Disclaimer: I obviously do not own CSI: NY. I just own my car, my laptop and my crazy muse who seems to want to write 4 different stories at a time. I also do own any characters that you do not recognize. You can borrow them if you ask permission first! I still do not own Taylor or Maddy. They belong to Axellia.

A/N: Here's the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D

Chapter 16.

Broken

Danny ran into the bedroom, fear overwhelming him. He was almost relieved to find Cory alone, with no intruder in sight. He dropped down beside her, pulling the sobbing woman into his arms. "Cory? What's wrong?"

Cory just continued to cry. Through her sobs, he heard, "Daddy."

Danny looked around the room, but was unable to see the two ghosts that were standing over her protectively. He tried a couple of more times to get Cory to talk, but gave up when she was unable to answer him. He picked her up and put her in the bed. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and quickly made a call.

"Hello?"

"Taylor, it's Danny. I need you over at my apartment. I think…Well, I'm not going to speculate right now, but Cory needs a friend."

"Maddy warned me. I'm almost there." Danny could hear the concerned tone in Taylor's voice. "Give me five minutes and then you can buzz me up."

Danny felt a little relief flood through him. "Just buzz. See ya in a few." He hung up the phone and continued to stroke Cory's hair in a rhythmic manner. Slowly, her sobs subsided and in a couple of minutes, she was asleep. Danny got up and started towards the living room, so he could let Taylor in. He paused in the hallway, noticing that the phone was still on the floor. Swearing under his breath, he picked it back up. "Elizabeth?"

Danny just heard buzzing coming from the phone. Damn it! I don't even have her number to call her back. Shit. He hung the phone just as the buzzer rang. He quickly buzzed Taylor up.

He opened the door to see a very concerned Taylor standing on his doorstep. "Hey, Tay."

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. We got a phone call, it was her sister Elizabeth. Beth was crying, but before I could find out why I heard a scream. I ran into the bedroom and Cory was incoherent. The only thing I could make out was the word daddy."

Taylor nodded. "I'm willing to bet that she saw her father's ghost."

Danny nodded in agreement. "You'd win. I'm hoping that he's still here and you can talk to him."

Taylor smiled, thinking about Danny's acceptance of her gift. "I'll try." She began to walk towards the bedroom, Danny close behind.

When Taylor walked into the bedroom, the first thing she noticed was the cold temperature. She then saw the two ghosts standing beside the bed. She inclined her head towards Armando. She then turned to the other ghost, who bore a resemblance to Cory. "You must be Mr. Reid." The ghost nodded. "Did you talk to her?"

Harold looked at Taylor, seemingly debating with himself about talking to her. Taylor looked at Armando. "Armando, please. I can't help unless I know what happened. Remember, I went though something similar when Maddy died."

Armando nodded to her and then looked at Harold. "It's okay. You can talk to her."

Harold nodded and turned back to Taylor. "No, I didn't talk to her. She turned around and saw me, then collapsed."

Taylor nodded and began to question him. "How did you die?"

"I can't tell you that. That's not why I am here."

"Then why are you here?"

"To tell my daughter that I love her and to tell her that she needs to talk to her mother."

Taylor thought about that for a moment. She then dared another question. "Were you killed by the assassin?"

Harold didn't answer, which was an answer in itself.

Taylor looked at Cory, who was still sleeping deeply. Sighing, she turned back to Harold. "Perhaps it would be best, if you weren't the first thing that she saw when she wakes up."

Armando cleared his throat. "She's right, Harold. Look how she reacted when she saw you. She needs some time to process."

Harold nodded and with a look, both ghosts disappeared.

Taylor sighed as they left which caused Danny to look at her. "Okay," he said. "From what I gathered, he was murdered."

Taylor looked at him. "He wouldn't tell me anything. He just said he was here to say good-bye. But I think he was killed by that assassin. He said that she needed to talk to her mom."

Danny nodded, thinking over his conversation with Cory the previous night. "I think that is best. They need to end the feud between them." He glanced at the sleeping woman, then back at Taylor. "Look. You want a drink or something? She's probably going to sleep for a while."

Taylor smiled and nodded. "Yeah. You might also want to call the rest of the team and let them know." She got off the bed. "Why don't you start making phone calls and I'll get us some drinks. Beer, okay?"

Danny nodded and got out his phone.

When Cory awoke, her eyes felt grimy and swollen. She lay in bed for a moment trying to figure out what happened. What's going on? The last thing I remember is the phone ringing and then…Her thoughts slammed into a wall as she remembered what she had seen. She whimpered a bit as the emotions overwhelmed her. Oh, Daddy. Why?

Taylor heard the whimper and walked back into the bedroom. "Hey, Cory. How are you feeling?"

Cory felt her heart sink even more at the sight of Taylor. "It wasn't a dream, was it?" she asked quietly.

Taylor smiled sadly. "No, sweetie. It wasn't. I'm so sorry."

Cory shut her eyes and tried to force the tears away. "Where's Danny?"

"He finally fell asleep on the couch. Do you want me to get him for you?"

Cory shook her head. "No." She sat up in the bed and drew her legs to her chest. Tiredly, she laid her forehead on her knees. "I don't understand. What happened? Was it Frasier? Or was it natural?"

Taylor took her time in answering. "I saw him, you know. I talked with him. He wouldn't tell me how he died and just by that I think that he was killed. He's still around because he wants to give you a message. I warned him not to be around when you woke up. I didn't want you to be overwhelmed again."

Cory lifted her head and looked at Taylor in her eyes. "Thanks, Tay. You're a good friend." She looked up at the ceiling and called out, "Armando?"

Taylor watched as Armando appeared. "Cory? I'm so sorry. I wish I didn't have to be the messenger. I never thought that I'd have to do this."

Cory just smiled. "I understand. Is he still around?"

Armando nodded and Harold appeared at his side. "Hi, pumpkin."

Cory looked at her father, tears shining in her eyes. "Hi, Daddy. What happened?"

Harold shook his head. "It's not my place to tell you. You'll know soon enough. I'm here to tell you that I love you. You never lost your place in my heart."

Cory's tears spilled silently down her face. "I love you, too." She sniffed a little.

"Pumpkin, don't cry for me. I had a good life. I'm worried about your mother."

That startled Cory out of her morose thoughts. "What? Why?"

"She's taking this very hard and she's very angry. You need to talk to her. Go to her. Make her understand that this was meant to be. Even if you had stayed in Dallas. It was my time."

"But, Daddy…"

Harold face grew stern. "No buts, young lady. You could not have changed this fate. If this hadn't happened, something else would have."

Cory nodded understanding, but not wanting to accept the realization. "Okay. I won't question you. I miss you already, Daddy."

Harold smiled. "I'll miss you, too, pumpkin. I need to go now. I need to move on. Just know that I am happy. I have faith that you will work it out with your mom." He blew her a kiss then Armando and he disappeared.

Taylor moved on the bed, so she could hug Cory. "I'm really sorry. I know that this doesn't help, but he is in a better place."

Cory just nodded as the tears continued to roll down her face.

AN: This is a really short update, but it was so emotional that I just had to keep it short!

brainDamage089-Yes, they are cute together. BREATHE! Just take a deep breath in and let it out. It'll be okay.

mj0621-Yes, it was a mean cliffie. When I wrote it the first time around, it wasn't as bad. I had the beginning of this chapter on there. But my muse struck and it turned to a mean cliffie!

CSI junkie 247-Thanks! Was a week too much???

Anywho...see that little button below that says review? I'd love it if you do!!!