It Could Have Been Me

Disclaimer: CSI: NY isn't mine.

Notes: A short, cute little one-shot of a moment of friendship between Mac and Stella after a long day of work. Contains mention of several episodes through the course of the series. I haven't seen the latest two, but this was inspired by a video on YouTube by velev, containing the entire collection of Lindsay's "demonstrations" – http : / / www . youtube . com / watch?v=oX8QEDALmcw. It's like a drabble, I suppose, only long-ish. I'm so sorry. I couldn't help myself.

Completely unbetaed.

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The first time, it had been when the dead dancer had been found, fallen out of a tram car to the street below. Lindsay had been working what they'd thought was a separate case, trying to find out who had murdered the elderly driver of the tram – and of course, she had found a strange substance while working in the tram car.

She'd done her job, and done it well. And perhaps because she was new... she used a very different approach to letting them know her results…

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"Who wants to play?"

They eyed her dubiously, then the tray she'd placed on the table.

"Hydrogen sulfide?" Mac raised an eyebrow, looked without amusement at the bottle.

"I borrowed it from the trace lab. The stuff stinks. That rotten egg smell, it's absolutely awful," Lindsay said matter-of-factly, as though she honestly thought that Mac and Stella didn't already know, and was re-educating them in this. Mac's eyebrow shot higher.

"I'm aware of that. Why is it in my office?"

Stella had leaned back to watch, amused by the new girl's presentation and approach, and secretly enjoying her spunk. Undeterred by Mac's suffering, stern expression, Lindsay merely grinned. "For the sake of science."

The head of the NYPD Crime Lab arched his brow in disbelief. He looked to Stella, but she wasn't about to let him pass the buck to her like that. "Well, come on, Mac. It's for science."

Mac stopped, looked at Lindsay, then uncertainly sighed and said, "Go ahead."

And the pattern was set.

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From there, had come the case with Erica Lancaster and Sam McFarlane. Lindsay, at first convinced of Erica's guilt, followed the evidence to a different conclusion. And Mac, again, was the guinea pig in the "demonstration".

Not for science this time, but it still followed the scientific rules down a path to discovering who the true murderer was. Mac allowed it, to Stella's delight.

Stella hadn't been around for the third time, in the lab's parking garage, but Mac had told her about it over a cup of coffee. Apparently, she'd had him lock her into the trunk of a car.

By then, she'd definitely known that she liked this girl.

The fourth time, Mac had escaped, simply because Hawkes and Danny, silly men that they were, had been present. She'd had two willing lab monkeys, both completely innocent and unaware.

'Condom spray'. Go figure. Stella had been a little disappointed that both had escaped unscathed. Mac usually at least had to try something.

The fifth time, Mac had seen it coming. He'd resigned himself to his fate, since well, she was doing her job. And the presentation livened up the dryness of the job, and lightened the darkness that their line of work could bring to their lives. It was a breath of fresh air in a stuffy room.

This time, it was plant material on his crime scene kit, and she brought him a plant to finger that now sat on the windowsill of his living room.

The sixth time? He tried to avoid it. Pulled rank, which backfired, because she pulled her own rank in turn – 'pregnant woman'. And wise men never messed with pregnant women, who were already hormonal and on edge, and convinced that they were fat and ugly. Not a good package, and dangerous to the men who dared to cross them… Mac was, thankfully, a wise man. He ate the berry.

And after being released, and solving their case, he'd come to Stella to unload his burdens. Though what he expected her to do about a subordinate who used him as the main star in her "demonstrations" and presentations, she wasn't sure.

"Mac," she said, rolling her amusement-lit eyes, "I don't see the problem."

He turned from his coffee cup to stare at her. "You don't see the problem? Everyone's heard of her 'demonstrations' by now. The lab techs are worried they'll be her next guinea pigs. Danny, Flack, Sheldon and the others have sworn to watch for warning signs and disappear the next time."

"These 'experiements' are just for the sake of science," Stella said lightly, swirling her green tea. "And never harmful. In fact, they're both educational and fun."

"Spoken like someone who's never had to be the actual guinea pig in her little 'experiments'," Mac said, the corners of his mouth quirking. "I told the techs they needn't worry. She usually calls me now, each time. I suspect my name reads 'test subject' in her phone instead of 'Mac'."

She nodded, and he went on, "You're fortunate, Stella – she set the pattern after Kia Rowe and the Odor Screen gel. I only wonder what she's going to test on me next…"

Stella shrugged. "Well… it could be worse, Mac."

Her friend and boss stared back. "How's that?"

She grinned, teeth white in a serene smile. "That first time, with the Odor Screen gel? When the pattern was set? I could have volunteered myself instead of you. And by now – she'd call me each time instead. So… it could be worse, Mac." She took a swig of tea.

"It could have been me."

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Please take moment to hit the green button down there and tell the author what you thought. xD For the record, I love Lindsay's demonstrations. I think they rock, and they always make me smile.

RK9.