A/N: See intro for the usual stuff. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed. Only 2 more days!!! Yeah! In the meantime, please enjoy my own little corner of the world. Please R & R. Thanks for reading.

Just a side note on the chapter title. Comes from a song called Consequence Free by Great Big Sea. Great song...great band. I highly suggest a listen.

Tess felt her unease growing as another set of parents stopped their whispered conversation as she passed. She took a deep breath and let out slowly, reached up and fiddled with her hair. Tess felt someone watching her. She looked over at Misha who raised an eyebrow at her. Tess gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Glad Don didn't come. He would have confronted someone. Tess bit her lip to keep from doing the same as two mothers stopped talking and stared at her. She ground her teeth together and kept walking. She spotted Gracie and Rob Dominguez coming cautiously through the door. She waved and headed over to them. She gave Gracie a fierce hug. Tess felt her eyes prickle. As she stepped away she noticed Gracie wipe at her eyes. Tess gave a watery smile.

"It is so good to see both of you. When I sent the invitation, I wasn't sure you'd come."

Rob waved his hand around. "Angie loved the team. We couldn't have missed it." Gracie nodded her assent too.

Tess led them to a table. "Omie and Takisha West are sitting with you." Tess looked around. "I don't think they're here yet."

Gracie craned her neck around. "I don't see your Detective Flack."

"I'm sorry. Don couldn't make it."

"Oh." Gracie looked around. "Is everything okay? The news has been talking about the police a lot this week. He's not…"

Tess sighed heavily. "He's giving testimony in the hearing." Tess pulled at her braid. "I don't really want to talk…"

Rob interrupted her. He scowled at several of the staring parents and straightened up. "I don't care what's being said on the news. All I know is that without the hard work of Detective Flack and that Detective Angell and the people in the crime lab, the guys what killed Angie and attacked Louisa Hibberd would still be running around out there hurting girls. Our girls." His voice boomed in the suddenly silent room. "Miss Nagy, you just let them know that I support them." Rob glared around the room again. His wife placed her hand on his arm. He slumped slightly. "I'm sorry," he mumbled softly. "It's so easy for them to stand in judgment. They don't know." Tess nodded. "I didn't really mean to be so loud."

"It's okay, Rob. Why don't you have a seat? Dinner will be starting shortly." Tess drew them over to the table. "Wagners are here. You know Jasmine and Karl and Izzie, right?" Tess made sure that Rob and Gracie got seated and left them to talk with the Wagners. She made her way to the table where Misha and the new assistant coach were seated. Misha stood and helped Tess to sit down. When they were all settled, he leaned in toward Tess.

"Everything okay, Teresa?"

"As good as can be," she replied. She turned toward the man on her other side. Her replacement. A slight pang squeezed her heart. She'd miss her kids. You can come back later. Any send the baby where? Leaving the baby in day care was going to be bad enough. There wasn't going to be time for extra-curriculars. No, there was no going back. Tess glanced over at the table where she had left the Dominguez's. Takisha and her mother had joined them. Takisha waved. Tess waved back.

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Danny finished his beer and set down the glass. "I gotta get home, Flack. Thanks for the game."

"What? Ya got a hot date or something'?" Don grinned. "Oh, wait. You still gotta git the nerve up ta ask Montana."

"Don't ya have yer girl ta git back to?" growled Danny.

Don shook his head. "Tess is at a school thing. Fencing Team banquet." Don started racking the balls. "Come on. Just one more game?"

"Fine. Jus' one. Jus' because you seem to need someone to keep ya company."

"You ain't my type, Messer," chuckled Don.

Danny grinned at his friend. "I've got two legs and am breathin'. That used to be your type."

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Smart ass." Don lined up his shot and let his cue fly.

Danny finally convinced Don it was time to head home. They headed out and out in opposite directions. The pool and beer had pushed a lot of what had gone on today out of his mind, but the ride home gave him too much time to think. By the time he reached the apartment, everything had crashed back in around him. He opened the apartment door to be greeted by darkness. Tess wasn't back yet. Don dropped down on the couch, brooding.

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The apartment was dark when Tess let herself in. She slid her bag off her shoulder and dropped it to the floor. Tess carefully stepped out of her shoes and sighed in relief. She left the room dark as she made her way to the bathroom.

"Tess." She let out and involuntary squeal as she whirled, spotting Don sitting on the couch. Tess reached out and turned on a light. Don was sitting on the couch still in his suit and tie. Tess' heart broke at the haunted look in his eyes. He held out his hand and Tess went over and took it. Don pulled her down into a fierce hug. He buried his face in her hair and just held her. Tess laid her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around him. After sitting silently for a while, Tess squirmed a little. She leaned away and touched Don's face.

"I'm sorry, but I've got to…" Tess stood up, linking her fingers with Don's and giving his hand a squeeze. "I promise I'll be right back. Okay?" Don nodded. Tess walked away, looking back several times.

When she had gone, Don stood up and went to change. Tess found him sitting on the edge of the bed. He had managed to shed his suit coat and shoes. Don looked up when Tess came in. Tess walked over and stood in front of him, between his open knees. She picked up his hands and held them. Don dropped Tess' hand, reached out and laid a hand on her belly. He looked up at Tess with watery eyes.

"I don't regret this one bit. Ya understand that, right?" Tess nodded. "Outta of all of this...outta that whole mess…this is the one good thing…" Don stroked her belly. Tess reached up and loosened Don's maroon tie. Don stared straight ahead. "It started with Sinclair and Gerrard cornering me in the hall. I was told 'I had a good head on my shoulders' and 'I know where my loyalties lie.' Sinclair even pointed out that careers, many careers could be hurt." Don looked up. "Gerrard made sure he asked after you."

Tess caressed Don's face. She bent down and kissed him tenderly. "Manipulative bastards." Anger burned in her eyes. She ground her teeth. Tess touched Don's face again. "You..."

He shook his head. "It's a witch hunt. I want no part of that," he vowed. Tess smiled and kissed him fiercely. Don sighed heavily. "I rather chase a perp for miles." He shook his head. "They know Mac didn't do anything'. They know and they jus' don't care. They're jus' throwin' Mac to the wolves."

Tess' heart broke at the pain in his voice. "I wish I could have…" She ran her fingers along Don's jaw.

Don pulled her to him in a hug. "Thanks." Don stood up. He ran his hand over Tess' hair. "I'm gonna take a shower. Wash the slime offa me. I'll be right out. Then I think there's a game on. Maybe you could put somethin' together ta snack on?" Tess nodded. Don kissed her. He ran his hand over her belly again. "I meant everythin' I said."

Tess nodded and smiled. "I know. Remember?"

Don cocked his head. "Maybe I should start wearin' sunglasses."

"No! Please don't!" cried Tess in mock horror. "Your eyes are your best feature. It would be a shame to hide them," she said, her face serious. Don raised an eyebrow. Tess' lips twitched until she broke out into a wide grin. "Okay. You have other very nice features too." Tess stepped back and looked Don over from head to toe. "All in all a very nice package."

"Oh, I see. You go from talking about my great eyes to eyein' my nice package." Tess blushed scarlet and hit Don on the arm. "Hey. I've been beat up enough today." Don pulled Tess back into his arms and squeezed her. "I think yer a pretty nice package too, Tess Almost-Flack."

Tess jumped away. "Oh! That reminds me. Steph called with a wedding question. I gotta call her back." She pushed Don towards the bathroom. "You shower. I'll make phone calls." Tess rushed out of the bedroom.

"Ya'd better work on the food first," Don called after her. "You'll git on the phone with yer sister and it'll be midnight before we eat."

"I'm on it. Promise," replied Tess.

Don padded barefoot into the kitchen. Tess was talking a mile a minute to her sister, phone tucked between her head and shoulder. She was putting several things on a plate. She popped the plate into the microwave and set the timer. Don snuck up behind her and kissed her neck. Tess yelped and dropped the phone. It clattered to the floor. Tess retrieved it, glaring at Don. He grinned at her, pushed her back against the counter and pinned her there. He started nuzzling Tess' neck.

"Steph, just a minute." Tess pressed the phone flat against her shoulder. "What happened to you in that shower?" she hissed at him.

"Nothin'," he mumbled against her skin. He worked his way along Tess' collarbone and started to slide his hands under her shirt.

Tess sighed and picked up the phone again. "Steph, I gotta go."

"Tell Don he's already knocked you up. He doesn't need to prove his virility."

"Tell your sister she's loud on the phone and I can hear her."

"If he wasn't right on top of you, he wouldn't hear me," countered Stephanie. Tess' growled.

Don plucked the phone out of Tess' hand. "Good night, Steph." He snapped it shut and set it on the counter behind them. Tess stared open-mouthed at him. Don ran his thumb over her bottom lip. "What?"

"Were you kidnapped by aliens when you were in the shower?" Don shook his head. "Do you have something stashed in there I don't know about?" Don just raised an eyebrow. "Then what's come over you?" Don grinned and Tess shivered. "Don't even say it."

"I don't haveta." The microwave beeped. Don reached over and popped the door open. "Oh, good. Food's done." He stepped away from Tess and grabbed the plate. Tess just stood there staring at him, breathing heavily. Don grabbed a fork and took a bite. His mouth flew open. "Hot, hot!"

"Serves you right." Tess spun away and stalked out of the kitchen, Don's laughter following.

Don sat down on the couch next to Tess. She ignored him and flipped through the channels. Don lifted another bite and blew on it. He stuck the fork in his mouth. "Mmmm." Tess glared at him. He chuckled. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart." He waved a full fork in front of her. "Take a bite." Tess opened her mouth and Don fed her. She closed her mouth around the fork, grabbed his hand and slowly drew the fork out. Tess looked into Don's eyes and ran her tongue over her lips. She noticed a little bit of sauce on the corner of Don's mouth, leaned over and delicately licked it away. She grinned at Don's sharp intake of breath. Tess turned back forward and went back to channel surfing. She kept her eyes off Don. He set the plate on the coffee table, reached over and took the remote from her hand. He set the remote very firmly down next to the plate.

"Something wrong?" Tess asked mildly. Don just pulled her into his lap and covered her lips with a searing kiss.

"Everythin's jus' fine," he answered tightly before recapturing Tess' mouth.

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Tess was packing up some papers when she heard a sound at her classroom door. She looked up to find Don standing there. She grinned and Don grinned back. He came up next to her desk. Tess beamed up at him and ran her hand over his lapel.

"Someone got off early." Tess grabbed her messenger bag and slung it over her shoulder. They headed out into the hall.

"Well, I thought I'd pick my girl up and take her out for her favorite meal."

Tess looked at him suspiciously. "What are you up to?" Don ignored her question, wrapped his arm around her and led her down the hall. Tess looked up. "Really. What are you up to?"

Don looked down hurt shining in his eyes. "Sweetheart, yer killin' me. What makes you think I'm up to somethin'?"

Tess raised her eyebrows. "When is the last time you picked me up at school?"

Don stopped and looked at the ground. "It's been a while," he admitted.

"And now you know why I'm wondering what's up."

"I have somethin' I wanna show ya, but let's have dinner first. Can we do that?" They started walking again.

"So, since you're here I'm guessing you got that McEnroe case wrapped up."

"Really wasn't him."

"Didn't think so."

"An obsessed doppelganger. It was pretty much accidental. He ran to protect McEnroe's image."

Tess frowned. "That didn't work so well."

"Never does." They walked silently along, just enjoying each other's company.

"How is Mac doing?"

Don shrugged. "He's not big on sharing. He got cleared. He's puttin' it behind him. I mean you can see he's still pissed, who wouldn't be, but he ain't gonna talk about it."

Tess nodded. "So where are we going after dinner?"

"Uh-uh. You aren't gonna git me ta spoil the surprise." Tess pouted. Don grinned at her. "Very cute, but still no." Tess harrumphed. Don laughed and squeezed Tess.

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Tess popped the last bite of her meal in her mouth and looked at Don expectantly. Don just smiled. He paid the bill and helped Tess up from the floor.

"You're still not telling me anything, are you?"

"Howabout I give you some clues?"

Tess frowned slightly. "Okay, but you are having far too much fun with this."

"I've been watching you draw floor plans out on paper."

"Well, it's going to take some rearranging to get everything into the apartment."

"And yer havin' trouble makin' things fit."

"I'm doing fine." Don raised an eyebrow. "Okay, it's not going fine, but I'll make it work."

"What if you didn't have to jus' make it work?"

Tess stopped and stared at Don her frown deepening. Suddenly her face cleared slightly. "We're going to look at an apartment?" Tess shook her head a little. "I thought we had decided that moving right now wasn't a good idea? With the wedding and the baby…"

"That was before I heard about this apartment openin' up."

"I don't know…"

"We've got an appointment ta look. We don't havta take it."

Tess sighed. "Okay. I guess. So are you going to tell me where this apartment is and how you came to find out about it?"

"No."

"Are you going to give me any more clues?"

"No."

"What if I decide I don't want to go?"

Don smiled down at Tess. "Oh, you want to see this apartment. Trust me."

"Fine," grumbled Tess.

Don guided Tess to the subway and the negotiated their route. Tess tried to pry a few more clues out of Don, but he remained tight-lipped. They switched trains again and Tess stopped short on the platform.

"Are we going to visit Bette? Did she put you on to this apartment?"

Don tugged on her hand. "Come on. We don't wanna miss the train." He drew her forward. When they had squeezed into the car, Don looked down at Tess. "Answers to your questions. Kinda. Yes."

"But you're not going to tell me anything else?"

"Nope." Don looked down at Tess and grinned. "If I could blindfold you I would." Tess frowned. Don kept his face neutral. They continued their eye war for a little while. Tess gave up with another snort and pulled out her knitting.

Tess recognized the announced stop and tucked her yarn and needles away as the train slowed to a stop. Don directed her onto the platform. Tess knew right where she was headed and moved swiftly ahead of Don. He adjusted his stride to keep up.

"I was wonderin' how you do that on subway."

Tess slowed slightly. "Knitting? I just do. It helps to have a seat, but I've been known to knit standing with my arms around a pole."

"Don't do that."

"What? Knit standing up?" Tess grinned mischievously. "Worried about my safety?"

"And that maybe you'll stab someone."

"You take all the fun out of things," whined Tess. They arrived in front of Tess' old building. The doorman smiled.

"Hiya, Miss Tess."

"Hello, Tommy. Good to see you. How's the foot?"

"Got some new shoes. Doin' much better. How's yer new place?"

"It's nice. Doesn't have a doorman like you though."

"Tess," grumbled Don.

"Sorry, Tommy. I guess I've got to go."

Tommy wagged his head at Don. "Yer guy's jus' afraid of the competition." Don snorted. Tommy and Tess broke into laughter. "Don't be such a stranger." He held the door open for Tess and Don. Don directed Tess through. When she tried to head for the elevator, Don steered her away.

"What?"

"Mr. Litterio is waiting for us."

"The super? Why?"

"We're lookin' at an apartment."

'An apartment?"

"Do ya need ta repeat everythin' I say?" Don's mouth twitched. He broke into wide grin. "Actually, we're lookin' at yer old apartment."

"My old…" Tess' mouth snapped shut. "Bette didn't tell me she was moving out. I thought she was lookin' for another…" Tess frowned. She pulled out her phone and started a text message. Don grabbed it out of her hand.

"Ya can talk ta Bette after we look at the…"

Tess sighed in frustration. "I know what my old apartment looks like."

Don raised his eyebrows. "Then do ya jus' wanna sign a lease?"

"Sign a…" Tess noticed Don grinning again and snapped her mouth shut. "Can we afford…"

"I think so. If worse comes ta worse, we'll eat out less. It's not like ya can't cook."

"But we're going to be paying child care…"

"We need a bigger apartment. We'll manage." Don whipped a tear from Tess' cheek. "Now don't let yer hormones get all crazy." He cupped her chin in his hand and looked into her eyes. "Are ya happy about this?"

"I might have liked a little more input." Tess gave Don a sudden fierce hug. "Thank you. Can we really sign a lease tonight?"

"I've got a check for the deposit and rent right here."

"Then let's fill out the papers and go upstairs so I can kill Bette."

Don threw his head back and laughed. "I can't let ya do that, Sweetheart, but ya can chew her out good." He picked up Tess' hand. "Come on."

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