Disclaimer: You know the drill. Ella and Natalie.

Italics are flashbacks

After Danny went home, he drank a couple of beers before he finally settled down and fell into a fitful night of sleep. He awoke every hour to the nonexistent sound of Don flat- lining, with each hour ending with him sitting up, breathing hard, sweating, then trying to fall back asleep. By four o'clock the next morning, he had given up and just sat on his couch staring at a blank television screen.

When the sun peeked through his window, Danny squinted, swore, and shut the blinds, allowing him sit in the dark for a few more hours. He sat watching TV, specifically Sports Center, catching up on all the sports he missed because of work.

By noon, he had gotten washed up and into a fresh set of clothes. He jumped into his car and drove down to the lab hoping that there was something for him to do.

He had gotten about ten feet into the lab before he heard the cursed words, "You need to leave, Danny."

"What? I just got here."

"You shouldn't be here in the first place," one of the CSIs.

"Aw, come on," Danny pleaded. "I could help you. Run trace. DNA. I could even just run stuff from one place to another."

"No. Mac would have my head. Leave."

"Look. Mac doesn't have to know. Just keep this between us."

"Danny, Mac has eyes like a hawk. And he'll know because I'm gonna be the one to tell him. If you're not out of here in one minute, I'm calling him."

The threat widened Danny's eyes. "Don't do that."

"Danny, just take your break that Mac requested for all of you. Go take care of your friend, because, Lord knows, he'll need it. And you got thirty-seven seconds to get out of here."

Danny realized that this person was serious by the fact that she was actually keeping track of the seconds that had gone by. He waved to her and was out the door. As bored as he was, he didn't want and didn't have the energy to endure the wrath of Mac.

So, he got into his car and drove in the direction of Don's apartment thinking that it was the perfect time to clean up and pick up some things for him. And he was hoping that it would keep him occupied for at least a few hours.

He got to his destination somewhat easily. There wasn't much traffic and the music playing in his car put him in a good and relaxed mood.

Danny got to Don's apartment door and he paused before opening it. He could have sworn that he heard sounds coming from the other side of it.

His hand went to his hip where his gun would have been if he hadn't put it away when he was kicked out of the lab. He had no reason to carry it around. At least he thought so. He cautiously opened the door hoping to find nothing dangerous on the other side.

What he did find was a little girl sitting at Don's coffee table with a pencil in her hand, concentrating on a sheet of paper in front of her. The television was on, but there was minimal sound coming from it. Wait! What is a little girl doing sitting at Don's coffee table? he thought. "He would tell me if he had a daughter, wouldn't he?" Danny whispered to himself.

She reached for the remote without looking for it and turned off the TV. "Mr. Flack, I've been waiting…" her voice waned when she finally looked up to see who was standing at the door. "You're not Mr. Flack."

Danny got his voice back after the little girl spoke. "Who the heck are you?" he asked. He didn't sound threatening, just really confused. "What are you doing in Flack's apartment?"

"Um… I… He…" she stuttered. "I live a few floors up. He lets me come in while I wait for my mom."

"Okay, so that answers the question of why you're here. Now who are you?"

The little girl stood up and walked toward him. He slowly backed away as she walked toward him. "Ella. Gabriella Corson. I'm sorry. Maybe…" she said walking toward her bag to pick it up.

"Don't worry about it. You know his name. You obviously know him," Danny said stopping her from trying to leave.

"Who are you?"

"Name's Danny Messer. I'm a friend of his. I work with him."

"So, you're a cop like him."

"Not exactly."

"Well, anyway, it's nice to meet you. So… where's Mr. Flack?"

He saw that the little girl standing in front of her had no idea about how Don was involved in the explosion a few days ago. "Um…" he struggled to find the right words. "He's in the hospital. He was… There was an accident. I'm just picking up a few things for him. And I was gonna clean this place up, but it looks like there is nothing to clean. That's good."

"Is he okay?" Ella asked. She stopped listening after the word 'accident'.

"Of course," he sort of lied. "He's just recovering in the hospital."

"Oh. Can I ask you something, Mr. Messer?"

"I guess," he replied, wondering what a little girl he just met would have to ask him.

"Can I go see him? I mean, can you take me to see him?"

"What?" he replied.

"I was just wondering. Never mind," she said quickly. "I just haven't seen him in a few days. And if he's hurt… I just want to make sure that he'll be okay. 'Cause he always does that for me."

"But what about your mom."

"She doesn't get home until 9:15. You can say no."

"I wouldn't. But I wouldn't want to get into your mom's bad graces. And don't you have like homework or something?"

"I just finished. You can check if it you want to?" she walked over to the coffee table and picked up the papers she was working on.

"Is that what Flack usually does?"

"Sometimes. It's just math."

"Let me see it." She handed the papers over to Danny. "What the hell? This is double-digit division."

Ella shied away from the man. "You think I'm a freak, don't you?" she whispered.

"No. I'm just surprised. You just look like you should be in the first grade."

"I am."

"And you're doing this kind of math?" he asked.

"I'm a different kind of first grader," she said with a smile.

Danny let out a short laugh. He fanned through the sheets looking through each of the problems. He was surprised at her work at her age. "This looks right."

"Okay. So, can we go?" Ella asked again.

"Sure. Why not? He might be glad to see you," Danny said. "Do you need to bring anything with you?"

Ella walked over to her backpack and spent a minute just shaking something off of it. Danny tilted his head to try and see what it was, but the small figure blocked her way. She must have stuffed it in her pocket because by the time she was standing in front of Danny, there was nothing in her hands. "I'm ready."

"What did you grab?" he asked.

"Something. You wouldn't understand."

"Okay, let's head down to my car."

Ella reached up to grab Danny's hand and hold it, but she stopped when she realized how tense he was. She walked at his side down to his car. They got down to where he parked and stopped next to Danny's SUV. "That car is huge," she said.

Danny unlocked the back seat and opened the door. "You have to sit in the back. I'm pretty sure Flack wouldn't forgive me if I let you sit in the front." She climbed into the back seat and buckled her seatbelt. "None of my equipment is in the way, is it?" he asked.

"No," Ella said.

"If it is, just move it around. Carefully. That is some expensive stuff."

"Okay, Mr. Messer," Ella said.

Danny was about to close the door when he heard her say that. "Don't call me that," Danny said. "Just call me Danny."

"Okay, Danny," she repeated, trying it out.

He walked around the car and got in. He looked back at the little girl in the back seat. "You comfortable?" he asked. She nodded. "You buckled in?"

"You saw me buckle in," she replied in an all too familiar tone.

"I'm just double checking. Geez, you sound so much like Flack."

"Thank you," she said proudly.

Danny pulled out of the parking lot and drove toward Trinity General. The two of them sat in an awkward silence for most of the ride. About twenty minutes away from the hospital, Danny broke the silence. "So, you haven't seen Flack in a week and you didn't know about any of this? Like the explosion or anything."

"I heard about the explosion. I mean, it was hard not to hear about it. Especially from my mom. She was really worried about Mr. Flack, even though she didn't say it. She always gets nervous with big cases that involves the police, because she knows that Mr. Flack will have to be involved somehow. Well, the day the explosion happened, Mr. Flack told me that he was going to be working late. I just thought that this case was taking a lot of his time. It's happened before."

"So, you didn't know that he was caught in it?"

"He was caught in it?" Ella shrieked.

"Yeah," Danny replied figuring that there was no use lying to the girl. "So, you didn't know that much about the explosion."

"No. I don't read the newspaper or watch the news on TV. There's so much violence. So, all the news I hear about the explosion and everything, I hear from people. I know it might not be true, but at least I know a little bit. I'm a kid. I don't need to be too informed. I just have to know about addition, phonics, and how to spell words like 'quiet' and 'toilet'."

Danny laughed at the little girl in the back seat. "So, you must be a smart kid because instead of addition, you're worrying about double-digit division."

"Sometimes. I try."

"So what, your mother never taught you to never talk to strangers?" Danny asked.

"She did."

"And you don't like to listen I take it. Since, you know, you're talking to me."

"I do listen," Ella argued. "But Mr. Flack said that if someone ever comes in using a key or saying his name, they could be trusted and they weren't strangers. You did both, so that makes you not a stranger."

"I take it this has happened before?"

"Yeah, this lady with long, dark brown hair. Ms. Burn?" she asked no one in particular trying to remember her name.

"Aiden?" Danny replied.

"That's the one," Ella said snapping her fingers. "The one who when she talks you know she's from New York. Like really sounds like it."

Danny laughed at the little girl's description of Aiden's accent. "Yeah, that's her. So, what if I didn't use a key or use Flack's name. Then what would you've done?"

"Then I was supposed to either run into his room and lock the door until he came home, or go out the fire escape and call him. Then I was supposed to wait at Mr. and Mrs. Brown's bakery."

"Has that situation ever happened?"

"Yeah. With Ms. Burn," Ella said simply.

"But I thought that you said…" his voice trailed off in confusion.

"I did. Both situations happened with her. Same day. Good story."

Even though Danny was driving and facing the road, she could hear in Ella's voice that there was a smile on her face. "Care to tell?" he asked, highly amused and curious.

"It's a long story."

"Well, we're about ten minutes away from the hospital. And I'm pretty sure we're going to have to park in the structure on the top floor, so we'll have some talking time."

"Okay. I was at Mr. Flack's house one day and I was watching TV because I was already done with my homework. So, I went to the bathroom and when I came back, Ms. Burn was standing in the living room. I didn't know how she got there, so I screamed and ran into Mr. Flack's room."

"And you just waited there?"

"It wasn't very long. Because the next thing I heard was Ms. Burn scream Mr. Flack's name and then the door slam. I walked out of the room because I thought she was gone. But she came back, so I sat in the hallway. She knew who Mr. Flack was, so I wasn't scared anymore. And Mr. Flack was standing next to her. But she looked mad."

"How did you know?"

"I had never heard Mr. Flack's whole name before that day."

Flashback

"Donald Flack Jr!" Aiden yelled.

"What did I do now?"

"Why the heck didn't you tell me you had a daughter?"

Don made a face that Aiden would never forget. It was full of confusion, shock, and discomfort all rolled into one. Once he got over the shock he stared at his coworker. "What are you talking about? I don't have a daughter."

Aiden pushed Don in the chest. "Don't you lie to me, Flack. I saw a little girl in here."

"What girl—Oh," he said when he finally realized who he was talking about.

"Yeah, 'Oh,'" Aiden mocked.

"Gabriella!" Flack yelled. "You can come out." Ella stood up from the floor and timidly walked out into the living room, joining the two detectives. Don picked up the little girl and introduced her to Aiden. "Ella, this is Aiden. Aiden, this is Ella."

"Hi," Ella whispered.

"Nice to meet you, Ella," Aiden replied. "So, how old are you?"

Ella just rested her head on Don's shoulder, unsure if she should answer. "It's okay, shorty," Don reassured.

"Five," she answered a little louder than before.

"Did you finish your homework?" Don asked. Ella lifted her head and nodded. "Why don't you go and watch something on TV."

He put the little girl down on the coach and she grabbed the remote. As soon as the two adults heard the TV turn on, they walked to his dining room table. Aiden pushed Don in the arm this time. "I can't believe you kept a kid from me for five years."

"Aiden," Don exasperated. "She's not mine."

"What do you mean, 'she's not yours'?"

"She is not my kid."

"Don, she's in your apartment. And you are acting very father-like toward her."

"I'm not her father. I'm just a father figure to her. I'm just really good friends with her mother."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"You can ask her yourself," Don challenged.

"I'm not going to ask a four-year-old if you are her father."

"Five. And she'll answer you. She's a good kid."

Aiden accepted the challenge and took a seat next to the little girl. She was surprised to see that she didn't move away or start screaming. "Hi," Ella said.

"What are you watching?"

"That's So Raven. She makes me laugh."

Ella laughed at something funny that happened on the show. Aiden waited until a commercial to talk to Ella. Then one came along. "Ella, I have to ask you a question." Ella lowered the volume on the TV and made eye contact with Aiden. Aiden was a little taken aback with the little girl sitting giving her her undivided attention. Something told her that the little girl was prepared to answer anything she was going to ask her. "Is Don your father?"

Ella shook her head from side to side. "No, he isn't," Ella said. "My dad in heaven." Aiden bit her lip at the honesty of the words coming out of Ella's mouth. "But I have a secret to tell you." Ella stood on the coach and leaned toward Aiden. She cupped her hand around Aiden's ear and whispered, "Sometimes, I wish he was."

Aiden laughed. Don walked over to the two on his couch. "Ella, what did you just tell her?"

"Don," Aiden started, "if she told you, then it wouldn't be a secret, now would it."

It was Ella's turn to laugh. "I like her," Ella said. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Aiden's jaw dropped while Don's snapped shut as he was floored by his second shocking suggestion of the day. "Um…" Aiden said. "Don."

"We just work together. Sometimes," Don finished.

"That didn't answer my question, Mr. Flack," Ella said.

"She is a smart kid," Aiden said.

"Yeah, too smart for her age. Especially for things like this."

"We're not boyfriend and girlfriend," Aiden said trying not to laugh at how ridiculous it sounded explaining it to a little girl. "We're just friends."

"So, why are you here?"

"Because, my car broke down, and Don, being the friend he is, brought me here while we wait for my car to get fixed."

"Okay, that's cool. Mr. Flack is a really good friend."

"That he is," Aiden agreed.

End Flashback

"That he is," Danny repeated.

The story brought a smile to Danny's face as he imagined the entire conversation playing out in front of him. From Aiden yelling at Don, to Ella asking if they were together. He then got to thinking about how betrayed Aiden must have felt when he realized that although Ella wasn't his daughter, Don kept this secret from her. Because he knew Don longer, he felt a lot more disappointment that he didn't know about Ella. Danny could guarantee that if Aiden hadn't walked into the apartment on that day, she would have never known about the little girl.

Danny was going to ask Don about that when he was able to answer.

They got to the hospital and didn't have to park as far as Danny said they would. Danny helped Ella out of the car and made sure she was close at his side as they walked toward the hospital entrance. "Good story, right?" Ella asked.

"Yeah," Danny said with a short laugh. "So, what did you think of Aiden?"

"She was great," Ella said. "She was beautiful, tough, funny…"

Her voice trailed off with her description of the woman, and all Danny could do was nod and smile in agreement.

Okay, so Ella and Danny have finally met. Entertaining? I hope so. I have a chapter lined up and it has Don in it. I enjoyed writing this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it. Well, thanks to everyone for reading. Please review. Lil-Rock