So I came up with this idea but it didn't really fit with the chapter I did in January, so I decided to post it as a one-shot given how the timeline has progressed so far.

January 18th, 2006.

Don hadn't really given the L-word much thought. He knew things between him and Paige were serious, but he didn't know if he was ready to say those words to her yet. He vaguely wondered what she was up to. She had come back to Manhattan early so he wouldn't miss her on his birthday, so she was currently staying at the sorority house with a lot of time on her hands waiting for the new semester of classes to start.

He had never seen himself dating a college student – he had seen plenty of them, guys and girls alike in the drunk tank every weekend after a night of partying – most of them had also been underage. Paige was young, but she didn't have to get wasted to have a good time – wasn't an option for over a year as she was only nineteen.

He looked up for a minute from doing the mountain of paperwork that had accumulated over the winter to look at the photo of her he had taped onto the edge of his computer screen. He had taken it with that fancy digital camera that she was always taking with her if they ever went somewhere new that she hadn't been before. He had found an album of pictures that she had taken, and they were great – Paige was one hell of a photographer.

He remembered the day he took that photo – a rare day had popped up that he had the time off, and they had gone to Orion Park in Coney Island after Paige's classes let out to have some fun. They had ridden the Cyclone several times, ate enough park food between them to kill a horse, and made out on the Wonder Wheel like hormonal teenagers. Don had shot darts and won Paige this huge stuffed animal that she had later brought back to the sorority house – it spent more time in her bed than he did, given that any noise they made would be overheard by her friend and roommate Stacy.

Don looked at the picture. Paige's emerald colored eyes sparkled and she had a huge ear-to-ear grin as she turned her head mid-run on the beach to look back at him, her auburn hair swirling around in waves.

"Looking at you definitely makes paperwork less boring," said Don.

"Talking to your girl's photo again Flack?" said Scagnetti.

Don rolled his eyes. Both Scagnetti and Maka were standing right there.

"Lighten up, he's in love," said Maka.

"I never said I was in love," said Don.

"Actions, Don," said Maka. "Remember how she came over that one time when we were joking about Scagnetti and you felt the need to quickly explain yourself? Only she realized that nothing had to be explained in the first place?"

"What was funny?" said Scagnetti.

"Who breaks a leg fishing?" said Maka.

"It was a big fish – dragged me right outta the boat," said Scagnetti. "Not funny – okay I guess it's funny."

The three of them laughed.

"Paige found it funny too," said Maka. "She's pretty cool for a college student – at least we won't see her in the drunk tank, she's got a good head on her shoulders."

"I hate it when they're in there – they smell!" said Scagnetti.

More laughter ensued between the three detectives.

"Paige – that's her name, huh?" said Scagnetti.

Don nodded. Maka let out an annoying sigh.

"I got more paperwork," said Maka.

"I got a hot homicide – ta-ta!" said Scagnetti.

"Did he really just say 'ta-ta'?" said Don.

"Someone has leftover eggnog at home – how about we invite ourselves and make him share," said Maka.

"You're evil," said Don.

Maka snickered and went back to her stack of papers. Don went back to his and was doing them when someone shouted "gun!" He immediately stood up and went for his piece. What Don saw in front of him was a handgun on his desk and an upset man with his hands up.

"I just shot a woman – I think she's dead!" said the man.

Don picked up the gun with a towel, all the while telling the man to relax. The last thing the detective wanted was a shootout in the precinct and something going wrong, that something being him dying and either Lindsay or Maka breaking the bad news to Paige.

"What's your name?" said Don.

"Paul Richmont," said the man. "I just shot Dr. Rachael Jeffries. Her body's in an alley in SoHo outside her office."

Don took this all down in his memo book, escorted Paul to lockup, and called Stella with the information.

************************************************************************

Don Flack had been on the job almost ten years, so it got rare when a case affected him. Tonight was one of those rarities as he sat in Sullivan's with Danny.

"So how did your case go?" said Danny. "Mac, Hawkes, and I busted up an ecstasy ring and the guy who murdered two naked models covered in paint – not that I enjoyed it when they were dead, I got more dignity than that."

"I know you do Messer," said Don.

"You sound off," said Danny.

"Just had a rough case is all," said Don.

"One of those, huh?" said Danny.

Don nodded. The Jeffries case was all he could think about lately. Usually it was the victim that was on his mind, but it was Paul Richmont who picked at his brain as he sat with his best friend.

As the case had unfolded, the fate of Paul had come to light – terminally ill with a blood disease and trying to find a way to stay alive so his wife Lynette wouldn't have to suffer the pain of losing him, he turned to Dr. Jeffries for treatment, but she had been scamming him. He was going to die anyway, and after the fruitless leech sessions Paul and Lynette had lost everything. He had kept going anyway, and when Lynette found out she shot Dr. Jeffries in the back, killing her.

Paul had gone ballistic when Stella had brought Lynette into the station. The married couple had been completely distraught at that point; her knowing she had been caught and him knowing his plan to pin the murder on himself so she could be free had gone straight out the window.

"I need some air," Paul had said.

So Paul had gone outside with Stella, and Don had spared a look at the paperwork on his desk for a minute before thinking about Paul. He was going to die, and his wife was going to serve a life sentence – if she didn't end it after Paul's imminent death.

Don found his mind on Paige again. Although he would never take the blame for someone else's mess, he knew love had been the reason for Paul Richmont to take the blame for a murder he didn't commit.

Don left Sullivan's and hailed a cab to the sorority house. He needed to see her. Even though he wasn't ready to drop the L-bomb, everything that had happened today had put a lot of perspective in his mind. Being with someone made people think differently. He knew he had changed for the better since he had started going out with Paige. A big part of it was that she didn't put him on a pedestal like so many other people had done in the past. He could just be himself, whether that meant hanging out or doing some romantic gesture on his part. He rang the doorbell and heard the sound of feet on stairs before the door was opened. Paige stood there in the doorway wearing leopard pajamas, matching slippers, and a surprised expression on her face that quickly changed to a happy one.

"Wanna come in?" said Paige.

Don nodded and she closed the door.

"You the only one here?" said Don. "Where's the house mother?"

"Trashed – she drank half the stash of alcohol everyone hid in various places of the house," said Paige. "So we can make all the noise we want."

Don wrapped his arms around Paige and held her close, inhaling the sweet scent of coconut that always seemed to linger on her skin, as if she had gone island-hopping every time they happened to be apart. They sat on the couch where they exchanged kisses and conversation.

"So I decided to get ahead of everyone and get all my books for my new classes," said Paige. "I'm glad the scholarship covers them, I heard a few people in front of me moan about the prices of certain books."

"There's people here this early?" said Don.

"Classes start in five days, so a few people who live far away came back to get things in order before classes resume," said Paige. "So did anything crazy happen with you today?"

"You could say that," said Don.

"Tell me – your day was probably better than mine, I spent it in my pajamas watching action films all day," said Paige.

"No, your day was way better than mine, trust me," said Don.

He proceeded to tell her about Paul Richmont's bogus confession and how it had unraveled. He took her hand in his and held it gently, staring into those intense green eyes that always put him into a trance.

"Talk about landing a catch – she killed someone and he loves her so much he was willing to do the time," said Don. "Then again it was probably 'cuz he was gonna die anyway. While I don't condone such behavior, it taught me that being with someone means putting it all on the line. I would put it all on the line for you, Paige Anderson."

The response Don got from Paige was a passionate kiss. They made out off and on for a couple hours, not wanting to go further with the house mother passed out upstairs in her room.

Later that night they were both on the couch cuddling. Paige lay on top of Don as the couch was too small. She felt happy lying in his arms, a blanket over both of them. He ran his fingers through her hair and she undid his tie while he was distracted.

"Hey," said Don. "I needed that."

"What for? You're not at the precinct," said Paige.

"I guess you're right," said Don.

"Donnie?" said Paige. "I'm getting sleepy. We'd better disentangle ourselves before I fall asleep so you can go home."

"I'll just stay the night," Don whispered. "Don't worry about it."

Paige fell asleep soon afterwards.

Keep in mind once the fic gets back to the prologue you'll all have to brace yourselves 'cuz anything, and I mean anything, goes...

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