A/N: The Greek translations are in brackets. I am fluent in Greek, so the phrases and translations are mine. If you want to know, all you have to do is ask! ^_^

This is a more emotional chapter than the last. It kind of sets Emily's back story a little bit.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! It means so much to me that you guys like my story!

So sorry this took so long, school has been keeping me impossibly busy lately…

Chapter 3

Hellenic Spirit

Don Flack Jr. walked into his apartment that night with only one thing on his mind: Emily. From the moment he had seen her playing pool like a pro – hell, from the moment he laid eyes on her at that crime scene – he could scarcely think about anything else.

Her long, near black hair that looks so soft and shiny and reaches to the small of her back and her eyes, those searing orbs of steel blue and silver that seemed to see right through him had possessed his entire mind from the very first moment. Not to mention that infectious smile that makes him melt on the inside every time he sees it. Oh, yes, in Don Flack's eyes, Emily Brooks was absolutely perfect in every way. God, how he loved it when he caught her blushing after their little stare contests, it almost, almost made him blush and grin like he was 15 years old again with his first crush.

It wasn't just that she was beautiful, oh no. Emily was bright and intelligent; she had a great sense of humor (where she and Lindsay came up with those songs, he had no idea!) and to top it all she knew how to put a man in his place. Just that morning he had nearly kicked him to the ground because he hadn't let her in the crime scene for crying out loud. Something told him that if she had, he would not have come out unscathed from the experience.

Falling onto his bed, sleep over-took him as he dreamt of the young Detective who joined his team that very same day.

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The couple of days later, in the lab…

"Boom!"

"Emily, it looks like you cracked your first case. Congratulations!" Mac said to his beaming CSI. Emily was ecstatic. She had solved her very first case, and he couldn't have been any prouder. Stella heard the conversation from the hallway and decided to walk in the lab.

"Aγάπη μου?" (My love?) she asked Mac softly. Good thing no one but Mac understands what I just said or we would have some problems. Stella was really happy at that point that she had taken the time to teach Mac some Greek, even before they had been together because she could be freer with her endearments at work and no one would be the wiser.

Emily was a little taken aback but recognized the words that Stella said. Wait. Stella is Greek? I should have known. Her name is Stella for crying out loud! It really doesn't get more Greek than that. She didn't say anything though, remembering Stella's reluctance at the bar to reveal who her boyfriend was. It wouldn't exactly be the best way to gain her trust, but the covert flirting made her want to laugh.

"Hey Stella." Emily said brightly, her eyes shining with the thrill of solving her first case.

"Congratulations, Emily! I knew Mac made the right choice by hiring you!

"Είναι πολύ έξυπνη, αγάπη μου, τι λες;" (She is very smart, my love, what do you think?) she added, smiling at Mac and staring him straight in the eyes for a few seconds.

Emily beamed; positively radiant with happiness from the compliments, but her more mischievous side took over as she turned around and said with a playful smile.

"Ναι, είμαι. Ευχαριστώ." (Yes, I am. Thank you.) Emily stayed long enough to watch them tear their eyes away from each other, their heads snapping towards her, and then turned around and left the room leaving a stunned Mac and Stella to look after her. "Αντίο!" (Goodbye!)

She thought it was funny (not to mention adorable) that Stella used the endearment for Mac in Greek and laughed to her self, as she headed to the locker room to collect her things.

Stella just stared at her retreating figure and blanched. She quickly exited the lab after giving Mac a small look, letting him know that they were ok, and followed the girl leaving a flabbergasted Danny there with a "what the hell just happened?" look on his face.

She caught up with Emily quickly. "Wait, Emily, you understood that? All of that?"

Emily winced at her older colleagues tone. She knew she shouldn't have done what she did, but she couldn't resist when they were flirting right before her eyes. It had been obvious to her that Mac and Stella were in a relationship since her first day in the lab. Hadn't anyone else noticed yet?

"I'm so sorry Stella! I just couldn't resist!" Emily said with a laugh, but cringed as the woman paled even more at that. Emily quickly rushed through her explanation, trying to soothe her.

"I am sorry, I noticed Mac blush when the team was interrogating you about your new boyfriend, yesterday and then the look you gave him and I sort of figured it out. I don't think anyone else noticed. I just thought it was against policy and that is why they were keeping Danny and Lindsay quiet too."

"It's ok." Stella relaxed a little at her words. "It's not against policy per se, but it is generally frowned upon, especially since Mac is technically my superior, so we just didn't tell anyone. We just thought we would keep it to ourselves until someone figured it out. Do you mind…?"

"No problem. I won't say anything. I am really sorry."

"What are you sorry about? I dropped the bomb!" Stella said, cringing internally. Her young CSI, was a little more perceptive than she would have liked, but she had to admit that it would be great for her job.

A small, awkward silence filled the room as both tried to find a topic of conversation. Finally, Stella asked. "Where did you learn Greek? You seem pretty fluent. More than me at any rate"

"It is a long story."

"I have time. You already solved the case, and right now there aren't any others." She told her young CSI with a smile.

Emily looked a little uncomfortable for a second and contemplated not telling Stella what had happened, but then thought that she would find out sooner or later and after softer sigh started talking.

"When I was a baby, I was adopted by a Greek family. I just kind of picked it up on the way. I am completely bi-lingual. My dad was only half Greek, but he was still pretty fluent and my mom was straight from Greece. They taught me everything I know." Emily said with pride in her voice.

"Wow. I would very much like to meet them sometime. They sound amazing."

A shadow appeared on Emily's face and she frowned lightly. Stella noticed and wondered what was wrong.

"Um… That would be great Stel, but, um, my parents… died… a long time ago. Gas leak explosion." She said with sadness in her voice.

"Oh. I am so sorry Emily. I didn't know. It must have been terrible. If you don't want to talk about it, I understand."

"No, it's ok. To tell you the truth, I don't remember the explosion. I was about 8 years old when it happened. It was Christmas day and we were at my parents' restaurant for dinner, along with the entire family. I was really happy because "Santa" had brought me a doll I had been asking for and I was showing her off to my baby cousin Maria."

Emily smiled at the memory of her younger cousin. She knew she was going to start crying soon but tried to hold back the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She couldn't collapse at work. She realized that Stella could probably sense it too, because she put a comforting arm around her shoulders as Emily continued.

Emily was surprised at how easy it was for her to talk to Stella. She usually didn't open up to people, but with Stella it was different. She felt that her concern was genuine and it put her at ease to express her feelings.

"We, we were sitting close to the entrance and everyone else was eating. The next thing I remember, I woke up in a hospital a week later. I was told that there had been an accident because of a gas leak and that the only person who survived other than me was Maria, and she was paralyzed. We were lucky I guess. The press called it a miracle. The only reason we survived was because we were standing further away than the rest of them."

Emily could feel the tears running down her cheeks now. She hadn't spoken to anyone about this in a long time.

"I was put in a foster home soon after that and kept moving around until I finished high school and emancipated myself. Somehow, I retained the Greek I had learned as a child. I had never really known another family, and I found out later that my biological mother died at birth before managing to name me or give her own name to the doctors. I consider myself to be Greek, even though I have no idea what I really am."

"So you have no way of finding out what your biological parents are?"

"No. My mother arrived at the hospital alone and fell unconscious almost immediately. I have no idea where my father was."

"Oh, Emily. I had no idea!"

"It's ok, Stella." Emily said with a small smile. Just then Stella's phone started ringing rather loudly, interrupting their conversation. Stella unclasped it from her side and checked the ID quickly giving Emily an apologetic look.

"I have to take this, but do you want to meet for drinks after shift? I will ask Lindsay to come too if that is ok."

"That's fine. I will see you then."

"Ok. Bye!" With that she turned around and started exiting the break room while answering her phone. "Bonasera!"

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Back in Mac's office…

Mac was pacing up and down in his office. How could they have been so careless! He sat on the windowsill and looked at the New York traffic. For the second time in one day, Mac found himself marveling at Emily's abilities. After all she had only known him and Stella for a few days and she had already proven that she could see right through them. He didn't doubt that she would make a first rate CSI, as soon as her rookie days were past.

Stella walked into his office and found him staring out the window lost in thought.

"Aγάπη μου... Aγάπη... Mac? … MAC!" (My love? ... Love?) Stella yelled, snapping him out of his reverie. "Where are you floating?" she asked him with a sweet smile.

"Just wondering if we are really that obvious. I mean it took Emily all of two days to figure it out and the rest of them know us so much better." Stella sighed and walked over to the window taking one of his hands in hers.

"Mac, I don't think we will be able to hide it for much longer. I don't believe Emily will say anything, she seems trustworthy enough. I just don't think there is any point in hiding it anymore." She was looking straight into his eyes, like she always did, and as usual Mac felt like she was reading his bare soul. No one had ever been able to read him as well as the woman that was standing in front of him. It had unnerved him in the beginning of their partnership so many years ago, but now it had become their primary mode of communication.

"You are probably right. I just don't want to deal with office politics and IAB on top of everything else." He said, wincing the thought. He was a fairly private person, and while he didn't mind his lab family knowing what was going on, the idea that the brass would dissect his love life didn't appeal to him one bit.

"I know. I don't either, but there isn't much they can do. There is no rule against relationships in the lab, so as long as our work remains at its current level, we shouldn't have any trouble."

"I agree with you, but at the same time I don't want to make an announcement."

"I think that would be a little awkward."

"So what do we do?"

"We just carry on as usual, and see which one of the figures it out first. Except now, when I feel like giving you a hug or a kiss, I can." She said and with a playful smile, closed the distance between them in a tight hug. She loved the feeling of his arms around her. It felt safe, it felt like home to just sit there with his scent engulfing her. They stood there for a minute, lost in their own little world. As she pulled away, she lightly pecked his lips.

"As much as I would love to stay here all day, Stella, I know you have a DB by Central Park." He said with regret. When he held her in his arms, everything felt right and he didn't like to relinquish that feeling.

"Ok, I'll take Emily. I think she will enjoy being in the field."

"Go. If you need an extra set of hands let me know. Everyone else is busy at the moment and all I have to do is paperwork."

"Bye, αγάπη μου" (my love) Stella said and gave him another peck on the lips, before heading out.

"Bye. Be careful."

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A/N: The final SMacked scene sort of popped into my mind at the very end and begged to be written. Let me know what you think of it! ^_^

Now that the seminar I was going to is over, I should be able to update more frequently.