Paranoia or the Truth

Summery: Who will save Angell??

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI NY

A/N: Slightly important A/N below – well no not really but do read (oh and review chapter once you've read would be good too!)

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On most quiet, brisk New York evenings you'd expect people to be tucked away nicely in bed or out for a coffee or maybe even at home watching the television; dreams and hopes were all these things for one person. Night had fallen, people were asleep and even the porter had nodded off for a bit but they was still awake, waiting for something, someone. The cool and quietness of the evening lend a hand in making him invisible but then so did the thick black jumper and sweat pants he was wearing. He was waiting at the corner of the street, far enough from the building to not be seen but close enough to watch the door. Time went by slowly; the mechanism of his watch echoing in the still air but when all hope seemed lost, the steady rapping on her heels on the ground spun hope within him.

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Everything around her began moving in slow motion. The sound of footsteps at the end of the corridor was ringing clearly in her ears. It was almost as if the whole room started spinning as the adrenaline rush of blood pumped into her head. It was most probably paranoia, she told herself, nothing to worry about. But she still heard the footsteps, slowly but steadily moving up the hall.

She tried, with confidence, to peer down the hall but the dim lights only illuminated his shadows. She gave one last rummage through her bag for the keys she brought out her off duty weapon instead. There wasn't much use of it since her follower had yet to make to a threat towards her but she wanted to be prepared. Leaning herself against the door she began whispering Flack's name under her breath.

She didn't believe in miracles much, she didn't really believe in fate or fortune too, but there must have been something about the silent prayer in her heart that made the door behind her swing open.

It wasn't how she'd have imagined falling into someone's arms to have felt like but then she'd never expected to fall into someone's arms at all and it was only the moment she looked up did she see who it really was. Flack was standing behind her arms wrapped around her waist with a perplexing facial expression.

'Jess?' he questioned it oddly as if he wasn't sure who it was due to his dimly lit apartment.

Regaining her consciousness and posture Angell jumped out of Flack's arms and walked back out into the hall scanning it for any signs of life.

'What's wrong?'Flack joined her in the hall looking around. Angell was acting agitated, clearly scared of something. She walked up and down the length of the hall and even peered out the small window at the end of the corridor. As she walked back, Don grabbed her by the shoulders and gently shook some sense into her, 'Jess, talk to me?'

She took a big step and closed the gap between her and Flack and leaned in so her check was against his, 'I think I'm being followed,' it was merely whispered it into his ears.

'What?' he asked her back, wanted her more to elaborate than leave it there. She took one more look around the hall before pushing Flack and herself into his apartment. She was running her hand through her hair, clearing her head as she placed her weapon back into her bag before speaking again.

'Where were you? I thought no one was home, I was going to be stuck outside and what would have been worse was I thought you might have stayed at Danny's and I would have slept outside or something. I have no idea where I left my key. I guess I left it here when we left together or something.' she was talking fast, aiming everything she could at him, she didn't want to be angry at him, he didn't do anything wrong, but she was still talking on a whim that someone might have actually been stalking her.

'I was in the shower. I only just came back. I would have never left you out there,' she was digressing asking him what he was doing; he wanted to get back on track to what he was sure she mentioned outside. 'What did you mean when you said someone's following you?'

He was watching her, pacing up and down his hall. Her mind must have been spinning with all the alcohol in her system. She probably could keep a straight mind. Everything she saw, heard might have just been the effect it was having on her. 'I got out of the cab at the corner right? Started walking towards your building when I heard someone following me, I didn't see who it was or anything but the moment I got into the apartment started walking up the stairs to here I heard him still following me. There is someone out there with a huge grudge against me, Don, and it starting to freak me out.' She was speaking fast, trying to get everything out of her system. The previous day at her apartment was still on her mind and with everything that happened tonight was sure someone was out to get her.

'You mean, you're being stalked?'

'Yes, Don. What else do I mean?' she was frustrated and no doubt tired so she flopped herself onto his couch, leaned forward and buried her face into her hands.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say something offensive…' he stopped himself. He didn't really know where to go from there. Could this just be hard evidence that maybe Danny was right? Maybe someone wants to hurt Angell?

He was somewhere in his own thoughts when he heard Angell starting to sob from her position. He didn't know for how long she'd been crying but he pulled her up and embraced her in a hug.

'Hey, hey. Everything alright, okay? You're safe don't worry.'

'I was just scared Don. I had no idea what to do,' her face was buried in the crook of his shoulder and he could feel her warm tears falling n his shirt. 'I didn't really know what to do. When you didn't answer and when I could find my keys I believe it was the end.' She wasn't used to having people see her cry. She was always strong and made sure she was able to contain her feelings, four brothers saw to that, but ever now and again she couldn't help it. Stress and even breakups just caused her to let it out more than she'd like but it just had to happen.

Her tears started to subside a little when she began to realise how childish she must have looked in Flack's eyes but when she tired to pull away he held her tightly.

'We have to report this, Jess.'

'What? No,' she looked up at Flack, his bright blue eyes were staring down at her. They made her want to believe him and trust him but she knew her own mind. She didn't want to be over powered by how mesmerizing they were, 'It was probably one of you're neighbours. I could just be paranoid.'

'Jess, with everything that's happened to you, you need to. You need protection okay. Tomorrow when we get in we're going straight to the Captain okay?' maybe he was going a little too over board but she still didn't know about the connection between the cases.

All she did was shake her head, 'I can't. I don't want to the Captain to see.'

'Why are you trying to run away from him?'

Angell didn't answer but instead slowly, loosened Flack's grip around her. He was reluctant to let go it was her choice, 'I'll be fine,' she said it blandly, no emotion, no feeling what so ever.

Flack watched as she walked into her room and shut the door behind her. She was a complex person – someone he still didn't truly understand but he hoped that one day, maybe even one day soon she might just explain everything to her – she would let him into her little world and he would be able to fix everything, make everything better again.

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Angell could feel the warmth of the shower pounding against the top of her head; she had slid down the side of the wall and held her knees towards her chest tightly. Again she was dwelling over her evening, again the horrors had reduced her to feeling lost, useless and unable to control anything around her. She hated being in this situation, one that doubted everything around her. It reminded her too much of what her mother said to her before leaving for the academy, We're letting you do this because we believe you can take care of your self, because we believe you are old enough to understand the consequences. She hated how she was careless towards that before, how she thought the whole world was fine and dandy and that she would never get hurt. She was wrong and especially with this job there should have been deliberate views of these things happening - they didn't train you for 4 years for nothing. But still. She was only human; it was expected for her to feel like this.

She got out of the warmth of the shower and stepped, once again, on the stone cold marble floor. She dressed and as she was about to go to bed, felt uneasy. She thought back to Flack and how she treated him and left him there when he tired to help. She felt sorry and in need of apologies towards him.

She quietly creaked open her bedroom door and he was there, watching late night reruns of a baseball game. She could see how unenthusiastic he was and how tired, when he didn't cheer for a homerun she was starting to get worried. She watched the back of him for a moment or two longer, she watching how peaceful he was sat there, quiet and alone – feeling how sorry she was.

'Don?' she wasn't sure if he was going to turn around or if maybe he'd fallen asleep in her time standing there but she was glad when he turned around.

'Hey, I thought you'd got to sleep,' he got up to greet her. Very gentlemen like, she thought to herself as they sat down together.

Angell couldn't understand why she was feeling so nervous at this point. He hadn't done anything but focus back on the television. Her eyes glanced to the clock and it was about to strike 1. She wanted to go to sleep but wanted to make sure he did to. 'It's late, you're not sleepy?'

'No, I am,' he answered, 'Just waiting to make sure you're in bed first.'

Angell smiled, he was worried about her, he really did seem to care, enough that small gestures like these mean so much more than they should. She stood up and walked over to the tv switching it off by the screen before slowly grabbing his wrist and pulling him up. He was looking down at her wondering what was going on but she just wanted to be kind back to him.

'I'm sorry about just now. You're right about everything, so I'm sorry if I snapped or seemed as if I didn't trust you,' she was smiling up at him, looking deeply into his eyes. She didn't think she deliberated her next move well but she didn't want to go too far so she stood on her tippy toes and gave a peck on his check. Maybe a little longer than should have but she still did it.

When her lips parted from his check and she stood back on the flats of her foot she could feel her cheeks starting to burn up. She couldn't allow her self to look straight at him so she looked down instead, taking interest in his carpet and chairs.

He didn't say anything for the rest of the night about that and she wouldn't start the conversation unless he did, so they both kept quiet. She stayed with him that night though, under his request but they kept it civil, not touching or even cuddling together everything seemed to careful and Angell blamed it all on herself, did she step in to early?

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A/N: I'm not too pleased with this chapter but I seem to be suffering from writer's block too at the moment… Strange since I have my whole plot written down and everything. I'm reluctant to get a Beta-reader since I don't like people reading my work before it's submitted (strange, yeah I know) but if anyone wants to Beta-read my next chapter I'd be much willing to do so since my writer's block makes me blabble a bit. So anyways, please review and tell me what I need to do to make my piece more interesting!