I always thought that it would be interesting to do a story about Marshall Krupcheck's past, before Hostage takes place. So I wrote this story about a girl that he falls in love with, and you'll eventually see why he turns out to be a murderer and thief. Just so you know, he's not that way yet though. I'm assuming he's about 23 when Hostage takes place, so here he's 21.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. None of them. Well, maybe Danielle and the other people I made up. But I DO NOT own Marshall or any of the other characters that were in Hostage, if I ever mention them.

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Danielle spun around too quickly and ran right into a dark-haired man, spilling her drink all over the front of his white shirt. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" she yelled so he could hear her over the music. He was startled at first but then he smiled and said "It's alright, it's fine."

But Danielle was blushing and she handed what was left of her drink to her friends who couldn't help but laugh. She kept saying, "I'm so sorry."

"Come on, let me help you clean that up." she said and took the man's hand pulled him through the crowd all the way to the back of the club. She stopped outside the women's restroom and poked her head in. No one was in there, so she pulled him in after her. The lighting in the bathroom was dim, but it was better than the dark club was.

Danielle grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser and started dabbing away at the man's shirt. Her face was almost completely red with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry! I should've been watching where I was going."

He laughed. "It's alright. Shit happens." He had a deep voice; Danielle liked it.

As she knelt in front of him, trying to dry the beer on his shirt, he said, "I'm Marshall, by the way."

She looked him in the eyes. His shoulder-length black hair hung in his face, and the shadows made his face appear even more handsome. "I'm Danielle." she said, staring into his blue eyes.

He stared back into her green eyes that matched her short jade-green dress. She finally broke her eyes away and stood up. "I think that's about all I can do, I'm sorry. It won't stain."

"I know. It's not the first time I've spilled beer all over myself." he said grinning.

She smiled back. "I guess I owe you a drink." Marshall said as he made his way to the bathroom door.

"What? No, I owe you a drink if anything, I still can't believe I did that." she objected, following after him.

"Let me buy you one, I insist." Marshall said as he opened the door for Danielle. He put his hand on her back and led her through the mass of sweaty bodies once again. They made their way to the bar, and Danielle spotted her friends. They waved, but she stopped with Marshall at a pair of empty bar stools.

"What would you like?" he asked her.

"Ummm… I'll just have a beer," she said as she slid into the seat.

He ordered both of them one, and then sat down and looked at her. "You come here often?"

"Not really. My girlfriends and I come here maybe once a month. I'm usually too busy with school."

"School?" his eyes got wide as he realized that maybe she wasn't 18.

"College," she said quickly, noticing that he had become uneasy. "It's a pain in the ass."

Marshall relaxed. They were silent for a moment, and the bartender gave them their drinks. Danielle took a drink, but Marshall kept watching her. "What?" she asked, brushing her wavy brown hair out of her face, growing self-conscious under his stare.

"Nothing." he said and looked down at his drink before taking a swig.

"So what do you major in?" he asked her.

"Business law. But that's not really what I wish I was doing." she admitted.

He nodded, knowingly. "Let me guess, that's what your prestigious parents want."

Danielle smiled. She liked this guy, and not just because he was gorgeous. "Exactly."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Sing," her eyes lit up. "I want to be famous one day. I love to sing; I perform around here every now and then. It won't be long before a talent agent finds me. My parents think chasing after this dream is a waste of time."

She paused, looking at Marshall, who was once again staring at her. "What about you? Are you in college?" she asked glancing down at the counter.

He laughed. "College ain't my thing."

They sat there for a few more minutes after having finished their beers. "Want another one?" Marshall asked her, nodding at her empty glass.

Danielle shook her head. "Two's my limit. Thanks anyways though."

Marshall was warming up to her. "Not much of a drinker are you?"

"No."

"So what do you come here for then?"

"I like to dance." she said.

She looked at him. "Speaking of which, you like to dance?" She glanced towards the mass of sweaty bodies on the dance floor and started to get up.

"No." Marshall admitted. It wasn't that he didn't like to dance, it was just that he didn't want to make a fool of himself when Danielle realized that he couldn't dance to save his life.

Danielle thought about dragging him out onto the dance floor anyways, but decided against it. Her fiends were heading her way. "Dani, you ready to call it a night?" her roommate, Justine, asked her pulling on her arm.

Her other friend, Naomi, came up beside her, and eyed Marshall. "Why hello there," Naomi said to him flirtatiously.

"Hey," he nodded back at her, his eyes never leaving Danielle. Naomi noticed this, and she backed off. "Marshall, these are my friends, Justine and Naomi," Danielle introduced them.

He smiled at them. "So, you ready to go?" Justine asked her again. Danielle wondered why she was so anxious to get out of there.

"Yeah, I guess so." she said. "Thanks for the drink, Marshall. I'm really sorry about your shirt. It was nice meeting you."

Marshall grabbed her arm before she could leave. "Wait, could I get your number?"

She took a pen out of her purse and took Marshall's hand. A tingle went up her spine when she did so, and Marshall was obviously aroused as well as she held his hand in her own. She quickly wrote her number onto the back of his hand.

He smiled at her as she put the pen back into her purse. She smiled back at him. "I'll see you around?" she asked him.

"Yeah. I'll call you or something." Marshall said, reluctant to see her go.

She gave him a quick wave and then let her friends pull her through the crowd towards the door. "I can't believe you spilled your drink all over him!" Naomi yelled over the music.

"Shut up!" Danielle yelled back, and Naomi and Justine laughed.

They exited the club and stepped out into the cool night. As they headed towards Naomi's car, Danielle finally asked Justine why she was in such a hurry to leave. "My shoes are killing me!" she wined. "I don't think I could've lasted another minute in there!"

"I told you not to wear them," Danielle reminded her, referring to Justine's new stilettos.

"I know, but they're so sexy! You should've seen all the guys that were checking me out!"

Naomi chuckled but then quieted when Justine glared at her.

"So, what's going on between you and Marshall?" Naomi teased Danielle, quickly changing the subject.

"Well, he bought me a beer even though I insisted on buying him one. I like him. He's cute." she admitted.

"What's Travis gonna think about this?" Justine asked.

"It doesn't matter what he thinks! I dumped him a month ago." Danielle said angrily. She had been dating a guy named Travis for four months. He was the star quarterback of the football team at Stanford, and all the girls thought he was gorgeous. Her friends had loved him at the time, as well as her parents. Her parents especially love him because his family was well off as well. Everyone thought they were perfect together. The only problem was that he had cheated on her twice, so she dumped him. He just couldn't get over her though, and he kept calling and showing up at her apartment randomly, trying to win her back.

Justine and Naomi let it drop. They reached the car and drove back to Justine and Danielle's apartment. Marshall was the last thing Danielle thought about before she fell asleep that night.