Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: NY.
Series: 'Kindred Spirits'
Spoilers: Grounds for Deception; The Cost of Living; Point of No Return.

Grounds for Deception

"… haven't set a date yet, but we'd like some time in the summer so we can have the reception outside and …"

Jess forced herself to keep the smile on her face as Sarah's voice drifted in and out of focus. She had had this trip back to Jersey to visit her family booked for weeks, but had still had to work through the night to close a case in order to get here on time.

Within an hour of her arrival, her youngest older brother had arrived, grinning ear to ear, with his girlfriend-turned-fiancée, whom Jess had only met a few times. She had nothing against her future sister-in-law, but wedding-talk wasn't on her top-ten list of topics at the best of times.

The fifth time she tried to stifle a yawn, her mother caught it. "Are you alright, Jess?"

"Hmm?" Jess started. "Oh. Yeah, Mom, I'm fine. Pulled an all-nighter last night, that's all."

"Jess, you should have said something!" Matt chided. "Go take a nap."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "I'm not five-years-old anymore, Matthew."

"I know, Jessica," Matt retaliated, "but you still need eight hours a night."

"Actually, studies have proved that you only need seven." Jess shook her head. "Sorry, I spent three hours going over evidence with Hawkes."

"Go and take a nap." Marie told her. "We'll be here when you wake up. If you're subconsciously quoting things like that, you must be tired."

Jess smiled weakly. "Alright Mom. Congratulations, guys." Without waiting for a response, she trudged out of the living room and up the stairs to her old room. Pushing open the door, she half laughed at the fact that it hadn't changed since she was eighteen. She dropped her bag and kicked her shoes off, collapsing onto her bed without bothering to change, but her phone rang before she could drift off.

With a frustrated sigh, she grabbed it from her bag and flipped it open. "What?!"

"Whoa, what happened to you?"

Jess sighed again, running a hand through her hair. "Sorry, Don; I didn't sleep last night. What's up?"

"Stella asked me to give you a message."

Jess settled back down, feeling her eyes grow heavy. "You need Stel to tell you to call me?"

Don chuckled. "No, of course not. Look, Angell, this is really important, okay?"

Jess's eyes flew open. "I'm listening."

"George Kolovos is dead. Stella says to step back."

If his use of her last name hadn't gotten her attention, this definitely did. "I want in, Don."

"No. Absolutely not." Don sighed. "Look, Jess, he was found with Stella's address in his pocket. There's a chance he was going after Stella and he might have another partner. Stay in Jersey."

"I can take care of myself." Jess argued.

"I know that, sweetheart; I just … Look, I'll keep you posted. Just … Stay out of it, alright?"

"Fine." Jess conceded. For now. "But I'm not happy."

"I know, babe; I'll make it up to you. Now get some sleep."

Jess chuckled. "Yes, Detective Flack. Talk to you later."

"You too."

As Jess hung up, there was a knock on the door and her father poked her head round. "I thought you were sleeping."

"I was." Jess dropped her phone. "Then my partner called."

"You don't sound happy." Cliff observed. "You wanna talk about it?"

Jess shook her head. Don hadn't been happy about her involvement in the case; she didn't want to think about how her father would take it.

"Come on, Jessie." Cliff prompted. "I promise I'll try to look at it as a Detective and not your father."

Jess groaned. "That's even worse."

"Uh oh." Cliff sighed. "What did you do?"

Jess sighed. "About a year ago, one of our CSIs was attacked by a man who had a scar on his right cheek, a heavy accent and spoke fluent Greek. As part of that case, she had recovered an ancient Greek coin. She went to the Greek embassy to talk to them about it; a man named George Kolovos introduced her to Sebastian Diakos …"

"Let me guess." Her father interrupted. "He had a scar, an accent and spoke fluent Greek."

Jess nodded. "A few months later, I caught a murder in an antique store; there was a similar coin stolen. Stella went to talk to a friend of hers, who told her that both men were involved in a smuggling ring. She was ordered to drop the case and, officially, she did …"

"But you two kept investigating off the books." Cliff finished. "How bad?"

"Undercover." Jess smiled weakly. "My partner was furious, said I was putting a target on my back. We trapped George Kolovos in a shipping container and shipped in to Cyprus, but when we got to Diakos, he was dead … we made an anonymous 911 call. My partner just called … Kolovos is back in the US and dead. Murdered. He had Stella's address in his pocket." She sighed. "What do I do, Daddy?"

"What did your partner say?" Cliff asked.

"He told me to stay out of it." Jess answered.

"Smart man." Cliff muttered. "He's right, Jess. Is he keeping you in the loop?"

Jess nodded. "He said he would."

"Well, I know how futile it is to tell you not to do anything," Cliff ruffled her hair, "so why don't we settle on this? If he calls back and it doesn't put your mind at ease, you go back."

Jess took a deep breath. "Alright. Deal."

"Danny! Where's Stella? Flack said you'd traced the murder back to Stella's old teacher?"

"Er, we did … Aren't you supposed to be in Jersey?"

"Where's Stella?!"

"Greece."

"What?! When did she leave?"

"Mac figured it out a couple hours ago."

"You failed to mention," Jess stated, "when you called and said you suspected that professor, that Stella was in Greece."

It was a mark of how well he knew her now that he no longer looked surprised to walk into his apartment to find her sitting on his couch.

"Did I?" Don asked innocently, hanging his jacket up. "How did that happen?"

"I can't believe you!" Jess exclaimed. "How could you not tell me that?! What, did you think I'd hop on the next flight to Greece?!"

Don didn't answer.

"You thought I'd hop on the next flight to Greece." Jess rolled her eyes. "Although it did get me out of wedding planning, so I should probably thank you for that. I mean, I love Matt to pieces, but I can't deal with those conversations."

"Your brother's getting married?" Don asked. "Tell him I said congratulations."

"I will." Jess crossed her arms. "But you're changing the subject!"

Don sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry; I should have told you everything."

"You really thought I'd fly out when Mac was already there?" Jess asked. "It was Stella I was worried about; if she's got him, she doesn't need me."

"I didn't think you would." Don corrected slowly. "I was afraid you might. There's a difference."

"Don …" Jess caught his hand as he passed and tugged until he sat down next to her. "I've been a homicide detective for over three years now; I've been your partner for almost as many. Why do you suddenly not trust me to do the right thing?"

"Jess, this has nothing to do with not trusting you." Don protested.

"Then what has it got to do with?" Jess asked wearily. "Because I'm at a loss."

"It's …" Don sighed again, moving from her side to the coffee table in front of her. "Look, Jess, this has nothing to do with you as a detective, alright? You're a damn good cop and you'll never hear me say anything different. It's like I told Stel; I care about you. A lot. And I know our jobs put us in danger and we can't escape that … but I had an opportunity to keep you around this time and I took it. It was my judgement that was flawed, Jess; not yours."

Jess searched his eyes, finding nothing by truth and affection in his eyes. "That doesn't make your judgement flawed, Don, but you could have told me …"

"Oh, like you told me that you were the one who found Diakos murdered?" Don cut her off.

"I was going to!" Jess protested. "I was gonna tell you, Don, I swear to God. But then you came home and Marty Pino had just been arrested … and after that there never seemed to be a good time."

Don sighed, cupping her face. "Call it even?"

Jess couldn't help chuckling. "Alright."

"Good." Don leaned in and kissed her. "On the bright side, I get you back a few weeks early. And you've still got those weeks off."

Jess pulled a face. "Which means I have to stay at home while you're at work."

"Or it means that we're guaranteed to be off at the same time." Don pointed out, moving back to the couch and pulling her closer.

Jess brightened. "There's a thought." She settled into his lap. "So Robert Dunbrook's trial's coming up. Are we getting him?"

"We have to." Don scowled. "I'm not letting that son-of-a-bitch go."

"As criminals go, Don, he's not one of the worst we've come across." Jess reminded gently.

"I just don't like him." Don muttered. "I think it's because he's dragging the Ann Steele case out."

"Hey." Jess cupped his face, forcing him to focus on her. "He's history. Look at the future instead."

Don kissed her. "I am."

AN: I must admit, this isn't one of my favourite episodes, but it was one of the most popular options on my poll, so I hope I did it justice. Everyone who hasn't voted, please do – it's not there for the hell of it – and, as always, review!