Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY. Never will.
A/N: NO FLAMES! Not accepted.
2nd A/N: I know that it seems unlikely that Mac would leave someone pregnant but neither knew until Mac was back in New York and he was so busy he couldn't leave. It's fiction let's remember that.
Chapter Three – School
"Amanda! Danny's here are you ready?" Mac called to his daughter on September 1st. She stuck her head out of the door of her room.
"One minute Dad. I'll be right out." She said. Danny looked at his boss, hands stuffed in his pockets.
"She's a Sweetheart, Mac. Lucy adores her. It's like they're sisters!" Mac smiled, yeah, Amanda did adore Lucy and vice versa. With Mac being Godfather, it meant that Amanda was sort of like her God sister. Lucy already could call her 'sissy'. Amanda then came waltzing out of her room in her school uniform. Danny gave a whistle of approval and Amanda did a twirl. She grinned and let her eyes fall to her father.
"Daddy? What do you think?" She asked. She's only called Mac 'Daddy' a handful of times, but he relished each time. Mac smiled.
"Perfect. Go knock 'em dead kiddo." Amanda smiled and picked up her satchel kissed her father and followed Danny out to the SUV. Lucy was in the back.
"Sissy!" She cheered as Amanda climbed into the passenger seat.
"Hey, there Lu. Where are you off today? Day-care?" Amanda said reaching back and tickling Lucy's tummy.
"Daddy needs a little rest so, yes, Lucy is going to Day-care." Danny said, Amanda giggled.
"What about Lindsay?" She asked.
"At the lab." He replied. He pulled up at the High School a little while later.
"Someone…either me or Don will be here at three to get you. You know your Dad's busy. So be careful and don't get into trouble. Okay Kiddo?"
"Yes Dad." Amanda drawled and grinned; she blew Danny a kiss and walked off into school confidence radiated from her. She was far too confident for a 14-year-old. Danny shook his head.
"Okay guys, welcome to Home Room, you should all have your class schedules. We also welcome Amanda Taylor to our school. She just moved here from England so welcome Amanda." The class murmured a welcome. Half of them probably didn't know that England was a country let alone where it was! She sighed and shared a smile with one boy in the front row. He was cute. He probably already had a girlfriend. It would be just her luck, but she was 14, she had heaps of time to date.
When the Bell sounded she got out to the corridor where she looked at her schedule. She frowned.
"Need a hand?" She looked up, the boy from the front row stood in front of her; he was smiling and seemed friendly enough. He held his hand out for her schedule. Slowly, she handed it to him.
"You've got biology first. So have I." He said handing her schedule back.
"You're like my personal guide." She said.
"Sort of. I'm Paul Andrews." He said holding out his hand.
"Amanda Taylor. But you knew that. Call me Manda." She said, he smiled.
"Mandy?" She shook her head.
"No. I hate that name. It's Manda of Mans." She said.
"Manda it is." He agreed leading her into the biology lab. They sat together.
"Okay class take good look at the person sitting next to you and it had better be someone you don't know too well because I expect work to be done but they are going to be your lab partner for the rest of the term." Amanda glanced at Paul and smiled at him, he returned it. She was new and knew nobody, so she had the perfect situation to work with.
Amanda and Paul got on well. He told her things no other boy would. He seemed to confide in her. He told her how, over the summer, he'd 'come out' to his parents about being gay. His brother, Carter, had come out about being homosexual to their parents a month before. Carter they could live with that…but Paul as well? He told Amanda that his mother was okay with it.
"She's not totally in love with the idea, but she says she still loves me because I'm her son. You know?" Amanda imagined what it would be like if she had to reveal to her father that she liked girls. He wouldn't be all that wrapped in it she thought.
"My father on the other hand," Paul went on, "he's not at all into the idea. He tried to smack it out of me. Carter's the star child. He's the Quarterback on the football team. None of the team know about it, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything." Paul said, Amanda shook her head.
"No, of course not. I wouldn't dare." She told him, "You know my parents aren't married. My full name is Amanda Driscoll-Taylor. My mother was a doctor then and ME and my father works with the NYPD."
"No way! Seriously? That's awesome. You said your mother was?" He said, Amanda blushed.
"Oh she had to resign. She got diagnosed with some form of Cancer. She wouldn't tell me what it was, but I guess it's pretty aggressive, because she went downhill so fast. I was sent out here to live with my Dad. I wasn't happy about I at first but now it's not so bad." He smiled earning a grin in return.
"So…I think I have English with Carter. I sit next to him. I'm guessing you're twins," Paul nodded, "yeah I sit next to him. Nice kid. Clever."
"Yeah he's the clever one. The handsome one." Paul said, defeated.
"Does it matter if he's handsome? Most gay guys are. That's the bummer for us girls. Because they are so good-looking, so nice, so decent. But they usually already have boyfriends or something." Amanda said. Paul liked her. She was a cool girl. He was pleased that she hadn't hit on him or tried to talk him up. She just wanted a friend.
It was several days later that Amanda found out that being friends with Paul was like social suicide. But she wasn't to know. She met the Queen Bee Taylah Michaels and her ladies in waiting. Taylah approached Amanda one day while she was talking to Paul at his locker.
"Hey…you're Amanda right?" The teenager turned and found herself uncomfortably close to the blonde. She took a step back.
"What's it to you?" She said.
"Oh, come now, don't be like that. We just want to be friends." Taylah said. Amanda didn't trust her, but, with a glance back at Paul, she let herself be dragged away, down the hallway. Taylah was rattling on and on about what her parents did for their livings.
"So what do your parents do?" Taylah asked.
"My Mum's an ME and my Dad's a cop." Taylah looked Amanda up and down and then laughed. They just wanted to make fun of her. Humiliate her.
