Whew! This one took awhile to write! Cleaning out my closet takes up a lot of time during the day. Here's the next chapter, my loving fans!

Enjoy!

"Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks."

-Issac Watts

Chapter 11

A Reluctant Partnership

As soon as the Guys in White were gone, Hotch went over to Reid and Danny. "So what now?" he asked the boy.

Danny scowled at the profiler. "Why are you asking me?" he said icily. "This is your case, isn't it?"

"This is also partially your case," said Hotch. "You know more about these creatures than any of us."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Reid stepped in, "but doesn't the Guys in White specialize in ghosts? Maybe we should have asked for their help."

Danny gave Reid a look. "Their primary goal is to destroy the Ghost Zone. What they don't know is that our world and the Ghost Zone are connected."

"So if they destroy the Ghost Zone…" Hotch started.

"…our world is destroyed too," Danny finished. "That's one of the reasons why I don't trust the Feds. If you ask the Guys in White for help, they'll see it as an opportunity to not only destroy the Ghost Zone but also attack me."

JJ couldn't help but overhear the conversation. "So are we basically taking over the GIW's jobs?" she asked.

"For this case, yes," Hotch answered. "We were called here to find three – now five – teenage girls. I'm not going home until I find them and give their parents closure."

"What's our next step?" asked Morgan who just got rid of the Mansons. Rossi and Emily followed close behind.

Hotch turned to Danny. "It's your call, Danny. I know you don't trust us but we need your cooperation so we can close this case. I can't return to Quantico empty-handed. I have to tell my superiors something."

"It's true," said JJ. "If Hotch doesn't come back with something, Strauss will have his head."

Danny looked at the ground. "Well…I…" Morgan's ring tone interrupted the conversation.

Morgan looked at caller ID and saw who it was. "It's Garcia," he told his team.

"Who is Garcia?" asked Danny.

"Our technical analyst," Prentiss explained. "She's also one of the FBI's best hackers. Anything we ask her to research, she can do it in the blink of an eye."

'Sounds a lot like Tucker.'

Morgan answered the phone and put it on speaker. "Talk to us, baby girl. You're on speaker."

"'Baby girl'? Are we talking to your boyfriend?" a voice responded. The team didn't recognize the voice but Danny did.

"Tucker?" he asked in surprise. "Why are you using the FBI's phone number?"

"Relax, Justice League," Garcia piped up. "It's a three-way connection. Tucker and I tried to out-hack each other but we teamed up instead."

JJ turned to Danny. "So your friend is like the Garcia of your group?"

"I…I guess so," said Danny still not sure who exactly Garcia was.

"What did you find, beautiful?" asked Morgan.

"Well, handsome, Tucker filled me in about the Ghost Zone and Danny might need our help for this rescue," Garcia informed them.

"I can handle it," Danny insisted.

"Dude, name one time you didn't need me, Sam, Jazz, Valerie, or your parents' ghost equipment to get you out of a tight spot," said Tucker.

Danny thought for a moment. "What about the fight with Undergrowth?"

"You told us Frostbite helped you out."

"Uh…the school dance last year. The one where I took Paulina as my date."

"You had me and Sam keep an eye on her while you made sure your dad stayed away from Lancer."

"Okay! You made your point!" Danny exclaimed. "You and I can still take Aragon, right?"

"Wrong! We don't have Dora with us. Without her, we're sitting ducks!" said Tucker. "Besides, knowing Aragon, he probably made his new home a tech-free zone again! I don't want to go through that again!"

"I'm with Little John on this one," said Garcia. "You, my Merry Men, are going to have to find a different way to fight Aragon."

"Why do I have to be Little John?" whined Tucker.

Danny tried coming up with a plan. Aragon was strictly Middle Ages. When Danny defeated Aragon for the first time, technology began working again. All Danny had to do was go somewhere where technology didn't work. The problem was: it could be anywhere. The Ghost Zone was like outer space; it goes on forever. Perhaps Dora could give him an update as to what was going on between her and her brother since the last time they parted ways.

Danny turned to the BAU. "Okay, you're in but we do this my way."

"What do you want us to do?" asked Emily.

Sam quickly discovered that the three gems on her new tiara limited what little freedoms she had in Aragon's castle. She couldn't leave a room without one of her 'ladies-in-waiting' going with her. Heck, she couldn't wander the grounds unless she had all four of them with her. It irritated Sam to no end. She wouldn't be in this mess if the Feds hadn't interfered.

Sam was sitting on her bed propped up against the headboard, pouting. She knew it would take awhile for Danny to find her since she once again had no idea where in the Ghost Zone she was.

"Hey Sam," Valerie greeted as she entered Sam's chambers. Valerie was pretty much the closest thing to a friend Sam had right now (but it won't change the fact that Sam hated her for hunting Phantom). Sam couldn't stand the other girls at school and she could barely tolerate them now.

"Hey Valerie," Sam said softly.

"Besides the situation we're in, are you okay?" Valerie asked Sam.

Sam sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just waiting for Phantom to come find us before I have to walk down the isle to marry someone who is probably better off with Paris Hilton than with me."

Valerie giggled at Sam's joke. "I think Aragon's better off with anyone than you. It's no secret that you like Danny," she said.

Sam blushed. "What? What do you mean? I don't like Danny…at least not like that…" she stuttered.

Valerie smirked. "Denial is not just a river in Egypt, Sam. I could tell you were jealous when I dated him."

Sam's eyes shifted in all directions. "What do you mean? I wasn't jealous," she defended.

"Come on, Sam. Every time I saw you I sensed a lot of negative vibes coming off you. And I didn't need a sixth sense to realize it."

Sam blushed, knowing that Valerie just hit the nail on the head.

Danny came home with the BAU in tow. Tucker came over moments later. Hotch rang the doorbell to the house. Jack Fenton answered it and recognized Hotch and Prentiss among the other adults at the door.

"Mr. Fenton," Hotch said in acknowledgement.

Jack saw his son with the Feds and frowned. "Danny, mind explaining to me why the FBI brought you home tonight?" he asked in a dangerous tone.

Morgan stepped up to the orange-clad man and pulled out his credentials. "Mr. Fenton, my name is Agent Derek Morgan of the FBI. We need to use your…ghost hunting equipment to find the one who is kidnapping teenage girls."

The mentioning of ghost hunting made Jack beam with excitement. "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place? Come on in and have a seat. I'll get my wife!" Jack exclaimed excitedly. He then dashed into the basement to fetch his wife.

The BAU, plus Danny and Tucker, entered the house and sat in the living room.

"Despite its odd exterior, the house seems normal," Prentiss noted as she looked around the room.

"Any idea what that flying saucer…thing is on the roof?" asked JJ.

"That's the Ops Center," said Danny. "It's kind of like a second lab for us except it's also mobile. Don't ask."

Maddie and Jack entered the room and greeted the FBI agents.

"Did Danny do something we should be concerned about?" Maddie asked in concern.

"Your son is not in any trouble, Mrs. Fenton," assured JJ. "He has valuable information that could lead us to our unsub."

"Unsub?" Maddie repeated.

"Unknown subject," the BAU said in unison.

"So you need our ghost hunting equipment to find this 'unsub' of yours?" Maddie clarified.

"Hey, isn't that what the Guys in White for?" asked Jack.

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Jack, the GIW has gotten nowhere with the kidnappings. Haven't you read the paper? Vlad called in profilers to find the kidnapper," she said to her slow-minded husband.

Jack smiled. "Now I remember! Good ol' Vlad! Always looking out for everyone!"

"Not," Danny coughed.

"Smooth," said Tucker.

Maddie checked her watch. "Well, I don't know about you but it's late. We can show you our equipment tonight and you can do whatever you need to do in the morning with a fresh mind and body," she said in a tone that dared anyone to object.

Hotch nodded and stood up. "Thank you, Mrs. Fenton. We really appreciate this."

Maddie smiled. "Oh, it's no problem, Agent Hotchner. My husband and I love it when people take interest in our work, right honey?"

Jack wrapped an arm around Hotch's shoulders. "You know it, Maddie. Come follow us to the basement and I can blabber on about ghosts!" he said excitedly. Hotch looked at his team pleadingly. They all just held in their laughter in response which made Hotch frown.

Danny face-palmed in embarrassment.

"Better you than me, dude," said Tucker.

As the adults filed downstairs, Danny pulled Reid aside. "You obviously have some idea about how Aragon ticks. What should I do when I face him?" the boy whispered.

"Well, judging from what you said, it sounds like Aragon is a control freak. He loves being in power. Anyone who questions his power or tries to overthrow him suffers his wrath.

"His mind, like you said, is in the Middle Ages. If you try to break that fantasy, he'll throw a tantrum. If Sam were to cause an uprising while held captive, she'll most likely be killed," Reid hypothesized. Danny paled at that assumption. Knowing Sam, she'll most likely do that. He had to find her and get her out of there.

Aragon came into Sam's bedchamber to wish her good night. "Sweet dreams, my bride," he said. Sam tried not to gag. "Tomorrow, we shall be married."

Without thinking, Sam just yelled out, "No!"

Aragon frowned. "I thought we agreed that you would be my bride, no exceptions!"

"We didn't agree on anything!" Sam snarled.

Aragon raised his hand to smack Sam across the face. Sam noticed that Valerie was holding up a piece of parchment paper that read, "DELAY WEDDING!"

Sam held her hand in front of her face. "Wait!" Aragon stopped before he could land the first strike. "We…um…can't just get married just like that," she stuttered.

She looked back at Valerie. The dark-skinned girl flipped over the parchment and wrote another message, "TRADITIONS?"

It took Sam a moment to figure out what Valerie meant but she eventually understood. Sam looked at Aragon. "Uh…you're a big fan of traditions, right?"

Aragon lowered his arm and continued to stare at his bride. "Of course, I am! What's your point?"

Valerie used another piece of parchment paper and wrote, "BRIDAL SHOWER!"

"Uh, because…I haven't had a bridal shower yet," Sam quickly said to Aragon who raised an eyebrow. "Um…you know…I throw a little party with my…ladies-in-waiting and we celebrate the fact that I'm going to be married! It's a tradition that's celebrated in my world and it's, uh…bad luck if I don't have one," she fibbed.

'Please, God, let this work!'

Aragon sniffed. "Very well, my bride. You shall have a 'bridal shower' tomorrow before the ceremony. After that there will be no more delays. Understood?"

Sam smiled cheekily. "Crystal clear," she confirmed, her eye twitching nervously.

"I bid you good night," Aragon said. He then gave Sam a kiss on the forehead and left the bedchamber.

As soon as the coast was clear Sam grabbed a rag, soaked it, and rubbed her forehead until it was lobster red. "YUCK!"

Hahaha! I had to add in that last part! My sister is getting married this fall so I have weddings on the brain!