Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY.

Series: None.

Spoilers: Run Silent, Run Deep; vague mentions of DOA for a Day.

Okay, so this didn't take very long, but this was one of the chapters I had already written in my head. So here's hoping I did it justice:

Chapter Twenty Three – Run Silent, Run Deep

The sound of a phone ringing in the middle of the night was familiar to Jess, but that didn't make it any more welcome.

As she slowly blinked sleep away, Don groaned beneath her. "That yours or mine?"

Jess lifted her head and peered at the nightstand. "Mine." Stifling a yawn, she reached over to grab it.

"Oh good." Don muttered. "That means I can go back to sleep."

Jess scowled and flicked the light on. "Nuh-uh. If I have to be awake, so do you."

"Jess …" Don groaned.

"I'll make it up to you." Jess promised, dropping a kiss on his mouth before flipping her phone open. "Angell."

"Jess …?"

Lindsay's tear-filled voice sent a tremor of déjà vu through her and she blinked twice. "Linds, you're not in Montana, are you?"

"What?" Lindsay asked, apparently thrown by the question. "No, I'm in New York. Why would I be in Montana?"

"Never mind." Jess said quickly, settling back into Don's arms. "What's wrong?"

"It's Danny."

Jess sat up again abruptly. "What happened to Danny?" Her mind raced as she stared at Don wide-eyed, their conversation from a few weeks ago floating into her mind.

"Nothing, but he's in big trouble."

Jess groaned. "They've found him, haven't they? The body with Danny's DNA nearby."

"You knew?" Lindsay almost shrieked down the phone.

Jess winced. "Yes, I knew. I warned them all when I first got here, I'm sure I did." She glanced at Don, who was nodding at her. "Look, are you with him?"

There was a pause. "Yes." Lindsay answered, almost reluctantly. "Aiden and I took him home, he's a little shaken."

"Good, stay with him." Jess told her, a half-formed plan floating into her head. "I'll sort this out."

"Alright." Lindsay agreed. "Sorry if I woke you."

"It's fine." Jess lied, stifling another yawn. "I'll see you tomorrow." She hung up.

"You said Louie sorted it last July." Don reminded her.

"I did." Jess agreed, dropping her phone back on the nightstand. "What I didn't mention was that he got beaten into a coma for his troubles and his family pulled the plug three months later."

Don swore under his breath. "But if we need Louie to sort it …"

"We do." Jess sighed. "He wore a wire and got a confession."

"How do we stop that from happening?" Don asked.

Jess shrugged. "I'm going to warn him."

"And how do you know that'll work?" Don prompted.

Jess smiled weakly. "I don't."

Jess arrived at the bar just as Mac left, which was lucky because it helped her figure out who Danny's brother actually was.

Louie Messer was sat astride his motorbike, frowning at his hands, looking, for a second, strikingly like his brother, although the actual resemblance was only slight.

"Louie Messer?" She asked, approaching him. "My name's Detective Angell."

"I know about Danny." He said quietly, but not rudely. "You don't need to tell me."

"I'm not here to tell you about that." Jess told him. "I'm here to ask you to stick around for a bit longer, because I've got a long story."

"What's in it for me?" Louie asked.

"Well, we get to figure out a way to help your brother." Jess checked her watch. "And I'm off shift, so I'll buy you a drink."

Louie's mouth twitched in a smirk. "Alright." He led her back into the bar and she signalled the bartender as they slipped into a booth. "What's up, Detective?"

Jess pushed her jacket down over her badge, for once not wanting to draw attention to it or her sidearm, which was currently in her bag. "I know what happened the night that kid died. I know that you and Danny were going to Atlantic City when you ran into some of the other Tanglewood Boys. I know that you realised that kid was as good as dead and that you pushed Danny until he left so he wouldn't get involved. I'll admit I don't know who pulled the trigger, but I do know that you know and that you're about to do something incredibly stupid."

Louie tipped his bottle to her in a salute. "You're good, I'll give you that. But why should I listen to you? And how do you know all that?"

Jess leaned in. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah." Louie murmured. "Why?"

"When I joined NYPD last July it was for the second time." Jess said quietly. "I was shot in 2009 – bear with me, the story gets better – and woke up in 2005." She sat back. "Now you can choose whether or not to believe me. But if you don't change your plan, it'll be the last thing you ever do."

"That a threat?" Louie asked mildly.

"No, a warning." Jess corrected darkly.

Louie examined his beer bottle. "Let me ask you something. If I don't do this, will you be able to prove that Danny wasn't involved?"

Jess sighed. "No. No, I think what you're planning is the best option, but …"

"There can't be a police presence." Louie warned.

Jess rolled her eyes. "Please. You really think I'm stupid enough to suggest that? I wasn't born yesterday. No, I've got another idea. I just need to know whether it'll work …"

The next evening, Louie Messer slowly walked away from Sonny Sassone and his thugs. His heart was thudding against the wire taped to his chest, but he couldn't speed up or he'd know something was wrong.

"Hey Louie!" Sonny called suddenly. "How do we know you won't go to the cops?"

Louie turned around with a smirk. "Sonny, I got better things to do with my time than sit in a metal box and hang myself. First, no one'd believe me over you. Second, Danny'll get himself outta this mess without any help from me, it runs in the family. Third," he jerked his head towards the warehouse door, "I gotta girl waitin' on me and I ain't stupid enough to keep her waitin' any longer." He turned away again, this time knowing Sonny had followed.

Outside, Jess was leaning against his bike, casually checking her make-up in a hand mirror. It was heavier than usual and she was wearing a very tight, very low cut, very short dress. She couldn't help grimacing at her reflection, but she was undercover.

Last time I was wearing a dress this short though, Don was nearby, armed and alert.

This time, however, she was alone. The skirt of her dress flared slightly, which had allowed her to strap a gun onto her thigh so it wasn't noticeable, but if something kicked off, they only had surprise on their side.

Louie emerged from the warehouse, and she slipped the mirror away, pasting a smile on her face. When he reached her, she could see his hands shaking slightly and she kissed his cheek. "Got it?"

"Got it." He murmured, mounting the bike. "Ready?"

Jess climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and taking the opportunity to glance over at the men outside the warehouse. They were eyeing her like a piece of meat and had clearly decided that no man in his right mind would choose in interrogation room over her. "Ready."

Louie kicked down on the starting pad and the bike roared into life, allowing them to take off into the night.

"What are the chances of them following us?" Jess asked over the noise of the engine.

"High." Louie admitted. "So we can't head straight to the precinct."

"I got a better idea." Jess told him. "Follow my lead." Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a black SUV driving behind them, and quickly mapped the route in her head. Giving him directions, she took him into Manhattan, through several backstreets, and down short-cuts until they lost the SUV in traffic.

"Alright, take a left and slow down." Jess told him, rummaging in her bag. She pulled out her ID and leaned forwards. "Right, there's a post coming up with a scanner on it; I need to get close enough to scan this."

Louie pulled the bike alongside it and she leaned over. The scanner gave a beep and the barrier to the crime lab parking structure lifted, permitting them entry.

Only once they were safely inside, encased in darkness, did she allow herself a sigh of relief. "Thank God."

"I gotta hand it to you, Detective." Louie commented as he killed the engine. "That was a good plan."

"You sound surprised." Jess commented, climbing off the bike. "Now I just need to get outta this damn dress."

"Need a hand with that?" Louie smirked.

Jess laughed. "Nice try. Got a boyfriend." She led him to the elevator. "Well, I guess it's time for the moment of truth." As the doors closed, she scanned her ID again and looked over at him. "You know you'll probably have to testify. And there's a chance that …"

"I know." Louie cut her off. "I shoulda paid for this a long time ago, Detective. I know what I'm doing."

"Alright." Jess said quietly. "Just so as you know."

Outside Mac's office, Aiden and Lindsay were pleading Danny's case, while Don stood behind them, a supportive hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"Of course I don't believe Danny had anything to do with it." Mac sighed. "But our job is to listen to the evidence, not our guts."

"But the evidence isn't right, Mac." Aiden insisted. "We're interpreting it wrongly, you know that."

"It'll be alright, Mess." Don murmured. "Jess'll come through. She has to."

"There's no evidence to say that Danny had anything to do with this kid's murder." Lindsay added. "That cigarette butt places him at the scene, but there's no evidence that he had anything …"

"And there's no evidence to say that he didn't." Mac countered.

"Yeah there is." Louie disagreed quietly.

Five faces turned towards them and five jaws dropped.

Jess couldn't help smirking. "Told you I'd sort it." She said, slipping past them. "Don't say a word." She warned, when Don opened his mouth. "I need to change."

Don closed his mouth again. "Okay, you all saw that, right?" He gave Louie a look understood by men across the world. It simply said: Explain quickly or else.

"I found Sonny." Louie pulled a tape machine out from under his shirt. "And I got a confession. Detective Angell explained that the first time they didn't believe that I wouldn't go to the cops and … well, it got messy apparently." He focused on Danny. "I'm sorry, kid. I thought I was protecting you, pushing you away, but … I guess I wasn't, huh?"

Don squeezed Danny's shoulder and released him, heading off in search of Jess. He found her in the locker room, back in jeans and t-shirt, make-up scrubbed off and hair pulled into a messy ponytail.

Slipping his arms around her waist, he rested his chin atop her head. "You're so beautiful."

Jess gave him an incredulous look in the mirror. "You're kidding, right? I'll admit I looked ridiculous earlier, but I look a mess now."

"You didn't look ridiculous." Don disagreed. "Out of character, yes, but you looked pretty damn hot dressed up like that."

Jess raised an eyebrow.

"Not that you don't always look amazing." Don backtracked. "I'm just saying that … most women wouldn't have made that look as classy as you did."

"Wasn't really the look I was going for, Don." Jess chuckled. "But nice save."

Don sighed. "All I mean is that … you look stunning dressed up, Jess, of course you do. Most women do, that's the point. But you … you don't need all the make up and the tight clothes and the gimmicks, because you're the most beautiful woman in the world without it."

Jess blushed lightly. "You've got a hell of a way with words, Don." She turned to face him, leaning against the wall. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Don trailed a hand down her face. "What was the plan anyway?"

Jess shrugged. "I just figured that maybe if Tanglewood thought he was gonna get lucky, they'd be less inclined to believe he'd betray them and less likely to kick the shit out of him."

"Good idea." Don complimented. "You ever done any undercover ops before?"

Jess chuckled. "Yeah, but you were always watching my back. I won't deny I was a little nervous."

"Well, next time you go under, make sure I'm there, alright?" Don kissed her forehead. "I know you can take care of yourself, but it's my job to watch your back."

"They'd have known something was wrong." Jess pointed out. "Only reason I went with a dress and not a mini-skirt was so I could hide a gun on me."

"You mean you were packin' earlier?" Don asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe 'pretty damn hot' was an understatement."

"Men." Jess rolled her eyes. "Are you trying to drop hints?"

Don pulled a face. "How come you never dress up like that for me?"

"Because I actually like you." Jess answered. "Dressing like that … I don't like it. It makes me feel … I dunno … cheap, I guess, even if I do look 'pretty damn hot'. You deserve better than that." She smirked. "Tell you what, how about you take me home and we'll think of something else. I still need to make last night up to you."

"So you do." Don kissed her softly, managing to keep an appropriate amount of distance between them, seeing as they were still at work. "You got any ideas?"

"You pick." Jess suggested. "Anything you want."

"Anything?" Don asked in a low voice. "You're sure?"

"Oh yeah." Jess smiled seductively, tugging on his tie. "You're the one who's getting lucky tonight. And something tells me the dress won't be required …"

AN: Ding dong, the psycho's dead! Seen more conspiracy theories this morning that I cared to, but who cares? They finally got the son-of-a-bitch. Of course it won't solve everything, but it's a start and a damn big one. Hopefully now all those killed in the 9/11 and 7/7 bombings can rest in peace, now that justice has been served.

Anyway, you know the drill by now XD so review please!