Stella found Maddie sitting beside one of her students on top of a lab table as she entered the classroom.

"Hey Stella, what a nice surprise," Maddie smiled.

Stella hesitated. "If you're busy, I can just call you later…"

"No, it's okay, come on in. This is Shayla," she explained. "Shayla, this is my friend Stella."

The girl smiled shyly. "Hi."

Stella smiled cheerfully back. "Hi Shayla."

"So what brings you by Stel?"

The smile faded a bit. "Crime scene over at MLK High School."

Maddie nodded. "The teacher that was attacked by his student."

"Yeah, that one. Anything happens to a teacher and Danny starts worrying about you, so I told him I'd swing by and check up on you since I was nearby."

Maddie turned her attention to Shayla for a moment, patting her on the back. "Why don't you go get your science homework from Mr. Logan and wait for me by the front doors? I'll just be a few minutes, and then we'll go home."

"Okay," she replied quietly, hopping off the lab table and heading out the door.

"That's your Shayla?" Stella asked when she had gone.

Maddie nodded. "That's our Shayla. And it looks like she'll be staying with us a lot longer, now, too. She doesn't know who her father is, and her mother just got pinched for drug trafficking."

"The state's gonna take her, aren't they?" Stella asked.

"They want to, but Danny and I asked to be certified as foster parents so she could stay with us. I couldn't stand the thought of her in some stranger's home, not after everything she's already been through."

"Well, if you ever need a babysitter…"

"She's almost 16," Maddie told her, "so she's okay by herself. And besides, if she needed a babysitter, I know ER doctors with more free time than you have."

Stella laughed. "Good point. But speaking of free time, I actually have the night off tomorrow night, and I thought we could have that girls' night out if you're not busy."

"Tomorrow night's perfect," Maddie grinned. "Mac's taking Danny out for a little male bonding and marriage advice tomorrow, and Shayla's working on a school project with a friend."

"Great! I'll pick you up at eight then. Wear something suggestive and tell Danny we're going 'out'."

Maddie laughed. "That would certainly test his trust in me."

At the appointed hour, both Mac and Stella arrived at the Parrish-Messer household, meeting in the lobby and riding up to the apartment in the elevator together.

"Is everything ready?" Mac asked.

Stella smiled. "All set to go," she replied, taking his hand in hers. "All we need to do is get 'em there."

"You're bringing Maddie first, right?"

"Yep. Give me 'bout a half an hour before you bring Danny."

The elevator car reached the appropriate floor and the doors slid open. Mac leaned over and gave Stella a quick kiss.

"Okay. See you in a bit."

They knocked on the door and exchanged greetings with Maddie and Danny before parting ways, the two women hopping into Stella's car while the two men headed for the subway.

"So where are we going?" Maddie asked curiously.

Stella grinned mischievously. "It's a surprise."

Maddie's eyebrows furrowed. "Should I be worried?"

"If our roles were reversed, I'd be a little wary," Stella grinned, "but you actually don't have to be."

Maddie chuckled. "Now I am worried."

They had only been in the car a short time when Stella turned into a parking structure and parked.

"What are we doing at a police precinct?" Maddie asked, her suspicion growing. "I thought we were goin' out tonight."

"We are," Stella told her. "We're goin' here."

Maddie allowed Stella to lead her through the precinct and up to the door to the roof. "Okay, Stel, you know I like you, but I wasn't exactly thinking we'd spend the evening stargazing on the roof of some building…"

Stella laughed. "Not just any building," she pointed out. "This is the precinct where you and Danny met."

Realization swept over Maddie as the memories flooded back. "Oh my God…the day he arrested Dantrell…"

Stella merely grinned and listen to her friend reminisce.

"Danny picked him up for some gang-related shooting and Dantrell called me…we met in the interrogation room downstairs…"

Stella's grin widened. "And I hear that first meeting was a rousing success."

Maddie laughed. "He hated that I was there. I was interfering with his case."

"But Dantrell wasn't involved, and you encouraged him to help with the investigation."

"And we all lived happily ever after," Maddie chuckled. "But why did you bring me here tonight?"

Stella opened the door to the roof with a flourish. "This is why…"

They stepped out into the cool night air. Strings of tiki lights and Chinese lanterns had been hung all around the rooftop, leading to the "Congratulations Maddie & Danny" banner that friends, relatives, and other guests had signed with their good luck wishes. There was even a DJ Maddie noted with delight—one of her students had hauled his equipment up to provide music for the party.

"What is all this?" Maddie asked, stunned, as she stepped haltingly onto the roof.

"This is your surprise engagement party!" Stella grinned.

"Oh, Stella…you did all this?"

"Well, I had help," she replied. "Shayla and some of your students took care of the decorations, the Lab kicked in for the refreshments, Adam over there volunteered his services so we'd have music, and Mac and I…"

"…were in charge of getting us here," Maddie finished. "What great friends we have!" she smiled, throwing her arms around Stella. "Thank you so much!"

Stella hugged her back. "You're quite welcome."

"But I need you to do me just one more little favor," Maddie told her as she pulled away.

"What's that?"

"You have to be one of my bridesmaids."

Stella was a bit surprised by the request. "Really?"

"Absolutely. You've been one of my best friends since I moved to New York, and heaven knows you've put up with Danny for far longer than most other people…"

Stella laughed at that. "So I guess I've earned it."

"Oh yeah."

"Then I'd be happy to," she smiled.

The two women looked at each other for a moment, then launched into another excited hug.

"What did we miss?" Danny asked, stepping out onto the roof with a sly grin.

Stella and Maddie released each other with a laugh, and the bride-to-be slid her arms around her future husband. "They threw us an engagement party," she informed him as she kissed him hello. "And I talked to Stella about what we discussed…"

"She's in?" he asked, kissing her back.

"She's in."

Mac stood a few steps away, his eyes shifting from the happy couple to Stella, wondering what was going on, but choosing to remain quiet for the moment.

"Should we ask Mac, then, too?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, let's do it now."

They turned to the confused detective, both smiling as Maddie took Danny's arm and squeezed it affectionately.

"Mac, we have a favor to ask of you, too," she began. "And this one's a pretty big thing, so if you want to say no it's okay."

"What do you want to ask me?"

"Well, Danny and I were talking the other night, and we decided we wanted to include you in the wedding ceremony, too, of course," she continued. "Since my father and I are not exactly on speaking terms and I don't have any brothers, we were hoping you would walk me down the aisle." She let go of Danny's arm and moved toward Mac, taking his hand in both of hers. "You introduced us, after all," she winked, "letting me into the interrogation room with Dantrell. It only seems right that you get to be the one that helps seal the deal."

Mac looked from Maddie to Danny. "I…I don't know what to say…"

Danny grinned. "Say yes," he prompted.

The elder detective cleared his throat with an embarrassed look in his eyes. "I would be honored," he managed to get out with a shy smile.

More hugs were exchanged as Maddie slipped her arms around Mac's shoulders. When she released him Danny grabbed his hand and shook it, pulling him into a loose embrace.

"Thanks, Mac," he said softly. "This really means a lot…to both of us."

Mac cleared his throat again in an effort to keep the lump away that threatened to rise up. "It's my pleasure."

Stella found herself unable to be still any longer. "Awww!" she cried. "What a sweet moment!"

The four had a good laugh at that, and the guests of honor began to circulate around the rooftop, visiting with all the people Stella had invited and formalizing the rest of their wedding party as a wide variety of music poured from the DJ's speakers. Danny stole a few minutes alone with Don, who managed to stop grinning like a Cheshire cat long enough to agree to serve as the best man, and with Sheldon, who was equally as pleased to be a groomsman.

There was one other person Danny needed to talk to before the evening was out, and he eventually found the young man visiting with Maddie.

"Hey Mr. Parrish," Dantrell joked as Danny walked over.

"Oh, so that's how it is," Danny returned with a smirk.

Dantrell laughed. "You know every time you go to a function at Eastside, you're gonna be referred to as Miss Parrish's husband."

Danny slid and arm around Maddie and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Yeah, I know," he smiled proudly. "I'm secure enough to handle that."

"Good for you Detective Messer," the boy laughed again and patted Danny on the shoulder. "I should, uh, leave you two alone, though…"

"No, wait a minute," Danny stopped him. "I actually came over to talk to you."

"Not Miss Parrish?"

Danny glanced at Maddie and shared a knowing look with her. "Nope, not this time. I need to ask you somethin'."

Dantrell raised an eyebrow at the detective, but didn't reply.

"See, I need another groomsman, Dantrell. My two best friends are gonna be standin' up there with me, but I'm missin' the man who got Miss Parrish and I together, and that's you."

"Me?"

"Yeah you," Danny teased. "If you hadn't called her when you got in trouble, we never would have met. And," he continued more seriously, "if you weren't such a good kid, so concerned with protecting your family, I wouldn't have ever seen you again…I wouldn't have had a reason to ask about you later on. And I would never have gotten the chance to find out what it's like to have a brother."

As Mac had earlier in the evening, Dantrell found himself getting a little emotional despite his efforts not to. "You think of me as a brother?"

"Yeah," Danny replied softly. "I do. And I want you standing at the alter with me when this beautiful woman walks down the aisle."

Dantrell grinned broadly. "You just try and stop me," he laughed, bouncing over and draping an arm around Danny in an affectionate hug.

A very happy Danny hugged him back, and Maddie laughed delightedly. She opened her mouth to tease her boys, but a voice caught her attention from the direction of the door back to the building.

"I hear Danny Messer proposed to some woman," the female voice called in a heavy Brooklyn accent, "and the poor thing said yes!"

As excited as she was already, Maddie nearly burst when she realized who the voice belonged to.

"Aiden!"

She practically danced over to the former detective and wrapped her in a very emotional bear hug. "What are you doing here?"

Aiden laughed out loud, squeezing her friend tightly. "Stella asked me to come, and I found a good deal on plane tickets, so here I am. Besides," she said, extricating herself from Maddie's grip, "there's no way I was gonna miss your engagement party!"

People began to crowd around, anxious to talk to Aiden, but one person at the party did not move. In fact, he found that he couldn't have moved even if he had wanted to. His muscles froze, and he had difficulty even forming a coherent thought.

Don looked at her from across the rooftop, memories from their relationship flashing before his eyes. He willed himself not to cry in front of all those people, not to get angry and begin yelling, but he needn't have worried. His body flatly refused to respond to any of his brain's commands, except to whisper one word so softly no one else heard him.

"Aiden."