SquidgeWorld Archive

"We have one witness," Kaile Maka told Mac Taylor and Danny Messer. "He gave me his statement, but he's agreed to wait, in case one of you had additional questions."

"Is he a suspect?" Mac asked as started packing his kit.

"No. He just happened to be in the area. He did a good job. We got make, model, and a full license plate from him." Maka sounded impressed, which impressed the two CSIs.

"I'll go talk to him," Danny volunteered. "We're done in here anyway."

Mac nodded. "All right. I'll meet you down there," he agreed.

Danny walked up to their witness. "Detective Danny Messer," he introduced himself, holding out his hand.

"Don Flack," the man said in return and Danny found himself staring into the bluest part of eyes he'd ever seen.

He had a sudden flash of a large, soft bed. Bodies tumbled around it. Three bodies in fact. And a sense of total and complete love. Just as suddenly it was gone and he was still holding the man's hand. "We just have a few questions for you," he said, pushing the odd vision away.

"Sure," the man agreed with an easy smile as he leaned against the building.

"Detective Maka will be giving me a copy of her notes. You said that there were two attackers?"

The taller man nodded. "Both were about my height, six feet tall. Caucasian. One had a buzz cut, either dark brown or black hair. The other was bald. Both were wearing green leather jackets."

"Green leather jackets?" Danny repeated.

"Yeah. I thought it was odd too."

"And what were you doing here? It was nearly midnight when this happened."

"This is my corner."

"Your corner? You're a ..." Danny trailed off, honestly taken aback by the matter-of-fact statement that Don had just given him.

"A prostitute? A hooker, whore, tramp, slut, scarlet man, concubine, rentboy.... Should I go on? Is it a problem?"

"No," Danny said quickly, shaking his head. "It's just not the answer I was expecting. I'm sorry."

Don shrugged. "It's a living."

"Is there anywhere where we can get a hold of you if we have any more questions."

"I'm usually around here Wednesday night. Any other time, here's my card." Don pulled one out of his back pocket and handed it to Danny.

Danny glanced at the name on it. It was a well-known escort service. Rumors swirled around it, but nothing had ever been proven. "Why-" he started to ask, but Don cut him off.

"Am I walking the street too? It's part of my contract. Call me. I'll even give you a discount. I have a thing for glasses," he said with a leer that made Danny blush and he sauntered away.

"Danny?" Mac asked from a few feet away.

Danny blushed a deeper red and turned toward his boss. "That didn't go like I thought it would."

Mac gave him a half-smile. "It's New York, Danny."

Danny snickered, nodded, and followed him back to the car. They had evidence to process. Now if he could only get that odd vision out of his head.

****

"Danny?" Mac summoned from the doorway to the younger man's office.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"Just some research."

"What kind of research?" Their evidence had been processed. They were just waiting for Jane to see what their DNA said and for the computer to come up with a match of the fingerprints they'd collected. Now was the time to go home and get some sleep.

"Our witness? Don Flack? There's something about his name," Danny half-explained, focusing on his computer screen.

Mac shook his head slightly. Danny could be like a dog with a bone at times. He walked in and half-sat on the desk, peering around to look at the computer. "What have you found?"

Danny frowned and looked up at Mac. "There used to be an Officer Flack with the 14th precinct. He had several commendations and was considered on the fast track through the ranks until..."

"It was discovered that he'd messed with evidence and let several criminals go," Mac finished, remembering the story. "That had to be almost fifteen years ago."

Danny scrubbed a hand over his face, his shoulders dropping slightly. "Thirteen. I remember the name. My dad mentioned him from time to time. I don't remember much, I never did like knowing what he did, and I was out of there before that went down, but I remember the name."

"And our witness is this man's son?"

Danny nodded. "His oldest child. He was fifteen at the time. Flack, Sr. didn't serve and jail time, but was drummed out of the force. Shortly after that, his son started getting picked up by Vice. Not often, twice after he turned 18. His juvie record is sealed, but I think he was picked up before that."

"Why is this so important to you?"

Danny sighed. "Because I know how he must've felt. He was just a kid Mac. His world was yanked out from under him. His father hasn't had steady employment since, he probably felt like that was his only choice. I know it could've been worse, he could be walking the street every night instead of just once a week. But ... it's not right Mac. He could've been so much more."

Mac frowned, not liking the fact that his protégé saw himself in this man. "We all make choices Danny. And we have to live with them. You chose to escape through college. Mr. Flack obviously chose another rout."

"But what happens when you don't think you have a choice?" Danny asked. And Mac had no answer for him.

****

Danny laughed as he pushed the other man down onto the bed. He settled on top of him, leaning down to kiss and suck at a nipple. He smiled when their other lover's arms wrapped around him and he started nibbling at the back of his neck.

"I love you," he whispered to both of them. He felt complete.

A hand settled on his shoulder...

...And he jerked awake, gasping as the people around he disappeared and he realized he had fallen asleep in the breakroom.

"You okay Danny?" Stella asked.

"Yeah. Why?" he asked, taking off his glasses and scrubbing a hand over his face. He peered at the glasses for a second before polishing with his shirt and putting them back on.

"Because it's 3am and you're asleep in the middle of the lab," she pointed out, sitting next to him and placing a mug of tea in front of him. She ignored the fact that he'd blushed a bright red.

"Oh." He was silent for a moment before he answered her. "I was going over the evidence on the Perkins homicide that Mac and I are working on."

"I thought you were bringing your suspects in for a lineup today."

"We are. Don's going to be here at nine."

"Don?" she questioned. That was informal.

He blushed a bit. "I've spoken with him a lot over the last couple of days. Calling him Mr. Flack just seemed too formal."

"Danny," she said quietly.

He was quiet for a moment, refusing to meet her gaze. Stella knew everything. And if you were one of the people she'd decided to protect, nothing escaped her. "It's nothing Stella. Nothing to worry about."

"Talk to me," she ordered.

He remained stubbornly silent for another moment before glancing around to make sure that no one else was there before he spoke. "There's something about him Stella. I can't put my finger on it. I don't know if it's because I can see how he got there or if it's something else entirely."

"You know what he is Danny. It's his life. Getting involved won't do either of you any good."

"I know. I wouldn't. I just wish he'd found another path."

"I know," she squeezed his arm and stood. "Go home and sleep in your own bed for a few hours. Keep your head on straight," she warned him.

"That might be a good idea," he conceded. The frowned. "What are you doing here at 3am?"

"Lindsay, Aiden, and I got called to a scene. She's watching surveillance footage now. I'm talking some sense into the men in my life," she teased.

"Mac's still here too?" Danny didn't know why he was surprised by this. Mac was always there.

"Not for long. Go home," she ordered and headed out. She sometimes wished her two friends had managed to find happiness together, but she was starting to think that just wasn't in the cards. Not in this lifetime.

****

Danny smirked when Mac exited the building just five minutes after he did. "Stella got to you too, didn't she?"

Mac nodded. "Told me to go home - or else."

"What do you think the 'or else' is?"

"I don't know. But I don't want to know either," Mac admitted.

"Are you really going to go home?" He smirked at Mac's hesitation. "Want to grab a cup of coffee down the street? Breakfast too, I suppose. Looks like we have time to kill."

"Sure," Mac agreed, leading the way.

****

Danny pushed away his empty plate, and gulped down the last of his coffee. "Think we can head back now?"

Mac glanced at his watch and signaled the waitress for another refill. "Another half hour and we should be safe."

"Why are we hiding from Stella? You're the boss."

"Do you want to take on an angry Stella?" Mac asked with a smirk.

"Good point." He was silent for a few moments before he asked, "Do you ever think about what might have been?" And then he cursed himself when he saw a brief flash of pain cross Mac's face.

"Sometimes. And not just about Claire," Mac admitted. "Have you been thinking about Don again?"

"Yeah. I just ... there's something about him Mac. I feel like he should have been something else. Like something isn't right. You know what I mean."

Mac stared into his cup of coffee for a long moment. "I do. But it doesn't matter Danny. What is, is what is. There's nothing we can do to change it."

"I know," Danny said and sighed. He wished he could figure out why he was so hung up on this man and his situation.

****

"So that's it?" Don asked Mac and Danny.

"That's it," Mac confirmed. "Someone will contact you if we need to take a deposition from you. But, other than that, we're done. Thank you," he held out a hand.

"Glad I could help," Don told him, shaking Mac's hand firmly. He looked wistfully around the station. "I used to want to be a cop. A detective, really," he smiled forlornly. "Of course, I also wanted to be a hockey player. What-ifs, right? It was a pleasure meeting you both," he told them and left.

****

Danny pulled the two men closer to him. He could feel their bodies against his. He felt complete. "I love you Don," he kissed the man fiercely before moving to other one. "I love you just as much Mac," he promised with a grin before kissing him too. He felt safe. He felt complete. This was how things should be.

Danny jerked when the subway came to a stop and his two lovers disappeared. He drifted off for a second. He ruthlessly suppressed the wave of disappointment as he realized that he'd dreamed them.

He exited the car and crossed to the other side of the platform. He mentally yelled at himself, but couldn't stop himself from getting on the next train. He was on autopilot most of the way. He switched trains one more time before finally getting off at his unanticipated destination. He set off at quick pace, slowing down only when he found what he was searching for.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," Don said with a smile, his blue eyes twinkling. "Why aren't I surprised to see you here tonight?"

"Can we talk?"

"Is that what they're calling it these days?" Don smirked.

Danny blushed. "I'll pay for your time, of course. But I really just want to talk."

"I know," Don smiled, punching his shoulder. "Where to?"

A brief debate had them heading for a 24hour diner. Danny was suddenly reminded of the diner by the lab that he and Mac had been at that morning. Ironic, he supposed, that most of his talking was done in places like this. That's where he and Stella had most of their chats too.

"You wanted to talk?" Don reminded him, digging into his plate of french toast and sausage.

"Yeah..." Danny hesitated, trying to figure out the best way to phrase his nosy questions. "Why did you end up ... you know."

Don shrugged. "We needed the money."

"But there had to be something else that you could do."

"Not at the time. Danny, don't worry about it. It's a life. I make a good living doing this."

"But you shouldn't!" Danny exploded. "You should be, I don't know, a homicide detective."

Don laughed. "The next thing you'll be saying is I would've made a great goalie. What-ifs Dan, what-ifs." He ate another bite of french toast before saying, "I'd heard of you, you know."

"What?"

"You're the Messer that escaped. My dad knew your dad and all that. You were gone by the time they openly acknowledged the connection. I was always impressed that you made it out. I'm glad that you got out of there."

"I wish you could've too," Danny said melancholically. He poked at his cauliflower. "What ifs. In another universe, you're a cop, Aiden was fired for some reason, and Hawkes is a CSI instead of an M.E. What a universe."

Don snickered. "And you, Detective Taylor, and I are involved in a threesome?"

Danny blushed a bit. "Yeah. Crazy, I know."

"Sounds like a great universe. Thanks for diner Danny."

"I'll walk with you to the subway," Danny told him, tossing some bills onto the table. They maintained a comfortable silence until it was time for them to go their separate ways.

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure. In another time... another place..."

"Yeah," Danny said quietly and watched Don walk off until he was out of sight.

"Another time, another place," he sighed.