A/N: They're baaaaaack! I missed Maddie and Danny and the rest of the lab so much and had so many more ideas for them that I couldn't help writing a sequal. Hollywood has taught us that sequals rarely equal the originals they follow, but I'm going to give it the old college try anwyay...I know you guys will keep my posted on how I'm doing ;-)

Enjoy!

Maddie awoke slowly, squeezing her eyes shut against the sunlight streaming in the windows, groaning into the pillow. It was then that her sleepy brain realized something wasn't quite right, that she wasn't in her own bed at home. She wrinkled her forehead in thought, her eyes still closed, and tried to remember what had happened the night before. She felt a strong arm wrapped around her, a warm body curled up against her, and a smile formed on her lips as she recognized his accompanying scent immediately.

That smile grew as memories flashed through her mind. Exchanging vows at the altar…greeting guests after the ceremony…telling Danny she was pregnant…asking Shayla how she felt about being adopted…dancing so much at the reception…sneaking out of the reception with Danny…giggling like teenagers as they undressed each other in their hotel room…

She laughed softly at the last memory and turned in his arms, blinking her eyes open to take in the sight of her husband lying beside her. His complexion was a bit pale and there were still shadows under his eyes, telling the tale of the previous night's celebration that had lasted long into the night, but the expression on his face was one of contented sleep. She brushed a hand lightly over his cheek, giving in to her overwhelming desire to touch him while trying not to wake him in the process.

Her plan didn't quite work. Danny's arm tightened around her, pulling her closer to him as he buried his face in her shoulder. She grinned broadly when she felt his warm lips on her neck and combed her fingers through his hair.

"Good morning my husband," she purred in his ear.

His kisses stopped and the only response she got was his breath on her skin as he sighed softly.

She chuckled and tried again, sliding her hands over his broad shoulders. "Good morning Mr. Madeline Parrish…" Still there was no reaction from Danny, so she resorted to the one thing that always got a rise out of him, maneuvering her mouth to the spot just under his ear where she knew he was ticklish and nibbling gently. "I know you're awake, Danny," she whispered with a smirk. "I can feel your fingers digging into my back…"

That got a small laugh out of him as he squirmed away from her. Seconds later he had turned the tables on her, pulling himself on top of her and pinning Maddie on her back. "I thought I was dreaming," he explained, kissing her slowly, "and I didn't want to wake up."

"That charm of yours doesn't work on me anymore," she laughed. "I'm your wife now…"

He kissed her again, allowing the taste of her mouth—morning breath and all—and the feel of her body against his to wake him up. His hand traveled down her back to her hip, then tenderly caressed her abdomen as he pulled away. "And the mother of my child," he reminded her.

She smiled softly and ran a hand over his face. "Children," she corrected quietly.

He noted both the joy and sorrow in her voice, knowing that she was thinking of Shayla and of the baby they had lost. Kissing her again, more gently this time, he rolled over onto his side and pulled her against him, letting his fingers trace across the smooth skin of her back. "Children," he repeated tenderly. He held her silently for a moment, his fingers continuing their path over her back as she nuzzled his neck. Then he spoke again. "You know, I talked to Sheldon last night at the reception."

"You did?"

Danny nodded. "I actually found a quiet place for five minutes," he chuckled. Then, becoming serious again, "I asked him what effect losing the baby would have on this pregnancy."

"And what did he say?"

"Same thing you said at the church yesterday—that one miscarriage doesn't affect the chances of survival of the next child. But he also said the doctor would keep an extra close eye on you this time around," he told her.

She nodded against his shoulder. "Yeah, he will."

"And so will I," he added, his arms tightening around her.

Maddie smiled and kissed his neck. "I know."

And he knew she understood. The doctor could look after her medically, but Danny would make sure she had the support she needed at home to be a good teacher, that his family and his past didn't interfere with their lives, that she and Shayla were protected and taken care of.

Maddie shifted positions again, pulling her face even with Danny's and leaning in for a kiss. "Congratulations Detective Messer," she smiled slyly, "you have officially become a good family man."

He laughed gruffly, trying to dispel the emotion that had begun to well up in his throat. "Who woulda thought that I'd get married…and have kids?"

"Not your colleagues, that's for sure," she grinned. "Aiden told me they started an office pool on our relationship after you and I met."

"They did?" he looked genuinely surprised, and a little disturbed.

She chuckled. "Yeah. Apparently they'd been doing it for all your girlfriends. The over-under on me was two months, and something like a hundred to one odds that we'd get married."

"Anybody win?"

Maddie smiled. "The only other woman that knows you as well as I do."

He mirrored her smile. "Aiden."

"She knew."

Danny leaned in and kissed his wife softly, running his fingers through her hair and down her back. When he broke away, he was still grinning. "She was right."



Mac walked into the little restaurant and glanced around, looking for the two women he was supposed to meet. A giggle reached his ears and he smiled, having heard that very same giggle countless times at the Lab.

He headed over to the table where they sat, brushing a hand affectionately over Shayla's shoulders and leaning down to gently kiss Stella's lips. "What a lucky man I am to be having breakfast with two beautiful women," he grinned.

Shayla blushed shyly but Stella giggled again. "You're quite the charmer, aren't you Mac?" she teased with a wink.

"So what are you ladies giggling about?" he asked, his grin growing as he took a seat beside her.

Shayla's eyes lit up. "Pictures from the wedding," she replied.

"Yeah, Shayla got a little carried away yesterday," Stella told him with another laugh.

Mac surveyed the photos that were laid out over the entire table, noting the pile of other packs of pictures from several rolls of film. "You took pictures of everything, documenting every moment." He chuckled and looked up at the girl. "You've been hanging around CSIs too long, Shayla."

"Well, when the two people you love most in the world get married, you want to remember it," she explained softly.

"So it's safe to say there'll be hundreds of pictures taken at the adoption hearing then," Stella teased.

Shayla's patented shy smile appeared again. "If the application is approved. There are an awful lot of hoops to jump through…"

"…and Maddie and Danny will jump through them all twice if they have to," Mac finished for her. He paused and reached across the table to pat her arm. "I know you think the world of them for taking care of you when you needed them, but they think the world of you, too. I've never seen them happier."

The color crept up into Shayla's cheeks and her gaze shifted to the placemat in front of her. Stella glanced at Mac, smiling gently, a voice in the back of her mind wondering if she would ever have the chance to see him interact this way with a child of theirs. Mac met her eyes and smiled back, asking himself the same question.

Then the moment passed and Stella spoke, grinning mischievously at Shayla. "So tell Mac about all the things we're planning on doing this week while you're staying with me."

The girl laughed, some of the embarrassment melting away. "Well, we're gonna start with some serious shopping…"



"So what should we do now?" Don asked as they walked around the city, spending a little time alone together. "We still have an hour before you even need to start packing."

Aiden grinned. "And if you drive me to the airport in a squad car with lights and sirens runnin', we'll have even more time together."

"Done," he replied quickly.

She laughed, knowing he would get in hot water with his superiors if he did it, but that for her he'd try it anyway. "You know I was just kidding—I don't want to get you in trouble."

He stopped and took her hands in his, squeezing them gently. "You know I'd do anything for you." Even after what you did to me, he thought but didn't say. I love you that much.

Her deep brown eyes met his bright blue ones and her smile softened. "I know you would." And I don't deserve you…

They held each other's gaze for a moment longer before both looked away, the awkwardness that had permeated their relationship since she fled to Virginia now invading their last hours together.

Don cleared his throat and released one of Aiden's hands, moving forward down the sidewalk. "Aid, can I ask you something?" She nodded and he continued, "Do you ever think about moving back here?"

She furrowed her brow. "Don…"

He stopped her with a shake of his head. "I know you still need time—and space—and I respect that. Hell, I still need time, too. I was a wreck when you left me, Aiden, and I'm not ready to jump right in where we left off, either. I just thought it might be easier on us both if we lived in the same state…and I know how much you love this city…"

"Yeah," she replied softly. "I do love this city. And I miss you—even before we got together we saw a lot of each other at work and were good friends. But I think being so far apart is good for us right now."

That didn't make sense to him. "How?"

"We won't be tempted to rush into anything and ruin our relationship a second time," she explained. "If we're gonna make this work between us, we have to do it right."

Don nodded. "Yeah, we do. Or we'll end up in the same place we were before." He thought back to the days and weeks after Aiden left New York—and him—when the emotional nature of her job finally took too great a toll on her. He remembered how heartbroken he had been, how absolutely sick with grief and misery he was, and shuddered. He had no desire to go back to that place in his life.

"So we'll keep e-mailing each other…"

He smiled a little. "…and keep our phone dates…"

"…and you," she said, returning his smile and poking playfully him in the chest, "can get your ass down to Virginia to see me once in a while.

He laughed at that. "I'll see what I can do. Is there anything to do in Virginia, though? I thought it was all just tobacco farms and old plantations."

"There's plenty to do in Virginia," Aiden insisted, taking mock offense at his question. "The whole place is a Civil War re-enactor's paradise!"

They both grinned at her comment, knowing there was more to the beautiful state than that, but bonding over their teasing of it.

"I'd go to the moon if it meant I could spend a little time with you," he told her, squeezing her hand again and smiling gently.

She smiled back, thanking God that, though they weren't anywhere near where they had been in their relationship, they at least seemed headed to a good place again. "Me too."



Sheldon was in the Layout Room going over the photos from his latest case when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the caller ID, smiling at the name that appeared on the display.

"Hey beautiful," he said when he flipped open the phone.

His girlfriend Sarah smiled happily on the other end of the line. "Hey there yourself, handsome," she returned. "You busy?"

Sheldon sighed. "Actually, I am. Since Danny's off this week for his honeymoon, the rest of us have to pick up the slack and I'm working a double shift tonight."

"I figured," she replied. "You think you'll have some time this week to stop by? I found a new recipe I want to try out…"

"…and I'm your guinea pig," he laughed. "I'd love to, but you know I can't make any promises, especially since we're short-staffed."

She sighed a little but smiled as she spoke. "I know. I'm getting used to it. Can we make some tentative plans, though?"

"Absolutely," he agreed. "Wednesday I'm supposed to work the morning shift."

"So Wednesday night you'll be free…theoretically," Sarah added with a grin. "Wednesday's good for me."

Sheldon shared her grin, even though she couldn't see him—the thought of spending the evening with her always excited him. "Wednesday it is then. I can't wait."

She allowed her mind to wander over a mental picture of her boyfriend puttering around the kitchen with her, and felt butterflies forming in stomach. "Me either."