A/N: Well, now that you all have the background story, it's time for the good stuff. Here's chapter four. I hope you all enjoy it. -Jess

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Chapter Four

Present Time...

It was a Saturday and, like most Saturday mornings, twenty-four-year-old Casey Campbell had claimed a table in the back of her favorite little coffee shop, Pete's. She had a copy of the day's paper spread out before her, her i-Pod blaring in her ears, and her favorite iced coffee- the day was off to a great start.

Across the café, the door opened and the a set of wind chimes tinkled above a group of patrons, but Casey was too into Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," to notice them. Her friends, especially her best friend Adam, liked to pick on her for what he called her weird taste in music- the genre she listened to tended to change with her mood. Today, it seemed, she was in the mood for some '80's music.

Don Flack and Danny Messer surveyed the little coffee shop Adam Ross had brought them to. The trio were supposed to be bringing back coffee to the lab for the rest of the team- they could all certainly use the caffeine, seeing as most of them hadn't slept the night before, except for maybe an hour or so on the sofa in the break room. As tired as they were, it amazed Danny and Don when Adam suddenly started grinning and shaking his head.

"Got something you wanna share with the class there, Ross?" Don questioned, his gaze following Adam's- and landing on a young woman with bright auburn hair. Even from their place somewhere in the middle of the line in front of the counter across the room, he could see the i-Pod and the earphones and wondered if the girl was like Adam and was practically glued to the device.

"Let's get the drinks first, then you can introduce us to your friend, Adam," Danny said, knowing that his girlfriend, Lindsay Monroe, and Stella Bonasera would torture them all in some pretty creative ways if they didn't get the coffee and bring it back soon. "And it better be quick- I ain't looking to piss Montana and Stella off today," he added with a pointed look, though he was admittedly more than a little curious as to how Adam knew the woman who seemed to be off in her own little world with her music, her coffee, and her newspaper.

Five minutes later, each with a tray of drinks in hand, they sauntered over to the table. Casey caught their movement out of the corner of her eye and looked up. The first person she noticed was Adam, and she stood and reached across the table to hug him, mindful of the beverages- most of them exceedingly hot- he carried. And when she at last turned to his friends and started to pull the earphones from her ears, she burst out laughing as the next song came on- Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero."

Standing in front of her, looking ike he might be trying to figure out where he knew her from but just couldn't quite put his finger on it, was her very own hero- Donnie Flack. "Case, Detectives Danny Messer and Don Flack," Adam told her, though she wasn't looking at him but at Flack- lots of women looked at Flack, though, so Adam wouldn't have been too surprised if he'd caught her attention if it weren't for the way she was looking at him- it was like she knew him, but Adam couldn't remember his best friend ever mentioning knowing Flack. It took him a half second more to realize that, though she'd never said his last name, Casey had indeed mentioned Don- several times, as a matter of fact, in the course of their two-year friendship.

"Holy cow," Adam said with a low whistle, earning himself a quick glance from Casey. That look told him everything he needed to know, too- like that he was right and Don was her Donnie, the guy who'd practically been her big brother growing up- except that you couldn't have a crush on your big brother, and Casey had very definitely harbored a crush for Don. A quick peek at Don told him that the detective hadn't yet placed her, which didn't surprise Adam, since he knew for a fact that the last time Don had seen Casey, she'd barely been a teenager.

He bit back a smile as Casey threw her arms around Don's neck, causing both Don and Danny's eyebrows to shoot up in surprise. And when he heard her say, "Hey'ya, Donnie," and saw Don's eyes widen until it looked like they might actually pop right out of his head, it was all he could do to keep from laughing.

The moment realization hit Don, he pushed Casey- a little bit more harshly than he meant to, he was so caught off-guard- far enough away from him that he could look into her laughing brown eyes. He didn't let go of her, though, a fact which both Danny and Adam cataloged away in their minds for later- Don, on the other hand, was past noticing that he was still holding onto her arms. Instead, he was focused on taking in every inch of her face, looking for verification that it was really her.

He found it, and pretty easily, too. The truth was there in those doe-like eyes, the ones she'd turned on him so many times before in order to get her way. It was in the small bump on her nose- she'd broken it playing baseball with him and Tommy when she was six- and in the smirk on her lips. Her hair, orange when he first met her and later a tad bit redder, though not much, was more auburn now- but he knew he'd still say she'd make a perfect carrot, just to tick her off.

And with a smirk of his own, Don pulled her back to him and crushed her in a bear-hug. "Casey Campbell," he laughed in disbelief. "It's good to see you again, pest," added, shaking his head in disbelief. His sister was going to go berserk when he told her about this- for that matter, so were his dad and brother

Danny turned his attention to Adam for an explanation- Don was still too stunned to even remember that Adam and Danny were both standing next to him- and it seemed Adam very definitely knew what was going on. Adam tried to curb his laughter as he answered Danny's unspoken question- but it was proving a little difficult. "They grew up next door to each other." He rushed his words, trying to get the whole explanation out before his laughter took over again. If only Don would stop looking at Casey like she'd grown a second head, he might stand a chance.

A little surprised, Danny merely nodded his head and asked, "And you know her how?"

It was Casey who answered the question, looking over at Adam and giving him a lop-sided grin. "Adam's been my best friend for about two years now. His sister was my roommate; she introduced us."

That got both Don and Danny's attention and had Adam dipping his head to avoid looking the detectives in the eye. "You've got a sister, Ross?" Danny asked, wondering how that had never once come up in a conversation. Sure, he and Adam weren't exactly great friends or anything, but he'd never once heard the slightest mention of Adam having any siblings. Truth be told, he didn't know a whole heck of a lot about the guy.

"Half-sister," Adam mumbled, "Rachael." He loved his sister, he really did, but he didn't talk about her- or anyone in his family- a whole lot. He hadn't even met his older-by-five-months half-sister until he was sixteen. She'd lived with her mom- she'd never even met their father, the man who seemed to have lived for the sole purpose of torturing his son.

Don's knowing gaze flickered between Adam and Casey. When Casey had first said they were best friends, he'd wondered what the two of them could possibly have in common. He didn't know much about Adam, admittedly, but he did know that the other man hadn't had an easy childhood at all- he suspected Adam had probably been abused pretty severely, but he'd never asked. Now, looking at the pair, he could see how that would have formed the beginnings of a bond between them. And, as he thought back to other conversations and run-ins with Adam, he realized that he and Casey were actually a lot alike- or, at least, Adam was a lot like the Casey he'd known as a kid.

Danny cleared his throat and announced, "I hate to break up this little reunion, but we gotta get back to the lab." Both of his colleagues nodded and Casey hugged them all good-bye- which caught Danny by surprise, but he returned the hug with a smile, knowing he was going to be seeing more of the redhead in the future. Don passed her his card and Casey jotted her phone number down on a piece of paper for him, each with the promise that they would call soon and get together to catch up.