Disclaimer: Sadly I own nothing...well I do own some things, just not anything in the story except for the plot in parts...not so much in others. My birthday's on the 27th...think if I wish for them when I blow out my candles I'll get them?...yeah I don't think so...well a girl can dream!

A/N: Still not sure who's gonna have my plot idea as part of their character...Zoe seems too old, Taylor is a little old but her character would work well, and Hannah is the perfect age but I'm not sure it would fit her character...grr oh well I suppose I'll just have to decide...wish me luck!

M passed Zoe's office, smiling to herself as she watched Dan lean over Zoe's shoulder to read the open file on her desk. It wasn't that he hadn't done that before, it was the smile on both of their faces, the placement of his hand on her back and the way she giggled when he whispered something into her ear. Yes she had done well, they were happy. M cleared her throat, smirking when the pair looked up guiltily. "So I hear the case went well?" she asked, avoiding the subject of why they were back three days early.

"Yeah it went great!" Zoe replied with a grin the size of Texas, "Solved it on our second day. Turns out the limo driver that picked us up at the airport was trying to get a little cash on the side." Zoe's smile faded as she saw the receipt M was holding in her hand.

"So the Harbour Reef Restaurant was worth the $140?" M looked accusingly at her two top investigators as they averted their eyes, Zoe studying the file in front of her while Dan's eyes darted around the room, accidentally finding M's.

"Well...here's the thing..." Dan struggled to come up with a viable explanation for their expensive dinner.

"Oh shut it Dan," M snapped at him, "I'm only going to allow you two to get away with this because you came back early and are going to make it up to me by working extra hard...right?" Silent nods from both Dan and Zoe were met with another smirk from M who had noticed that Dan's hand had slid down around Zoe's waist, resting on her hip as she spoke. "Glad to see you two had fun on your trip..." M tossed over her shoulder as she made a quick escape before either investigator could form a response.

"Why is it that we go away for a few days and everyone thinks we slept together!" Zoe hissed to Dan.

"Umm...everyone?" Dan looked at Zoe awaiting an explanation, his hand rubbing small circles on her lower back. She jerked away from his hand,

"Yeah my niece thinks I slept with you!"

"Taylor?"

"No, Hannah," she shot him a look, sarcasm adding an edge to her voice, "of course Taylor! And to make it so much better they all saw you kiss me at the airport! What am I supposed to do Dan? This is exactly what I wanted to avoid!" Zoe slumped onto her desk. Dan knelt beside her chair, lifting her curls out of the way so he could see her face.

"Zoe...Taylor is a smart kid. Talk to her tonight...on second thought, why don't I talk to her. Might do her good to have a guy's perspective on all of this."

"You wouldn't mind?" Zoe turned her head to look at him. He kissed her softly and said,

"Of course not. I'll be at your place around six okay?" Zoe smiled and nodded, grateful for Dan's help.

Zoe hummed softly to herself as she vacuumed the livingroom in preparation for Dan's arrival. A small part of her wondered why she was going to so much trouble, it was only Dan after all. Yeah only Dan, she thought to herself, silly smile on her face. She cursed softly as the vacuum ground to a halt under the couch. "Hannah I swear if this is another one of your dolls..." Zoe trailed off as she pulled the vacuum out to remove the offending article. She stared at the clump of hair that was clogging the hose, her brain trying to figure out where it possibly could have come from. Her first thought was that Hannah had tried to give a Barbie doll a haircut but the hair was too long and she was pretty sure it wasn't synthetic. She sat down on the couch, Okay well it's too dark to be Hannah's, too long to be Cliff's and it's definitely not mine so...Taylor? The doorbell rang, jolting Zoe from her reverie and she went to let Dan in, vacuum still in hand. "Hey Dan...c'mon in," Dan noticed the far off look in her eyes as soon as she opened the door.

"Zoe? What's wrong?" he stepped into the house, tipping her head up so she was looking into her eyes. She wordlessly lifted the vacuum hose. "Is that...hair?" Zoe nodded, "Where did it come from?" she raised her shoulders half-heartedly. Taylor made it halfway down the stairs before she saw the hair in the vacuum,

"Shit," she swore under her breath, drawing the attention of the two adults.

"Tay...wha?" Zoe looked up the stairs at her niece, who turned on her heel and raced back up the stairs, slamming the door to her room.

"Uh Zoe..." she turned back to Dan, dropping the vacuum hose and stepping into his arms. Dan wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back gently, "Why don't I take Hannah and Cliff out to dinner and then to a movie? You and Taylor should probably...talk." He felt her sigh into his chest,

"Thanks Dan, that would be good. Hannah! Cliff!" the two youngest of her charges came running down the stairs, Hannah running to give Dan a hug.

"Hi Mr. Lennox! Are you staying for dinner?" she grinned up at him.

"Actually I was planning on taking you and Cliff out for dinner and then to go see a movie. Is that okay?"

"What about Taylor and Aunt Zoe? Aren't they coming?"

"Not tonight, this is a special treat just for the two of you!"

"That's cool," Cliff spoke up for the first time, "what movie are we going to see?"

"You two can choose in the car okay? Let's get out of your Aunt's hair," Dan winked at Zoe, giving her hand a squeeze and whispering, "It'll be okay Zoe. I'll have these two back by nine and we can talk okay?" She nodded at him and slowly walked up the stairs to Taylor's room.

"Taylor?" Zoe knocked softly at her niece's door, "Can I come in?" Zoe slowly opened the door to find her eldest niece sitting on the edge of her bed, her hair in an uncharacteristic ponytail. "Taylor what..."

"I don't want to talk about. Okay Aunt Zoe?"

"No, Taylor, it's not okay. I need to know why. And how." Zoe moved to sit on the edge of the bed beside her niece, Taylor immediately getting up and sinking into the chair by her desk.

"I don't know why. And I'd think the how is pretty damn obvious!" Taylor snapped at her aunt, immediately regretting her tone.

"Watch your mouth Taylor. Did you..." Zoe paused to take a deep breath, "pull it out?" she whispered the last part of her sentence, not really sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Yeah it was just stress okay? It won't happen again!" Taylor was getting anxious, she didn't want anyone to know about what she'd done, not even her aunt. Zoe's eyes were glued to Taylor's hand as it wound it's way into her hair and began to pull out single strands.

"Then why are you doing it now?" Zoe couldn't force her voice above a whisper. Taylor jerked her hand away from her head, a strand of hair still clasped in her fingers. She stared at it as though it was a foreign object.

"Aunt Zoe?...What's wrong with me?" Taylor's voice trembled as she spoke, tears rolling down her cheeks. Zoe gave a helpless shrug, pulling her niece into a hug.

"I don't know Tay. But we're gonna get you help okay?" Taylor nodded and kissed her aunt's cheek. "Taylor can I...see?" Fear filled Taylor's eyes and her hands trembled as she released her hair from the elastic. Her dark hair fell into her face, revealing just how thin her hair had gotten. Taylor broke down into tears, Zoe pulled her into a hug, "It's gonna be okay Taylor. I promise. You hungry?" Taylor nodded as she swept her hair back into another ponytail, forcing a smile onto her face.

"Can we get Thai?" she asked quietly.

"Sure kiddo," Zoe wrapped her arm around her niece's shoulders as they descended to the livingroom.

"Where're Hannah and Cliff?" Taylor sat down on a chair in the kitchen while Zoe rooted through the kitchen for a Thai menu.

"Aha!" Zoe pulled out a menu triumphantly, "Oh Dan took them out for dinner and a movie. Thought we could use some girl time." Zoe smiled as she dialled the phone and ordered their food. When the food arrived they sat and ate in the livingroom, watching Gone With the Wind. Just after nine, food finished and cleaned up and the movie winding down, Dan and the younger two walked through the front door. Zoe smiled as they entered, Hannah fast asleep in Dan's arms. "Okay kiddies, time for bed," Zoe whispered so as not to wake Hannah. They mounted the stairs, Dan bringing up the rear with Hannah. After they were all tucked in for the night, Zoe and Dan went back to the livingroom silently. Dan sat down on the couch and motioned for Zoe to sit beside him. She tossed a pillow into his lap and laid down on the couch, her head on the pillow.

"So...is Taylor okay?" Dan broached the subject, he knew Zoe needed to talk. He wasn't going to let her keep this bottled up inside. Zoe shrugged,

"She's pulling out her hair Dan. By the roots! I-I feel so helpless...I don't know what to do to help her. I mean I was sitting there talking to her and she started to do it unconsciously. She can't or won't tell me why and I don't know what to do!" Zoe started to cry, Dan leaned down and kissed her forehead, trying to soothe her, all the while thinking of his sister, Rebecca. He knew she had gone through something similar, maybe she could help. Eventually Zoe fell into a fitful sleep, Dan slid out from beneath her and covered her with a blanket and walked into the kitchen to make a call to his baby sister.

Dan head the muffled curse from the other end of the phone as his sister struggled to find it after knocking it over, "'Lo?" came the sleepy voice of his sister.

"Becca? It's Dan...I need your help."

A/N2: Does Dan have a sister? Well if he doesn't in the show he sure does now. Rebecca Lennox is my creation (wow something I own!). Okay so obviously (or perhaps not) I've chosen Taylor for my little plot twist. I know this chapter doesn't explain it well but be patient and I'll try to get another chapter up soon!