"'Mornin' boss," Danny grinned, walking into Mac's office.

Mac smiled from behind his desk. "You're awfully cheerful this morning."

Danny's grin widened. "I got some good news last night."

"The way you're acting it must be really good."

The younger detective nodded. "Maddie's pregnant."

Mac sat still, surprised. "Wow. That's big…"

Danny could barely contain his excitement, but only nodded, waiting for Mac to process the information.

"How do you feel about this? Well, you're obviously thrilled, but…"

"Yeah, I know. I've never exactly been Mr. Family Man. But with Maddie, it's different. I'm mean, I'm terrified—I know nothing about kids and I've never committed to anyone for more than six months…"

Mac chuckled. "But then she looks at you and smiles the way she only smiles at you…"

The color began to rise in Danny's cheeks, and he looked down at his feet. "Yeah," he smiled, drawing the word out. "And now I'm happy to be Mr. Family Man…well, to try to be, anyway."

"Hey, if you put as much energy into being a good father as you have into being a good partner for Maddie, then you'll be just fine."

"Thanks Mac," Danny replied, meeting his supervisor's eyes. "That means a lot comin' from you." They stood there for a moment before something clicked in Danny's brain and he turned a bit paler. "I'm gonna be a father…"

Mac's face broke out in a huge smile. "Yes you are. Congratulations," he said, shaking Danny's hand and pulling him into a loose hug.

"Thanks," Danny returned as he clapped Mac on the shoulder.

When they parted, it was Mac's turn to focus on his shoes as he contemplated sharing his own news.

"I don't know if this is the right time," he began, "but I have some information of my own."

"What is it?"

Mac took a breath. "I got an e-mail from Aiden this morning."

Danny didn't react right away. "You did?"

"I did. She's staying with a friend in Charlottesville, Virginia for a while until she gets herself together again. She's working part-time in a bookstore and thinking about going to graduate school when the winter semester starts in January."

"Good for her," Danny nodded, trying to be supportive of his friend. "How did she sound? You can't tell a whole lot from an e-mail, but…"

"She sounds happier, more relaxed," Mac replied. "She said she misses the city and all of us, that she's really homesick, but she's glad she left when she did."

Don was walking slowly past Mac's open office door as the elder detective spoke the last phrase, and stopped in his tracks.

She's glad she left? he thought to himself. All that time I thought we were happy together, but she couldn't wait to get away…

He felt tears forming in his eyes and hurried down the hall before anyone could see them.

Mac heard Don's hasty retreat and caught a glimpse of him disappearing around a corner. "Flack, wait…" he called.

"What happened?" Stella asked as she approached the office.

Danny shook his head. "Mac was just telling me about the e-mail he got from Aiden…"

"…and Don overheard," she finished. "I'll go talk to him."

She, too, disappeared around the corner, heading to a secluded part of the lab where she thought Don might be going. She arrived at the room in question and pushed the door open slowly.

"Don…you in here?"

She found him slumped down in a chair, his large hands covering his face. Creeping quietly over to him, she pulled her own chair up beside him and squeezed his shoulder.

"Don?"

He shook his head, unwilling to speak even the smallest word lest his voice give him away.

"Come on Don, talk to me…"

He sucked in a breath. "She's glad she left…" he managed to get out.

Stella wrapped her arm around his shoulders and laid her cheek against his, playing the part of big sister as she tried to comfort her friend. "I don't know what you heard, Don, but I know that Aiden didn't want to leave you. She loved you more than anything else in the world…"

"She didn't even say good-bye, Stella," he replied in a choked voice. "She just packed up all her stuff and left me a note…"

The tears were spilling from his eyes now, even as he tried desperately to keep them from doing so. She held him tighter, her heart aching for him, knowing the pain of being left with no explanation.

Don cried for a few minutes, burying his face in Stella's shoulder until he could regain some measure of composure. When he did he lifted his head, a frustrated sigh escaping from his lips.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "I thought I could handle being here at the lab, but I guess I can't. I'm just not over her yet. I don't know if I ever will be."

"You don't have to apologize to me," Stella replied. "You lost someone who was very important to you…you need time to grieve."

He nodded slowly, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

She squeezed his shoulders again and ruffled his hair. "Anytime you need anything, you just let me know, even if it's three in the morning, okay?"

He sniffled and nodded again, feeling ashamed of himself for crying at work but knowing he couldn't keep his emotions bottled up.

"Thanks, Stel," he said quietly.

She smiled and patted his cheek. "You're welcome."

Maddie clipped the visitor's tag to her blouse as she followed the security guard into the morgue, waiting while he fetched Sheldon from the restricted part of the building.

"There's the mother-to-be!" the doctor cried bursting from the double doors and throwing his arms around her. "Congratulations!"

She laughed jovially as she hugged him back. "I see Danny's been here already today."

Sheldon squeezed her tightly before loosening his grip. "He has…walked in with a giant grin on his face and couldn't wait to spill it."

"He didn't look nervous at all?"

It was Sheldon's turn to laugh. "He looked petrified, but he was really excited."

Maddie smiled broadly. "That's my boy."

"So how are you feeling? Any morning sickness or discomfort?"

She shook her head. "Not really. Nothing that I've noticed, anyway. My mother didn't have a lot of morning sickness when she was pregnant, so maybe I'll get lucky, too."

"Well, you know who to call if you need anything…"

"Actually, you might be getting a few calls."

Sheldon raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Yeah?"

"You're a good friend and Danny and I trust you, so I was hoping it might be okay if we sometimes pestered you for a second medical opinion."

"Of course you can! Anytime."

Maddie grinned. "Be careful with that offer. Danny and I are both scientists in one capacity or another and we question things for a living—you might never get any sleep."

"It would be my pleasure," he smiled, taking her hands in his. "And I might not be getting much sleep anyway."

"Why is that?"

"I got a new job."

"You did? Where?"

He tried to look nonchalant but his smile widened. "At the crime lab. I'm going to be a CSI."

"Sheldon, that's great!" she exclaimed, hugging him again. "Congratulations!" She planted a kiss on his cheek as she pulled back. "Why the change?"

"Oh, I don't know," he replied. "I guess I just felt like I need to be more active in helping people. Down here I only get involved with the body, and only after someone dies. As a CSI, I get to be a part of the entire process."

"You're going to be a fantastic CSI," Maddie told him. "And I'll get to see you more often, too."

Sheldon patted her stomach. "So I can keep an eye on you and the little one."

She smiled gently. "Between you and Danny, we're going to be very well taken care of."

"I still can't believe I didn't know you could cook," Stella said as she helped Mac clear the dishes from her kitchen table.

"Well, now you know," he smiled.

"What else don't I know about you?" she teased.

"What a good kisser I am?" he winked.

She giggled. "Now that I know…" She leaned over and touched her lips to his, unable to keep from smiling as she did so.

They finished clearing the table and settled down on the couch and flipped on the TV. Mac slipped his arm around Stella with a trace of the shyness that he hadn't entirely shed yet. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and tried to smother another giddy grin that threatened to spring to her lips.

"So how's Don doing?" he asked.

She rested her head against his shoulder and sighed. "He's a wreck. He's depressed, he's angry, he's confused. He doesn't understand why Aiden left so he can't come to terms with it."

"He feels like he's been abandoned," Mac agreed. "I remember how hard that is to deal with."

Stella sighed again softly. "I'm familiar with the concept myself."

"And with Danny and Maddie starting a family together…"

"…makes him feel even worse," she finished.

"Danny asked me to tell Aiden about the baby," he told her. "He said he wanted her to know she was going to be an aunt."

She nodded. "They were close to each other…she'll be happy for him…"

"But won't it remind her of what she left? She and Don were really serious…"

"It might, but she should know. Danny's going to be a father for heaven's sake…"

Mac chuckled. "Danny's going to be a father," he repeated with a grin. "Hard to believe, isn't it?"

"Yes and no," she answered thoughtfully. "He's a good man, and he'll make a good father…I think he just needed the right woman to help him show it more."

He pulled his arm tighter around her and kissed the top of her head. "The right woman makes all the difference," he said quietly.

She smiled, blushing a bit. "So does the right man."

A/N: I borrowed another plotline in moving Sheldon out of the morgue, partly because I liked the idea so much, partly because it fit well here, and partly to keep his position straight in my mind. Outside of that, and the characters that aren't Maddie, the rest is all me :)