A/N: Random idea I had awhile back. For the longest time I thought when the CSIs sent something to Trace they were sending it to an actual person. Well now they are. Post Snow Day and before Can You Hear Me Now.
It was his own fault. She had tried to tell him, but he wouldn't listen. Now he was behind and his evidence was ruined after being sent to the wrong lab. Lindsay had tried to tell him but Danny was sure he was sending it to the right place. Serves him right, was Lindsay's thoughts.
Two weeks eariler
Lindsay was rushing into work. She was late and it was all Danny's fault. How is it that he could be the sweetest and yet the most obnoxious person at the same time? He didn't want her to leave because he was going stir crazy being at home by himself all day. Mac had gave him a direct order to stay at home for two weeks to let his body heal after the incident at the warehouse. Danny's not a patient person by nature and he hates beyond anything else to be cooped up and not allowed to do anything. And he was taking out his pent up energy on Lindsay. He didn't think it would happen but she finally cracked.
"Danny, your legs are not broken, your ribs have healed and you are more than capable of making your own breakfast," Lindsay snapped after Danny whined for the hundredth time about wanting pancakes.
"But yours are so much better than mine. Yours are so fluffy and soft. Please Montana?"
Danny flashed his blue eyes and a boyish pout at her and she melted, just like he knew she would. She checked her watch and rushed into the kitchen and made Danny a mountain of pancakes. Enough to last him all day. She still knew that he would be calling her at least fifty more times that day for various other problems. She barely made it to the lab on time. On her way in she crashed right into a new person. Files and her coffee littered the floor.
"Oh my God," Lindsay exclaimed. "I am so sorry."
"What a way to start my first day," the young man said. "You wouldn't happen to know how to get to Detective Taylor's office?"
"He's actually in London. You'll be meeting with Stella Bonasera. I'll walk up with you."
The pair got their mess cleaned up and headed for the elevator. "I'm Trace Montgomery, by the way."
"Lindsay Monroe," Lindsay replied, shaking his hand. "What lab will you be working in?"
"DNA," Trace answered. "I'm on loan from the Jersey State lab until your tech Adam Ross is back on his feet."
"That's nice. Don't let the investigators push you around. Without you guys we'd be out of a job."
"I'll remember that."
The doors to the 35th floor opened and Lindsay and Trace got out. She dropped Trace off with Stella and went to her and Danny's office to start on the paperwork she had left from the night before. She checked her voice mail and she already missed three calls from house arrest Danny.
Later that morning she was called to a scene with Hawkes and Flack.
"One of you needs to come and take Danny for a few hours," Lindsay was begging the two men. "He's driving me insane. If he doesn't get out of my hair I'm going to have a new address at Rikers."
"I'll come get him tonight Linds," Flack said. "If only to save you from a felony."
"Thank you Flack," Lindsay said. "I don't care what you do just get him away from me."
Lindsay left the two men and went back to her office. She was there for about an hour before she got paged to go to a scene. She collected her evidence and came back to the lab. She analyzed what she could and seperated the tests that needed to go to other departments.She spilt her trace and Trace evidence, making sure the courier knew which trace she was talking about. She actually wanted to see how much trace evidence would end up in the DNA lab.
So far trace or Trace got Stella, Hawkes and even Sid. Mac wasn't happy when he heard about it but he still laughed it off. But the best one was when Danny returned. He didn't listen when Lindsay tried to tell him.
"Hey Rita can you send these swabs over to trace for me?" Danny asked one of the passing techs.
"Which trace are you talking about?" Rita questioned. "Trace or Trace?"
"Send it to trace, Rita," Danny insisted.
"Are you sure?" Lindsay asked. "Are you sure it needs to go to Trace?"
"What is with everyone lately? It's evidence that needs to go to trace."
"Ok Detective."
A few hours later Danny got back the results on the evidence he had sent to trace. What he read turned him blue. No DNA to be found. Sent to Trace lab for further analysis. By this time Danny was fuming. He went on the hunt for Rita. Lindsay caught him in the hall, noticing the pissed off look on his face.
"Montana, have you seen Rita?" Danny asked. "She sent my Trace to DNA. I told her to send it to trace."
"And she did. We tried to tell you," Lindsay explained.
"Tell me what?"
"Danny, Trace," inflecting the name. "Is the new DNA guy until Adam gets back."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Danny argued. "It shouldn't matter what the guy's name is!"
"You're so cute when you're pissed off. I'll take care of it," she kissed him lightly and started to walk away. "And next time Danny add lab to the end of trace if you want it to go to trace and not Trace."
"Funny Montana!"
"You can't have all the jokes, Messer."