Chapter 7
Those Who Understand
Even with the heavy congestion of New York traffic, Aiden managed to make it to the house in her promised fifteen minutes. He sat on the front step, evidence bins full of bags around him. Two squad cars were left and Aiden recognized the redheaded officer as Officer Lamb. Danny, she noticed with a burst of warmth, turned his gaze away from the officer as soon as he heard a car. Danny made a show of checking his watch as she turned off the car and got out.
"Fifteen minutes? In New York? You must have broken a few traffic laws," Danny quipped. Aiden resisted the slight urge to flip him off, her migraine having intensified since the lab, and shrugged.
"Bread New Yorker, Messer. I know all the short cuts," she managed to quip back as stars exploded behind her eyes. She hadn't taken aspirin for the ache and was bitterly regretting it now. However, she managed not to wince. Danny forced a smile, knowing Aiden well enough to see the pain behind her eyes.
"I'll help with the bins," she said. He didn't argue. In face, he didn't' say anything, just held out his hand for the keys. She let out an exasperated sigh but handed them over anyway.
Once all the evidence – "You bagged the whole house!" Aiden had exclaimed, half teasing half in annoyance – was packed in the car, Danny took the drivers side, Aiden riding shotgun and began the ride back to the lab. Aiden closed her eyes and leaned her head against the headrest. Danny clasped one of her hands in his and squeezed in gently.
"There's aspirin in my kit if you want it," he told her softly, knowing the horrors of a major headache. Aiden shot him a thankful smile, removing her hand from his only to dig out the pill bottle and his half empty water bottle. Regardless of how much the headache hurt, there was no way she was taking pills dry.
"Hey!" Danny protested half-heartedly as she downed half of what was left of his water.
"Suck it up," Aiden managed, gritting her teeth. Danny squeezed her hand again as he navigated through rush hour traffic.
"Maybe you should go home," Danny suggested carefully, knowing Aiden had pushed hard to stay on the case. As she opened her mouth, Danny had a gut feeling he'd have to do a bit more persuading, but her negation never came. Instead, she opened and closed her mouth a few times, a hand on her head. Finally, she let out a heavy sigh, checking the time on the car's clock. He noticed her gaze as they pulled to a stop at a set of lights.
"Shift's almost over."
"But Ben Finnes…"
"Flack can hold him overnight for assault."
"The kids…" Danny could tell it was Aiden's last attempt to stay at work. He bit his cheeks against the smile.
"I'll run you by your apartment and take the evidence to the lab. I'll check to make sure CPS is with them, okay?" Aiden closed her eyes against what was left of the sunlight. Finally, she nodded.
"Do you want anything?" he asked, changing lanes to reroute them to her apartment. "I'll bring dinner." Aiden's eyes flew open.
"Danny!" she exclaimed, wincing immediately at the loudness of her own voice. "That's not necessary."
"Are you going to eat something?" he shot back, knowing she hadn't eaten anything since their breakfast. She rolled her eyes but was inwardly pleased at his worry, and caring. Danny, on his part, took her silence as the negative, that he was right in assuming she wouldn't eat if he left her alone. However, at the next red light, he took a minute to look at his partner.
It was obvious to him that Aiden had spent the better part of the last two nights in a restless sleep and there were stress lines that he could notice. Her head was reclined against the back of her seat, eyes closed against the harsh lights from the windshield. On impulse, he lifted her hand to his lips, kissing it lightly. A smile softened her features from the painful grimace from a few seconds prior.
He pulled up to her complex a few minutes later, walking her up to her apartment to make sure she got settled. Aiden didn't waste any time shrugging off her jacket and collapsing, face first into her pillow. Danny chuckled, dropping a kiss to the back of her head and taking her keys as he left.
Stella caught him entering the lab with everything from the house.
"CPS is here. Have you seen Aiden?" she asked, not saying hello.
"Hello to you too, Stella," he quipped. Stella rewarded him with a saucy grin.
"Aiden's at home with a killer headache," Danny answered, thanking Stella with a nod as she held the door for him and the bin he was carrying.
"What about that guy?"
"Flack can hold him for assaulting an officer," Danny answered nonchalantly.
"Who?"
"Aiden." At Stella's gasp Danny shrugged.
"She'd fine." He wasn't going to tell Stella about the other emotions that had raced through him when Aiden had been pressed mercilessly against that wall.
"Well, she's supposed to sign off on the kids. CPS wants to talk to the CSI that found them," Stella said. Danny nodded.
"I'll be there as soon as I log this stuff in," he replied, lifting the bin in his arms. Stella gave him a cut nod and they split ways.
Aiden loved solitude. Well, usually she loved solitude. She'd developed a supreme dislike of being by herself since the realization that the face she'd reconstructed didn't have a family looking for him. It brought back emotions she'd buried deeply in the recesses of her mind, where she'd thought they'd be locked away safely. Her headache had dissipated somewhat with the help of the aspirin. Thanking whoever invented the little white pills, Aiden reached for her phone, her fingers dialling a familiar number.
"Burn residence," came the chipper voice of her brother's wife, Catherine.
"Is James there please?" Aiden asked, hoping to keep the tears at bay until she was talking to her brother, the one person – other than Danny – that knew her better than she knew herself.
"May I ask who's calling?" Her voice sounded suspicious and Aiden, ever the investigator, filed that away to ask later.
"Aiden," she said with a small grimace and a weary voice.
"Aiden! How are you?" Her voice sounded happier and much less suspicious.
"Okay. Can I speak to James?" Aiden wasn't sure how much longer she could deal with everything and hold back the tears.
"Of course!" There was shuffling and a muffled shout before the phone was picked up.
"Hello?"
"Jamie, its Aiden." Her voice was choked and weary.
"Aiden! What's wrong?" She cursed herself internally, casting her glance to the ceiling in a vain attempt to keep the tears from flowing down her cheeks. She took a shuddering breath.
"Bad case?" he asked softly.
"Girl died of starvation. Her siblings were locked in the basement." Again, she cursed herself as her voice cracked.
"You going to be alright?" She smiled. They'd always been close, even if she resented him. She was more than thankful for that. She always called him on Friday of every week – he was without fail at the office after taking over the CEO position of the family business when her father retired two months ago – to catch up on their lives. She didn't know why she'd called him at home and wasn't really surprised his wife didn't know her voice.
"Yeah. Danny's been a huge help," she said.
"Your co-worker?" Danny had been a constant topic of conversation between them. He'd been the one to point out her more than professional feelings towards Danny.
"Yeah." James knew Aiden had buried the memories of her more than horrible childhood and that it was a taboo subject.
"How?" Aiden had to think about that one.
"I cried," she said softly and had to repeat herself so he could hear.
"At the lab?" Aiden answered the affirmative.
"Wow." It was obvious that this revelation surprised him. Aiden didn't cry in front of people. She'd only cried in front of him once.
"It's that bad?" It went without saying that it frustrated Aiden, especially since James knew she'd done a formidable job of burying her past pain. She finally voiced her underlying frustration.
"It shouldn't have set me off. Danny even said I'm the strongest and most objective CSI he knows," she said, playing with a loose thread on her bedspread. She didn't care if she sounded like a child. After all, he was her big brother and he still referred to her as his baby sister. She could almost see him nod.
"Did Mom or Dad call?" Aiden snorted in disbelief. James chuckled.
"Mom would have kidnapped the phone if Daddy tried to call," Aiden responded. Her relationship with her father was substantially different than her relationship with her mother. She understood why her father spent every waking moment in the office or holed up in his study.
"You don't give them a lot of credit, you know," he chided. Aiden rolled her eyes.
"She didn't give me any credit," she reminded him bitterly. He conceded silently.
"A letter?" he asked, bringing them back on topic. Aiden did a mental inventory of the ail on her coffee table. She hadn't gotten a chance to go through her personal mail, only her bills, and didn't know the answer. She mentioned as much.
"Then what could have…?" His voice remained pensive. Aiden wanted to scream.
"When I find out, I'll tell you," she snapped and immediately apologized.
"Headache?" he asked. James knew Aiden all too well.
"Couldn't concentrate. It's going away now that I'm spilling my heart," she answered, not bothering to deny it.
"Who convinced you?" Aiden couldn't stop the smile that blossomed over her face.
"Danny." She could almost hear the admiration in his humming response.
"When can I congratulate him?" Aiden giggled.
"That's better," James said softly, "You have a beautiful laugh, Aiden." When he found out the lengths his mother had gone to keep Aiden separate from her husband and had ignored his baby sister – who he protected like any older brother would – he'd taken it upon himself to make her feel loved.
"Are you going to be okay by yourself?" As if on cue, a key scraped in the lock. Aiden panicked slightly before remembering Danny had taken her keys.
"Hey Aiden," he called, then clapped his free hand over his mouth as he saw she was on the phone. Her brother chuckled.
"Danny has this crazy idea that I won't eat if I'm left alone," she said with a hint of amusement and a sparkle that Danny caught. James snorted over the phone.
"You won't," he said. "I'll let you go. We still on for Friday?"
"Always." Then on impulse, "How busy are you?"
"Few meetings, why?"
"I was thinking of lunch." Then she made a split second decision, annoyed with how much of a mess she'd become over this case.
"Maybe you can help me with something."
"It's nothing I can't shift around for my favourite sister," he said affectionately. Aiden couldn't stop the girlish smile that blossomed over her face as she sat at the counter where Danny was dishing up the take out he'd brought.
"You are officially penned in for lunch on Friday," he told her. She smiled at his words. She wasn't penciled in like most would be. She was special. Then he was serious.
"Nothing could keep me away." Aiden's grin softened.
"It's a date," she said, missing the quizzical look from Danny.
"Love you," he told her, his customary last words.
"Love you too." She hung up the phone, letting her head droop onto her folded arms on the counter. Her spirits were considerably lighter and talking, letting out her fears and anxieties to the person who understood them best, had done wonders to alleviate her headache.
"Lunch date?" Danny asked, presenting her with a plate and leading the way to her couch. Aiden wasn't blind or stupid.
"With my brother," she replied, trying to quell the jealously before it got out of control.
"You called your brother?"
"It's my parents I don't generally talk to. Well, my mother specifically," she said.
"Tell me about him," Danny inquired softly.
"He was the only man in my life for a while, the most important person in my world when my dad wasn't around," she began. "He used to be the only one I considered my true family."
"You talk about it in the past tense," Danny pointed out.
"I have other important men in my life," she replied with a significant look in his direction. He was honoured with the distinction.
"Anyway…" She proceeded to recount for him all sorts of stories of her and her brother. Danny listened attentively to all of the anecdotes, filing things away that gave him more insight into how Aiden worked. He only asked questions to clarify.
"He's been your world," Danny said when she finished. She nodded, leaning against his outstretched arm where it lay across the back of her couch. She curled into him, enjoying the moment. His arm snaked around her shoulders as he rested his head against hers. He stroked her hair as they sat in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Danny could feel Aiden drifting off against his shoulder and smiled indulgently.
"Aid?" She looked up at him sleepily. He couldn't help the smile that blossomed over his face.
"Come on. Let's get you to bed." He tucked her carefully into bed, securing the blanket under her chin. He pressed a light kiss to her forehead and turned to leave. He'd assumed since she'd been basically the old Aiden since she got off the phone with her brother she would be fine on her own for the night. Aiden wasn't willing to risk it.
"Stay?" she asked him groggily. He couldn't leave.
"Okay, but I'll have you know I'm losing sleep for this," he quipped, stripping to his boxers. Aiden waited until he was settled in beside her before curling against him, head pillowed just above his heart.
"I could get used to this." She told him, drawing absently on his stomach. He grasped her hand.
"I'm already used to this. Goodnight Aiden." She smiled and leaned up to place a quick kiss on his lips.
"Goodnight Danny."
