Bmangaka - It's alright, I remember my GCSE's and life stopped for a month! I hope they're all going alright for you!

Trizzy - I have a bit of a 'present' for you in this chapter. He just worries, but I don't think he was that bad, actually. Oh dear - maybe I'm mellowing! They need a new album out. I'm actually listening to Minutes to Midnight at the mo. Undergrad - now that brings back some very weird MTV memories!

sparkyCSI - I know what you mean. Gary Sinise is Mac - not evil kidnapper guy. It's just wrong. And I've started to appreciate Mac again. It's taken three series to get the love back, but it's back!

Vanessa.J - You focus on your exams - they'll soon be over and then you'll be writing non-stop! I didn't like it at first - I had Mac issues for the longest time, but I've really enjoyed these chapters - they just flowed!

meadow567 - she will. Part of the reason she doesn't is my fault, because I forget what I write when I disappear forever and then I'm like, 'oh yeah...'! I suck sometimes!

ambercsiny - thanks hun! I'm sending you that chapter now, btw!

As always, a big thanks to my awesome beta, sparky.

Still got Hostage spoliers. No, wait, we're on Veritas now - 5x01!

What The Eyes Can't See

Chapter 215: And you think you know what life's about

As soon as Mac left the bank, everything moved in a blur. SWAT moved in, ordering everyone to the ground – to which nobody argued.

With her arms above her head, Taylor didn't move until she heard Flack's frantic calls. 'I'm here,' she called softly as she sat upright. She barely had time to process which direction he had come from before his arms were wrapped around her so tightly she could only just breathe. But she didn't complain – she held him just as tightly.

'Are you alright?' he asked her, pulling back to examine her.

Taylor nodded. 'I'm fine,' she reassured him. 'I'm really fine.'

'Oh God,' he breathed, pulling her back against his chest.

Taylor pushed him away. 'I knew it was your birthday,' she blurted out.

'What?'

'This morning,' she explained. 'I knew it was your birthday. I just wanted to surprise you.'

Flack softly shook his head. 'Tay, that's not important.'

'No, it is,' she pushed. 'If something would have happened to me-'

'It didn't,' Flack said, the relief still there in his voice.

'Taylor?'

Taylor looked up over Flack's shoulder and found Stella staring down at her. 'Hi Stell.'

'Taylor, I'm sorry, but you need to tell us what you know.'

'Stella, she needs to get to a hospital,' Flack told the CSI firmly.

'Flack, I'm sorry, but you know how hostage situations work. Even if it is Mac, we still need to know,' Stella responded.

Taylor rested her hand on Flack's chest. 'Don, I'm fine. I promise. Let me help.'

'Taylor, what happened?' Stella asked.

Taylor quickly recounted what she could remember. 'Mac took all the bullets out of the gun,' she finished a few minutes later. 'Joe, or Douglas, or whatever his name is, isn't armed.'

'That's good to know,' Stella sighed. 'Do you know where they went?'

Taylor nodded. 'To Joe's home. To save his family.'

'We need to get over there,' Stella told Flack.

Taylor shook her head. 'Stella, you're seven months pregnant. You should be keeping that baby safe.'

Stella looked like she was going to snap something, but Flack beat her to it. 'Stell, she has a point. The only reason I let you stay outside is because of your friendship with Mac. You should be back in the lab where we know you're safe.'

'I'm pregnant, not an invalid,' Stella snapped. 'I am capable of doing my job and neither of you are my superior officer.'

'No, but the stress isn't going to be good for the baby,' Hawkes interrupted. 'And you have to listen to me because I'm a doctor.'

Taylor looked up at the doctor who had appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and back to Stella.

'Fine,' Stella grumbled. 'Get Danny and get over to Joe's house. Taylor, you're coming with me.'

Taylor nodded and allowed Flack to help her to her feet. 'You stay with Stella,' he told her. The two men quickly disappeared, leaving the two women alone.

'I'm sorry,' Taylor apologised. 'I just don't want your baby to be hurt.'

Stella sighed. 'I know. Thank you. I just forget what my limitations are sometimes. We should get back to the lab.'

Taylor nodded and followed the detective out of the bank. Outside, beyond the cordoned off area, the place was swarming with reporters. 'Wow,' Taylor sighed. 'I guess there was nothing else going on in the world this morning.'

Stella led her to her SUV. 'You have no idea.'

---

As they walked into the crime lab, Lindsay and Adam came running down the corridor. 'We have a problem,' Lindsay informed them.

'A big problem,' Adam emphasized.

'What's the matter?' Stella asked them.

'We've just heard from Flack. The house was empty. There was nothing in that house,' Lindsay explained.

'And Mac's gone missing too,' Adam added.

Stella looked between the two of them and then shut her eyes. As soon as she opened again, she took charge. 'Lindsay, I want you on the roof as soon as possible. We need to get you in the air, searching for that SUV. Adam, you're coming with me to the A/V lab. I want communication with everyone.'

'Of course,' Lindsay nodded, taking off for the elevator.

'Sure thing,' Adam nodded, and hurried back to the A/V lab, Stella and Taylor right behind them.

'What do you want me to do?' Taylor asked her.

'If I told you to go home, would you?'

Taylor shook her head.

'I have comms ready,' a new person announced, handing an earpiece over to Stella.

'It's alright, Chad. Put it on speaker,' Stella told him with a tone that indicated she knew Chad. She turned to Taylor. 'Taylor, this is Chad Willingham. He's Kendall's replacement.'

'I like to think of Kendall as my replacement,' he said. 'And I'm just getting my job back.'

'I was your replacement,' Adam objected. 'Does that mean I'm going?'

'Nah,' Chad shook his head, as though Stella and Taylor weren't there. 'Every good lab tech needs a lab rat sidekick, and you've got the job.'

'Hey!' Adam objected. 'I'm nobody's sidekick. I'm the one that needs a sidekick. You can be my Robin.'

'You think you're Batman? I guess Val Kilmer was the lamer Batman, but I'm no Chris O'Donnell-'

'I'm a Christian Bale Batman,' Adam cried.

'Guys!' Stella interrupted them.

---

'Lindsay, where are you?' Stella asked.

'I just got a call from Flack. He said Mac's car was spotted over the GW Bridge. We're heading in that direction now.' Lindsay's voice echoed in the room.

'Good,' Stella muttered as her phone started ringing. 'Bonasera… Hello…? Mac? Where are you?' There was a moment's pause and she turned to Taylor. 'We're going to New Jersey.'

'You're going nowhere,' Taylor told her firmly. 'You have to think of him,' she pointed to Stella's stomach.

'It's a boy?' Adam asked.

Stella smiled. 'Actually, yes, it is.' The smile quickly left her face. 'But that's not the point.'

Taylor sighed. 'Stella, I made a promise that your baby wouldn't get hurt, and damn it, I am keeping that promise.'

'A promise to who?' Stella asked, curiously.

'Myself,' Taylor said firmly.

Stella nodded. 'Fine. But I want you to go over to Jersey. I don't want you getting involved, Taylor,' she added. 'I just trust you to tell me how Mac really is.'

'Oh thank God,' Peyton's voice carried through the A/V room. 'You've heard from Mac?' Taylor turned. Peyton was standing in the doorway, pajama bottoms poking out from under her coat and her hair looking like she hadn't run a brush through it. 'I was on the night shift last night,' Peyton gushed. 'I woke up and turned the news on and Mac hasn't been answering my calls.'

'He's in Jersey,' Stella told her calmly. 'He's fine, Peyton.'

There was a look of instant relief that washed over her face. 'Oh thank God,' she repeated.

Stella turned to Taylor. 'You go. I'll get Peyton some tea.'

---

By the time Taylor got to Jersey, there were just as many reporters there as there had been at the bank – if not more. She pushed her way through them to the tape and caught the eye of an officer. 'Detective Bonasera has sent me to check on Detective Taylor.'

The officer nodded. 'Just keep near the chopper,' he said indicating to the helicopter Mac was sat in. 'They're pulling the car out of the river.'

Taylor nodded and ducked under the tape. She didn't make it near the chopper. Flack came to her first. 'Taylor, what are you doing here?' he demanded.

'Stella sent me to check on Mac, that's all,' she told him, holding her hands up in surrender. 'What's happened?' she asked, nodding at the body that was being pulled out of the water.

Flack exhaled softly, his expression softening as he brushed her hair behind her ear and upped her cheek. 'We think it's one of the original bank robbers. Derrick James. They prime suspect for the bank manager's murder.'

Taylor looked over at the wet body of the black man. 'Well that's definitely not the guy who was waving a gun in my face today. What happened to him?'

'I don't know,' Flack admitted. 'I'm just waiting for the medic to finish with Mac,' he nodded at the female who was packing up her things. As she walked away, Mac made his way over to them.

'Are you alright?' Taylor asked, staring at the now stitched up cut on his head.

'I'm fine. What are you doing here?'

Taylor shrugged. 'Stella was worried. She wanted me to check on you.'

'I'm fine,' Mac repeated. 'Flack, what have we got?' he asked, indicating to James' body.

'That's Derrick James, our prime suspect for the bank manager's murder. But your kidnapper is nowhere in sight. Do you have any idea what happened?'

Mac frowned. 'He calls himself Joe. We were in the car and he changed the route.' He shook his head, still frowning. 'The next thing I remember is pulling myself out of the water.'

'So where's Joe?' Taylor asked, staring out across the water. 'Is he dead?'

Flack shook his head. 'I think he's a fugitive. We've got divers out there and they haven't found anything to indicate there's a body out there.'

'We need to get the car and the vic back to CSI. Maybe once they're processed then we can fill in some of the blanks,' Mac told Flack.

Flack shook his head again. 'That's not going to happen. We're across the river in Jersey jurisdiction. Jersey Brass will only let us take crime scene photographs.'

'But that's an NYPD car. And Mac was in it,' Taylor objected. 'That's not right.'

Flack placed a hand on her shoulder. 'But it's in New Jersey. They want it all – the body, the car and the investigation. They're not looking at sharing on this one. I don't like it at all, but it's protocol. They'll keep us informed and they said they'd share the investigation.'

'So that's it?' Taylor asked, looking at Mac.

'No,' said Mac, firmly. 'This guy robbed a bank, held us hostage, held others hostage and he killed a man. He's not going to get away with this – we're going to find him.' He turned to Taylor. 'But Flack has a point. This is Jersey jurisdiction. You need to get back behind that tape.'

Taylor nodded. 'Not a problem, Mac,' she agreed as someone behind the tape waving at her caught her attention. 'I'll head over there now,' she gave them both a quick smile and walked over to the person who was waving at her.

'I've been outside the bank covering your story all morning,' Noelle Newman exclaimed at her. Noelle, a stunning woman with soft auburn hair and enormous green eyes was one of the New York Daily's top reporters. 'We're going to have a great cover story for the late edition. Oh, Nancy has been trying to get hold of you. She wants you to call her.'

Taylor sighed, her hand dropping down to her pocket to retrieve her phone when she remembered that Joe had taken it. 'Crap,' she sighed. 'Joe took it.'

'Who's Joe?' Noelle pounced.

'The guy who held the bank up,' Taylor muttered. 'But that's not his real name. Can I borrow your phone?'

'Do you know what his real name is?' Noelle asked as she handed over her iPhone.

Taylor took the phone, eyeing Noelle suspiciously. 'No,' she lied. 'It never came up.' She dialed the number. Nancy picked up instantly.

'Noelle, what do you have?'

'It's Taylor,' she said.

'Taylor, get your ass back to the Daily right now.' And that was it. Nancy hung up.

Taylor ground her teeth together as she handed the phone back to Noelle.

Noelle's gaze was sympathetic. 'The Witch summoned?'

Taylor nodded glumly. 'Yeah.'

---

'What do you see?'

Taylor had left the crime scene, after borrowing Flack's phone to call Stella and let her know that Mac was alright, and grabbed a taxi. Flack had been more than happy for her to go and return somewhere "safe", although going to see Nancy was probably not as safe as he seemed to think.

She had walked into Nancy's office to find it had changed considerably since Alex had been in there. Gone were the warm red walls and dark wood furniture. Instead it had turned modern and clinical – white walls and glass furniture. Lining the walls were half a dozen flatscreens; CNN, Sky News, Fox News, CBS News and two other local news stations showing on them. All of them were covering the back robbery.

Taylor blinked.

'I see an exclusive, Ms Turner,' Nancy continued. 'A story you were right in the middle of. And more importantly, a story you have insider access to.'

'Nancy, my head was down most of the time,' Taylor said carefully.

Nancy raised her hand, and with a blood red manicured nail, pushed pause on the remote she was holding. The TV showing the CBS News feed froze, focusing on the Jersey crime scene. The Jersey police were busy with the body that had been pulled out of the river, but to the side it caught Flack caressing her cheek. 'That looks a little intimate.'

'He's my fiancé,' Taylor frowned.

Nancy turned, a smile on the blood red lips which matched her nails, but show no warmth. 'An excellent way to get information. Sleep with the informant.'

Taylor's mouth dropped open. 'Don isn't my informant, Nancy. I don't even report the news.'

'Taylor, the murder rates in this city are rising again. And you have access to the exclusives.' She hit pause on another screen. This time it showed her talking with Mac and Flack from a distance, what was being said unheard. 'And you obviously have a relationship with the head of the Crime Lab. Taylor, today you're going to progress in your career. I want both you and Reed working on current cases. You for the paper and he can work the web angle.'

'Nancy, with all due respect, that isn't my job,' Taylor objected.

'It is now,' Nancy informed her. 'Now, go report the crime. I want an exclusive on my desk for tomorrow's first edition.'

Hey guys! The voting is now taking place at the CSI:NY Fan Fiction awards! I've been nominated in a few categories, and so have several other amazing stories - so show us what you think and go get voting! If you head to my profile I'll even stick a link in it for you!

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