A/N – So once again, I'm here. And I have great news. I FINISHED MY SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! That means more time to write. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!! Okay, I'll stop playing with the CAPS LOCK. Lol. Here's chapter 21. HAPPY READING!!

Disclaimer – Do I own CSI NY? *shakes magic 8 ball* ….. Try again later. :(

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Don pinched the bridge of his nose as he stood his most recent crime scene. The wind picked up as he grimaced at the fact that his already existing headache was becoming worse.

The whole day had not been going so well for Don. After getting back home from his parents' house the day before, Jess had gone straight to bed and left before he woke up, not giving the couple anytime to talk. He kept trying to tell himself that it was only because she had the early shift, that she hadn't been ignoring him. Unfortunately, he knew that wasn't the case.

He understood that Jess was trying to avoid him and it broke his heart. He wanted to tell her that he wasn't trying to force her to be Vanessa's mother or anything. He knew that she was a great role model for Vanessa and that she didn't have to have the mother title to do that.

Sighing, he did his best to push the thoughts aside as he saw Danny duck under the crime tape and walked closer to him.

"I hate when it's both cold and windy. It shouldn't be allowed to do both." he complained.

He looked up at Don, waiting for a sarcastic comment in return, but frowned when he got nothing. "You alright there Flack?"

"Huh?" Don asked, looking up from the spot on the ground that he had been staring at.

"I said, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." he told him.

Danny looked at his friend, knowing that there was more but also knowing that now was not the time seeing as how they had a job to do.

"So what do we got?" Danny asked as he leaned down next to the body of an elderly man.

"Robert Carter, 86 years old. I got three witnesses that say he was approached by a young Caucasian male wearing a red hoodie and black jeans. They all say that he forced the victim to give him his wallet before pushing him to the ground and running."

Danny shook his head. "Just another punk robbery." he said before standing up and scanning the crowd stopping at one particular person. "I can't believe this."

"What?"

"Do you see what I see?"

Don followed his line of vision until his eyes landed on a young teenager wearing the exact same thing that he had written in his notebook. He gave Danny a knowing look before walking over to the teenager.

"Excuse me, can we talk for a minute." he asked.

Before the question left his mouth, the teenager broke out into a run. Both Don and Danny took after the boy, ducking under the crime tape, yelling at pedestrians to get out of the way.

It didn't take long for Don to be able to grab the back of the boy's hood and slam him against a parked car.

"What do you think you're doing huh?" he yelled as he turned the boy around, placing the handcuffs on his wrist.

Danny ran up a few seconds later, clutching something in his hand. "Hey Flack, your phone fell when you were running." he told him, showing him the shattered pieces in his hand.

"Great, just what I needed." he said sarcastically.

"Hey look at the bright side. You solve a case in less then ten minutes and you get to get a new phone from the department. If you're lucky, you'll get one of those fancy touch screen phones."

For the first time that day, Don smiled. Maybe the day wouldn't be so bad after all.

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Jess walked into the lab, hoping that her day would take a turn in the positive direction. So far, nothing had been going her way. She had been avoiding Don all morning, but she knew that that method would only last so long. Sitting at her desk, she waited for her next call, praying that maybe she would get lucky and nothing would come her way.

She looked up when she heard footsteps approaching her desk. She smiled as Stella took a sit in the empty chair next to her desk.

"What's going on with you Angell?" she asked.

"Nothing much. I closed an earlier case this morning so now I'm just waiting for something else to come my way. What about you?"

"Same. Isn't it funny how we complain about having too many cases, but then when we don't have any, where just as unhappy." she noted, causing Jess to let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah, this job definitely screws you up that way." she agreed.

Stella started at the younger woman, noticing that her smile didn't seem genuine. "You okay Jess?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Stella raised an eyebrow. "It's Don isn't it."

Jess smiled at her ability to read people so well. "How do you do that?"

Stella shrugged. "I don't know. Just add it to my list of amazing talents."

"Will do. But Don and I are doing fine. Just having one if those moments, you know."

Stella nodded in understanding. "Yeah, but I have to tell you Angell, ever since you and Flack started dating, he's seems a lot happier. He really cares about you and whatever it is that's going on, you should just talk to him about it."

Jess nodded. "Thanks Stell. I have to say, it's nice having another woman to talk to."

"I know what you mean. This job doesn't really allow time for girlfriends does it?'

"Nope. When I think about it, ninety percent of my friends work in or with the department in some way."

Stella thought for a moment. "That's so true. Well, I guess we got to stick together then, huh?"

Jess nodded. "I guess so."

Before either could speak again, Mac walked up to them. "I hope you ladies weren't having too much fun. I just heard about a 416 over on 56th."

Stella frowned. "416? What's that, a suspicious fire?"

Mac nodded. "Apparently an elementary school down on 56th just went up in flames. The fire's been put out already but the fire fighters have reason to believe it was arson."

"Wow, that's pretty twisted for someone to set a school on fire. Is everyone okay?" Stella asked, as they made their way out of the building.

"So far, there's only been one victim, one of the teachers. I heard that a few of the kids were hurt too." Mac informed them.

"What school was it?" Angell asked as they reached one of the SUVs.

"Uh, Grove Elementary School" he told her.

The moments the words left his Mac, Angell froze in her spot. She felt her heart drop and almost couldn't take another breath. A wave of panic shot through her body.

Noticing, Stella placed a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

Jess looked at up at her, eyes wide in fear. "That's Vanessa's school."