A/N: It took me a little bit longer to get this chapter up because I'm visiting the family up north, and their internet is down. Thank goodness for my sister's house!

One more chapterleft in this tale, and I'm still debating doing the third story in the series. I'm moving in a few days (as soon as I get back to my own state!), but I'll post my decision with the finale of this story just as soon as the Comcast guy gets my internet set up at the new place :-D

Until then, enjoy this: this section begins after Maddie and Danny had a chance to sit down and discuss their home life--and to straighten things out--after their argument. We pick up here as they are getting ready for a night out alone together.

"Bottles are in the fridge," Maddie explained, ticking items off on her fingers as she searched her mind, "diapers and wipes and all that are on the changing table in Shayla's room, her favorite toy is that fuzzy purple elephant that Don got her, and that's in her playpen…"

"I know," Aiden nodded, smothering an amused smile. "I was here when she was born, remember? I helped with her then and I've taken care of dozens of other kids…I know how to do this."

Maddie sighed. "Of course you do, I'm just nervous. This is the first time we're leaving Carrie overnight."

"It'll be okay," Aiden assured her. "Don's coming over for a little while, and Shayla will be here tonight, too, so I'll have lots of help."

"Shayla's curfew is ten o'clock," Maddie suddenly remembered. "Even though it's a Friday, and she's going to be eighteen next week, Danny and I are a little edgy about her being out since Antwan got out of jail."

Aiden nodded. "I would be too."

"She'll be at the Bakers', and she should have her cell phone with her—the number's on the refrigerator. Dantrell will bring her home, and he usually stays for a little while, but that's up to you tonight," Maddie continued. She opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off by her husband emerging from their bedroom with a suitcase.

"No boys in the house," he quipped with a playfully stern look, setting the luggage down beside the two women, "and no drinkin'. I locked up the liquor cabinet, so I'll know if you were."

This time Aiden didn't suppress her laughter. "Okay, Mr. Messer," she smirked, using her best teenaged babysitter voice.

"It's Detective Messer, if you don't mind," he told her, rolling his eyes.

"The number for the hotel we're staying at is on the fridge, too," Maddie said to Aiden, throwing a sidelong grin at Danny. "Call us for anything…"

"Well, not anything," he interrupted. "I would like to have some alone time with my wife." He leaned down and kissed Maddie gently. "We'd better get goin' or we're gonna miss our dinner reservation."

She nodded. "Okay." Turning back to Aiden, she stretched out her arms and hugged her friend. "Thanks for looking after the girls for us…it's so much easier to go knowing they're in good hands."

Aiden hugged back, smiling. "It's my pleasure, believe me. Now go enjoy your night!"

Danny reached over and hugged her, too. "Thanks again, Aid. You're the best."

"I know," the former CSI grinned. "And so is Maddie. Make sure you take care of her tonight."

"You better believe it," he smiled back. He hefted the suitcase in one hand and slid the other into place on the small of Maddie's back, guiding her out the door toward their evening alone together.

Aiden glanced around, making sure everything was as it should be before settling down on the couch to watch some TV while little Carrie amused herself in her playpen. It wasn't long before the intercom buzzed in the entryway.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"It's me, Aid," a familiar voice called back.

She pushed the button to unlock the building door and waited as Don made his way up the elevator to the Messers' apartment.

"Hey there," he smiled when she opened the apartment door.

"Hey," she smiled softly back.

They stood in the entryway for an awkward moment until Aiden remembered to show him in. "Have a seat," she instructed lightly. "Want somethin' to drink?"

"Old Man Messer have any booze?" Don joked.

Aiden chuckled. "So we're kids now, are we? Sneekin' around behind adults' backs?"

He gazed at her as she moved off into the kitchen, his mind traveling back to the days when her long hair used to curl around him whenever he managed to steal a kiss at the lab. He could practically feel her breath on his neck as he remembered holding her close against him in some back room somewhere, hiding from the rest of the staff, telling her how much he loved her. His heart flip-flopped in his chest when his mind's ear recalled her voice whispering back.

"Yo, Flack!"

Don shook his head, clearing the memories from his brain and rising from the couch to move into the kitchen. "Sorry," he told Aiden. "I was uh…"

"Daydreaming," she finished in a quieter tone. "I recognize the look on your face."

"You know me so well," he smiled.

Another uncomfortable silence developed between them, but was quickly broken by the sound of Carrie crying in the living room. Aiden put down the glass she was holding and headed toward the living room, but Don stopped her.

"I'll get her," he offered.

He trotted into the living room and made his way over to the playpen where little Carrie lay, clutching her favorite fuzzy purple elephant in her fist as she fussed. Bending down low, he scooped her carefully up in his arms.

"Hey there, beautiful," he cooed. "What's wrong? Huh? What's wrong sweetheart?"

Don cradled the baby and kissed her forehead, brushing her dark hair from her eyes as he comforted her, checking her over for anything that might be bothering her.

"She okay?" Aiden asked, bringing two glasses of soda into the room and setting them on the coffee table.

He nodded. "Yeah, just needs a diaper change. Nope," he told her before she could speak. "I'll get it."

Her hands went to her hips and she raised her eyebrows at him in surprise. "You change diapers, too?"

"She's family," Don replied with a gentle smile. "And if family doesn't take care of family, who will?"

He took Carrie into the bedroom she shared with her big sister and laid her down on the changing table, unsnapping her little onesie with sure hands. He grabbed a clean diaper and the bottle of baby powder, talking to his small charge as he worked.

Aiden followed him silently into the girls' room, leaning against the doorframe and letting her eyes come to rest on the man she had once confessed was the love of her life. She watched him tickle Carrie, crossing his eyes and sticking out his tongue, quite pleased with himself when the baby giggled at his goofy face.

Aiden smiled softly to herself. He's pretty good at this whole taking care of people thing…



Sheldon stood in the locker room holding his cell phone, his eyes boring holes in the little electronic device.

Should I try again? he wondered. I called her three times already today, and she won't pick up…

He frowned and decided he couldn't let things continue the way they were. Pushing the speed dial button he had reserved for Sarah, he brought the phone to his ear and hoped for the best.

"Hi Sheldon," she answered quietly.

Her voice surprised him. "Sarah!"

"Don't talk, Sheldon," she told him. "I only answered the phone to tell you to stop calling me."

"Sarah, wait…I wanted to apologize…"

"No," she cut him off. "You made it quite clear that your time was best spent on your work. Don't waste it on me now."

"Please just hear me out," he pleaded.

She was silent for a long moment before she spoke again. "You have two minutes."

He took a deep breath. "Sarah, I'm so sorry about what I said. Before I met you, my work was my life. There were a few women that could tolerate the hours in the past, but nothing serious ever came out of those relationships."

He paused for another breath and heard nothing on the other end of the line.

"When you and I found each other, I was the happiest man alive," he continued. "Here was this woman that was not only beautiful, but intelligent, funny, warm…perfect for me in every way. I didn't believe in love at first sight until I met you, Sarah, and I love you so much. I was way out of line when I suggested my job was more important than you."

Sarah didn't answer right away, and Sheldon began to worry that she had hung up on him. Then he heard her sigh.

"Did you mean it?" she asked softly. "Did you mean it when you said if I couldn't handle your job, I couldn't handle you?"

He pressed his lips together and the little wrinkle in the bridge of his nose appeared as he concentrated on his answer. "The job comes with me," he replied carefully, "but the way I work it is negotiable."

Another sigh traveled over the airwaves, this one carrying a note of sadness. "No, Sheldon, it isn't," Sarah responded. "I know you, and I know your work ethic. It's all the way or not at all with you, and you'd be miserable if I tried to change that. I'd be miserable then, too, knowing that I was the one that was torturing you."

"No, sweetheart," he started, hearing the good-bye in her voice. "I want to be with you…"

"I don't think that's a good idea for either one of us," she interrupted, the quiet sorrow evident in her tone. "I love you, Sheldon…"

"Sarah, please…"

"Good-bye."

"No, wait!"

The electronic tone in his ear informed him that she had indeed hung up. He pulled the phone away from his face, unable to believe what had just happened, his eyes once again boring holes in the little plastic device.



"I loved that movie!" Shayla exclaimed, walking with Dantrell toward the Messers' apartment building. "Why have we never seen a Superman movie before?"

Dantrell laughed. "Because there hasn't been a Superman movie since 1987," he reminded her. "And that was before you were born."

"Ah, yes…Christopher Reeve," she smiled, unlocking the lobby door and allowing him to open it for her. "Now there was a Superman."

"This guy was good, too," he observed, following her over to the bank of mailboxes.

"And he looked good in the suit," she agreed heartily.

He leaned up against the wall and arched his eyebrows at her. "You were checking out Superman?" he asked incredulously.

"Hey, when a man wears that much spandex, he's begging to be checked out." She pulled her key ring out of her pocket and flipped through it until she found the right one, then inserted it into the mailbox lock and opened the door. "Why, you jealous?"

"Of Superman?" he scoffed. "He's a fictional character."

"Who saves the world everyday," Shayla grinned, pulling the mail from the box. She closed the door and removed her key, turning her grin back to Dantrell. "You are jealous!" she giggled.

He shrugged. "Yeah, okay. Maybe just a little…"

She laughed again, moving toward the elevator and flipping though the mail. Halfway to their destination she froze in her tracks, her eyes riveted to one of the letters she held.

"What?" he asked, immediately concerned by the look on her face. "What is it?"

"It's…it's from NYU," she replied in a shaky voice. "And it's a small envelope…"

He ran a hand over her back and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "That doesn't mean anything. Open it and see what they said."

She shook her head violently and shoved the letter at him. "I can't. You do it."

"You sure?" he asked, taking it slowly from her.

"Yeah."

"Okay." He slit the envelope open and pulled out a single tri-folded sheet of paper, his heart sinking. "Dear Ms. Green…" he read aloud, scanning quickly through the letter.

Shayla hung her head and squeezed her eyes shut. She knew NYU was a long shot, but she wanted to stay close to her family now that she finally had one. And after being accepted to Michigan and Virginia—two of the top undergraduate business programs in the country—she thought she might have a chance. Now, though, she was sure that dream was dead.

Then Dantrell's face brightened. "…the welcome packet and registration information will follow this letter…" He stopped reading and grinned at his friend. "You're in!"

"I'm in?" she repeated, dumbfounded.

He showed her the letter. "You're in!"

She read it with unseeing eyes, laughing out loud when he threw his arms around her and bear hugged her. She managed to hug him back, digging her fingers into his shoulders with glee before pulling away and reaching for her cell phone.

"I gotta call my parents," she explained.

"Tonight's their night alone," he reminded her.

She nodded. "Yeah, but I have to tell them this. They'll be upset if I don't."

Shayla flipped open her phone and punched the number in quickly, bouncing up and down when Maddie answered. "I got in!" she screeched into the phone.

"Shayla?" Maddie replied. "Is that you? Take a deep breath and calm down…"

The girl did as she was told, breathing in a lungful of air and letting it out slowly. "Dantrell and I just got home, and I stopped to get the mail on the way up…"

"Okay," Maddie encouraged, "then what?"

"There was a letter from NYU."

The light bulb flickered on in Maddie's brain. "Big or small?"

"Small," Shayla told her.

"Oh, honey, no…"

"That's what I thought, too," Shayla interrupted her mother. "But then we opened it…and I got in!"

"You got in?" Maddie parroted.

Shayla laughed at the replay of her own reaction. "Yeah! I got in to NYU!"

"Congratulations! I wish I was there to hug you," Maddie laughed delightedly. "Here, Danny's right here, too…he wants to talk to you…"

"I got in!" Shayla told him, the sentence still thrilling her.

Danny roared with cheerful laughter. "I heard sweetheart…we're so proud of you!"

The girl beamed at her parents' approval. "I don't want to take up any more of your alone time," she continued. "I just wanted to let you know…"

"We're glad you did," he grinned. "Go celebrate with Dantrell, and we'll have a big shin dig tomorrow."

"You got it," Shayla smiled back.

Danny flipped the phone shut and handed it back to Maddie, who placed it on the nightstand beside her.

"NYU," he said, wrapping his arm around his wife as she moved back across the bed they laid on. "Our Shayla is got into NYU."

Maddie cuddled up to her husband, resting her head on his chest and playing with the buttons of his dress shirt. "Yep," she returned with a smile. "Our Shayla got into NYU."

He blew out a breath, his mind jumping past the initial joy. "How are we gonna afford that?"

"Danny don't…not tonight," Maddie said. "I know we don't have much money, and I know college is expensive, but let's just enjoy the moment for our daughter."

"I can't help it. I want the best for my family," he said, his hand gliding gently down her back.

"I know you do," she replied, "and we'll figure something out."

He sighed. "We won't have any more nights out like this," he said ruefully. "We'll have to cut back on everything…"

"Then that's what we'll do." Her blue eyes found his and she smiled softly. "As long as I have you and the girls, I have everything I need."

Danny leaned over and kissed her softly, relaxing when his lips found hers. "Me too."