A Time to Heal

Disclaimer: I am not Anthony Zuiker, Ann Donahue or Carol Mendelsohn. All the characters of CSI: NY are not mine…I’m just borrowing them for a little bit. I promise that I will put them back, exactly the way I found them when I’m done….Oh, Cory Reid is mine and I will take credit for anything she does. :^)

A/N: Okay…This is the Saturday before Cory leaves...It’s kinda fluff. Oh, I still don’t own Taylor….As always, please, please, please R&R!! My muse loves the attention!!! Also, this is kind of a short chapter. But I felt that some more fluff was necessary before the angst of her actually leaving!

Chapter 39.

Farewell

When Cory woke up the next morning, she was still basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. She sighed contently as she slowly traced random patterns on Danny’s chest. She took a quick glance at the clock and realized that it was noon. Not knowing if Danny had to work or not, she decided to wake him up. “Danny? Mon chere? Come on. Wake up.”

Finally Danny began to stir. “What’s the matter?” His voice was sleepy and Cory decided it was very sexy.

“Do you have to work today?”

Danny thought for a second. “Nope. I’m just on second call. I work the swing shift tomorrow.”

Cory smiled as she bent over him. “Good. I have some rather interesting plans for today.” She lowered her head and kissed him deeply.

Danny leaned up into the kiss, putting his arms around her. He lightly traced a finger down her spine and was rewarded as she began to giggle.

Cory began to laugh so hard that she tried to move away. “Stop!” She got out in between the giggling. She squirmed. “Please. I’m ticklish. Danny!!”

When Danny finally stopped tickling her she realized that they had changed positions and he was above her now. He winked at her. “Gotcha!” Then he bent his head to kiss her again.

This kiss was like none they had shared the previous night. It was soft, slow and filled with passion. Cory whimpered as Danny began to move his hands down her body again. This time it wasn’t ticklish.

She felt his chest against her breast, the hair teasing her nipples in to hardness. She arched her back, to increase the contact between them.

She sighed as his mouth moved down her neck, lightly suckling the skin there.

Danny felt the shudders moving through her body and smirked to himself. She may have been in control last night, but today it’s my turn. He carefully gauged her reactions to the different places he was kissing, trying to pin down exactly what caused a positive reaction.

He slowly moved down her body and began to caress her breasts, being careful to avoid her nipples.

Cory moaned at the teasing, “Danny…”

Danny heard her moan and began to repeat his movements with his tongue. Cory began to arch her back, desperate to feel him take her nipple into her mouth, but he denied her the contact.

Cory grew frustrated at his teasing and grabbed his hair in her hands. She pulled his head up and looked into his eyes. “Danny, I swear…If you don’t stop teasing me, I will have to do something about it.”

Danny raised his eyebrows as he body reacted to her implied threat. “Really? What exactly would you do to me?”

Cory laughed and with no warning reversed their positions, so that she was on top. “Remember, love. Revenge is a bitch.” She quickly straddled him, bringing her moist heat into contact with his hardness. She rubbed herself against him, but would not let him enter her.

Danny growled at the back of his throat, enjoying the pleasure that was shooting up his body. He bucked his hips, wanting more contact between them.

In response, Cory lowered her weight onto him, preventing him from moving. Then she began to move her hips in small circles, creating even more sparks. Panting, she lowered her head to kiss him, her hair making a curtain around them.

Danny moaned when she licked her lips before kissing him. He raised his head, trying to kiss her, but she moved her head back. Danny put his head down in frustration.

Cory moved her head to the side, kissing the side of his mouth. Slowly she moved her mouth, so that they were kissing in full. She began to explore his mouth with her tongue, keeping the rhythm of her hips.

Danny felt the desire shoot through his body at the sensation. Danny desperately tried to gain the upper hand again and with a show of strength twisted her beneath him. He looked down at her, her chest heaving in desire and smirked.

Cory smiled. “Are you going to tease me anymore?”

Danny shook his head no and bent to take one of her nipples in his mouth. He also began to trail his hand down to her wetness. He lightly stroked her and taking a page from her book, he timed his movements to the pressure of him mouth.

Cory shuddered, her desire rising and cresting in a crash. She whimpered as the orgasm washed over her.

Danny smiled in triumph, but continued his movements, bringing her desire up again. Finally, he couldn’t wait any longer. Leaving her for a second to retrieve a condom from his pants, he was quickly back and preparing to enter her.

In one quick thrust, he entered her and paused, enjoying the sense of completion that he felt. Slowly he began to move, trying to extend their pleasure.

Cory smiled in contentment at his movements. She wrapped her legs around him, encouraging him to quicken the pace. Danny complied. She began to moan in earnest at the sensations she was feeling. She pulled his head down again.

Their tongues dueled in earnest as the pace became frantic and then with one final thrust, Danny felt his own orgasm crest.

Cory heard his low moan and felt his body tense. This threw her over the precipice again and she joined him in his orgasm.

As they lay there, wrapped in each other’s arms, they shared the same thought. I wish we could stay like this forever.

(Later)

A couple of hours later, they finally decided to get out of bed due to hunger. Cory went to the kitchen and was fixing lunch when Danny walked in wearing only his boxers. He went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water from it. “So what are you going to do with all this food?”

Cory responded without turning around. “The fresh and frozen stuff I’m giving to one of my neighbors. All of the food that is non-perishable I’m taking to a food bank. That reminds me, I still have so much to do before I can leave. I’ve got to wash all my clothes and pack up the bedrooms.” Cory got serious at that thought. “I wish I didn’t have to go, but I can’t stay just for him.”

Danny, too, was saddened by the thought of her leaving. He walked over to her and put his arms around her. “Ti amo, bella. I wish that you didn’t have to go.”

Cory turned in his arms, facing him. “Ti amo, Danny. Je t’aime avec tout mon coeur. I love you with all my heart, cherie. I wish I didn’t have to go either, but we both knew going into this that this day would come. It just doesn’t make it any easier.”

Danny hugged her, breathing in the scent of her hair. “I know. I can still wish though.”

Cory nodded silently as she stepped back from him and finished preparing lunch. After they had eaten, it was about three o’clock. Cory put her clothes in to wash. “Luckily, I only have one load to wash, since I washed everything earlier this week.” She went to her bedroom to pack her clothes that were clean. She brought out two suitcases and started with her underwear drawer.

That was how Danny found her after cleaning up the kitchen and packing all of the non-perishable food. “Whacha doin’?”

“Packing my clothes.”

“Can I help?”

Cory couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry Danny. I really don’t think I’m comfortable with you packing my underwear.”

Danny got a twinkle in his eyes. “You didn’t seem to mind last night.”

Cory just blushed and Danny laughed. “What about your other clothes?”

Cory nodded and gestured to the closet. “You can start on those. Pack up all the jeans and t-shirts first. Then start on the work clothes.” Cory walked to the closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and a purple t-shirt out of the closet. “Except these. I’ll wear these tomorrow.”

Danny nodded and carefully began to pack her clothes. About an hour later, they were done. Cory had included a couple of pairs of shoes in the suitcases, just in case the moving truck was delayed for any reason. The rest of the shoes, she put in another box and labeled it for transport.

She went to the bathroom and began to pack that up.

Finally, about 7 pm, she was completely done packing. Danny and her sat on the couch, contemplating dinner. Finally, Danny looked at her. “Do you want to go out?”

Cory nodded. “It sounds like a plan. Let me grab my purse and we can leave.” She locked up the apartment and they left.

Fifteen minutes later, Cory was completely confused. “Where are we going?”

Danny smirked. “It’s a surprise.”

Finally, they stopped walking in front of an apartment building. Danny looked down at Cory and saw the confusion in her eyes. “Stella and Lindsay called me. They planned a going away party for you. I had to have you here by eight.”

Cory looked like she was in shock. “Really? They did that just for me! They are so sweet! What are we waiting for, let’s go up.”

Danny led her up into the building and up to Stella’s apartment. He knocked on the door.

Stella opened up the door and quickly took Cory in a hug. “Welcome to my apartment! How are you doing?”

Cory returned her hug and thought carefully about what she wanted to say. “Thank you. I’m doing okay. I have mixed feelings about leaving.”

Stella drew her away into the kitchen, so they could be alone. “How are you and Danny doing?”

Cory sighed. “Okay. He apologized, I apologized and we both realize how hard tomorrow is going to be for us.” Cory paused. “I love him, Stella. I love him, like I haven’t loved anyone since James. It scares me.”

Stella looked at her, a knowing look in her eyes. “Love should make you feel safe. It frees you, it doesn’t bind you.”

Cory looked at Stella and began to laugh. “Yes, oh wise one. How far up the mountain did I climb?”

Stella took the jab in a good-natured manner and started to laugh. “Hey! It’s true. Let’s grab some drinks. Everyone else should be here soon.”

They walked back into the living room to see Danny sitting on the couch. Cory smiled. “Here ya go, sweetie.” She handed him a beer. She sat down next to him, also with a beer in hand. She laid her head on his shoulder just as a knock sounded at the door. Flack and Lindsay walked in.

Lindsay walked over to Cory and gave her a hug. “Ready to go back?”

“Yes and no. It will be nice to see my family and friends. It’s been a long time since I was back.”

Lindsay nodded. “I understand completely. I haven’t been back since I left. I find that I miss the weirdest things.”

Cory nodded. “Me, too! It’s really sad, but I missed the summer weather and the meteorologists that are on the air in Dallas. They make all of the insane jokes about Texas weather, but…I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. I miss the smell of cut grass, the sight of the stars in the sky at night.”

Lindsay nodded, feeling a little homesick. “Same here. Lord, I’m going to miss you when you leave. It was nice to talk to someone who had a similar background to me.”

Cory smiled and then jumped a little when a pair of hands covered her eyes. “What the heck?”

“Guess who?”

Cory jumped up. “Taylor! Hey. How are you?”

“It’s been quiet. I heard a crazy rumor that you are going back to Texas and I had to say goodbye.”

The girls continued to talk, while the guys moved to the other side of the room.

Flack looked at Danny. “So, how ya holding up?”

Danny sighed. “I don’t want her to leave, but I don’t have a choice. I can’t force her to stay.”

Mac walked in at that time. He walked over to the guys.

Danny looked at Mac. “Hey, Mac.”

Mac looked at him, seeing the underlying pain in his eyes. “Danny. You okay?”

“Yeah. Now that everyone here, let’s get this party started.”

(After the party)

Cory finally decided to call it a night about 11 pm. “Sorry, Stella. My flight leaves so early tomorrow that I need to get some sleep.”

Stella nodded. “I understand. Go back to your apartment, get some sleep.”

Cory and Danny left, slowly walking back to her apartment. “Are you going to stay with me tonight, Danny?”

“Yeah. I want to spend as much time with you as possible. Plus, it would be stupid for me to go home, only to come back over to take you to the airport. When are the rest of your belongings being shipped?”

“Monday. The Bureau provides a service and Agent Michaels said that he would supervise for me. I should have everything back in Dallas as of Tuesday.”

“Oh. It’s going to be really weird not having you here.”

Cory smiled. “We can always call and email. I’ll keep you updated on pretrial jitters. By the way, all y’all are being subpoenaed to testify in the case.”

“I know. We got served a couple of days ago. So I guess the second week in October, I’ll get to see what Texas looks like. Any suggestions on what kind of clothes I should bring?”

Cory laughed. “Well…It’s Texas in October, so you should be prepared for anything. We could have temperatures from the mid to upper nineties or it could be in the forties or fifties. The weather’s kinda crazy there that time of year. Best advice would be to make sure you watch the weather the week before. Or check online. Hell, you could always call me and I can tell you what to expect!”

Danny opened the door of her apartment, laughing at her wry acceptance of the weather. “I think I’ll definitely call you. It sounds too unpredictable.”

They walked through her apartment and to the bedroom. Cory got ready for bed and lay down. Danny got in beside her and within minutes, he was asleep.

Cory, however, was having trouble falling asleep. She was to keyed up and nervous. After lying in bed for an hour, she carefully extracted herself from Danny’s arms.

She went into the living room and opened up her laptop. She took out her ear buds and brought up her jukebox. Carefully she went through her music and selected songs for a mix for Danny. When she was done, she burned the CD and put it into a case.

Then she took out some paper and started to write a letter to him, to let him know how she felt about leaving him. Two hours later, and eight letters that she was not satisfied with, she finally got the wording right. She sealed the letter into an envelope and wrote his name on the front. She put both that and the CD into her purse, to give to him at the airport.

She looked at the clock and realized that it was almost 3 am. She decided to start getting ready to leave.