Hi there! Well, finally I am done with all my exams and will have my prom on Saturday. Thought it would be a nice time to post the new chapter :) I'll have a bit more time for my stories now, I guess... so it won't take that long to update anymore. At least I hope it'll be like that. Thanks to everybody who wished me luck :) It was worth it, even though the results of those exams wasn't what I was hoping for, but am still satisfied and proud to be done with school for now :)

So now, enjoy this new chapter :)

Chapter Ten: Step Two

When Mac and I reached the lab Danny was already waiting for us. We haven't spoken since he and Flack went to Rikers Island and talk to Dimitri Patos. We went to Mac's office to talk about what they found out.

"Bad news… Dimitri Patos is dead." Danny uttered.

"What? How can that be?" I asked him.

"Took his life. Plain and Simple. The guard who found him said he left a suicide note saying that he can't live with what he's done and he can't see his love being married to another woman. He told his brother he was sorry."

"He had a brother?"

"Yes. The guard says he picked up all the personal things from Dimitri and he also got the suicide note. Sadly the guard couldn't remember everything that was written in it. Only the most common things one can find in such a note."

"What's the brother's name?" Mac asked Danny.
"The guard didn't remember and when I came back to the lab I did some research but found nothing. Flack's still trying to find something and I will do the same again."

"What about the parents?" I asked.

"As far as I know they're not living in NY. I found nothing about them. Not his brother, no parents, nothing." Danny explained.

"Well, was a stupid question. When I investigated the case I found out that they're still living in Greece. Dimitri said he was the only one who moved to New York."

"I try to find something about them. Maybe I can find a phone number." Danny said.

"And you want to talk to them, Danny?" I lampooned.

"Hey, you're the Greek one not me. I'm just doing you a favour."

"Σας ευχαριστώ πολύ." I said grinning at Danny. He looked at me confused.

"What the h…" he started but Mac interrupts him.

"She said thank you very much, Danny."

"You're welcome, Stell." Danny grins and quickly takes his leave.

"You remembered that?" I asked Mac surprised.

"Hey, that's not hard to remember and you know I can remember and learn things quite well. And I had a very good teacher." He tells me with a smile.

"Thank you." I replied and smiled shyly.

"You earned it."

xXxXxXxXx

A few hours later I get a message saying that someone found a body and that I was supposed to go and process the crime scene. I got up from my chair and grabbed my jacket and left for Mac's office, knowing he would be there. I knock on the door before I enter the room, causing him to look up.

"Stella, what's up?" he asked me.

"I've got a message, we got another case." I tell him.

"Okay. You want me to take it?"

"No, Mac, I still want to do my job, although I understand that you're worried about me and I know that someone's after me, too, but… I just can't stay in here, doing paper work all the time. I'll take Lindsay and Sheldon with me."

"Okay. I'm sorry, Stell, I don't want to be over concerned, but I just can't help it. I understand if it upsets you in some way…" he said, looking a bit contritely.

"Actually I think it's cute." I smile. "Feels good to have someone who worries about me and means it."

"Always mean what I fe… do for you."

"Did you just want to say what you feel for me?" I asked him and his face flushed lightly.

"Um… don't you have work to do?" he asked quickly.

"Right." I said and planned to ask him again, later. I nodded my head and took my leave messaging Lindsay and Sheldon to meet me at the crime scene.

The crime scene was a small apartment in 54th street near the precinct in midtown north. When I arrived at the building and entered the house Flack was already waiting for me at the door to the apartment. He looked at me in surprise, but smiles.

"Hey. Did Mac let you go out?" he asked me.

"What?" I asked a bit confused.

"Heard he put you under his wings, because of that killer who broke into your apartment."

"He did, but we're fine. We're getting along quite well."

"Heard that, too."

"Who told you?"

"Ah- just some gossip around the precinct."

"Danny… gotta kill him for that." I said with frown.

"Hey, you didn't get that from me." Flack said.

"Don, we told nobody but the team. So, what do we have here?" I asked him to get back to the case at hand.

"Well, Jennifer Grace, 29. She was stabbed, just like Harris Worthfield."

"Who found her?"

"Her partner. She was one of us. Police officer at the precinct in that street. Said he was worried about her, 'cause she wasn't answering her phone and she didn't come to work this noon. So he came here and found her apartment door unlocked and he entered it and found her lying on the floor, dead. He only touched her, checking for any sign of a pulse."

"Okay. Gonna need to talk to him later. Oh and I have Sheldon and Lindsay with me, that convinced Mac I'm save." I said and we were both smiling.

"Yeah, they're already waiting for you."

I entered the apartment I put on a pair of gloves and start my work. Sheldon confirmed that the way Jennifer grace was murdered resembled the way Harris had been killed. But of course we had to wait for what Sid will find out. Lindsay and I weren't very lucky while searching the place for any kind of evidence. This time Sheldon only found the same kind of powdery substance that he had found at the first crime scene.

Lindsay found an envelope lying at the kitchen counter. Nothing was written on it, so she opened it and pulled out a picture of Jennifer Grace.

"Hey Stella, there's something written in Greek letters. Like the one you found in your apartment." She told me and handed the picture to me.

"βήμα δύο... step two." I read and translated it for Lindsay.

"Wow… and how many steps does he want to take?" she asked me.

"Δεν ξέρω…" I said. "Um, sorry, that means I don't know."

Thank you for reading! Hope you're still interested and liked this chapter, too :) please just leave a small note for me, or bigger one if you like ;)

A/N: I am planing on updating my other story Tragedy And Joyduring this week. Hope you'll take a look at that one also and don't forget to vote for a name for Mac and Stella's first daughter :) (might be also interesting for those who read my Series, which started with "What will become" because it belongs to it.) THANK YOU!

blackrose538