Disclaimer: I still don't own CSI: NY. I do own Officer Isobel Wilson.
Series: Kindred Spirits – see my profile for a full list of stories in chronological order.
Spoilers: Yahrzeit – big ones

Yahrzeit

Jess had known it was a bad case.

She didn't need the whispers and rumours floating around the squad room – too many involved her for her to pay them any attention.

No, she saw the truth in Don's eyes, read his body language, and she knew.

She noticed things about her partner that even he hadn't – he missed the extra sugar he added to his coffee, the way his eyes were bright with false alertness, the fact that his hand repeatedly ran through his hair until it resembled a bird's nest and she had to resist the urge to flatten it herself.

But it wasn't until his case was drawing to a close that she realised how bad it was.

He approached her silently at her desk and led her into the observation room without explanation. Two men – introduced as Israeli representatives – were waiting, their attention fixed on the elderly man Mac was interrogating. At first, he insisted that he, Abraham Klein, was innocent, but as the evidence stacked up, he confessed.

As Abraham Klein became Klaus Braun and he began to admit to pretending to smuggle Jews to safety, only to drive them straight to Auschwitz to be executed, Don took Jess's hand.

It was uncharacteristic public affection, but Jess didn't question it, even with the other two men in the room. She knew that Danny had already been suspended for going a little overboard when arresting the neo-Nazi who insulted Hawkes (only his impending fatherhood caused her to disapprove – she'd gladly have taken a swing as well, given half the chance). It wouldn't do for Don to get himself suspended as well, so she squeezed his hand, rubbing his knuckles soothingly with her thumb.

If the two men noticed their interaction, they didn't mention it.

Finally, Braun looked directly at them and, with cold eyes, uttered a single sentence in German. The two detectives looked at their companions with them, hoping for a translation.

One of them – Ben Lesnick – shifted with a scowl. "We should have killed them all."

Bile rose in Jess's throat and she tightened her grip on Don's hand, lest he storm in there.

The only outward sign of his anger was in the tightening of his jaw and he released her almost reluctantly. "His son's waiting in the hallway, Angell."

"Is he …?" Jess broke off, not sure what she was asking, let alone how to word it.

Don glanced at her. "He's Jewish."

Jess cursed under her breath and made her way to the door.

"Angell?" Don called after her. "I owe you pizza. After shift?"

Jess hid a smile, hearing the unspoken words. "Sure. You know where to find me." She left the room to find a young man sitting with his head in his hands. "David?"

He looked up, a look of utter despair in his eyes. "Is it true?" He whispered. "My father was a …"

The door to the interrogation room opened and Mac led Braun out in cuffs. David rose to his feet, staring at his father.

Seeing the pain on his face, Jess put a hand on his shoulder and guided him back into the bullpen. "Would you like a cup of coffee, Mr Klein?"

"David." He corrected quietly. "I don't …" He shook his head slowly. "Black, no sugar thank you."

Jess nodded and got a cup of coffee from the machine in the corner, taking it back to her desk where he'd slumped into her chair. "Are you alright?"

"He always told me how he survived." David whispered, cradling the hot cup in his hands. "How he lived through the horrors of Auschwitz. Now I find out that he put people there. People like me."

Jess perched on her desk. "This is probably the part where I say I'm sorry, but I doubt it'll help."

He gave her a twisted smile. "No, it won't." He sipped at his coffee. "Are you religious, Detective?"

Her hand slipped into her pocket and pulled out her St Michael's cross. "When I need to be. I was raised Catholic." She ran a thumb across the engraved metal. "But I see too much every day to keep faith. I know I have colleagues who do, but …"

"It's hard to believe a loving God would test us like this." David finished understandingly. "My heritage is … not what I thought it was."

"But is that necessarily important?" Jess asked quietly. "The question you need to ask yourself … that we all need to ask ourselves … is our faith stronger than our experiences?"

David nodded thoughtfully.

"Is there anyone I can call?" Jess asked.

"The only person I have is now locked in a cell and will hopefully be there for the rest of his life." David answered, rising from the chair. "But do you happen to know if there is a synagogue nearby?"

Jess hesitated. "No, I'm sorry."

"I do." Officer Wilson answered from nearby. "Two blocks west."

Jess glanced up, automatically running through the shift table and concluding that Isobel was about to leave. "You're sure?"

Isobel nodded. "That's where Mom and Dad go."

Jess raised an eyebrow, letting the younger officer take over, giving David directions, wandering over to Don's desk. His case-report, half-written, lay in his inbox and she flicked through it, getting the information she needed.

"Thank you, Officer." David said. "Detective."

Jess nodded. "If you need anything …"

"I understand." David shook her hand and left the precinct. As soon as he was out of earshot, Jess turned to Isobel. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"About what?" Isobel asked, her voice even.

Jess rolled her eyes and signed her own case-report. "Come on." She grabbed her jacket, clocked out, and accompanied Isobel out onto the street. "Isobel, you were one of the officers at Elgers' flat. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Should I have done?" Isobel asked, staring out at buildings across from them. "If he had been prejudiced against Catholics, I doubt every Catholic officer would have said something."

"No." Jess conceded. "But from all accounts, he had a freakin' shrine dedicated to the Holocaust; that can't have been easy if you're …"

"I'm not." Isobel smiled weakly. "I was growing up, but …"

Jess nodded, hearing her unspoken words, drawing parallel with her own experience. "I'm just saying that you don't have to force yourself through that. Detective Flack wouldn't have made a big song and dance about it."

"I know." Isobel assured her. "And I thought about it." She hesitated. "My grandmother was in Auschwitz."

The sudden confession brought Jess up short and she stared at her for a moment. "I …"

"She never quite believed she would survive." Isobel continued calmly. "She fell in love with one of the soldiers who rescued her and came here with him. They married and had my mother. Neo-Nazi, I could deal with, but then I heard what was in that room and I won't lie to you, Detective, I nearly did talk to Flack about getting out of there." She turned to face Jess, her eyes bright. "But my grandmother survived five years in that hell-hole. Least I could do was deal with the evidence."

Jess was stunned into silence for a few seconds, before she managed a smile. "You're braver than I am, Isobel. I don't know if I could've done that."

Isobel turned slightly pink. "I wouldn't say that, Detective."

Seeing her discomfort, Jess dropped the subject. "Any plans for the weekend?"

Isobel shrugged. "Not really. Catching up on laundry, I guess."

Jess grimaced in sympathy. "Living the high-life then."

Isobel chuckled. "Something like that. You have anything exciting planned?"

Jess hid a smile. "Not at the moment. But the people in my life tend to turn up when I least expect them. And I should probably make sure Messer's ready for the baby. Knowing him he's probably forgotten something."

"I'm sure he hasn't." Isobel protested with a grin.

"You give Danny too much credit." Jess told her with a smirk as they reached her car. "See you on Monday."

"See you later, Detective."

Jess shook her head as she got in her car. Is she ever going to stop that? As she drove home, she dialled Danny's number, leaving the phone hands free.

"Messer."

"It's me." Jess told him. "Just checking to see when Lindsay's due back."

"Four days." Danny answered with a slight groan. "Then we've got a week until the baby's due."

Jess grimaced. She was no doctor but she still wasn't happy with Lindsay flying so far along her pregnancy. "So you're ready for the baby then?"

Danny gave a heavy sigh. "Yes, Mom."

Jess rolled her eyes, but ignored him. "You have diapers?"

"Yes."

"Bottles?"

"I think Linds wants to breast-feed, but yes."

"Changing table?"

"Yes."

"Clothes?"

"Enough to supply Baby Gap for the next ten years."

Jess suppressed a snigger and ran through all the other things a couple might need for a new-born. "Baby monitor?"

"Five."

"Don't need that many, but well done." Jess pulled into the parking lot of her building. "Crib?"

There was a pause.

Then …

"Shit."

Jess smirked. "You forgot to get a crib, didn't you?"

"Dammit, how'd I do that?"

"No idea, Danny, but I gotta go. Good luck." Jess hung up and made her way up to her apartment. She had just enough time to shower and change before she heard Don unlocking the door.

He locked his gun away in her safe, loosening his tie as he made his way into her bedroom. Jess met his eyes in her mirror and put her hairbrush down, watching him collapse onto her bed.

"You okay?"

"Can I sleep for a week?" Don asked, his eyes closed.

Jess chuckled fondly. "And here I thought you'd come here for something else."

Without opening his eyes, Don extended a hand to her and she took it, allowing him to pull her into his arms. "Sometimes," he breathed, "I need that after a bad case – and I know you do too. But that case was so bad that I just need to hold you. Remind myself that the city's not full of psychos."

Jess closed her eyes as well, curling into his side. "Wilson's grandmother was in Auschwitz."

Don's body jolted slightly and she knew his eyes had snapped open. "She never said … Is she alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine." Jess sighed. "Handling it better than I would be. I think she's just glad that she had a hand in putting the bastard away."

"Yeah, so am I." Don muttered. "It sickens me how someone could be that cowardly."

Jess opened her eyes and shifted so she was lying on her stomach beside him, propped up on her elbows. She hesitated – what she had heard in the observation room had been enough – but her love for him overrode her reluctance and she lifted his hand to her lips, kissing it softly. "Tell me about it."

AN: Okay, I hated this episode. But I have one more to write and then we can get on with the revised Season 6! I want to sort out 'Kindred Spirits' first though – the story not the series – see if I can't put some order to it. As always, review please!