A/N: See Intro for the standard stuff. Please R&R. As I said, a very cheap Christmas gift. This will probably be the last chapter before the first of the year. I have a few other things to wrap up before Monday and then it's off to Chicago for several days. With no internet access. Grrr. Anyway, enjoy. Merry Christmas, Happy Haunkkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Blessed Eid, Happy New Year, or just have a good day.

Meadow: Hmmm. Not sure it was a good chapter. Hope this was soon enough. RS: So I can still blindside you, eh? Heh, heh, heh. Sparky: Well, he is a little late...Read on. LittleConrintian: Flack in fencing gear. Larger than life. Yum. Except for the fact that those baby blues would be behind the mask. But we wouldn't want to put his eye out would we?

Don paced the office, his long strides quickly eating up the floor before he had to pivot back. He kept looking at the closed door he knew Tess was behind. He had given his statement back at the station, filling in what he knew about Angie and when he had last seen her. He had practically flown to Hunter damning the regs. Tess was already being questioned and he was stuck waiting. He continued pacing. A sound from inside the room made him stop. The door stayed closed. He listened again to the sound and suddenly felt a crushing pain in his chest. Retching. The sound was retching. Don wiped his hand over his face and took a deep breath. A pair of frantic parents came sailing into the office, asking for their daughter. One of the secretaries took them to where Angie's teammates were sitting with grief councilors. Finally, the door opened and a uniform escorted Tess out. Her head was bowed and her gait shuffling. She didn't raise her head and she moved into the open office. Don crossed over to her in two long strides.

"Tess. Sweetheart." Her head rose slightly.

"Don?" she softly whimpered. Don took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her close against him as sobs ripped through her body. He kissed her hair over and over and rubbed her back trying to absorb some of her pain.

"Shh. Shh." He felt her body convulse slightly and pulled back. "Tess, are you gonna get sick again?" She shook her head slightly. Tess wrapped her arms around his waist. He felt her get heavy in his arms as her knees weakened. Don moved carefully to a chair near the wall, sat down and pulled her into his lap. Tess curled up there clutching his shirtfront in a fist. Don rubbed his cheek over her hair, feeling completely helpless. He kissed the top of her head again. "Tess, Sweetheart, I'm gonna take ya home, but ya gotta be able to walk. I don't think ya want me ta have ta carry ya out of the school." Tess' head shook back and forth slightly. "Okay. We'll just sit here until yer ready. Okay?" A nod this time. Someone cleared their throat. Don looked over Tess' head.

"I'm Mark Pritchett, the principal." The man held his hand out. Don reached past Tess and shook it. "When you're ready, Tonita has Tess' things. We brought them down from her room." Don nodded. Mark gently touched Tess' shoulder. Tess raised her head and looked at him. "Tess. Take the time you need. We'll take care of things. Okay?" Tess nodded slightly. Mark looked back at Don. "Are you going to take care of her?"

Don nodded. "Yes, sir." Mark nodded and turned away. The two of them sat there for several more minutes. Tess straightened. She looked into Don's eyes and touched his cheek. His eyes scanned her face. He looked into her eyes again asking a silent question. Tess nodded slightly. She slowly slid off his lap and Don held her elbow, supporting her as she stood. Tess ran her hands over her face and her clothing. She collected her things from Tonita and slowly walked out of the office, Don's hand still on her elbow. Tess stepped into the hallway just as Takisha and her mother were passing by. Tess and the girl dropped their bags and wrapped each other in a hug, both shaking as if buffeted by a strong wind. Don rested his hand on Tess' shoulder. Takisha's mother wrapped her arms around herself. She spotted the badge clipped to Don's belt.

"Officer?"

Don looked at the woman. "Detective." He held his hand out. "Detective Don Flack."

"Naomi West." She shook Don's hand. Mrs. West looked from Tess to Don and back.

"Tess…Miss Nagy is my girlfriend."

"Didn't think NYPD gave personal escorts." Mrs. West touched her daughter's shoulder. "Takisha, honey." Takisha stepped away from Tess digging at her eyes. Takisha looked at Don.

"You'll find out who did this right, Mr. Flack?"

"We'll do our best, Takisha."

"But you knew her. You knew Angie. That makes a difference, right?"

Mrs. West looked at her daughter sadly. "He said they'd do their best."

Tess rubbed at her eyes. "I've give you a call Omie. If I hear anything."

Mrs. West nodded. "I'll do the same. If you talk to Gracie or Rob, let them know our prayers are with them." Tess nodded. Mrs. West wrapped her arm around her daughter. "Come on, Takisha. Let's get ya home, girl." She led her daughter away. Tess watched them walk away. She looked up and met Don's eyes. He reached out and touched her cheek.

"We'll do our best." Tess just nodded. She picked up her bag and they walked out of the school. Don carefully loaded Tess into his car. They drove silently to Tess' apartment.

They got lucky and found a space almost in front of Tess' building. Don shut off the engine and looked over at Tess. She was staring straight out the front window with a glazed expression on her face. He shook his head, got out of the car and circled around to Tess' side. Don opened the door. Tess just sat there. Don squatted down next to her.

"I don't think ya really want me ta carry ya up ta yer apartment." Tess' head moved slightly. "Then ya need to stand on yer own two feet, Sweetheart." Tess nodded and slid out of the car. Don wrapped his arm around her waist and helped her inside. Tess' hand shook as she tried to open her apartment door and Don took the keys from her. He opened the door and ushered her in. He peeled Tess out of her coat and pushed her gently down into the couch cushions. Don went into the kitchen and rifled through the cupboards. He pulled out a glass and a bottle. He poured a generous two fingers into the glass, went back to Tess and held out the glass. She looked at the glass and back at him.

"I hate scotch." Don crouched down so he was at eye level with Tess.

"What would ya like then, Tess?"

"Just some water and Tylenol."

"Are ya sure? Nothing stronger?"

"Yes. The scotch was a nice gesture, but not really a good idea. Thank you though." Don nodded, stood up and went to find her water and Tylenol. He considered drinking the scotch himself, but he had to go back on shift. He set the glass on the counter. Maybe Tess would change her mind. He came back to find Tess had kicked off her shoes and curled her feet under her. Don handed Tess the glass and the gel tabs. Tess popped them both and drank down the water. "Do you have to go back?" Don picked up Tess' hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"'Fraid so."

"When?"

"Was jus' told to come back and put in my time. I'm here for awhile. For whatever ya need, Sweetheart." Tess nodded. She stood up, and started to pull Don toward her bedroom. Don stopped. "Tess…" She ignored him and kept pulling. Don gave in and followed her.

Inside her bedroom, she pushed off his outer coat and his suit coat. Tess pushed him down so he was sitting on her bed. She bent down and started to pull off his shoes. Don got the idea and toed off his loafers. Tess pushed on his knees and he swung his legs up on to the bed. Tess started to climb up and Don slid over to give her room. She got on the bed and lay down with her head on his chest. Don wrapped his arms around her and Tess slid her arms around his neck. Don slowly rubbed her back. Tess scooted closer to him.

"Wait. Just a minute, Sweetheart," he said softly. Tess slid slightly away. Don unclipped everything from his belt and set it on the nightstand. He gathered Tess back into his arms. He kissed her hair and rubbed her back. Don held her until he heard her breathing shift into the slow pattern of sleep. He carefully slipped out of bed and picked up his things. He quietly snuck out of the bedroom and shut the door. Don clipped everything back to his belt, put his two coats back on and looked for Tess' bag. He dug through it until he found her cell phone. He flipped through her contacts and dialed Bette's number. He left Bette a message asking her to contact Tess as soon as possible. Don found a piece of paper and scrawled Tess a note telling her he'd be back as soon as he could and to call him if she need him. He slipped back into the bedroom and set the note on the nightstand. Then Don quietly left the apartment.

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