Disclaimer: I don't own CSI:NY. I do own Officer Wilson.
Series: 'Kindred Spirits' – there's a full list on my profile.
Spoilers: The Party's Over.
Warning: Small use of strong language.
Thanks to afrozenheart412, who gave me the idea for this one, and to everyone who responded to my 'which side should Jess be on' query.
The Party's Over
"Thank you so much for coming out here."
"Ma'am, you don't have to thank me." Jess said wearily. "I'm just doing my job."
Of course, even as she said it, she knew that the woman did have a reason to thank her. With most of the department sat at home with the 'Blue Flu', a home invasion with no casualties didn't exactly rank near the top of their priority list.
Jess understood why so many cops were protesting; she had found herself calculating whether she could afford lunch the other day without getting kicked out of her apartment because she couldn't afford rent.
And, at the same time, she could understand why Don was mad at Danny for staying home and why Lindsay wasn't, because she knew how scared Danny was about messing up with this kid, and that the thought of not being able to support his family terrified him.
And it wasn't fair that they put their lives on the line every single day and still had to moonlight just to survive.
But she still couldn't bring herself to break the oath.
It had been several years since she'd had the badge tattooed on her hip, but she imagined she could feel it burning, the words fidelis ad mortem seeming to throb against her skin.
Faithful until death.
"But I'm sure you've all got so much work to do." The elderly lady protested.
"We do." Jess admitted. "But that doesn't make this any more or less important." She sneezed suddenly. "Sorry."
"Bless you, dear." The woman offered, looking concerned. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Jess handed her a card. "Here's my card. I'll let you know of any developments."
"Thank you."
Jess made her way back to the car, Wilson following her.
"Are you sure you're alright, Detective?"
"I'm fine." Jess insisted, even as her stomach heaved. I think.
"I don't think you are." Wilson disagreed. "Maybe you should …."
"Thank you for your concern, Officer Wilson, but I am completely …" Jess cut herself off mid-sentence and dashed to the bushes.
After a few minutes, she became aware of a hand rubbing her back.
"Now are you alright, Detective?" Wilson asked quietly, pressing a cool hand to her forehead. "Because it feels like you've got the …"
"Don't say it!" Jess groaned. "That can't be it, Isobel; you know that!"
"Detective, no one's going to think …"
"But they will!" Jess protested weakly. "I can't …"
"You're going home." Wilson told her firmly. "You're no use to anyone if you start vomiting over crime scenes."
Taking a sip from the bottle of water she had in her bag, Jess raised an eyebrow silently. When her companion didn't back down, she smiled. "Alright. I'll go home."
It was a small price to pay to see Isobel standing her ground for once. She was a good officer, with fantastic instincts, but she put just a little too much stock in the chain of command, which was okay up to a certain point, but she needed to learn not to back down if her 'superiors' disagreed with her.
It was only a small step, but it was there nonetheless, and Jess didn't want to jeopardise that.
Besides, she did feel awful.
"I don't believe it!"
Lindsay started. "Don, don't do that; it's bad luck to startle pregnant women."
Don gave her a funny look. "Since when?"
"Since I said so." Lindsay shot back. "Who was that?"
"Officer Wilson." Don answered. "Guess who's gone home with the flu."
Lindsay frowned. "Who?"
"Jess."
"No way." Lindsay shook her head. "There's no way Jess is …"
"Until two days ago, I'd have said the same about Danny." Don snapped.
"You know why Danny's doing this." Lindsay said quietly, refusing to be drawn into an argument. "And whatever Jess's reasons, I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation."
"There'd better be." Don muttered.
And that was why Lindsay ended up going with him to Jess's apartment after their shifts had ended.
There was no answer when they knocked, so Don retrieved the spare key from its hiding place and let them in.
"Jess?" Don caught sight of her holster hanging over the back of a chair. "C'mon I know you're here. I've spent the last few days dealing with politicians, so you'd better have a damn good reason for not being there. Because I really don't want to think that you lied to me at the beginning of all this when you told me you disagreed with it."
"Are you done?" Jess asked from her bedroom.
Don sighed. "Yeah, I'm done."
"Good. Then you can fuck off, because I feel like shit."
"Jess …" Don began.
"Don." Lindsay interrupted. "She's not faking." She pushed the bedroom door open and stuck her head in, to see Jess huddled in bed, unwilling to move. "Oh, honey …"
"Hey, Linds." Jess smiled weakly. "Don't come near me; you'll get sick."
"Jess, I'm already throwing up every morning." Lindsay joked, touching her forehead gently. "You're burning up; have you eaten anything?"
"Tried to." Jess grimaced. "My stomach didn't thank me for it."
Lindsay glanced up as a thudding started up in the living room. "What's that?"
"Don smacking his head against the wall, probably." Jess answered. "I should probably be mad at him for thinking so little of me but …"
"You feel crappy so you just want a hug." Lindsay finished. "Alright, well, I've got to go and tend to my own invalid." She ignored Jess's sceptical snort and walked back into the main living area. "As soon as she's better, you've got some making up to do." She warned.
"I know." Don sighed. "Any suggestions?"
"Grovel." Lindsay suggested with a smirk. "Women like that."
Don sighed, watching her leave, and walked into his girlfriend's bedroom, which made him feel much worse, seeing how pale she was.
She seemed to have drifted off in the short time since Lindsay had talked to her, so he kissed her lightly on the forehead, wincing at how warm she was.
"I'm sorry, baby." He whispered. "I should know you better than that."
"Yes, you should." Jess agreed sleepily, without opening her eyes. "You should also know better than to take it out on my when you have to deal with politicians. And …" she finally looked at him "… it wasn't my idea to come home. It was Wilson's. She made me. Didn't she call you?"
"I didn't give her a chance to explain." Don admitted sheepishly. "She just said that you'd gone home with the flu. Wait, she made you go home? As in, she argued with you?"
Jess nodded. "I'm strangely proud of her."
"You're not the only one." Don grinned. "We'll make a detective out of her yet."
"I'm a little worried about her." Jess admitted. "Lately, she's been very quiet."
"Moreso than normal, you mean?" Don quipped.
Jess gave him a weak glare. "I'm still mad at you; be nice to her."
"Alright." Don soothed. "I'll keep an eye on her."
"Thank you." Jess murmured.
"You need anything?" Don asked. "Tea? Soup?"
Jess shook her head. "No, but could you hold me?"
Don smiled, kicking his shoes off and slipping into bed beside her. "You never have to ask, sweetheart."
Jess snuggled into him. "I might need to throw up." She warned.
"I know." Don murmured. "Just get some sleep, Jess. I'll be here when you wake up."
Jess sighed contentedly. "I know."
Don kissed her forehead. "Feeling any better?"
"I am now." Jess admitted sleepily.
Don didn't ask her anything else, letting her drift off to sleep, stroking her hair soothingly, inwardly berating himself for ever thinking that she would break her oath like that.
As soon as she was better, he'd make it up to her. He knew those Devils tickets would come in handy at some point.
Any other woman confronted with hockey tickets as an apology would probably throw a fit, but Jess wasn't like most women and she accepted them with a wide grin and a kiss that told Don that he was very much forgiven for jumping to conclusions.
"I love watching you watch a hockey game." Don chuckled as they walked home afterwards.
"Why's that?" Jess asked.
"You get so … involved." Don answered, kissing the side of her head. "It's so …"
"If you say 'adorable', I'll smack you." Jess warned mildly.
"I was going to say 'sexy'." Don smirked. "But it's good to see you're feeling better."
"How'd the deputy mayor's case go?" Jess asked, dropping her voice as she changed the subject.
"It was his son." Don answered with a heavy sigh. "Poor kid had OCD and Kaplan just didn't understand. Adam was the one who drew it all out. I think Stella and Mac dragged him out for a drink."
"Good." Jess murmured. "And is the Blue Flu really over or is that just a rumour?"
"No, it's really over. Robert Dunbrook donated something like 13 million to the department." Don told her.
Jess grimaced. "Oh, that's gonna come back to bite us."
Don chuckled darkly. "You can say that again."
AN: Was I the only one who wanted to give Adam a big hug at the end of this episode? And, anyone who watches NCIS, have you noticed how they've made a huge fuss about a 'recurring character who'll pose a romantic threat to someone' being introduced in the next episode and yet not even mentioned her in the promos? Call me a skeptic, but I think they're in it for the ratings.
But, I digress: Review please!