The Crime Lab's annual Holiday Party was usually kind of a big deal, a chance for scientists who spent the day in lab coats attending delicate equipment to step out of their normal roles and have a good time with their coworkers. Danny and Maddie discovered that this year was no exception when they walked into Charlie's.

The bar had been rented out by the lab for the evening, and was decorated with Christmas lights and ornaments, Menorahs, and even a couple of Kinaras for those who celebrated Kwanza. The jukebox blared from its place against the wall and an area nearby had been cleared for a dance floor.

Mac, however, was not on the dance floor. He sat at a table nursing a beer with Don, who had been invited as an honorary member of the lab. Sheldon and Sarah sat with them, laughing and talking, enjoying the time with each other and their friends.

"Looks like we're a little late," Danny smiled as he and Maddie walked over. "The party's already started."

Sheldon and Mac stood politely as Danny helped Maddie into a chair, then took a seat himself.

"Bar's open, Danny," Mac told him. "Why don't you go grab a beer?"

The younger detective shook his head. "Maddie can't drink because of the baby, so I'm not drinking either," he explained.

"That's so sweet," Sarah smiled. "I can't even get Sheldon to give up the remote control when we're watching TV."

Maddie laughed. "Oh no, the remote is much more sacred than alcohol," she said with mock seriousness. "The only way I get the remote at home is if I wrestle it away from Danny."

Don laughed at that one. "I bet you can do it, too," he told her.

Maddie sighed and put her arm around Danny. "He just doesn't want to wrestle with me anymore…thinks I'm too fragile since I got pregnant."

"You are anything but fragile," Sheldon winked.

"You better believe it," she grinned back at him.

Mac's attention was suddenly diverted when Stella appeared in the doorway, and Maddie barely conceal her smile. She quickly leaned over and kissed Danny on the cheek to help hide her expression.

"You can have a beer or two tonight if you want to," she told him. "We're celebrating."

"You tryin' to get me drunk?" he grinned.

She smirked at him. "Yep. Plannin' on takin' advantage of you as soon as we get home tonight."

He rose from his chair with a laugh. "In that case, I'll be right back."

The table had a good laugh at that, and Don stood as well. "I think I'm ready for another one myself," he said, following Danny to the bar.

The two men stood at the counter waiting for the bartender to get to them, watching Stella as she made her way over to their table. Don's mind wandered back to the conversation between Danny and Maddie that he'd overheard in the hall, and he wondered if now was the right time to ask his friend about it.

I gotta tell him, he thought. He might not know how much danger he's really in…

"Hey Danny," he began. "I was doin' some checkin' the other day, and I pulled a sheet on a Michael Sassone. Name mean anything to you?"

Danny's face paled, but his expression remained steady. "Yeah, I collared him a couple of times when I was at the 6-3," he replied. "Supposed to be connected to the Mafia, but we never could prove it."

"Oh he's connected alright," Don informed him. "He's a captain in the Utzieli crime family…bad news, this guy." Danny's face betrayed him at that moment and Don knew something was going on. "You knew that, though, didn't you?"

"Yeah," was all Danny said.

"You know how dangerous he is?"

"Yeah," he repeated.

"You gonna tell Maddie?"

Danny didn't answer him, glancing down the bar at the bartender instead.

"You have to tell her," Don told him. Danny continued to look at the bartender, and Don grabbed his shoulder roughly. "Danny, you have to tell her. You both might be in danger…and she if she finds out from someone else that your father is connected to this guy…"

Danny's head whipped around. "How did you know that?" he asked sharply.

"I asked around," Don responded. "I had to dig a little, but not all that much. Look, whatever the connection is, whatever happened, you have to tell Maddie."

Danny stared at Don, a stare that bore holes in Don's head with its intensity, but said nothing. The bartender interrupted and quickly served the two their drinks, sending them back to their table.

Maddie noticed the expressions on their faces as they resumed their seats and shot Danny an "everything okay?" look. He curled his lip and shook his head faintly, as if to say "not right now". She frowned in response, wondering what had happened in so short a time, but let it go for the moment.

As the evening progressed people began to sing carols at the bar, the music on the jukebox became louder, and the dance floor grew more crowded. Sheldon and Sarah spent the majority of their time finding subtle ways to touch or look at each other in that silly, sweet, new-relationship kind of way that they still had with each other. They even managed to steal a few kisses under the mistletoe, much to the delight of the slightly tipsy crowd who had begun to applaud every kiss under the mistletoe.

Don took Maddie out for a spin on the dance floor, trying to keep his mind on the party and off Michael Sassone and Aiden's letter. Maddie was glad he wasn't sitting in a corner all night moping, but could see the sadness in his eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked as they moved to the music.

He blinked and smiled apologetically. "Yeah. Just thinkin'."

"'Bout Aiden?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I, uh…I had something special planned for Christmas for her, that's all."

"Did it involve a diamond ring and getting down on one knee?"

He nodded again and swallowed. "Yeah."

"Look, I don't know how things will turn out between you two," she told him, running a hand over his shoulder affectionately, "but I know how much you both still love each other, and that's worth a lot."

Don looked down at her and replied softly, "Not if we're not together."

She pulled him closer in a comforting hug, wishing she could take away the pain. When the song ended, he released her and smiled.

"Thanks," he told her. "I needed that."

"Anytime," she returned.

Maddie made her way back to Danny, managing to get him out on the dance floor for a couple of slow songs, too, but his attention was plainly elsewhere as well and he was unable to bring it back.

"Danny, are you listening to me?" she asked him at one point when they were sitting alone at their table.

"Hmm? Yeah I'm listenin'. You wanted to get some new things for the baby…"

"No," she corrected. "I wanted to get some new things for my student's baby. Adrienne, from my second period Basic Science class…she's about as far along as I am, and she has no one to help her…"

"Okay, babe," he replied distantly. "We can do that."

"Danny," she tried again, waiving her hand in front of his eyes. "Danny! What's with you tonight?"

He shook his head as if to clear it and frowned, taking her hand in his and squeezing it gently. "I'm sorry. Just, uh, this case at work," he explained, knowing she wasn't buying it for a minute.

She didn't call him on it, though, figuring he was thinking about his father and hadn't wanted to bring him up at a party. Instead she merely nodded. "Okay," she replied, squeezing his hand in return.

"So Adrienne's pregnant?" he asked. "She's the blonde one that sits in the middle, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Maddie responded. "She found out a few weeks after we did that she was pregnant, and her parents threw her out. Her boyfriend promised to take care of her, but she didn't exactly get happily ever after with him, either. Now she's living with a cousin, working part time to pay for medical expenses, and trying to finish the tenth grade."

"Tenth grade?"

"Yeah. She won't be sixteen until February."

"Wow," Danny breathed. "This is hard enough for us and we're adults. How tough is it for a fifteen-year-old?"

"Exactly. So I was thinking maybe as we get ready four our little one, I might help her get ready for hers." Maddie smiled softly, her hand unconsciously moving over her abdomen as she spoke.

"We," he responded.

"What?"

"We'll help her get ready…you'n me."

She smiled broadly and planted a kiss on his cheek. "That's my boy…"

The party continued around them as the music blared, and people continued to come out of their shells as people do only at a holiday party. Somewhere in all the chaos, Stella and Mac managed to slip away undetected and find a spot alone in a back hallway.

"I have something for you," Mac grinned shyly, pulling a box from his sport coat pocket and handing it to her. "I can't wait 'til Christmas."

Stella giggled girlishly as she took the box. "Oh Mac…you didn't have to…"

"I know," he told her. "I wanted to."

He slid an arm around her, watching her face as she lifted the lid of the box and pulled out the star necklace Maddie had helped him pick out.

She sucked in a breath. "It's beautiful…"

"You like it?"

She laid her cheek against his. "I love it," she said softly.

He leaned in to kiss her, but she stopped him with a wink. "Not yet…you have to open your present first."

She pulled a small box of her own from her purse and handed it to him with her patented Stella smirk, making him chuckle.

"It's…" He opened the box and laughed again. "It's mistletoe."

She patted his cheek. "I was gonna get you a tie, but you stopped wearin' 'em," she teased.

He leaned in and kissed her softly. "You loosened me up."

"I had a good time tonight," Maddie said with a tired smiled as she followed Danny into their apartment and kicked off her shoes, "but boy am I glad to be home."

He loosened his tie and unbuttoned his collar, flopping down on the couch and pulling her down beside him. "Me too," he agreed. "Home with the love of my life, the mother of my child."

She grinned at him, reaching up and kissing him, nibbling playfully on his bottom lip. "Major brownie points for that," she told him.

"It's true, though. And I'm sorry I wasn't all there tonight, too," he continued, slipping his arm around her. "There's just so much goin' on…"

"I know," she replied, leaning back against his chest. "Just make sure that when your mind wanders away like that, you come back to me."

"Always." He sat for a moment, stroking her arm and thinking about his family. Maddie was more family to him than his blood relatives, and with his father reappearing, he wanted her to know it. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box, the gift he had finally settled on during his shopping excursion with Sheldon. "I was going to save this for Christmas, but I want you to have it now." She took the box from him with a questioning look in her eyes. "G'ahead, open it," he smiled.

She shifted a bit and he pulled her closer as she lifted the lid of the box. Inside was a ring, a simple polished gold band with an inscription flowing around the outside of it.

"The inscription is in Latin," he told her.

She couldn't help but giggle a little. "The language of science…"

"Yeah," he grinned. "It says 'amor vincit omnia'…"

"'Love conquers all'," she smiled softly.

"It's nothin' fancy," he continued. "And not as extravagant as what I wish I could get you, but…it's us."

"It's beautiful," she breathed, pulling the ring from the box and taking a closer look at it.

His arm tightened around her as he reached for the ring. "It goes on this finger," he instructed, taking her left hand in his and sliding the gold band on her third finger.

She was a little surprised as she turned and looked into his twinkling blue eyes, studying him for a moment. No, she decided, he wasn't asking that question yet. But the mere fact that he was beginning to consider the idea told her all she needed to know about his feelings for her.

"I love it," she whispered to him. "And I love you."

He leaned down and kissed her tenderly, his free hand sliding down her body and coming to rest on her abdomen. Her fingers ran over his strong arms and muscular shoulders, threading through his hair as she turned into him. He moved with her, his arm supporting her as he laid her down on the couch. Halfway down he felt a flutter under the fingers that still rested on Maddie's abdomen and stopped.

"What was that?" he asked, breathless from the kiss and startled by the flutter.

"I felt it too…"

Danny laid Maddie gently down the rest of the way onto the couch and they remained still for a few moments, waiting for the motion to repeat itself.

"There it is again!" he whispered urgently.

She smiled broadly, realizing what they were feeling. "Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"That was our baby."

His eyes widened. "That hasn't happened before…"

She grinned. "Nope. That was a first."

"It…moved…"

She giggled at his continued shock. "Yep."

He smiled crookedly and kissed her. Then, in his best Dr. Frankenstein voice: "It's aliiiive…"

She laughed out loud and pulled him down to her, squirming as he buried his face in her neck and tickled her with kisses.