Title: Broken

Characters: Don and Stella, Danny and Lindsay -

Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, so bear with my slim knowledge of medical issues, Also... all characters... Are indeed the property of wherever you first heard of them. (Be it the original CSI creators... or be it my newly created characters such as Jordan.)

Summery: This is sort of a sequel to my last NY fanfic; The Necklace. I suggest you read or at least skim through that one first as a lot of this parallels with that story. Future Chapters will crossover with CSI LV.

"Daddy? Daddy, please wake up." The small voice begged from outside the bedroom door. Don rolled over and looked at the clock. 9:45… pm. He must have fallen asleep as soon as he got home. He hadn't even seen his baby girl or his wife. He stumbled out the small twin sized bed. He stared at it for a moment before realizing he was in his daughter's room.

"Daddy! I want to say I love you!" The three year old certainly had a temper.

"Hang on baby, I'm trying." He stumbled through the room, finding both the light and the doorknob. Unfortunately he also found a small di-cast racecar… with his toe. "Shit!"

He heard the child gasp on the other side as the door flew open. She was standing there with both hands over her eyes and her curly brown hair falling in front of her hands.

He scooped her up and received a strong hug from the little one. "Jordan, where's your mother, baby?"

"She's outside."

He gave her a look as he opened the apartment door and peered out. His wife was indeed standing there. She was alone by the hallway window staring up into what would be billions of stars if the city were to suddenly blackout.

"Hello, beautiful." He kissed Stella Bonasera-Flack on the back of her neck before slipping his hand as low down her back as he could possibly get away with. When she didn't respond, he tilted his head slightly. "Stel?"

She shook her head and turned to him. "Don…?"

"Bad day?"

She simply nodded. Her gaze drifted to their little girl whose eyes had shot back and forth between her parents.

"Mamma?" She whispered as though she'd be in trouble for speaking. "Mommy, I love you lots." She held her hands out to Stella.

Stella began to sink to her knees as she took Jordan from Don's arms. Sobbing she held the baby against her chest, rocking back and forth.

Don was at a loss. He had met up with her for lunch and she seemed absolutely fine. What could have changed in the 8 hours since? "Stella? Tell me what's wrong."

She grasped his hand with her cold one. He held it as she stared deep into his eyes. She held Jordan tighter against herself and covered her ears with her free hand. Stella controlled her sobs. "I… Don, I'm sick."

Don paled. He knew what she was talking about. Only days before Stella had been getting severe headaches and they had gone to see a doctor. The tests must have come back that afternoon.

"Stella?" He pulled her up and brought her inside. Quickly he put Jordan to bed, tucking her in and kissing her protectively. He closed the door behind him and searched for his wife again.

He found her sitting on the edge of their bed, head resting in one hand, the other hand twisting a tissue. The tissue was soaked and he gently replaced it with a new one.

"Talk to me, Stella." He knelt in front of her and took her hands.

"Don, the tests… one came back positive. I have a small tumor… and it's growing quickly." She squeezed his hands tighter than he thought possible.

All of their three years together started to flow through his mind. It'd been short and he loved her fiercely throughout it all. He nearly lost her when Jordan was born, but she pulled through it and she was stronger for it. No, he was not going to go through that again. And if he didn't have a choice, she was going to live.

He stripped her of her sweaty clothes and placed her favorite shirt of his on her. Than he scooped her up into his arms and carried her across the hall and into Jordan's room. As small as the bed was, the three of them managed to snuggle together.

Stella woke up to Mac's voice. He was talking about her, but she wasn't sure what he was saying. Jordan's happy voice interrupted her thoughts and she opened her eyes to see the child leaning over her with a small coffee sampler packet. "Daddy and Tective Mac made your bestest one!" She squealed.

Stella kissed her as she stumbled out of the room and into the living room.

As she entered, Mac stood and hugged her tightly. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged and than smiled. "I'm feeling good considering. A lot better than when I got that call though"
He nodded and pointed to Jordan who'd attached herself to Stella's leg. "She's picking up on something?"

"I think so." Stella climbed onto Don's lap.

"Well, you're getting time off. Starting now you and Don are officially on sick leave until you can get help." He pulled Jordan onto his lap and she stuck her ring finger and pinkie into her mouth, sucking a little and making a face. She tried to put her fingers into Mac's mouth instead, but he turned his head fast enough.

Don slid Stella off his lap and went to make her a cup of coffee. "Babe, I made a couple of calls this morning and your doctor has recommended a very good specialist in Nevada. Unfortunately it's a six-month wait. We'll have to temporarily move down there and wait it out, or hope for a mistake in scheduling… or something." He dropped the cup on the floor and it shattered, spilling hot coffee down the front of his shirt.

Stella sat very still as she watched her husband's quivering hands pick up the tiny pieces.

Mac walked to him and pulled him to his feet. "Get her another cup, sit with her. I'll clean this up and take Jordan to the lab with me for the afternoon. Work things out. The staff is behind you 100 and we're going to make this work."

Don nodded as he collected his strength again and got a new mug. He returned to Stella and placed the cup carefully in her hands.

"You're in worse shape than I am." She whispered as she pressed her forehead against his chin.

Mac finished picking up the shards of broken glass and he wandered over. He kissed Stella on the cheek and squeezed Don's shoulder. "I'll bring her home whenever I get finished. She's in good hands."

Don sighed. "I know… thank you, Mac."