A/N: I'm afraid that my muse, Perdita is still feeling a little mean. I'm not sure what her problem is, but she seems to think running Tess and Don through the emotional roller coaster is a good way to work things out.

All of you who are reading, thank you. All of you who are reviewing, even more thanks.

Additional disclaimer: I own none of the dialog lifted from ep. 3.15: Some Burried Bones.


The lights of police cars colored the night. Mac swung his kit forward as he ducked under the crime scene tape and headed toward the hedge maze. He stopped short for a brief moment when he caught sight of Flack. Don gave curt nod towards the maze.

"We're headed in there. Hawkes is already with the vic." Mac nodded and the two men headed silently through the maze. "I haven't been here since I was a kid," his voice was flat, tired, distracted.

Mac paused mid-step and looked up at Don. "I'm kinda surprised to see you here, Flack."

"Couldn't stay in Toledo forever."

"How's Tess doing?'

Don met Mac's gaze. Mac could see the pain reflected there. Don cleared his throat. "Not so hot. She's still pretty broken up. She's worried about her dad. Tess's stayin' in Toledo a bit longer. Tryin' to get a few more things squared away." Don cleared his throat again. "Anyways. Ya know, this hedge maze is part of the Queens County Arboretum."

"New York's last tract of undisturbed farmland."

"Not any more. We haven't been able to id the body yet." The two men reached the center of the maze and the body. Hawkes greeted them

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A uniformed officer took Eddie Williams out and down to booking. Don shook his head as he left the interrogation room. He said his goodbyes to Mac and headed to his desk to wrap up his end of the paperwork. Branding. Blood rituals. Cheating for sale. Killing for a free pass to med school. He just didn't understand it. Money, education. No better than the street punks. He stopped a minute in the break room to grab a mug of coffee. He stood looking out the grimy window, still thinking on the waste. One of the other detectives passed the door, then leaned back and stuck their head in.

"Hey, Flack. Yer girl's sitting at yer desk."

Don looked up, thrown out of his musings. "Tess's here?" Don quickly set the cup down and grabbed the file folder. "Thanks, Jelic."

"No problem. She's been there a while. Told 'er you were in interrogation and she said she'd wait."

Don took a hit of the coffee, pitched the cup and practically ran through the hall to the squad room. He stopped when he spotted Tess. He couldn't help but think back to the first time he found her sitting at his desk. Today, instead of looking like a tourist at the zoo, she was just sitting there staring at her hands. Don walked over, crouched down in front of her and slid the folder onto his desk. Tess didn't look up. He picked up her hand and stroked her knuckles. Tess finally raised her head and looked at him. Don almost winced at the dark circles under her eyes.

"Hey. I didn't think you'd be home for a few more days," he said softly.

Tess looked down and then up again meeting his gaze with hollow eyes. "Daddy told me to come back. Said I had a class I needed to teach."

"Ya shoulda called me. I woulda met ya the airport."

Tess shook her head. "You needed to be here. The apartment was too quiet. I tried to go by Bette's but she wasn't home."

"Ya don't wanna stay here, Sweetheart." Don stood up, still holding Tess' hand. "Lemme walk ya downstairs." He glanced at his watch. "Hey, tell ya what. Let's go grab a bite ta eat. Then ya can go home." Don reached down and took Tess' chin in his hand and rocked her head back and forth, looking intently into her eyes. "Git some sleep. I'll finish up here and be home soon. Sound lika plan?"

"I'm not really hungry," mumbled Tess.

Don crouched down again. He leaned in close. "Tess, Sweetheart, ya gotta eat. Ya gotta sleep." Don took a deep breath. "Ya know it's not good for the baby." Tears started trickling down Tess face. Don blinked hard. "Please don't do that." Don looked around. "Come on, Sweetheart. Let's git outta here." He pulled Tess up and headed for the door. He grabbed his radio to call in for dinner.

"Flack! Where ya headed?" came the call from across the room.

Don swore under his breath. He didn't turn around. "I was jus' gonna grab some dinner. Tess just got back into town…"

"No can do, Romeo. We got a call." Detective Jelic came up next to Don. He leaned over and smiled at Tess. "Hey, Tess. Sorry to hear about yer ma." Tess nodded unable to trust her voice.

Don looked around the squad room. There were three or four other detectives around. "Come on, Jelic. Can't ya grab somebody else?"

"No. No can do. Cap said take you. I'd take Angell if she was here. That Dominguez girl is hers, but she's..." Jelic trailed off as he watched the blood drain from Tess' face. Don felt her start going down and slowly helped her to the floor. He brought her knees up and tucked her head down before turning on the other detective. Jelic just stood there his mouth open.

"Son of a bitch! 'That Dominguez girl' was Tess' student." Don's eyes raked over the other detective with fiery contempt.

"I didn't know. Cap just said you' know the folks down at the fencing club. Another..." A sob broke from Tess.

"Shut up! Jus' shut the fuck up!" Don restrained the urge to punctuate his sentence with a fist. He crouched down in front of Tess. "Stay with me, Sweetheart." Don looked frantically around, trying to decide where he could move Tess. They were drawing attention and Don wanted Tess out of the public eye. He scooped her up and took her to the break room. Jelic trailed lamely behind. Don carefully set her on a couch. He looked at Jelic hovering. "Get her some water," he barked. The detective filled a cup and handed it to Don.

Another detective stuck his head in the door. "She okay?"

Don snapped his head up and shot him a burning look. "Does she fuckin' look okay?" The second detective disappeared.

"Listen, Flack, I didn' know. I'm sorry," stammered the younger detective.

"Shut up, Jelic." Don looked up as his Inspector Gerrard came barreling into the room. The man stopped short when he spotted Tess curled up on the couch. He nodded for Jelic to leave. The detective quickly scooted out of the room. Don glared after him.

"Does she need medical attention?" Don looked from Gerrard to Tess. Tess shook her head slightly.

"I'm fine," she croaked. Tess cleared her throat. "I'm fine."

"No, yer not," snapped Don. He frowned. "I'm sorry," he said softly. He looked at Gerrard. "She doesn't need medical help."

The inspector nodded. "Listen, Flack." He looked over at Tess. "I need you on this one. Can you call someone...?"

"I can't...," protested Don. "I can't jus'..." He looked over at Tess as she squeezed his hand. She was still pale, but her eyes held more life than when he had first seen her.

"Go," she said softly.

"Sweetheart, I don't..."

Tess shook her head and straightened herself a little more. "You've got to do this. I'll...I'll be okay."

"Ya don't have to be a martyr, Tess."

Tess glared at him. Her angry look made him feel better. If she was getting mad, she was finally coming out of the daze she'd been in since her mother had died. "I'm not. You have a job to do."

"Are ya sure?"

Tess nodded. "For Angie." Tess sat up. Don could almost see her wrapping her anger about her body like armor. "And if whoever did this, hurt another one of my kids..." Don grinned.

"I'll give 'em hell for ya."

"Thanks." Don nodded and squeezed her hand. He stood up and headed for the door.

"Try not to take Jelic's head off again," Gerrard called after him.

"I'll see what I can do, Sir." Don disappeared down the hall. Tess stared at the doorway. When she was sure that Don wasn't coming back, she let herself collapse again.

"Are ya sure ya don't want medical..."

Tess shook her head. "I'm going to call my friend. I'll be fine."

Gerrard nodded. "You can stay here until your friend comes for you. I can get them escorted back." Tess nodded. Gerrard stood watching her. "Ya know, you can't pull that too many times. He'll catch on."

Tess' lips twitched slightly. She looked up at Don's boss, her eyes tired but clear. "I think I can manage when I need to," she said defiantly. Gerrard nodded his own lips twitching. He left Tess sitting there. Flack made a good match, he thought as he headed back to his office.

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Don loosened his tie as he reached his apartment door. He fished out his keys and reached for the door. He was about to unlock the door when he heard laughing. Laughing? Don quickly opened the door. Bette and Tess were sitting on the floor chattering away. They both looked up at Don. Bette jumped up.

"About time you got home." She had her fists planted on her hips and her braids flying as she shook her head. "Leavin' me to baby-sit your poor girl all night." Tess burst into a fit of giggles at the sight of Don's shocked face. He looked at opened take out boxes, the two empty wine bottles and the glasses on the table.

"Have you been drinking?"

Tess' mouth dropped open. She rolled her eyes. "Of course not." She held up the one bottle. "Non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice, Donald. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"I dunno. You seem pretty chipper compared to the girl I left back at the precinct." Don could have kicked himself as the bright look left Tess' face.

"Nice job," growled Bette. "All my hard work completely undone." Bette grabbed her bag. She bent down and gave Tess a fierce hug. She stood up, walked over and glared at Don. "I work hard at breaking her out of her shell. Make her laugh and then you, Detective KillJoy come in here and wrap her up in a nasty, cold, wet blanket. Thank you so much."

Don just undid his tie completely and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. "Good to see you too, Bette. Thanks for taking care of her."

"Mm-hm." Bette glanced over at Tess. "You sure you don't want me to kick him in the head for you?"

Tess shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, Bette, but I'm good. Thanks for keeping me company."

Bette smiled. "Don't be such a stranger, Tess." She frowned at Don. "Don't darken my doorstep beggin' for help, if you're jus' gonna come back and mess things up again."

Don looked at her non-pulsed. "I'll remember that. Thanks, Bette." Bette nodded, waved one more time at Tess and left. Don put away his gear, came back and dropped exhaustedly to the couch. Tess started to pick up the debris. Don reached out and tugged at her hand. "Leave that for later. Come here." Tess let Don pull her into his lap. He just sat there holding her and breathing in her sent. Tess relaxed and rested her head against his chest. Don took a deep breath. "We..." Tess placed her finger on his lips.

"Not tonight."

"Don't ya wanna know?"

Tess squeezed her eyes shut and slowly opened them. She sat up and looked Don squarely in the eyes. "Only two things. And no words. Just move your head. You arrested someone?" Don nodded. "Good. Do I know them?" Don shrugged. Tess breathed out slowly. "If I do, then not well. Good." She snuggled back down.

Don shifted slightly. "I should take a shower."

"Mm-hm." Tess made no effort to move.

Don peered over Tess' head at the take out boxes. "Did you two leave anythin' for me?"

"Maybe."

"Do ya think I might be able to take a shower and find out?"

"No." Tess shifted to play with the buttons on his shirt, slowly releasing them.

Don just watched her unbutton his shirt. "I'm guessing some one was forced to take a nap and eat and is feeling much better."

Tess nodded. "Bette knocked some sense into me. I still hurt. I hurt a lot. But I've got to quit moping." Tess leaned in and rubbed her cheek against Don's.

"You're gonna get a burn, Sweetheart. I didn't get a chance to shave good this morning." Tess raised her head. She leaned in and kissed Don tenderly. She broke of the kiss and looked into his eyes for several heartbeats. Tess leaned in again and kissed him a little harder. Don's hand slid up to the back of Tess' head and anchored her while he deepened the kiss. Without breaking the kiss, Tess shifted so that she straddled Don's lap. She drew her knees in tight against his hips. Don's hands dropped down to Tess' waist and he slid his fingers under her top to trail feather light over her bare skin. The kiss finally ended and Don leaned his forehead against Tess' panting slightly. He licked his dry lips. "If yer not up to finishing this, you'd better stop now." He prayed she wouldn't pull away.

Tess slid her hands into his open shirt and tugged at his undershirt. "I'm up to it. Are you?" Don answered by capturing her lips again.