Sorry it took so long for me to write... got a case of writers block. Hope you like it.

BM D

The two CSI's, from earlier, came back walking towards the break room, both with big smiles on their faces. The case must be going pretty well. Stella got herself a cup of coffee while Danny went to the vending machine to get some 'Skittles.' He must have said a joke because Stella was laughing her head off, her curls bouncing as she took her seat. The other CSI opted to stand, leaning against a wall with his small bite-size pieces of candy in hand, throwing them in the air and catching them in his mouth.

'They even eat alike.' He thought to himself, remembering some of the times he and Adam were in their school cafeteria. He'd do the exact same thing when he ate 'm&m'. He'd probably be around his age by now. He couldn't wrap his head around the comparisons. Just thinking of him made him feel like a kid all over again.

He was just a couple of years older than Adam, but at the time those years were a big part of who they were. He was fourteen years old a teenager, which was a world apart from Adam who was still ten. He was always considered to be the cooler, older one while Adam was more of the geeky, younger one. Normally you'd think that he'd be treated like that, but he never let that be that case.

Adam never felt left out. He was always there to protect him, so if anyone did they'd mess with the little guy, they'd be messing with him. Wherever he went 'the kid', which he affectionately called him, would always be welcomed to join. If his friends had any problem with that, they could go on without him.

The only time that didn't apply was when he was told it would be too dangerous. Adam would stay with a neighbor until he came back. He hated when he'd get left behind, but he knew it would only happen for a good reason. He was a great guy, but it was no secret that he got himself into a lot of trouble. He'd been caught drinking, smoking a couple of times, nearly got caught with some weed. There were times he'd get home all beaten and battered. 'Don't worry. I'm tough. I can take it.' He'd reassure the kid.

The only thing he hated even more is when he was told to leave. There were times where they'd be caught in a bad situation and he told Adam to save himself. He didn't want to go. He didn't want to abandon him.

"Go kid. Get out of here." He'd yell, but Adam wouldn't budge. "Run." He'd say, but he still wouldn't leave. "Kid, I'm warning you: I'll never forgive you if don't leave right now."

"But," the kid would start to protest.

"No buts," he'd cut him off. "Go. Run. You run back home, you understand?" he'd push him. "Go!" he'd scream and Adam would finally run away. "Don't look back kid." He'd yell.

But one time he did look back. He didn't want to, but he needed to. He wanted to make sure they weren't going to kill him. There were three men, who knew him by name, so he didn't just run away. He stayed to fight. He got them at first, but three against one was just too much for him. He ended up on the ground, curled up as they kicked him down.

He couldn't take it anymore. He could hear him grunting and wincing as the three men were yelling down at him. He had to do something. He made some noise, rattled some nearby trash cans, broke a couple of bottles, anything that could distract the three. He got their attention, enough to get them to run before someone finds them beating a guy down. When they finally left, Adam got up from his hiding place and went back to check on him.

He was a total mess: he had a bloody nose, a fat lip, a black eye, a cut over his left eye and that was just on his face. Adam couldn't imagine how much damage they may have cause under his clothes. He helps him get up.

"What are you doing here kid?" he asked as he was struggling to get up. "Didn't I tell you to get out of here?"

"Well, yeah but." He was about to answer.

"What?" he cuts him off. "When I tell you to run, you run." He limped, but was standing on his own two feet.

"I couldn't just leave you." He replied, trying to help him walk.

"I told you to." He said almost screaming at the kid and took back his arm.

He flinched, like the kid that he was. He just stood there and took it. He wasn't scared of him. He trusted him, enough to know that he wouldn't scream at him like that unless he really did mess up. 'I should have just done what he told me to.' He silently told himself.

"I'm sorry." He said as he walked back towards Adam.

He kneeled in front of him so he could look at him eye to eye. He had cleaned the blood off his face. It wasn't bleeding as much, but it still looked pretty bad.

"I'm sorry kid…" he said again. "Please stop crying." He said in a soft voice as he wiped his tears.

"I'm not crying." Adam said as he sniffled a little and wiped the rest of the tears off his face.

"Of course you're not." The older man agreed with a chuckle. "Now, lets get home. Mom will kill me if she knew what happened."