You knew I was going to do a Halloween fic so here it is. This story gets a little weird in the middle but it straightens out. Don't tell me it is OOC in places because I already know that.
Disclaimer: It is not mine with the exception of Katharine (if you don't know who she is you will soon)
Spoilers: Pay-Up, Heroes, All Acess, Late season five and season six…I think that covers everything.
"Not bad, Stell," Mac told her as the stood in the break room, which Stella and Lindsay had decorated for Halloween. The room was covered in paper chains and cut out pumpkins and a ghost that hung over the doorway.
"Glad you liked it," Stella replied smiling, "we had a little help though." Mac looked where Stella was pointing and saw a piece of paper with orange and black scribbles all over it.
"Lucy?" Mac asked.
"Yep," Stella nodded.
"My little girl did that?" Danny asked proudly as he walked into the room.
"Yep," his wife, who had followed him into the room, replied. "Hey Stella," Lindsay called to the other woman.
"Yea," Stella replied turning.
"Who else are we waiting for?" Lindsay asked.
"Just Don," Stella replied then adding, "Sid is spending time with his family, Hawes is doing something Sheldon-like, and Adam and Haylen are going to some costume party."
"Costume party?" Lindsay asked, "What are they going as?"
"Two characters from the show NCIS," Stella replied.
"I love that show," Lindsay replied, "What characters?"
"Abby and McGee," Stella told her, "I love that show too."
"We should get together to watch it sometime," Lindsay told her.
"We really should," Stella agreed.
"Emphasis on some OTHER time," Danny said rolling his eyes,
"You do know I can fire you right?" Stella asked.
"Wha—at," Danny stuttered, "no you can't."
Stella merely smirked and turned to Mac. "Mac," she told him sweetly, "Fire Danny."
"Alright," Mac told her hiding a smile, "Danny you're fired, give me the badge."
Danny looked at Lindsay, but then handed his badge over to Mac. Mac immediately handed it to Stella, who smiled and said, "That looks pretty fired to me."
"The point is well taken your majesty," Danny said performing a deep bow.
"I knight you," Stella said talking his badge and tapping both shoulders, "Rise Sir Messer."
"Do I want to know what just happened here?" Don asked.
"Oh most defiantly but we aren't going to tell you," Lindsay told him smirking.
"Aw," a female voice said from behind Flack, "That's too bad."
"Who is she Don?" Danny asked looking the girl up and down. She looked a few years younger than Lindsey, with long brown hair and hazel eyes. She was about his height.
Don was about to come up with a snappy retort but the lights went out and that exact moment. Then they flickered back on and went off again. It was dark for several seconds before a small ball of light appeared in the middle of the room.
"What's going on?" Lindsay asked.
"I don't know," Stella replied.
"The door's locked," Don told them testing it.
" This just gets more interesting," Stella muttered under her breath. As if taking her words as encouragement, the light in the middle of the room started to grow. It was now a porthole more than a ball; it illuminated the CSIs standing around it. Lindsey had shrunk closer to Danny and both of them had their hands on their guns. Don also had his hand on his gun and he was standing next to the mystery girl. Mac and Stella were on the other side of the glowing light circle standing ready to defend each other.
Suddenly the light circle turned blue and another smaller ball of light. The light spun around and came to a stop. It elongated and became the form of a person. The figure slowly became more defined, and Lindsay shrank against Danny, Don moving closed to both of them in case he was needed. The girl had pulled a gun from somewhere and she too was standing in the ready position. When the figure was fully formed it turned slowly to face Stella and Mac.
Both tensed as they saw the face, and Stella fought to keep her voice call as she spoke, "Hello Frankie."
"Did you miss me Stella?" he asked sweetly walking towards her and Mac.
"Not really, no," Stella replied still calm in appearance but trying to restrain the flashbacks of three years before. She felt Mac gently squeeze her hand and took comfort from that.
"That's to bad," he whispered in her ear.
"Get away from me," Stella moving away from him.
"But you see I don't want to do that," Frankie told her sweetly, "I am dead as you may remember." Stella shuddered slightly remembering that horrible moment when she remembered the only way out was a bullet. The seeing his body and falling to the ground, not sure if she wanted to live or die, was a memory that still haunted her.
"Leave her alone," Mac told Frankie fingering his gun.
"Put the gun away, Taylor," Frankie told him, "I can't be killed." Frankie started walking towards Stella again and though she was still composed Mac could tell that it was only external for the benefit of Danny and Lindsay.
"Why are you here?" Stella asked him?
"I wanted to pay you a visit," Frankie told her walking closer as Stella backed into Mac. Suddenly two more spinning lights appeared and two brunette girls formed in the middle of the room. "Damn it," Frankie swore as the two new figures ran toward him. They each grabbed him by the arm and threw him back threw the porthole that the ball of light had appeared from.
Once Frankie was out of sight Stella relaxed but did not move away from Mac. Mac turned so that he was standing right in front of her. "Are you alright?" Mac asked her worriedly.
"No," Stella replied shaking slightly, "He didn't touch me."
"That wasn't what I meant," he whispered pulling her into a hug. Stella was surprised, because Mac was not the hugging kind, but she was also comforted. She opened her eye and was looking over Mac's shoulder when she realized what she was looking at…who she was looking at.
"Aiden? Jess?" Stella whispered looking at the two brunettes who had appeared moments before. Mac, Don, Danny, Lindsey, and the new girl looked towards the place where Stella was looking. No one moved for a long moment before the new girl broke the silence and ran to Aiden and hugged her tightly. Tears were running down the girl's face but no one was sure weather they were tears of joy or pain.
"I missed you?" the girl said."
"I am so sorry," Aiden said stoking the girl's hair.
"Aiden?" Danny asked his partner, "Who is your friend?"
"This is Katharine," Aiden told the team, "my little sister."
Slowly Danny walked towards his old friend…partner…love? She looked the same as she had all those years ago when she had walked out of the lab never to return again. She was still his Aiden. Catching sight of Danny, Katharine let go of Aiden allowing Danny to hug her. Danny wrapped his arms around Aiden's body holding her close. His face buried in her hair and hers was in her chest. Katharine's gaze flickered to Lindsay who was watching Danny and Aiden with hints of worry/jealousy.
A few feet away from Danny and Aiden were Don and Jess. The pair was locked in each other's eyes and the rest of the world had vanished for them. They had each other. That was all they needed.
Mac and Stella were watching their teammates reconnect. They also still had their arms wrapped around each other.
Only Katharine noticed Lindsay standing apart from the others watching Aiden. Quietly Katharine approached her. "Aiden is not going to steel Danny from you," Katharine said quietly in Lindsay's ear.
Lindsay jumped slightly and turned to face the younger woman. "How do you know?" Katharine looked her up and down and decided that she liked Lindsay. The woman wasn't jealous that her husband was looking at someone else. She was worried about holding her family together.
"Lindsay," Katharine said looking her in the eyes, "My sister was murdered three years ago. When the sun rises she is gone."
"How do you know that?" Lindsay asked interested.
"That's how it always works isn't it?" Katharine asked. Lindsay looked at the girl and realized that she was right. Danny was hers and if he wanted to spend tonight with he friend and partner that wasn't going to change anything. He still loved her.
Another ball of light appeared in the middle of the room. This one was paler than the last, but everyone turned to look at it all the same. A woman appeared spinning in the middle of the room. Stella and Mac stared at her. She looked exactly as she had eight years ago. "Claire," Mac whispered not removing his arm from Stella's shoulder.
Claire looked at the two of them and a wide smile spread across her face. Mac had finally moved on. He hadn't forgotten her but he had accepted that she was never coming back not for good anyway. He had Stella.
The group broke of into smaller groups. Stella, Mac, and Claire were catching up with each other on one side of the room. In another corner Don and Jess were talking quietly and holding each other close.
Danny and Aiden walked over to where Lindsay and Katharine were standing. Katharine hugged her sister again. Danny walked over to wrap one arm around Lindsay's waist. The two pairs stood happily chatting with each other for a while, but after a while Aiden called the group back together.
"Hey look guys," Aiden said to the group, "We don't have forever. We need to be gone by the time the sun rises. I wanted to tell you thank you for catching Pratt. I am sorry that it took me getting fired and dieing for that to happen." The group looked at Aiden and Katharine eyes were sparkling with tears. Danny and Don were watching their best friend.
Suddenly Jessica spoke up, "I am just sorry that I lost my fight but I am glad you won yours for me." The team looked at her. She was their most recent lost and the memories were still vivid in their minds.
"I just want to say that I have been watching this entire team since my death eight years ago. Some of you were taken much to soon," Claire looked from Jess to Aiden, "but there is nothing that can be done. It is okay for those left behind to move on." Claire finished and Aiden and Jess nodded in agreement.
"For example Katharine could get a boyfriend," Aiden teased her sister.
"Katharine has a boyfriend," Katharine replied a little sulkily.
"The same one?" Aiden asked suspiciously.
"Yes," Katharine replied shrugging.
"The one who is the assistant to the cannibalistic serial killer?" Aiden asked.
"Yep," Katharine replied.
"You guys are kidding right?" Danny asked
"No," Aiden and Katharine told him at the same time.
"You wish we were, Messer," Katharine teased him. The others all smiled including Lindsay, while Danny pretended to hand his head in shame.
Claire glanced at her watch then looked at Jess, who was laughing at something Don had said, and Aiden, who looked happier than she had in a long time. Claire sighed but all good things must come to an end. "Jess, Aiden," Claire called to the other women, "we have to go." Then Claire turned back to Mac and Stella. "A word please," she asked Stella quietly, and Stella nodded.
Mac watched the two women walk several feet away from him, but was too much of a gentleman to eavesdrop. Claire spoke first, "As I told the group I have been watching the team ever since I died and I want to thank you. Mac was a mess, but you stood by him."
"I would do it again in a heartbeat," Stella told her.
"I know you would," Claire said smiling, "The other thing is that you taught him how to love again." Stella looked at Claire with a raised eyebrow. "He cares about you and I know you care about him more than you are letting on. If you want to try for something then go for it. I am never coming back."
"Thank you," Stella said smiling. The two women hugged and walked back to Mac.
"Mac Taylor," Claire spoke softly but firmly, "You have a great woman don't lose her." Mac looked from Claire to Stella both of who were smiling. Claire added, "I love you and always will, but it is okay for you to move on." Mac looked into Claire's eyes for a long time before nodding.
Don and Jess were talking quietly in a corner. "I am sorry we never had more of a chance but I would not trade a moment that we had for anything," Jess told him seriously.
"Yes," he agreed.
"And Don," she told him gently, "Don't sink back into depression like you did after I died okay."
"Alright," Don said nodding. Then he pulled her into a hug and their lips met.
Danny, Lindsay, Aiden, and Katharine were standing a little ways away from Don and Jess. Aiden looked at the three people around her. She was going to miss them. Aiden looked from Danny to Lindsay, then spoke, "I hate to ask this of you, but if Katharine needs someone to come to can she…"
Aiden's sentence drifted off, but the pair answered at the same time, "Of course."
"Thank you," Aiden said smiling, "In the space of two years she went from having me and her boyfriend, to me being dead and her boyfriend being arrested for murder and sent to jail."
"She is welcome at out place anytime," Lindsay told Aiden warmly.
Aiden nodded her thanks then walked over to Mac. "Hey Mac," she greeted him.
"Hey Aiden," Mac replied as Stella appeared at his shoulder.
"I want you to know that I don't blame you for firing me and never have," Aiden said bluntly, time was not on her side.
"That's good," Mac replied.
"And Stella," Aiden directed the words to the woman on Mac's left, "I'm sorry I never called."
"It's alright," Stella told her friend hugging her. The two women broke apart and Aiden looked at Claire who nodded.
Aiden walked over to Lindsay and Danny hugging them both good-bye. Then she looked at Katharine, who wrapped her arms around her sister. "I'm going to miss you, Aiden," Katharine whispered.
"I know, Kath," Aiden whispered back, "I am too."
Sadly Aiden let go of her sister, wiping a tear of her check in the process. "Good-bye,"
She called to the room at large, "and good luck." She smiled at everyone before stepping into the spinning circle of light. Lindsay gently squeezed Katharine's hand as her sister disappeared from view.
Jess was next. She kissed Don one last time and waved good-bye to everyone else. Then without a word she stepped in the porthole and was gone. Claire followed closely behind her with a nod to Mac and Stella she was gone. They all watched in silence as the porthole grew smaller and smaller until it was gone from sight completely.
The lights flickered back one as the sun began to rise over the city. The team looked around at the room where moments before their friends had stood, but they didn't have long to dwell because the rising sun meant more crimes to solve and more work to do. Fate had ripped them away from their friends, but at least fate had let them have the moments….
Did you like it? Did you hate it?/ Please tell me! Happy Halloween!!!!