A/N: Some decision are made and a little fluff for you too :-)

Enjoy!

An officer escorted Dantrell to Mac's office, nodding to the CSI as the young man pulled open the glass door.

"You wanted to see me?"

Mac nodded, gesturing to a chair near his desk. "I did. Have a seat, Dantrell."

He did as instructed, glancing nervously around the room. What couldn't he tell me on the phone?

"I know you wanted everything associated with your application to be strictly by the book," Mac began, coming around his desk and leaning against it, "but I bent the rules a little anyway, just this once."

Did I not get the job? Oh God…he's trying to let me down easy! Dantrell swallowed hard. "I see."

Mac's face broke into a cheerful grin. "The other two offers of employment were made by phone, but I wanted to give you yours in person."

Dantrell's face wrinkled in confusion. "Offer of employment?"

"That's right," Mac told him. "The shift supervisors and I were very impressed with you, Dantrell. The job is yours if you want it."

"Really?"

Mac laughed and extended his hand. "Really."

Dantrell rose from his chair and shook his new boss's hand, a surprised smile tugging at his lips. "Wow! Yeah…uh, I mean, yes, I want the job! Of course I want it…"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Mac chuckled. "You're excited. And you should be—congratulations."

Dantrell beamed proudly. "Thanks…boss."

"You have time for a tour? You'll officially start on Monday, but I thought I'd introduce you around a little today."

"Yeah, sure," the boy answered eagerly.

The pair left the office and strolled slowly through the halls, Mac pointing out important features and people while Dantrell asked hundreds of questions.

"And this…" Mac continued the tour, leading his charge through a door, "is the DNA lab, where you'll be spending most of your time."

"I don't mean to sound so juvenile," Dantrell replied sheepishly, "but this is so cool."

"Oh, no, it totally is," a new voice agreed.

Mac smiled. "Dantrell Baker, I'd like you to meet Adam Ross. He's one of our best lab techs."

Adam shook Dantrell's hand, but waived off Mac's praise. "I don't know about 'one of the best'," he said modestly. "But 'pretty darn good' works for me."

"In any case, it's nice to meet you," Dantrell grinned.

"Dantrell is one of our new techs," Mac explained, "so the two of you will probably be spending a fair amount of time together."

"Lookin' forward to it," Adam responded. "Dantrell Baker, eh? Are you the same Dantrell Baker that knows the Messers?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I am. You know them too?"

"Most people know Danny," Adam smirked. "He's the kind of guy that you know by reputation if nothing else. And Maddie's been here a bunch of times too…they way they talk about you, you must be somethin' special…"

This time it was Dantrell's turn to waive off the praise. "Just a hard worker and a fast learner."

"Glad to hear it," Adam replied.

The three men said their good-byes and Mac steered Dantrell down another hallway. "Well, those are the highlights," the detective said. "All that's left is your paperwork."

Dantrell's eyes lit up. "Can we do that today, too?"

Mac chuckled. "Sally in personnel is already waiting for you."

"Great! I just want to make a quick phone call, first…"

"…and share the good news," Mac finished. "Go ahead."

The older man gave the younger one directions to the Personnel Department and walked him out to the lobby. After another enthusiastic handshake, Dantrell bade Mac farewell and flipped open his cell phone. Dialing the number quickly he listened for a moment before a familiar female voice picked up.

"Dantrell?"

"Hey Sayeeda, guess what? I got the job!"

∞∞∞

Aiden took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She stood in her living room staring at the cordless phone in her hand, working up the courage to make one more call.

You don't have to, a voice in the back of her mind said. Danny will tell Don that you're coming back.

But after everything we've been through together, he deserves to hear it from the source, another one answered.

She shook out her shoulders, put a determined curl on her lip, and dialed the number.

He picked up on the third ring. "Flack."

"Hey Don, it's Aiden."

He clearly had not bothered to check the Caller ID before answering. "Aiden? Oh…uh…hey…"

"Do you have a second to talk?" she asked steadily.

"I have as long as it takes me to get to Battery Park," he replied.

"Where are you at now?"

He laughed. "Queens."

She grinned in return. "Then you got time."

"So what's up?"

"Well, I…made a decision about the Research Assistant job," she told him, hesitation creeping into her voice.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She paused a moment before continuing. "I turned it down."

He didn't say anything for a moment. Then, "You did?"

"I did," she nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "I'm coming back to New York."

He answered very carefully. "Oh."

Great, she thought, he's deteriorated into one-word responses. "Yeah," she repeated. "My brother Benny has an extra bedroom and he can get me a job waiting tables at the diner he works in, so I'll have a place to live and a job 'til I find something on my own."

"That's good." She heard him take in a breath and hold it briefly before he spoke again. "So what does that mean?"

"It means," she responded, keeping her voice even, "that I missed my family and my friends and my city, and I'm coming home to be with them. It means that I'll be able to spend more time with the people I care about. That includes you, Don."

She knew he was smiling softly on the other end of the line, but he remained quiet.

That was when Aiden realized he was waiting for another answer, and she understood the question without being asked. "And if you want to know if I still love you, well, that has nothing to do with my leaving Virginia. They're two separate issues." She took a deep breath and decided to bite the bullet. Just tell him. "But, for the record…I do love you. I never stopped," she said gently.

Again, there was only dead air in reply and she almost hung up, certain that he already had. It wasn't until a car horn sounded in her earpiece that she discovered he was still there.

Finally, she'd had enough silence. "Okay, then. I guess I should go. I'll call you again when I get into town." She pressed her lips together, pulling the phone away from her ear and was just about to hang up when she heard his voice.

"Hey Aid?" It was his turn to pause and gather his confidence. "Just for the record…I love you, too."

He didn't give her a chance to reply, flipping his phone shut and breaking the connection faster than she could process his statement. Slowly she hung up the phone and replaced it on its charger, dropping onto the couch beside it.

And she smiled.

∞∞∞

Maddie trudged down the outer hallway, sighing tiredly as she turned her key in the lock of her apartment door. Pushing the door open, she noticed a dim light pervading the entryway instead of the brightness that was usually present. The whole place was quiet, too, with none of the hustle and bustle of a household that included an independent teenager and an energetic baby.

She closed the door behind her and tiptoed into the living room, soundlessly leaving her school bag and shoes beside her small desk. When she turned around, she discovered the source of the silence. Danny lay on his back, stretched out on the couch clad in an old t-shirt and faded jeans fast asleep, glasses still in place on the bridge of his nose. His arms wound protectively around Carrie, who had conked out on her father's chest, clutching his shirt in her little fists, her eyes buttoned up tight a she slept.

Maddie's heart swelled at the sight of her husband and youngest daughter, and she stood for a moment just watching them sleep serenely. Danny's chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm, a large hand resting gently on Carrie's small back. The child's dark lashes lay against her pale cheeks and a lock of her hair fell across her forehead. Maddie reached over and brushed the fine hair away, planting a tender kiss in its place. Her fingers traveled over Carrie's clothes to Danny's hand, clasping it in hers. Leaning down, she removed his glasses and placed them on the end table beside the couch, leaving a warm kiss on his lips.

Since becoming parents, both Maddie and Danny had become light sleepers, and Maddie's movements woke Danny from his slumber. He inhaled deeply, blinking his eyes open groggily and trying to focus them on his wife.

"Hey slugger," she smiled at him.

A broad grin spread over his face. "Hey yourself, beautiful. How was tutoring?"

"Oh, the usual. The seniors are getting antsy—they want to hurry up and graduate, especially since the college kids are already done. You two have a nice nap?" she chuckled.

The grin widened. "Oops." He glanced down at his daughter. "We just sat down to watch a little TV while Shayla was out with Dantrell, and we must have dozed off. That was…" He sat up a little and found the clock. "…an hour ago. We should probably wake her up, huh?"

Maddie stroked the little toddler and shook her head. "Not yet. I'm sure we'll pay for it later when she won't sleep tonight, but she looks so peaceful."

"Yeah," he agreed softly. "And so small…I can't believe she's fourteen months old already."

Maddie sighed, tilting her head to one side as she studied the child. "I can. She's gotten so big…remember how small she was when she was born? And now she's walking and talking and growing up so fast…"

Her voice trailed off and Danny took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. He could read the emotion in her eyes, could see what she was thinking. And we're getting older, too. If we want more kids…

"There's time," he replied quietly. "It'll be at least three years yet before Carrie starts school…"

Maddie continued to look at their daughter, squeezing Danny's hand in return. "Yeah, I know." But maybe… Well, we'll see. She smiled again and turned her attention back to her husband. "You hungry?"

"I could eat." He rose carefully from the couch, grabbing his glasses and walking with Maddie into the kitchen, pausing along the way to lay a still-sleeping Carrie in her playpen. He took his wife's hand again and kissed her hair, expressing his love for her the best way he knew how. "How do nachos sound? I think there's some hamburger in the freezer…"