Disclaimer: If Life were mine, it would most definitely still be on the air. (see profile for a REAL disclaimer)

A/N: This has been hiding in my hard drive for ages. I really should have dusted it off and shined it up years ago!

He thought that he'd been doing her a favor.

When the FBI called and asked to borrow a promising young detective for one of their joint task forces he'd automatically asked Dani, thinking that it was a sign. She'd been studying for her Lieutenant exam, wanting to finally put the past behind her, and joining the FBI, even for one case, would have given her a chance to move up the ladder.

But, the days passed by slowly.

At first, Kevin hadn't thought that Dani's lack of contact was odd. He knew how busy it could get, especially when you were learning your way around a new environment. But, when he finally managed to get a hold of her, all she did was brush him off. Sure, she had chuckled at his dorky jokes and even indulged him in a little naughty talk over the phone, but her responses had been strained, almost forced, and when he hung up he did so with a little cloud forming over his heart.

"Mmmph- hello?"

Kevin frowned and looked at his watch. It told him that it was nearly six o'clock in the evening, almost the end of his shift. What had she been doing still asleep?

"Hey, babe. You okay? Haven't heard from you in days."

She stopped breathing and, for a moment, he thought she was going to give him a ration of shit for using a cheesy pet name again, but then he heard the familiar sound of material shuffling about.

"Fuck."

Kevin chuckled, trying to keep the conversation light, "I'm sure that can be arranged."

She groaned, almost a growl really, and when he realized that it wasn't the passion filled little huff that he was so used to hearing his insides froze. She sounded exhausted and probably more than a little pissed off. Usually he liked seeing and hearing her all worked up, 'cause he'd not-so-secretly always thought that angry women were sexy as hell, but he knew that it probably wouldn't end well this time around.

"I can't do this tonight, Tidwell."

Kevin frowned, hurt by her dismissal, but chose to shake it off when he heard a faucet being turned on somewhere on Dani's end.

" Are they not treating you well there, Dani?" he asked, praying that whatever had her so upset hadn't made her fall off the wagon, "You know how it is, the rookie always gets the shit jobs. Things will start looking up."

He tried his hardest to sound optimistic, but he remembered starting out at the bottom. It sucked.

"I'm not even working yet. They're still vetting me."

Kevin's jaw clenched, "What? Are you kidding me? You've been gone for two and a half weeks!"

"I know, it's fucking bullshit, the same questions over and over again. You think they'd take the hint-" her voice cut out momentarily, which was quickly followed by an annoyed grumble, "Sorry, gotta go. Call you later."

Startled by the sudden dismissal, Kevin stared down at his phone, the dial tone blaring loudly from the earpiece.

Something was going on with her, something that she wasn't telling him, and he didn't like it one bit. It left a sinking feeling deep down in his gut, like a big ass dinosaur-ending asteroid that was about to hit the planet right on top of his head. He despised that feeling. He'd only felt it twice before and both times it had ended in divorce.

Taking a deep breath, he set the receiver back in its cradle on the corner of his desk. He needed some comfort food, a beer and a greasy, meat covered pizza. Nothing else would do.

Stowing everything away, he locked his desk and walked out of his office, ready to head home. Something caught his eye though. It made him stop and take a good long look. Crews. Nothing unusual was going on. He was sitting at his desk, leaning back in his chair with a tiny grin on his face, listening intently to whoever was on the other end. Seeing the man smile wasn't exactly a rare sight, but there was something about his expression that made Kevin tilt his head to the side like he was trying to figure out a piece of modern art or finish the Sunday crossword puzzle.

And then it hit him.

He watched as Crews' gaze shifted over to Seever, his eyes drooping sadly for a moment before he continued speaking, and it only took Kevin about ten seconds to figure it out.

Crews was talking to Dani. He didn't understand how he could possibly know that, he just did.

She'd hung up on him, her boyfriend, to talk to her partner.

The storm that had been brewing over his heart began to darken and grow.

The next week had started out slowly and ended in chaos.

He hadn't heard from Dani in over five days. She hadn't been answering her phone and when he tried calling the FBI office all he got was the run around. Whatever was going on had every last one of his cop instincts positively itching. But, when Crews walked into his office on the sixth morning with an almost terrifyingly calm demeanor and handed him a tape, he knew that he had been right to worry.

Dani had been kidnapped.

By Roman Nevikov.

After the video had ended he'd jumped right into fight mode. The only thing he saw was red. He had to get her back, no matter what. He wasn't going to let Dani die because some Russian gangster had a beef with Crews. Unfortunately, due to his position, he couldn't go after her himself. There were too many rules and too much red tape.

Crews, however, apparently had no qualms with breaking the law to get her back.

Kevin should have been surprised. He'd been reassured by both the department and Dani that Crews hadn't gone to the dark side, that his time in prison hadn't tainted him, and he was more than capable of doing his job. He believed it all. But, he also thought it wise to keep his suspicions about the redheaded man and his unorthodox tendencies to himself. Kevin had never been so grateful to be right.

As soon as Crews left his office though, that was the moment he knew. That was the end of them, the end of him and Dani. She would probably tolerate him for a few days once they found her- if they found her- and then it would blow up spectacularly in his face. He wanted to be angry, he really did, but he loved her. He also wasn't blind. Kevin knew that she and Crews were close, but after this? The movies never lied- the heroes always get the girl, especially after the hero becomes a fugitive to save her.

That was what Crews was willing to sacrifice for his partner. His life. His freedom.

Kevin just wanted her to be happy... even if that meant she wasn't finding it with him.

Letting out a shaky sigh, he dropped his head into his hands.

His heart shattered and that damn little cloud finally began raining down upon him like an angry summer storm.

He thought that he'd been doing her a favor...

End.