Disclaimer: CSI:NY? Not mine.
This is a shortie.
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Stella had written up Flack's comments in as dispassionate and objective a tone as she could muster.
Every time she reached out to type she could see Don's face. She had tried to casually pry information from him but the guy was distraught and had immediately been suspicious when she had sidled up to him, subtly trying to probe him. The poor man had been convinced they had fished him out of the river.
Stella shivered. That was not going to happen.
She finished her report without her usual flourish and printed it, ready for Mac. She felt drained. She resisted dragging her hands through her hair in frustration; it made her look like a cartoon. Instead she spread her fingers wide and placed her hands flat on the desk, taking several deep breaths; trying to calm herself down.
Don looked up from his work, his heart almost stopping at the look on Stella's face as she sat in the chair opposite him.
He paled, "Stella, you've found him haven't you?" His voice, however alarmed he was, remained quiet, he wasn't going to bigmouth Danny's business over the precinct, whatever had happened.
Stella reached out and squeezed his hand. "No Don, nothing as yet. But I was wondering…"
"What?"
"Well…"
"Stella you have the worst poker face in the Department, well, except for Danny, and he does that deliberately…"
"What! I do not!!… What do you mean?"
"Uh… Well, you have this little…"
Stella gave him that look.
Don hesitated. It couldn't hurt to drop a hint could it? "Well, let's just say that some people around here don't like it if they think he's trying to get one over on them, so he tries to be obvious about everything. So they can't say anything. See what I mean?" He asked the last a little anxiously. Whilst he didn't want to give his friend anymore grief than he already had going on, he thought that Stella should be more aware of what Danny was going through with his own colleagues.
Stella's eyes widened. "Oh… Oh, I didn't realise it was like that." She didn't want to pry any further than she had to but Don misread her, and thought she was going to brush it off he added, "and sometimes they don't even need that as an excuse…" She looked shocked. "Though you tell Danny and I'll…"
"No, no Don, not a word. I promise. Though you'd do what exactly?" Stella raised her eyebrow at him.
On a groan Stella dropped her head in her hands. Danny had been going through so much since he started as a cop and none of them had known anything about it. Well, only Don and he had almost had to beat the information out of him years afterward. Why hadn't he said something? Anything? She shook her head, somewhat resigned. Because it's Danny.