendly and unofficial as possible. He reached out his hand to shake Mrs. Miller's. "I am Aaron Hotchner, ma'am. I'm a friend of Spencer's," he turned to Daniel, "and your son's too now." He smiled kindly at Daniel.

She nodded but still looked suspiciously at him. "You better be a good friend to him. If you ever hurt by boy, you are going to deal with me," She said firmly.

"Momma, please!" Daniel begged.

Hotch nodded seriously and answered with sincerity, "Don't worry, ma'am. I'd never hurt him."

She nodded satisfied. "You better not," she said like she was a wolf protecting her cub.

Spencer smiled slightly, Daniel's mom was even worse than Gideon.

Mrs. Miller then turned her attention to Gideon, "And who are you?"

"I'm Jason Gideon. I'm like a dad to Spencer. We just wanted to make sure Daniel got home safely."

She nodded. "Thanks I appreciate that."

Spencer saw his chance when Gideon and Hotch were busy with Daniel's mom and turned to whisper in Daniel's ear. "When they're all gone, we need to talk about something, Daniel. It's important."

Daniel nodded. "Okay," he whispered back.

"Well, we'll leave you to your meeting now, don't want to intrude just wanted to make sure Daniel got home safely." Hotch addressed Daniel's mom with a polite smile in place.

"Meeting?" She asked confused.

Spencer's eyes opened wide and he turned a ghostly shade of white. "Yeah, we really should be going now." He hurried to add, turning to shake Mrs. Miller's hand before she could say anything else. "See ya, Daniel." He said, gesturing he'd call him later.

Gideon noticed, and made a mental note to have a talk with his son about lying when they get home.

"Mrs. Miller can I talk to you alone?" Gideon asked.

She looked worried at him when she noticed his serious expression. "Yes. We can go into my office." She turned her attention to Daniel. "Why don't you show your new friend Hotch you pyramids and paintings?"

Daniel nodded shyly.

"I'd love to see them." Hotch smiled at Daniel.

Daniel smiled faintly and showed him to his room.

Spencer trailed behind them, chancing a glace out the window to see if the nasty men were still there, he craned his neck every which way but still he couldn't see them. Maybe they'd over reacted and there was nothing untoward going on after all. He so hoped that was the fact, for Daniel's sake.

In Daniel's room Hotch stood in awe gazing at Daniel's pyramids and paintings. "Wow, Daniel." Hotch managed to say at last, "they're beautiful!"

Daniel smiled shyly. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Hotch replied with complete certainty, "They're amazing!" He smiled at him, "Why, you're a very talented young man."

Daniel shook his head, "No I'm not really."

"Yes, you are," Hotch disagreed, "I've never seen anything like it, Daniel. This is amazing."

Daniel nodded not really believing him.

Spencer then walked in and smiled with pride in his friend when he saw Hotch's amazement reflected in his eyes.

Daniel rubbed the sides of his head. He was starting to get a headache again; they were sadly coming more frequently. Happily he's been able to hide it from his momma.

Hotch being the sharp-eyed Agent that he was instantly noticed Daniel's discomfort and rest a hand on his shoulder. "Daniel, you okay?"

"Y-yeah I-I'm fine" he lied. He then frowned he had kind of a déjà vu here.

"You sure?" Hotch asked feeling concerned.

Daniel closed his eyes for a few second and then nodded.

Hotch nodded but kept a close eye on him, just in case.

'Now tell me the truth, Spacemonkey. How are you feeling?' Daniel heard a voice saying. Daniel frowned. 'What was that? Am I going crazy?' Daniel asked himself, but he was worried at the answer. 'Who was Spacemonkey? He wondered.

Hotch looked the myriad of emotions going through Daniel's face and knew there was definitely something wrong but he wasn't going to push the boy. He hoped the kid was simply tired.

"Spencer. Do you know anyone called Spacemokey?"

Spencer frowned, deep in thought, "No, why?"

Daniel shrugged. "I think I know someone called Spacemonkey."

"Really?" Spencer raised his eyebrows, a frown still creasing his face, "That's a funny name." He laughed lightly.

Daniel nodded and started to laugh a little, "Yeah it is."

Hotch turned from the admiring the pyramids to look at Daniel. What he saw in Daniel's face was a mixture with puzzlement, confusion and something else he couldn't quite place. Was it fear or pain? He couldn't quite tell. But there was something about the question itself that seemed odd, and the look in Daniel's face puzzled him. He wondered if Daniel really did know someone by that name or if there was something else going on.

CM ~ SG1 ~ CM ~ SG1 ~ CM ~ SG1 ~ CM ~ SG1 ~ CM ~ SG1 ~ CM ~ SG1

Mrs. Miller looked worried at Gideon, "What do you want to talk to me about? Do I need to be worried?"

"Well, Mrs. Miller, I don't want to scare you for no reason, but I think this deserves your immediate attention." Gideon took a moment before continuing, choosing his words carefully. "When we brought him in to your house we noticed three men in black watching him from the distance. I think you need to keep a close eye on your boy, just as a precaution."

Mrs. Miller looked shocked at him, "Really?"

"I'm afraid so, yes. But rest assured we will help you in any way we can to try and find out who they are and what they want but still it's important that you know that there may be danger out there and you need to keep a close eye on him." Gideon could see the shock and fear in Mrs. Miller's eyes and tried to be as gentle as he could.

Mrs. Miller was speechless for a few seconds. She then got her composure back, "I don't want you to contact the police or any authorities." She said firmly, "But don't worry I will make sure that my boy is safe! No one and I mean no one will ever be able to take my boy away from me."

Gideon frowned, "Are you sure about that, Mrs. Miller? You may need some extra help." Gideon tried to get her to change her mind.

Mrs. Miller looked disgusted at him, "Yes I'm sure. No need for those damn coppers! I can handle this like I handle the one that was about to sexual abuse Daniel. So don't worry."

Gideon tensed up at that, 'poor, kid. What else had the poor boy been through?' He thought sadly. He could see he wouldn't be able to change Mrs. Miller's mind on the matter so he simply nodded, vowing silently to himself to keep a close eye on the matter and hope she saw reason soon and allowed them to help before anything bad happened.

"Thanks for your concern though," Mrs. Miller stated.

Gideon nodded, "No problem, just remember we're here if you need some help, okay?" Gideon added, in hopes she'd change her mind and at least ask them for help.

"I'll remember, thanks, but it won't happen though," she said feeling sure of herself.

Gideon pursed his lips and nodded. He'd have to respect her wishes, for now. But that didn't mean he couldn't keep an eye on matters himself.

Mrs. Miller looked at her watch. "Well it's time for Daniel to get ready for bed," she told Gideon.

"Of course." Gideon nodded, extending his hand, "It was a pleasure Mrs. Miller."

"Nice to meet you too. I think Spencer and your friend are in Daniel's room. Let's go get them." Mrs. Miller said as she turned to the staircase.

Gideon nodded and followed her up the stairs and to Daniel's room where they were still admiring Daniel's art.

Gideon's eyes widened when he saw Daniel's pyramids and paintings as well, and walked towards him in complete awe.

"My, Daniel you're a very talented young man," Gideon stated with a smile on his face.

Daniel was kind of embarrassed by all that praise as he himself didn't believe that he was talented at all.

Gideon nodded, a smile of amazement still plastered on his face, "I really mean it, Daniel. This is amazing."

He clapped him lightly on the back, "Congratulations, kid. This is all really beautiful."

"T-thank you," Daniel said shyly while looking down at the floor.

"See, Gideon? I told you he was talented." Spencer's chest puffed up with pride in his new friend.

Gideon smiled. "Yeah you were right. Well Spencer we better get home. As you know it's soon your curfew."

Spencer went deep red at that and ground out, "Gideon!"

"You don't need to be embarrassed as its Daniel's curfew too. Now come on," Gideon pointed out as he turned to leave.

Spencer frowned, still somewhat embarrassed and followed Gideon and Hotch out of the room and down the stairs. "See ya later, Daniel," He said once they were all at the door.

"Yes and hopefully soon," Daniel said quietly.

"Yeah," Spencer smiled, "We both got our numbers so we'll keep in touch."

Spencer said goodbye to Mrs. Miller then, followed by Hotch who once again praised Daniel on his art. "I truly liked your work, Daniel." Hotch said with a genuine smile.

Daniel gave him a shy smile, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, I mean it." Hotch added.

Gideon turned his attention to Daniel, "Bye, Daniel. You can't call Spencer for a while as he's grounded, but he'll call you as soon as his grounding his over."

Daniel nodded, disappointed.

"Oh...," Spencer's enthusiasm deflated at that and he turned to his friend again. "I'm sorry, Daniel. But we'll talk soon, I promise," he added with a smile.

Daniel nodded, "Please don't forget to call me as soon as you can."

"I will," Spencer nodded.

Daniel smiled happily.

Spencer smiled back and waved happily at his friend as they walked back to the car.

As soon as they had left Daniel rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"Well, off to bed with you, young man," Mrs. Miller said.

Daniel was too tired to argue and followed his momma to the bathroom. He yawned loudly when she started to undress him.

Once Mrs. Miller made sure Daniel had brushed his teeth and was ready for bed she walked him to his room and tucked him in, leaning down to plant a tender kiss on his forehead. "Sweet dreams, honey," she whispered with a gentle smile.

Before Daniel was able to answer he was in deep sleep.

Mrs. Miller gently stroked his head, and whispered one last good night before leaving walking out of the room.

Daniel was dreaming about having some great times with his new friend.

Mrs. Miller left Daniel's room and silently crept to the window and strained to see outside in the dark at the dark figures standing guard on the sidewalk.

One of the men was talking on his cell. She would have panicked if she could have heard what he was talking about. "Yes I'm sure it's him. We better make sure that they won't find him. We need to find a way to get rid of that Mrs. Miller so we can get him without any troubles."

TBC