Rating: M

Summary: Secrets galore at the NY Crime Lab. One friend thought to be dead is alive. Another is blackmailed over something no one is sure about yet. Can the CSI's figure this out before it's too late? So, if you haven't seen the season finale of CSI: NY, Season 5, there are spoilers ahead. So, beware.

AN: Well, this is our first fan fiction together and I really hope you guys enjoy it. Please, review and let us know what you think. ;)

Hidden Motives

Tonight was supposed to be a happy night. A group of 8 from the NY Crime Lab came to remember a fallen hero in her own right; the group came to remember Jessica Angell. The tiny group consisted of Mac Taylor, Stella Bonasera, Danny Messer, Lindsay Monroe, Don Flack, Adam Ross, Sid Hammerback and Sheldon Hawkes. Jessica was shot the day before and she didn't make it out of surgery. Everyone loved Jessica and now their hearts were empty and hurt without her here. Stella started a toast about their beloved friend. Meanwhile, a car was parked outside the bar; it was just a plain silver car. A gun was slid out the window and it was aimed right at the group in the bar. No one had expected this and they didn't see it coming.

Stella was just about finished with her toast to Jess when the glass behind them started to shatter. A wave of glass crashed around them. It happened so fast.

"Everybody get down!" Mac screamed loudly and he ducked to the ground. Stella did the same.

At this moment, everyone went down on the floor. Danny grabbed Lindsay and he shielded her from the bullets and glass. Sid, Hawkes, and Adam hid behind the nearest table and Flack threw himself behind the bar. Suddenly, the shooting stopped and they heard a car rushing away. The smell of smoke was in the air and it burned their nostrils.

"Is everybody alright?" Mac asked as he stood up to see if everything was clear. Most of the window behind them was gone and was lying on the ground around them.

"We're fine!" Lindsay called out while Danny helped her get up.

"We're okay!" Adam, Flack and Sid yelled at the same time and looked around at their friends.

"I'm okay as well." Hawkes said quickly and got up.

"Stella?" Mac asked and he noticed her on the ground with her hands over her head. He poked her shoulder and she looked up at him.

"Is it over?" Stella asked and she stood up with Mac's help. She shook her head so the shards of glass would fall out of her now messy, curly hair.

"Yes, everything is fine." Mac said with a puzzled look. He was still shocked; so were his teammates. "Now, let's get out of here safely."

Mac noticed that the entire bar goers had already exited the bar and made their way out. He didn't have time to stop them. They walked toward the door very slowly and cautiously. Mac had his gun and he had it pointed toward the door. They didn't know if the shooter had help so they had to be ready for anything. They surely wouldn't be ready for what was in store for them. Mac noticed movement and he gripped his gun tightly.

"Who's there?" Mac asked cautiously. When that person walked through the door, Mac lowered his gun and stared blankly while everyone else's jaws dropped to the floor. Flack moved a step closer and he rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing clearly.

"Jess, is that you?" Flack asked confusedly and looked back at his friends, who were just as confused as he was.

Jess nodded and took a step forward.

"It can't be you," Stella asked with wide eyes. "You're dead."

"I don't look dead, do I?" Jess asked everyone and they stared at her. She started to move forward.

"Stop.", Mac asked angrily and he pointed his gun at her.

"What are you doing, Mac?" Lindsay asked with a scared look while she grabbed on to Danny tighter. She still couldn't get over that her whole team was just shot at; not to mention the rest of the people in the bar.

"That can't be Jess. We all saw her in the morgue," Mac said in a loud voice and he looked over to Sid. He had his head down and he wasn't making eye contact. "Sid, can you tell us what's going on?"

Sid looked up at his friends, at Jess and then to the ground again.

"I can't really tell you what's going on." Sid said with a blank stare.

"Okay then, can anyone explain to us what's going on. Someone must have an idea." Mac said in an annoyed tone and glared at his friends. He put his gun back in his holster.

"I can tell you, but it's really complicated." Sid said with a guilty look on his face.

"Sid, what's going on?" Adam asked in a baffled tone.

"It turns out that Jess was never actually dead. The doctors injected some kind of poison into her that makes her die for 42 hours. They told me to keep quiet about it or we'd all be dead." Sid said articulately and he shook his head. He was ashamed of himself for hiding this from his friends but he only wanted to protect them.

"So, what you are saying is, is that you lied about Jess being dead this whole time?" Flack said angrily and moved closer to Sid with clenched fists. Hawkes pushed him back away from Sid.

"Yes, I did. It was for our own safety. They want something from us and I don't know why." Sid said with a frown and he looked back at Jess, and she was leaning on the door now. She yawned a lot while everyone was talking and they all assumed the poison wore off only a little while ago.

"We will have to find out soon enough." Hawkes said with raised eyebrows. None of this was making sense to any of them.

"I did actually make it out of the surgery but they pronounced me dead. They are not normal doctors at all. I really couldn't remember what happened after that. The only thing I remember is Sid trying to sneak me out in a suitcase." Jess smiled at Sid and he smiled back.

Flack started walking toward Jess again. This didn't seem real to him. Jess moved forward while everyone stood and watched them. Jess jumped into Flack's arms.

"Jess, I missed you," Flack said with tears rolling down his cheeks. "I thought you left me forever."

"Why would I leave you? I love you, Don." Jess replied with a wide smile.

Everyone started to smile again while they were still kind of confused.

"I love you too, Jess." Flack stated as he released his grasp and Jess started to hug her friends.

"Do you think that's why we were just gunned down just now?" Stella asked with a smile now.

"Hmm, who knows? That could be a reason. I was going to tell you guys about it in private and maybe someone found out about me trying to tell you all about this." Sid answered Stella in a nervous tone.

"Well, we need to make sure we get out of here safe and unharmed." Mac said in a forceful voice.

"Okay." the whole team replied and waited for Mac's signal.

"Okay. Let's get out of here." Mac said as they all made their way out of the door.

They drove back to their homes confused. Jess was going to spend the night with Flack.

This case would be one of the most disturbing and confusing one they have every worked on in their entire careers. They realized their friend was alive and Sid was bribed to keep quiet but they didn't tell him why. The person or people that did this want something from the NY Crime Lab and they may or may not get it.

Preview: Flack and Jess catch up.