AN: I was in a bit of a slump with my writing, so I asked a couple of friends, Kerry Blue and Rhylee, to give me some prompts. The main ideas they gave me were to incorporate baseball and Jeopardy! and this story is the end result. So, if you like story, thank them. But if you hate it, blame them too. :)
But seriously, I thank them for working with me to push me through my slump and I especially thank Kerry Blue for also acting as beta once again.
Funnily enough, events conspired to help fit this fic perfectly into my "Let's Play a Game" series because not only are the characters playing games (euchre and video game Jeopardy!), but it is set after the second episode of the fourth season, "The Deep," in which Hawkes was injured in a diving accident which helps the story fit with the others in the series because they follow events where characters have been injured (Flack and Danny's injuries, from the Season 2 and 3 finales respectively, have come into play). Specifically, the story is set two days ago on Saturday which would have been the day after the New York Yankees went down 0-2 in their divisional series against the Cleveland Indians but before the Yankees won Game 3 on Sunday. To figure out why that matters, you'll just have to read the story. :)
Besides "The Deep," there are random references to about a handful of other CSI:NY episodes. See if you can spot them all. ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI:NY including any of its characters and I am in no way making any money off of my little story, I'm merely putting it out there for enjoyment and whatnot. I also do not own anything at all when it comes to the games of euchre or Jeopardy!, I merely enjoy playing them and think that the characters of CSI:NY would enjoy them as well. :)
"You're killing me here, Messer!" Don Flack threw his last card down in disgust at just being euchred.
"Don't blame me, Flack. You're the one who called trump when you only had the right and the ace." Danny sipped his beer as Stella picked up the cards and shuffled them since it was her turn to be dealer.
"And I had you picking up the left! I swear, the girls are cheating somehow," Don grumbled.
"That's what you said the last game when I played with Danny. You need to come up with a new excuse, Don," Lindsay countered. She rose from the table with her empty beer bottle. "Hawkes, you need anything?"
"No, I'm good, thanks though," Sheldon called from the couch where he was playing a video game version of Jeopardy! with Mac and Sid. Hawkes' arm was still in a sling due to the injury from his recent diving adventure, but it wasn't impeding his ability to handle the video game controller in the slightest.
"Hey, what's with Hawkes getting special treatment?" Don whined.
"Oh, let's see, it's probably the cracked rib and bruised arm, you big baby. I think you can get off your ass and get your own beer," Lindsay shot back at him.
"Sheesh, see if I ever ask you over to my place again," Flack mumbled as Danny got up from his seat and followed his girlfriend into Don's kitchen.
"You okay? I know Don's being a little whiny, but give him a break. The Yankees are breaking our hearts."
Lindsay rolled her eyes as she reached in the fridge for a soda. She was going on shift in a few hours, so one beer was her limit. "I don't see you acting like a whiny kid about the whole thing."
"It's kind of hard to whine about the Yankees losing when your girlfriend can counter with ten tales of woe for every one of yours." Danny had been surprised when Lindsay had revealed she was a Cubs fan. Well, at least she was when/if she even paid attention to baseball. She was more of a football fan. But evidently her dad had somehow become a Cubs fan long ago and had passed that affiliation down to his kids and no fan of any other team could list as many heartbreaks as a fan of the Chicago Cubs. At least his Yankees had won a World Series in the last decade, let alone the last century.
"And besides," Danny continued, "I don't think Don had someone to…'console' him like we did for each other." His leer made it obvious what form that consoling had taken.
Lindsay smirked as her boyfriend crowded her up against the fridge. "You know, I might have to root for the Yankees to lose more often. Especially in extra innings."
"Not funny, Montana," Danny grumbled as he moved in for a kiss.
"Oops, sorry!" By the time Danny and Lindsay turned, Stella was no longer in the doorway. "When you two are done making out, could you come out here so Lindsay and I can polish you boys off? And bring me another beer since you're blocking the fridge!"
Mac glanced over and tried not to laugh as his two CSIs came back from the kitchen, cheeks aflame from embarrassment. Everyone knew that Danny and Lindsay knew that they all knew about the two's romantic relationship (and wasn't that a mouthful!), but nobody liked being caught making out by a coworker and then having it announced to a group of other coworkers. But Mac didn't have time to dwell on that topic. He was in a heated battle with Sid and Sheldon, one that Mac was determined to win.
Sid chose the first 'answer' under the category titled Best In Show. "A breed once most famous for being the pet of Irish nationalist leader Michael Collins, in more recent years it has risen to prominence thanks to Mick who won the famed Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show." Once Alex Trebek's video game stand-in finished talking, Mac was the first to buzz in. He quickly entered Kerry Blue Terrier and was told he was correct.
Both the current coroner and the former one raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you know so much about dogs, Mac?" Sheldon inquired.
"Oh, Mac knows all about dogs," Stella broke in as she finished dealing. "He's going to run that category, guys. Though he doesn't know what dog to bet on at dog shows."
"One time, Stella," Mac argued. "Come to another dog show with me and I don't think we'll see the same results."
"Uh huh. Suuuure." Stella smirked as Don passed on calling trump. Lindsay contemplated her cards and then finally decided that what the hell, they were up by four points anyway.
"Pick it up, Stel." Her partner gave her a look since Lindsay was ordering her to pick up a ten of hearts, but Stella did as she was told.
"Speaking of dogs," Lindsay started as Stella discarded one playing card and Don started the round with an ace of spades, "Danny and I saw some really cute puppies in a store the other day. If my building allowed pets, I probably would have bought one right then and there."
"You guys were in a pet store?" Stella asked as she saved Lindsay's butt and played the ten she had picked up on the hand that Don had been winning up to that point. The homicide detective had apparently resigned himself to his losing streak because he didn't even comment.
"Yeah," Lindsay answered as play continued. "One thing I still miss about Montana is being around animals, so when we happened by this pet store I just had to go in. I think we spent a couple hours in there looking at everything they had. The sales clerk was really nice, didn't mind that I probably wasn't going to buy anything. What was her name? It was nice, a unique spelling I hadn't seen before."
"Rhylee, spelled R-H-Y-L-E-E," Danny replied.
"That's it! She was great, told me I could come by anytime."
"I don't know how you could be missing animals, Monroe," Don spoke up, "considering from your first day you've been running into them in New York City. Tigers, snakes, and didn't you autopsy a starfish the other day?"
"Okay, first, I could do without a reminder of that snake, thanks. Second, holding the jaw of a tranquilized tiger and cutting open a starfish are not the same as enjoying the company of animals. I prefer being able to pet them, play with them, interact with them in some way other than collecting evidence from them. Or getting bitten by them."
"How about eating them? I recall you doing that, too," Don snarked.
"Completely different phylum from what we were talking about before, Flack," Lindsay responded.
"Hey, easy on the only non-scientist in the room," Don pleaded as he and Danny lost yet another hand and came within one point of losing the game. "I have no idea what you just said or why it's pertinent to the conversation."
"Come on, Don," Stella teased. "You should be able to remember this from high school biology. I bet your teacher even had one of those fun pneumonic devices for it."
"You're asking me to remember something like that from high school?" Don asked incredulously as he picked up the cards and began shuffling.
"Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species," Lindsay recited. "It's the hierarchy for how every living organism on the planet is classified. My high school teacher's way to remember it was 'Kings Play Chess On Fine Grain Sand.'"
"And I say again, I still have absolutely no clue why this was brought up," Don stated. "And thanks by the way for bringing up horrible memories of high school biology class. I hated my teacher. Just one reason out of the many for why I leave the science to you guys."
Lindsay smiled. Don was always putting down his own intelligence when he hung out with the CSIs, but everyone knew he was just as gifted as they all were, albeit in a different way. "Tigers and dogs are in the same kingdom as insects, the Animal Kingdom, but completely different phylum. So I don't think getting exposure to insects counts as getting to be around my preferred class under the Animal Kingdom- mammals. Besides, all the insects and arachnids I ate were dead. Talk to Danny about the live ones."
"Yeah, let's not," Stella broke in. "Even thinking about that time you two just dug into that gross stuff is enough to turn my stomach."
"It might have been disgusting, but I did get money out of it," Mac said. "Speaking of, gentleman, pay up." Sid and Sheldon grumbled as they pulled out their wallets while the TV screen proclaimed Mac the winner of their game of Jeopardy!
"If I didn't know better, I would say you cheated somehow," Sid complained as he handed over his five bucks.
"It's not even my game," Mac countered. "Sheldon brought it."
"And now I'm regretting it," Sheldon said as he tossed over the money he owed. "I should have known that not being experienced at video games wouldn't keep you from picking up on how to play."
"It's not like that one's hard to handle in terms of using the controller," Don argued. "I sure as hell can't beat Mac in a trivia contest, but I'd bet money I could easily beat him in something involving racing a car."
"You have a need for speed?" Danny joked.
"Hey, I've got nieces and nephews who visit occasionally and I just keep stuff here so they aren't bored when they come over," Flack defended himself.
"We believe you," Lindsay said in that tone that meant they totally didn't. "And, by the way, we just beat you," she proclaimed, laying her last card down and obtaining the last point she and Stella needed. The two women exchanged a high five over the table.
"You're on my team this time, Monroe," Don decreed. "Evidently you're the one on a hot streak."
"Sorry, Flack. I need to go home and do a few things before I go on shift. But I promise the next time we play euchre or any other game where you need a partner, I'll take one for the team and play with you."
"Gee thanks," Don grumbled as everyone else giggled, snorted or chortled as was their wont, but he took it in stride and just rolled his eyes. "'Take one for the team' my ass, Monroe. Let's play basketball sometime and we'll see who's laughing then!" Lindsay merely waved her hand in a dismissive gesture as she and Danny headed out the door. Everyone remaining just laughed and went back to their game-playing, letting themselves just take some time for the team to relax and enjoy each other's company. God knew they didn't get enough opportunities for pure, unadulterated fun in their line of work and none of them were willing to waste a second of it.