I really hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Be on the lookout for more!

Thank you so much for the reviews, I can't say how much I love to read your thoughts. In this chapter I thought I would focus on how I see the relationship between Flack and Cliff Angell would be. Pre-warning, some of the content is a graphic, similar to what you'd see on the show.

Eleven more days had turned into sixteen, on the account that her doctor had not been happy with some of her blood work, but finally the day had come.

Jess was going home.

Despite the shooting being just three weeks previously Jess was feeling much better. Her large wounds had begun to heal well, the painful staples had all been removed and her blood work and scans were all looking perfect…'a miracle escape' as the doctor had reminded her.

"Morning Kiddo, you ready to get outta here?" Cliff Angell spoke happily as he walked into the room. He'd been to the hospital every day without exception and he was more than ready to never see the room again.

"Hey Dad, I thought Don was picking me up." Jess replied, hugging her Dad before moving back to the bed to finish packing her things. It was amazing how much stuff you could collect while being in hospital for three weeks; cards, gifts, clothes, books and DVDs were all squeezed into the empty suitcase Don had brought her in from home.

"On your way out Detective?" A voice asked from the doorway. Jess turned and saw Grace, her nurse from the ICU, smiling widely.

"Sure am, not a minute too soon." Jess smiled back, motioning for Grace to come into the room.

"I'm so happy to see you on your feet, there was a few moments there where we weren't sure you'd pull through. Take care of yourself pretty girl." Grace patted Jess's cheek gently as she spoke, her accent soothing Jess as she remembered the comfort had sought from Grace in the earliest hardest days of her recovery.

"You as well Grace." Jess replied, smiling brightly again as the nurse gave a wave and exited the room.

Jess turned back to her father, awaiting his explanation as to why he had arrived to take her home instead of her ever present boyfriend.

"He called me about an hour ago, caught a double homicide at 3am in Astoria and he's stuck at the scene." Cliff advised, watching Jess frown and raise an eyebrow. "He called me to make sure there was someone to take you home. Said he'd call you as soon as he could." Jess smiled at her Dad's words, only he would have an answer to exactly what she was thinking without having to say it.

Don had finally gone back to work three days after Jess had woken up, working mostly nights so he could be at the hospital with her during the day. Jess knew he was exhausted and she was relieved that he would finally be going back to days and getting regular sleep. They'd both agreed that Jess would go back to her apartment and that he would begin to move in with her, his lease would be up in four weeks anyway. They'd decided on moving in together before the shooting and had already decided that Don would move into her place. It was a comfortable three bedroomed apartment on the corner of West 55th and 7th that had been left to her by her grandmother.

The apartment was bigger than anything they could afford the rent on and so it had been an easy decision that they would live there. Don had come to love her apartment, the cosy living room had an impressive city view from a full height window and Jess's Dad and Uncle had completely refitted kitchen into a modern room with all the gadgets. By far his favorite room was the master suite, Jess had impeccable taste and interior design skills and the bedroom and en suite bathroom reminded him of something from an interior design magazine.

"Can we make a stop on the way home?" Jess asked, passing her Dad the bag and dutifully sitting down in the wheelchair he had pushed into the room, she knew better than to argue with him on that.

"I'm not sure about that Kid, Don said we should go straight home and I think he's right. You had very major surgery just a few weeks ago Jess, you need to be resting." Cliff said, wheeling Jess down the corridor as she waved goodbye to the nurses and doctors that had saved her life.

"Dad, I haven't eaten real food in weeks. I just want a slice from Giovanni's and besides, I don't take orders from Don and neither do you." Jess said defiantly, smiling at her Dad and giving him eyes she knew he couldn't resist.

"Alright fine, but you stay in the car. I'll go in and get your slice." Jess smile triumphantly.

There really was nothing Cliff Angell wouldn't do for him little girl.

It was 6pm by the time Don pushed his keys into the lock and opened the door of the apartment. He smiled as he entered, greeted by the scent of Jess's favorite bubble bath and scented candles. He approached their en suit bathroom and knocked on the door quietly, pushing it open without waiting for a reply.

"Hey you, long day?" Jess asked, her eye lids heavy and a smile on her face as she reached her hand out from the warm bubbles and grasping his hand in hers.

"Very, got called in at 3am, double homicide, drug deal gone bad. Thought I'd be wrapped up in time to pick you up but then I found our main suspect dead in his apartment." Don perched on the edge of the tub, his fingers still laced with hers.

"Ugh, that's not good. You look tired, when was the last time you slept?" Jess asked, reaching her free hand out of the tub and resting it against Don's leg.

"Caught an hour or two before I got called him, haven't really slept properly in a few weeks. How are you feeling?" Don tried to deflect the conversation away from him and back to how she was doing, she had just been discharged from hospital after all.

"So happy to be home. I watched TV in bed for a while but I couldn't get comfortable so I came in here to take a bath." Jess smiled, leaving her head back against the edge of the tub and closing her eyes. She loved her bathtub, it was the most expensive thing she had bought for the house but it was worth it. The large tub was free standing and sat towards the corner of the large bathroom and had been surrounded on both sides by tropical green plants with large leaves, creating a relaxing very room.

"Did you take the pills they gave you?" Don asked, remembering seeing the numerous medication bottles on the kitchen counter as he'd walked by.

"I took all the important ones, nothing for the pain. It's not that bad and they make me drowsy, the warm water has helped." Jess assured, watching a look of disapproval creep onto his face.

"You know what they said Jess, you need to take everything they'd told you to take." Don stated firmly, his frustrating melting as soon as he saw Jess's knowing smile and felt her hand against his cheek.

"I'm really fine. I do need you to help up though, this water is getting cold and I want to eat Chinese food on the couch with you." Jess moved her hand that had been resting on his thigh and allowed herself to be pulled up from the water.

Don smiled as she stepped out of the deep tub, wincing slightly as she lifted her right leg and fell right into his arms. He didn't care that she was getting his suit wet, having her at home and safe in his arms was all that was important.

Her scars were healing well, now only red lines that would soon fade to into her olive skin. She'd been lucky, the bullet entry wound had been expertly repaired while she had been in surgery so the area blended almost seamlessly into the surgical scar. She was grateful that she didn't have a healing entry wound as a reminder, she wasn't bothered by the surgical scars but she knew a healing obvious gunshot wound would have been more emotionally problematic.

Entering the bedroom Jess dumped the towel on the bed and grabbed her favorite pair of yoga pants, a sports bra and one of Don's t-shirts and putting them on with ease. Getting dressed herself had been something she had taken for granted before the shooting but now that she was able to do it, she was grateful for that.

"I ordered you chicken lo mein and steamed dumplings, extra peanut sauce. That okay?" Don asked as he re-entered the bedroom.

Jess smiled and walked towards him, taking both his cheeks in her hands and kissing him gently.

"Perfect." She replied.

Don was sat at his desk, mindlessly signing papers and filing case reports. It had been a quiet day, just one call out that had turned out to be a suicide that required no further investigation.

"Detective Flack." A voice sounded from beside his desk, he looked up to see none other than Captain Cliff Angell stood with a solemn look on his face.

"Sir. Is everything okay?" Don asked, immediately panicked by the older man's presence. Jess had only been home from hospital four days and leaving her alone at the apartment to come to work had not got any easier.

"Sure, sure. I was actually hoping we could uh…grab some lunch. If you aren't too busy?" Cliff spoke gently, not giving away what he wanted to talk about.

Don looked around at the precinct, it was definitely quiet and so there was no reason why he couldn't step out for lunch.

"Take the hour." Captain Maloney called from the door of his office, "It's quiet around here anyways." He added, nodding politely at Captain Angell before shutting himself away in the office again.

Flack grabbed his service weapon from his desk draw and walked with Captain Angell across the street to Sophie's Diner. Once seated Don ordered his usual lunch of meatball sub with fries with coleslaw and a coke. He waited patiently for the older man to speak.

"I uh…I wanted to come make sure you were okay, you know, that you're okay after everything that's happened. I know your old man can be difficult and you don't see him all that much. You've been there for Jessie and I want to make sure someone is there for you." Cliff spoke in a deeply fatherly tone, genuinely concerned for the young man before him and wanting to continue the good relationship they'd built.

Don smile at the words, touched that his girlfriend's father had been so thoughtful but also because Cliff was the only person able to get away with calling her Jessie.

"You're right about that. Dad's not forgiven me for having Sam's back this last time. Haven't spoken to him in months. I'm fine though, thank you for asking Sir." Don replied politely, sticking to formalities out of respect.

Cliff chuckled, "Come on kid, you don't need to be so formal. Call me Cliff." He spoke.

Captain Angell was the image of a retired police officer; his hair was grey and balding on top and he was carrying a little extra weight these days but you could identify him as a cop a mile off.

"You got it." Don confirmed, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Any news on the IA investigation?" Cliff asked, referencing the search for answers as to why Jess had ended up in the diner that day.

"Not much…Captain Maloney is a temporary, IA asked Captain Rivera to take leave while they investigate. I think he approved the two unis going to another job and putting Jess on babysitting duty. They've suspended the two unis, don't know why but doesn't take a genius to figure out they were doing something shady. Pretty sure Maloney will be a permanent fixture." Don shared what he knew, which had itself only come from squad room chatter, IA had been keeping him firmly out of the loop.

"They'll send Rivera off with a slap on the wrist and his pension, I'd put a Benjamin on him knowing what those two rookies were into." Cliff commented, annoyance lacing his voice.

Don nodded in agreement, "I'd happily see them all locked up. Jess is convinced it'll be enough to know the truth." He said, leaning back into the booth seat.

Cliff sighed heavily, the last month had been harder on him than he was willing to admit. The anniversary of the death of his wife was fast approaching and with everything that had happened to Jess it was more overwhelming than usual this year.

"I never wanted her to be a cop you know…" Cliff spoke, "My boys were all into other things and I was happy that they weren't following my path. Then Jessie decides she wants to sit the entrance exam for the academy. She's the smartest of all my kids; she took gifted classes right through to graduation, learnt languages like it was nothing and played piano like a concert pianist even as a little girl. If I can be honest, I was devastated when she aced that exam." Cliff revealed, shaking his head and chuckling at the irony of the situation.

"For what it's worth, she's an incredible detective. Definitely the best we have." Flack assured, feeling pride for Jess and everything she had achieved in the five years since she graduated the academy.

"She's always been the best at everything." Cliff replied, "I've never pretended to understand Jessie, you know how hard it is to parent a kid that's so much smarter than you are? Her mother understood how she worked, I had the boys and Julia had Jessica." Cliff spoke fondly of his late wife, a sad smile gracing his face as he fondly remembered how elated Julia had been when the doctor announced that their fifth and final baby was a girl.

Don remained quiet, he had spoken to enough bereaved relatives and friends to know when to speak and when to wait for them to say what they needed to say.

"Julia's death was traumatic for Jessie, for all of us. Julia had taken Jessica and Brody to Julliard, Jessica had an audition for a junior programe they were running at the time. They were on their way home, stood on the platform waiting for the 7 train at 42nd street when a fight broke out between two rival gangs in the area. Julia tried to move the kids away but things went south real fast. Julia got pushed over by a guy trying to run off, she collided with the oncoming train. Died of severe head injuries at the scene. The kids they uh…they didn't come out of that too good, they got scooped up by a buddy of mine that worked at the one eight. I got there as soon as I could, Jessica was hysterical and Brody was just silent. I had no idea what I was going to do. Jessie got accepted into the Julliard program but never went, she hasn't touched a piano since that day." Cliff took a break from speaking to take the last bite of his sandwich, doing his best to conceal his emotions.

Don took a deep breath, not wanting to imagine how that experience must have felt.

"I had no idea, I'm sorry." Don said gently, not able to find any other words that made sense in that moment.

"Julia and Jessie they were uh...they were real close. Suddenly I was a single Dad of five kids, I wasn't worried about the boys but I had no idea what to do with Jessica. I couldn't braid her hair, I couldn't paint her nails or understand when she was talking about ballet class. She was only seven and I didn't know what to do. She started spending a lot of time with Julia's mom in the apartment she lives in now. When Sylvie passed on four years ago it was only right that the apartment go to Jessie, that apartment had been her safe place. I needed to know that that was never going to be taken away from her, she'd already lost too much. Sylvie had all the deeds transferred over to Jessica in her will, that apartment will be hers for as long as she wants it to be. I tried to give her everything Julia…tried to make sure she had everything she needed. I'd have never forgiven myself if I'd lost her too." Cliff cleared his throat as he choked back the few tears that had collected at the back of his eyes.

"Don't even think about it anymore, she's doing great. I think she'll be pressing Maloney to allow her back to desk duty in a couple of weeks." Don chuckled, still amazed by how quickly and bravely Jess had picked herself up.

"I didn't intend to unload all that on you kid…" Cliff chuckled, his emotions finally in check. Don gave only a knowing smile in return. He knew Jess had always been concerned about her Dad being lonely and the few times she had talked about her mom she had mentioned how close her parents had been.

"Don't sweat it, I hope talking about it helped. Those few days where we weren't sure if she was gonna make it…I was pretty close to losing it. I tried to go out on the job when they made the arrests, got as far as the squad car before Captain stopped me. I'm glad he did, I'd have shot those bastards right between the eyes in a heartbeat." Don revealed, allowing Cliff a brief glimpse into how dark his emotions had been in those few days.

Cliff nodded as he listened to Don's words, understanding completely what his thought processes had been in that moment.

Just as they finished their lunch Don's cell phone bleeped with a case through from dispatch.

"Duty calls." He said as he shook hands with Cliff outside the diner and made his way back across the street to the precinct.

The crime scene had been gruesome, even by his standards. Four women bludgeoned to death in a hotel room, by all account it was a bachelorette gone bad, but with no clear motive or any suspects the end was not in sight.

Don sat at his desk staring at the faces of the women; Susana, Grace, Rebecca and Ruby. Ruby has been the bride to be and she'd booked the hotel room but the front desk had been certain no one had entered the hotel before time of death and no one had left after. He'd spent hours canvassing the hotel, interviewing guests but everyone swore they heard nothing.

"Tell me you found something." Don answered the phone as Danny's name flashed up on the screen.

"Not much, one foreign DNA sample. Not a match to any of the reference samples you took but wider searches are going to take some time, the servers are down." Danny replied.

Don growled in frustration, someone knew something about how these women had died any why.

"Detective Angell. This is a surprise." Captain Maloney's voice sounded through the squad room, causing everyone to look up from their work and towards the door.

Jess had walked in, take out bag in hand. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, she was dressed in capri style pale blue yoga pants, Don's academy sweatshirt and flip flops.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as she approached his desk and placed the take out bag down.

"Bringing you dinner." She replied, reaching out for his hand only when she was sure no one else would notice.

"How'd you get here?" Don asked, concerned but unable to hide his smile.

"I walked, it's only ten blocks and Siam Palace is on the way. I know their pineapple fried rice is your favorite." Jess smiled brightly as she spoke, effortlessly reading the expression on his face.

"You're my favorite." Don retorted quietly, the smile never leaving his face.

Jess half laughed and half snorted as she shook her head…his game still hadn't improved.

"Don't ever forget it." She responded cheekily as she turned and began to leave.

She turned as she reached the door, looking back and smiling widely back at Don before disappearing through the door.

Today had been a good day.

Thank you for reading!