Disclaimer: I own Anna, but not Don Flack – that character belongs to the creators of CSI:NY and those affiliated with the show. I know, I'm upset about it too.

She was mad. No, scratch that, she was frustrated. The computer in front of her made a sound and shut down. Turning her chair around, she looked out the windows onto the street just 2 floors below.

'How could one man be so stubborn, day in and day out,' she wondered as she propped her feet up on the windowsill.

If her colleagues looked in now, they would ask her which client or employee had frustrated her now, try to get her to laugh and move on.

Anna sighed, because she knew it wasn't work that she was frustrated about this time. This time it was Don. She had called him earlier and he sounded like he was lost in a tunnel, very far away and very down. Lord knew she had tried to give him his space once his cases had cleared, but damnit if it wasn't getting harder and harder to do that.

Sighing, she packed up her stuff, said goodbye to her colleagues and made her way home. She had to sneer a few times at the guys who thought that her being female entitled them to touch, or think to touch. At her stop, she even had to roll her eyes at the street prophets, preaching on and on about how the government would lead to the downfall of civilization. 'Home,' she thought, 'I just need to get home.'

Once home though, she changed into her clothing of choice – jeans and a t-shirt – and made her way into the kitchen. Something was off, and she noticed on the wipe board she had that he had written down dinner for tonight. 'Yeah,' she thought, 'fat chance of that happening.'

"But why not," she asked aloud, her index finger tracing his handwriting. "If he won't meet me for dinner, why not take dinner to him? Hell, why not take him dinner?"

She quickly pulled on her shoes and a light coat. Making sure everything was turned off, she made her way downstairs and back to the subway. 'Come on,' she thought, getting antsy, 'only 2 more stops.'

Anna sighed when her stop came into view, and quickly bolted up the stairs. One street down was Don's apartment and one additional street beyond that was a halfway decent Chinese restaurant. She cautiously made her way to the restaurant, ordered the take away and made her way back to his building. Thankfully, his next-door neighbor recognized her and let her in.

It wasn't until she was knocking at his door that she hesitated. 'He might be mad at me, or not at home, or not hungry, or out with everyone else,' she thought. Her train of thoughts ended when he opened the door and looked at her.

She smiled and he tried to get his tongue wrapped around the words.

"Anna, what's going on," he asked.

"Don," she walked over and put her hand on his cheek, "I've been giving you the space you need, after the cases, since we met. And it worried me. We don't have to talk, we don't have to do anything, but I needed to see you tonight. You sounded so lost when we talked earlier. So I thought I'd bring food, can't have you sitting here tonight drinking whiskey without food."

"You're going to cook?" Her stomach flip-flopped when he turned on the smile and his eyes took her in.

"Now, don't get all funny with me detective," she said as she turned and picked up the bag. "You know I'm a takeout girl all the way. Chinese?"

Nervously, she made her way into his kitchen, trying not to glance at the couch and the closed door to his bedroom. 'Down girl,' she told herself getting the food ready, 'not quite yet.'

The food served up, she handed him his plate and followed him back into the living room, such as it was, and started eating. She didn't feel awkward anymore about having done this, and even surprised herself at finishing before he did.

Don finished eating quietly, and when he got up, she decided to turn the tables on him.

"Don?" She called while he was looking for the fortune cookies. "Since you have whiskey, would you mind pouring me some too?"

A smile floated across her face when she imagined his face at that. He only knew her as a wine and beer girl, and she was unless severely down. But she also knew that drinking alone, like he had been doing, wasn't smart and that if he were drinking so was she.

He handed her the drink and her fortune cookie, which she went through the process of opening and glancing at, but not really reading what it said. The drink wasn't cold, but was oddly comforting as she curled into his side, his left arm around her and her head on his chest. Anna knew why he didn't want her on his right side, and wasn't going to press tonight.

When they were both done with the drinks, she handed him her glass and he put both glasses on the table. He turned to her, and motioned for her to get up real quick, and her face must have shown her panic.

"Relax," he said when he saw her face. He lay down on the couch, reached for her hand and pulled her down next to him. She turned so she was facing him, and even had to laugh a little when he tickled her feet with his. Her worries about him started to fade when he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. A kiss on the top of her head, and she felt the stress and worry of the day leave her body. She slowly drifted to sleep in his arms, content with where she was and with the man beside her.