"Hi, yes, I was wondering if Katrina Barton was working this evening." Flack sat at his desk with a pen poised over his memo book. "This is Detective Don Flack. I was one of her patients and I've been trying to get a hold of her for a couple days." He paused and grinned as the nurse on the other end spoke. "Yes, I'm that Don Flack. Glad to know I'm famous for something. Look, do you think you can tell me when she works next?" He nodded and rested his pen on his desk. "Okay, thank you." He hung up the phone and sat back in his chair with a sigh.

"First day back at work and you've already got the look of defeat," Jess said as she sat down across from him.

"Hey," he nodded a quick greeting to her. "I'm looking for the nurse who took care of me while I was in the ICU and I can't seem to track her down. The hospital just said she took the week off."

"So, talk to her in a week," Jess shrugged.

"No, I really need to talk to her today. I need to thank her for everything she did for me. I was so focused on my recovery for the last few weeks that I didn't even think about her. And she deserves better than that. She saved my life. No amount of thanks will ever be enough for what she did, but I owe her that much."

"You've got a well-equipped computer right there in front of you. You could always try to come up with an address and swing by her house later."

He squinted at her for a moment. "Don't you think that's pushing some personal boundaries just a little?"

"I don't know. You're the one who's in a hurry to find her. I'm just making suggestions."

"Right." He nodded and sat up to his computer. "Can't hurt to look."

--

Flack made his way up to the crime lab at lunch time to visit with his friends. He made himself comfortable in the break room as people came in and out to say hi. When Stella walked in, he smiled brightly and patted the seat next to him on the couch.

They talked quietly as a few other people moved through the room. "You wanna come over for dinner tonight?" Flack asked, reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear.

She nodded. "Dinner would be nice."

"Don't think that all these dinners and movies on the couch are all I do, now," he grinned. "Don't get me wrong, I'm rather fond of spending the night on the couch with ya. But when the cast comes off, I'll show you what I'm really made of."

"Easy there, Speed Racer. You'll still be walking with a limp when you get that cast off. I doubt you'll be going for world records right away. Of any kind."

His eyes went wide and he shook his head. "Oh, no, I didn't mean…" But when he saw her grinning at him, he blushed and rolled his eyes. "Cute."

Stella smirked and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, but before she made contact with his skin, someone cleared their throat a few feet away. They both turned to see Danny and Jess standing in the doorway, Danny with his arms crossed over his chest, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Public displays of affection at work. You're just embarrassing yourselves," Danny said, though a small grin played at his lips.

Jess held out a piece of paper, triumphant light in her eyes. "Found her address."

"Beautiful. Thank you." Angell handed him the paper and he looked at the information scribbled on it. "I owe you both drinks. Very soon."

They both nodded and left the room as Flack looked at the paper again.

"I didn't think you were working cases."

"Oh, I'm not. That was a personal favor." He held it out for Stella to read and she vaguely recognized the name at the top.

"Katrina. That was your nurse in the ICU?"

"Yeah. I wanted to thank her in person. But I was having a very hard time coming up with an address this morning. Angell and Danny volunteered to help out."

Stella smiled as she looked back down at the name on the paper. "You are just too sweet, Don Flack."

888888888888888

I got to Katrina's apartment just after four in the afternoon and knocked on the door. I immediately heard an uproar inside the house; she had kids. The door opened a minute later and a little boy, maybe 8-years-old, looked up at me.

"Hi," I smiled down at him. "My name is Don Flack. Do you think you can get your mom for me?"

"Okay," he nodded. He turned to run back into the apartment just as Katrina was coming down the hall. She smiled brightly at me and gestured for me to come in. "Join our madness, if you dare."

I stopped a few feet inside the door and she closed it behind me. "I uh, I didn't mean to intrude. I was going to swing by the hospital but they said you took off for a while. I just wanted to say thank you. For everything." I felt heat coming to my cheeks when I realized I had spent all day tracking down her address and barging into her home just to say that. I felt foolish.

But she put her hand on my arm and kept right on smiling. "You're welcome, Don. I'm glad you're okay now. And from the looks of it, doing well with your recovery."

I nodded, glancing down at my crutches. "The cast comes off next week. And it doesn't hurt anymore."

"That's great."

The blonde-haired little boy who had answered the door, who was still standing patiently next to his mother, looked up at both of us and tugged on Katrina's hand. "Mommy, are the cookies done yet?"

Her eyes went wide for just a moment. "You know, Alex, I bet they are." She looked back to me, almost apologetically. "We were just about to have a snack. If you're not too busy, would you like to join us for a while?"

I couldn't help the grin that broke across my face. "That sounds nice. Thank you."

"Alex, you wanna show Don where the living room is, then go find your brother?"

The boy nodded and looked up at me. I followed him into the living room where I sat on the couch then watched as he ran off in search of his brother, Derek.

I could hear the boys playing in the next room as I sat. I looked around the room from my perch and noticed many pictures of Katrina and the boys, but it seemed obvious the there was no father-figure around for them. Every picture focused on the three of them. But it seemed that they were doing okay for themselves. Their home was comfortable and felt like a family place. As I continued to scan around the living room, the sore thumb in the room was in the far corner. There was a green beanbag chair on the floor with an IV pole situated behind it. It had some kind of pump attached and there was a cart next to it with packages and medical equipment all over it. I was still staring at it when Katrina walked into the room.

"That's why I had to take off this week." I turned around sharply at the sound of Katrina's voice. She was walking in with a tray loaded up with cookies, a carton of milk, and glasses. "Derek had surgery this week. We all decided we'd play hooky together."

"Is he okay?"

Just then, both boys came running into the room, though Derek a bit slower, more cautiously. They both crash landed on a large chair together, then righted themselves to join us for a snack.

"Yeah, he's fine," Katrina chuckled. "He had a feeding tube put in."

"I have cystic fibrosis," he chimed in.

Katrina nodded. "He wasn't gaining weight. A feeding tube was the best option for him."

I nodded, mostly following along. Though it was obvious the boy was older, he was smaller than his brother. What she said made sense.

It also made perfect sense to me now why such a sweet and affectionate woman couldn't work with children, like I had thought when I had met her. It's hard seeing sick children every day, especially when you have one of your own to care for. But she seemed to do it with her head held high and a very unique grace.

As we all sat and talked for a while, I got to know the boys a little and soon realized they would both enjoy some of the after school and weekend activities that were offered at the youth center on my street. I offered to show them around when Derek and I were both back to 100% and Katrina said it sounded like a great idea.

I glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was well after five. My quick stop had become quite the visit. I stood and thanked Katrina for inviting me into her home then turned to the boys. I told them I would see them at the youth center soon, and they both smiled brightly.

Katrina walked me to the door and smiled knowingly. "So. Hot date?"

"As close as I can get to one with these things," I said, gesturing with a crutch.

"I was hoping you two would figure it out. I saw the way you looked at each other when you first woke up."

I shook my head, both confused and amazed. "Ya coulda said somethin'."

She grinned and held the door open for me. "Doesn't matter now. Go."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks again, Katrina."

"Absolutely," she smiled.