They were broken souls.
He had lost the love of his life in the line of duty seven years ago.
She unfortunately from an early age she was plagued by loss… Those she loved and cared about dearly always left…from family to friends… everyone.
She built impenetrable walls in order to keep sane; it was more for her than anyone.
That was until she met him.
He was different, with those penetrating blue eyes piercing her soul, or so that was how she felt under his gaze.
He was stubborn.
He was persistent.
He questioned her motives.
He kept coming back no matter the reason or excuse she gave him.
Until something unexpected happened, she fell in love with him.
She was scared at first.
But she grew to accept it, she unwilling had given her heart to him on a silver platter for him to keep.
But when, she thought.
It could have been in the countless nights he spent soothing the nightmares away, focusing on the sound of his voice, the way he held her.
It could have been the time he kissed her in the pouring rain when she tried, unsuccessfully, to convince him to stay away from her.
She didn't know it than, and when she knew she fought the realization, that her heart was his.
He wasn't sure when it happened, but he kept telling himself he wasn't ready to let someone into his life.
He didn't care what his friends told him, he just wasn't ready.
In truth, he was scared of closing the chapter and opening a new chapter. It had been too long since he had been with someone.
Jessica…
He loved her with every fiber of his being.
He at one point considered to marry her.
Than all hopes, dreams, and aspirations, were taken away from him.
His heart still clenched at the thought of her, but he also noticed that he no longer felt the longing…
He was moving on, but on his own pace.
Things were ok at first and then he met her.
Rose
She had the most alluring gray eyes he'd ever laid on.
He also quickly discovered they were both broken, silently yelling for help, for someone to save them from themselves.
He felt something suddenly shift within him and he silently vowed to not desert her. To learn about the ghosts that plagued her and to ease the emptiness she felt.
He wanted to give her hope.
He wanted her to believe that not all people left… That some stayed.
He wanted to prove her wrong.
When she finally caught on to what he was trying to do, oh the hell, she put him through.
The walls she had protecting herself came up so fast, he almost failed to notice.
But he was persistent and stubborn. He was known not to listen, hence the reason he wouldn't let her go.
Than something unexpected happened, one stormy evening, he was staying over because she refused to let him go home in the rain.
Blood curdling screams jerked him awake.
He rushed to her room the scene upon him nearly brought him on his knees, she was curdled up like a ball, rocking herself, but still trapped in her nightmare.
"Stop, no please, no!" she said her voice hoarse from screaming. He walked to her bed cautiously, determined to make her come back – make her come back to him – he didn't realize it than, but he would come to understand why he felt her anguish that night.
He cautiously wrapped his arms around her and noticed that her shaking quickly lessened. Her shallow breaths eased. But the one that caught his attention and propelled him to finish his task was when she leaned into him. He pulled her toward his chest, cradling her.
His heart was beating painfully on his chest and he was overwhelmed by the slew of emotions he felt. He was driven out of his thoughts when she shifted resting her head on the crook of his neck.
"Don't go. Don't leave me," she whispered.
He couldn't have answered even if he tried; he just knew there was no chance, absolutely no chance of leaving her.
Never, sweetie, he thought. He tightened his arms around her and it only seem to further relax her, he silently bowed that night to never leave her alone, even if she screamed for it.
After that night he kept going to her apartment, much to her dismay, but he knew that she enjoyed his company, it was during one of this sessions, she opened up to him.
The process was slow, but eventually she told him everything, he held her as she cried and gave her space when she needed it, but never left her alone at night.
They were on the park one Friday afternoon and it was raining, they were walking side by side when she sprinted into a run and got on the mini hill and began twirling around with her arms wide open. Upon looking at her carefree attitude and the beautiful smile displayed on her face, he realized he had fallen in love with her.
He walked up to her and when her gray eyes focused on his blue ones, he permitted himself to get lost in her gaze. He noticed the slight shift in color in her eyes, she had specks of green shining through, giving her a unique color.
He smiled at her and the Gods knew he wanted to tell her how he felt, but he was scared about her running away. He had to show her somehow let her know how he felt, he raised his hand to caress her cheek, both oblivious that the rain was now falling faster.
He leaned to her and brushed his lips softly against hers, when she didn't push him away he deepened the kiss, thanking whoever was watching over him that she had not run away. When she wrapped her arms around his neck and closed whatever distance was left, he smiled into the kiss.
After that fateful day, he kissed her every time they were together, in his mind telling her, I love you.
She knew how he felt, but both of them had yet to tell it to each other.
She suspected it was the fear that the feelings weren't mutual.
She rolled her eyes at the idea; he knew everything about her, for Christ's sake!
How he couldn't wrap it around his head that she felt the same was something she failed to comprehend.
But… it might have been with how guarded she was, how quickly she was to deny and ignore when someone was interested in her.
But… he was the only guy she ever had a sexual relationship with. The only guy she opened up to.
This was more than just a physical relationship; this was more than just kisses and subtle touches.
This was everything she once dreamed about having with a guy, having that connection, unwillingly given your heart to someone.
He fixed her.
She only hoped she fixed him.
Which is why she now found herself in the middle of Central Park waiting for her knight, her savior, her angel, even if the wings were stripped off him and the fact he wasn't any of those things she saw in him.
Throughout her life the people she loved always left, scarring her.
Throughout her life she was deceived and proven she couldn't trust anyone.
She learned to not trust anyone.
She learned to never, ever give your heart to anyone.
She created walls to alleviate the pain.
She secluded herself to prevent forming relationships.
Don had changed that.
She trusted him.
She gave her heart to him, and she still didn't know how the hell did that happened.
She wasn't even aware she was capable of falling in love!
But she was and she was forever grateful to have been proven wrong.
She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't see him walking toward her.
His hand reached for her, causing her to look up, her eyes widen and she smiled.
He sat next to her taking her hand in his, squeezing it because he could sense she was nervous. Whatever she wanted to tell him was important and was taking all her willpower to form the proper sentence.
She looked at him and she couldn't imagine living her life without him in it. Just the thought in itself was enough to cause a painful tug in her chest. She averted her gaze to their hands and she smiled.
This was what she wanted and fought so hard not to have it because she thought she didn't deserve this, the peace, the tranquility, the happiness.
There were no words available for explain how she felt at the moment.
She looked up at him and smiled at him, her smile only growing when he returned the gesture, her heart was pounding in her chest but she knew this time was good just as any, "I love you."
His eyes widened and just when she thought his smile couldn't get any bigger it did, "I love you too, darling."
He leaned to her and gave her the most breath-taking kiss she ever had.
She was finally home.
She was finally complete.
He was finally healed.
He was finally where he wanted to be, at home with her.
Disclaimer: The CSI: NY characters belong to their respective owners. I am not in any way, shape, or form making any money out of this. I just like to mess with them, especially Don, I just love him. Rose, of course, is mine and mine alone along with the plot.