Summary: I seem to have started a series, I guess it could be the "Just Give It Time" series.
Disclaimer: I don't own the CSI: NY characters, but the others are mine.
Paige's eyes fluttered open. The room was dark. She was looking forward at an old wooden door. Her head was hurting. She tried to touch it but her hands were bound. She tried to move her feet but they were bound as well. Finally she realized she was tied to a chair. There was a piece of duct tape on her lips.
Paige started to look around the room. To the right of the door was a small table with a burning candle in the middle. There was old floral wallpaper on the walls. There was one window with boards covering it.
She tried to remember anything that had happened before then. All she could remember was putting Kate down for a nap. And now she was in a strange room, tied to a chair.
Tears were stinging her eyes. Suddenly the door opened, and she saw a flash then the door closed again.
Don was in the elevator on his way up to the lab to meet with Danny about their current case. He rested his head against the back wall of the elevator and took a heavy breath. His phone rang. He flipped it open and looked at the picture that was on the screen. His mouth dropped open, and then he scrolled down the screen to read the text.
"Do you know where your wife is?" Was all it said.
"Oh my god." Don almost dropped the phone.
The elevator stopped and Don went running to the stairs. He could hear Danny yelling at him as he went back down to the first floor. He ran out the front door and to his car. Don flipped on the sirens as he weaved through traffic to his house in Brooklyn.
When he got to the house he ran in the front door with gun in hand. He could hear Kate upstairs screaming, crying. He was praying he would find Paige in the house. She was nowhere downstairs so he started up the stairs. Kate was still crying. He looked in Jensen's room first then glanced in Kate's room, and finally the bathroom and he and Paige's room. The house was empty.
Don put his gun back in the holster on his belt and went back into Kate's room. He picked her up out of her crib and started to console her. He sat down in the rocking chair and started to rock. Slowly she fell asleep. His wife was gone, some psycho had taken her. He didn't know if she was dead or alive. Wherever she was he was sure she was probably scared, and worried about Kate. He let the tears that had been welling in his eyes stream down his cheeks.
Stella, Danny, and Lindsay came up the stairs. Danny was in front still with his gun out but put it back when they found Don in the nursery. They had followed Don from the lab to the house. They could tell something was wrong when they had seen him before he ran out.
Don's face was sullen. He was staring out the window with Kate lying on his shoulder.
"Don," Stella started. "Don, what's going on?"
"Somebody took her." He said with no explanation.
"Took who?" Danny asked as he came around in front of him.
"Someone took Paige." He took his phone off the clip on his belt and handed it to Danny. "There's a picture message."
Danny opened the phone and looked at the picture and the message. He handed it to Lindsay who showed it to Stella.
"Don, why don't you let me take Kate?" Stella meant it more as a command then a question and took the sleeping baby from his arms. "Where's Jensen?"
"He's at my parents'."
Danny, Don, and Lindsay went downstairs while Stella stayed in the nursery. Don walked slowly. He didn't say but a few words. He was stunned and shocked by the whole thing.
"Don't touch anything. We're gonna have to process the house." Danny said as he stood in the middle of the living room.
Don sat on the couch. Lindsay was asking him questions. He couldn't hear what she was saying. Finally, Lindsay gave up and let him keep his thoughts.
Mac and Sheldon came in about ten minutes later. Mac sat across from Don. Danny was sitting next to Don, and Lindsay was taking photographs of the house.
"Don, we need to know a little more about how you found the house, and who might want to do this to you." Mac said.
Don looked at him. "The house was the same as it was when you came in. I didn't touch anything. Kate was upstairs screaming, so after I checked the house I went up there and got her and I rocked her." He stared down at his hands. "I don't know who would do this." His voice started to crack with emotion. "It could be anybody that has some kind of grudge against me for putting away a family member, or friend or I don't know." He tried to get control of his voice. "God, I hope she's ok. I just want her to be here, safe in my arms." Tears began to fall again. Danny put his hand on Don's shoulder as Don's face was in his hands.
"What's this?" Mac said. Danny and Don looked at the piece of paper Mac was talking about. It was under the remote control on the coffee table.
The note read: "press play." Mac pushed the button with his pen and the TV came on and a video started.
The only thing they saw was the shadow of a man. "Hello Detectives. I have Mrs. Flack. Don't worry she's safe. I have one request from you. This man," a picture came on the screen, "is someone you put away. He was set-up by his friends. Re-open his case and find out who really did it. Do it within forty-eight hours and I'll let her go. I'd hate to have to see anything happen to that pretty face if you fail. Hurry gentlemen, time's wasting." The video stopped and Mac hit the button and the TV went off.
"Oh my god," Don whispered.
Paige struggled to get her hands free. The tape around her wrists was pulling at her skin. As she tried to pull her ankles out she cried in pain.
The door opened. Lindsay thought she was going to be killed.
"Hi Mrs. Flack. Don't struggle now, nothing's going to happen to you." The man was walking around her. "Well, that is if your husband can fulfill his task in the amount of time he has."
Paige was crying even harder now.
"I'll take this tape off now. You can scream all you want and no one will hear you." He was about an inch away from the back of her head. He reached around her face and ripped off the tape.
"What do you want?" she choked out.
"I want justice." He walked over to the door. "I'll be back."
After the CSI team finished processing the house they went back to the lab. Don had called his parents and they came and got Kate and took both kids back to their house. Mac had suggested that Don go with them.
"I can't, I have to help find her." Don had said.
Danny was processing the video tape. Lindsay was running fingerprints through the computer. Stella was examining dirt that they had found on the front porch. Mac was sitting with Don, going through all of his case files to see if they could find the man he had put away.
Finally, after 25 different folders Don spun around the one he had been looking at. Mac looked at it. "Is that him?"
"It's a match to the picture best I can tell. I guess you could run it through the computer and make sure."
"Harold Callahan- doing 25 to life in Sing Sing for drug trafficking. There's no list of next of kin or anything."
"Well he had to come from somewhere. It's pretty obvious we found someone that is family, well I guess he found us."
"Let's pay Mr. Callahan a visit maybe he can shine some light on the situation," Mac stood and Don did the same. "Hey, why don't you let me take Danny? I don't want your emotions to get the best of you. We wanna get as much out of this guy as we can."
"I think I should go."
"Don, really stay here. Why don't you go try and get some sleep and we'll let you know when we get back?"
"Alright, I don't know if I can sleep but maybe I can help Stella or Lindsay."
Mac left the room and Don followed him into the hallway. Danny and Mac left a few minutes later.
Don joined Lindsay as she was looking for a match to the partial print she had found. She had already been sitting there for almost ten minutes staring at the screen.
"Hey," she said as Don sat down on a stool next to her. "How are you holding up?"
"Not great, but I guess being here is making me feel like I'm at least doing something." He looked at her with tears in his eyes. "I just wanna find her Lindsay. We gotta find her."
Lindsay put her hand on Don's shoulder, holding back her own tears. "We will, Don. You've got the best forensics team on it. She'll be ok."
"I wish I was as confident as you." He looked back at the computer screen.
Stella walked into the room behind them. "No, luck on the dirt. It looks like it's the same dirt around the house. He must've been watching her. Any luck with the print."
"It's still running. It's kind of smudged so it might be a stretch to find anything." It was hard for her to say, knowing nothing either of the girls had said was giving Don any confidence about finding Paige.
Paige was worried about her life, her kids, and her husband. What would they do without her? She loved them so much. She wanted to be able to see her kids grow up- go to school, become teenagers, go to college, get married, have their own children. She had an aching feeling that she had already seen her family for the last time.
She tried hard to force those feelings from her head. She had to be confident that Don would find her. He had the best CSI team in the country at his disposal; they had to find her.
She was pulling at the tape on her wrists and ankles still. The pain of the tape ripping at her skin was unbearable and she was screaming in pain. She could barely keep her eyes open anymore; they were so swollen from her incessant crying.
She heard the door open again. The man came toward her with a knife in his hand.
"No," Paige screamed. "Please, no. Please." She was screaming and crying as he came closer and closer. She cried hard and her words wouldn't come anymore. She was convinced that she was going to die. He walked around the back of the chair. She felt her hands go free. Her head shot up as he came back around in front of her.
He came toward her again, now with a plate in his hand with a sandwich sitting in the middle. Paige rubbed her wrists. He set the plate on her lap.
"Eat this." Then he sat on a chair by the door.
Paige stared at the plate for a second. He assured her that it was safe. She took a small bite and felt no effects so she ate more. About halfway through she looked at him. "What is it that you really want? What did my husband do?"
"He put someone in prison that's innocent."
"Why not just make appeals? Why kidnap his wife?"
"We make appeals at every chance we get, but they never work. So, I decided to take a more extreme approach."
"So, what are you hoping will happen? That they'll re-open the case and find out what really happened?"
"If they use their heads that's what they'll do."
"How do you know he really didn't do it? Just because someone claims to be innocent doesn't mean they are." Paige had finished the sandwich.
He got up from his chair and started toward her. "He is innocent. I know he is," he said with an angry tone.
He re-taped her wrists and left the room.
Mac and Danny came into the lab. Stella and Lindsay were going through DMV and other records on a man whose print had matched the one Lindsay had found.
"Did you get anything?" Stella asked Mac as he put his jacket on the back of a chair.
"The guy didn't give us much. He just kept saying he was innocent and that we had to prove he was. He told us we have to re-open his case and find out what really happened," Mac replied.
"Where's Flack?" Danny asked.
"Oh, we finally convinced him to try and get some sleep. He's laying in the lounge," she paused and handed Mac the folder she had been looking at. "We got a match from the print Lindsay lifted. It's a Robert Callahan. He's Harold's younger brother."
"What database did it come from?"
"Apparently he works for the city. He works for the sanitation department."
"Ok, well what are we still doing here? Why don't we go bust this guy?" Danny asked.
"Because, the address he gave the sanitation department is fake, as is the one he gave the DMV. So, we have no where to go. We found a birth certificate and social security card, but other than that this guy doesn't exist. Every social security number or address this guy gives is fake. I called the sanitation office apparently this guy hasn't showed up for work in a couple days." She looked at Mac. "Mac, I think the only way we're gonna solve this is by re-opening the case and finding out what really happened."
Mac kept his eyes on the papers in front of him. "We've got about thirty six hours to find out what happened. Let's not tell Flack we found this guy. The fact that we know who but not where he is, will just make it worse. We'll just tell him we're gonna work on the case."
They all shook their heads in agreement.
Ten minutes later Don walked into the lab. The CSIs were all at different stations, processing evidence.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Danny answered. "We're re-opening the case."
"We're gonna need you to get your notebook from the case." Mac said from across the room.
Don went out of the room and went down to the second floor of the building. He went to his desk. There were a few other detectives in the precinct.
"Hey, Flack. What are you doing here?" one detective asked.
"Oh, I, uh, forgot something in my desk."
"You don't look so good are you ok?"
"Yeah I'm good man, thanks." He opened a deep drawer and pulled out a black notebook. Then he closed the drawer and went to the elevator.
It took all of Don's strength to keep from breaking down crying. He wasn't one to cry easy; he had always been taught that crying was weak. But now his wife was in the hands of a man that could do her harm. He didn't want to live without Paige. She was the only woman he wanted to be with for the rest of his life and he loved her so much. There was no way he could go through life with the kids, but without her. Every time he would look into Kate's eyes he would see Paige. And every time Jensen would ask for mommy he would have to explain where she was. He couldn't deal with that kind of guilt and pain. He had to find her. Whatever it took, he had to have his Paige back.
It must be pretty late now, Paige thought. She was trying hard to keep track of time. Her captor had mentioned something about Don having 48 hours. Her head was throbbing from so much crying. She hoped that Kate and Jensen were ok, and that they didn't know what was going on. A thought suddenly came to her- Kate had been in the house when she was taken. Was Kate ok? Oh, God, she thought, my baby. Then she dismissed the thought. He wanted Paige, not the baby. She was praying that it hadn't been long before Don had found Kate.
She had to distract herself with something. She started to recall every good memory she could that involved Don and the kids.
The first was when she and Don had started dating, he was such a gentleman. She had known from the beginning that she loved him, but she had made him work for it.
The second was when Jensen was born. Her first child lying in her arms, his little eyes closed. She could remember the feel of his soft skin. She had cried tears of joy while she held him. He was perfect in every way.
The third was when Don had seen Jensen for the first time. She could still remember how nervous he had seemed beforehand. And then the awe and instant love she had seen in his eyes. Then she had noticed how similar they were, not just in looks but mannerisms too.
The fourth was when she and Don had gotten married; their simple ceremony in Central Park. Only close family and friends had been present. She could still remember the look on Don's face, as she had made her way down the aisle, with such detail. It was one of the happiest days of her entire life- equal to the births of both of her children. The warm breeze had blown while they stared into each other's eyes while the minister had gone through the ceremony.
The last, but certainly not least, was the birth of Kate. This time Don was there with her the whole time; he had held her hand and cried with her as their daughter was placed in her arms. She was much smaller than Jensen. She remembered how gentle Don had been with Kate. He had seemed scared like he was going to break her. After getting used to her he stared at her, rocking her back and forth.
Paige's face was wet with tears again, but now the tears were more of joy in her memories.
The clock was ticking; Don was nervous that they would miss the deadline. Mac had finally forced him to go home telling him he wasn't any help to them.
Don went to his parents' house. He walked in the door and his dad was sitting in the living room. "Dad, it's late what are you doing up?" Don asked as he sat down in a chair across from his dad.
"I couldn't sleep," he paused. "Have you gotten any sleep?"
"I slept for about ten minutes in the lab. Is mom asleep?"
"Yeah. Well, I'm gonna go back to bed. I'll get you some blankets and a pillow for the couch."
"No, Dad, it's ok I'll get it. You go to bed. I'll see you in the morning." He watched his dad go up the stairs. Don went to the kitchen and took a bottle of scotch from the cupboard above the refrigerator. He poured some in a glass and gulped it down. He didn't pour anymore but put the bottle back in its place.
Don made his way upstairs. He took a blanket and a pillow from the hall closet. He stood in the doorway of the guest room. Kate was sleeping in the playpen and Jensen was in the small bed. They were both so peaceful. Where is your mom? he thought as he watched his children sleep. He pulled the door almost closed then walked back down the stairs. He took off his shoes and lied down on the couch, draping the blanket over himself. He closed his eyes and finally let his exhaustion get the best of him.
It had only been three of hour when Don's phone rang waking him up. He jumped up and answered it.
"This is Flack."
"Don, it's Mac. We got a possible location." Don was on his feet. "It's where Robert Callahan had some of his operation going. It's an abandoned warehouse in the Bronx." Don put on his shoes and Mac gave him the address.
"Alright I'll see you guys there."
Don pulled up to the warehouse and jumped out of the car and ran up to the group of CSIs. They handed him a bullet-proof vest, which he threw on.
The warehouse was empty. Don cursed as they stood there all disappointed when they didn't find anything.
"Guys, I think I found something," Lindsay said from the middle of the large main room they were all standing in. Everyone joined her. They looked at the wooden chair with a cell phone sitting in the middle of it. Stella picked it up and it rang.
"Hello?" Stella asked.
"Put Detective Flack on."
Stella handed the phone to Don. "Hello?" he asked.
"Hello, detective. I'm quite impressed; it didn't take long for you all to find the warehouse. It's just too bad you didn't find your wife. How is it coming solving the case, by the way?"
"Just fine. I don't really know why we're wasting our time with it though considering your brother is guilty."
"He's innocent," the man yelled. "Well, you'll find that out. Time's wasting I suggest you all get back to work."
"Wait, let me talk to Paige. I want to know she'll still alive."
"Fine."
The door opened and her captor walked in. He pushed a cell phone toward her. "There's someone who wants to speak with you." He pressed the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Paige, baby is that you? We're gonna find you, ok? Give me some kind of clue, anything."
"There's no place like home." She didn't know if it would help, but he hoped it would. It didn't have any special meaning. She was hoping that he would figure out that she was in a house.
"Ok, that's enough," the man said.
"I love you and tell the kids," Paige yelled as he pulled the phone away from her.
"Satisfied, detective?" she heard him asked as he left the room.
"As long as my wife stays alive I'll be satisfied." Don replied.
"Again the clock is ticking." The connection ended.
"What did she tell you?" Danny asked.
"She said, 'there's no place like home'." He handed the cell phone to Mac. "Let's see what we can get from this." Don turned around and walked out of the warehouse.
He sat on the hood of his car and took off his vest. Danny walked up to him and took the vest.
"So, what does it mean?"
"Find their homes, Robert and Harold. She's probably in a house. Maybe one that no one is in." He didn't even look at Danny while he spoke. Then he stood up. "I'm going back to my parents'; I need to be with my kids. Call me."
"Alright man." Danny patted his friend's shoulder.
Don drove in silence to his parents' house. It was about six am. There were a few cars on the road.
Finally, he pulled into his parents' driveway again. Now when he walked into the house the blanket was folded on the end of the couch on top of the pillow. He could smell coffee. He went into the kitchen and his mom was standing at the sink, staring into the backyard.
"Hi mom."
"Oh, Donny you scared me." She commented as she turned around. "Do you want some coffee?"
"Yeah," he replied and hung his head as he sat at the kitchen table. His mom set a cup in front of him and put her hand on his shoulder. She didn't know what to say; she just kissed his hair and left him alone.
The door swung open a second later and Jensen walked over to his dad. "Daddy?"
Don lifted his head slightly and looked at his son. "Hey, buddy what are you doing up so early?" He picked Jensen up and put him on his lap.
"Where's mommy?"
"Mommy's…she's away right now." He looked at the sad look on his son's face. "You want some cereal. I better grandma got you some kind of sugary something." He put the boy down and stood up to get him breakfast.
Don turned when he heard the door open again. His mom walked in with Kate in her arms. Don took the little girl from his mom and hugged her close. He kissed her forehead, and then looked at Jensen while he scarfed down his cereal.
Paige was trying to sleep. She would close her eyes and let her chin hit her chest, but every time she did she'd jerk awake.
It was getting close to the end of the time limit; she knew it was. She was scared for her life. She began to think again about how Don would cope with being alone.
Paige decided she might as well come to terms with the fact that she was going to die. She had confidence in Don and his co-workers, but they were running out of time and there was no denying that.
Her eyes seemed to have dried up; tears just refused to fall. In her mind she said her goodbyes to her family.
Donny, I love you. Please don't miss out on your kids lives; they love you and they want you around. Jensen, mommy loves you. Listen to your dad; you're gonna grow up to be just like him. Treat every girl in your life with the utmost respect and love. Kate, mommy loves you, too. Let your brother look after you, it's his job as the big brother. Make sure when you find a guy that he treats you like a princess. Never forget about me.
Don's car came to a screeching halt in front of the old dilapidated house in Queens. Mac and his team were all waiting for him. Don was confident this was where they would find Paige.
The SWAT team got ready. They didn't bother knocking on the front door; they just kicked it down and filed inside. There was a man sitting in an armchair in the corner of the room.
"Congratulations," was all he said as Danny and Mac pulled him to his feet and cuffed him.
Don yelled for his wife. "Paige. Paige are you here?" He still had his gun out in front of him. Stella and Lindsay were close behind him.
They checked the first few rooms then Don came to a door that had a deadbolt on the front of it unlike the others. He kicked the door open. Paige was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. Her head was against her chest and she didn't move with the noise Don had made. He ran over to her and lifted her head.
"Paige, Paige, can you hear me?" Don was asking as her eyes slowly opened. Lindsay undid the tape binding her hands. "Are you ok, Paige? Talk to me." Don was saying as Lindsay undid the tape around Paige's ankles.
"I'm ok." Paige finally choked out.
Don put a hand on the side of her face. "I love you. I'm so glad you're ok." He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her. She started to cry into his shoulder and put her arms around his waist.
Members of EMS came in and started to check on Paige. Don excused himself, and went outside. He pulled his phone from the clip on his belt and dialed his parents' number. He told them the good news then hung up and dialed Paige's parents.
Paige refused to go to the hospital. She knew there was nothing seriously wrong with her. She just wanted to see her children.
Jensen ran from the house and down the stairs into his mom's arms. Paige's mom came out of Don's parents' house with Kate in her arms. Paige took Kate in one arm and had Jensen in the other. She squeezed both of them tightly. "I love you so much," she whispered to both of them.
Don took Jensen from her as they walked up to the house. Paige was crying and so was the rest of their family. She was alive. That's all Don had wanted was for her to be alive and safe and he had that now.
The CSIs never solved Harold Callahan's case. After they had Robert in custody the need to solve it was gone. And now it didn't matter because Paige was where she was supposed to be- back with her family.