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.

8. Not in a good mood

Don and Stella entered the room where Artie had been waiting for a while since being brought in. Neither opted to take a seat at the table. They were both trying to intimidate him with their own actions. Stella took the lead and started the questioning. Initially Artie remained quiet. Stella pushed, as she leant on the back of the chair across from him, but still hoped to intimidate him which her posture.

"... the man you and your friends killed, he had DNA from a white throated monkey on his clothes, see we call that secondary transfer."

"And I'll bet ... when we get a search warrant for your house that we'll find bush meat in your freezer." Stated Don, trying to gain some leverage.

"Lot's of people eat it." Artie replied casually in a heavy accent.

"Look Artie, I'm not in a good mood here a cop's dead, whoever killed him almost ran down me and my partner with a cab from your garage, the same cab you so smugly swore to me was not missing." Don edged forward and leant on the table as he spoke in clipped tones which barely contained his anger. "On top of that your little stunt put a pregnant cop in the hospital, and that pisses me off big time, you know why? ... That other cop just happens to be my wife and while I'm here dealing with you I can't be with her!"

"What happened to the cab?" Asked Stella as Don seethed at the side of her.

"I am sorry your wife is in the hospital, but I was mistaken about the cab." Bluffed Artie.

"No, you were lying ... Make fist!" Stella threw down a box of bio-foam and proceded to take fist impressions from the guilty cabbie, as she described how they would match the impressions to bruises on Jimmy Comitis' body. Finally they gained a confession and he implicated Jeff, who they had also interviewed earlier, along with an impassioned explanation that they thought he was the Cabbie Killer.

Stella and Don left the room glad of a resolution, but seething, that information had been leaked that set up the Jersey cop.

"Look there isn't much you can do for now why don't you head back to the hospital. We'll call you as soon as we have any news."

"I don't know Stell, I've been goofing off all day, I should be here."

"That's not goofing off. ... You should be with Laura."

"But she's being taken care of. We need to catch this Cabbie Killer before he gets someone else. ... I go to the hospital and Laura will send me back here, she wants this guy caught as much as we do."

Don's phone rang, he checked the caller ID and flipped it open. "Hey Mac, what have you got? ... Stella's with me, ... OK I'll grab Danny or Hawkes and meet you there, ... I'll tell her."

"What's up?" she asked noting the look on Don's face as he finished the call.

"Mac went to Reed's place to talk to him again, ... he's missing Stell, back pack and keys at the door and he's not answering his phone."

"I'm going with you."

"No, he asked for one of the others, he's going to meet you back here, he wants you to work the information with him."

She nodded, acknowledging that he would need support when he got back. Danny or Hawkes were more than capable of processing Reed's apartment. They turned and headed to the lab in silence.

--

As it began to get dark everyone was working flat out at the lab trying to find something to track Reed and the killer at the same time, all fearing that Reed's life now was in jeopardy and that he had unwittingly been caught in the web of deceit the killer had spun. The mysterious meeting a week earlier had been with the killer himself, although no one knew it at the time and now they were just guessing that his blog had some link.

Between Angell and their lieutenant Don had been packed off to the hospital to collect Laura and take her home, along with strict instructions not to appear again unless called by Angell or one of the CSIs on Mac's team. Arriving at the hospital he found her sitting on the bed ready to go, but flicking through the bible, a standard item in all hospital and hotel rooms across the country.

"I hope it's not that bad, that you have to resort to reading the bible!" She didn't look up, her focus intent on the book. "Kat?" Finally after another silence she looked up, clearly distracted.

"huh? ... Oh hey. Can I borrow your phone?" He handed her the phone and went to kiss her, but she was already dialling. "I'll be a minute, could you check that they've done all the paperwork so we can get out of here?" He acceded and left the room, he wasn't going to get much out of her in the next few minutes.

"Mac, its Laura. ... Call me when you get this I may have figured out the carvings ... Leviticus 27:29. ... it goes something like ... one devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death ... I think it kind of fits, but it doesn't mean much and the rest of the chapter doesn't really shed any light, it all seems to be connected with Moses receiving the 10 commandments. ... I don't know maybe it's just another red herring and we still need to look." Laura left the message on his voicemail and hung up.

When Don returned she was closing the drawer having replaced the bible, she looked up at him and smiled. "Do you have to go back later?"

"Not unless they call me. So we're going home and you're going to bed."

"No way, I've just spent the last 24 hours in bed!"

"It's for your own good babe."

"Forget it! It can't be for my own good if it's sending me crazy!"

Don sighed. He wondered whether their words of a year ago were coming back to bite him.

"Think you can handle a hormonal pregnant wife?"

"1 - you don't get hormonal and 2 - I can handle you any time." He had assured her.

Now here they were and she had raging hormones which had practically made her appear demonically possessed in the last 24 hours, since being confined to bed and in hospital, her two most hated places to be. Unless of course the former was accompanied by him distracting her!

"Kat, sweetheart, you know what the doctor said you still need to rest for 24 hours minimum, ... I know it's not what you want, I don't want it for you either, but if it makes things ok ... Please I'm asking you to do it."

"You know begging doesn't suit you." She snapped, then noted his exhaustion and the spark in his eyes she forced herself to calm down. "... Look I know you're trying to do what's best, I do really, but I can't stand being made to stay in bed all day. I'm not sick, I need to move about, I already ache from being in bed just today, ... the doctors have said everything is fine. I just need to be a little more careful. I will I promise, but I cannot stay cooped up anywhere for the next 8 to 10 weeks." Don stood in front of her and took her hands, drawing her closer then turning her around with her back to his chest and running his arms around her increasing waistline. Spreading his hands across her bump and feeling the movement beneath his fingers. His breath like a whisper across her neck.

"... I know Kat, I'm sorry ... I just need to know you're going to be ok, that we're all going to be OK."

"We will be." She sighed leaning against him for a moment before the nurse entered with a wheelchair. Don sensed her about to complain.

"Can't argue Kat, it's hospital policy. Make the most of it." He was surprised when she nodded tiredly and eased herself into the chair.

--

Back at the lab the team spent the night following every lead they had for what felt like the 100th time. Mac barely moved from their conference control room. Ignoring Stella's pleas to eat or rest.

"He left his keys in the door, his backpack on the stairs there is no question this is foul play." Mac was sombre. He couldn't face it if his last connection to Clare was lost, one which until a year ago was only a phantom. He'd known of Reed's existence, but until the young man had shown up following Stella, that's all he had been. Now it was real, Reed reminded him so much of his late wife, he couldn't let anything happen to him. It would be like losing her all over again. He would be failing her by not protecting her son.

Information came sporadically throughout the night. Lindsay had tried unsuccessfully to track his phone signal, but failed, even the phone company had failed. Unknown to any of them the killer who had Reed had not just switched off the phone, but removed the battery too, ensuring that there was no way to trace it.

As daylight dawned Mac, Stella and Lindsay were trawling the net on the conference room computers. Stella looked up as Mac snapped fearfully. "We can't help him if we can't find him!"

Stella squinted at the plasma screen behind her boss. "Hey Mac, he's posting on his blog." The first sign that he may still be alive. Lindsay rushed out talking jargon about tracking the signal, leaving Stella and Mac to read what was being posted. Reading the text they finally realised their ultimate fear was true. Reed's source for the information on Jimmy Comitis had come from the real killer and that he now held him hostage.

Reed continued to post sporadically for the next few hours. His language more creative than normal and veiled references to Claire.

The next half hour saw Mac explain in the briefest terms his relationship to Reed, Danny find the original interview Reed had recorded a week earlier. He also toured the lab pressuring staff for answers.

--

Don woke to his phone ringing on the bedside table. He flicked it open and put it to his ear without looking at the caller ID.

"Flack. ... Hi Stell, ... no we're good, She's still sleeping, first time she slept through the night in weeks. ... You're up early. ... Oh, ... No problem. You called Angell? ... I'll be there in an hour, call me if anything happens sooner." He closed the phone and dropped it on the table again, then he rolled slowly and crawled out of bed. He had showered and half dressed when Laura stirred.

"Hey, what time is it?" She asked sleepily.

"About 6, Stella called. They're getting ready to do a raid, when they find a location. ... I've gotta go." He answered sitting on the edge of the bed facing her as she propped herself up. "Are you going to be OK? D'you need Ma to come keep you company?"

"I'll be fine, but I'll be more use at the lab, I can help co-ordinate information, ... it'll be more use that being here."

"Kat! ... We went through this last night. The job doesn't come first for you anymore. You promised you would take it easy, I need to know I can do my job without worrying about you for the next 10 weeks." He ran his hand across her bump. "This is your priority, I can't do much right now, I need you to take care of our family and to do that babe you have to take care of yourself and follow doctors orders."

She knew he was talking sense, she did, but it was hard for her to just switch off from her job. She wasn't sure if she could ever do that. She rested her hand on his. "... I know. It's just harder than I expected, ... having to step back, watch you go off and save the world. ... Promise you'll ring me and tell me what happens? Let me know that you're alright after?"

"Sure. ... Can I get you anything before I go?"

"No, I need the bathroom anyway, I'll get breakfast while I'm up then it looks like I have an appointment with my computer while I finalise the list of things we're gonna need, ... we should go shopping." Don looked at her as if she had grown a second head. She grinned. "Fraid so tiger, we need to do this together." She shifted and Don helped her up from the bed and she wrapped her arms around his waist, her bump preventing them getting too close. "When are you going to do the nursery?"

"As soon as this case is over, I'm gonna take a few days off, all the extra overtime has been exhausting for everyone. ... and I guess I'd better get some sleep while I can don't you think?" He raised his eyes at her suggestively.

"Sounds like a plan." She grinned back, seconds before he kissed her.

"You know you're beautiful and I love you right?"

"Not so sure about the beautiful bit, I feel like a bus, but I love you too. ... Now you'd better make a move and go catch this SOB?"

"SOB? ... Oh, why the code?" He asked with a puzzled look after pausing for a moment to change the code into words.

"Babies can hear already you know. I don't want ours learning bad language too soon."

--

Don arrived at the precinct to find several SWAT officers gathered in a large interrogation room with Stella, Mac, Quinn and Angell all present. After receiving what information they knew from Mac and Stella the CSI's left to return to the lab for final assessment of the evidence and to see if anyone had an exact location. Angell and most of the SWAT officers left to brief their teams as necessary leaving Don and the SWAT chief.

"Hey Flack, we teaming up again?"

"Mitch Bailey, ... you still around?"

"I know too much, they daren't get rid of me. ... Heard you had some commotion here the other night. Rumour had it you were run down by the Killer Cabbie. I'm kinda surprised to see you up and about."

"Jess, my sometime partner, saved my ass pretty good."

"Last time I saw you was that multi million dollar drug bust last year. I still remember when we first met when my guys rescued that girlfriend of yours from the Chinese gang. You still seeing her?"

"Actually, we're married."

"She still working vice or you made her switch jobs?"

"No, she's in homicide, but right now she's at home, doctor's orders."

"I'm sorry to hear it, what she got herself into this time?"

"She's pregnant ... 7 months and not been too good lately."

"Well give her my best and I hope everything works out."

"Thanks. ... I'll see you on site, I'd better check in with my guys."

They left the room and headed opposite directions.

--

As everyone headed towards the area Lindsay had identified, they received details of a disused Brewery which became the focus of their plan. They pulled around the site and under Mac's instruction the various teams moved in to trap their killer. Mac and Stella were first to spot and challenge him. He coolly looked at them then tossed the body wrapped in tarpaulin at them and made a run for it. Mac fled after him, leaving Stella to discover Reed was the one wrapped up with a gaping wound to his throat. She quickly applied pressure and called for medics.

Meanwhile on the roof the killer had made his escape, Don called for more backup to pursue the killer through the local area as Mac raced back at Stella's call, to help save Reed.

From the brewery they removed a large amount of evidence including the stone used for the carvings, the cab and another female victim. Mac accompanied Reed to the hospital and waited at his side until he recovered sufficiently to be able to give new vital information on the possible home of the killer.

--

Back at the precinct and lab work continued in sombre mood. Danny and Lindsay worked on the cab, piecing together the mechanism for gassing customers and the circumstances that put Jimmy Commitis in his path. They paused for a moment in quiet reflection as they found the mechanism which flooded the rear of the cab and watched the gas swirl around inside, their thoughts filled with the seven victims who had lost their lives in this way.

It took several hours, but finally they had a breakthrough with the hose used to filter the gas and Reed's hospital bed recollections lead them to another location in Washington Heights, north west of the city. An old fire house, the home of the killer, then became the focus of the attempts to apprehend the killer.

--

Don and Mac lead the team to the abandoned fire house and found the killer sitting calmly reading. Don arrested him none too gently and Mac reminisced about his state of mind after he quoted from the bible, as Laura had surmised in the message she had left Mac a day earlier, the reference was to Leviticus 27:29 and things suddenly fell into place. The abstract reference had needed the Cabbie Killer's thinking for it to make sense. There was a sense of relief, the chase was finally over the city was free again. Free to go about its daily business. Free of fear of using a taxi cab. Mac and Reed were some of the first New Yorkers to take the healing step as Mac hailed a cab to take Reed home from the hospital.

--

If anyone had taken a walk around the lab that afternoon there was a quiet hum as the rest of the team processed all the evidence recovered from the scenes and completed the mounds of paperwork to support their case. It wasn't clear what would happen to the killer. Flack and Angell currently had him in holding while they waited for a psych report. Chances were that there would be no case, he would be deemed too insane to stand trial. The only words out of his mouth since they had found him had been quoting biblical references to the Devil and salvation. He was alone and delusional. He saw himself as a Greek god, the ferryman of the river Styx.

Revelations soon about the baby ... the poll is still going, there is a clear leading vote. As soon as I write the revealing chapter I will close it. So if you haven't voted and would like to chose the sex of the baby or whether they have twins you can access the poll via my profile page.