Hello all. Looks what else I'm working on again. :)

So, I was a bit stuck on this story and how I was going to have it play out until the fabulous Lalene Brooks offered her insight and beta services to get it back on track. (You're awesome.)

Anyway, here is what happens next ...

Chapter 5

Don wearily rubbed his eyes, reluctantly glancing at the clock. So much for getting any sleep. Larry had brought Ari by shortly after Charlie left. The boy was sound asleep, curled up on the same couch that Don usually napped on during these all nighters. Of course, with the security level of this case, he had been too busy to even think about resting. He had already declined offers to take over the investigation from just about every federal agency in the country. It appeared that Dr. Twersky had worked with everyone from the pentagon to the post office. He even had to deal with a couple of private contractors who were concerned that the murder had to do with one of their projects that Twersky had consulted on, as if he needed more leads to check out.

Currently, their best bet was the DOD project he had just finished, but Don knew that they couldn't ignore other possibilities and assigned agents to each new tip that came in. Interestingly enough, not one of the agencies or contractors knew anything about Ari. It was as if the kid didn't exist.

"Don?"

The SAC looked up and quietly waved Liz into the room, motioning to the sleeping boy on the couch. The agent tip-toed into the room and placed a file on his desk.

"Here's the information you asked for." She whispered. "Barring any discrepancies in the DNA test, he checks out."

Don nodded in thanks and picked up the file as Liz slipped out. He felt a little bad running a check on a victim, especially one so young, but it was protocol. Beside he couldn't understand why Twersky kept him tucked away like he did.

"What were you afraid of?" Don murmured to himself, looking over Ari's birth certificate.

"What was who afraid of?"

His head snapped up and he gave a small smile to the sleepy boy on the couch. Inconspicuously tucking the file under a small stack of others that looked just like it, Don rose and walked over to Ari, crouching down so they were at eye level.

"Hey, how'd you sleep?"

"Okay, I guess," he shrugged. "How about you?"

"That's assuming he actually slept."

Don looked up to grin at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and she brought him doughnuts.

"Hey Robin," he rose to give her a kiss, before turning back to the boy. "Ari this is my fiancée. Robin, this is Ari."

"Hello Ari," she said warmly, opening the box she was holding. "Want one?"

"Yes please."

"Aren't you a polite one," Robin commented, placing one of the treats on a napkin for the little boy.

"Mom always said, 'whoever one is, and wherever one is, one is always in the wrong if one is rude'." Ari quoted. "Of course, Maurice Baring said it first."

"Hey," Don cut in, taking the box from Robin and holding it out to Ari, "do you think you can take these into the break room for the other agents?"

Mouth full of maple bar, the boy nodded and carried the box out of sight. Once he was gone, Don turned back to Robin.

"Thanks for breakfast."

"Glad I could help."

"Well … there something else I could use your help with."

"Ari?"

She knew him so well. Don nodded, pulling the folder out from the bottom of the stack. So much information, but they still knew nothing about him. But that wasn't want he needed Robin for.

"He's not only a murder witness, but he is the only lead we have on what his dad was working on."

"Sounds like you should put in a call to the US Marshals. I think that's more their department."

Yeah, Don thought bitterly, that same people who got his ex-girlfriend killed. No thanks. Lucky for him, being SAC had its perks.

"I'm keeping him in FBI protection for now," he stated. "No, what I am worried about is after that. Normally, a kid in his position would go into foster care, and there's not much I can do about it. But, he also knows a lot of top secret information."

"So, you want me to pull some strings to keep him from getting lost in the system?"

"Well, yeah, I mean he's-"

"Say no more," she smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

With one last kiss, and a reminder that he had promised to be at Charlie's house for dinner, Robin stepped out. Don had barely had a chance to sit down before Ari came back in, setting a large cup of coffee and a doughnut on the desk in front of him. He was really starting to like this kid.

"You forgot to grab one," the little boy explained. "I hope you like sprinkles."

"Yeah, thanks buddy."

He took a sip of the steaming hot brew, declining the cream and sugar packets Ari offered before taking a seat on the couch.

Two faxes and one case update later, he was still sitting there. Don was thinking about where he could put him that would be safe but not quite as boring for an eight-year-old as an FBI office when a small voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Do you know a good rabbi?"

"What?"

"A rabbi, for my dad's funeral."

"Oh, yeah, sure. I can help you with that if you want, but my dad could probably help too."

"Okay."

Ari fell silent again as he sat looking at his hands. The kid was clearly trying to be brave, but Don had seen too much not to notice the fear and pain in his eyes. Under all the secrets Ari was carrying he was just a scared little boy orphaned by an act of violence, which made Don even more determined to catch the guys who killed Dr. Twersky.

"Hey, Ari, how would you like to get out of here?"

"Can I? I-I mean … is it safe?"

"Yeah, of course it is," Don keeled down in front of the boy. "I'm not gonna let anything else happen to you. Alright?"

"Alright. Are you coming with me?"

"Not just yet, I got a lot of work to do, but I will be by later. That okay?"

"I guess it's adequate."

Don almost laughed at the word choice as he stood up. He almost forgot how Charlie would throw out these words his teachers and tutors would use around him, no matter how weird it was. Ari was definitely becoming a blond haired clone of his brother, but that only confirmed what he already suspected about moving him. Leaning out his door, he was glad to see Colby was back from the office building. Once he gave his report he would go on body guard duty and maybe, just maybe, he might be able to get through to Ari. After all, who knew what secrets a mind like that held.

"Sir?"

Don looked up to see one of his junior agents standing in the door and waved them in, hoping that they were bringing him updates and not another lead to track down. Ari had only been gone five minutes, but his work load seemed to have doubled since the kid left. Maybe he should have gone with him after all …

"What is it Keller?"

"Two agents from the DOD are here. They want to speak with you."

Don rubbed his hand over his face and let out a frustrated sigh. He had already spent twenty minutes on the phone with the DOD, mostly reiterating that he fully intended to take care of the investigation himself.

"Did they bring information?" the SAC questioned.

"Not that I'm aware of, sir."

This doesn't bode well, Don thought to himself. Still, he better see what the guys wanted. Maybe telling them no in person would be more effective. Following Keller past the war room, Don found two suits sitting in one of their conference rooms looking very annoyed. He dismissed his junior agent and took a seat across from the men.

"What can I do for you gentlemen?" Don asked, choosing to play the diplomatic role for now.

"We understand that Dr. Twersky's killers did not get a complete copy of his work," one of the men started.

"No, they only got a rough outline of the program," Don confirmed. "My people assure me that it's highly unlikely the killers will be able to do anything with it."

"By your people, you mean your brother," the other man stated bluntly.

"What? Are you saying you have a problem with him working the case?"

He allowed a defensive edge to creep into his voice, making it clear that he was not pulling Charlie off this case. He just got his brother back and there was no way the DOD was taking that away from him. The other agents seemed to get the message and the first one raised his hand slightly in a calming manner.

"We have no problem with Professor Eppes working this case."

"Then why bring him up?" Don demanded.

"We understand that he got his information from your witness; Twersky's son."

"So?"

"We need to speak to the boy," the second agent replied.

"Not gonna happen," Don shook his head. "He's a witness in a murder investigation."

"Agent Eppes," the first one, and obvious good cop, started. "We have reason to believe that Dr. Twersky gave his son information that may prove to be detrimental to national security. We need to talk to him to see how much he knows."

His words may have seemed innocent, but his partner's tone gave away intent. They didn't want to just talk to Ari, they wanted to interrogate him. If they got their hands on him, Don had no doubt they would use any means necessary to make him tell them his father's secrets. Standing up, he looked down at the other agents.

"We're done here."

He turned to leave, but the bad-cop agent grabbed his arm. He turned to face him and the two locked eyes as Don dared the other to try something. Out of his peripheral vision, he could see agents pausing to watch, waiting on an instruction from their SAC. This wasn't the DOD, these guys were in Don's house and he was not about to be pushed around.

"Wilson," the good-cop agent cautioned, pulling his partner back. "Stand down."

"We will talk to the boy, Agent Eppes." Wilson warned.

"Yeah," Don replied. "On a cold day in Hell."

He turned and headed back to his office, trusting his own agents to get the DOD scum out of his building. Sitting down at his desk, he immediately picked up his phone to call Robin. It wasn't just the killers after Ari anymore; now they had to find a way to protect him from their own side.

Looks like trouble for young Ari. Can Don protect him from ... well ... everyone?

Let me know what you think while I get the next chapter (and the final chapter of "The ABC's of Numb3rs") sent off to my wonderful betas. :)