He groaned as he made his way up the stairs to the lab, the usual spring very much absent from his step.
"Yo, Messer!"
He grimaced at the greeting from Flack, whose voice penetrated the quiet reflection he'd surrounded himself in.
"Hey Don," he replied as he slowed, allowing the other man to catch him up.
"Jeez," Flack said with a smirk, "Heavy night? You look like shit."
"Yeah," Danny said with a self depreciating laugh, "thanks for that."
"No problem Danno," Flack said with a chuckle and a resounding back slap. "Mac wants to see us all in his office."
"Sure," Danny said with a shrug, internally cursing the lack of coffee in his system.
The rest of the team were gathered in Mac's office, awaiting instruction from their stoic leader.
"Glad you could join us Danny," Mac said, his expression blank.
"No problem," Danny responded absently.
He rocked on his heels in an effort to ease the aching in his calves, letting the steady stream of conversation wash over him. He wasn't taking it in, his power of concentration having left him sometime during the past 96 hours or so. That's how long he'd been awake other than the thirty minute nap he'd achieved each way during his flight to and from Montana.
"Danny!"
He blinked at the sound of Mac's voice. Mac never sounded like that did he? His voice had risen to an almost shout and Danny stared back at him in shock.
"Yeah?" he asked slowly, feeling like a kid in school who'd been caught napping by the teacher.
"What's the matter with you?" Mac asked, "I gave you the day yesterday to sleep but you don't look like you've caught a wink."
"Ya know how it is Mac," Danny sighed, "Ya get overtired and ya can't settle," he added with a shrug.
"Well you look like you've had a night on the town," Mac said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"I swear Mac I . . . . ."
"Or," the older man added, his voice rising insistently to interrupt Danny, "you look like you've been chasing half way across the country."
"What?" Danny asked, blinking in surprise.
It was only then he saw the smirks on the faces of his co-workers, every single one of them grinning stupidly at him.
"So how was Montana?" Flack asked.
"What?" Danny was beginning to wonder if that was the only word that would come out of his mouth.
"Montana!" Flack said, waving a hand in front of Danny's face, "You know, the state?" he added before his grin widened to shit eating proportions, "or the girl?"
"I don't know . . . ."
"Look around you Messer," Stella cut in, "Look around you."
Danny once again looked at his friend's faces, a frown knotting his brow. "I don't see nothing."
"And you call yourself a CSI?" Mac asked with a chuckle, "I'm going to have to start questioning my hiring skills if you're not careful."
Mac moved from his spot at the edge of the desk, his hand reaching up towards his face. "Watch me Danny, follow my eyes," he said, pointing his index finger to the spot between his eyes before turning slowly towards the window.
Danny followed his gaze, then when he heard the chuckle coming from Hawkes he shook his head in an attempt to snap himself out of his stupor as he realised his gaze was still firmly fixed on Mac rather than whatever it was Mac was looking at.
And then he saw it. "Aww shit," he cursed, colour rising in his cheeks at the howls of laughter that were then emitted from every other occupant in the room.
Right before him on Mac's computer screen was a full sized, 28 inch picture of him and Lindsay just before they left the courtroom in Montana, their lips about to touch. At least that's what it looked like to the casual observer. To them it had been a lost opportunity, at least until they'd reached the airport several hours later.