Disclaimer: CBS owns CSI:NY...I own OC's...

A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews so far! I really appreciate the encouragement!!!

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They stared at each other for a moment, before two voices threw them out of their reverie.

Mac and Sullivan.

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The two men entered into the apartment making their way through the mess of broken furniture that had once blocked the door. Taking in the scene, Michael and Mac looked to hallway finding a slightly disoriented Sam sitting up with her hand comfortably intertwined with Don's as he looked at her affectionately. Sullivan's jaw tightened as he felt himself go into 'overprotective father' mode.

"Samantha," he said fatherly, intentionally disrupting the tender moment between the two. Don released his grip on her hand, realizing what it might've looked like.

"Yes, Chief," she responded, as if to remind him that although she was his daughter, she was still a cop. He nodded his head in understanding and backed down his territory.

Don grabbed her around the waist as she struggled to get on her feet by herself. Mac and Sullivan stood side by side in front of Sam and Don as a silent awkwardness filled the air. Don kept a steady hand on her upper arm just in case. Mac looked at her in awe of how much she resembled her mother. Sullivan looked between father and daughter, realizing that he should introduce them.

"Detective Mac Taylor…" he gently pointed. "This is Officer Samantha Sull…" he paused, not knowing how to finish. "Taylor- Sullivan". Sam felt guilty for putting her adoptive father in such a position and looked down, embarrassed. Mac held out his hand openly as she looked at him adoration. She took his hand and immediately felt tingles shoot up her spine. His hands were warm, experienced. She smiled gently at him as Don looked between the two, curious as to what was going on.

"Flack…" a uniform said, throwing the foursome back into reality.

"Yeah…" he said, as they shifted their attention to the uniform.

"We got the paramedics downstairs to take her to the hospital."

"A'right. Thanks Frank." he said. Sam was about to protest but just as she was about to speak, Sullivan interrupted.

"You're going. No 'ands', 'ifs, or 'buts' about it." he said tenderly. "Don, we're gonna need her statement for the report." Don nodded.

"I'll go with her." he said and led her down to the ambulance, careful not to go too fast. They made it down to the ambulance where the paramedic instructed her to lay on the gurney. The paramedic and removed her uniform shirt to get a better assessment of her injuries. Don could see the bruises around her neck and face, as well as the blood slowly seeping from her arm. He could tell that she had an almost lost look on her face and knew it had something to do with Mac and Sullivan.

"You alright if I start with the questions?" he asked. She nodded and gave him a detailed description of what had happened at the apartment. Don could tell that something was bothering her and gently laid a hand on top of hers.

"Hey…" he said delicately as she looked at him, surprised at such a tender action. "You okay?...". She smiled thankfully at him.

"Yeah…I'm fine." she said, gently massaging his fingers with her own. They gazed at each other f or a few seconds until the ambulance pulled up to the hospital. There's something about him that just makes me feel…safe. This thought scared Sam.

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She'd done her damndest to remain as independent as possible without the help of any man in her life, and so far had proven to be successful in her mind. To her she was independent but to her psychologist, she was avoiding companionship. What a quack, she thought. He'd said that she was afraid to be happy with another person, and that because of her childhood, she couldn't rely on other people for emotional support other than family.

She had to admit secretly that he wasn't far off. The last time she'd met with him, he'd brought up her past sexual abuse, which she quickly turned down the subject saying that it wasn't any of his business. He let it go…or at least she thought when he began asking about her love life.

"When was the last time you were intimate with a boyfriend?" he asked plainly. She glared at him, because in truth, she'd never had consensual sex before. It required somebody she trusted enough to get close to and because she couldn't get emotionally close to anyone it left her by herself.

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Much to her displeasure, Sam had been admitted to the hospital pending the CAT scan. She lay dressed in a typical hospital gown in her bed watching Tom and Jerry. The only sounds from the room had been from the soft volume of the television and the beeping of the heart monitor. A knock gently sounded at the door.

"Come in." she called. The door opened as Don slipped in and closed the door.

"How're you feel'n?" he asked curiously.

"Doing better, thanks…Chief's not make'n you babysit me, is he?" she asked.

"He just asked me to keep an eye on you till he got here...He seemed kinda worried on the phone." Sam furrowed her brow in interest.

"Was everything okay at the scene?"

"As far as what I gathered from Mac, everything was being handled." Don replied.

"Any guess as to motive?" Don looked at her, amused at her interest.

"Officially, all I got was that the male foster parent was abusing the two older girls. The ten year old said that the fifteen year old had tried to fight back when he…." Don stopped, unable to say it. Cases like this made him sick to his stomach. "He killed her to keep her quiet."

Sam clinched her jaw to fight back tears of anger as the beeping of her heart monitor sped up. Don sensed he anxiety and reached out to hold her hand. She looked away so he wouldn't see the tears fall. He didn't ask questions. He didn't judge her. He just sat there supportively.

I was supposed to make sure this didn't happen to anyone else…

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A/N: Keep in mind that Don doesn't realize that she's Sullivan's daughter...Review!