AN: I don't own any of the CSI:NY Characters or any of the show's storylines that I may refer to from time to time, but the rest of the plot is mine.
Slight Spoilers for 4.18 & Cabbie Killer Storyline
5. My family, my responsibility
It had been almost two weeks since she had returned to homicide and a week since the last case from the Cabbie Killer, where they had made hardly any progress. It was Friday lunchtime and Laura was in the squad room running as many searches as her computer would let her without crashing the system. Something she had become almost expert at during the week when she had done just that about half a dozen times. The room bustled around her as she was left to her own devices, banned from field work, and confined to her desk, the file room or the non hazardous areas of the lab. She was pretty fed up with the inactivity, but at the same time grateful that she wasn't on her feet for 10 hours a day. She was starting to find some of the simple things difficult and tiring. Her bump seemed to have grown astronomically in the last month and her last check-up lead to more tests. The baby kicked and she ran her hand over her bump as she looked up from the latest batch of files she was helping Mac to review and saw their mailman making his rounds. He paused at Don's desk and dropped some envelopes before moving on. She looked at her stomach and tapped her hand on it.
"Sprout I'm trying to work here quit doing somersaults!" She sighed, feeling as if the baby was kicking in every direction. "I already know you can move, your kick chart's off the scale."
"Listen to your Ma Sprout you kept her awake enough last night, go to sleep." Said Don, trying to tell the baby off in an authoritative tone as he leant over and added his hand to the bump for a moment, before standing up straighter and propping himself against her desk. "Apart from our little acrobat, how are you doing babe?" He asked.
"OK, the techs have bugged my computer to stop me overloading the system again, with all those searches I'm doing on your carvings." She sighed. "You've got mail." She added waving her hand at his desk.
"Not what I meant, ... It's been rough this week, you sure you can handle working as well?"
She looked up at him, her eyes glazed with tears. "I have to, you need help catching this killer and I can't stand the thought of being home alone."
"When can you ring up for the results?" he asked.
"After 4. ... What are we going to do if-" She started, he leant over and cupped her face in his hand and rested the other one on her bump.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The doctor said the size and everything else can have a simple explanation. The way this one's acting up right now says everything is fine, .. OK so you're bigger than you're supposed to be and you've had some weird test results but it could be nothing, let's hear the doctor and wait for a diagnosis before we start panicking. Whatever it is we'll deal with it, you and me together ok?"
"Get me out of here before I start blubbering again." She croaked. "I hate hormones."
Don helped her out of her chair as his phone rang. She let him take the call and headed for the bathroom for what felt like the hundredth time that day. When he had finished the call he looked around.
"She's in the bathroom. Everything ok? You two have been preoccupied this week." Asked Angell who had just walked back into the room.
"Jess, do me a favour, check she's OK."
"You're not gonna tell me what's going on?"
"... There's nothing to tell, ... not yet, we're waiting on test results." He sighed.
"Test results? The baby? Is something wrong?" She babbled quickly with shock at the realisation of what he meant.
"... Stop, Jess we don't know, just check on her ... please." He pleaded as Laura's phone rang on her desk. He picked it up and checked the caller ID. Angell made her way to the door as he sighed and pressed the answer button. "This is Detective Flack. ... She's not available right now, can you tell me? ... Fine, we'll make an appointment, ... Now? ... Yeah, OK, can you tell us anything? ... Well let me speak to the doctor. ... Very well, tell her we'll be there as soon as we can."
He pressed the end call button, grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and putting it on slipped her phone into his pocket and headed for the door, grabbing Laura's coat as he past the coat stand. Angell and Laura were just returning. Laura looked at him as he came through the swing doors. He looked exhausted.
"What is it? ... Don?" He pulled several unreadable expressions while trying to work out what to say.
"Doctor's office called ... she wants to see you" He answered. Laura ran her hands protectively over her bump.
"... What did she say?" She asked hesitantly.
"They have the test results, but they want to discuss them in person." He answered.
"Did they want us to make an appointment?" she asked anxiously. Don stepped closer to her and wrapped her coat and then his arms around her.
"They want to see you right away babe." He whispered as he hugged her trying to keep his own fears and nerves at bay as he felt her shudder. Laura eased back out of his hold slipping her arms into her coat and he turned to Angell. "Jess, can you tell Fraser I'll call him when we're done."
"Sure, ... I hope it's good news." She called as Don lead Laura out.
--
Stella walked into the lab at the Nathanson Academy and looked around at the destruction surrounding their latest victim, then began shooting photos of the scene. Don followed her into the room, as he referred to his notes, she looked up from the body.
"Hey, didn't expect you tonight, Angell said you had an emergency, everything ok?"
"Yeah, Kat's test results came in."
"And?" She pressed gently, sensing he didn't want to speak about it.
"Doctor says everything's cool. Even proved it with an ultrasound. ... It's good to know they're doing ok." He answered. Stella looked at him, he certainly looked a little less stressed than he had earlier in the week.
"What happened, Laura didn't say much after the appointment Monday."
"They thought the baby was too big, there was too much fluid, Kat had diabetes, you name it, it was on the list."
"But everything's ok?"
"Yeah, we're still reeling a little from what's happened, but she's ok. Now we can just get on with our jobs and enjoy the next couple of months."
"Is that possible?"
"Course its possible Stell, why not? I got a great wife who's gonna give me my own hockey team one day!" He quipped, turning his attention back to his notebook and beginning to brief her on the dead man at her feet.
--
Hawkes and Danny entered the gym next door and glanced around at all the kids, most of them sons and daughters of the city's elite. Even Deputy Inspector Gerrard's daughter was a student. Their eyes fixed on a couple of uniformed officers talking to a young woman and they went over.
"Hey! Mama Flack!" greeted Danny.
"You sure you should be here?" Asked Hawkes.
"Call me that again Messer and you'll be down in ER yourself. ... I was with Don when he got the call and Gerrard apparently requested I help out. I'll be doing a few interviews sat over there with my own escort, don't worry." She answered.
"Well I must admit you're looking better than you have all week. You grown again?" Hawkes replied.
"Yeah, its what babies do Doc. Takes after Don according to Teresa ... It's been ... whatever, ... all the results are in and everything's explained, we're ok." She answered running her hand over the bump as the baby gave her a good kick, making her catch her breath. "Although I won't be if it continues like that, feels like its trying to kick it's way out today."
"That's good isn't it?" Asked Danny.
"Yeah Danny, it's good." Sighed Hawkes at the other man's naivety. "Where's the body?"
"Next door in the science lab. This is the closest I'm allowed Don says the vic's got some nasty chemical burns and stuff's been splashed all over."
"Alright, we'd better go, between this and the cabbie killer looks like we got a busy weekend" Groaned Danny. Laura smiled.
"As long as it doesn't involve me running another computer search and crashing the system again. The techs are already gunning for my ass." She shot at them as they passed her and began to walk away. She didn't hear the footsteps approaching.
"And a nice one it is too." Came the seductive tone, she turned around and scowled at him. "How are you doing babe?"
"We're fine, I'm gonna start working my way through these kids, in the hope that we may actually get home tonight." She replied.
"Take it easy, you get too tired I'll have one of the uniforms run you home." He suggested.
"We'll be just fine, Morris is sticking with me. You go do your thing and let me get on with mine."
"You're sure?"
"Don! I'm fine! We're fine. Now go." She fixed her eyes firmly on his and waved him away. He stood for a moment looking at her.
"Flack!" Called Stella from across the room, her voice almost lost in the chatter going on around the room. Laura shooed him away again.
"Stella needs you, quit bugging me." She told him firmly.
Finally he relented and turned away. Laura sighed, ran her hand over her bump again, a habit that she had resisted until a few weeks ago, now she couldn't seem to stop and now that he had felt Sprout kick, Don couldn't either.
"Morris you got a spare memo book? Mine's at the office." She requested. He shook his head and held out a spare to her.
"Another memory lapse detective?" He grinned. She smiled back, opting not to get into a lengthy discussion about her afternoon strapped to an array of monitors with more nurses taking what seemed like pints of her blood, just so they could reconfirm what the earlier tests had already told them. She was getting fed up with being treated as a pin cushion, so to make her feel better Don had volunteered to donate a pint of his blood, which they had gladly accepted.
--
It was now Sunday afternoon the CSIs and Don were busy re-interviewing students as the science dictated. Adam was bugging her for network time wanting her to scale back searches on the cabbie killer carvings so he could run a new piece of software to create a 3-D image of the gym from cell phone pictures. She opted to suspend the searches for a couple of hours while she went to see the new software and stretch her legs.
The door to one of the observation booths opened as Laura walked past. "We have a better chance of learning what happened that night if Detective Monroe and I go in there alone. .. you don't like the path we're going down you just knock on the window ... and it's over. ... you have my word." Mac's voice floated out, full of understanding and sincerity.
"...O..K, but I want Laura Flack instead of Monroe, she's about to be a mother, she'll understand." Gerrard croaked in response. Mac looked concerned for a moment.
"Stan Laura's on desk duty, she only showed up the other night because you requested it."
"It's my daughter Mac. Detective Flack goes in or you don't talk to her." Gerrard stated. Mac nodded and walked out seeing Laura walking down the corridor he went to talk to her.
A few minutes later Mac and Laura were about to enter the "box" as Gerrard had termed it, when Don returned from another case.
"Kat, what are you doing?" He asked noticing her destination. "You're not supposed to be interviewing suspects."
"A witness Don, Gerrard wants me to speak to his daughter." She told him.
"I won't allow it!" He snapped rather more forcefully than he'd intended.
"We're fine, I'm doing my job." She replied calmly.
"Don, she'll be fine I promise." Reassured Mac.
"You can wait right here, ... be the first one in if there's a problem, but I don't think she's going to give us any trouble." Laura added resting her hand on his arm.
He nodded at her and she turned into the room. He then turned to Mac. "That's my family in there Mac." He said dejectedly.
"I understand. She'll be fine Don." Mac replied and followed Laura into the room.
--
Later that day Don, Mac and Gerrard watched anxiously from the observation room as Laura listened to Natalie Gerrard admit she was raped. As she looked up at the one way mirror knowing her father was on the other side she sobbed. "I'm sorry Daddy."
Gerrard rested his arm against the window and dropped his head against it. "I failed her, She's my family ... my responsibility. ... You going to arrest the son of a bitch?"
"Soon as I have a warrant. ... I'll call you Mac." Don answered and left the room.
--
A couple of days later Laura was working in the Lab conference room trying anything she could to track down the cabbie killer. Her searches had pulled up so many variables that Even their short list was huge. She ran her hand around her bump. "Come-on, give me a break, what will it take to get you to sleep for a while and give me a rest?"
"I think it's a little young for bribery." Joked Hawkes as he entered. "Still not sleeping?" He asked as she looked up.
"Not much, I think Don's getti- Ow! ... Not nice babes. Don't-" She rested one hand on the table and hugged her bump protectively with the other as she bent forward breathing hard. Hawkes stepped forward and took her arm, easing her back into a chair then leaning against the table next to her.
"You ok?"
"Yeah, ... Braxton Hicks, kicked in with avengence the last couple of days. .. it's going."
"Does Flack know they're this bad?"
"No and he worries enough as it is, please don't tell him."
"Laura, he'll want to know."
"Who'll want to know what?" Don asked as he entered the room.
"That Sprout's got me climbing the walls again. ... I feel like I haven't slept in weeks."
"You did, you got a whole 4 hours last night." Don assured her as he bent over and kissed the top of her head and slid his hand onto her bump.
"I'm surprised you noticed, you were snoring half the night." She shot back at him.
"I think this calls for me to find someplace else to be." Said Hawkes smiling as he edged towards the door.
"Sheldon, its ok, did you want something?" Laura asked pushing Don's hand off and sitting up a little straighter.
"I'm heading to the deli can I get you anything?" He asked.
"BLT no L and no mayo." She replied. "No wait, Ham and Cheese."
"Sure?"
"Yeah. .. no ... can you bring both? ... Thanks." She shrugged her shoulders at Hawkes and elbowed Don. "It's all your fault! Kid's got your genes." She quipped before he could talk. Hawkes shook his head and left.
Laura and Don went over some details of the case and he was just about to leave when Danny arrived. "Hey Flack, glad I got you. You busy later, I got a spare ticket to the game tonight, wanna use it?"
"... Another time maybe, in case you hadn't noticed I got commitments." He answered pointing between himself and Laura.
"Hey, don't use me as an excuse. ... You haven't had a boys night out in a while, go for it." She encouraged.
Don gave her a disgusted look. "And leave you home alone, no way."
"This is getting old Don, I'm preganant not incapable. ... I know you want to be there do all the father stuff, but nothing's going to happen tonight, you can take a few hours off ... go with Danny."
"Kat, ... my family is my responsibility." He argued. She shook her head. He meant well, but he had got so overprotective in the last week she was getting ratty with all the attention. She had an idea.
"If it'll make you feel any better I'll ring Heather, see if she can come over. I haven't seen her in a while and we can catch up. A girls night in, we'll watch the game on TV."
"... OK, ... how come you got a spare ticket, thought Linds was going." Don conceded.
"She's pissed at me right now, ... I told her about Rikki."
"That'll do it." Said Don. "... See you there at 7?" He asked as he headed for the door. Danny agreed, then followed him out. Laura let out a deep sigh as she was dug in the ribs by a foot, she closed her eyes and rested her hand on her stomach.
"You're Dad's gonna be pissed at me when I tell him his plans for his hockey team are down the pan after I have you." She said patting the bump before turning her attention back to work.
AN1: All these random scenes have bugged me all day while I've been trying to study just begging to be written down. Please excuse the slight discrepancy that may have occured in the timelines, it provided a plot device to move the characters around.
AN2: To Sarah - Thanks for the reviews and your suggestions about the baby. I will keep them in mind when I come to write that part.
AN3: Polls: 1. THere is a poll on my profile page about the baby, please vote to help me decide.
Polls: 2. CSI NY FF Awards - please vote - this is included in the best series (Crossed Paths is the first in the chain). Also Open Hearts catch dreams is included in the Crossover category, with Science in the Shadows, which features Laura. Lots of other good stories and categories to chose from or vote for all of the categories.