A/N: See intro for the usual. Please R &R. Thanks much.

Tess stood at the back of the elevator with her arms crossed over her chest, staring at the head of the person standing in front of her. Don glanced over at her trying to read her expression. She was stone-faced. He watched her take a deep breath and close her eyes. He reached over and tucked some stray hairs back behind her ear. Tess looked over at him and he could see the panic in her eyes. That makes two of us, Sweetheart, he thought. He tried to smile a little. A ghost of a smile flickered over Tess' face. Don's stomach lurched a little, but he couldn't tell if it was love for Tess or the idea of meeting her father that was giving him the butterflies. The elevator stopped and Tess pushed away from the wall.

"This is our floor," she said and made her was out of the elevator with Don trailing behind. She stepped out into the elevator lobby and stopped. Tess tugged on her braid and looked at the tops of Don's shoes.

"Tess, sooner's better than later."

Tess nodded. "I know." Tess looked up at Don and back down. "I just have to…" Tess looked up again. "Please don't freak out."

Don frowned, a little confused. "Whatdaya mean, 'don't freak out?' Yer dad knows I'm coming, right?" Tess nodded, still fiddling with her braid. "He knows about…" Tess bounced her head back and forth. "Well then what?"

Tess took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Apparently I never mentioned you…"

"Ya never what?" Don felt the heat rushing his face. "Geeze, Tess. So yer folks have no clue about me?" He shifted his weight and glared Tess. "Oh wait, they do know that I'm the guy that knocked their daughter up." Don took a deep breath and let it out in a sharp hiss. "I suppose I should be grateful ya decided to give me the heads up on this."

"It's not like I kept you some big secret." Tess felt her eyes starting to water. She blinked hard. I'm not going to cry. That isn't going to help. "It just never came up and things got crazy and…"

"This is just terrific, Tess. No wonder ya didn't want to tell yer folks about the baby. They didn't even know yer dating anybody.""

"I am so sorry. If I could go back, I'd talk about you constantly." Tess sighed heavily and fiddled with her braid. Tess looked up at Don. "I'm a little shocked I hadn't." Tess let out a shuddering sigh. She looked back down at the floor. "Looking back, I haven't really talked much to my folks a whole lot recently. Even before, you know…and after…well I was purposely avoiding talking to them." Tess felt the tears spilling over and didn't try to stop them this time. "I didn't come home for Thanksgiving and I spent all of three days home at Christmas and then we were visiting everyone and…" Tess looked up the hall and then into Don's eyes. "I am so, so sorry."

Don felt his anger evaporating slightly. He still felt a little burn in his gut, but it wasn't really enough to let Tess keep beating herself up over. He tugged on her coat sleeve, pulled her close and wrapped her in a tight embrace. Tess balled her fist up in the front of his jacket and sobbed in his arms. Don held her tighter and rocked slightly. Don lay his head on hers and stood holding her. He slowly breathed in and out. No cinnamon or ginger or any other scent he associated with Tess filled his nostrils. Just shampoo and damp wool. They stood there for several seconds. Tess finally stopped crying and pulled away a little. Don tucked his fingers under Tess' chin and tilted her face up. Her eyes and nose were bright red. Don tried giving her a small smile.

"You'd better hit a bathroom before I go meet yer dad. He's gonna wonder what I've been doin' ta ya."

Tess dug at her eyes. "Do I look that bad?"

"Ya look like ya've been balling yer eyes out." Don kissed her hair softly. "Go on. Git cleaned up an' ya can introduce me." He gave her hand a small squeeze. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so pissed at ya. You've hada rough couple of days. An' it's not like I've spent hours an' hours tellin' my family every little detail about you either."

Tess sighed. "Yeah, but they've met me. They at least knew you were kind of serious even before…"

"But they don't live in Toledo. " Don smiled at Tess. "It'll be okay. I'll just have to show yer dad how charmin' I can be."

Tess wrinkled her nose. "Just keep off the topic of sports and you'll be fine." She pulled herself away and headed for the bathroom. Don was reading a notice board when Tess returned. "Okay. I think I look a little more presentable now."

Don smiled and touched her cheek. "Yer beautiful."

Tess rolled her eyes. "You don't have to test your charm out on me, Donald Flack Jr."

"Yer immune?" He raised an eyebrow.

Tess laughed. "Oh, far from it. If I was immune, we wouldn't be where we are now." Tess reached up and kissed him lightly. She took Don's hand and let him down the hall. She stopped in front of her mother's room. Tess peeked in. Her father was reading a book to her mother. Tess cleared her throat and he looked up. "All by yourself, Daddy?"

"I sent everyone away for awhile. The hovering was getting to me. You are back from the airport?"

"Yes."

"Well?"

Tess tugged Don into the room with her. She kept her fingers twined with his. "Daddy, this is Don Flack. Don, this is my father, Jozef Nagy."

Tess' father took his reading glasses off and set them on the nightstand. "Teresa, why don't you go for a walk."

"I'm not sure…"

"Teresa, I wasn't asking you. I want to talk to Don. If you are here, Mezem, you will be doing the talking." Jozef looked over Tess' shoulder at Don trying to hide his grin. He tried to keep his lips from twitching too. "He will still be in one piece when you get back."

"But…"

Her father shook his head. "Good-bye, Teresa."

Don squeezed her hand. "I'll be fine, Sweetheart." Tess looked several times from her father to Don and back, still not wanting to leave.

"Okay. I'll go. I'll be in family waiting."

Tess' father stood up. "Stephanie and John are there. Your brother was going to work a little this morning. I am hoping it will cool him off before he comes back here." Tess winced slightly, nodded and left. She glanced one more time at Don before shutting the door. Don tried to give her a reassuring smile. When she had gone, he turned back to Tess' father. He found himself eye to eye with the older man. Tess had his eyes. Don felt slightly confused as he saw a little twinkle in them. Tess' father chuckled. "I'm not such a hot head as Adam or our Tess for that matter. Not any more." He nodded his head, looking back in his memories. "There was a time." Jozef waved at the second chair. "Please sit." Don did, sitting on the edge, hunched over, his forearms resting on his knees, warily watching Tess' father. "You look as if you don't believe me."

Don's moth thinned into a grim line. "Well, Sir, if she was my daughter…"

Jozef nodded. "It is not how I ever pictured things." He looked over at his wife. He sat watching her breath for several heartbeats. "Nothing in the past several days is how I ever pictured things. I would have preferred to have heard about you from Tess and to have met you before. I would have been much happier to have you married to my daughter, but we do not always get to chose." His voice was soft, tired. He looked over at Don. "Instead you are just living with my daughter and this is the first time we meet. After…I learn she is pregnant."

Don looked down at the floor. He almost wished the man was yelling. Don could rumble with the best of them. This quiet disappointment was harder. It gave nothing to react against. It just buffeted you, wearing you down. "I asked Tess…I asked several times." Don tried to mount a defense.

"You asked Tess to marry you? And she said no?"

Don looked up and met Jozef's eyes. "I'm sorry, Sir, but Tess can be a little…" He trailed off.

"Stubborn. I am afraid she has gotten that from me." Jozef picked up his wife's hand and stroked it. "Her anger, that comes from Veronika. Her hard-headedness, from me. A rock is what Veronika likes to call me." Jozef patted Veronika's hand. "But a rock can be a good thing too, yes, kedvel? Not so easy right now." Don cleared his throat. Jozef looked over at him. "I am sorry."

Don shook his head. "Ya don't have to be. The talking to her is good." Don looked away. "I know. I have some…experience…with this."

Jozef frowned. "Experience with what?"

Don shifted in his chair. "The unconsciousness thing."

Jozef's frown deepened. "You were injured? Like this?"

"Um." Don cleared his throat. "I was injured in an explosion." He cleared his throat again. "Last May."

"Some criminal blew you up?"

"He wasn't really tryin' to blow me up. Not exactly. I kinda got caught in the building he was blowin' up."

"Teresa was by an explosion in May. Did you know my daughter then?"

Don shook his head hard. "No, I only met Tess in…" He stopped. He wasn't doing so well. The cop who didn't break when badgered by defense lawyers was falling apart under simple questioning from a college professor. "Tess wasn't there because of me, Sir."

Jozef nodded. "But your job can be dangerous." Don started to answer. Jozef held up his hand. "No need to answer that. Just being alive can be dangerous. My father was just a teacher. His job was dangerous. Teresa's also. I thought things were better at the school she is at, but then…" Jozef met Don's eyes. "I have to say I am not fond of New York. I don't like Tess being there." Don started to ay something again. Jozef cut him off. "I know. New York is a big city. There are good parts and bad parts. Good people and bad people. The same as anywhere else. It doesn't make it easier for me. Letting go of Tess is hard." Jozef pinned Don with an intent gaze. "Adam and Stephanie are much older. We had lost babies. Tess was a surprise. A gift." Jozef looked away. "The first time she smiled…"

"She was watching the Tigers trounce the Yankees. I was sitting across the bar with one of my buddies. She tried to be subtle, but every time the Tigers scored her whole face lit up. Quick. She isn't stupid, but... She knew she was deep in enemy territory, but she couldn't help it." Don was looking at the tips of his shoes. "She wouldn't even tell me her name." Don looked back up at Jozef. He smiled at Don.

"As you said, my girl is not stupid." Jozef smiled briefly. "And that being the case…" He glanced over at his wife. Jozef looked back at Don. "But you two have no plans to marry?"

"Tess finally agreed to marry me today. But as to when, we have no plans. I know what I'd like…"

"But Tess will have her own ideas. I am glad to see you are a patient man, Don."

Don chuckled. "Never be called that before. I think I'm just as stubborn as Tess, that's all."

Jozef laughed. "Good luck to both of you then. Things will never be dull." He glanced toward the door. "Speaking of Tess, I'm sure she is pacing tugging at her hair. Maybe you should let her know that you are alright. We will talk again later. You are not running back to New York right away?"

"I wasn't sure what I'd find, so I got a couple of days."

Jozef shook his head sadly. "I am sorry my son caused you such distress. But…I am glad that we will get the chance to know each other better."

Don bobbed his head. "Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir."

Tess' father chuckled. "Please, Don. Don't be so formal. Joe is fine. Just do not let my mother hear. She still insists that she named me Jozef and that is what I should be called." Don looked up startled. Joe smiled at him and tapped his nose. "You see, I am well over fifty and still she tries to run my life." He nodded his head toward the door. "Go and find, Tess." Joe looked back over at Veronika. Don got the idea he had been dismissed, got up and left the room. Joe waited until the door shut before talking to his wife. "So what do you think, kadvel? Will he take good care of our Tess? Be a good husband to her? Father to her baby?" Joe sighed. "I think I like him, Veronika." Joe sighed heavily again and looked at the door. "I believe he is good. This man who is taking my little girl away."

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