A/N: Finally! It's done! *falls down* Hope you like this angle.

Characters: Dr. Sid Hammerback, OC.

Set: Pre-CSI:NY/Around season 5

Rating: T

Warnings: None

Quote: The quote is highlighted in the fic below.

Disclaimer: I do not in any way own CSI NY or affiliates. I'm using the characters to no profit.

A Father's Love

1989

Dr. Sid Hammerback was enjoying a peaceful day off, helping his wife prepare dinner by dicing tomatoes for a salad when his youngest daughter Leonie Hammerback came racing through the kitchen, a distraught expression on her face.

Sid looked at his wife, who pulled a grimace and nodded upstairs in unspoken agreement.

The medical examiner wiped his hands and travelled up the stairs, where he could hear his seven year old banging away, throwing her bag and lunchbox everywhere, he would bet. Something must have happened at school. He knocked on the door quietly.

"Go away!" Leonie screamed from behind the door.

"Leonie, what's wrong?" Sid asked patiently.

"Go away! I hate everyone! I hate it, I hate everyone, even you!"

He wouldn't admit it aloud, but whenever either one of his daughters threw words out like that, even if they didn't mean it, it cut him deep. Instantly, he knew that there was something that had happened. His youngest was a tender soul and was very compassionate although prone to fits of temper when she felt used.

"Come on, little lion. Let your dad make it all better," he coaxed.

There was a sniffle before the latch clicked and the little blonde head of Leonie peeked out. Her lower lip stuck out and her face was flushed with childish anger. Sid slowly walked in and kneeled in front of her, patting her head. "Are you going to tell me what's got you all het up?"

She crossed her little arms and shook her head.

"Leonie, you have to tell me so we can fix it. How am I supposed to get you happy again?" Sid asked her kindly.

Leonie's lower lip trembled and Sid carefully hugged her, hoisting her up and settling back down on her pretty pink bed. A fat tear rolled down her cheek and she sniffled again. "Mary wasn't very nice today at school. She's not my friend anymore," she said.

"What'd she do?"

Leonie lifted up the hem of her shirt and showed her father a red handprint shaped mark on her pale little belly. "Mary hit me. She did it because she wanted the ball I was playing with. She didn't even ask to share!"

Ah, the trials of young children.

Sid knew that there had been some kind of pain behind his child's anger. She was too sweet a girl to be angry for no reason. While all he could do for the slap was to put a dab of cream on it, the main issue was for Leonie's mood. He asked, "Do you think daddy could kiss it better?"

Leonie nodded.

He did so, pressing a quick kiss on it and then blowing air over it, causing her to giggle. "That tickles daddy!" she squealed.

Sid smiled. That had been the goal, to get his daughter smiling again. Life was too short to stay angry for long, and he saw it as his job as a father to prevent that as much as possible. He tickled her again, and said, "You feel better? Want to come and help mommy and I with the salad?"

Happiness restored, Leonie nodded and clung to her father as he stood and made their way down the stairs.

Twenty Years Later

Sid shook his head as he tucked his latest victim away in the sealed cadaver chamber. Another sad case of jealousy and greed affecting the youth of the city. This victim was a 21 year old female who had been murdered by her older alcoholic brother because she stood to inherit everything from their parents. It was difficult to cut into this one, as she faintly resembled his youngest daughter Leonie.

It was ironic in a way, for he was meant to take a lunch break in a few minutes and meet her at the corner deli for lunch.

He prepared to take off, washing his hands and changing out of his scrubs and into street clothes. On his way out he waved to Mac before boarding the elevator and leaving the building.

As Sid reached the deli, he saw the familiar blonde waves of his little lion, the sweet Leonie.

Only she didn't look so sweet.

She was tapping her nails on the table impatiently, a hint of red in her cheeks, a pout twisting her usually pleasant face. A thread of foreboding settled in Sid's stomach and he went in unassuming of anything. It could be that Leonie as putting up a front to turn away some unwanted attention. When he got closer to the tiny table, it became clear that was not the case.

"Dad, you're late," she snapped.

Frowning, the ME checked his watch. "Only by a few minutes, but I'm here now," he murmured as he sat.

Leonie huffed, obviously unimpressed with this. "You'd think, you know, because I was your kid that you'd actually make an effort to get out of that sucking hole you call a job and pay some attention to reality, not the dead."

Sid raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I'm sorry, is this meant to be picking a fight with your old man or is this a nice lunch?" he questioned.

The blonde rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Whatever."

"Hey, my job is demanding. I make every effort in my time off to make time with you guys and your mother," defended Sid in an even tone.

Leonie glared back and sighed, "Sure. Right."

"What's the matter? Did something happen today or-"

"You know what, I'm not up to this lunch. I'll see you later dad." Before Sid could call her back, Leonie rushed off, twisting out of the door like a wraith. He sat, stunned by this behaviour. He had a few options. He could ignore this. Or he could run after her and get mad. Or, he could take the option that made the most sense. Something had to be wrong with his daughter. But how would be get the answer from her without her exploding?

He ordered a sandwich to take away and wandered slowly back to the lab, thinking it over. Then, the idea struck him.

He knew what to do.

It was later that night when Leonie Hammerback was watching 'The Notebook' with tissues by her side that the knock came at her door.

She knew that knock.

Only her father would knock four times in a row with a second between each knock.

She bit her lip, sniffling. While she wanted to be stubborn and shut him out, she knew her father's persistence. And the worst was that he hardly ever yelled. It was that quiet disappointment or sorrow that always came through that was sure to trip her guilt more than angry yelled words did. She was the one that yelled. Her father was a rock, a stalwart pillar in a cyclone. With a huff, she got up from her couch and unlocked the door to her apartment.

A wave of tears came to her eyes when she saw her dad there with a blast from the past in his arms.

"Hey Leonie," Sid said kindly, holding forward the faded but obviously loved violet coloured Care Bear.

"Oh dad...you brought me Harmony Bear. I can't believe you had it still!" the blonde woman exclaimed, taking it from Sid and gazing at it fondly. She then looked up to her father and instantly felt guilty for pushing him away. She flung her arms around his neck and mumbled, "Thanks dad."

"You looked like you needed some cheering up today. I knew you weren't really mad at me."

Leonie drew back, staring at the ground, unable to swallow her pride any more. She led her dad inside and sat next to him under his arm, her old comfort toy in her hands. She felt like a little girl again when she would run to Sid and he would always give her attention no matter how exhausted he was when he got back from working at the ME's office. "I wasn't mad at you. I just...an hour before I met up with you, Mark...Mark, uhm...well he broke up with me over the phone."

"He broke up with you?" Sid asked in surprise. He had liked Leonie's boyfriend Mark. A nice enough manager of a bar on the Upper East Side where Leonie worked a few blocks down as a counsellor for depression. This was unexpected.

"Yeah. He said that it just wasn't working and that he met someone else. He said he didn't want to cheat and thought making a clean break was the best way to get with her," Leonie admitted sadly. "I took my anger out on you and I didn't mean to. I was just asking myself what I did wrong, why I didn't see he wasn't as into anything we did anymore."

"I'm sure it was nothing you did," reassured Sid, "these things sometimes happen."

"It was just...unexpected. And it hurt."

"Where there is anger, there is always pain underneath," Sid said wisely. "That was by Eckhart Tolle. Remember, those books you got me for Christmas a few years ago by him? They taught me a lot."

"Even with dealing with emotional daughters?" Leonie asked with a hint of self depreciating teasing.

"Yes. But I deal with you because you're my beautiful little lion. I've always been proud to be your father, no matter what." Sid held her tighter and patted her back as some tears fell.

"Thanks dad," she whispered.

"Anytime sweetheart. You'll be back on your feet before you know it," he replied.

A/N: I could not think of anything to do with this quote at first because there were so many options I could go with. I lost motivation for it. And then...I saw a Care Bears commercial and the idea took off. Weird, huh? Anyway, reviews are always appreciated.