Author's Note-- Just something that popped into my head.

Disclaimer-- I don't own the CSI: NY characters

Stella thanked the super of the dingy building and followed Flack into the apartment.

"You really think we're gonna find anything?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know, but we've got a dead guy and two grand missing, and this guy…" She picked up a picture of a greasy looking guy with an equally trashy looking woman. "Is our only suspect."

"And if we find the money we've got him for sure."

Stella nodded. "Exactly. I'll check the kitchen and the living room; you get the bedroom and the bathroom."

"Got it." They split up and Stella began searching every inch of the apartment over. She checked in every nook and cranny and was contemplating a way to look under the floorboards when Flack spoke again. "It couldn't be this easy," he said incredulously.

"What?" Stella asked.

"There's a safe."

She shook her head. "Well I'm not finding anything out here so it's worth a try."

"I'll give it a shot," he called.

Stella turned back to her search. She was on her hands and knees with a pen-knife in hand when….BOOM. "Flack?" She was on her feet in an instant and off and running. She flew into the bedroom, fearing the worst. Then she saw Don and she doubled over in laughter.

"You think this is funny?" He asked.

She looked up. "No, no, not funny just…" She lost it again as she took in his appearance. Kneeling on the floor in front of the safe, he was covered from hip to head in red paint. "Booby trap, clever," she managed through laughter.

"Oh yeah, clever," he forced out. He wiped paint from his face and the red only made his bright blue eyes more vivid. "Real clever."

"It's not too bad," she giggled. She knew she shouldn't be laughing, but it was just too hilarious.

Flack rose to his full height and shook paint from his hands. "Think it's funny huh?" Stella's head dropped but her shoulders shook with laughter. "Fine."

She looked up and her eyes widened as her laughter died abruptly. "You wouldn't."

He grinned and before she could stop him he reached out and wiped one hand down her face, the other across her collarbone. "I would."

"You…" Her eyes narrowed and for a moment they just stood staring at each other. Then they both burst into laughter.

"Okay, okay, good news, we found the money, so we got the guy. Bad news we ain't going anywhere for a while."

She smiled. "I'm in better shape than you. Come on let's call it in, the sooner we do the sooner we can change."

Flack shook his head. "I'm on duty for hours, I can't go home."

"We'll go back to the lab; Danny's probably got something you can borrow."

It was over an hour before they could get out of the apartment; by then Stella was completely dry. The pain had soaked all the way through Flack's shirt and was drying and sticking uncomfortably to his skin. They walked into the lab hoping that everyone would be busy. Unfortunately, their hopes were almost immediately dashed. Danny and Lindsay met them right inside the door.

"What happened to the two of you?" Lindsay asked, trying to not to laugh.

Danny opened his mouth but Flack held his hand out. "Something went boom, just let me borrow a shirt okay?"

Danny nodded. "Sure." He led Flack to the locker rooms and pulled a t-shirt from his locked. Rather than saying anything else he set the shirt down on a bench and left Stella and Flack to change. When he made it back to Lindsay he cracked a grin. "I can't wait to hear that story."

Stella pulled on a new shirt and cleaned the smear of paint off her face. She could hear Flack grumbling behind her as she ran her fingers through her hair. She smiled. "It can't be that bad," she told him.

"Oh really?"

"Really…" She trailed off as she turned to face him. It really was that bad. He'd wrestled his tie off but he was currently working on peeling off the shirt. He fought to force the sleeves past his wrists and when he finally got loose he dropped the heavily soiled garment to the floor with a wet plop. "Oh."

He frowned slightly. "Yeah, oh." The paint had completely soaked through and he was streaked with paint from chest to abdomen and along his arms. The stuff had dried in his hair and it was flaking off and sticking to the still wet paint splashed along his shoulders. Though he'd managed to get most of it off of his face at the scene there were still some streaks of red along his cheekbones and forehead.

Though she knew it was wildly inappropriate she couldn't help but notice that the man looked damn good without his shirt. She doubted that there was an ounce of fat on him, and the paint he was covered in somehow only served to make the entire picture more appealing. Clearing her throat she slipped past him. "Let me get a wet towel; that'll probably help." While she found a towel and got it damp she tried to shake herself out of whatever had come over her. Clearly she was slipping. She took a deep breath and went back into the locker rooms, handing him the towel as she went back to her locker.

Stella was rummaging through her locker for a hair tie when Flack swore. "Damn it, I'm just making it worse."

Sure enough she turned and saw that he'd made a muddy painted mess of himself. With a sigh she walked over and plucked the towel from his hands. "Here, let me." She went to work gently wiping the paint off his chest. It was hard to make much headway and soon the towel was stained a deep pink. "We're going to need another towel."

Then she looked up at him and suddenly felt as if she was on fire. Her hand stilled against his chest as she saw the fire in his eyes. She felt as if they were moving in slow motion as they leaned towards each other. Then their lips met and time sped again as the frenzy began. Stella dropped the towel still clutched in her hand to wrap her arms around his neck as everything went boom all over again. Flack took the kiss deeper as he pulled her flush against him. His hands pressed eagerly into her back and it took a moment for the sound of someone clearing their throat to penetrate the haze of lust that had fallen over them. Still holding on to each other they turned to see Mac and Hawkes standing in the doorway.

As Hawkes tried to fight back laughter Mac regarded them both relatively passively. "Seems the two of you have had an interesting day."

Stella and Flack's eyes met and they realized that they were still wrapped around each other. Blushing they sprung apart. "Yeah, interesting would just about cover it," Flack told him, trying to laugh it off.

Hawkes fought to keep his expression something close to serious as he addressed Stella. "Stella I've got something I need you to look at, just a second opinion."

She nodded. "I'll be there, just give me a minute." Hawkes grinned; Mac had the good sense to wait until they'd left the room before he let the smile show.

Once they were gone Stella and Flack stood together in silence for a moment. "I've got to go," she said regretfully.

He nodded. "Yeah, I know." With a sigh she grabbed her suit jacket and slipped it on. She was headed out of the room when he grabbed her by the arm and kissed her fiercely. When they pulled apart he met her eyes straight on. "Tell me this isn't over."

She smiled wickedly. "I'll be at your place at the end of the shift."

He grinned as she sauntered away. She was just barely in ear shot when she caught something she was almost certain he hadn't meant her to hear. . There was laughter in his voice when he spoke. "Boom."