I don't own anything. If I did Aiden and Jess never would have died. Also I am not sure the exact timings of the series and how long things had been going on for so I made some up.

Lindsay couldn't believe it. She stared at the sight in shock for a second before running out with tears in her eyes. This was not how she had imagined her birthday to turn out like.

The day before ...

Lindsay had been in New York for a while now but she still felt like she was trying to earn the respect of her colleagues. She knew the team was like a family and she definitely didn't think she had become part of that family. They were no longer hazing her but although they were beginning to accept her professionally, they still acted as if they didn't want her there. She had expected, as the new member of the team, to be given all the bad jobs but the way they treated her was with a cold but professional attitude. Lindsay had been dating Danny for about a month in secret but, although he had been friendly to start with and had helped her through the trial of Katums, even he was pulling away after Ruben Sandoval's death. No one knew it was Lindsay's birthday tomorrow but she wasn't going to tell them that. She didn't want them to feel like they had to do something for her like they did for other birthdays in the team.

Lindsay had been deep in thought when she heard her colleagues making their way down the corridor. She was wondering whether she should go and see Danny that evening after her shift ended in about five minutes when she heard the conversation of Stella and Flack who were walking down the corridor.

"Are we doing drinks tonight Don?" Stella asked as they made their way towards Mac's office to tell him what they had found.

"Sorry, I promised Messer I would go round to his for beer and pizza. What about tomorrow?" Don replied.

"Sure, I don't think there is anything important tomorrow. I'll ask Mac, Sid and Adam if you can ask Hawkes and Danny."

"Ok, normal place?"

"Yeah ..."

As they moved further towards Mac's office, their conversation became too far away for Lindsay to hear but she was focused in their words. Nothing important tomorrow. Asking everyone but her. Shaking those thoughts away and deciding not to visit Danny as Flack was, Lindsay finished up her work, grabbed her coat from her locker and hurried to the subway to go home. Ignoring the leers from the other male passengers, Lindsay wondered what it would be like to be included in the activities of the others. As she wondered, she thought back to her old team in Montana. They were like family to her. They had understood that she had to leave and hadn't tried to stop her. They made her feel welcome. They had promised she would always have a place on their team if she ever came back. Lindsay found herself wondering what would have happened if she had never left but she knew if she had stayed she wouldn't have been able to testify. New York had made her stronger and more independent but it was at times like this that Lindsay wished she was back in Montana, surrounded by friends and family.

Meanwhile, in his office, Mac though about Stella's comment. She had told him that the team was going out for drinks the next day and that he was going to be coming. Lindsay must have told them it was her birthday, he thought, or they worked it out. He knew about the hazing and how Lindsay had snapped but he also knew she was feeling a bit excluded at times. Hopefully, Mac thought as he turned back to his paperwork, the team will make her feel more welcome tomorrow.