Disclaimer: I am not Anthony Zuiker, Ann Donahue or Carol Mendelsohn. All the characters of CSI: NY are not mine…I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. I promise that I will put them back, exactly the way I found them when I'm done….Oh, Cory Reid is mine and I will take credit for anything she does. :)

A/N: Okay, time line wise this is in the early part of September, and it is Friday. As always, please, please, please R&R! My muse loves the attention! Oh, I don't own the chapter title either….It belongs to Eagle-Eye Cherry!

Chapter 38.

Save Tonight

Six weeks had passed since Danny and Cory's fight. It was the beginning of September. Cory had avoided Danny whenever possible. She had kept from going to Ray's, instead settling for meeting Stella and Lindsay for drinks somewhere else.

Cory was sitting in her office, going over the remaining evidence that had not been processed. She sighed as she realized that soon she would have to return to Texas. As if he was reading her thoughts, Agent Michaels walked into her office. "Hi, Cory. How is the evidence gathering going?"

Cory looked up. "I'm almost done. Have we heard any word about when Ortiz's trial will be scheduled for?"

"That's why I'm here. The trial is scheduled for the beginning of October. Do you think that you're ready for it?"

Cory nodded her head. "Yes, sir. With the trial only being a month away, I guess it's time for me to go back to Texas."

Agent Michaels smiled. "I kind of thought that you might say that. I have a ticket for you. The flight leaves on Sunday."

Cory nodded. "Thanks. I'll pack up the apartment tonight."

Agent Michaels left her office. Cory sat there, sadness washing over herself. She knew that it was necessary to go back to Texas, but she was sad that her relationship with Danny had not worked out. "It's for the best."

Her phone rang at that time. "Reid."

"Hey, Cory. It's Lindsay."

"Hey, Linds. What's going on?"

"I wanted to know if you want to go out tonight with Stella and me."

"Sure. Where are we going?"

"How about Ray's?"

Cory felt her heart plummet at the thought of possibly seeing Danny. "Linds…What about Danny?"

"I promise that he won't be there. He and Don are going out."

"Speaking of Don, how are things going with y'all?"

"It's good. It's been an adjustment, living together, but so far, so good."

Cory smiled. "That's good to hear. Meet y'all at 8?"

"Sounds good. See you then."

Lindsay hung up the phone and looked at Flack. "Okay. It's all set. She thinks that Danny is not coming, so keep him out of sight until she's had at least one drink. We will get them back together."

Flack nodded. "I feel weird doing this."

Lindsay looped her arms around his neck. "I know this is not a typical guy thing, but you did talk to Danny, right?"

Flack nodded. "I talked to him, but I'm not sure if he even understands it. I mean, come on! You had to explain to me why she reacted the way she did!"

Lindsay sighed. "This had better work. I can't stand to see them give each other to cold shoulder anymore."

(8pm, Ray's)

Cory walked into Ray's, ready to relax after a long day. She walked to the bar and asked Greg for a drink. She ordered a Cosmopolitan. She took the drink and went to sit at her normal table.

She waved at Stella and Lindsay as they walked in. "Hey, guys! I've got some news for you."

Stella and Lindsay sat down and the waitress took their drink orders. Stella looked at Cory. "What do you mean you have news?"

Cory smiled. "I'm going home. I'm being sent back to Dallas. I'm so relieved."

Stella and Lindsay looked at her in shock. Lindsay responded first. "What do you mean? You're going home?"

Cory nodded. "Yeah. We've processed all the evidence that we gathered and the trial is scheduled for the beginning of October. I need to go back and prepare for the trial."

Stella looked at her. "Are you sure you want to leave?"

Cory looked at Stella with a serious gleam in her eyes. "I'm sure Stella. I've been through a lot here and I'm ready to get back to my life."

Lindsay looked at her. "What about Danny?"

Cory just shook her head. "What about him? We weren't meant to be." Cory sounded a little despondent at that thought.

Both of the women looked at her. Stella recognized the gleam in her eyes as unshed tears. "Cory. Come on. When you and Danny were together, it was magical. Even the birds could see the chemistry. Why are you willing to just let that go?"

Cory bristled a little at that. "I'm not willing to throw it away, but I will not let anyone dictate my life for me. That's what Danny was doing."

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Really? Or was he just caring for you. Cory, he was worried about you. You were acting out of character and had just been through a horrible experience. He is allowed to try to take care of you."

Cory closed her eyes. "I really don't want to talk about Danny. I want to spend time with my friends before I leave."

Both women nodded. Lindsay decided to probe her for more information. "When do you leave?"

"Sunday. I'm not sure what time my flight is yet."

Lindsay looked at her. "What do you plan on doing when you get home?"

Cory smiled. "If my flight is early enough, I plan on going to see my horses. I haven't seen them in almost a year. I'll probably go riding. Then, I'm going to this great little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant and have a margarita and fajitas."

Stella laughed. "You miss the food that much?"

Cory laughed. "Oh, yeah. That has been the hard part about living here."

All the women laughed at that.

Cory looked across the bar and stopped laughing as she saw Danny walk in. "Lindsay? I thought you said that Flack and Danny were going out?"

Lindsay looked down at her hands. "Um…Yeah, they did. But…" Lindsay trailed off.

"But what?" Cory sounded suspicious.

"I set this up so that you and Danny could talk. Cory, you guys are so great together. Stella and I thought that this was for the best."

Cory pursed her lips as Flack and Danny walked to the table.

Danny looked at Cory. His heart was beating wildly in his chest. "I miss her so much. God, she looks like this last six weeks didn't even happen."

Cory looked into Danny eyes. She saw pain and concern in his eyes. She bit her lip, bent over, grabbed her purse and got up. "Excuse me. I have to go." She all but ran out of the bar and back to her apartment.

Danny watched her retreating back and sat down in disappointment. "I guess she really does hate me." He moved his glasses and rubbed his eyes. When he looked up, he saw Stella and Lindsay having a silent conversation. "What's going on?"

Stella was the one that answered him. "She's going back to Texas, Danny. Her plane leaves on Sunday. We're sorry. We didn't know or we would not have set this up."

Danny had thought that his heart could not break anymore than it already was, but the thought of her leaving galvanized him into motion. "Screw this. I'm going to talk to her before she leaves." Danny got up and left the bar in a hurry.

(Cory's apartment)

By the time Cory reached her apartment, she was in tears. She walked in a put a CD compilation into her stereo and started to pack up everything. The tears flowed faster when Broken by Seether, featuring Amy Lee started to play. "This is how I feel. I'm broken. Danny makes me feel whole. Why did I have to find the perfect guy, only to have to leave him? I can't stay here just for him or I'll begin to resent him."

She was packing up her DVD's when she heard a knock at here door. "That's probably Lindsay to see if I'm alright." She tried to dry her tears, but they were still flowing when she opened the door. "Danny? What are you doing here?"

Danny took one look at her tear-stained face and just drew her into his arms. "I'm sorry. I was so insensitive. You took my caring for me trying to control you, didn't you?" Cory nodded silently into his shoulder. "I never wanted to control you. I wanted to protect you." He rubbed her back in soothing circles.

"I know." The reply was muffled. "God, Danny. I'm so sorry. I just wasn't in a good place that day and I just wanted to be left alone. I'm sorry that I let my temper get the best of me." She drew back a little from him and gave him a watery smile. "I ruined the last six weeks for us, didn't I?"

Danny sighed. "We could have spent the last six weeks happy instead of miserable. But I do understand. Stella and Lindsay explained it to me. I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

Cory sniffed. "I know, but it was going to happen one way or another. The fates are laughing at us, Danny. My life is in Texas and yours is here. It never would have worked out."

Danny was stunned to hear how pessimistic that she was being. "Why be so down on it?"

Cory drew herself away from him. "I'm not being down about it, I'm being a realist. A long distance relationship would never work with our jobs. It's hard enough to get time off, but to try to get time off together? Plus, whenever we would have to leave each other, it would be just painful."

Danny thought about it. "I suppose you are right. I don't want you to leave. Why don't you move here?"

Cory shook her head. "Why don't you move to Dallas?"

Danny was caught off guard by the question. "Because I can't!" He realized as soon as he said the words why she had asked the question. "I see what you're getting at. I guess this is goodbye. Damn. I don't want you to leave. When does your plane leave?"

Cory felt the tears begin again. Agent Michaels had called her after she had left the bar with her flight information. "I'm flying out of La Guardia and the flight leaves at 6:45 am. Look, you want to hang around a while? I'm just going to be packing everything up. I'll have everything, except my clothes, shipped back to Dallas. I could use the company."

Danny agreed and began to help her put her DVD's and CD's in boxes. While he was working, he decided to learn more about her past. "So, do you own a house in Dallas?"

Cory smiled. "Not in Dallas, but in a suburb. It's not much, but it's my own. I do have horses, though."

"You own horses?"

"I am from Texas. I love to ride. I do so at least once a week, when I'm home."

Danny could help but let his mind go to the gutter at her statement. He groaned silently. "So, who's taking care of your house?"

"I was renting it, fully furnished of course. A couple of months ago, the renters decided to move out. With how the case was going, I knew that I would probably be back there in a couple of months, so I left it empty. I had a cleaning service go in and clean it. My best friend checks in on it at least once a week, for me."

"Why not your family?"

"My best friend lives closer. Plus, I didn't want them to have to do anything else. They are already taking care of my horses and all my plants."

"Are you close to your family?"

"Pretty close. I still go to church with them every week and celebrate all major holidays with them. It's been hard being away from them. I've only gotten back home twice in the time I've been here."

"They'll be happy your back." Danny got a new box together and began to put more CD's in them.

Cory looked at him. "Are you close to your family?"

He shook his head. "Not really. The only one I want to be close to right now is Louie, and he's in a coma. Mommy's alright to be around, but Dad…Let's just say he's not happy with my career choice. He's….well connected."

Cory looked at him, understanding what a difficult choice he made. "You made the right choice, Danny."

"How did you…" Danny trailed off.

"I just knew. Do you want me to tell you more about my family?" Danny nodded and Cory began to describe her Mom, Dad, sister, nieces and nephews to him.

Danny and Cory worked quickly, packing up her apartment. When they were done, it was 5 am. The only thing she had left to do was to wash and pack all of her clothes.

She sat down on her couch in exhaustion. Danny sat next to her with a groan. "I'm so tired."

She looked at Danny. "I know what you mean. I didn't expect to get this all done tonight. I fully expected to spend all day tomorrow packing everything. Thank you for your help."

Danny turned and looked deep into her eyes. "Not a problem. I got to spend more time with you. With that, he lowered his head and gently took her lips with his.

The fire he set off in her body was explosive. Cory whimpered as he changed the angle of the kiss and became more insistent. After a few moments, they broke apart, both breathing heavily.

Cory looked at Danny, debating with herself on whether or not she wanted to take the next step. Her heart decided for her when she heard the song that began to play from her CD. It was Save Tonight by Eagle-Eye Cherry.

Cory got up from the couch, singing.

"Go on and close the curtains,

'cause all we need is candlelight.

You and me and the bottle of wine,

gonna hold you tonight, oh yeah.

Well, we know I'm going away

And how I wish, I wish it weren't so

so take this wine and drink with me

let's delay our misery...

Save tonight

Fight the break of dawn

Come tomorrow

Tomorrow I'll be gone

Save tonight

Fight the break of dawn

Come tomorrow

Tomorrow I'll be gone"

As she finished the chorus, she grabbed Danny's hand and let him to her bedroom.

He looked at her in shock. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

As a response to him, she just kissed him passionately while starting to unbutton his shirt.

A/N:

chili-peppers- I love Stella muttering in Greek...It's just perfect! I wish I could speak Greek, too. I'm glad that you liked the chapter! Thanks!

pnkrckprncss- I promise that I will finish this one before I take my hiatus to deal with school. Thank you for the luck in school...I keep saying to myself, only 7 more classes, only 7 more classes and then I'll have my BA...I think that Danny was too drunk to be thinking clearly! If he'd have been less drunk, I might have had Stella grab him by the ear and let her give him a five minute lecture in Greek. You speak Cantonese? That's cool! 18 is the second half of the club and 19 is the memories chapter where you find out about her past with Ortiz.

the little corinthian- Funny how a broken heart makes everyone revert back to their childhood! I do so like to write them together (although my fav to write is the angst and it's kinda hard to do that when they are happy!)...Glad you like it!

axellia- I swear that FF has it out for you...first it won't let you review, then you can't update your story? Man, you so need to find the fairie that is playing with your computer and send it back home! The reason she didn't smack Ortiz was because she had already gotten that out of her system...She kicked his ass before he was in custody! Wow...I'm glad I had you in shock. He really stuck his foot in his mouth. I'm glad you liked Stella muttering in Greek. That was just so much fun for me to write. I see Mac as the father figure and Stella as the mother figure. That was definately a mom tirade! I was going back and forth about how I was going to write Travis...Part of me wanted to have him sympathetic but the other part wanted him to be pure evil...I think I managed a compromise! He started out good and ended up pure evil. I agree, he is so much creepier than Ortiz! Your wait is over!