A/N: Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews! They help me immensely and motivate me to no tomorrow! I am a really slow writer, but I have been writing much more than usual and I am getting the hang of it, so I will try and make the updates sooner. This is the longest chapter yet by far!

Disclaimer: If I did, certain brunette detectives wouldn't have been shot in the finale.

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Chapter 5

Coffee and an Abduction

The next morning, Emily walked into the lab looking for Lindsay who had paged her on one of their cases together. As she heard the familiar elevator chime the doors opened and she started her search for her petite colleague and –as of a few weeks ago- friend.

As she navigated the maze-like corridors of the NYPD precinct, she couldn't help but marvel at how fast she had fallen into place in the tight-knit lab family. Sometimes, she felt like it had been years, not a mere 6 weeks since she started working there. It was incredible how comfortable she felt. It was her home and the team, her family.

She hadn't felt this way about anyone in a long time, except, perhaps, her cousin Maria. Mac and Stella were the over-protective parents; always there to protect their flock, to discipline them, to teach them. Mac especially held a special position in their little family unit for her. He had shown confidence in her abilities despite her young age and had never hesitated answering her numerous questions once. He was fiercely protective of her and always demonstrated that by sending extra uniforms to all of her crime scenes. Stella just as close to her as Mac ever since the two of them had found their common Greek background. It was oddly comforting to have someone there who shared some of her beliefs. Even though she mothered Emily endlessly -to the point of embarrassment at times- she didn't mind. Lindsay, Danny, and Adam were her siblings. They teased and pushed, but they were insanely patient with the newest member of their team and they were always there when she needed them. The four of them did everything together: work, entertainment, shopping with Lindsay, Guitar Hero with Adam, pool against Danny and dinner almost every night. She laughed at their dysfunctional family and went on searching for her adoptive "older sister".

I took her a few minutes but Emily finally found her in one of the smaller labs, completely surrounded by tubes of lipstick in every possible shade. She knew then that she would be treated to one of Lindsay Monroe's famous reconstructions and she grinned in anticipation.

"Hey Lindsay! What are you up to?"

"Hi, Em. I thought you might like to give me a hand with the reconstruction."

"Mac actually let you buy all this lipstick?" Emily asked incredulously.

"Well…" Lindsay started as she looked down. "I might, might have persuaded Stella to help me out with that a little. She always knows how to make him change his mind!" she finished as Emily busted out laughing.

"You really would do anything for a reconstruction, wouldn't you?"

"Not anything! Plus, it was sanctioned. Our three suspects all use different brands and slightly different shades of lipstick. Since we can't take their DNA, if we determine what kind of lipstick was on our vic's shirt…"

"…we find our killer." finished Emily. "Count me in Linds. You know how much I love watching you do these. To actually be able to participate in one would be awesome!" Emily said and the two exchanged a smile.

"Great! Let's get to work!"

The reconstruction was simple, yet fun. For each tube of lipstick they had a piece of fabric identical to the victim's shirt. They applied lipstick to their lips and then pressed a kiss on the white fabric squares. Emily followed Lindsay's lead and they were soon engrossed in their project, giggling and chatting the whole time.

About 20 minutes into their experiment, Flack walked into the lab holding a tray with three cups of coffee on it.

"Good morning ladies! He said with his usual grin. "I come bearing coffee."

"Thanks, Flack! You're a lifesaver!" exclaimed Lindsay as she put away her evidence and bounded toward him. "Which one is mine?" she asked with a small frown, trying to decide which cup to pick up.

"This one." He answered and handed her the cup closest to her. "It's a caramel macchiato. Danny told me, but I didn't add anything to it because I wasn't sure how you liked it."

"That's fine. I usually just add some sugar to it. I can't believe you actually called Danny." she said with a warm smile and then slowly returned to her lipstick heaven.

"Good. This one is for you Emily. Hazelnut latte with a hint of cinnamon and a packet of Equal." He said as he handed Emily the styrofoam cup.

"You remembered." Emily simply stated and offered him a small smile as her cheeks tinged slightly pink. He answered her with his most potent charm smile that made her blush even more and turned her feet into jelly.

"How could I not? You spent about half an hour talking about it last night." He said, to which Emily lifted her eyebrows, making him laugh.

"I didn't hear you complain, now, did I?" she said and they laughed a little together.

While they were talking, they had moved closer and they now stood with their faces mere inches away and their eyes locked, both Lindsay and the coffee forgotten. Stormy blue eyes brought a tingle to the base of his spine as he gazed back at her with his own ocean blue ones. Both of them were acutely aware of the fiery emotions currently running through their bodies as they leaned in even closer, completely oblivious to the outside world.

On her part, Lindsay observed the couple silently with more than a little amusement. She knew they liked each other. She had known since their first pool night and had even teased Emily about it in the lab, but she had kept quiet in the presence of Don, not wanting to get in the middle of their little dance lest she ruin anything. She had even prevented Danny of embarrassing the young couple, even though she knew that the two had talked about it in private from a hint that Danny dropped earlier that week. Even so, watching them flirt with each other right in front of her eyes, it took all of her will in order to restrain herself and not say anything.

As their conversation continued they unconsciously edged closer and she watched them with barely concealed glee, until she was sure they were about to kiss and she thought it would be better to spare them from the ridicule of the rest of the lab, even though Emily would definitely be interrogated the moment Flack left the lab. There was definitely more than just flirting going on. With a twinge of regret, she cleared her throat. No response. She cleared her throat again, a little louder this time, and chuckled when the couple jumped away from each other as if they were burned.

"Uh, yeah. I should get going. Major case to solve. I will see you ladies later." He said and made a hasty exit. Lindsay nearly laughed at the apologetic look he shot Emily on his way out in response to the disappointed look on her face.

"So..." Lindsay began. "You and Flack. Spill." There was no point in beating around the bush, Emily would end up telling her anyway.

"What are you talking about?" Emily asked. Are we that obvious? She wondered for the millionth time. Lindsay and Danny always seemed to know exactly what was going on. She knew that there was no point in hiding it from her friend, but the sudden attack made her feel a little defensive an she was trying to stall.

"Come on Emily. Are you trying to deny that if I hadn't stopped you two a moment ago you would be making out in the middle of the lab in full view of every one, including your boss." Lindsay said.

Emily blushed. Crap, Mac. I hadn't even thought of that. I wonder how he would take it if I told him. I hope he doesn't assign me to another team when he finds out. "Eh, I wasn't thinking of that at the moment." She told Lindsay honestly.

"Obviously. So, spill. Are the two of you dating?"

"Eh… Yes. Well, no… Not yet anyways." Emily said with a cryptic smile.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that he asked me out, but we haven't actually gone out on a date yet. Satisfied?"

"Nope. I want details…" Lindsay said in almost a whine. "When? Where? How? What did you say?" All the questions flew out of her mouth in an ever increasing speed until Emily had to stop her if she ever wanted to speak. Not that she really wanted to spill her guts in the lab, but she knew that Lindsay wouldn't let it go until she told her and they had to work together the whole day. Not telling her would not be pleasant.

"Whoa, there. Hold your horses Linds! I'll tell you but you have to promise to save your questions until after. Deal?"

"Deal!" Lindsay squeaked and extended her hand toward her friend. Emily just laughed and they shook hands before going back to the evidence while Emily started telling her all that had happened.

"Ok, here we go. When I got home yesterday…"

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Two weeks had passed since Lindsay and Emily's conversation in the lab, and just when Emily's patience had started to fail, making her believe that she would never be able to get to her date with Don, their workload returned to its normal levels almost as suddenly as the madness had started.

At the moment, an exhausted Emily was laying in bed fully asleep and completely oblivious to her alarm clock that had gone off twice and the sunshine that was shining brightly into her small bedroom. This wouldn't be the case for long, however. Lindsay who was making her way to Emily's apartment to pick her up for their girl's day out decided to call her to make sure that she was awake and dressed.

From the moment she had found out that Emily was going out with Flack, Lindsay had insisted that they go shopping and find something appropriate for her to wear. Today was their first opportunity and since the date was scheduled for later that evening, they had decided to go out before they had to go into work at 2pm. They only needed to be there for a three or four hours depending on how much evidence they had to analyze. Hopefully not much, because even though Mac had told them that they were not allowed to stay for more than half a shift since they had worked so much overtime in the last couple of weeks, six o'clock would still put her behind in her date preparations.

That is why Lindsay was making her way to Emily's apartment at 7 o' clock in the morning. Not to mention calling her to make sure she was awake even earlier than that, since she knew very well that Emily wasn't a morning person. "Emily!" Lindsay yelled as she knocked on her front door. The combined racket of her phone ringing and Lindsay pounding on the front door roused Emily from her sleep. Sluggishly she threw one leg over the edge of the bed, then the other and shuffled down the hall to open the door. Lindsay was making so much noise by now that she was about to wake up the whole building.

"Ok, ok… I'm up! I'm coming!" Emily yelled toward the door as she started unlocking it to let her agitated friend inside. The moment Lindsay opened the door and saw Emily standing there in her pajamas her jaw dropped.

"What are you doing asleep? We are going shopping remember?"

Emily looked over to the microwave where the luminous clock read 7:06 am and then turned her half-lidded eyes to the petite woman in front of her. Even without shoes on Emily loomed more than half a foot taller than her.

"Linds, what are you doing here at seven o'clock in the morning? She asked, sleep slurring her words. Lindsay just fixed her with a glare.

"Come on! We need to go into work at 2 o' clock. Did you forget?"

"No. I just didn't expect you here until nine. Why do we need…" she tried to make her sluggish mind cooperate and so the math "…seven hours for one outfit?"

"Emily!" Lindsay yelled in a shrill voice and Emily hastily covered her ears.

"Ok, you win! I'm going to get dressed now!"

"Great. I'll make you some coffee to go, because you really need to wake up. Get going! Chop, chop missy!"

Emily just grunted thanks to Lindsay as she headed to her bathroom for a quick morning shower. Washing the sleep off her limbs, she relished the feel of hot water cascading down her body. Twenty minutes later she emerged from her bedroom fully clothed and ready to deal with a full day of shopping. She was wearing her favorite pair of skinny jeans and a simple white button down. The fabric was light and airy and her sleeves reached right below her elbows keeping her cool in the warm September climate. Completing her outfit was a light blue scarf tied around her neck, perfectly accentuating her bright blue eyes and setting off her creamy complexion. In her hands she held two pairs of shoes: a pair of flats and a pair of high heel, black pumps. She stood in the doorframe looking at Lindsay as she pulled her cute ballerina shoes on and stuffed her heels in her purse for later.

"Ready!" she announced.

"Here's your coffee." Lindsay said as she pushed a plastic cup into Emily's hand when she saw her yawning. "Let's go!"

The two girls made their way out of the apartment and headed toward Lindsay's car ready for their fun-filled morning. The ride to the nearest mall was quick and in no time the two NYPD Detectives were inside one of the large department store trying to decide what kind of outfit Emily was going to wear. Emily was thinking of a nice pair of black pants with a sexy top, but Lindsay was almost adamant on her wearing a skirt. In the end the duo compromised, deciding that Emily would wear a dress.

Five stores and a hundred dresses later Emily emerged from the dressing room in a fitted black dress that ended three or four over her knees. Despite having tried an obscene amount of dresses on before that one in various colors and lengths, she felt really good about that particular one. It fit her perfectly, hugging her body without being two constrictive. She was almost positive that it was the one and she only needed Lindsay's opinion and approval.

One look at Emily in the dress had Lindsay convinced. She looked absolutely stunning in it. It was silky with a low but modest décolleté and spaghetti straps. The hem of the dress was about mid-thigh showing of her long shapely legs. Around the bust and on the left side of the bodice were several small stitched flowers in a vibrant pink that contrasted perfectly with dark midnight color of the rest of the dress. It set off her milky white complexion perfectly and accentuated her black tresses.

"You look amazing! Flack is going to be speechless when he sees you in that!" Lindsay squealed excitedly and grinned at Emily. Flack is a goner! I wish I could be there to snap a picture when he sees her. Lindsay chuckled at the mental image of Flack with his jaw slack staring at Emily, his mind unable to form any coherent thought, let alone sentence.

"You think? I really like it too!" Emily said as she grinned back.

"Then it is settled. I really like the pink stitching. I think we could pair it up with pink shoes and accessories." Lindsay said with a thoughtful look on her face.

"I already have a cute pink jacket that I think would match well and a black purse with a pink design, so I think we are left with shoes." Emily replied thinking of the contents of her closet.

"Ok, then. Let's go get some shoes!"

Emily swiftly changed back into her clothes and after she paid for her dress the two exited the sort and walked to the shoe store. Thankfully their search for shoes was a short one because Emily glimpsed the perfect pair in the window of the first store they went to. It was an adorable pair of black, leather, four inch heels with a rounded tip. Weaving around the foot was a pink ribbon, ending in a bow in the front. She asked the sales lady for her size and tried them and realized they were quite comfortable –for high heels anyway- and immediately purchased them.

She was about to go to the parking lot when Lindsay pulled her arm in the opposite direction.

"Come on, Em! Last stop: Lingerie." Lindsay announced with a flourish before erupting into giggles. Emily blushed bright pink.

"Lindsay! What do you think I will be doing? It is our first date for crying out loud!"

"Oh, come on! It's fun!" Lindsay said between bouts of laughter. "Even if you don't use it tonight, you could always wear it again. Now, listen up. Black is always a safe bet, but you could pretty much wear any color under the black dress, so take your pick. I don't think you need help with this one." With that Lindsay left Emily alone in the store to find the perfect set for the night.

Forty five minutes later and after a lot of internal debate Emily finally purchased a matching royal blue set, complete with a garter. She paid for it and then went looking for Lindsay that had mysteriously disappeared. It was time for them to leave if they wanted to avoid New York's finest rush hour traffic and get into work late. In the end, she found her near the cashier, waiting in line.

"Lindsay! If we don't leave now we are going to be late for work!"

"Go to the car. I'll meet you there as soon as I pay for this." Lindsay said wiggling a dark red negligee in front of Emily's face. Emily just laughed and nodded as she received the keys from her and headed out of the store toward their parked car.

Her cell phone ringing interrupted her attempt to unlock Lindsay's car. She fished it out of her purse and answered.

"Brooks"

"Emily. It's Mac. I need you and Lindsay to head out to a crime scene and pick up the evidence boxes so you can analyze them at the lab. Stella and Flack are already there."

"No problem, Mac. We will head there now. Meet you in the lab in an hour."

Flipping her cell phone closed she opened the trunk and placed her shopping bags inside and then walked around to the passenger side of the little blue car and slid into her seat. Moments later, Lindsay joined her and they backed out of their parking space and headed toward the crime scene that was waiting for them.

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"We need to stop meeting like this Detective." Emily breathed in Flack's ear when they arrived at the crime scene, making sure her voice was low and husky. She could hardly resist teasing him, even if she nearly burst out laughing at the way he spun around to face her. Unfortunately, the smile on her face turned into a grimace of pain, when his movement caused the back of his head to collide with her nose.

"Ow."

"I am so sorry Emily! Are you ok?" Flack asked his expression changing from one of confusion to one of concern almost instantly as he watched her clutch her nose.

"Yeah, I'm fine." came her slightly muffled response. "Make sure you don't injure me too much, or else I might just have to cancel on you tonight." she said in an undertone with a mischievous glint in her eyes that told him that she wasn't really hurt at all.

"Not if I can help it." He replied in the same tone throwing his charm smile at her. She just grinned back at him and didn't protest when he firmly placed his arm on the small of her back leading the way to Stella and Lindsay who had just started discussing the particulars of the case and evidence they had gathered so far. Emily and Lindsay were supposed to retrieve whatever they had so far and start analyzing it at the lab.

The whole time they were standing there, Emily couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched, but brushed it off thinking that it was because of the crowd that had gathered around the crime scene. She stood there for a few more minutes going over details with her co-workers and then left with Lindsay, neither of them noticing the cab that was following them.

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Hidden in the shadows across the street from the crime scene a man stood watching the flirty exchange between Don and Emily, his insides burning with jealousy and anger. It can't be her. How could she do that to me? First she left me and now she is standing there without a care in the world, flirting with another guy? She won't get away with it. When I am done with her she will regret the day she was born. His dark eyes flashed with anger as he shook his head, his unkempt grey hair falling into his eyes with the movement. At one point he might have been handsome. Tall, with distinctive features and eyes the color of dark coffee, that were all lost by his lank hair and dirty clothes, but mostly from his expression; eyes glinting in the darkness and an insane half smile that only distorted his features rather than beautify them. That same manic smile overtook his features as he thought of a plan. A plan to make her come back to him. Hailing a cab, he slid into the back seat, instructing the driver to follow the car in front of him.

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Lindsay drove Emily to her apartment so she could get ready for her date. It was almost 5 o'clock, so Emily had another two and a half hours before Don would pick her up. As Lindsay pulled up to her building Emily unlatched her seatbelt and went to open her door when Lindsay put her hand on her shoulder stopping her.

"What?" asked Emily.

"Nothing. I just wanted to let you know that I expect to get all the grisly details tomorrow! Understood?"

Emily rolled her eyes and mock-saluted.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Lindsay laughed as she removed her hand, allowing Emily to leave. She watched her until Emily walked into her apartment and then drove off.

Without either of them noticing, a man slipped out of a cab and then into the shadows across the street from Emily's apartment.

Emily walked in and left her keys on the counter. She slowly made her way towards her bedroom dropping items off as she went: her clothes in the hamper, the shopping bags on her bed, her jacket on the back of an armchair… She was humming in anticipation for her date, so she went about her usual tasks almost on autopilot. Grabbing a towel from the linen closet in the hallway she walked inside the bathroom, locked the door and started her shower.

Years in the foster system had taught her the importance of locking all doors behind you or suffering the consequences. It was almost a reflex to always lock the door when she would be staying in a room alone, whether that was her bedroom, the bathroom or some other area. More than once she had been interrupted while taking a shower by some perverted older foster brother with a camera. It was disgusting in her opinion, but she had no way of fighting them. Their foster parents didn't care most of the time, and they were way too big for her to tackle back then. So, instead, she started locking her door. There was no need for it today, but she did it anyway. She was perfectly safe in her little apartment. No one was going to come crashing in her bathroom.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

The man that had been silently watching her for the last few hours made his way to her door and used the instrument in his hand to pick the lock. After a few long moments the door opened with a click. Checking once more to make sure no one was in the hallway he opened the door and closed it behind him, careful not to make any noise. All senses on alert, he checked his surroundings for any hint as to where she might be. As his ears picked out the sound of running water he made his way towards it. Placing his hand on the doorknob, he turned it only to find that it was locked. He tried again without much success and then resorted to picking the lock.

In the shower, Emily thought she heard something, but disregarded it, thinking it was her imagination. She stood in the shower, the scalding water crashing around her obliterating all other senses, leaving her completely unaware of the danger lurking just on the other side of the curtain.

With a manic grin on his face, the man ripped the shower curtain open and jumped on the stunned Emily. She whipped around to see who it was without thinking and burned her face and eyes in the hot water. Taking advantage of her confusion and inability to see he quickly took hold of her hair, placing a sweet-smelling rag over her mouth. With one hand on her face, the other quickly circled her arms and waist holding her writhing form in place waiting for the chemical to take effect.

Her eyelids grew heavy as she fought to stay awake. She attempted to free herself but her captor was stronger than her and she couldn't do much as he held her limbs captive. Despite her struggle, her body slowly succumbed to the effects of the chloroform and she was unable to fight back, giving in to the darkness that was starting to engulf her. Images of her family in the lab flashed before her eyes as terror overwhelmed her. The last thing in Emily's mind before she lost consciousness was the bright blue eyes of Don Flack as she screamed out to him.

Don, help me!

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A/N: I know everyone was expecting their first date, but nothing is that easy now, is it? I promise you there is a VERY good reason for this, so don't worry!

Thoughts? Comments? Criticism? Review and let me know!