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!

A/N: Here's the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D The song title is from Bon Jovi. Thanks to Aphina and Axellia for betaing!

Chapter 62.

Keep the Faith

Alexis looked around the boat nervously. The tension between Etienne and Montoya had increased considerably since they left Spain and she had a feeling that more was going on that what she had seen. More than once, she had seemingly caught the men in the middle of an argument that was cut off at her appearance, so she had decided to do a little sleuthing.

Walking silently along the corridor of the boat, she slid her feet carefully, trying to keep her balance with the rocking motion of the boat. She was making her way towards the salon, where she had noticed that both men liked to retire to. She expected it was for a couple of reasons. One, it had a fully stocked bar and two, it also had most of the communication equipment. She paused as she got closer and heard their voices.

"Etienne, why are you really here? Are the bosses unhappy with what I've been able to supply them with?" Montoya asked with a sneer.

"The bosses are less than happy," Etienne responded carefully. "You have become careless of late. First, trying to assassinate the FBI agent, then kidnapping her. You've drawn unwelcome attention to yourself, Montoya, and that puts the bosses at risk."

What the hell are they talking about? Bosses? So, Montoya is not working for himself, Alexis thought as she moved closer to the door.

"I have not harmed the plan in any way, Etienne and you might want to remind the bosses of all that I have given them," Montoya shot back, holding back his anger.

What plan are they talking about?

"You have not visibly harmed the plan, Montoya, but your arrogance has brought you onto the radar of the FBI and one of its most talented agents. You awoke her wrath and I am here to make sure that the fallout of that wrath is contained," Etienne shot back in a scathing tone.

Alexis heard movement towards the door and began to scuttle out of sight, her mind full of questions. She still caught the final parting shot that Etienne delivered to Montoya.

"Remember, you are expendable, Montoya."

When Cory woke up the next morning, she was happy and content for the first time in a long time, even though she was still worried about Alexis. She was firmly wrapped in Danny's arms and she was disappointed that she had to go to work. Slowly, she tried to disentangle herself from him, only to have his grip tighten. Sighing, she knew that she was going to have to wake him up, so she could get ready. "Danny?" she said softly, only to get a murmured response.

"Danny," she said more firmly and smiled when he opened his bleary eyes.

"Whazamatter," he slurred in his sleep.

"Sweetie, I have to go to work."

Danny blinked his eyes a little, trying to bring the world back into focus. Finally her murmured words penetrated his sleepy mind and he loosened his grip on her. "Sorry," he said without shame. "I've missed sleeping with you. I don't want to let you go."

Cory giggled. "Trust me. If I didn't have a really important meeting, I'd be calling in sick right now," she said as she leaned down to kiss him.

Danny groaned and tightened his grip on her once more and he pulled her closer to him, deepening their kiss.

Cory moaned as he nibbled on her lips, feeling her desire rise before pulling away with a groan. "As much as I'd love to go down that road, I can't be late," she said with regret as she gave him a quick chaste kiss and moved out of his arms. "You working today?"

"I'm on nights today," he said with a pout. "Barring any major disasters, I should be home around midnight."

Cory nodded as she grabbed her clothes. "I'll probably be awake. You know me, the night owl."

Danny laughed as he settled back into the bed, content just to watch her move around the room. "When do you sleep?"

"Who needs sleep?" she remarked cheekily as she sauntered out of the room.

Several hours later, Cory was ending up her meeting with the rest of her team. She still had a slight smile on her face from her reconciliation with Danny, which Lydia immediately noticed.

Lydia drew her aside as they left the conference room and looked at her expectantly.

"What?" Cory asked.

"You and Danny have made up, haven't you?" Lydia stated.

Cory smiled and blushed a little. "Yeah. I've been so stupid. I can't believe that I pushed him away. I don't know what I did to deserve him…" she trailed off as Lydia's phone rang.

"Sanchez," Lydia answered quickly. "Alistair? Yeah. Yeah. I can leave in a couple of hours. All right. Thanks." Lydia smiled as she turned to an intrigued Cory. "They have a lead. Pretty fresh one, too."

Cory smiled as she nodded. "Go. I can take care of everything here. I'm going to have the girls for lunch. I feel so bad that I cut everyone off."

Lydia laughed as she turned. "You just shut down, there's no harm in that. But it is nice to truly have you back."

Cory nodded as she picked up her phone, deciding to call Stella and Lindsay to see if they wanted to go to lunch.

Alexis walked towards Montoya's suite with some trepidation. She didn't want to give him the wrong idea, but she needed to know what he had gotten her into. When she got to his door, she knocked softly and waited.

Montoya opened the door, to find Alexis standing there. He was a little surprised and thought that maybe she had finally seen reason and was ready to restart their relationship. He opened the door and let her into the suite, then motioned for her to sit in the chair. "Alexis?" he queried softly, his hope simmering.

"Alejandro," she began. "What the hell is going on with you and Etienne? Y'all act like two rival lions fighting over the pride."

Montoya sat back in shock at her question. He had forgotten how perceptive she was. "It's nothing. Just business. Nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about."

Alexis felt a jolt of anger run through her at his arrogant assumption and for once decided to drop her Southern charm. "That's bullshit and you know it, Alejandro! Who the hell are the 'bosses' that he keeps talking about? What the hell have you gotten yourself into?"

Montoya shook his head in surprise. "How do you know about that, my love?"

"It's a boat, not too many places to hold a secret conversation," she shot back. "Just tell me what's going on."

Montoya sighed and settled into a seat across from her. "I don't want you involved, Alexis. Etienne is…well, let's just say he's not a very nice man."

Alexis bit her lip, somehow knowing that she needed to know more. She wasn't sure what was guiding her, but she followed her instincts and walked over to him. Once in front of him, she knelt down and placed her hand softly on his. "Please, Alejandro. I'm worried about this. Please tell me what's going on," she begged softly.

Montoya looked deeply into her brown eyes, and while he didn't see love shining in them like he used to, he did see a deep set concern for him. His resistance to her crumbled and he nodded. "Fine. But not here. Too many prying eyes. Let's take the wave runners out and we can have a private conversation."

Alexis nodded and got up, unaware that the entire conversation had been overheard.

Cory settled into the restaurant feeling nervous. She wasn't sure how Stella and Lindsay were going to react to her after essentially abandoning them for two months. She felt horrible for ignoring them and knew that they were going to call her on it. She stared at the menu, not really reading it, but letting her thoughts ramble through her head until she heard her name being called. She looked up and her mouth opened in surprise as Lindsay and Stella made their way to the table. "Oh my Lord, Lindsay! You've gotten so big!" she said without thinking about the words.

Lindsay raised an eyebrow and drawled, "Geez, thanks for that Cory."

Cory felt heat rising to her cheeks as she realized what she'd said. "I didn't mean it that way…" she began until Lindsay cut her off with a wave.

"I know, but I just wanted to tease you."

Cory smiled wryly then looked at Stella. "How've ya been?"

Stella nodded, her eyes not betraying any emotion. "Good. Are you done burying your head in the sand?"

Cory winced at the sharpness of Stella's tone. "I deserved that and so much more. I wanted to apologize to both of y'all for being stupid and idiotic for trying to close everyone out. I don't know how Danny put up with me."

Lindsay smiled, knowing exactly how she felt. "I understand. You were trying to protect yourself, but I trust now you know that running away is not the answer."

Cory nodded. "Yeah, I don't think I'll ever do that again! But seriously, how are both of y'all doing? Lindsay, do you know the sex of the baby yet?"

Lindsay shook her head as both women settled themselves at the table and picked up the menus. "Not yet. We will in a couple of weeks though." Her eyes twinkled a little bit. "We have decided on names though."

"Really?" Cory asked as Lindsay paused, tantalizing her. As the silence stretched out, Cory stuck her tongue out at her. "Come on, don't keep me in suspense! What have you decided?"

Stella laughed. "She hasn't told anyone. She thinks that she'll jinx something by telling us what they decided on."

"No, I just wanted the whole team to know, and I count Cory as part of the team! So, I can tell you guys now. If it's a girl then her name will be Kimberly Michelle and if it's a boy, his name will be Ryan Phillip."

Stella looked at her. "I'm not to sure about Kimberly, but I love Ryan." She looked at Cory, trying to gauge her opinion.

Cory shrugged. "I like them both and congrats. When do y'all get to fund out?"

Lindsay smiled. "A couple of weeks. I'm excited."

"As well you should be!" Cory exclaimed. "How is it being stuck in the lab?"

Lindsay shrugged. "It's okay. Closer to the bathroom and the baby loves to sit on my bladder, so I'm in there so much," she said with an eye roll.

Stella laughed. "At least you don't have to be out in the muck. It's cold and it's slushy outside. What I wouldn't do to spend more time in the lab."

Lindsay got a mischievous grin. "Get knocked up. Then you can share in my pain!"

Stella shook her head emphatically. "No way. Mac and I aren't ready for that! But we are considering moving in together. I mean, why spend the money on two separate apartments when we are always together. I think the only thing holding us back is that I'm scared of not having a place to run to be alone," she admitted.

Cory nodded her head in understanding. "I know what you mean. I was worried about that when Danny and I moved in together, but we're pretty good at knowing when one of us needs space. You'll work it out," she stated simply as the waiter appeared to take their orders. "Now, tell me what else I've missed on!"

After placing their orders the two other women proceeded to do just that. Filling her in on the strange and weird cases that had come across their desks.

AN: Aw...you guys rock! I have a couple of shameless plugs...First, I posted a challenge fic called Moments Frozen in Time! Take a gander at it since it's set in this AU. Also, if you guys like rock music, then go to www (dot) ceesau (dot) com and check out Carmine's band! You can also buy the CD for about 7. There ends the shameless plugs!

CSI junkie - Yup. A relationship is not all wine and roses! I have to keep reminding myself to make them disagree, but it's so hard! I'm really glad they are back together too! I can't write them apart anymore, thus the reason for the 2 month gap in the timeline!

katydid13 - So am I! Thanks for the review!

Soccer-Bitch - I'm sorry it was a hard day, but I do think you did the right thing with turning off your phone! Completely understandable! At least y'all can still talk and email! It's gonna suck when you have to take your nephew to them. (:s) Thanks for the review!

Aphina - We are truly harsh to our OC's. I feel really bad for them! I'm glad Danny snapped to. We all have our breaking point and I finally drove him to his!

Maddy - Thanks! I'm trying hard to be realistic, but since I'm not dating...It's really hard! Yup. We are really mean to our OC's! Aphina and I were just talking about that! The stuff we put them through...I feel bad!

PainAlter041085 - Thanks! There is something in 51 (off the top of my head I can't remember the chapter) and if you still can't read it, PM me your email address and I'll send it over to you that way! Thanks for the review!