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

Method: pick a word and see where it takes you

"You're jumping to conclusions." Mac says.

"Am not!" Stella pretends to pout.

"Well, I don't see the path you've taken to arrive at this conclusion."

"That might be because it's inside my head."

He raises an eyebrow. "Can …"

"And no, I'm not going to let you perform a CT to look." she cuts him short.

Of course she knows that he had not thought of it now and would never seriously think of it. He's fairly sure that she can see inside his head without a CT.

"So, do you think you could describe the path for me?" he asks and secretly prepares himself for a long and winding road.

"Well," she grins at him, "it's not long, and it's not winding. It's wide and straight, running between trees, and there's lots of sunshine." Her grin is getting wider with every word. "And at the beginning stands 'chestnut' and at the end 'motive'"

"Uh-huh?!" Now both his eyebrows are up. "And in between?" He suddenly imagines a path covered in words.

"From 'chestnut' I went to roasting, and coals, and being comfortable, and from there …" Stella frowns, hesitating, "I don't remember …"

"Told you it was long and winding." Mac chuckles.

"No, you didn't, you thought it. But I did arrive at colors, and that it may have been her hairdresser who killed her is still worth looking into, I think."

"Yeah." Mac agrees, after all a lot of their cases have been solved thanks to exploring a link that had spontaneously popped up. "And in the meantime, coffee?"

"Is that all you can think of?" she teases gently, a soft smile letting her eyes sparkle.

He returns it with a wink, "Let's just say it is my Rome."


Thanks for reading. Reviews are much appreciated, and always replied to if logged. I also welcome suggestions for trigger-words ;).