8am Thursday morning

Ellie walked up the steps to the hotel dining room, clutching the locked briefcase that would determine Victor’s fate, tightly in her right hand.

‘Good morning madam, may I help you?’ the hostess greeted her with a bright smile which Ellie somehow managed to return.

‘I’m meeting two of your residents for breakfast; Edward Wyndham and Wes Jackson’ she realised that her voice sounded steady and calm even though she could barely hear the hostesses reply thanks to the pounding of her heart in her ears.

She was led through the dinning room to a private booth at the back; Wyndham and Jackson were already there and Ellie could feel the excited tension radiating from them despite their calm exterior. With a smirk plastered across his face, Jackson held a chair out for her and she managed to grit her teeth and accept it rather than walk to the other side of the table and pull out her own chair. Before she could sit down Wyndham spoke

‘Why don’t you let me have your jacket?’

Ellie paused and then turned to look at him; ‘I’m fine with it on thank you’

The tight mirthless smile he gave her left his eyes icy cold; ‘you may be Agent Shaughnessy, I however am not. Please let me have your jacket’

For a long moment their eyes held, his cold, hers amused. She waited until she could see irritation begin to show on his face before she shrugged her shoulders and slipped her jacket off, handing it to Wes Jackson without bothering to look at him, her eyes still locked with Wyndhams

She slowly turned around, her arms held up and away from her sides; ‘I’m not wearing a wire………..do you want me to take the shirt off too?’

He scowled at her; ‘that wont be necessary.’ His eyes flickered briefly over her, taking in the tight white shirt and close fitting pants. He indicated toward the briefcase; ‘you have the documents that we talked about?’

She allowed her face to show the contempt she was feeling before she sat down. A pot of coffee was on the table and she poured herself a cup then sat back in her seat; ‘before we talk about the contents of this case I need some reassurances from you’

Wyndham looked irritated and waved his hand dismissively at her; ‘you got all of the reassurances I’m prepared to give you yesterday. If you don’t want your career destroyed, you'll give me the information we discussed yesterday’

Ellie couldn’t have kept the smile off her face if her life depended upon it, knowing full well how they were both going to look after she dropped her bombshell

‘Hmm, well you might like to re-think your attitude. You see there’s something you don’t know and it means that you don’t hold as strong a hand as you think you do’ she didn’t even try to keep the amusement she was feeling from her voice

They exchanged glances and she could see a faint hint of worry in Jackson’s eyes as he lent toward her;

‘Look Ellie, don’t mess us around………’

‘It’s Agent Shaughnessy, Agent Jackson’ her voice was icy cold as she met his eyes without flinching. He looked away first, discomfort showing in his eyes

‘Don’t mess us around Agent Shaughnessy, you’re not in a position to bargain with us’

‘Really? Your threat is that you’ll present 'evidence' that Victor and I are having an affair, 'evidence' you obtained illegally when Agent Jackson searched through a desk in my apartment. How’d you reckon that will play with the powers that be?’

Wyndham lent forward; ‘are you threatening me Agent Shaughnessy, because I can promise you that you don’t want to do that’

She ignored him and continued; ‘those phone records you obtained illegally showed a number of calls from me to Victor. What you don’t know is that they were made because he was acting as the executor of my mother’s Will’

She sat back and watched the consternation cross their faces, then Wyndham shrugged; ‘so I present it that you used the Will to cover for your affair. It still throws enough mud and I only need a bit to stick to force him out’ he smirked.

Ellie raised her eyebrows, looking forward to the next revelation. She waited until she could see the uncertainty creep back into his eyes then spoke again; ‘Hmm, I think you’ll that he wont be at all worried about you doing that…………since he can also prove, with a DNA test, that I’m his half sister’

The effect of this announcement gave her the reaction she was looking for; Wyndham sat back and went white; Jackson thumped his fist on the table

‘No way………’

‘Yes, ‘way’. My father is Victor’s father. In other words, he’s my brother, so I don’t think that telling people that we are having an affair is going to do you much good is it?’

Wyndham jumped to his feet, pushing his chair back so violently that it went flying backwards and crashed to the floor. He towered over her, his face was twisted into an expression of rage as he screamed at her

‘Why didn’t you tell us this yesterday? You………’

‘I waited because I wanted to make sure I had something to bargain with’

Her words stopped him in his tracks and he resumed his seat in the chair that Jackson had picked up for him

‘What do you mean?’

‘You want to destroy Victor Fitzgerald, yes?’

He nodded, his eyes narrowed as he watched her

‘OK, well, you need help to do that don’t you? The information you were going to use is no use to you but what if I had information that would let you destroy him anyway? What would you do for me?’

He sat back in his seat, his eyes never leaving her, a calculating look in them

‘Well, as I told you yesterday, I’ll guarantee you any position you want plus a fast track to a SAC role within the next 5 years’

‘Hmm, I’ll want it in writing…….’ At the look on his face she picked up her brief case and stood up, ‘no confirmation in writing, no deal’

He put his hand out to stop her; ‘tell me what you’ve got on Victor. If it will allow me to destroy him you can have your confirmation in writing……….but if you don’t I’ll destroy you any way I have to’

His voice was cold

Ellie smiled mirthlessly at him; ‘in that case, take a look in here. I think you’ll find everything that is needed…………’ she paused while Wyndham grabbed the case and opened it eagerly. As he saw the contents he looked up, shock showing on his face as she continued, triumph evident in her voice

‘………to prove you guilty of perverting the course of justice and blackmail you bastard’

Wyndham threw the case to the floor, stamping on it in an attempt to destroy the recording device he had seen inside

‘That won’t help you……….it’s a transmitter, not a recording device……we’ve got it all on tape’

Wyndham shot around as he heard Paula Van Doren’s voice behind him. Van Doren turned to Ellie

‘Agent Shaughnessy, thank you for your help. We’ll need your statement later…’ she turned to where Wyndham and Jackson were being handcuffed, ‘after we’ve finished talking to these two ‘gentlemen’

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Victor’s hotel room – 9:30am Thursday morning

Jack grinned at Martin; ‘you ready for this?’

Martin was struggling to wipe the smile off his face; ‘yeah; he must be going out of his mind with worry by now’

Jack swallowed hard and managed to put a serious look on his face as he knocked on the bedroom door. The door opened almost immediately to reveal a haggard looking Victor who stood to one side as Martin and Jack walked into the room. Martin went and stood with his back to his father, staring out of the window; Jack suspected that it was because he didn't trust himself to keep a straight face.

‘Well’ Victor’s voice sounded hoarse with worry

Jack indicated that he should sit down and saw him pale further; ‘she’s going to give them the information isn’t she’

He sounded defeated and suddenly looked old and tired. Jack saw Martin turn and approach the table

‘No, she isn’t’ he spoke softly and Victor’s head jerked around to look at him, a look of disbelief on his face

‘What………………I don’t understand………………’

His eyes swung wildly between Jack and Martin

Martin stared down at his father, an uncompromising look on his face; ‘It’s very easy; the person you abused, whose childhood you destroyed, who you’ve treated worse than you would a dog, has just saved your ass. She didn’t take you down; she took them down instead because it was the ‘right thing to do’'

Victor stared at his son, clearly struggling to find the right words.

Martin shook his head in disgust then looked at Jack; ‘I’ll wait for you in the car’ he headed for the door

‘Martin, I…………….’

‘Save it Dad; this doesn’t change what you’ve done and it doesn’t change how I feel about it either’

Martin let the door slam shut as he left the room. Jack sat silently, watching the struggle on Victor’s face

‘Where is she?’

Jack hesitated for a moment; ‘she’s at the office giving her statement’

‘I need to see her’ Victor stared at Jack, the look in his eyes begging for Jack’s help

‘Well, you can try, but I know she doesn’t want to see you’

Victor stood up, a look of determination on his face; ‘I appreciate that, but I have to try’

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ellie left the interview room and headed for the bull pen. Sam was sitting at the conference table doing paper work and looked up as she heard Ellie approach

‘Hi, all finished?’

Ellie dropped into a chair; ‘Yeah, all done’ she glanced around quickly, ‘Jack and Martin not back yet?’

‘No. I tried calling Martin a couple of minutes ago but his phone went to message service. Where’s Danny?’

‘The hospital; Jack didn’t need him this morning and it’s really bothering him that Rafi is blaming him for everything………..and all of this crap hasn’t helped’

Sam stared at her for a moment then lent forward; ‘look I might be speaking out of turn here but it’s obvious to everyone how he feels about you………I mean, I’ve known Danny for 6 years now and I’ve never seen him like this. I know he’s had a rough time but having you here has helped, and Danny being the person he is prefers helping someone over being helped himself’

Ellie stared at Sam feeling a faint blush begin to stain her cheeks; ‘I’ve never felt like this either………it’s just so fast, but it feels so right’ she shrugged feeling uncharacteristically shy.

Sam grinned; ‘yeah, gets you like that doesn’t it? Just don’t mess it up like I did; I’m lucky Martin gave me a second chance’

Ellie started to laugh; ‘I have to say, I do approve of my nephews partner……’

They were both laughing as Martin approached the conference table; one look at his face and both women stopped laughing

‘What’s up?’ Sam stood as Martin reached the table. He smiled briefly at her before turning his gaze to Ellie. She could see the apprehension in his eyes; she sighed

‘I’m just guessing, but this has something to do with Victor doesn’t it?’

Martin sat down in the seat next to her; ‘yeah, he’s here; he wants to see you’

Ellie stared at him; ‘he wants to see me? What the hell for?’

‘He wants to thank you’ Victor’s voice made them both jump. Ellie stood up slowly; the angry words that were threatening to spill from her mouth stilled by the uncertain look on his face

‘Could we go somewhere to talk………….please’ he sounded hesitant and the look in his eyes told her he wasn’t expecting her to agree

Ellie shrugged; ‘sure’ she looked at Jack who had arrived behind Victor, and like everyone else was watching the exchange silently, ‘can we use your office?’

He nodded and stood aside as she walked to his office with Victor trailing behind her. In Jack’s office Ellie perched on the desk as Victor closed the door and then stood awkwardly staring at her. She didn’t say anything, waiting for him to speak

‘Why did you help me? You have every reason to hate me, to want to see me humiliated, so why didn’t you? Why did you help me?’

‘I didn’t do it for you………I did it for me’

He stared at her uncomprehendingly and she reluctantly explained

‘I’ve hated you for as long as I’ve known your name and I’ve used it as some sort of…..of, fuel, to get through life and as an excuse to keep everyone at arms length. Then I arrived here and met a man who makes me happier than I can ever remember being, and that made me realise that I can’t hang onto the past. What you did made my life hell but it doesn’t have to make it hell in the future. If I had destroyed your career I’d have to live with what I’d done, so would Danny and so would Martin and I don’t want that. So I didn’t do it for you, I did it for me.’

She met his eyes calmly and for the first time ever, realised she didn’t feel any anger toward him, didn’t feel upset or hurt, instead she felt calm, even happy. He met her gaze and slowly nodded his head

‘Well, thank you anyway……….I………….I didn’t deserve your help and whatever the reason was, you did help me and I’m grateful’

She shrugged and stood up, not knowing what else they could say to each other. He shuffled his feet awkwardly and opened his mouth and the closed it again. He met her eyes again

‘Look, erm,……..is there anything you need……er, anything I can do to help you?’

The look on his face told her he was expecting her to start shouting; to get upset with him

‘Yeah, there is actually’

She almost laughed at the surprise on his face closely followed by apprehension then determination

‘Don’t worry, its nothing much. I want to transfer to New York permanently’ The relief was evident on his face then that was quickly replaced with worry

‘There isn’t a vacancy in MPU’

‘I don’t want MPU. I’ll stay until Agent Delgardo is back at work but I don’t want to work with Danny. If we are going to make this 'thing' work between us I think we are both going to need a bit of space. I checked though, and there is a vacancy coming up in one of the other Violent Crime teams’

She shrugged and saw him look relieved

‘I don’t think that will be a problem at all, I’ll get it sorted’

She nodded and walked to the door, opened it but turned to look at him again before leaving the room, not sure how to end the conversation.

The look on his face showed that he had no idea what they should say to each other either. She nodded awkwardly and turned to head out of the office when his voice stopped her

‘I’m sorry’

She turned slowly and met his eyes, unable to believe what she had just heard. She searched his eyes to see if these were just words as he continued;

‘I really am sorry’

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Six weeks later

The hot sand felt good under her feet as she walked along the beach in front of her apartment. She loved New York but it felt good to be back in Miami.

‘You know, maybe I should have applied for a transfer to Miami rather than you move to New York’; Danny grinned at her as he slung his arm around her shoulders, ‘I’d forgotten how much I miss the weather’

She stopped and slid her arms around his waist, smiling as she felt his arms tighten around her

‘You know you’ll never leave New York………no way you’d have come to Miami’

He raised his eyebrows at the confidence of her pronouncement, then bent his head and captured her lips in a brief kiss

‘I’d go just about anywhere for you’

The now familiar warmth flooded her as she heard the love in his voice. Familiar it may be, but it still gave her a thrill every time he let her know, by word, action or touch, how much he loved her.

She kissed him briefly on the lips as she slid her arms around his neck; ‘I love you’

‘I love you too…………but if we don’t actually pack your things we’ll be moving into our new apartment without the things you tell me we need to ‘make it a home’’

She grinned and thumped him gently on the chest, ‘don’t start whinging about the throws and the cushions again………….you’ll like it when I’ve finished putting it all together’

He pulled an amused face and shook his head; ‘I’m sure it’s going to look wonderful but as far as I’m concerned the only thing I need in it is you’

She rested her head against his shoulder for a moment feeling happier than she could ever remember feeling. She felt his lips against her temple and raised her head to smile at him

‘Come on, let’s get this packing done………….I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to move on’

A/N

Thankyou to everyone who has stuck with this story (when I started writing it I was planning 8 chapters...!!) and a special thankyou to everyone who has left a review! Please let me know your thoughts now this story is finally over...or is it?

Finally, extra special thanks to Ninz for her help and encouragement (and constant emails when I hit a patch of writers block!)