I have been binge watching CSI:NY on Netflix and this story just came to me and I became a little obsessed. They would not shut up until I at least put the first chapter down on "paper". I am working on a slightly altered timeline where Jess is already dead, but the explosion that injured Don had not yet happened; I don't think it alters the canon too much. I hope you like it. I went back and tweaked it a bit more for more clarity. 8/2/17 - I am actually going back and rewriting large portions of the story as it really was not working for me and did not feel authentic. Changed name of story and initial set up.

September 10, 2001

They were sitting on the roof, enjoying the warmth of the last gasps of the summer. He turned to her, taking her hand and getting on his knee. Her hand flew to her mouth and tears came to her eyes. He slipped a box from his pocket and opening it, slipped a ring on her finger. "Will you marry me," he whispered, his voice full of emotion.

"Yes. Oh yes," she gasped as he bent down for a kiss.

The next morning, he got up, put on his uniform and ran toward the danger while hundreds of others ran the other way. He died somewhere between the thirty fifth and fortieth floors of World Trade Center One.

She grieved over a grave containing the few remains that could be found and identified and his mother received the folded flag.

September 11, 2002

It was a bad idea from start to finish; her brain was throwing up all sorts of red flags. She had a rule against one night stands and an even stronger one against getting involved with a cop, but tonight, for once, she opted to give in to her heart and her body. She reveled in being in his strong arms; it had been so long for both of them. They tore at each others' clothing and fell into bed in a tangle of limbs and blankets. Their passion was intensified by the fact that both knew, even if neither acknowledged it, that it would all come to an end once the sun rose.

September 12, 2002

He was still sleeping, dark hair mussed on the pillow and the blanket just reaching to his chest. She sat up, wrapping the sheet around her and looked at him again marveling at how handsome he was with his dark hair, strong features and sensitive lips. And his eyes...oh Dear God, when those blue eyes looked at her... She rose quietly and dressed not wanting to wake him. Saying good bye would be...complicated and it would be easier to just leave. She enjoyed herself tremendously – truth is, she thought, they both did, but now it was time to go back to real life.

She dressed quietly so as not to wake him up. A part of her wanted to stay, to wake him up, to have him make love to her again, but this time her brain overrode her desires. She looked at the man again and smiled gently...if things had been different...maybe. But things weren't different she knew as she dressed and gathered up her things. It was wonderful while it lasted, but now it was time to go back to the real world.

He lay in bed pretending to sleep and to be unaware of the fact that she had gotten up and was dressing. Through slitted eyes he watched her enjoying the grace of her movements as much as the beauty of her face and body. While he certainly was no stranger to lust and desire, taking a woman home and into his bed after barely having had the chance to say hello was not something that he did often – in fact, this was the first time in many years. It felt so good to hold her, to make love to her and to hear her call his name. He debated opening his eyes and asking her to stay, but quickly decided against it. He was not ready to become involved with anybody; it would be so much easier if what they shared was just a lovely memory with no further entanglements. He continued to pretend to be asleep as she stood up, gathered her purse, opened the door and quietly shut it behind her.

March 7, 2007

They felt the after shocks of the explosion at the Queen of Mercy Hospital; lights swayed, gurneys and wheelchairs shifted where they stood. The call went out throughout the hospital calling all the doctors and residents to prepare for the influx of casualties. They had drills for event like this and they were ready when the injuries started to pour in.

Cassandra, Cass, Allen, a woman in her early thirties, with her caramel hair pulled back into a pony tail and nd wearing green scrubs, that somehow matched the bright green of her eyes, was doing triage in the trauma center. Burns were sent to one side, crush injuries to another. She was calm and competent and oddly comforted by both the routine and the fact that the injuries, while bad, were not devastating. The word around the hospital was that there were cops in the building and they were able to mostly evacuate the building and move people to safety.

That's when she felt the buzzing of her work phone indicating that a trauma case was coming in. A man in his mid thirties was pulled from the building suffering from a sucking chest wound. He had lost a lot of blood and was in shock. He was being airlifted and the chopper was a minute and a half out. As the head Trauma Resident, this was for Cass to take. Motioning for Melissa, the head Trauma nurse, to follow her, the she ran to the elevator.

They arrived at the helipad just as the chopper was landing. The door opened and Cass saw a familiar figure step out. Detective Mac Taylor had clearly been at or near the epicenter of the explosion; his hair was covered with dust, his clothing filthy and torn. He was wearing only a tee shirt and that was covered in blood. Cass eyes him critically looking for the injuries based on how he was moving. For a moment, their eyes met. Mac nodded his head slightly at the question he saw; he was OK. Cass let out a small sigh of relief – once again her brother managed to be in the thick of things and yet avoid serious injury.

The paramedics opened the chopper and lifted out the gurney. Mac helped lift the gurney. When Cass ran forward to examine the injuries, the extent of the damage almost took her breath away; the fact that this man was still alive was close to a miracle. "This is Detective Don Flack," Mac ran along side the medical team. There was something in his face that made Cass look over. "He's a friend," Mac concluded, his tone and the look on his face saying everything he was not putting into words.

Cass understood. "Let's go," she said, all business. But there was something…something about the name. It tickled the back of her mind…a memory she could not quite recall. She pushed the distracting thoughts back behind her wall of professionalism as she focused on keeping the man alive.

Cass and her team worked intently, but calmly. They checked his vitals, inserted IVs and fought with all her strength to stabilize him. The injury was horrendous; the debris had literally torn the man's chest open. His blood pressure was tanking and he was in deep shock. "Stay with me, Don," she muttered. "Stay with me."

Working to stem the bleeding and stabilize the detective enough to get him to surgery was taking all her focus. Then she noticed it; she understood why the man was not dead as, by all rights he should have been. Somebody had found the severed artery and tied it off. She knew who that somebody had to be…"Mac," she smiled slightly; for all the efforts she was now putting forth, it was his quick action that would save his friend.

Glancing at his face, Cass experienced a strange sense of déjà vu - did she know him? Had she seen him before?

All of a sudden the heart monitors began to scream. "We're losing him," one of the nurses called out. "Not on my watch," Cass growled. She would be damned if she lost a cop. "Get me the paddles." It took three tries and a lot of praying, but they were able to get the heart going again. "Call the OR. He's going up now," Cass ordered. The nurse nodded reaching for the phone as Cass and several others pulled and pushed the gurney out the door.

Changing the story a little bit. It seems more realistic that there is a one night stand and they move on. What about Cass's promise to not date cops? What about her brother and where does Don fit into all this? Stay tuned to find out. As this is essentially me starting over, please let me know what you think and leave a review and any thoughts and comments.