I knew I loved you before I met you

by messersmontana

This is the next story in my new series. Flack isn't back to work yet, but that doesn't mean that he can't be in the story. It's Lindsay's birthday and we get a celebration.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my idea, not the show or the song. Thanks again to Cassie for beta reading it.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to write more, but between severe weather and tornado warnings and 5 tornadoes that touched down just south of us, I have been on pins and needles. And we're not done with the severe weather, we've got it all week long.

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Jess sat at her desk, on a Friday night, doing the thing that she hated most about this job...paperwork. She'd been working on it for the past three hours and she would much rather put this one behind her. She She sighed as she thought back to the longest day in the six weeks she'd been working here.

~flashback~

Benton and Jess had been called to the scene by first responders. A body had been found in a storage unit. The unit had been empty and when the manager went to show it to a potential customer, they'd found the body inside. The horrified manager went to call 911 while the poor customer lost all contents in his stomach.

Benton called the crime lab and asked Mac to meet him and Jess at the scene. By the time they'd gotten there, Mac and Hawkes were already inside taking pictures of the crime scene. Stella was trying to talk to the manager, who kept insisting that he knew nothing about it and that the unit had been vacant for almost a year now.

"Hey Stella." Benton called out as he and Jess got out of the car. He took in the look on the manager's face and felt for him, he really looked like he was going to puke.

Stella looked over at the newcomers. "Oh, hey there Benton, hi Angell. Glad that you could join us. This is Mr. Belmont, manager of these units. He said that this one has been vacant for almost a year, and he's been sowing it for a few months now. Last time he showed it was...?" She asked, looking back at Mr. Belmont.

"I showed it a couple of weeks ago to this smoken hot little lady who decided it was too big for her. She ended up renting a smaller unit a few rows over from here." He went on to explain. "She moved her stuff in a day later and that's the last time I saw her."

Jess wrote down everything he was saying. "What's her name?" She asked him, looking up from her notebook.

He looked at her confused. "What?" He asked back, kind of like Jess had spoken another language. He also seemed to suddenly get this blank look on his face.

Jess moved closer to him and spoke slower, giving him a look that said, 'come on'. "What is her name? You know, the smoken hot little lady? The one who rented the smaller unit?" She asked again, hoping that he wasn't really that stupid.

He seemed to snap out of it then. "Oh, her. I don't remember her name, but I'd never forget what she looked like. I can go and look it up for you, if you want." He asked when Jess looked like she wanted to shoot him.

"I want." Was all that Jess said.

Benton got tired of this guy really fast. "Yeah, I'll go with you to look it up. Be right back ladies." He said, as he pulled Mr. Belmont with him towards the office.

Jess and Stella laughed at the way Mr. Belmont looked as Benton dragged him to the office. "Why do I suddenly feel sorry for that man?" Stella asked.

Jess laughed at that. "Because Benton was already in a bad mood before we got the call. Today was supposed to be his day off, but Mallery asked him to come in and cover someone's shift. We're still short handed because Detective Flack's still out on medical leave." She told Stella.

"Yeah, I hear he's been pestering Mallery, trying to get cleared to come back next month. He's doing remarkable and he's healing fast. I'm just glad that he made it, he had us so scared. He's such a great guy and a good detective. You'll see when you get to finally meet him. I know that we talk about him a lot, but we've all been working together for so long that we're almost like family. And we've welcomed you into our fold, just like we did for Lindsay when she first came to work with us last year." Stella explained with a smile.

Jess got butterflies in her stomach when Stella mentioned that he was trying to come back early. He was still constantly in her mind and dreams, and she'd still not really figured it out yet. His accident was six weeks ago and it was still driving her crazy. She wasn't like this, never had been like this with any guy she met.

Jess still hasn't spent more than three minutes with him, conscious, and the only time she'd seen him in the hospital was that first day. She was so lost in thought that she missed what Stella had just said.

"Earth to Angell, are you still with me?" She asked her, waving her hand in front of Jess's face.

Jess came back to the present and blushed. "I'm sorry Stella, what did you say?" She asked.

Stella chuckled and squeezed her arm. "I guess you were lost in your own little world. I said that we should go and see what Mac and Hawkes have found. You finally get to meet Hawkes too. I know that you've been working mostly with Danny and Mac, but now you get to meet him too. So, come on." She said as they walked into the storage unit for the first time.

Jess almost gagged at the smell, but held it inside, and she was proud of herself. Hi Mac, whatcha got?" She asked him as he stood and turned to see them walk into the unit.

"Angell, where's Benton? He called us, yet he's the one not present." Mac said.

"He took Mr. Belmont to the office to get us the name of the last person he showed this unit to. He should be back here in a few minutes." She told Mac, the turned to the other man in the room. "You must be Sheldon Hawkes, I've heard so much about you from Messer." She said as she held out her hand.

Hawkes took her hand and the shook. "Don't believe a word of it then. Coming from Danny, then it must all be exaggerated. You must be the infamous Detective Angell, I've also heard a lot about you, from Danny." He replied.

"I hope it's all been good, knowing Messer I'm not so sure." She said.

Hawkes laughed. "Yeah, Danny said that you're one of the good ones and gives you all high praises. He also said that you give as good as you get and that you're definitely a keeper. So, I'd say that Danny has all good things to say about you." He told her.

"Then I guess he can live for now, besides if I killed him, Lindsay might just shoot me. She seems to like having him around and he seems to like being around her." She said and they both laughed.

Mac interrupted them and brought them back to the reason they were there. "So, Angell, you taking lead on this case?" He asked her, motioning for Hawkes to finish taking pictures.

"Yeah, I am. Benton and Mallery thought it was time for me to take lead and see if I can move closer to ending my probation period earlier. So, what have you got for me?" She asked him.

Mac went on to tell her everything that they knew about the body, which wasn't much, and they finished processing the scene. Benton showed up with the name and number of the lady so he and Jess left the CSI's there with the body.

~end flashback~

The day had only gotten worse when Benton and Jess questioned the girl. They found out that she'd killed him, in self defense and got her brother to help her hide the body. She'd remembered that the unit was empty and they'd moved the body there. This guy had been stalking her for days and when he'd attacked her, she grabbed the first thing should find and stabbed him. They still had no ID on the guy.

Jess sighed and placed the file in her out box. She stood and stretched as her cell phone rang, she picked it up and smiled. "Hey Stella, what's up?" She asked.

Stella laughed. "Caller ID, huh?"

"Yeah, never answer the phone without looking at the caller ID. It's saved me a few times when my mom calls me while I'm on a date." Jess answered.

Stella laughed again. "I bet. Anyway, I'm calling you to invite you to Lindsay's birthday party tonight. I meant to do it earlier today, but we got caught up in the case. We're gonna have it at Sullivan's and everyone is gonna be there. Danny was off today and grabbed Don, to get his mind off of everything. They decorated Sullivan's in all of Lindsay's favorite things and it looks really good. She's gonna love it." Stella said.

Jess got all tingly when Stella mentioned Don's name. She really did want to see him and maybe figure out what it was about this man that made her so crazy. "I don't know Stella, it's been a long day, and I don't have anything to give her." She tried to explain.

Stella wouldn't hear any of it. "We can pick something up on the way. I'll be there to pick you up in ten minutes, and I'm not taking no for an answer. It's casual dress, so what you're wearing is perfect." Stella said.

Jess sighed. "Okay, okay I'll go, but I'm changing first. I have a change of clothes in my locker. See you in ten minutes." She said as she hung up the phone. Then Jess went to the locker room to change.

TBC

A/N: This is just the beginning, Next comes the party and Jess will finally come face to face with the one and only Donald Flack Jr. But don't think that they are going to start the relationship right away. I have plans. (evil grin)

Remember that I love feedback, but please be kind to me, I'm not as tough as Jess is.