Disclaimer: I obviously do not own CSI: NY. I wish I did because then Danny and Lindsay would be together already! Anyway, I do own any characters that you do not recognize. You can borrow them if you ask permission first!

A/N: Here's the 2nd chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed…My response to the reviews will be at the end of the chapter! My muse decided to go a little philosophical during this chapter, so it's a little bit of fluffy angst. If that makes sense. I still do not own Taylor Turner or Maddy. They still belong to Axellia. Thanks for letting me borrowing them!! As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D

Chapter 2.

Limbo

When Cory got home that night, she was still mulling over her nightmare and the phone conversation with Tim. She was so lost in thought that she almost missed her floor. She hurriedly reached out and hit the Door Open button in the elevator. Muttering under her breath about the stupidity of being that lost in thought in New York City, she made her way to her apartment door.

Outside of the door, she sniffed the air appreciatively and smiled. Danny's cooking. With a lighter heart, she opened the door. "Danny?"

"In the kitchen!"

She walked into the kitchen and drank in the sight of a handsome man puttering around, making dinner. "It smells good. You didn't get called in?"

Danny turned around and winked at her. "Yeah. But I figured since you went through all the trouble to make me breakfast, the least I could do was make you dinner."

Cory laughed, feeling her heart lighten even further. "You are absolutely the best boyfriend ever. What did I ever do to deserve you?" She walked over to him and gave him a kiss.

Danny groaned and then lifted his head. "Let's see. You kicked the ass out of a madman who was trying to kill me? That was a good start."

"Whatever. If it wasn't for me that particular madman wouldn't have been after you in the first place. What are you cooking?"

"Fettuccine Alfredo. Caesar salad and garlic bread."

Cory's stomach growled on cue. "Oh. I'll set the table. Thanks."

After dinner, Cory curled up on the couch. "Mon chere?"

Danny stuck his head out of the kitchen. "What's up?"

Cory looked down at her hands. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Bella? You can talk to me about anything. What's wrong?"

Cory drew in a breath. "I know. Just promise not to get mad. Okay?"

Danny nodded, his stomach knotted in uncertainty.

"I had this dream last night. It was awful. I was on my way to work and when I got to the subway, there was panic. An old man running up the steps said that there was a bomb on the subway. I called it in and then tried to clear the area. I had just reached for a little girl when the sidewalk rumbled. I turned to look down the steps and a huge fireball was coming up. I grabbed the girl, threw her down on the pavement and myself on top of her. Then I woke up."

Danny drew her into his arms. "Sweetheart, that's awful. But it's just a dream."

Cory looked up to him. "That's not the part where you'll get mad. I'll get to that in a little bit. But this wasn't just a dream. It felt so real. I've never had a dream that felt so real before. I think…I think it was more than a dream. I think it was a premonition. Remember when we were in the hospital...after Ortiz?"

Danny nodded his head.

"Taylor's friend, Maddy, said that there was a reason that I could only see spirits and not hear them. She implied that when the time was right, I would be able to hear spirits as well. She said that I was very special and that's why The Powers That Be allowed James and Michael to cross back over. I have a feeling that this has something to do with this."

"Okay. I remember talking with Taylor and James' message to me. That is what convinced me to believe in spirits."

Cory smiled. Her friendship with Taylor had grown over the last eight months. The woman had helped her overcome losing two of her close friends. "I'm glad. That's why I was up this morning. I woke up screaming and decided not to go back to sleep."

Danny hugged her. "I'm sorry, bella. That must have been awful."

"Yeah. My day just got worse, though."

"What do you mean?"

Cory drew out of Danny's arms and looked down at her hands. "I got a call from Tim today."

Danny felt his heart pound. "Ortiz."

Cory nodded. "He's requested a meeting. But he wants me to make sure no one knows that I'm going to see him. He seems scared for my safety. That worries me. I know he's a madman, but he's always been concerned for my welfare. Strange, huh?"

Danny looked thoughtful. "Darling. That worries me. What's got him spooked?"

Cory shook her head. "I don't know."

Danny struggled with emotions that filled him. He wanted to tell her not to go, but he had learned his lesson and knew that he had to let her work. He noticed that she was still looking at her hands. "Bella? Mi amor? I'll tell you that I'm not happy about you still seeing him, but I understand and I won't stand in your way."

Cory looked into his eyes and saw the love and concern filling them. "Thanks. I promise that you will know when I leave. I just don't know how I'm going to get to Texas without anyone knowing."

Danny smiled. "If I know anything, it's how resourceful you are. You'll find a way. That much I know for sure."

Cory sighed in relief. She had expected him to fight her on this, but was glad that he didn't. "So, you said that you got called in?"

Danny chuckled. "Yeah. Weird crime scene. It was staged. Everything was staged…including fake movie blood. I thought I'd seen everything."

"Really? Fake movie blood? I've never run across something like that before."

"Yeah. I'd better go finish cleaning the kitchen. You okay now?"

"I'm better. I'm going to take a hot bath and then hit the sack." With a saucy wink, Cory sauntered out of the room.

When she got into the bathroom, she poured her favorite bubble bath in the tub and lit some candles. She knew that she still needed to unwind after her stressful day. Calmly, she pinned up her long hair, so it wouldn't get wet and disrobed.

She sighed as she slipped into the hot water; her tense muscles began to relax. She leaned back in the big tub, closing her eyes and clearing her mind. Her next conscious thought was of Danny standing over her, trying to wake her up. "Hey, baby. Did I fall asleep?"

"Looks like. Come on, let's get you to bed." Danny held out his hand and helped her out of the bathtub. While she dried off, he grabbed her Cowboy's jersey that she always slept in and then slipped it over her head.

Cory smiled at him. "You're the best." She tried to say more, but a yawn overcame her. "Sorry. It's been a long day."

Danny just nodded and tucked her into the covers. He softly kissed her cheek. "Sleep well, bella. I'm going to go catch then end of the game and then I'll be in."

Cory nodded sleepily. "Kay. Night." She snuggled into the covers and was soon fast asleep.

Cory opened her eyes and saw a field of bluebonnets. She smiled, feeling the warm sun beat down on her. She looked down and saw that she was barefoot and wearing a light summer dress. She heard a bird call and looked up. She saw a man standing in a shaft of sunlight, but with shadows across his face. "Who's there?"

The man just stood there. Curious, Cory began to walk closer to him and finally saw his face. "Armando?"

The man nodded, but still did not say anything.

"What's going on? Where am I?"

"You're in Limbo," a female voice behind her answered.

Cory turned quickly. "Maddy?"

"Hi, Cory."

"What are you…what am I doing here?"

"I'm simply a vessel for you to communicate with The Powers That Be. As for why you're here…That's a long story."

Cory looked thoughtful. "If this really is Limbo, then time doesn't matter. Whatever time spent here does not affect the material world."

Maddy laughed. "You are too smart for your own good. You're right. Time has no bearing here. But I will make a long story short. Armando has been spending the last eight months in Purgatory. He is trying to atone for the sins he committed while trying to bring Ortiz down."

"What kind of sins?"

"The worst one was murder. Although he did try to find away out of committing many of the crimes that Ortiz wanted him to, he still had to commit some in order to entrench himself into the gang."

Cory closed her eyes. "Oh, God. Armando, why? We would have caught him somehow."

Maddy looked at Cory. "Cory, you can't change the past. The reason you are here is because The Powers That Be have decided to give him anther chance to atone for his sins."

"Really? What can I do?"

"Armando is going to be your liaison with The Powers. You are entering a period that is going to be very tenuous. They believe that you could use the extra help. He will also be able to help you communicate with any spirits you see, since you will only be able to hear him. This is provided that you are willing to have him."

"Of course. Anything I can do to help."

Maddy smiled. "I thought you'd say that. I'll leave you two to talk things out." Maddy turned and began to walk away. A couple of yards away, she turned. "By the way! You can talk to Taylor about this. She will be able to see and hear Armando. She can help you through the process."

Nodding, Cory turned to Armando and noticed that his clothes had changed to a white suit. "Oh, Armando. Why didn't you tell me what you were doing?"

"Hey, Cory. I'm sorry. With hindsight, I know that I should have, but I didn't want you to get hurt."

"And me finding you and Michael murdered was not going to hurt me? Come on, Armando." Cory rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Cory. I didn't mean to wind up dead. I just got a little careless. My only regret is that Michael got involved. I didn't want to involve him, but I needed someone to pass the information to."

Cory felt herself tear up. "C'est la vie."

Armando smiled. "I see your sense of humor is intact. Look. You need to wake up now. Your boyfriend is about to come into your room and…"

Cory felt herself blush. "Whatever. We're in Limbo. Time doesn't matter."

Armando laughed. "Time may not matter, but we can talk later. I promise. I'm not going anywhere. Got spend some time with your man."

"Fine. Fine. I'm going. Will I remember all of this?"

Armando nodded and began to walk away from her. Cory took that as her hint and turned to walk away, then realized that she had no idea where to go. "Armando?" She turned, but he had already disappeared. "Okay. I'll just stand here. Maybe I'll wake up or something."

Cory opened her eyes, just as Danny opened there door. She noticed that he was trying to be quiet and almost laughed at him. "Chere? I'm awake."

Danny turned. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

Cory nodded no. "Nope. I just had a really good dream." She sighed as Danny slept into bed. "Ya know what? I'm not the least bit tired now." She got a mischievous glint in her eye. "Do you know of a way to pass time?"

Danny's only answer was to begin to kiss her as he slipped a hand up under her shirt.

Soccer-Bitch - Thank you!! It took me a while to start writing it, but I'm glad that I'm back into the swing of things!

The Little Corinthian - Thanks!! I'm glad that a couple of people saw that I put up a new story. With how crazy ff has been, I'm impressed! I hope they fix the alert system soon.

chili-peppers - I'm so glad that you love the story. To be honest, I'm just to lazy to dream up another OC and the show has not been inspiring me in any way! Of course Ortiz is back! I just love to write him so much!!! I'll bet I surprised you with bringing Armando back, though!!!

OK y'all. It's like 3 am and I have to be at work in 7 hours, so I hope this is not too bad. I don't currently have a beta, so if anyone wants to beta for me, just PM me or let me know in your review and I'll get back to you!! Hope y'all had a safe and happy New Years!!!

Sparky