Author's Note: I don't know if something like this has been done around here, there's a lot of SMacked stories dealing with her maybe having HIV, but I didn't see any FIESTA ones, so I thought I'd write one. I have a hard time doing romance-serious stories, so I'm a little out of my element. I have a difficult time not sounding...?cheesy?, I guess?

Synopsis: Stella tells Flack that she might have HIV. A Fiesta story. Post "Heart of Glass."

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of CSI:NY; they are property of Anthony E. Zuiker and CBS.

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Sullivan's was busy, but Flack spotted Stella right away. She was seated at a table in the back, swirling her straw in her drink. Flack flagged down a waitress and asked for a beer and told her where he'd be sitting. Then he made his way over to Stella.

She didn't even see him standing at the edge of the table, she was so deep in thought. She stirred her drink methodically, and she was staring out the window. A light rain had begun to fall.

"Stel?" Flack asked. He'd never seen her like this. Well…not since Frankie. It scared him. Her phone call had sounded subdued when she'd given him a call earlier that evening.

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"Flack," Don Flack had answered his phone. He was at Ray's getting a slice with Danny and Lindsay.

"Hey. It's Stella."

"What's up?" He was surprised to hear from her. Across the table, Danny and Lindsay both looked up out of curiosity. Danny raised his eyebrows, but Flack only shrugged.

"Are…are you busy tonight?" she asked him. Her voice sounded shaky, like maybe she'd been crying.

"Uh, no." Flack sensed something was wrong, and he held up a finger to Danny and Lindsay as he slid out of the booth and stepped outside. "Stella?" he asked once he was outside. "What's up? Are you okay?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm okay. Can you meet me at Sullivan's….say about eight?"

He looked at his watch. "Sure. Sure, I'll see you then."

"Okay. See you there," Stella said. There was a click, and the call ended.

Flack flipped his phone shut and stared off into the street for a while. I wonder what's wrong, he thought. He went back inside and rejoined Danny and Lindsay at the booth. Their pizza had arrived, but they hadn't taken any yet, presumably waiting for him. "What's up?" Danny asked him.

"Nothing. Work related," Flack lied. Something inside him said that Stella didn't want the world to know whatever was wrong. He looked at the pizza, looked out the window, looked at his Coke. Then he stood up. "I'm gonna go."

"Everything all right?" Lindsay asked him.

Flack nodded. "Uh, yeah. I forgot something at the precinct. I'll catch you guys later." He looked at the pizza. "Save me a slice or two, huh Danny?"

Danny shrugged. "Hey, I make no promises."

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She looked up at him. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, but she still looked beautiful to him. "Oh, Flack. I didn't see you standing there. I'm sorry." She gestured to the seat across from her. "Sit. I'm sorry if I pulled you away from something important."

"I've always got time for you," Flack replied truthfully.

The waitress brought him his drink, and he popped off the top and took a swig. "So what's up?" he asked. It probably wasn't the best way to begin the conversation, but interrogation tactics die hard.

Stella took a deep breath and exhaled. Something is really wrong, Flack noted. He reached across the table and fished for her hand. "Hey." He looked deep into her eyes and said, "What's wrong?"

Stella continued stirring her drink, then finally put her hand down on the table, but couldn't keep it still. "I…I have something I need to tell you," she finally said.

"What is it?" Flack asked, keeping his grip on her hand. Outside, the rain seemed to echo Stella's mood as it began to pick up, flooding off the awning above the window outside.

"Flack…at the Gable crime scene…I was processing it. There was some, uh, broken glass with the vic's blood on it. I picked it up, and some of it slipped and uh, it cut my arm pretty good…" The dam broke, and tears welled in Stella's eyes.

Flack could guess the rest, judging from her reaction. "God. Stella, I…he had HIV, huh?"

She nodded. Flack slid out of the booth and slid in next to Stella. He gave her a hug. "When will you know?"

She buried her head in his shoulder. "I don't know. A few months, I guess." She pulled back and chuckled. "Look at me." She wiped her eyes. "God, I'm sorry. I-"

He pulled her into a hug again. "Shhh. You've got nothing to be sorry about," he told her. "It's just fine to cry, okay?" He made a promise to himself right then that he would be there for her, good news or bad. He tilted her chin so that she was looking into his blue eyes. "If you ever need anything," he said. "You know, like a shoulder to cry on, or someone to yell at the world with you, or-" he grabbed his beer bottle and shook it back and forth- "a drink-"

Stella managed a smile.

"-I want you to know that you can call me. Anytime. Day or night." He held her hands in his. "I will drop everything and come to you."

"I just don't know if…if I can make it through this…" Stella whispered, the tears returning.

"Stella, listen to me." Flack said, squeezing her hands. "You are the strongest willed person I know. If anyone out there can handle this…it's you. We're probably worrying over nothing." He looked at her. "And if worse comes to worse...I will still drop everything and come to you to help you through whatever happens."

He got up. "Come on."

"What?"

He pulled her to her feet. "Come on. Grab your coat." He threw some money down on the table and grabbed his jacket. "Let's go for a walk."

"Flack, it's pouring rain outside!" Stella protested.

"So what?" Flack's eyes twinkled and Stella couldn't help but laugh at him. "It's a little rain." He opened the door and led her outside. The two were drenched in a matter of seconds. He pulled her close. "You're sweet and everything, but I don't think you'll melt."

She smiled and tipped her head back, letting the rain wash down her face. Then she smiled at him and grabbed his hand. "Thank you," she said, closing her eyes as her lips met his as the rain continued falling around them.

Stella felt her worries wash away with the rain. She knew Flack would be there for her, whatever came her way. And it made her feel...alive.

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