Disclaimer: Still own no one from CSI. Yeah I know you are all shocked.

A/N: I finally have reviews….yeah. I would love to hear what others think.

Thanks Axellia, you made my day. Hope this chapter meets your standards. It will be a couple of chapters before he meets the brothers. And yes there will be some fun there.

Chapter 7: Does time really fly when you're having fun?

It was 7:15 Friday morning when Danny got off the elevator. He was hoping to talk to Mac about getting the week of Christmas off before anyone else showed up. He knocked on Mac's door who just looked up from his desk.

"Danny?"

"Hey Mac, I need a favor."

"I'm listening."

"I would like to go home with Jessica for Christmas. Can I have the week off?"

"As much as I would like to say yes, December's schedule has already been posted."

"What if I can find someone to cover for me?"

"Only if all of your shifts are covered."

"Yes."

Danny grinned as he headed to look at the schedule. It turned out that Lindsay had the day before and the day of Christmas off. And Sheldon had the day after Christmas off. They would be his first victims.

Lindsay strolled into her and Danny's office right at eight. Danny was sitting on her desk. "What do you want, Messer?"

"Just to trade a couple of shifts with you."

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

"I can probably handle that. What shift do you need me to cover?"

"Christmas Eve and Christmas Day."

"Oh."

"Come on Montana. Jess asked me to go to Texas with her, and Mac already had December's schedules posted."

"Danny, I am supposed to go with Don to his parents."

"Yeah, but you can do that any time that day."

"What about mass on Christmas Eve? I am supposed to go to that with his family too."

"Yeah, but I work the early shift both days. You should be out of here by five. Come on Montana. I will do anything."

"Anything?"

"Yes," Danny said a little exasperated.

"Fine, I need all of next weekend off. You're not scheduled. And you do all dumpster diving for the next 6 months."

"Six Months?"

"You want off?"

"Ok. Deal."

Lindsay walked off to the break room to get coffee. Sheldon was easier to convince. All Danny had to do was to take the next two late shifts that he had. Danny had worked out his schedule. He would be pulling a lot of doubles and would only have two days off in the next three weeks.

After his shift ended at five he called Jessica. She didn't answer so he left her a message.

"I can go, but I won't be able to see much of you for the next three weeks. I had to trade shifts. So I picked up several. I have to work a double tomorrow; I will try and call you sometime tomorrow. Bye."

Saturday Jessica got up about ten to the sound of her cell phone ringing.

"Hello."

"Jessica?"

"Yes."

"This is Aaron. I have a case I need you to come to the hospital. A doctor reported signs of abuse."

"Ok, I'll be there in about an hour."

Jessica showered and took Jordan to Katie, then left for the hospital. She arrived about eleven. She walked to the ER admission nurse and showed her badge.

"I'm Jessica Johnston from CPS. I was called about a child abuse case."

"Hold on, let me get the doctor." The nurse walked off and came back a few minutes later with a tall handsome red head. He walked up to Jessica.

"Mrs. Johnston, I am Dr. David Stevens."

"Dr. Stevens, what is going on?"

"I have a fifteen year old girl in room 7. She has a broken arm."

"Ok. So what made you call me?"

"When I looked at the x-ray, it looked like the bone had several previous breaks in it, so I had medical records send me any files they had on her. They started when she was 3. She has been in here for cuts, broken bones, and a suicide attempt about 3 months ago. Just thought I should bring it to your attention. I'm new to this hospital, but I can't believe someone didn't notice this sooner."

"Unfortunately, not everyone sees the signs. My job, once the connection is made, is to make sure the child is safe. Do the parents know I am coming?"

"Yes. The dad was very upset. He keeps saying that she plays sports and gets hurt a lot. I just want to be sure."

"Ok. What is the child's name?"

"Samantha Pierce. She goes by Sam."

"Ok, thanks. I will take it from here." Jessica walked into room 7. She found a small woman sitting in the back of the room, and a teenager sitting on the hospital bed wearing a neon pink cast. They both looked away from the TV when Jessica walked in.

"Hi. I'm Jessie. Are you Sam?"

The teen looked at her mother, and then back at Jessica. "Yeah. Are you here to talk to me about my arm?"

"Yeah, I am. I have to ask your mom to leave."

The girl shrugged her shoulders and nodded to her mom. After the woman had left Jessica set next to the bed.

"Where is your dad?"

"He left. Said he wasn't waiting around for someone to come inspect him."

"Are you upset that he left?"

"No, he will come back when mom calls. He always makes a scene everywhere, so I can do with out him for a little bit."

"Sounds a lot like my brother. He gets irritated really fast. Even when there is no reason for it."

"Look, I know you are trying to get me to trust you, so I will talk to you. Why don't you just ask me how I broke my arm?"

"Ok, how did you break your arm?"

"I fell off the porch and tried to catch myself."

"Did you fall or were you helped?"

"Wow that was forward. Wasn't expecting that."

"You told me to be forward. So which was it?"

"I tripped."

"You know that no matter what you say in here, one word from me and I can make you go into custody until I can investigate this." Jessica's phone rang. She looked at it, ignored it and kept talking, "So do you want to tell me why you have been in this hospital so much that they should name a wing after you? Or do I need to find out on my own?"

Sam set there for a minute, then sighed. "Look, I have an older brother. He is 18 and he has an anger problem. I just protect my mom."

"Since you were 3?"

"No, back then I just happen to be in the wrong place a lot. My mom couldn't control him so things happened."

"And who protects you?"

"That would be me."

"And what about your dad?"

"What about him? He is just as angry, only he doesn't hurt others. He hurts himself. He is...what you called a cutter."

"Sounds like you have to deal with a lot."

"Not more than other I guess."

"Let's get your mom and we can discuss your options." Jessica walked to the door and motioned for Sam's mom to come into the room. She did and set back in the corner of the room.

"Ok, here are your options. If you tell your son he is no longer allowed in the home, I will let Sam go home with you. But let me make one thing clear. I can and will make surprise visits. If he is there, I will have him arrested. Then I will have Sam taken away from you for endangerment."

"What is the other option? He is my son. I can't make him leave."

"I take Sam away now. She will not be able to come home and you would only get supervised visits with her."

"You're going to make me chose between my kids?"

"Yes, I am. You have one that is 18 and needs some serious help. And one that is 15 and needs a safe place to finish growing up. You chose or I will choose for you."

Sam started to cry. "Mom, I'll be fine in a home. I just don't want Daniel to hurt you."

"Sam," Jessica looked at the girl.

"Look, I will not hurt my mom any more. She can't choose, so I will make it easy for her. I will leave. I can go live with my aunt."

"Mrs. Pierce, is that what you want?"

"I don't know what I want."

There was a knock on the door and Dr. Stevens walked in. "Mrs. Johnston, can I speak to you for a moment?"

Jessica excused herself and went into the hall. "Yes."

"We just receive an alert. We have 2 males with gun shot wounds being brought in."

"Ok. What does that have to do with me?"

"They are the father and brother of that girl in there."

"Ok. Let me call my boss."

Jessica left and called Aaron to let him know the situation. Then she called Katie to tell her that she would not be home till late. Katie agreed to let Jordan spend the night. After talking to Katie, Jessica checked her voice mail. She had two messages from Danny. She decided she would call him later and went back into the room.

(Several hours later)

Jessica left the hospital after arranging for both Sam and her mother to stay in a hotel. Sam's father had been so mad that CPS had gotten involved he confronted Daniel. There was a fight then Daniel shot his father in the arm. They fought over the gun and Mr. Pierce shot Daniel in the chest. Daniel did not make it. Jessica's head was swimming as she sat in the back seat of the cab. She picked up her phone hoping Danny would be home. She called his cell.

"Messer"

"Hey, are you at home?"

"No, I am at work till midnight then I have to be back at eight in the morning. You ok?"

"Not really. I had a bad day at work and I just wanted to see you."

"I wish I could. I am working a case and it is killing me. I have to process this stuff before I can go home."

"I'm sorry I bothered you. I'll talk to you later." Jessica did not hear Danny as she hung up. He tried to call back but it went straight to voice mail. Jessica dragged herself out of the cab and up to her apartment. She was just going to lie on the bed for a minute, but fell fast asleep.

By Monday, Jessica had only spoken with Danny once and that conversation did not last long since he was headed back into work. She was starting to miss him and it had only been four days since she had seen or really had a conversation with him. Jordan had gone back to school and work was getting very overwhelming. She had tripled her case load in a matter of three days. As she walked into her apartment at five thirty, she realized that she had forgot to take something out for dinner. She decided that she and Jordan were going to get burgers.

Katie brought Jordan home around six. "I gotta hurry."

"Where are you off to?"

"I have a date."

"Really? With who?"

"Just a guy I met at a bar."

"Was I there when you met him?"

"Yes, it's Sheldon ok."

"Really. That is cool. What are you wearing?"

"This black Corset dress with red lace around the top, and it looks great with my boots. I don't want to hear any comments on my choice of attire." Katie said as she shut the front door.

"I think she is a little nervous," Jordan said as looked at Jessica. "He isn't really her type."

"You're right. I was thinking of getting burgers for dinner. What do you think?"

"Cool, could we go see Danny?"

"He's at work."

"So? We could take him a burger."

Jessica sighed. "Alright." Jessica smiled inwardly. She really wanted to see Danny. She missed him.

The two left the apartment and went to Bailey's to get some burgers and fries. Jessica ordered it all to go. She was hoping Danny could take a break and eat with them. When they arrived at the lab, Jessica could not see Danny and the secretary at the front desk was new.

"Can I help you?" The secretary asked.

"I'm looking for Danny Messer."

"He's busy. Can I take a message?"

Jessica could see the irritation on the girl's face. "Is he in the lab or out in the field?"

"I'm sorry. Who are you?"

"She is my girlfriend." Danny said as he walked up behind Jessica. The secretary looked a little annoyed at the revelation that Danny had a girlfriend. Danny kissed Jessica hello, and hugged Jordan.

"How are my favorite girls?"

"We brought you dinner." Jordan answered quickly. "It was my idea."

"I'm glad you did. I was starving."

"When are you not hungry?" Jessica just grinned at him as he took Jordan's hand.

"So, can you stay and eat with me? We will have to stay in the break room. I am waiting on some test results."

"Yes we can stay. Why do you think I brought so much food?"

"Like you said, I am always hungry."

Jessica just shook her head and rolled her eyes. They went off to the break room. No one was in there so they sat around the table and ate. Just as they were finishing Danny's pager went off. He looked at it.

"My results are in. I have to go. Thanks for dinner and I'll call you tomorrow."

He hugged Jordan and kissed Jessica goodbye. Then he whispered in her ear. "I really miss you, but it will be worth it."

Jessica just smiled and watched him walk away.