Thank so much to all who have reviewed so far, I really appreciate it. It keeps me going and I get all YAYS! when I find out that even a few people are enjoying my writing!

--

It was just after 7 o'clock as Danny emerged from the elevator in the CSI building. He could hardly contain himself, he had found something. Whether it broke the case or not, he didn't care, he had still managed to find something. It gave him a tiny glimmer of hope to prove Ellie's innocence. But then again, she did mention the fact that Frankie had given her water. It might just be Crystal's blood from Ellie's hand. Still, he rushed on to the DNA lab. On finding Adam, he left the blood swab and continued on to find someone else to help him process the rest of the glass. He grabbed Aiden from the locker room and they set about going over the fragments, looking for prints.

"Where did you get this?" Aiden asked as she started to fume smaller scraps of glass.

"Under the couch, must have been the one place Stella and Hawkes missed."

--

The prints Aiden and Danny found matched Ellie's and when they got a hold of a trial university database, they matched some to Frankie as well.

"Looks like they started taking prints from some faculties to use for things like the library and cafeteria as well as for security purposes." Aiden explained as Danny put two partials through AFIS.

"I'm gonna go see if Mac has come back yet, can you keep an eye on this?"

Aiden smiled, "No problem."

As Danny left the lab he could hear raised voices coming from down the corridor.

"Where is the asshole?!" Captain Gerard yelled. "I'll have his balls for breakfast!" He spotted Danny walking in his direction and advanced on him. "You!" he said through gritted teeth.

"Me?" Danny said, staying nonchalant under Gerard who was practically foaming at the mouth.

"Gerard, lets take this into my office." Mac was behind him, holding a brown envelope. The Captain, turned on his heels and stepped inside Mac's glass walled room.

"What's going on?" Danny asked as he closed the door.

"This..!" Gerard snatched the envelope from Mac. "...is what's going on!" He threw several large prints of photographs of Danny and Ellie down onto the desk. They were in Times Square, talking, touching, kissing and walking home arm in arm and sitting in the cafe Danny had taken her to.

"What the hell do you think you were playing at, you little punk?!" Mac was looking solemn from behind his desk. "She is the prime suspect in an ongoing murder investigation. How am I supposed to explain that one of the NYPDs CSIs is having an affair with someone who we think killed two girls in their apartment? It's disgusting!"

"You had me followed?"

"That's not the issue at hand, Messer! You are off this case and suspended for a week, unpaid might I add. If you come anywhere near this lab, I promise you, you will be fired immediately."

Danny blinked a few times, seemingly unfazed. "You know what Captain, I think you're just jealous. I saw the way you were eyeballin' her. Now that was disgusting."

This was too much for Gerard, who lunged at Danny. His precious image was on the line, he wasn't going to let some smart-assed kid soil it. Mac was on his feet in a flash, his military training coming in extremely handy as he put Gerard's arm into a lock.

"Danny, leave now!" Danny hadn't so much as flinched. Mac had to shout at him again before he turned on his feet and left without a word.

Captain Gerard was apparently well prepared and had security on hand to escort Danny from the building.

"Alright, alright! I'm going!" Danny said, holding his hand up to the uniformed guards. He pulled his phone from his pocket as he made his way to the locker room.

"Aiden, its Danny." he had called the lab he had left Aiden in and she picked it up momentarily. "No doubt you'll find out why I gotta go in the next ten minutes, but whatever happens, promise me you will get that glass processed A.S.A.P."

"Yeah, you know I will, but why you gotta go?"

"I...did something stupid. But I'm glad I did it. I'd feel worse if I had wasted the opportunity."

Aiden was even more confused. If it was something scandalous, Danny was right, it would be round the building in no time. She didn't press him for anymore.

"My beeper has just gone, Adam must have something on the water." There was a long pause. "Uh oh." Aiden continued. "Mac's heading this way, he looks angry. I better go, I'll call when I know anything."

Just as Danny got to the elevator, Flack stepped out. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Danny. Danny instantly knew it was Flack who had tipped Gerard off to him and Ellie.

"What the hell were you doing with my sister?" Flack asked through gritted teeth.

"Looking out for her, unlike you. When you thought she was dead, she was your baby sister, now she's just a suspect; some number in the system."

"I saw those pictures, that is not what I would call looking out for her!"

Danny couldn't tell why exactly Flack was angry, he sounded like a big brother making sure his little sis didn't get hurt by every potential suitor who came her way.

"Don..." Danny sighed deeply. "I care about her, I mean really care about her. Surely you get I wouldn't do anything to hurt her? If for no other reason than I know you could kick my ass..."

The corner of Flack's lips twitched a little.

"No!" he told himself. "Don't you dare smile!" He wasn't mad at Danny because it was his sister. He was mad because he could have jeopardized the case and several people's careers. "I know you, you're not that stupid." Was he joking with Danny? His reaction was involuntary. He couldn't not joke with him. "But you've been stupid enough to take her in and whatever else when you shouldn't have. You have to deal with the consequences."

"What else was I supposed to do?! Leave her out in the snow?!" Danny shouted at Flack's retreating back. One of the security guards indicated the elevator with his eyes. Danny finally gave in and slammed his hand on the button marked 'G'.

--

Danny trudged through the freshly fallen snow on his block. The sun wasn't even up when he slunk quietly into his apartment, trying his best not to wake Ellie. It was 8.23 and Danny suddenly felt tired as he realised he had been up for almost 24 hours. The sofa didn't look so welcoming so Danny peeked around the bedroom door. Ellie was curled up away to one side. He kicked his boots and jeans off, leaving them in a heap on the floor. He sat lightly on the edge of the bed, and carefully climbed under the covers. He tensed a little as Ellie turned over to face him. She didn't seem to be awake, and Danny let out a relieved sigh. Danny started, just as he began to drop off to sleep as he felt a warm hand on his cold skin. Ellie had wrapped her arm around his and rested her head on his shoulder.

"C'mere." he mumbled and pulled her closer.

"Ooh, you're cold."

"Yeah, well you can warm me up, you're like a little hot water bottle."

Ellie laughed through her nose as Danny enveloped her in his strong arms. "You haven't slept yet, have you?"

"No, I've been at work." Danny paused. He didn't have the heart to tell Ellie he had been thrown off the case. He felt like he'd let her down. "I'm exhausted."

"Well, shut up and get some rest then." Ellie prodded Danny in the side. He placed a kiss on her head and his eyelids soon became droopy. As he let sleep finally wash over him, he hoped against hope that what he had found would clear the beautiful young woman in his arms.