A/N: Okay, just to clarify, this starts out as a conversation via Instant Messaging on-line. Then it switches to a phone call and we get some idea of what's going on through Maddy's head.

Chapter 11

Maddy: Hey Nick, how's it going?

Nick: Not too bad. Got the nite off so I'm enjoying it while I can before I get called in. U?

Maddy: wish I could say I was doing good but I'm not. Halloween party didn't go the way it was supposed to.

Nick: oh oh. What happened?

Maddy: A friend was murdered and I was there when it happened.

Nick: what! Maddy, what exactly happened? Tell me what you can, kiddo.

Maddy: I'm still not sure. All I know is that I was with Allie, my friend, and around eleven-twenty, she went missing. Took me about half an hour to find her because of the crowds and the club lighting. When I finally did, she was in a nearby alleyway dying from stab wounds to the chest. I called 911 but the medics didn't get there in time.

Nick: does your brother know?

Maddy: yeah, I had dispatch call him and advise him of the situation. He was there pretty quick.

Nick: that's good.

Maddy: DNA and print evidence cleared me but Allie's parents are blaming me. Allie's mom slapped me across the face at the morgue today, saying it was my fault her precious baby was dead. Her daughter was a perfect angel compared to a street rat like me, and that was a direct quote.

Nick: ouch. Let me guess, you know otherwise.

Maddy: despite what they thought, Allie was not a perfect little angel. She loved boys, loved playing with them like toys and I had expressed some concerns about her behavior some time ago but it was a classic Oops! I Did It Again thing with her.

Nick: what did you tell them?

Maddy: right, like I was in any position to tell them anything, never mind the fact that their 'angel' wasn't such an angel after all? I'm a street rat, remember?

Nick: good point. Sounds like they're lashing out at anyone and everything except who they should be lashing out at, which is the killer.

Maddy: and it doesn't help that I'm already blaming myself. Just keep thinking I should've gotten there sooner, should've found her sooner. I know I did all I could but that doesn't make things any easier.

Nick: Does Donny know how you feel?

Maddy: I haven't said anything much because I don't want to worry him anymore than he already is. He's got plenty on his plate right now, doesn't need to worry about Little Sister.

Nick: Maddy, he's your brother, which means he's family. Worrying comes with being part of a family. I know you worry about him probably just as much as he worries about you.

Maddy: Probably.

Nick: Maddy, what's your phone number?

Maddy: 212-555-3232 that'll get you where I am right now. Why?

Phone rings. Madigan answers.

"Hello?"

A gentle male voice with a slight Texas accent speaks. "You really should talk to your brother, kiddo. He can help you, even if it's just to be there."

"Nick?"

"Who else?"

Madigan sighed heavily as she logged off the computer. She was at home, and she'd been chatting with Nick Stokes in Las Vegas on-line. She knew her brother was home but he was soaking in the tub as far as she knew. "I just don't want to worry him."

"But I get the feeling you need to talk to him. You sound like this whole thing is really getting to you."

"It is. Like I said, I'm blaming myself for not watching Allie more closely."

"But there was nothing you could have done, Maddy. From the sounds of it, you did all you could. I'm guessing the lighting at the club was pretty bad."

"Black lights and flashing strobe lights."

"That'll do it every time."

"I was sober, Nick, I didn't have one drink the whole time I was there. She was a party girl and I knew it and I—" Madigan breaks off crying.

"It's okay, kiddo, it's okay. You did everything you could. It sounds like Allie was a disaster waiting to happen and you just happen to catch the tail end of it."

"I'm scared, Nicky, I'm so scared," she admitted.

"What are you scared of?"

"That this guy, whoever it was, is gonna know that Allie said something to me, that I saw something, and he's gonna come after me, make sure there are no more witnesses," she admitted. "I've been having nightmares because of it."

"Do you trust your brother?"

"Completely."

"Then trust him by telling him how you feel. Tell him about the nightmares, kiddo. I've learned that by talking about the nightmares it helps make them go away."

"I just don't want him to worry about me."

"If he didn't worry, it meant he didn't care and some how Don doesn't strike me as not caring." Nick was silent for a moment and then said, "I've got Accounting griping at me about taking my vacation days. How about if I come up for a few days, visit, and you can show me New York?"

"I would love to have you up here but I don't have a place for you to stay," Madigan said.

"I've got a sister in New York with a couple of kids. It's high time they had a visit from Uncle Nicky."

"Okay. Let me know when you get here. I look forward to seeing you."

"You too, kiddo. Take care."

Madigan hangs up but Nick simply says, "You have any objections to my showing up, Don?"

Flack sighed quietly. He'd gotten out of the tub some time ago and had been in his room when the phone had rung. He'd automatically picked it up and had almost put it down when he'd heard Nick's voice but then he'd heard Madigan's voice and curiosity had him listening in. Somehow Nick had known Don was listening.

"How'd you know?"

Nick chuckled. "I'm a CSI, Don. I know what the sound of someone listening on an extension sounds like, even if Maddy doesn't."

"Good point. Wish I knew how to help her."

"Just be there. Get her to talk about her nightmares but don't let on you know she's having nightmares. More importantly, be patient. Despite her age, in some ways, Maddy's still a kid. She's a tough kid, sure, but she's too used to standing on her own. She hasn't learned that it's okay to lean on someone once in a while."

"Bill Withers, Lean On Me."

"Sorry?"

"Sorry. Sometimes when Maddy and I wanted to say a lot without actually saying a lot, we'd use songs for reference."

"Good way to get the message across without saying anything."

"In answer to your earlier question, I have no problems with you showing up. Maddy needs all the friends she can get right now."

"In that case I'll be there by about the end of the week. It'll shut Accounting up at least," Nick said, chuckling.