demolished-soul - I'd tell you, but then there would be no need to read the chapter (:P)

Madison Bellows - When I can eventually get my muses to return home, I shall reveal all with that!

ambercsiny - you take your time and make sure you've got all your exams out of the way before you send me anything!

Delko'sGirl88 - I bet that took you ages - i'm glad you managed it though. I couldn't resist the HM bit. I saw the film at cinema and the idea hit me. Yeah, I'm 24 and watching Hannah Montana at the cinema, (:D)

sparkyCSi - Taylor's got a boring name, it means 'tailor'. And Flack is more than welcome in my closet. Though, it's full... I guess I'd have to find somewhere else for him to go (:P)

meadow567 - thank you!

It'sHowIRoll - Well I have a two-fold thanks for you - firstly for reading, and secondly for the other part of the review. After reading the original 'review' it was what I needed to hear. So thank you!!!

Trizzy - lol, I love your reviews! OMG, I saw the Transformers movie - it was soooo good, I went and saw it again. I love it!!! I completely agree with you on the Ting Tings

RK9 - Hun, you were missed! And of course - it was the least I could do! As for Seymour, I found him with the rabbits - I'll send him back

Brown-Eyed Girl 75 -I am getting really tired of the hate at the moment. It's just lowering morale! I hope your muse finds it's way back!!

Laura/Yellowpea - Everyone is entitled to their opinion. And I appreciate that there are many other people on this board who feel the same. However, what they seem to have cottoned on to - something that you have yet been able to - is that if they don't like a story, they don't read it, much less sit and read 220 chapters of it. Some of your points are valid. The rest is a little obtuse for the sublimely absurd. And even if I got a hundred reviews agreeing with you, I write for myself - everything else is a bonus! As it happens, there are over 2000 reviews disagreeing with you. And that is why I continue to post - for those who continue to read. However. There is one thing I would like to address. Having read my story you are entitled to your opnion of it being lame. However, in regards to my Djing skills, as of September, my writing time will be effected due to the fact that I will be the headline DJ for the biggest, most popular student night in Hull - clearly achieved because of how bad I am. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my story and thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. I hope you will now use this as a good platform to improve your own efforts as a literary critic.

Sorry everyone. I'm just damn tired of all the hate on the board at the minute. If there's something about this story you don't like, feel free to share it - I'm happy to hear it. I'd just like there to be a little justification. And I've had comments in the past that have genuinely changed my opinion of something. But if you don't like the story at all - why are you reading it? Why are you "reviewing" it? Why aren't you out there puttting your own work on show?

Well, spoiler wise, we're still on Like Water For Murder, and as always, I still have thanks for my beta!

What The Eyes Can't See

Chapter 221: I see need

'So, spill,' Stella pressed.

Taylor drummed the steering wheel. They were waiting to join the expressway, stuck in traffic. 'I'm sorry to ask this Stella,' Taylor sighed. 'But I grew up with my mom and dad, and even when dad was there, there were no arguments, so I can't say I know anything about divorce and single parent families, much less being in the system.'

Stella cocked her head. 'What do you want to know?'

Taylor glanced over. 'How bad is it? To be in the system, foster care, care homes?'

Stella stared thoughtfully out of the window. 'Hmmm, I can't say someone's asked me that before,' she looked back to Taylor. 'I lived in the St. Benedict Orphanage in Harlem. It was run by a group of nuns. They weren't too bad, but they were looking after about thirty kids.' She frowned. 'It was crowded, and we didn't really have much in the way of belongings, never mind personal space, and most of what we did have were hand-me-downs – donations from the city. And kids came and went all the time. But you made the best of what you were given, I suppose. Why?'

'Were you glad to leave?' Taylor asked, biting her lip.

'My parents died in a car accident, and I didn't have a relative to go live with,' she shrugged. 'I didn't really know anything else. But of course I was glad to leave. I was excited to go to college.'

Taylor nodded thoughtfully, merging with the traffic. 'College. You turned out alright, didn't you?'

Stella laughed. 'I hope I did,' she told her. 'But truthfully, I don't think it would have happened if it hadn't been for my Guardian Angel.'

'Your Guardian Angel?' Taylor repeated.

Stella nodded, an affectionate smile on her face. 'Professor Papakota. He found me at the orphanage and basically encouraged me to go to college. If I didn't have him, I wouldn't have gone. I would have turned out like so many other kids in there who had been forgotten.'

'But foster care isn't the end of the world?' Taylor asked her. 'I mean, you weren't the only one to come out so well.'

Stella shook her head. 'No, that's true,' she admitted. 'But there are stereotypes for a reason, Taylor. Now, why do you want to know about foster care?'

Taylor let out a long breath. 'They found the person who stole this,' she patted the steering wheel. 'She's a kid, Stell. A fifteen year kid, albeit with an attitude problem, but she was sat at Don's desk yesterday afternoon, and she's still there.'

Stella stared long and hard at Taylor's profile. 'You want to take her in?'

'It would never have crossed my mind if Don hadn't mentioned it, but yeah. Not permanently, mind,' she added hurriedly. 'Just until they can find something more suitable than a foster home that clearly hasn't missed her. And at least then, I will know that she's turning up at the lab every day.'

Stella blinked. 'Wait, turning up at the lab?'

'Yeah, so, I decided not to press charges because I didn't want her lost in the system, and suggested that her punishment might be a spell as the lab's window cleaner,' Taylor confessed.

'Taylor, that's a wonderful idea!' Stella beamed.

Taylor nodded. 'I was thinking of adding the patrol cars to the list, if she ever gets the windows finished.'

'No,' Stella stopped her. 'I mean about fostering. You and Don would make good foster parents.'

'It wouldn't be a permanent thing,' Taylor corrected her.

'Either way,' Stella shrugged. 'I still think it's a good idea. And it might be what she needs.' She shifted in her seat and rubbed at her belly. 'Can we stop off and get some pretzels? And some honey?'

Taylor shot Stella a long, sideways stare. 'Okaaay,' she said. 'That has got to be the weirdest craving.'

Stella shook her head, flushing. 'Nope, I can beat that.'

Taylor arched an eyebrow at the pregnant woman.

Stella sighed. 'I have a shelf in the cupboard full of pickles. Minus the juice.'

It took a minute for Taylor to process that. 'Ew!' she exclaimed. 'God, I am never getting pregnant!' she laughed.

---

Stella pulled a face as the pulled up near to where the Ben Melvoy's body was found. 'I'm going to have to stay here,' she murmured.

'Honey and pretzel not mixing to well?' Taylor asked, pointing to the giant, half-eaten snack.

'The smell of the sea,' Stella corrected her, shuddering. 'Right now, I don't think baby likes it!'

'I'll try not to be too long,' Taylor told her before exiting the car. She made her way up an embankment, and down onto the sand. She spotted the ghost immediately – he was the only thing on that stretch of beach apart from herself and a few seagulls. He was staring forlornly out to see, and didn't move as Taylor came and stood beside him. 'Hi,' she greeted him.

He turned, surprised. 'You can see me?'

Taylor cocked her head. 'And you can talk.'

'But you can see me!'

Taylor nodded. 'And you can talk.'

'But I'm dead!' he blinked.

'I know,' she reassured him. 'I can see the dead.'

'But that's not possible,' he told her.

'Clearly it is. Because we're actually having this conversation,' she pointed out. 'I'm Taylor. You're Ben.'

Ben nodded. 'I know who I am. I just don't know how I got here. The last thing I remember is getting a cab to work. My car wouldn't start.'

Taylor cocked her head thoughtfully. 'You don't remember anything else?'

Ben shook his head. 'The next thing I remember, I'm standing here, and I'm looking at my body. And it's surrounded by a load of cops.'

'You've been here for three months?' Taylor asked him in surprise.

Ben nodded. 'I didn't remember where else to go. And I've been trying to remember.'

'Well, there's a bit of good news, and a bit of bad news,' Taylor informed him. 'The good news is that you're not alone. The bad news is that you're not alone because you were killed by a serial killer, and we haven't caught him yet.'

Ben stared at her. 'I'm not sure how to take that.'

Taylor nodded. 'I get that.' She glanced out to sea and inhaled deeply. 'Maddy?' she called. Her dead friend appeared, accompanied by the other two victims. 'Ben, this is Maddy, Chrissie and Louise. Go with Maddy. She'll look after you,' she turned to Maddy. 'How come he never came to me with you three months ago?'

Maddy just shrugged. 'Hey, Chico!' she greeted Ben, reaching up to try and drape an arm over his shoulder. 'Welcome to the Mad House.'

'It may take me a while,' Taylor said to Ben, then to the other two. 'But I'm going to help find your killer. I promise.' She returned to the car and slipped in the driving seat.

'Find who you were after?' Stella asked her.

Taylor nodded. 'Actually, yes.'

---

'Babe? Where are you hiding? I've got a present for you' Flack called as he walked through the door. 'It involves a lot of chocolate and you not wearing anything!' He pushed open the door to the living room and nearly dropped the bottle of chocolate. 'Riley?'

Taylor looked up at him from the couch, blushing slightly. 'I think we need to keep our conversations at a PG-13 level.'

Flack cocked his head at the sulky teenager who was rolling her eyes, and then looked over to Taylor. 'And I think we need to move this conversation to the kitchen.'

Taylor nodded and followed him into the other room, watching him as he set the tub on the table. 'I thought the answer was no?'

'It was,' Taylor agreed.

'So what changed?' he asked.

'When I came by and saw that she was still at the precinct, and I spoke to Stella. It's not permanent, Don. I went to Social Services to find out what the situation was. She was in an orphanage in Jersey. That's why it was taking so long for someone to come get her,' she explained. 'I told them they had to make finding her a decent set of foster parents a priority and until then we would look after her.'

Flack leant against the counter and frowned. 'And what did they say to that?'

'Well,' Taylor paused. 'They said that she wasn't being abused or mistreated in the orphanage, so she wasn't a priority, and that most people didn't want kids her age,' she finished in a low voice, should Riley be able to hear them through the wall. 'So I said she could stay with us.'

Flack stared at her incredulously. And then he strode over, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her.

Taylor pulled away, breathless. 'Wow. Maybe we should take in some more waifs and strays!' she gasped.

Flack's hands settled on her hips as he rested his forehead against hers. 'I love you, Tay. But one waif and stray is enough. We already have Marty here.' He smiled softly. 'Thank you, Taylor. I know that wasn't an easy choice to make.'

Taylor gazed up into his blue eyes. 'Don, it was important to you. And besides, at the very least, we know she's going to be okay. And that she's going to follow her punishment through.'

'You told her that already?' he asked with a smirk, pulling his face back.

'You bet I did,' Taylor shrugged. 'I don't think she fully appreciates how much glass there is in the lab though.' She frowned. 'We're going to have to decorate the spare bedroom for her. She can have Cordelia's room tonight, but I don't think she's going to want Zac Efron on her bed, even if he is hot.'

'And you complained when you thought I had a think for that fifteen year old in there.'

Taylor frowned. 'He's a damn sight older than Riley, Don. And that's not the point.'

Flack grinned. 'I know. This weekend, we'll move the boxes from the spare room to the basement and buy some replacement sheets to those God-awful ones your mother put on the bed when she stayed here.'

'We're going to have to get her enrolled in a school as well. We can't be commuting to Jersey every day. It's just not practical,' Taylor nodded.

'Look, it's the Easter vacation next week. I'm on lates for the rest of the week, so I'll take her in, if you pick her up and take her to the lab. We'll find her somewhere during the vacation.' He stepped backwards and slipped the chocolate in the fridge. 'I guess we're going to have to save this for until we can find out how deeply she sleeps.'

Taylor sighed longingly. 'If I'd have known, I'd have let her sleep at your desk another night.'

Flack laughed. 'No, you wouldn't.'

'No, but I would have considered it,' she looked over at the door. 'I guess we'd best let her know she's grounded.'

---

Taylor rolled over and groaned. Laying down the ground rules with Riley had been... interesting. For starters, she was adamant that she wouldn't be staying long, implying the reason for that was that Taylor and Don would get fed up of her like the others had. As Flack had pointed out, the only way to change her mind on that fact was to prove her wrong. She didn't like the idea of being chauffeured to and from school, even if it was in a different state! And being grounded also didn't set well with her. Flack had informed her that trust worked both ways, and if she wanted to be allowed out, she would have to prove that she wasn't going to get into trouble. So she'd muttered, again, that she wouldn't be there long, and promptly disappeared to Cordelia's room.

'She's gonna be fine,' Flack reassured her as they went to bed. 'She's gonna try and push us for a while, to see just what she can get away with, but so long as we're firm, but fair, she'll come around.

'You jump from a baby to a teenager? Are you insane?'

Taylor rolled over, tucking her arm behind her head as she lay on her side and shrugged at Maddy. 'I think we long established that,' she sighed.

'None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.' The two female ghosts said together.

Taylor glanced at Ben, sitting upright and yawning. 'Does that mean anything to you?'

Ben shook his head. 'Nope,' he admitted. 'Nothing.'

Taylor wrinkled her nose. 'You remember anything?'

'I remember being in a cab,' Ben shrugged. 'It was smokey, that's all I remember.'

Taylor exhaled, directing her breath upwards to blow her hair. 'Nothing else?'

'Nope.'

'Alright,' Taylor sighed. 'I'll head into the lab,' she frowned. 'Is Quinn still there?'

Maddy nodded. 'Yup. And I think she has a thing for Mac.'

Taylor laughed. 'Whatever.' She glanced over at the clock. 'Okay, leave it to me.'

The ghosts did, allowing her to pull on her jeans and a red silk blouse. She arrived at the precinct a short while later. Flack was at his desk, busy filling in forms, biting his tongue which was sticking out slightly. Opposite, Grace was watching him. She glanced up as she saw Taylor approach. 'Does he always do that?'

Flack looked up at Grace, and seeing that he was talking to someone behind him, spun in his seat. 'Hey!' he greeted her smiling brightly as she leant in to kiss him.

'Hey to you, too,' she returned. She turned to face Grace. 'Hi'ya Grace. How are you settling in?'

'Good,' Grace smiled. 'Flack has been very helpful and welcoming,' she nodded her head at him. 'So, does he always do that?'

Taylor laughed. 'When he has to concentrate, yes,' she laughed.

'Do what?' Flack demanded.

'Spit your tongue out when you're thinking,' Taylor told him, petting his head.

'I don't!' he objected.

'You do,' Taylor informed him.

'Don't worry: it's cute,' Grace told him.

Taylor frowned. 'How did it go with Riley and the school?' she asked, ignoring the comment – jealousy wasn't a good look.

Flack nodded. 'I went in and saw her principal. Turns out the kid has been skipping a lot of school. And whilst she wouldn't normally agree to moving a kid so late in the term, she does agree that the commute is too far and we are nowhere near her catchment zone. She said she'll help in any way she can, and make sure her assistant knows to send the transcripts through as a priority, but we should also be aware that the only way she's not going to repeat the year is if we find a school that's prepared to allow a makeup test at the end of the summer, providing we can either get her into a summer school, or provide her with a tutor.'

'Great,' Taylor muttered. 'Where are we going to find one of those?'

'Not at a state school.' The three of them turned to look at Gerrard who had joined them. 'So the rumors are true? You've adopted then?'

Flack shook his head. 'We're fostering.'

Gerrard frowned. 'Call it adopting and you get some time off. Like maternity and paternity leave.'

Flack and Taylor gave the inspector a very baffled look. 'You know about adoption leave?' she blurted out.

Gerrard actually laughed. 'I may not like HR, but I need to know some of the policies. I'll get the necessary paperwork together, and then, when you're ready, let me know what you want.'

'Boss, that's… great,' Flack admitted, getting up to shake his hand.

'I know it's not a cigar, but welcome to the world of parenting. Sleepless nights, premature balding and high stress levels.'

Flack laughed at him. 'She's not a baby.'

Gerrard nodded in agreement. 'No, she's a teenager. It's worse.' For a brief second, panic washed through Flack's eyes. 'Look, if you need help with a school, you should look at Nathanson Academy. My Natalie goes there. It's an excellent private school, and I can give you a good recommendation. In fact, maybe we can arrange for Natalie and?'

'Riley,' Taylor offered as Gerrard waited.

'Natalie and Riley can meet up,' he frowned. 'Assuming that Natalie can go an hour without being moody. Look, I'll go get started on that paperwork. You let me know if you need a recommendation. And again, congratulations.' He walked off.

Taylor turned to Flack. 'What's happened to your boss?'

Flack shrugged. 'He's always been alright with me, Tay.'

'Oh, so he's like your father and doesn't like me?'

'He doesn't like the fact you're a reporter always in the precinct. But from that, I'd say he likes you. So, Nathanson Academy?'

'Never heard of it,' Taylor shrugged. 'But it sounds expensive.'

'Well, state school isn't working. And I don't want her schooled from home.'

Taylor nodded. 'We'll have a look next week, but if it's too expensive… She's only staying with us until the system can find her something better, remember?'

Flack leant over and kissed her. 'We'll find somewhere else.'

Taylor sighed. 'I'm going to see if they've found anything on this serial killer,' she told him.

For all of you that continue to read this, thank you. I hope to see you at the next chapter!

Actually, I have a favour to ask all of you - I need some worldwide karma! I had a job interview on Friday and I hear back tomorrow (monday) if I get a second interview. If anyone fancies keeping their fingers crossed, it would be greatfully appreciated!