sparkyCSI - A key - you will find out soon enough! Yeah, it's taken a while, but I think she's finally there. Which means wedding bells, surely?

Trizzy - I am back! And the next three chapters have to be the easiest and most fun to write than anything I've done in a long time. Is the album any good - I can never make up my mind if I like them!

meadow567 - I'm not sure where the idea for fostering Chase came from, but I will roll with it. And I think Taylor is being lulled into a false sense of security without the ghosts.

Bmangaka - Yeah, I keep thinking about it, and you're right on those views. It's going to take much planning, me thinks. A2's already? I thought you'd have the summer off before starting those!

xSamiliciousx - She slipped into Mom mode, didn't she! Yeah, I don't think Grace will be trying anything like that again in a hurry

DreamerChild88 - I'm hoping that it will be a problem resolved quickly. Actually, both issues - Grace did have guts! lol

CaitlinTierney - I have already been and read (I'm all alone in the office and taking advantage of it!) I hope the week got better?

Aphina - It's quite alright, because I know I've been just as bad! I actually liked that chapter too! She has grown.

TVjunkie323 - That's a very good point - I wasn't sure who would pick up on it. Now I have to write teenagers! The cogs are turning with Chase as I type.

Alana Xavier1 - And I'm glad to have you back, and I'm glad you're still enjoying!

Firstly - there are big thanks to my beta, sparky! Next, it's time for Snow Day! Enjoy...

What The Eyes Can't See

Chapter 236: And so it begins…

Flack awoke early the following morning, unsurprised to find the other side of the bed not only empty, but cold. He gave the air a sniff, surprised to smell coffee, and pulled back the covers shivering slightly in the coolness of the room. He had been working exceptionally hard over the last week to gather intel and get his task force together. The new lieutenant had been most impressed with his work and agreed that he could take them lead.

And for the last week, Taylor had been getting as much sleep as he had. She had stayed up until the small hours of the morning when he returned from work, and she was up long before he was. She'd admitted it was because she was worried about Chase and no matter what he told her, she couldn't help but feel responsible for him.

They had had to let him go back to his uncle, but Flack had been straight to Social Services who had promised to keep an eye on him. They had been around to the motel, and thus far, according to Riley, he was attending school every day and was given some time to work on his homework.

Flack quickly showered and dressed before heading downstairs. "What are you doing up so early?" He yawned, walking into the kitchen. He stopped when he realized that Taylor was cooking. "Uh, what are you doing?"

Taylor, who had had her back to him, turned around, flour and batter mix coating her face. "Cooking you breakfast," she told him before leading him over to the table and sitting him down at the table, which she had carefully decorated. "Here," she handed over the morning's paper.

"Taylor, I know I promised that I wouldn't bring this up anymore, but do you know how important today is?" he asked her as she returned her attention back to the stove.

Taylor merely wafted an arm in his general direction.

Flack looked around at the kitchen. It looked like the crime lab had after Danny and Adam had had a flour fight once. "What I mean is, maybe you should cook breakfast for me another time. When I don't have to be in."

Silently, Taylor returned to him, placing an enormous stack of pancakes in front of him. She sat down opposite him, biting her lip.

Flack took one more look at the bomb sight, a quick glance at Taylor's hopeful face, and sighed, taking the smallest portion of pancake with his fork, and gingerly placed in his mouth. As he started chewing, he realized that it actually didn't taste all that bad. In fact… "Taylor, these are actually really good," he told her between enormous mouthfuls.

Taylor sat back and grinned. "I knew how important today was for you, and I wanted you to go out with a full stomach."

"When the hell did you learn to cook?" He frowned, "I didn't mean it like that, but these are good."

Taylor just grinned, practically prancing back to the side to begin cleaning.

Flack stuck the last mouthful in his mouth and bounded after her. "Hey, you're not going anywhere without telling me when you learned to cook pancakes."

With her back to him, Taylor just shrugged.

"Oh no you don't," Flack cried, leaping at her.

Taylor turned at the last moment and threw a gloopy handful of batter mix she had been concealing in her hand. It hit Flack's startled face and dripped onto his clean shirt. She stumbled back into the fridge as she began laughing.

Flack narrowed his eyes as his hands went for the remaining mix.

"Don! Don't you dare!" Taylor shrieked as she bolted out of the kitchen, running straight into a very startled looking Riley.

Riley looked between the two of them and groaned. "Ew, what are you two doing?"

"Mushy romantic stuff," Flack told her, wrapping his arm around Taylor and whirling her around amidst her squeals. He set her down and wiped his mix covered hand down the side of her face.

Riley pulled a face at them, walking past them into the kitchen where she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Since when do you drink coffee?" Taylor asked her.

Riley shrugged. "Since you wake me up with food fights."

"Save me some," Sean yawned, wandering into the kitchen, clad only in a pair of pyjama bottoms. He gave Taylor and Flack an unimpressed look as he took the mug Riley was offering him. "Remind me who the kid is in this house?"

"Hey," Riley objected.

"Well," Taylor said, ignoring them. "Now that you're both up, you can have some pancakes."

Sean and Riley both eyed the stack suspiciously. "I've got more of my life left to live," Riley shrugged at him.

Flack reached over, stuck more on his plate and poured on some syrup. "Fine. I'll eat them," he told them, shoveling them into his mouth.

After dropping Riley off at school, and making sure to see Chase, Taylor headed back onto the island to visit Stella.

"How's he sleeping?" she asked as Stella let her into the apartment.

Stella shot her a withering glare. "He sleeps when I'm awake, and he's awake when I'm asleep," she told her, before erupting into a large yawn.

Taylor followed her to the living room where the Moses basket had taken a prominent position. "I can come back at another time if you want to try and get some sleep."

Stella shook her head. "Its fine, but you might have to make it a short visit."

"That's not a problem," Taylor told her, peering into the basket at the two week old baby boy. "Jeeze, Stell! He's gotten huge since the last time I saw him! Haven't you Lee?"

Stella looked at her, and unimpressed look on her face. "Taylor, his name is Liam. Not Lee. It's short enough that you don't need to shorten it anymore." She glanced down at the sleeping form and smiled. "But yes, the nurse came by and he's putting a good amount of weight on him."

"He looks like you," Taylor muttered, still staring, transfixed, at the baby.

Stella shook her head. "You should see him with Keanu – he's a spitting image."

"Is he helping out much?" Taylor asked, finally looking at the new mother.

"As much as I'm letting him," Stella shrugged. "He still wants to be a part of his life. I just don't know how much I want him in my life. Liam is all I can focus on at the moment."

"You're not missing work?"

"Nope," Stella told her. "I've not even thought about it." She frowned. "Actually, that's a lie. I came across some files the other day. They're not majorly important, but they could do with going back to the lab. I just don't want to take Liam in there yet – all the chemicals and things."

"Do you want me to take them?" Taylor offered. "I need to nip into the precinct anyway. Don has a huge drug bust going down this morning," she glanced at the clock. "About now, actually."

"Is that why you look like you've had as much sleep as I have?" Stella asked her, handing her the files she had been referring to.

Taylor shook her head and sighed, sinking into Stella's couch. "It's Chase."

"Chase?" Stella frowned thoughtfully. "Riley's friend?"

Taylor nodded. "His uncle collected him from the orphanage and took him home. Only he's hit him – more than once, from what Riley's implied, but Chase refuses to admit it. I want to foster him."

"I take it Social Services are on the case?"

"Yeah, though fat lot of good that's doing," Taylor muttered darkly. "Chase refused to say anything to them and his uncle denied everything. Poor kid shouldn't be in that position."

"No, he shouldn't," Stella agreed.

"I don't know if it's because he sees the good in him, or if he's scared of the consequences," Taylor sighed.

"I'd say he was scared," Stella told her.

"I just want to do something," Taylor told her. "But I promised Don I wouldn't interfere."

Stella blinked. "And you're listening?"

Taylor shrugged. "It's not my life on the line. It's a kid's. I've got to."

"That's rather grown up of you," Stella said, slightly surprised.

"I surprise myself sometimes," Taylor sighed. "In other news, I returned from Miami to find Flack's partner in my bed."

Stella's mouth fell open. "What?"

"I could tell she had a thing for him, but I didn't realize it was that bad," Taylor told her.

"What did you do?"

Taylor grinned. "What any other insane person would have done. Video called Don and showed him. He was mortified. He's been buying me flowers every day since."

"I think that's the least he should be doing," Stella frowned.

"Are you kidding?" Taylor smiled. "I thought it was hilarious. Poor woman is clearly desperate, but she does have good taste."

Stella's frown deepened. "It sounds like the poor woman has some underlying issue. Has he said something?"

Taylor shrugged. "Not a clue. He said he was going to say something to her."

"Not to her, to his Lieutenant," Stella told her. "He needs to say something." She gave Taylor a sharp look. "And you need to make sure he says something, before this comes back and bites him on the a-s-s."

Taylor cocked her head. "You are aware that Liam is only two weeks old, aren't you?"

"Very aware, thank you," Stella said. "But I'm getting into good habits with him now."

"Speaking of good habits," Taylor said, rising to her feet. "I read somewhere that you should sleep when the baby sleeps. Get a nap."

Stella yawned. "There may be something in that."

The crime lab was unusually busy as Taylor stepped off the elevator – her denim shorts, turquoise halter neck and flip flops instantly looking out of place. She gave the dozens of bodies a quick glance and pulled out the ID from her pocket, attaching it to the pocket of her shorts.

"Taylor?" Mac addressed her as he approached the elevator. "What are you doing here?"

Taylor pulled the files Stella had given her from her bag. "Stella had these. I said I would return them."

Mac stuck his hand in the elevator behind her, stopping it from closing. "Will you leave it on my desk for me? I have to go downstairs."

"No problem," Taylor replied.

"Flack did well today," Mac told her. "There was a lot of cocaine seized."

Taylor smiled proudly. "Good. He's been working hard on that."

Mac nodded. "Oh, if you see Sheldon on your way to the office, will you let him know the cocaine is coming up – I'm going to take care of the chain of custody, but we're going to need him to sample twenty percent of – randomly."

"No problem," Taylor repeated.

"I've got Lindsay coming in soon. She's going to handle the evidence at the warehouse – Sheldon will have to take charge of the evidence as it comes back in because I'm going to have Adam meet her there."

"I've got that," Taylor told him as the elevator doors slid closed.

She slipped the files under her arms and walked down the corridors, peering in at the various labs – everyone looked busy. She spotted the gun Hawkes was examining before she realized it was Hawkes with his hands on it.

"Jesus Christ, that's big!" she exclaimed.

"I've been told," Hawkes grinned at her.

Taylor laughed and walked over. It really was big – it looked more like a machine gun than anything else.

"Are you here to see me, or the gun?" Hawkes asked her.

Taylor straightened, returning her attention to the CSI. "Sorry, Sheldon. How you doing?"

"Not too bad. Yourself?"

Taylor nodded. "I'm good. Before I forget, Mac caught me on the way in. He said to let you know that the cocaine was on the way up and he was handling chain of custody. Oh, and the DA wants you to test twenty percent of the seizure – random sampling. Mac is assigning Lindsay to the warehouse to help Adam and they're going to send over any evidence they find." She stepped back and cocked her head at him. "You look tired. I bet you're glad that Danny and Lindsay are back?"

"You have no idea," Hawkes laughed. "I've been pulling doubles all week. A wedding and maternity leave – someone had to pick up the slack."

"But think of the money," Taylor told him.

"Have you heard from them?"

Taylor shook her head. "It was radio silence as soon as the jetted off on their honeymoon."

"I could quite happily go for two weeks in Mexico," Hawkes sighed.

Taylor laughed at him. "I'm sure you'll get some time off after this." Her eyes fell back on the gun. "I'm sorry, but that's a huge ass gun!"

"Seized this morning, courtesy of your fiancé. Recently been fired," he added.

Taylor peered at it, noting the slightly white coating on it. "Cool. You got any prints off it?"

Hawkes stared at her. "You know you're sounding like a CSI sometimes, right?"

Taylor shared. "Well I don't have anything better to do, and I clearly spend too much time in here."

"You need a job," Hawkes told her. "And to answer your question, I've lifted two prints and there are no hits in AFIS."

"I was listening to the radio on the way over here – it's all over the news," Taylor said, biting her lip thoughtfully. "The dead guy is definitely Wilder than?"

Hawkes nodded. "Looks like."

"You don't think that taking him out is a bit bold?"

Hawkes looked at her. "You're implying that one of the Irish Mob took out their own leader?"

Taylor shrugged. "I have done hours and hours of research on the New York gangs, and gangs in general. They're all criminals, aren't they? I mean, it only takes one to get greedy, and you could easily convince the others that you'd make a better boss."

"Interesting theory," Hawkes mused. "And by that you're saying find the new boss and find his killer."

"Yes?" Taylor replied uncertainly.

"You might be on to something," Hawkes told her.

Taylor smiled. "Look, I'm going to drop this off in Mac's office and head next door to see Don."

Hawkes' expression changed to a troubled on. "You want to wait for me in the break room before you do? I think there's something I should tell you."

The smile was replaced with a frown. "What's up?"

Hawkes shook his head. "It's nothing that can't wait – don't worry. I could do with a coffee break anyway."

"Hold up, Montana," Danny called.

Lindsay stopped unlocking the door and glanced back at Danny who was dragging the suitcase down the hallway. "What's the matter?" Danny put the suitcase to one side before turning to Lindsay. Before she knew what he was doing, he was sweeping her up in his arms. "Danny?" she squealed.

"Look, Mrs. Messer, I'm carrying my wife over the threshold, so shuddup and enjoy it."

"Be careful of your sunburn," she warned him, just as he scraped his back against the door frame.

Danny let out a yelp of pain and hurriedly put her down. "That didn't go according to plan," he winced.

Lindsay bit back a smile. "Well, if you'd have put sunscreen on instead of insisting that it was cloudy-"

"Yeah, yeah," Danny cut her off. "I wouldn't be standing here sun burned," Danny muttered. "Though, for the record, how was I supposed to know you could burn through the sun?"

"You should listen to your wife," Lindsay grinned. "I tell you what, let me find that aloe vera cooling gel from the bag and I'll rub some on your back."

"I like the sound of that," Danny grinned.

"By all rights, I should let you suffer," Lindsay told him, dragging the suitcase in and unzipping it. She quickly located the bottle and turned to her husband. "Teach you a lesson."

"Trust me, that lesson has been well and truly learned," Danny promised her.

"I can't believe how jet lagged I feel considering there's very little time difference." Lindsay glanced at her watch. "I have to be at work soon."

"I tell you what," Danny said, pulling off his shirt. "You lather me up and I'll swap shifts with you – that way you can catch a couple of hours sleep first."

Lindsay shook her head. "You said you didn't get a wink of sleep on the plane."

Danny turned his back to her and pointed at it over his shoulder. "Have you seen the color of this? I couldn't get comfortable. And I can promise you that I'm not going to sleep on that any time soon."

Lindsay walked over and squeezed the cool gel on his back, making him jump. "Well, at least it gives me an excuse to rub my hands over my husband's body."

Danny spun around, catching her in his arms as the motion caught her off guard. "You don't need an excuse," he told her before his lips captured hers.

A big thanks to all the reviews, alert add and favorite adds! And in other news, I'm heading back to the Bayou State for a vay-kay (three years overdue!). Anyways, the first week I will be helping my best friend with her wedding, so I don't know if I'll be able to upate. It might not be until I get back in the UK, but if I have a chance, I will post!

Oh, no, wait! I know what I was going to say... So, a couple of weeks ago, I re-read the story (it took me ages :D) and I decided to write a summary of the plot. I was debating putting it in as a chapter and decided against it. Instead, I created a website. A bit geeky, I know - but it's a bit of fun. It still needs work and I will be adding to it when I can, but if you want to check it out, the link is at the bottom of my profile page.