Well, I finally got my ass in gear and finished this chapter. It's not as good as I thought it would be, but after several revisions, there's not much else I can do with it, and at least it finishes off the story the way I wanted it too. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: CSI:NY- Not mine.

Life Altering: Part 2

Aiden woke the next morning, her head resting on his chest just over his heart, one arm draped over his abdomen and the other arm under his neck. For his part, one arm was curved around her back, his hand tangled in her hair, and the other was holding onto her hip. She smiled lazily and stretched her legs out slightly, rubbing them against his. The slight movement woke him immediately, years of snapping awake at the sound of a phone made a person a light sleeper. His hold on her tightened slightly and his eyes fluttered open. She watched him languidly, turning her head so that her chin was resting on his chest and she could watch him wake up. He looked incredibly cute first thing in the morning.

His hand left her hip and came up to rub his eyes and he blinked blearily at her before grinning and turning them so that she was resting on the mattress, underneath him.

"Hi." He said. She smiled at him.

"Hi." She answered.

"You know, for a moment, I thought you were a dream." He told her. She snorted, and burst into laughter.

"Sappy movie much?" She laughed. Flack laughed with her and rested his head in the crook of her neck.

"Yeah, I guess it was."

"Who knew I could turn the big bad detective into a romantic cliché?" Aiden giggled.

"Yeah, yeah." He rolled over and looked at the clock.

"I got a couple hours before shift. Shower and breakfast?" He asked. She sighed and curled into his side, considering.

"We could do that. Or we could stay here for a little longer, have a really short shower, then get breakfast on your way into work." She suggested, winking seductively at him. He grinned at her and rolled her over again.

"I like that idea." He said, before kissing her soundly.

They were interrupted by his cell phone ringing. Flack groaned and rested his forehead against hers.

"That figures." He said. She shook her head and pointed at the offending object.

"You better answer it." She said. He yanked it off the nightstand and flipped it open.

"Flack."

He was silent for a moment, then mouthed 'Danny' at her.

"What? No way! Do you know why?" He said into the phone, feigning surprise quite well. Aiden remembered that Danny was working the earlier shift that day, and no doubt would have heard by now that she'd been fired. She'd turned her cell phone off, and since she wasn't at her apartment, no doubt his failed attempts to get in touch with her were frustrating him to no end.

"I'm sure she's fine, Danny. She probably just wants to be alone for a little while. It's probably best not to bug her."

He covered the lower part of his phone with his hand and whispered.

"He wants to go break down your apartment door." Aiden blinked at him in surprise.

"Talk him out of it." She whispered back.

"Danny, you gotta calm down. You know Aiden, she values her privacy just like the rest of us. You wouldn't want her to bust down your door after you got life-altering news, would you?" There was a pause. "Didn't think so. Look, go to your scene, I'm in later this morning. We'll get lunch and talk about it then. Yes, if you insist, we'll go see if Aiden will talk to us. Bye."

He put the phone back on the table and lay down on his back next to her.

"Messer's worried about you. Apparently you're not answering at your apartment." He said. She rolled onto her side and propped her head up with her arm.

"I wonder why that might be." She said, a playful smile crossing her lips. His mouth twitched in a small smile and he gathered her to him.

"To tell the truth, I'm worried too. Are you going to be alright?" He asked. Her smile turned reassuring.

"Of course I will. I'm still a little sad about this, sure, but I've always got my own back covered, you know that. If it hadn't happened like this, I'd have burned out, or gotten myself shot or something. It's probably better this way." She said.

He ran a hand up and down her arm.

"What will you do?"

She took a deep breath.

"Well…I'm only a couple of requirements short of my PhD. I've been thinking about going back to school part-time and picking those up anyway. No time like the present. And NYU's always looking for teachers with field experience."

"You wanna teach?"

"Sure. It could be fun, imparting knowledge to young minds."

"It could also be aggravating as hell."

"Maybe. But if I can't be a CSI anymore, I can at least use what I know. Besides, what else am I going to do? There isn't much call for full time Anthropologists these days. It's mostly lectures and the odd consult job here and there. Just ask Terri Miller."

"Who's Terri Miller?"

Aiden rolled her eyes.

"Forget it. So about that shower?" Flack grinned at her.

"Mm. I like the way you think."

Aiden rolled off the bed, taking the sheet with her, somehow managing to land on her feet and keep moving. He almost asked her how she did that, but remembered that, like him, she'd been rolling out to early crime scenes for a couple of years now. After the first couple of scenes, it starts becoming instinct. He sat up and watched her saunter over to his bathroom. She stopped at the door when she realized he wasn't following her and she half turned to look back at him.

It was probably a thought straight out of an airport romance novel, but the moment she turned, he figured that he would always have that image of her burned into his memory. Tousled hair tossed over her shoulder and a contented smile on her lips, one hand resting against the doorframe and wrapped up in his sheets.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked. He grinned, but didn't say anything right away. If he told her what he was really thinking, she'd probably laugh at him again, and it was a thought he preferred to keep just for himself.

"I'm thinking you look really good all wrapped up in my sheets." He finally said. Her smile warped into a sultry grin and she turned around, leaning completely on the doorframe.

"Blue was always a good colour on me. Wanna know something?" He raised an eyebrow at her, grinning back.

"What's that?"

"I look really good not wrapped up in your sheets." She said, winking at him and disappearing into the bathroom. A second later, her arm stretched out across the open doorway and dropped the sheet in a heap on the floor.

"You coming Mr. Romance, or am I taking this shower all by myself?"

He didn't need to be asked twice.