He stood rooted to the rooftop, staring at her, unable to tear his eyes away. She was every bit as beautiful as he remembered, perhaps even more so now that some of the fatigue and anxiety had been wiped from her face. He watched her pull a sweater on over her light summer clothes and smiled slightly when Maddie teased her about becoming a southern girl.
Virginia must be a lot warmer than New York, he thought dumbly.
Don's eyes followed Aiden as she walked a few feet with some of the other party guests, talking with them, laughing with them, but also a bit distracted, as though she were looking for something.
Or someone.
Finally she caught sight of him, still standing rigidly over by the edge of the roof, alone. She paused mid-stride, the mirthful party smile being replaced by a smaller, more awkward version as her eyes met his. The people standing with her immediately noticed the change and made polite excuses, leaving her to her thoughts.
She took another halting step forward, the apprehension building up in her heart at the thought of talking to Don again. She wanted to, more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. But what if he wouldn't talk to her? What if he was still angry with her?
Don saw her hesitate and his instincts kicked in, moving him forward as if to reassure her the way he used to do. He took only a few steps before he remembered that he no longer had that right, but it was enough of a sign to Aiden to bring her the rest of the way across the rooftop.
She stood only a few feet from him and looked up into his brilliant blue eyes. "Hi," was all she managed.
"Hi," he squeaked back, relieved that she had spoken first. "How…how have you been?"
"I'm good," she replied softly. "Well, mostly good. I, uh, I…oh Don, I want to talk to you so much, but not here…"
"Downstairs," he told her, still having difficulty forming words. "Interrogation room."
She nodded and followed him across the roof and through the door.
Danny, standing with Maddie on the other side of the roof, let out a low whistle. "That's gonna be…"
"Intense?" she finished. "You ain't kiddin'."
Inside the precinct, Don and Aiden found an empty interrogation room and slipped in unnoticed, hoping that any personnel that might happen across them would have the decency not to turn on the intercom. They sat down at the table across from each other as they had done so often in the line of duty. This time, though, Aiden knew she was the one about to be interrogated.
For a few moments they just looked at each other, Aiden not knowing what to say and Don unable to articulate his thoughts. When he finally opened his mouth to speak, she knew what he was going to ask.
"You want to know why, don't you?" she asked. "Why I just took off and left, why I didn't say anything to you, why I never told you how I was feeling…"
He closed his mouth, pressing his lips together and nodding.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I did it because I love you, Don. I…I thought I was protecting you…"
"Protecting me?" he responded, finding his voice. "From what?"
Her gaze shifted to the table and she clasped her hands together in an effort to keep them from shaking. "From me," she said softly. "I thought I had everything under control, that the job wasn't affecting me any more than it affected anyone else." She frowned, forcing herself to look into his eyes. "I was wrong. But by the time I figured that out, it was too late."
"No, Aiden," he told her, "it was never too late. Even if you were ready to go, bags packed, taxi waiting outside, it was still possible for us to be together…to be happy together…" He rose from his chair and began pacing around the small room. "All you had to do was say something!" he exclaimed, his voice rising in volume as months of pent up frustration and anger began to find an outlet. "I would have done whatever it took, and if that meant you needed to leave for a while, I'd have understood! But you didn't trust me enough to talk to me about what you were feeling…you just crawled away like some sewer rat! And even then you could've talked to me. You could've called, or e-mailed, or written, or sent me a goddamned smoke signal, Aiden, but you didn't!"
"I'm sorry," she whispered, staring down at her hands. Her knuckles were turning white from the strength of her grip, but she couldn't let them go. "I'm so sorry…"
"You're sorry," he repeated. "You're sorry? You tore my heart into little shreds and all you can say is you're sorry?"
A tear slid down her cheek, and though she willed herself not to cry she knew it was a losing battle. "I knew I would hurt you when I left," she explained in a wavering voice. "But I knew I'd hurt you so much more if I stayed, and I couldn't do that to you. I thought I was doing what was best. I loved you so much, Don…I…I still do…"
She buried her face in her hands, unable to stop the tears as they flowed steadily down her cheeks. He ceased his pacing and looked at her, feeling his own eyes becoming wet. She was shaking hard now, trying to choke back her sobs and keep herself under control, but was failing miserably.
Acting on impulse, he moved toward her, kneeling down beside her chair and sliding his arm around her. She turned into him, allowing him to pull her up out of the chair and hold her tightly against him. No words passed between them for a long time. They just stood in the interrogation room, holding each other, crying together, letting out all the anger and guilt they had both felt for so long.
Upstairs on the roof, the party continued. Adam the DJ kept the mood light and fun with a wide variety of music while people danced and ate and talked. Maddie and Danny saw little of each other, each being pulled in a different direction by a different group of friends demanding their attention.
They were standing on opposite sides of the roof yet again when Danny noticed something usual. Having seen it several times earlier in the evening, he was beginning to wonder if his mind was playing tricks on him. He knew, though, that if he saw it, Maddie had seen it too, and so he made some excuse to the people he was standing with and stalked across the building toward her.
"Hey guys," he smiled as he reached the little knot of people that had engulfed her. "Mind if I borrow my fiancée for a few minutes?"
The women in the group giggled as Danny reached out his hand for Maddie's. She took it with a grin. "Duty calls," she said. When they were a safe distance away, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks babe. I love our friends and family and my kids, but yikes! If I have to answer another question about the color of bridesmaids' dresses or the food we're serving at the reception I'm gonna scream!"
He laughed and kissed her gently as they walked slowly around the perimeter of the rooftop. "And we haven't even set a date yet."
She heaved a melodramatic sigh. "I know."
He laughed again and squeezed her hand, stopping to lean against the ledge in a more secluded spot. "Hey, can I ask you somethin'?"
"For the thousandth time, no. We are not going to the Baseball Hall of Fame on our honeymoon," she teased.
He looked hurt momentarily, but shook it off quickly. "No, not that. Somethin' funny's goin' on here and I can't figure out what it is."
"What do you mean?"
His eyes flickered toward his boss. "Mac. And Stella."
Maddie's breath caught in her throat. She never minded spilling all her secrets to Danny, but this one wasn't hers to spill. "What about them?" she asked as coolly as she could.
"They have some secret between 'em," he told her. "I don't know what it is, but I can tell. Stella's been walkin' around lookin' like she's gonna burst any minute if she doesn't get it out, and Mac keeps lookin' at her…" His voice trailed off as his brain made a connection. "Mac," he continued more quietly, "keeps lookin' at her the way I look at you."
The expression on Maddie's face betrayed her to the man that knew her best.
"Are they…together?" he asked, lowering his voice even further and leaning in close to her.
She nodded her head. "They've been seeing each other for a while now, but they didn't want anybody to know. Mac's the head of the Lab and Stella technically works for him…"
Danny smiled and brushed a hand across her cheek. "It's okay," he assured her. "I just can't believe I didn't see it sooner. It's my job to catch things no one else sees…"
She slid her arms around his shoulders and grinned. "And you're very good at it. You just didn't know there was something there to look for, that's all."
He chuckled. "And my attention hasn't exactly been focused on other women…"
"Good," Maddie laughed. "Just as it should be."
When the tears finally dried up, Don and Aiden drew apart and looked at each other, both wondering the same thing.
"What now?" Don asked.
Aiden took in a shaky breath. "I guess it's up to you," she told him. "I—I want you in my life, Don, but it's your call."
He stared at her hard for a few moments, knowing what he felt and what he wanted. "Listen, Aiden," he began, "I was—still am—really angry with you, and it's gonna take me some time to get over that."
She bowed her head and nodded silently.
"But even as much as you hurt me, I still love you," he continued. "And I don't want to lose you again. I don't know if things will ever be the way they were, but I know I'll never forgive myself if we don't at least try."
Hope shone in her eyes as she lifted her face. "Really?"
"We'll have to take things really slow, probably for quite a while," he cautioned. "I have to learn to trust you again, and you have to learn to confide in me. Neither of those things will be easy."
"And I'm going back to Virginia in a couple of days," she added.
He thought for a minute. "Maybe we could try being pen pals for a while?"
She smirked at him a little in spite of herself. "Pen pals?"
"Yeah. Or e-mail pals, whatever. I think it's a good place to start."
Her smile softened, relieved that he was willing to communicate with her at all. "Okay."
They left the interrogation room much calmer than they had entered, and though they knew there would be many questions to be answered at the party, neither one cared. They had finally talked to each other, and that was all that mattered.
They headed back to the party, passing Mac and Maddie conversing animatedly as they moved across the rooftop.
"You're sure you don't mind?" Mac was asking. "This is your party and the focus should be on you, not me."
"Of course I don't mind!" Maddie grinned happily. "I can see how excited you are just talking about it."
"And you're sure it'll be okay with her, too?"
"Without a doubt," she agreed. "You'll see."
He took a deep breath. "It's not a big gesture, but okay. Let's do it."
Maddie squealed a little like an overwrought teenager and had to force herself not to sprint over to the DJ booth. "Hey Adam!" she called over the music. "I need a favor…"
Mac moved in the opposite direction, seeking out one person in particular. He smiled at her almost slyly when he found her, waiting for the current song to end.
"Mac Taylor, what are you up to?" Stella asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
His grin only widened. "You'll see."
The song ended, and a new one took its place. Strains of funky guitar rhythms oozed from the speakers accompanied by Bonnie Raitt's throaty voice.
People are talking, talking 'bout people
I hear them whisper, you won't believe it
They think we're lovers kept under cover
I just ignore it, but they keep saying
Stella looked at Mac, the confusion plainly written on her face. "What's going on?"
He took her hand in his, all traces of his ever-present shyness evaporating into the music. "Dance with me."
She allowed him to lead her out to the part of the rooftop that had been designated as the dance floor and rested her free hand on his shoulder. He slid his arm around her waist and held her close against him, closer, in fact, than he had ever held her in public.
We laugh just a little too loud
We stand just a little too close
We stare just a little too long
Maybe they're seeing something we don't, darlin'
He twirled her expertly around the other dancing couples, that sly, knowing smile still firmly planted on his lips.
Let's give them something to talk about
Let's give them something to talk about
Let's give them something to talk about
How about lo-o-ove
Stella let out a surprised laughed as he dipped her slightly. "Wow, where'd this come from?"
"I realized I was being selfish, asking you to keep our relationship a secret," he told her. "I was worried about what the higher-ups in the department would think."
"That's a legitimate concern, though," she returned. "Neither one of us wants to compromise the integrity of the lab…"
"But we aren't," he reminded her. "And seeing Maddie and Danny together, so happy…and Aiden and Don when they were together here, they worked together while they dated…"
I feel so foolish, I never noticed
You'd act so nervous, could you be falling for me
It took a rumor to make me wonder
Now I'm convinced I'm going under
He spun her around again gracefully, pulling her closer, his grin widening.
"What's gotten into you?" she asked, wondering if she were dreaming.
Thinking 'bout you every day
Dreaming 'bout you every night
I'm hoping that you feel the same way
Now that we know it, let's really show it, darlin'
"I love you Stella, and I don't care who knows it," he told her joyfully.
She smiled brilliantly, her fingers threading through his dark hair. "Then let's give 'em somethin' to talk about…"
Her lips found his in a soft kiss, eliciting a round of enthusiastic applause accompanied by whistles and catcalls.
Maddie leaned against Danny, snuggling closer to him as they stood against the ledge of the roof. "He did it!"
"We CSIs are getting braver when it comes to women," Danny chuckled.
On the other side of the building, Aiden stood beside Don, her fingers barely touching his, and smiled gently.
Let's give them something to talk about
A little mystery to figure out
Let's give them something to talk about
How about love, love, love, love