Disclaimer: I do not own any of the CSINY characters, but Abby is mine!

A/N: This is my first CSI fic. Reviews are appreciated, constructive criticism as well  Enjoy! Let me know if this is worth continuing…

Chapter One

Don Flack Jr scoffed to no one in particular as he sat in the stairwell of his apartment complex. Here he was, an NYPD detective, son of an NYPD legend, and he couldn't even carry his two grocery bags up the stairs to his 5th floor apartment.

It had been two months since he was injured in the bombing. He was tired of having everyone offering to help him with the simplest tasks. He figured he could at least go pick up milk, eggs, and bread at the store, but apparently he was wrong.

He heard the door of the stairwell open and voices echoed through the area. 'Just great' he thought to himself 'All I need is some stranger taking pity on me.' It was quite obvious the he needed help. He could feel the cold sweat on his brow and he knew he was noticeably huffing and puffing as he sat on the 3rd floor staircase….two floors away from where he needed to be.

He could hear the voices getting closer. It sounded like two girls. 'Shit' he thought to himself. He tried to get up but was forced to stop. Pain seared through his chest and down his left arm. He heard the door to the second floor open, words were exchanged, and it closed. A single set of footsteps continued up the stairs.

Flack recognized her when she rounded the corner. 'Crap.' He thought 'The girl that Mrs. Myers is always bragging about. The nice young lady with a heart of gold in 5F.'

Their eyes met for a brief moment and she smiled. Flack immediately looked away. She started up the flight of stairs he was sitting on. Just before she reached the step he was sitting on, she spoke.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Flack could tell she was being sincere.

"Uh, ya. Fine. Thanks." He replied. His response came out a little harsher than he had intended. He could tell by the look on her face that she was slightly taken aback.

"Okay then. Have a nice evening." She smiled briefly as she walked past him. It wasn't the same smile as the first one she had offered him. It was once of those 'polite smiles', but Flack knew it was because he had acted like a jerk.

He though for sure she'd stop and offer to help, but moments later he heard a door open and the footsteps fade away. He cursed himself for being a jerk, and then cursed himself again for being slightly disappointed that she hadn't offered to help. After all, he didn't need help.

Flack spent ten more minutes cursing himself, and another five minutes wallowing in self-pity before he was interrupted by a door opening above him. He heard footsteps, although they didn't sound like normal footsteps. He turned to look up the stairs and winced as he did so. 'Ok' he thought 'this person is barefoot…with hot pink toenails…'

The person came down a few more steps. Flack couldn't believe it, but he actually got the butterfly feeling in his stomach. Flack found himself looking up at Mrs. Myers' 'nice young lady with a heart of gold in 5F.' She smiled at him, almost looking sheepish. He just stared back.

His mind was racing. Why hadn't he noticed her before? She looked so…..he couldn't place it….hot? sexy? cute? Who knew pink flannel pj bottoms and a white t-shirt could look so good. Bare feet, glasses and brown hair in a messy bun with wisps of hair all over the place along completed the 'au-naturel' look. He quickly jolted himself back to reality and he looked away shaking his head. He couldn't even walk up a few flights of stairs, how could he ever expect to satisfy a woman like her?

She boldly came down the last few steps and sat beside him. He noticed she was holding two juice boxes and two granola bars.

"I know you said you were fine, but looked a little…uh….not fine, no offence. So, I brought you a snack, to help convince you to tackle the next few flights of stairs." She said as she poked the straw into the juice box and handed in to Flack.

"Oh, uh, thank you?" he said as she opened the granola bar wrapper.

"You're not allergic to peanuts, are you?" she asked seriously before handing him the granola bar.

Flack bit back a laugh. "No."

"Okay, good. You never know these days." She said and smiled at him before turning her attention to her own juice box. They sat in silence for a few beats before Flack worked up the courage to speak. What did he have to lose? His dignity had already been tossed out the window.

"How did you know I was still down here?"

She smiled. "My cat."

Flack looked at her like she was beginning to sprout a second head.

She laughed. "I guess I should probably explain. Miss Piggy, my cat, can hear when someone opens the door to the stairwell. Whenever it opens she runs to me and meows. She's been sleeping since I got home, so I figured you were still down here."

Flack smiled and stuck out his hand. "Don Flack, 5C. Nice to meet you."

"Abby Everett, 5F." she smiled and shook his hand. Flack was beginning to enjoy his new sense of bravery.

"I don't usually hang out in the stairwell..." Flack started to explain.

"And I don't usually offer snacks to strangers." She smiled

"I just haven't been normal, I mean, able to do normal things….no, that's not what I mean…" he started to stutter. Dammit, there were the butterflies again…

" S'ok, you don't have to explain yourself to me." She smiled reassuringly.

Flack instantly felt better when she smiled at him. "No, it's just, I was injured on the job a couple of months back. I'm just tired of not being able to do shit." He stopped and looked at her expectantly.

"So…you figured you'd prove yourself by climbing five flights of stairs with your groceries?"

Flack chuckled. "Well, when you say it like that, it makes me sound egotistical and stupid."

"Well….you are a man…" the second the words were out of her mouth, Flack could tell she wanted to take them back. She brought her hand to her mouth and blushed. "Gosh, I'm really sorry."

Flack laughed out loud for the first time in a long time. "No, no, don't worry about it! It's the truth. You know, this is the first normal conversation I've had with anyone since the bombing." He started. "Everyone is always trying to help."

"I could tell by the death look and curt response earlier that you didn't want and of it." She replied as she held out her hand for his empty juice box and granola bar wrapper.

"Ya, sorry about that." He smiled

"I get that a lot at work." She replied. "I'm a physical therapist at St. Vincent's. You're lucky I just got home from work. I still have my friendly, bubbly personality turned on." She winked.

Flack smiled "What's your normal personality?"

"You're the detective, you should be able to see right through my act." She smiled

"How did you know?" he asked. He was really starting to like this girl.

"Well, Mrs. Myers is your biggest fan, and I saw you on the news awhile ago. Takes a long time before a girl will forget those blue eyes." She winked at him and started to get up. "It was nice chatting with you Don."

"Likewise." Don nodded as he slowly (and painfully) got up. He noticed that Abby reached for him when she saw him wince, but quickly pulled back.

"Maybe I'll see you around?" she asked

"Of course." He smiled. With that, Abby turned to walk up the steps. Flack waited a few beats before speaking again.

"You're not going to offer to help?" he asked in a teasing tone.

She turned around and smiled a smile that made Flack's knees like jello. "I thought you'd never ask." She exclaimed as Flack saw relief wash over her face.

"It's gonna sound corny, but I'm glad I could help. I really didn't want to leave you here alone in the stairwell." She laughed.

"Ok, but it's our little secret, and you have to let me open the door for you, ok?" he replied.

"You've got yourself a deal Ducky!"

"Ducky?" he asked as they started up the stairs.

"Ya, you know….Donald Duck? Ducky? Don't tell me no one's ever called you that?"

"Umm, no, can't say I've ever been called Ducky." He laughed.

"Humph. I can't believe that. Kids must have lacked imagination back in the olden days, eh?" she smiled at him as he opened to door to their floor.

"Just how old do you think I am!" he exclaimed.

"How old do you think I am?" she asked him back.

"Oh no, I'm not playing this game." He smiled as he put his key in his apartment door. He turned to look at her. "Fine" he said. He brought his hand to his chin and looked at Abby intently. She stood and started back at him, trying not to laugh.

"Well, you have a job….a job that requires college education. You seem mature, but the whole barefoot thing says otherwise." Abby looked at her feet and wiggled her toes. Flack chuckled. "See what I mean? I'm gonna go with…..25?"

"Really? Why thank you!" She smiled

"I got it right?" he asked, praying that she was indeed 25. A 25 year old wouldn't think he was old.

"Close, but no banana Ducky." She grinned. "22."

Flack's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "I just graduated in April, got the job here. I've only been at St. Vincent's for 4 months." She supplied.

Flack tried to mask his surprise. She was young, well, not that young, but young enough to think that he was old. His chances with Abby were next to nothing.

"Well, that was fun." She smiled. Oblivious to Flack's inner turmoil. "Here are your groceries. I'll see you around Ducky!"

"Wait! How old am I?" he asked. He had to know what she thought. He knew he was just digging a deeper hole.

She laughed. "Ummm, I'm gonna so with…..29…no! Wait, 28!"

"You had it right the first time kid, 29 it is." Flack responded and instantly cursed himself for using 'kid'. Way to kill off what little chance he had….

"Dammit! I always do that. Should learn to go with my first response!" she giggled.

"Well, I'll see ya 'round." Flack said as he opened his door. He wanted to get out of this situation as fast as he could.

"Adios Ducky!" she said as she walked over to her apartment.

'Way to go Don…you took things from potential hot romance to big brother in less than a minute.' Flack sighed.