Author's Note: I do not own or have any claim to CSI: NY or it's established characters they belong to CBS.
Chances
As Mac was walking down the hall he saw MJ heading for the elevator at mach speed in the opposite direction. They made eye contact and MJ acknowledged him. "Hey Mac." It saddened MJ that lately, just seeing Mac, dampened her mood regardless of how good her day was going. Mac simply nodded an acknowledgement and with that she was gone. Stella walked out of layout. "Where's she off to?" Mac inquired. "She and Lindsay got a lead in the Parsons case." She informed him. "Okay. Keep me in the loop." Mac asked. Stella shook her head. "Sorry, I've got a meeting with an ADA regarding an upcoming case. If you want to know, you're going to be better off asking her yourself. " Stella stated. "Besides, last time I checked, she was quite capable of talking as well as answering questions for herself. Think of it as getting information first hand and eliminating the middle man." With that she turned and walked down the hall to her office. Mac shook his head as she left. He knew she was right on more than one count. He headed to his office to try and tackle his budget before his meeting with Sinclair. He would have to put off the needed conversation with MJ until later.
MJ had a short drive to meet Don and Lindsay. She got out of the truck and grabbed her kit. She found them easily enough in the back alley behind a convenience store." What have you got?" She asked as she walked up. Don was nowhere in sight, there was just a uniform watching over the crime scene and Lindsay. Lindsay, who was already taking pictures, answered. "Right make and model as well as color of the vehicle Miranda's friend's been seen in and the bonus, blood all over the back seat." MJ's adrenaline started to kick in, but she knew she couldn't jump the gun just yet. "Okay, any sign of the murder weapon?" MJ asked. Lindsay looked up from what she was doing "Not yet but I just started. Don's out canvassing. I'm thinking it'll be easier for us to tear down the car at the lab than here." Lindsay suggested. "Agreed." MJ put on a fresh pair of gloves and headed to the hood area of the car as Lindsay continued filming. Don walked up reading from his notepad. "Store manager says he didn't notice anything when he came to work, but hasn't needed to come out here. Says the only time he does is to take the trash to the dumpster and only does that just before dark. Avoiding the classic dark alley scenario." Don looked up and found Lindsay filming every inch of the car. "I'm assuming we're towing this in?" Don asked. "You assumed right." MJ answered from the front of the vehicle. Don hadn't realized MJ had arrived and smiled back. "Better coffee back at the lab." MJ added. Don had missed seeing MJ; with their schedules, they hadn't seen each other much over the past week. He had been staying at her place, but kept missing her. He used the excuse it was closer to the precinct but actually, being there made him feel closer to her, even if she wasn't home. "You call that stuff in your break room machine coffee?" Don asked incredulously. "No, but the coffee stand just outside of the lab has some of the best." MJ teased back. "Lindsay, I'm gonna go get a tarp from the truck to wrap the car while we wait for the tow truck." Lindsay nodded. "I'll finish up, I'm also going to take some surrounding shots. Then I figured once the car is out of our way, we can focus on the actual alley, maybe something got dropped or left behind. Who's turn is it for dumpster diving?" Lindsay asked with a big grin. MJ giggled, "It's mine and you know it. I'll grab my boots and coveralls while I'm there."
MJ headed to the truck not realizing Don was close on her heels. "Hey, Mags wait a sec!" Don called out. "For you I'll wait two seconds." MJ giggled and waited for him to catch up as they continued to walk towards the truck to get the supplies she needed. He helped her open the back. Don finally had a chance to take a good look at the woman that managed to steal his heart. The words had yet to be spoken, but he was sure his actions spoke volumes. The words would come later when she was ready. She was definitely worth the wait and he was content with just knowing how he felt. But he noticed something in her eyes and questioned. "Hey, you okay? I know things have been crazy." Before Don could proceed, MJ finally snapped. "What is it with everyone? Is that the $20,000.00 question today? Why is everyone assuming that there is something wrong? Maybe I've got a murder case to solve and up until about 20 minutes ago had almost nothing to go on." MJ regretted snapping at him before she even finished. Don's tone immediately softened: whatever it was, it was bugging her enough for others to notice. "Hey, hey, it's just me… I just haven't seen you and" again MJ interrupted. "No, I'm sorry Don. I didn't mean to snap, especially at you. Guess I've gotten out of practice and let my guard down. The gang's reading me too well and unfortunately, you've learned to read me best. If it makes you feel better, Stella got it far worse than you, last night when she cornered me. What can I say, I'm an equal opportunity snapper." MJ tried to make a joke as she took a deep breath to get control of herself and her emotions.
She started to grab her supplies when Don stopped her. He did something very rare while they were working; he took her hand and gave it a loving squeeze. Then gently touched her cheek. "It's okay. Trust me, your snapping is nothing compared to a chewing out from Sinclair." Don gave her one of his grins, which she in turn returned. "But I thought we were past you putting up fronts with me?" Don gently asked. "We are, Don." MJ looked up at him and ran her hands through her hair. "I'm just not ready to talk. The case isn't what's bugging me. Not directly, anyway. Danny's already asked if I was okay, so has Adam, even Sid's getting into the act. When the case was first dispatched, we just happened to be having lunch with Stella and we tagged along. But once I got to the scene…" MJ stopped. "What?" Don asked. "Once I realized and put it together that Charlie was probably from the streets, I knew I wouldn't be able to let it go until I had answers." MJ admitted. "That's understandable." Don agreed. "Stella wasn't sure and I promised her I could handle this case and I can." MJ stated firmly. Don confirmed, "I know you can too." Don, not wanting to push too hard but needing to ease the pain he saw in her eyes. "You are probably the best one for this case, you think like they do, you know where they've been, you know how they survive." Don reaffirmed what she was thinking. "I know that, that's not what's bugging me." MJ grabbed the needed supplies from the truck. "Then what is it?" Don asked as he shut the back of the truck. "Everyone seems to be asking me if I'm okay but the one person that should be asking me." Don took a deep breath before completing her sentence. "Mac" Don stated with a sigh. MJ never discussed in detail the issues with Mac. He made his own observations and when he asked, she would clam up. She would claim that she didn't want to put him in the middle of a personal issue. MJ just confirmed with a nod. "But after all these years I guess I should be used to it." MJ took her supplies and walked back towards Lindsay to finish processing their latest crime scene.
Within a few hours, Lindsay and MJ were back at the lab. Adam confirmed that the blood in the back seat was Miranda Parsons'. But there was something about it that was bugging him and he wanted to run some more tests. Adam told them he'd call them as soon as he confirmed his suspicions. MJ had showered from her dumpster diving expedition while Lindsay secured their newly found evidence. MJ met up with Lindsay in the garage, both wearing a pair of matching clean coveralls. "One of these days I'm going to design coveralls that don't make me look like I'm wearing a paper bag." MJ joked and Lindsay returned the giggle. "Please and better color schemes." Lindsay added. MJ nodded. They got right down to work. MJ liked working with Lindsay. They thought alike and Lindsay's attention to detail matched with MJ's organization skills: they made a great team. MJ considered herself lucky to call Lindsay a colleague but more importantly, a friend.
They worked meticulously over the next few hours covering every inch of the car from truck to hood. They found several papers in the glove box, receipts stuff in a side door compartment. There were several partial prints on the gearshift and steering wheel, also strands of hair on the driver's side headrest and on the backseat. Lindsay and MJ agreed the hair in the backseat was most probably Charlie's but they would compare and confirm. Which meant the hair on the driver's side headrest was possibly from a suspect and if they compared the partials from the car they might match the partials collected from the backpack. Unfortunately, no murder weapon was found. Sid said it was probably a 4-6 inch knife, like the ones hunters used. But due to the damage done during the attack, Sid couldn't be sure as to the exact size and width of the blade. He narrowed it down as close as he could, which unfortunately made their jobs even harder. Their murder weapon could be purchased at any local outdoor or sporting goods store. Taking a break, each having a cup of coffee in their hands, they stood staring at the car. "Maybe we missed something back in the alley?" Lindsay asked out loud. "No, I don't think so. These kids keep all their possessions close and easily accessible. If it's not in the car, our murderer still has it." Lindsay seemed to have a question on the tip of her tongue. MJ felt it and asked her, "What?" Lindsay still hesitated. "Linds, what is it?" MJ encouraged her. Lindsay tentatively approached the subject. "Since we've been working this case, you've said some things and I've got to ask; how do you know so much about how these homeless kids think and act? You seemed to be right along with their thought process." Lindsay turned and waited. MJ smiled. "I was wondering when you'd pick up on it. You are too good of an observer not to." MJ took a deep breath and looked around not wanting a big audience. "I know how they think Linds, because I was one of these kids. A long time ago." MJ stated and Lindsay to her credit had a look of disbelief.
