This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, so be kind. I was inspired by all of your creativity and time that you guys have put into your work and thought I would give it a go.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from CSI: NY. Wouldn't that be nice though?

Danny leaned over his shot at the pool table, taking some extra time to prepare. Flack couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey, Messer, you gonna shoot sometime today? Or are you gonna nurse that shot like you're nursing that beer?"

Danny smirked to himself, and then proceeded to sink the nine ball in the corner pocket. And in the same moment turned up his glass and polished off his beer.

"Man, Flack you are in quite a mood tonight. In fact you've been like this the last few weeks. What has got you all worked up? We closed the Warren case this morning; shouldn't you be a little bit happy?"

Flack just shook his head and tried to loosen up as his friend had implied knowing Danny was right. The Warren case had been a brutal double murder and he was extremely happy that sick bastard was locked up with a heap of evidence to back up the DA when the case went to trial, but Flack just couldn't shake the funk he had been in for the last few months, let alone weeks.

"You know what will make me happy? Food. Let's grab a table and get something to eat, not to mention another round on me since you just clobbered me in 9 ball. I swear you've been spending too much time playing that game. Pretty soon I'm going to have to start practicing so I don't have to buy you so many beers. You're killing my wallet, man."

"We've always known I was the master, now we just have proof," Danny boasted.

Twenty minutes later they were tucked in to a booth enjoying some cold beers and cheeseburgers when Danny tried to broach the subject of Flack's fowl mood again.

"Seriously Flack, what has been going on with you. Every time I see you look like a 3 year old who just had his lollypop stolen. You've got a permanent sourpuss on."

Flack processed the question carefully knowing he wasn't going to get away without answering it in some fashion. The debate for him was did he answer it truthfully, or pawn his bad attitude off on to his heavy case load and lack of a vacation in the last 2 years. Heck, he was sure either one of those prospects was certainly a contributing factor to his current situation, but he knew the real reason.

With a sigh he decided to go with the truth. He could trust Danny. He was his best friend. But before the words could even form in his mouth Danny spoke. "Let me guess. It's to do with a woman."

Flack choked on the sip of beer he was attempting to take. Not because to an outsider the comment would seem totally out of left field, but because it was dead on. He wanted to respond with a clever comeback, but instead just resigned to the fact that his friend did really know him too well.

"Where did that come from?" was Flack's week reply.

"Do you think I'm blind? I know a broken man when I see one, and nothing breaks a man harder than a woman." Danny knew this all too well, and thoughts of the mistakes he made with Lindsay flooded his brain for a passing moment. "You haven't been on any dates that I know of for the past few months, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to who this lady might be. But I give her credit because whether she knows it or not, she has put you into a state!"

"She doesn't know it, and I doubt she ever will." Flack replied defeated, putting his burger down, picking up his beer and staring into the amber liquid. "She is way out of my league and I seriously doubt she has ever thought of me as anything more than a friend from work."

In that second, he knew that he had crossed the line. Said too much. The truth was going to come out whether he wanted it to or not. He knew his friend wouldn't let that last comment slip past him, nor would Danny allow it to go unexplained.

"Someone you work with, hmmm. That I certainly didn't see coming." Danny looked up and smiled knowing Flack hadn't meant to reveal that much information. "Of course that is all you have done for the last six months, is work. You've been working as much as Stella, and that is saying a lot."

At the mention of her name Flack froze hoping Danny wouldn't make the connection. Who was he kidding the guy was a CSI and was paid to put evidence like this together. Maybe he would be lucky and the beers they had been consuming would blur his thought process.

"Wait a minute…" Danny mused.

Beer hadn't worked.

"You have been working a lot of cases with her lately…, man I should have seen this coming!" Danny couldn't believe he hadn't caught on sooner. Realizing in that moment that for the last few months he'd been quite consumed with his own life since Ruben had been shot, and knowing he had managed to ruin his relationship with Lindsay, but not realizing that he'd been blind to his friend's situation too. "How long man?"

Flack wanted to deny everything, but he was tired of kidding himself, and almost looked forward to unburdening himself of his feelings. "If I'm honest with you, heck, if I'm honest with myself, I've been mad for that woman for years. These last couple of months I finally admitted it to myself. I've tried to work through it. I've tried to get past it, but every time I look at her…"

Danny interrupted, "You thought about telling her?"

"No," Flack responded quickly. "She'd never…she wouldn't…I just can't."

"What do you mean you can't? This I can't believe. Mister Casanova of the NYPD can't tell a girl a he likes her?" Danny laughed.

"That is the problem. She's not a girl. She is this amazing woman who would never look at a guy like me and think twice. She's exotic and complicated and what would she ever see in me?"

"Well, if I was a woman and I saw you in this sad pathetic state, I wouldn't see much in you either." Danny said half joking and half just to put a smile on his friend's face. He could see Flack was really twisted up. "Listen man, I'm just saying there is no reason not to try. You'll never know if you don't."

Flack knew Danny was right, but he had been over and over this in his head and just couldn't get the nerve to tell Stella he liked her. Liked her. Who was he kidding? He was in love with the woman and she barely knew he existed.

Danny let the subject go for the time being, but as they parted ways outside the bar he gave it one last push. "Just think about it. Crazier things have happened."

Flack nodded and said goodbye to his friend.

Think about it. That is all Flack did. That is all he had done for he last few months when he wasn't involved in a case. That was why have had spent so much time working. The problem with working was, she was hard to avoid when he was working. If he was at home, all he could do was think about her, and when he was at work she seemed to be around every corner.

Years ago he acknowledged that he had a crush on Stella Bonasera. What was not to like? She was a beautiful Greek goddess with striking green eyes that could pierce you right down to your soul. She was a legend in the department and the young guys lined up to work her crime scenes just to get a chance to ogle her.

Of course if she ever knew that she would personally kick their combined asses, but that was part of Stella's appeal. She was as tough as she was beautiful. It didn't take Flack long to figure this out. The first homicide he'd worked with her once he became a detective was all it took. They had little evidence to go on, but they'd worked relentlessly to pull the case together and when it came time to arrest the killer she was the first one in the door.

They'd worked together many, many times over the years, and Flack had grown to really respect Stella. She was passionate about her work and was exceptionally good at it. She worked way too hard and way too many hours. All of which worried Flack and had for quite sometime. Like everyone else in the lab he'd tried several times to get her to take some time off. It was like talking to a wall. Her work was her life and the lab was her family. And everyone close to her knew that her luck with men over the last couple of years was extremely bad, life threatening even, so that was no encouragement for her to make time for a social life. So she worked. And worked. And worked some more.

And in these years that they had worked so closely together Flack found he looked forward to being paired with her on a case. No matter how grim the circumstances, no matter how gruesome the crime, Stella had a way of making him smile despite it all. She matched his sarcastic wit quip for quip and had so much sass and spunk about her that he couldn't help but smirk and shake his head whenever he thought about her.

Which he realized he did a lot. Think about her that is. Ever since that day in hospital when Frankie had attacked her and she was forced to shoot him to save her life, he'd thought about her more than normal. That day he'd been with her at her worst and yet all he saw was her best. Despite what she had just been through she was strong and determined. Determined to know the truth. Stella rarely let her guard down, but that day she had needed a friend and Flack was grateful to be next to her when she had to relive that horror she had just been through.

When Flack left her that night in Mac's care, something changed in him. Something changed in the way he looked at Stella. He realized that he never wanted to see her in that situation again. He never wanted to see her hurt again and he wanted to do whatever was necessary to keep her out of harm's way.

That was years ago now, and each day that ticked by just added to his agony. He loved this marvelous woman and didn't think he could ever tell her.

Let me know what you think...I've got lots more to come, suspense and action to join the plot...but if this is really bad I won't waste your time.