A/N – Hello all. I know you hated the cliffhanger so here I am with chapter 26. HAPPY READING!!

Disclaimer – I don't own CSI NY. Or do I………okay, no I really don't.

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After she came downstairs and joined the rest of her family, Jess almost forgot about the conversation that she and Will had had earlier. Almost.

The day had been going great for the Angell clan. Don and Vanessa had felt right at home with her family. Vanessa had abandoned her and Don and begun developing a good friend ship with James and Sean.

Now at the dinner table, everyone was together laughing, and enjoying themselves. With Tim at one end of the table and Nikki at the other, the rest of the family was dispersed in no type of order, though Jess made sure she was next to Don.

"Bean, would you past the gravy?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at Will, curious at whom he was addressing.

"Who are you talking to Will?" Tina asked, confused.

Will pointed at Don with a grin on his face. "I was talking to Don."

"Why are you calling him Bean?" Kim questioned.

"Since Jess is Jelly, Don can be Bean. Hence, Jellybean." he told them.

Everyone at the table chuckled, even Nikki who normally was annoyed at Will's antics.

"Why do you call Jess, Jelly?" Vanessa asked from her seat next to Will.

"Well, you see," he started but was interrupted by Jess.

"Shut up Will," she threatened him before turning to Vanessa. "It's not really important." she said, hoping to avoid the conversation.

"Yeah right." Kevin said. "You see Don, or Bean, when Jess was little she was the pickiest eater you would ever imagine." he told them

"She hated eating any vegetables, meats, and starches." Paul added.

Don looked at Jess with a grin. "What did you eat?"

"Jelly." T.J. answered.

"Jelly?" Vanessa asked.

"Grape, to be exact." Will said, quite enjoying embarrassing his sister. "Jess would not eat anything unless you added a spoonful of jelly to it. It didn't matter what it was, but it had to have jelly on it. This lasted until she was in high school. That's why I call her Jelly." Will finished.

Vanessa erupted into a fit of giggles, while a look realization washed over Don's face. "Is that why you hate jelly now?"

Jess frowned. "The thought of eating it now just makes me sick."

Don laughed out loud at his girlfriend as she turned slightly red.

"Aww, little Jelly is embarrassed." Will teased.

"Well, you know Will, I got a couple of things on you too." she fired back.

"Well, Jelly, I don't have anyone for you to tell them to."

"When you get a girlfriend, or should I say if you get a girlfriend, I will love telling her everything."

Will stuck his tongue out at her before turning back to his plate.

Jess looked up at Don who was smiling back at her.

"What?" she asked.

"I love you." he told her softly, before turning back to his conversation with Tina.

That's what makes it harder she thought to herself before turning back to her family.

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"I am literally about to blow up." Vanessa said, slumped over on the couch, rubbing her stomach. She and Sean had made a bet about who could eat the most. Even though she had won, she was beginning to regret it.

"All you need is a little sleep. You'll be ready for breakfast in the morning." Tim told her.

After dinner, and a little more hanging out, everyone one had begun to get tired. Kevin and Kim, and T.J. and Tina, all left with their sons, making Jess and Don promise to visit again, sooner rather than later.

Eventually Nikki went up to bed, leaving Tim, Will, Don, Jess and Vanessa left in the living room.

"I'm with you Vanessa." Jess said, leaning against Don, who laughed at her.

"I can't believe you're full. To be honest, I could probably eat all over again."

Jess rolled her eyes. "Why is it that guys never get full?"

"That's just the way we are." Will told her.

"Well, I don't know about you young people, but I'm beat." Tim said before standing and saying goodnight to everyone.

"I guess I'll go too." Will said, standing. "What time are you guys leaving in the morning?"

"Probably around ten or so." Don told him. He knew he had to work the late shift tomorrow and wanted to leave enough time to get ready.

"We'll, maybe I'll stop by before then." he said.

Will said his goodnights before heading out of the house, leaving Don, Jess, and Vanessa alone.

"You tired squirt?" Don asked.

"No." Vanessa said, even though eyes were closed and her head was resting comfortably on the arm of the sofa opposite from the one that he and Jess were on.

"Are you sure, because you look a little tired." he questioned.

"I'm not tired…" she started but trailed off, completely falling asleep.

Don chuckled before moving to get up. "I'll be right back." he promised before taking Vanessa upstairs.

Jess watched as he went up the stairs. She got up from the couch with a sigh, and made her way into the kitchen. She went into the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of water, but couldn't drink it. Will's words came back to her.

"Cause if he loves you as much as I think he does, then he has the right to know."

Jess knew he had to tell Don. Sooner rather than later. The longer she waited, the harder it would be.

"Just do it." she muttered to herself.

"Just do what?" Don questioned, walking into the kitchen, startling Jess. "I'm sorry." he said with a small grin.

She gave him a small smile as he pulled her close to him as he leaned against the counter. He bent his head and placed his lips onto hers, kissing her passionately. After pulling back, he smiled, at how flustered she had become.

"You okay?" he joked.

"Ha, ha." she replied, before pulling back.

"Are you alright?" he asked, noticing how her demeanor changed.

Jess paused, realizing that now was a better time that any. "Don, I have to tell you something." she said quietly.

Don eyed her suspiciously, not sure of what she was going to say. "What is it?"

Jess opened her mouth to start but just couldn't find the words. "I can't so this." she muttered, turning around, placing her hands on the counter as if holding on for support.

She heard Don move to come closer behind her. "Just stop Don." she told him without turning around.

"Jess, what's going on? You're starting to scare me." he said, his voiced plagued with worry.

"Don, just let me say everything before you say anything, okay?" she asked.

"Okay, I won't, but will you at least look at me?" he questioned.

"I can't." she said softly.

Jess took in a breath before beginning. "When I was thirteen, I got to stay home by myself. It was the first time I had ever been home alone. Having four brothers doesn't leave the house empty often." she said with a small chuckle, before continuing.

"Mom and Dad, both had to work late. T.J. had baseball practice, Kevin had football, and Paul and Will were at a friend's house. I remember the first thing I did was sneak and get some ice cream." she went on, laughing at the memory, while it was still a good one.

"So after a while, there was a knock at the door. My parents always taught us not to open the door for strangers, but it was our mailman, Chuck, so I opened it."

"Hey there little Jessica." Chuck said with a huge smile. "How's it goin?"

"Good." Jess replied with a smile.

"Well, I gotta package for ya Dad. Is he around?"

"Nope." Jess said shaking her head. "He had to work the late shift today.

"What about your mom."

Once again, Jess shook her head. "Nope. She had a meeting at her school. I'm home alone."

Chuck's eyebrows raised at her statement. "Oh really."

"I was so stupid Don. I basically told him that I was alone and would be for the next few hours."

Behind her, Don was beginning to tense, for he had an idea of were this story was going.

"So then he asks me if he can come inside. He said the package was too heavy for me and he wanted to set it in the kitchen for my dad." she said, her voice beginning to shake. "He came in, and set it on the counter. But he didn't leave."

Chuck looked around the large house. "Wow, this is a pretty big house. It's really cool."

Jess nodded, growing curious at why he wasn't leaving. She eyed him suspiciously as he moved towards the steps, eyeing the upstairs. "Wanna give me a tour?"

"That's when I started to get scared. I told him that he should go but he didn't"

At this point, Jess was sobbing lightly, having trouble continuing. Don wanted to rush to her, and pull her close but he couldn't move. His hands clenched the edge of the counter, becoming white because of the grip.

"Next thing I know, he grabbed me and practically dragged up the stairs. He found my parents room and threw me on the bed. Then he raped me, Don."

After that she lost it, not being able to control her crying. She slowly turned around, looking at Don for the first time. It was then she saw something she never expected.

Detective Don Flack, homicide detective, tough guy of the city, was crying. Not full on sobbing, but a tear fell from his eyes and rolled down his face.

Jess turned back around left the kitchen, heading for the front door. She walked outside in the cold November air, not worrying about a jacket.

She felt horrible at that moment. Here there were, having a great time with her family, and she had to go and ruin the moment. Their relationship would never be the same after this moment and she wished she hadn't said anything.

Wiping her eyes, she shivered as she heard footsteps come up behind her. She turned around and barely had time to register what was happening before Don had enveloped her into his arms, holding her tight.

Jess relaxed in his arms, crying lightly in his shoulder.

"Shh, it's okay." Don whispered.

Jess pulled back and looked up into his bright blue eyes. "Just promise you won't start treating me differently." she asked, taking a seat of the front steps.

Don took a seat beside her, staring out onto the empty street. "I won't Jess. I just wish I could have been there."

"You would have only been fourteen, Don." she told him.

"I know, but if I could get my hands…"

"Trust me. Everything that could have been done, was done. My father spent almost everyday for the next four moths, trying to hunt him down. Turns out that I wasn't the first victim but he knew that my dad was a cop and decided to leave the city. My father never really got over it, Don. It hurt him so badly because he protected the city everyday but couldn't protect me from what happened. All my brothers were so angry that they probably would have killed Chuck if they ever found him. Let's just say I never stayed home alone again."

Don let out a long sigh. "Look Jess, I'm really sorry about what happened. You know that. I just wish I could make it better for you in some way but I don't know how."

"You already have Don. You already have."