DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CSI:NY OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. I DO HOWEVER OWN SAMANTHA FLACK AND ANY OTHER OC YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. SAVE FOR MARI AND JASMINE WHO ARE OWNED BY HOPE4SALL.


Countdown to 2017: Evening

"In a way, I need a change
From this burnout scene
Another time, another town, another everything
But it's always back to you
Stumble out in the night
From the pouring rain
Made the block, sat and thought
There's more I need
It's always back to you
But I'm good without ya
Yeah I'm good without you
Yeah, yeah, yeah
How many times can I break 'til I shatter?
Over the line, can't define what I'm after
I always turn the car around
Give me a break; let me make my own pattern
All that it takes is some time
But I'm shattered
I always turn the car around."
-Shattered (Turn the Car Around) O.A.R


The happiest place on earth was anything but for Adam Ross.

At eight thirty in the evening, while his wife and children and his parents were out enjoying the nightly parade and fireworks show in the Magic Kingdom, Adam found himself alone and despondent. Sitting on the floor in the master bedroom of his family's tenth floor suite in Disney's All Star Resort. A nearly empty bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand, phone in the other, as he leaned back against the sliding glass door that led out onto the balcony. Oblivious to the laughing and cheerfulness of fellow tourists frolicking in and around the pool ten stories below. An indescribable, horrific ache in his chest and tears flowing free and easy down his cheeks.

What had begun as a family vacation had quickly turned into a personal nightmare. Five days into their vacation and two days before they were scheduled to return to New York City, his wife had announced over breakfast in bed that their marriage just wasn't working anymore. For her, at least. She had said that she wasn't feeling the same way for him as she had when they'd met and married six years before. That she hadn't felt that way in a long time. Since Sebastian had been born. But she had felt she had owed it to her children to stick around and try to make their lives as simple as possible. Even if it meant living with a man she no longer loved.

Adam had been shell shocked. Absolutely speechless as Paisley sat there, with absolutely no remorse or regret on her face as she laid things out as plain as day. He had been blindsided. Just the night before they'd had a romantic, adults only night just twelve hours before. His parents had watched the kids while the young couple had a quaint, candlelight dinner in a small Italian bistro in Disney World proper. Afterwards they strolled the park hand in hand. He'd bought her flowers from a street vendor and then they'd stopped on the small bridge facing Cinderella's castle and watched the fireworks display, their arms wrapped loving around each other. Not once had Paisley appeared or sounded unhappy. There'd be a musical tone to her laugh and her eyes had sparkled and danced. And the words I love you had passed her lips several times as they made love more then once upon their return to the hotel.

Her announcement had rendered Adam speechless. He had been able to do little more then sit and stare at her with his mouth agape and his heart hammering in his chest and the blood thundering in his cranium. Besieged by thoughts of what had gone so wrong so quick and what would happen to the children? The thought of not being under the same roof as his kids shattered his spirit. There was no way in hell he would ever get through the atrocities and nightmares of the job without his family. They were his shining lights. The beacons that saw him through the hardest of days and the darkest of nights. And a life without Octavia and Sebastian was a life that wasn't worth living.

And he'd wondered how in the hell, this normally compassionate and sensitive beauty sitting at the end of the bed could remain so cold and distant while single handily destroying his life. She showed no shred of emotion. In fact, she'd looked over at him and took in his shocked expression and gave a rueful snort and told him to snap out of it and stop acting like a damn baby.

He'd come this-close to physically striking her and knocking that smug, arrogant look off of her face. And Adam Ross was a lover, not a fighter. Always had been. Growing up he'd taken the beats at the hands of his father and never stood up for himself. He'd always turned the other cheek and cowered, let his sister defend him and come to his aid. Then watched helplessly as she was beaten twice as bad as he was simply because she stuck up for him. But hearing the words flowing out of Paisley's mouth and bearing witness to her indifference, nearly pushed him over the edge.

And he would have physically struck her had it not been for Octavia knocking on their bedroom door, and asking daddy in that little voice of hers if he wanted to go down to the swimming pool with her before breakfast. That innocent five year old had saved her father from doing something he would have regretted for the rest of his life. Something he knew, as he thought about it early, that Paisley could have easily used against him in court to keep his children away from him. And he said nothing to his wife as he simply slid out of bed and got dressed and joined his little girl in the next room.

Outwardly, he was a rock solid and loving dad to his children all day. Going on rides with them, treating them to candy and souvenirs, having a blast in the water parks and chasing down Mickey and Minnie Mouse so they could have their pictures taken with them. Yet inside, Adam Ross was a ticking time bomb. He put on a fake smile and offered up a fake laugh, but he was teetering on the edge of a breakdown.

Which was why he'd used the excuse of a head ache to get out of the New Years Eve festivities. He needed some time alone. To sit in a dark room and feel sorry for himself and drink himself into oblivion if he felt like it. Some time to rant and rave and curse the world and the dark cloud that seemed to follow him around all his life.

He needed someone to talk to. Someone who'd been through their fair share up highs and lows in their course of their marriage but who had somehow, even when all seemed lost, hold shit together. Someone that loved their better half with every ounce of their being and who would understand what it was like to still love and adore someone that hurt you so goddamn bad. Who would listen to him without reservation and not judge him or make fun of how he was feeling. Who was a constant pillar of support and occasional wisdom and who'd always, always had Adam's back in a crisis whether it was personal or professional.

He needed that support at the moment. Craved it desperately. Yet at the same time, it was New Years Eve and he no desire to wreck the quiet night at home he knew that his confidant had had in store. He didn't want to bring other people down with his problems.

Sighing heavily, he took a large swig from the bottle of rye and closed his eyes as he leaned the back of his head against the sliding glass door behind him. The ache in his chest was unbearable. The mixture of rage and sadness unshakable.

Opening his eyes, he looked down at the cordless phone clutched tightly in his hand. He was worried that if he didn't make that call, if he didn't reach out, that he wasn't going to make it through the night. Because with the state he was in, Adam Ross was more than capable of doing something completely and utterly foolish.

Mind made up, he downed the last of the JD and tossed the bottle in the direction of the waste basket in the corner. It hit the edge of the pail and tumbled to the floor, spilling out the minute remainder of liquor onto the plush rose carpeting. He dialled the familiar number, and taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, he steeled himself and held the phone to his ear and waited.

There was a soft click as someone picked up on the fourth ring, and he was about to start spilling his guts even before the person had a chance to speak, when he was greeted by a tiny, angelic voice that brought a smile to his tortured lips.


"Hello!" the little voice chirped. "Flack redence!"

"It's residence," he corrected.

"That's what I said Uncle Peanut! Flack redence!"

Adam couldn't contain his laugh. "Where did you learn that Kellan?" he asked.

"Papa Mac taught me that," she replied. "Do you miss me Uncle Peanut?"

"Of course I do. I miss you very, very, very much."

"Is it fun in Disney World?" she asked curiously. "Are you going on lots of rides? Eating lots of candy? Have you seen Mickey Mouse? Have you been in Cinderella's castle?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes," he replied. "And I bought both you and your sister something extra special from the castle."

"You did?" Kellan squealed with excitement. "What is it?"

"Well if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

"No…and I like suprises, Uncle Peanut!"

"Surprises…"

Kellan sighed dramatically. "It's what I said! Suprises."

Adam grinned. "What are you doing up so late, Mighty Mouse?"

"Mommy said we could stay up late so we could watch the ball drop in Times Square," she told him. "And we get to have hot chocolate and popcorn and cookies and lots and lots of goodies."

"Sounds like fun. Are you being a good girl?"

"Of course, Uncle Peanut!"

"Is your dad there, sweet pea?" Adam asked. "I need to talk to him about something."

"Daddy's not here," she told her uncle. "He's gone out."

"Is mommy there?"

"She's with daddy. They're on a date."

"Oh…well does daddy have his cell phone with him?"

"I don't know," the little girl said.

"Well does mommy have her cell phone?" Adam asked.

"I don't know," Kellan answered.

"Do you know anything?" he chuckled.

"I don't know…"

He laughed even harder at that.

"Mommy and daddy are at Uncle Shelly's house," Kellan told him. "On a date. Jasmine is baby sitting us. She's a bad babysitter. She and Michael were playing kissey face on the couch and she knocked pop all over Holly and I got upset and called nine one one looking for daddy and then I got in trouble 'cause daddy said that it wasn't an ergency. But I told daddy it was 'cause Holly was all sticky and gross!"

"And did he…"

"And then I told daddy to come home and arrest Jas for hurting Holly!" Kellan continued "'Cause that's what he does, you know Uncle Peanut. He arrests bad people and puts them in jail and they get old and die there. But Jas didn't get arrested or put in jail. But I still think she's bad for hurting Holly."

"Well I'm sure she didn't mean it," her uncle assured her.

"Yes she did!" Kellan cried. "She was playing kissey face on the couch and daddy already told her before that if she did it again he'd kick her ass!"

"Kellan…" Adam said in a scolding tone.

"Well that's what he said, Uncle Peanut!"

"I know that's what he said, but that's not a word you should be saying."

"What word? Ass? That word Uncle Peanut?"

"That's a bad word, Kellan."

"Not it's not. It's not a swear!"

"Yes, it is."

"No…daddy told mommy it's not a swear. It's a part of the human body. And then mommy called him a knob and told him to put five dollars in the swear jar! And you know what, Uncle Peanut?"

"What?" he asked, biting back his laughter.

"The swear jar is almost full! And it's all daddy's money in it! Daddy says he's poor now."

"He probably is," Adam said.

"Mommy keeps telling him to watch his mouth. But how does he do that, Uncle Peanut? How does daddy watch his mouth? I try to watch my mouth and I can't make my eyes go that far. Does he take his eyes out to watch his mouth? How does he do it?"

"It's just a figure of speech Kellan," her uncle told her.

"A what?" she asked.

"A figure of speech," he said. "Mommy doesn't really mean that he has to watch his mouth. She just means not to swear so much."

"Oh…I get it! 'Cause daddy has a sewer mouth!"

"That's pretty much it," Adam laughed. "Look sweetie sweets, it's getting late so I better say goodbye for now, okay?"

"Oh…okay…" she said, sounding more than a tad disappointed. "Are you coming home soon, Uncle Peanut?"

"Couple more days," he told her.

"Two more sleeps?" Kellan asked.

"Three more," he replied.

"Alright…I guess that's okay…I'm sad…I miss you."

Adam smiled. "I miss you, too. You tell your sister I said hi, okay? And make sure you're both good for Jasmine."

"Alright, Uncle Peanut. I promise we'll be good."

"I'll see you both in a couple of days, Kellan. Have a nice sleep, okay?"

"Okay…wait! Uncle Peanut! I forgot to tell you!"

"What's that sweetie?"

"There's a sign in front of our house. Daddy says it's a for sale sign. 'Cause someone new is going to move in to our house and we're going to live in a different one somewhere far, far away."

Adam frowned. That was the first he'd ever heard of his sister leaving town. "Do you know where this place is?" he asked.

"No. But I know it's really far!"

"What's the name of it?" Adam asked.

"New Jersey. Do you know where it is Uncle Peanut? Is it nice there? Will the kids like me? Will we have a nice house?"

"It's not that far," he assured her. "But why are you moving there?"

"'Cause Papa Mac kicked mommy to the curb. That's what daddy said. I heard him and mommy talking."

Adam squeezed his eyes shut. Unable to comprehend the information being tossed out at him.

"But mommy's got a new job!" Kellan announced. "Working with Auntie Stellie. You know Auntie Stellie right Uncle Peanut?"

"I do," he said. "When does mommy go and work for Auntie Stellie?"

"Next week," Kellan told him. "I think…I don't know for sure. I just know that she is."

"Well I'll have to talk to mommy about that," Adam said. "I'm going to let you go now, okay?"

"Let me go where?" his niece asked.

"I mean I'm hanging up now."

"Oh!" she giggled. "Okay…night night, Uncle Peanut. I love you bunches."

"Night night," he echoed. "I love you bunches and bunches."

"Bye!" Kellan chirped.

Adam heard the dull click as his little niece hung up the phone. He pressed end and sat staring down at the phone in his hand for what seemed like an eternity. So many words were jumbled together in his pounding head. First it was hearing that the love of his life hated his guts and wanted him out of her life. Now it was his niece telling him that her family was moving from the city. And that her mother had been fired from her job and was working in a different state.

Adam sighed heavily and began dialling once again.

The night couldn't possibly get any worse.


The Hawkes' brownstone was festively decorated for the holidays. White Christmas lights surrounded the frames of each window and sparkled around the front door. In the spacious living room, a Christmas tree tastefully decorated with white lights and silver and red ornaments sat in the far corner. It's pine scent filling the room. A red velvet tree skirt with silver trim lay around the base, and on the mantel of the white wood, gas fireplace, four colourful and elaborately embroidered stockings hung from ornate pewter holders.

The food and desserts that Mari had both bought and prepared, were laid out on linen covered card tables set up in both the living and dining area while soft music and the smell of baked goods travelled through the house.

Mari cheerfully greeted her friends at the front door. Ushering them inside and through the breeze way before offering to take their coats for them.

"I am so glad you could both make it out for the night for a change," Mari said, as Flack kissed both of her cheeks in greeting. "When was the last time you two actually got out of the house together?"

"With or without kids?" Flack inquired, helping Sam out of her coat before removing his own and handing both to Mari.

"Without obviously," Mari replied, as she moved to the closet to hang their jackets.

"I don't know," Flack said, laying a hand on the small of his wife's back as they followed Mari into the living room. "I'd say…give or take…nearly five years?"

Mari stopped walking and turned and stared at him.

"No word of a lie," Flack told her. "We haven't been on a date, like a real date, since the girls were about five months old."

Mari's eyes widened.

Flack chuckled. "It's no joke. Why would I make up something that sad and pathetic? We work a lot. We barely see each other some times from one day to the next never mind find time for a romantic night out."

"Most nights we don't even have our bed to ourselves," Sam added.

"For longer than fifteen minutes anyway," Flack said. "And yes, I know that makes me sound bad. A fifteen minute man. But what are you suppose to do under the circumstances?"

"Don't feel bad, Don," Mari laughed. "I have friends whose husbands unfortunately go fourteen minutes less than that on a great night."

"Now that is just a waste of time," Sam declared. "Takes longer to get undressed."

"What are you talking about?" her husband asked. "Takes me ten and a half seconds to get you naked."

"Well we weren't talking about you," Sam replied. "We all know you're in a league of your own, honey."

He grinned and ran a hand over her hair and pressed a kiss to her temple. "You know, you're lucky I love you."

"I count my blessings every day, Donald," she said.

Mari laughed at their playfulness. "The other guests should be arriving soon," she told them. "My mom and her boyfriend, Rick Santucci and some new girl he's dating. Marty Pino is coming with that new wife be brought back from San Fran with him. And there's some girls I worked at the hospital wife and a couple of friends of Sheldon's. Not a major crowd or anything. Things were under control when you guys left?"

"The girls were bouncing off the walls from the junk food they ate today at the Disney on Ice thing. Jasmine should have her hands full," Flack responded. "As long as that little shit boyfriend of hers doesn't come around my house, it's all good."

"We talked to her about that," Mari sighed. "She promises it won't happen again. And for her sake, it better now."

"Wait until I get a hold of Michael Taylor," Flack said. "Him and his 'my dad was a Marine so that makes me all big and bad'. I swear to you, I will knock that kid into the middle of next week. Last time me and him had it out, the little bastard actually told me that his dad would have my ass if I even looked at him the wrong way. Mac and Kelli coming tonight?"

"Mac elected to work," Mari told him.

Flack snorted. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"Kelli's entertaining his mother for the evening," Mari said. "She wanted to come, but things are a little…I don't know."

"Fucked up?" Flack offered. "She's raging pissed that he was such as ass when he fired Sam."

"And she should be," Mari declared. "You would have thought that he'd be a little more gentle about it."

"You would think. But I've come to expect cold from him. Love Mac, but sometimes he is damn difficult to take."

Sam nodded in agreement. "It's done now, though. No sense dwelling on it. He did what he had to do and we're doing what we have to do."

Mari sighed. "Can't say I'm thrilled with either of you at the moment. But…do you guys want something to drink? Sam, I've got some red wine chilled just for you. I'm sure you can have a couple of glasses at least."

"Sounds good," Sam said. "I'm dying for some alcohol to be honest."

"Don?" Mari asked. "I've got JD, white and red wine, tequila, Guinness…"

"JD and coke is fine, thanks," he replied.

"So a glass of wine and a triple JD and Coke coming up," Mari said, and headed for the kitchen.

"A double!" Flack corrected her.

"Yeah, right," she laughed, and disappeared from view.

"I'm going to go and see if she needs a hand with anything," Sam said, laying her hand on her husband's forearm.

"We just get here and you bail on me?"

"It's only for a few minutes," Sam assured him. "You're a big boy, Don. Make nice with Sheldon, okay?"

"What are we suppose to talk about?" he asked, as his wife walked away.

"I don't know. The weather, work, sports…"

Flack rolled his eyes.

"The difference between RNA and DNA," she suggested with a grin.

"You're a goddamn smart ass," he informed her.


"So…" Hawkes said, as he and Flack, sitting across from one another on the love seat and sofa in the living room, sipped their drinks.

"So…" Flack echoed, swirling the ice around in his glass.

"How about them Rangers?" Hawkes asked.

The homicide detective grinned. "You don't have to talk sports with me, Doc. It's okay. I know it's kind of awkward when we get together outside of work. Neither of us know what to talk about."

Hawkes sighed and nodded. "I'm doing this for Mari. She wants us to be friends. It's a huge deal for her. And I told her that we are friends. We're just not the kind of friends that hit the bars together and go to hockey and basketball games and sit around watching football and drinking beer and eating pizza and wings. It's not like we have a problem with each other."

"We're just not out of work buddies," Flack concluded. "We're just too different in our personal lives. Nothing wrong with that, I don't think. I know it means a lot to Sammie too. And no offence, but I'm here because of her. Because she wants things to be perfect."

"Nothing is perfect," Hawkes said.

"That's what I keep telling her," Flack sipped her drink. "But I figure whatever little piece of happiness she can get is a good thing, right? Considering how the past year has been for us."

Hawkes nodded. "How has she been feeling?" he asked "How's the fibromyalgia been?"

"Okay," Flack said. "She's on that new-ish drug. Lyrica? She's been taking that for a couple of weeks now and she says she can notice the difference. Not as much stiffness and aches. And not as many side effects as with the other drugs she was popping. Before she was getting headaches and nausea and some dizziness. She says that the new drug hasn't affected her that way."

"Have you noticed any difference?" Hawkes asked.

"I've noticed she's not bitchy and moody. Her temperament is at a pretty even keel. And she seems less on edge and less irritable. Happier. Much, much happier."

"And intimacy wise?"

Flack laughed. "I'm not talking about that kind of thing with you, Doc."

"We're friends, right? Friends talk about stuff like this. And I happen to be a doctor and I've written Sam many a script myself."

"It's just…I don't talk about that kind of thing," Flack told him. "Not with anyone."

"Consider this is a conversation between a concerned husband and a physician," Hawkes said.

The detective sighed and took a sip of his drink. "In all honesty? Things are awesome. Intimacy wise things are pretty damn incredible. She's not complaining half way through about being in pain and wanting things over and done with. She's initiating things. Showing genuine interest. Enjoying it. Immensely."

"And…"

"And what? It's an amazing change from what she used to be like on those other meds. Two months ago, when she was having some down time, I couldn't get within five feet of her. Now she's affectionate and loving and I can't get enough of it."

"But…"

"But…" Flack sighed. "But I can't help but think how it's only short term and wonder how long it's going to last."

Hawkes nodded in understanding.

"Sam hadn't been Sam in a long time," Flack said quietly. "And lately she's back to being Sam again. And I missed that Sam, you know?"

Hawkes nodded again.

"Not that I don't love her all the time," Flack added quickly. "Just when she's the other Sam, things get really, really tough between us and it gets tiring and there's times I feel like I can't take it anymore. And I know that makes me sound like a real selfish bastard."

"Makes you sound human," the other man said. "There's been a lot to deal with, Flack. It's hard when the person you love the most is ill and you want to help them but can't. You want so badly to make the pain go away, to ease their suffering and you're completely helpless. There's nothing you can do. It's a tough road to hoe. I don't envy you that's for sure."

"Pity is the last thing I want from anyone," Flack told him, almost defensively.

"It's not pity. Or sympathy. I won't even sit here and tell you that I understand what you're going through. But I will sit here and tell you that you're doing a hell of a job with all of this. You take care of your wife and your kids, handle things when Sam gets ill. A lesser man would simply walk away."

"I love her to much to just walk away," Flack said. "She's my wife. The mother of my kids. I wouldn't just leave her to deal with all of that on her own."

"You're a strong person, Flack," Hawkes said. "But even the strongest people have the right to be weak sometimes."

The detective snorted.

"Weakness is not something to be ashamed about," the other man said.

"I don't do weak," Flack told him. "It's just not me. Blame my father for that, I guess."

"Well you are a stubborn bastard," Hawkes told him. "You always have been. I mean, I distinctly remember telling you after the bombing when you were ready to come back, to take another month. But you just wouldn't hear a damn thing about it and insisted that you were ready and you were going to do things your own way."

Flack grinned.

"You've come a hell of a long way," Hawkes said. "And I know there's been some shitty times in your life and you've made some shitty ass choices through the years, but you're an amazing family man and you should be proud of your wife and your marriage and your kids."

"I am," Flack said. "Sam and the girls are my everything. They're my reasons for getting up every morning. Putting up with the bullshit of the job. I wouldn't do it if it wasn't for them, trust me."

"Our families are our entire lives," Hawkes agreed. "I think we've all come a long way. Especially in the last five or six years."

Flack gave a small laugh and sipped his drink. "You can't say that again. Sometimes I sit back and I think about what I was like ten years ago and I can't believe how different my life is now. I'm a husband and a father. Surreal. Especially when I always swore I'd never be either."

"Life is full of surprises," Hawkes said. "I never thought I'd ever met someone and love them as much as I do. Have a family of my own. And now I can't seem to remember my life without Mari and Jasmine and Elijah."

"I don't think I even existed before Sam," Flack laughed. "Either that or the old me seized to exist and a new me took it's place."

"We're lucky to have the women we have, in our lives," Hawkes said.

Flack nodded. "Still find it hard to believe she wanted anything to do with a shmuck like me," he declared, winking at his wife as she entered the room, a glass of wine in one hand, gingerbread cookie in the other.

"Shmuck," she rolled her eyes. "You bringing the Yiddish to the party or what?" she asked, as she sat down beside him on the couch. "What were you two talking about? Sports?"

"Women," Hawkes told her. "Two in specific."

"Lucky girls," she said and took a bite out of the gingerbread man's left arm. "I was just telling Mari, that if we move into the new place and have plumbing problems, I'm going to call you Sheldon."

He arched an eyebrow.

"Considering how handy you were at pulling apart that public toilet back in the day," Sam told him.

"You're just such a smart ass," Hawkes informed her.

"I don't think I will ever forget that case," Flack declared. "Woman drowns in an automated, public toilet."

"I'll never forget what you said to Mac and I when we showed up," Sam said. "Or one of the things you said. It cracked me up at the time. Of course I had to hide my amusement from Mac because I swear he frowns upon laughing or smiling on the job."

"What did I say?" Flack asked, laying his arm around her shoulders. "Something incredibly intelligent and charmingly witty I'm sure."

"You don't remember?" she asked, sipping her wine.

He shook his head.

"You said, 'Let's put it this way. If a porta-potty and a dishwasher were to ever mix it up, this thing would be it's offspring.'"

Hawkes laughed.

"I can't believe you don't remember that," Sam said to her husband.

"I don't have the never ending memory chip that you do," Flack informed her. "You remember everything. You probably even remember what I was wearing that day."

"I do actually," she said and took a bite out of her cookie. "But I mostly remember certain things you've said during cases that just made me laugh. My personal favourite was that case with that Mitchell Bentley the third and you stood there and in all seriousness told Mac and I 'they should have stopped at two'."

"I've had better lines then that," Flack argued.

"That made me want to laugh like hell," she said. "And you're entire face the whole time we were in talking to Laughing Larry. How about I shtick you in lock up. Classic."

"She remembers everything," Flack told Hawkes. "Everything."

"I do," Sam declared. "Or maybe I don't. I forgot to tell Hawkes when I came out here that Mari wanted to see him in the kitchen."

"Okay. So you can remember things that happened ten years ago but not ten minutes ago," Flack concluded.

She directed a playful elbow to his stomach.

He pulled her into him and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "What'cha got there?" he asked her, as Hawkes headed for the kitchen.

"Mari made gingerbread men," Sam replied. "I've named him Chuck."

"You've named your cookie?"

Sam nodded. "I will have you know that Chuck is the perfect man," she said.

"What makes him perfect?" Flack asked.

"Well, he's quiet, unassuming. Doesn't leave the toilet seat up or his socks and underwear on the floor. And if he gets mouthy with me, guess what?"

"I am afraid to ask," her husband sighed.

"He gets lippy, I can bite his head off!" she cried, and proceeded to chomp the gingerbread man's head clear off.

"You know," Flack said, a grimace on his face. "That actually physically hurt me."

"I'd never bit yours off," Sam assured him. "Because if I did that, I'd have no use for you."

He frowned. "Nice to know at least one part of me is appreciated," he said.

"The most important part," she teased, her eyes sparkling playfully.

He kissed her softly. Then pulled away, a frown on his face as he felt his cell phone vibrate against him.

"Oh please tell me that isn't Jasmine," Sam said, as he slipped the phone from it's carrier. "Please tell me that the girls haven't plugged the downstairs toilet again and it's flooding our basement."

"It's a long distance number," Flack said, studying the call display. "Maybe Danny and Lindsay?"

"Maybe. Or your parents. They were going to Buffalo this weekend to see your uncle."

He nodded and flipped the phone open and pressed talk. "Yeah…Flack…" he said in way of greeting.

"Don?"

"Adam?" he asked, surprised that his brother in law would be calling him on New Years Eve while on vacation. And even more surprised at the sound of the younger man's voice. It sounded as if Adam was crying. And the only reason Adam would be crying was if there was something wrong with his wife or kids. "What's up, buddy?" he asked.

"I needed someone to talk to," his brother in law replied.

"Your sister's right here. Just…"

"No!" Adam cried. "Not Sam! I don't want to talk to Sam! If I wanted to talk to Sam I would have called her phone. It's you. I want to talk to you."

"Alright…" Flack said, alarmed by the emotional state Adam appeared to be in. "What's going on?"

"Is Sam there?" he asked.

"You just said that…"

"I know what I said! Is she there?"

"She's sitting right beside me. Why…?"

"I don't want her to hear what I'm talking about. Can you tell her you need to talk to me in private? I don't want her to know what I'm about to tell you. Not until I'm ready to tell her myself. Can you do that?"

"Yeah…hang on a second…" Flack put the call on hold. "Your brother wants to talk to me," he told his wife.

"In private?" she asked, slightly concerned as he stood up from the couch.

"Guess it's guy talk," Flack replied. "I'm going to go out and have a smoke anyway. I'll be in in a few. Okay?"

She nodded and accepted a kiss. "Is it bad?"she asked.

"Naw. He just wants to talk to another guy about stuff. No big deal. I won't be long."

"Okay…" she said, scepticism in her voice and eyes as she watched her husband, drink in hand, walk through the living room and disappear into the front foyer. She heard him open and close the front closet, and thenthe door to the breezeway open and shut.

What is that all about? Sam thought, trying not to let her imagination run away from her.


Flack sat his drink on the small, snow covered front porch and pulled a pack of cigarettes and a light from his coat pocket. He shook out a smoke, lit it and returned the pack to his jacket before pressing the hold button on his cell phone.

"Adam?" he asked.

"I'm still here," the pained voice answered.

"What's up, buddy?" Flack inquired. "And don't say nothing. 'Cause one, you wouldn't be calling and wanting to talk to me and not your sister if it wasn't something huge. And two, you couldn't sound the way you do. So don't bullshit me here."

"I'm sorry for calling you, Don," his brother in law said. "I just really needed to talk to someone. I didn't want to ruin your New Years Eve or…"

"You're not ruining anything," Flack assured him. "Important thing right now is getting to the bottom of whatever the hell is eating you. So? What's going on?"

"It's Paisley," he said.

"Something happened to her? She get into an accident? Take sick or something?"

"She's leaving me," Adam told his brother in law, near tears once again. "She told me this morning. "

Flack didn't respond. Too shocked by the announcement to formulate a thought in his brain.

"Don?" Adam asked.

"I'm here," he replied. "I would have sworn you just said that Paisley is leaving you."

"That is what I said," Adam told him. "She is leaving me. She told me this morning."

"What in the hell is going on?" Flack asked. "There never seemed to be any trouble in paradise for the two of you?"

"There wasn't!" Adam cried. "Everything was going great! Awesome marriage, amazing kids, the whole nine."

"So…"

"I don't know what happened! She just sat down on the bed this morning and told me that she wanted out. That she didn't love me anymore and hadn't loved me in a long time."

"Adam…I don't know…"

"She told me that she'd stuck with me because she felt she owed it to the kids to make it work," he tearfully continued. "And that she couldn't stand living a lie anymore!"

Flack sighed.

"And she wasn't even upset! She didn't even feel bad about what she was saying!" Adam sobbed noisily. "She didn't even care that she was destroying me! She told me to suck it up and stop acting like a baby!"

"I know this is going to make me sound like a prick," Flack said. "But if you're sister ever said that to me, I'd fucking smack her silly. Not that I'm condoning or saying I beat my wife or anything like that."

"No…no I understand what you mean. It's exactly how I felt. Like I wanted to kick the shit out of her."

"That's a scary goddamn feeling," Flack said. "Trust me, I know. So what did you do?"

"Sucked it up and went on with the day. Put on a brave, happy front for the kids."

"Paisley say anything else to you?"

"Nothing. She's barely looked at me let alone talk to me."

"And where is she now?" Flack asked.

"Out with my parents and the kids. I'm in the room."

"Doing what?"

"Drinking myself into oblivion."

"Been there, done that," Flack sighed. "Many a time in the past eight plus years. Fucking women just drive us mental."

"I don't know if I can take this," Adam cried. "This pain inside! I don't know if I can take this Don! It hurts so fucking bad!"

"I know it does, buddy," Flack tried to remain as calm and collected as possible. "I know it does. It fucking sucks to hear shit like that. I speak from experience. Think it felt good to hear shit like that from your sister? And more then once? It was like a kick in the fucking gut to hear it. But you know what? For the most part I deserved it. I deserved it and I learned from it. And once your sister calmed down and we sat and talked about shit, it was all good again. And maybe tomorrow, when Paisley gets her head out of her ass, you'll find that's what happens in your situation too."

""No…" Adam said. "That's not going to happen. It's over. It's just over."

"You don't know that," Flack told him. "You don't…"

"I do!" Adam yelled. "I do know that! It's over! What am I going to do, Don? What the hell am I going to do?"

"First, you're going to calm the hell down," Flack told him. "Second you're going to sober the fuck up and pack your shit and get on the next plane back to New York City."

"I can't do that! What about the kids?"

"Your parents are there. Your mom and step dad are there. Leave them a goddamn note that you had to come back. Mac needed you or some shit."

Adam sniffled. "I can do that."

"Second thing you're going to do, is when you get back into town, you're going straight to your place and packing all your shit up and then you're calling me and I'm going to pick you up and bring you to my place. And you can stay with me and your sister for as long as you need to."

"You sure about that? I wouldn't want to impose or anything."

"You're not imposing. You're family. And Sam and I sure as hell wouldn't let you go through this shit alone. You know that right?"

"I do," Adam said with a heavy sigh. "But what about the kids, Don? Paisley could…"

"Keep them from you? Fuck her. She can't do that. This is my speaking from experience here. She can't keep your kids from you. She can threaten but she can't do it. She does you take her to fucking court. Plain and simple. You're their biological father and by law she can't fuck you around like that. I've been through this Adam. I know how this shit works, buddy."

"I know. But she'll try to…"

"Let her try. Just let her. You're a great dad and she has nothing she can possibly use against her. Any lawyer will tell you that. In fact, first thing we're going to do on the second, is get you into the lawyer that helped me out. Helped straighten shit out for me. He owes me a big time favour so getting you in with someone like him won't be an issue."

"You'd do that for me?" Adam asked, sounding surprised.

"You're my brother, Adam. Why wouldn't I?"

The younger man sniffled noisily. "I just…I don't know if I can take this…living without her. Or my kids."

"You're talking crazy shit, Adam. Trust me, no woman in the world, even as much as I love your sister? No woman in the world is worth hurting yourself over. 'Cause you do something to yourself and then you're kids have no father. And they don't deserve to be hurt like that. They don't deserve to lose their dad. You don't want to do that to your kids, do you?"

"How'd you do it?" Adam asked. "How'd you survive without Kellan and Kallison?"

"Well, I didn't let Sam fuck me around and bully me about shit," he replied. "She wanted to leave, that was her prerogative. But she wasn't taking my kids and keeping them from me because she had a major ax to grind against me. What happened was between me and her and he girls didn't need to be punished because we couldn't keep our shit together. She walked out with those kids but she wasn't stopping me from being a part of their lives. I've never been a fucking doormat and she knew it. She tried, but she realized I wasn't screwing around right quick. You need to be tougher, Adam. Not let Paisley jerk you around."

"But I'm not you, Don," Adam argued. "I'm not strong like you are."

"Yes, you are, Adam. All your life you let other people protect you so you wouldn't have to take care of yourself. But you know what? You're a big boy now and you need to stand up and take control. I know you can do it."

The other man sighed.

"I'll be by you every step of the way," Flack assured him. "Whatever you need, I'll be there. And so will your sister."

"But you guys worked it out," Adam said. "You two loved each other no matter what. And it was that love that brought the two of you back together. And that love is even stronger now and I see that. Everyone sees that. And Paisley and I don't have that. We never have and we never will."

Flack sighed. "Listen to me…love is different for everyone. Just 'cause you and Paisley don't have what me and Sam has, doesn't mean it's anything less. Understand? We're Sam and Don and you're Adam and Paisley. Plain and simple."

"I guess you're right…" Adam said.

"Look, you did the right thing calling me. So listen to my advice. Haul ass to the airport and get back here. A'right?"

"Alright," Adam agreed.

"You call me as soon as you find out what time your flight is at and what airport you're coming into and at what time. I'll be there to get you. Then we'll go back to your place, get your shit and you head home with me. Kapish?"

"Kapish. Do you mind not telling my sister? I'd rather tell her."

"My lips are sealed. I'll tell her you're coming home for work purposes. There's things we need to talk to you about, too."

"Sam getting fired and you guys moving to New Jersey? I already know. Kellan let it slip by mistake."

"Damn kids," Flack sighed. "We wanted to tell you and…"

"She's five. She doesn't know," Adam said. "It's all good. I'm going to go and get my shit together."

"I'll be waiting for your call."

"Okay…thanks, Don. For everything."

"Don't mention it. That's what family, real family, is all about. Take care of yourself and I'll see you in bit."

"In a little while," Adam said. "And hey, for what it's worth…Happy New Year."

"I certainly hope it will be," Flack sighed, and disconnected the call. Sighing heavily, he took a long drag of his smoke and glanced down at his watch.

Less than three hours until the New Year.

If the end of 2016 was any indication, 2017 was going to suck.

Huge.


Thanks to everyone that is reading and reviewing! I appreciate each and every one of you! Even all the lurkers! But please, please R and R folks! It's greatly appreciated!

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