Disclaimer: Sigh, do we really need to go over this? Humpf, fine. I don't own CSI:NY or any of its characters. If I did though, certain people would have never died (cough cough) and a whole lot of fans would have been much happier.
"Seriously Jess? Why did you have to be good at this too?" Don panted as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "First it was kicking boxing. Now this?"
"Your dad isn't the only one who showed their kid how to play hoops." Jess passed the ball to Don. "Besides, my mom and dad had 5 kids. Basketball was really my only chance to get to college." Jess smiled. "I thought you were always up to a challenge. Especially when it comes from me."
"I am! I just wasn't expecting you to be this good!"
Jess faked an astonished face. "I'm heartbroken! So then you'd rather me some prissy chick who cries whenever they break a nail? You must be getting short term memory loss or something/ I have 4 older brothers, remember? I was rolling around in the dirt as much as the rest of them were."
"You calling me old Angell?" Don started to dribble as Jess got into a defensive position. "You may be a couple years younger than me, but us old people still have spunk."
Jess stood up momentarily. "Spunk? Come on, get with the times grandpa and let's see if you have any 'spunk' left."
As soon as the words left Jess' lips, don immediately crossed the ball over and prepared to do a layup. Just as he was about to put the ball up, Jess jumped and blocked the ball with her hand. After catching the rebound, she dribbled over to the 3 point line and smiled.
"Gotta be more creative than the, gramps. Gosh, with all your knowledge you've gained over the years, you'd think that you'd do something better than a left hand layup." She passed the ball to Don, who passed it back. "Even doing a simple-" Jess shot the ball at sunk it without using the backboard. "3 pointer would have been better."
Don stood back and looked flabbergasted. "You kidding me? A swish? And you got it in on the first try!"
Jess smiled and shot again. Like the first time, it went in. "Oh believe me, I wasn't trying. I wasn't MVP 3 years in a row for nothing, you know."
Laughing, Don shook his head. "I'll tell you what. If you can make a half court shot, I'll buy lunch."
Jess smirked mischievously. "And if I don't make it?"
"Oh I'll think of something."
Standing at the half court line, Jess spun the ball in her hands a couple times. Bending her knees, she lined her arm up with the hoop.
"There's no way that Jess can make this shot. We've been here for a few hours and she looks tired." Don thought to himself as he watched Jess, but then became speechless when she started laughing and pointed at him.
"Ha, yes! You owe me lunch!" Jess smiled, her eyes twinkling. "I'm thinking a nice expensive restaurant is sounding pretty good right now."
Don dropped his head and sighed. "Can we make it best 2 out of 3?"
"2 out of 3? Wrong game Donnie." Jess held the ball at her hip. "You're just trying to hide the fact that you owe me lunch."
"Aw come on! Best 2 out of 3?"
Shaking her head, Jess replied "Nope, we had an agreement. Half court shot and if I make it, which I did, you buy lunch." Jess patted Don's arm. "And by the way, I'm starving."
The memory floated fresh in Don's mind as he walked towards the precinct. He'd been having thoughts and flashes of Jess all day long. He even swore that he saw her walking down the street, but as soon as the person was close enough, Jess' face disappeared and was replaced by a complete stranger.
The first thing that registered in Don's head was that the had-been empty desk that sat across from his was covered with boxes. More specificallycase files. The second thing that Don noticed was that the precinct seemed much busier than usual.
"Hey Travis, what's going on?" Don asked one of his colleagues.
Travis turned to Don, a frown upon his face. "A huge case we've been working on. A major gang the FBI has been tracking has suddenly increased in numbers and their crimes have escaladed. 8 months ago, the department sent one of our Sergeants in as an undercover."
Don sat at his desk. "Really? How come I wasn't told about this?"
"Um…" Travis paused a moment before saying "The captain thought that you could use the time off. Cope with Jess'-"
Don put his hand up. "Stop. Just don't even go there. Everyone thinks and says the exact same thing. The only way that I'll ever 'cope' is if I'm here and I try to forget about it."
"So you don't even miss her?"
This sent Don over the top. "You think I don't miss Jess? Don't ever say that again! Ever! I see her everywhere I go! Jess was special to me! Jess was more important than any of this!" Don yelled, standing up suddenly. His nostrils flared and his fists shook with anger.
A gentle hand was placed on Don's shoulder. "Come on Flack. Let him go, he's not worth it."
"He deserver's to get his ass kicked Danny! He-" Don put his hands up and turned around. "You know what? Just forget about it."
After the door to the locker room clicked shut, Travis breathed a sigh of relief and straightened his tie.
"Good thing you came when you did Messer. I thought he was actually going to-"
Danny growled and grabbed Travis by the collar. "You're lucky that I got Flack to leave. You really have no idea what he's going through, or are you really that stupid? Jess meant the world to Don, and still you have no respect for that. Don's just lucky that I didn't get here first, 'cause a hospital bed with your name on it was looking pretty good at the time."
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize-"
Danny didn't even let him finish his sentence before he walked off.
"Thanks for inviting me Mac." Don said as they walked into the bar that night after shift.
"Don't mention it. I thought that after a day like this, the team would need a few drinks."
After a round a drinks, Stella finally broke the silence. "So how you holding up Don?"
Don sighed and his shoulders dropped. "By this point, I don't really know. It's hard. I keep thinking that there should be 8 of us here instead of 7." Don turned his eyes over to the band that had taken the stage.
"Hey there everyone, we hope you're all having a great night. The next song we'll be playing is dedicated to a person I miss very much. And I know he misses me too." The guitarist said into the mic, gaining everyone's full attention.
"I'm at war with the world and they
Try to pull me into the dark
I struggle to find my faith
As I'm slippin' from your arms
It's getting harder to stay awake
And my strength is fading fast
You breathe into me at last
I'm awake! I'm alive!
Now I know what I believe inside
Now it's my time
I'll do what I want 'cause this is my life
Here, right now!
I'll stand my ground and never back down
I know what I believe inside
I'm awake and I'm alive!
I'm at war with the world 'cause I
Ain't never gonna sell my soul
I've already made up my mind
No matter what I can't be bought or sold
When my faith is getting weak
And I feel like giving in
You breathe into again
I'm awake! I'm alive!
Now I know what I believe inside
Now it's my time
I'll do what I want 'cause this is my life
Here, right now!
I'll stand my ground and never back down
I know what I believe inside
I'm awake and I'm alive!
Waking up, Waking up, Waking up, Waking up
Waking up, Waking up, Waking up, Waking up
In the dark, I can feel you in my sleep
In your arms I feel you breathe into me
Forever hold this heart that I will give to you
Forever I will live for you!
I'm awake! I'm alive!
Now I know what I believe inside
Now it's my time
I'll do what I want 'cause this is my life
Here, right now!
I'll stand my ground and never back down
I know what I believe inside
I'm awake and I'm alive!
Waking up, Waking up, Waking up, Waking up
Waking up, Waking up, Waking up, Waking up!
There aren't enough apologies in the history of apologies to say how sorry I am for not updating. Honestly, I have hardly watched any of CSI:NY. I'm really disappointed with how the show is going. They shouldn't have killed off Angell in the first place. The creators really screwed the show up. Any who, I have the next chapter to my other story right here (Tries to show you by smashing the notebook against the screen), so expect it up soon!
Yeslek.
If you haven't noticed, I've changed the title………….. again…………..