Country Girl, City Boys
Chapter 1: Jealousy and Gratitude
They spent well over 40 hours a week together. They saw each other more often than they saw their families, if they had them, most of them didn't. Being CSI's didn't exactly afford them much of a personal life. Maybe that's what leads to all the interoffice relationships.
It wasn't just romantic relationships. No, it was much more complicated than that. For the 1st shift CSI team, they were each other's family. None of them had serious relationships outside the lab, at least not ones that lasted.
Mac's wife had been gone for 5 years now. Stella hadn't considered a relationship since Frankie. Hawkes, well he never seemed to date. Flack had a few flings but not stuck… And Danny… Well…. Different woman every week.
That left Lindsay. The misunderstood one. The one that wasn't a hardcore New Yorker. The transplant. The country girl.
She had become an interest to many people in the lab, and on many levels. Stella loved her because it gave her another woman to talk to, she treated Lindsay like a sister. Mac appreciated her for the different outlook she consistently presented at scenes and in the lab, for the breath of fresh air she seemed to breathe into his team.
The rest of the lab, both immediate and extended, had their reasons for their interest. Most of the lab rats and ME's liked her because she was kind and polite, something they weren't necessarily used to when it came to detectives and police officers.
She and Sid had become fast friends. He'd been considered eccentric and slightly crazy before Lindsay came along…. Now, he was eccentric and slightly crazy, but people talked to him.
Don Flack liked her because she was tough. Initially, he thought she'd be their weakest link, their dead weight. But she'd proven him wrong the second she'd stepped into the tiger cage. The girl might not be from New York, but Montana didn't raise a sissy. She could play with the big boys, and he had to respect that. Not to mention, she was sort of cute, if you liked that sort of chick… And truth be told, it was getting harder and harder for him to pretend like he didn't….
Danny Messer? His feelings toward the tough as nails country girl were more complicated. Flack may not have thought she was tough, but he'd never tried to dislike her. Not like Danny had. Danny had devoted a good amount of time to hating her. Or, at least, trying to hate her.
She was unhateable. Is that a word? He asked himself as he glanced across their shared office at the brunette at her desk, furiously typing away, brow furrowed.
She'd been Aiden's replacement. Yeah OK, Mac had said no one could take Aiden's place, but officially, she had. Aiden was fired, and a spot on the team had opened up and Lindsay had filled it, quite literally making her Aidan's replacement.
He'd been bound and determined to hate her. He'd done all he could to show her he didn't like her. It hadn't even phased her, which of course only served to egg him on even more. All he wanted was a reaction…
I wonder if he knows that I know he hates me? She glanced over at her constantly moody partner. I will not let him take me down. He will not be my undoing. To be fair, she hadn't exactly been thrilled with him either, mostly because of the nicknames and endless teasing, but she'd never been able to bring herself to hate him.
Her first impression of him had been that he was a cocky, know it all cop who got by on good looks and average intelligence.
And she hadn't been entirely wrong. He was a bit cocky… And well, good looks… That was putting it mildly. But, truth be told, he belonged there, in the lab, just like everyone else. He was diligent, thorough, intelligent, moreso than she was when it came to the ways of New York City. So she'd tried to like him, be kind to him, but thus far, he hadn't returned the favor. He teased, mocked, and taunted her endlessly. Only recently had he even begun to let up on the constant name calling, thanks to a couple of choice looks from Mac.
"Hey Linds. We have a DB over on Madison. Mac said you were free. Feel like takin' a ride?" Flack asked from the door. She turned her attention to Flack, offering him a shy grin. Now there's a man that's easy to like, and not to mention, easy to look at. He glanced over at Danny who was doing a very good job pretending that the two of them weren't in the room.
Flack's eyes went back to Lindsay's. She rolled her eyes at Danny's childish behavior. He winked at her and she felt her heart leap a bit. Good lord he's attractive…But you don't pee where you eat….She mentally chided herself for her behavior and grabbed her kit, exiting the room without so much as a goodbye from her office mate/living statue.
Her scent wafted up into Danny's nostrils as soon as she'd blown by him. Concentrate. You aren't supposed to like her. She's not your type of woman… Her type… Her type is dangerous. He reminded himself. But he couldn't help but feel the tiniest twinge of jealousy over the genial relationship she had with Flack. Shut up, you aren't jealous. Go back to work.
She was definitely a different species of woman, Flack knew that much. Women like her didn't exist in New York. Hell, up until he met her, he didn't know women like her existed period.
She'd been there for him when he'd been injured in the bombing. She'd been there almost every day, even before he woke up from the coma. She'd been there daily, for at least an hour, or so the nurses told him.
Which wasn't to say that the others hadn't visited, they had, and often, but Lindsay was always there the most and the longest. She'd sat by his bed, talked to him, told him about the day…. She was a large part of why he hadn't gone insane lying in the hospital. He hadn't thanked her yet, but he was planning to take care of that now.
Not that he'd been surprised. Lindsay struck him as the caring type. Normally, women who cared too much turned him off. But Lindsay, she was a good balance. She cared, but she wasn't the 'cry by your bedside' type. He liked that about her. Come to think of it, there was a lot he liked about her.
She'd been lost in her thoughts, which were currently alternating between her pissy, albeit hot, partner and the Grade A example of man meat sitting next to her when Flack pulled her from her thoughts.
"So, I never really got to thank you for all you did while I was in the hospital…" He told her, opening the conversation lightly.
"You don't have to thank me. I wanted to be there." She replied, smiling softly. She'd enjoyed their daily visits, both when he was in the coma and when he'd come out of it. There was something very calming about being in Flack's company, something very soothing…
"I know but still, you came and told me about everything that happened, even asked my opinion on your cases. You kept me sane Linds. So I thought, since we're getting off around the same time, I could buy you a drink." He finished quietly, his eyes on the road.
Lindsay was floored. Wow do I feel like I'm back in high school… He was the popular jock who got all the girls and I was the geeky girl with the glasses… Now he wants to buy me a drink! "That's sweet Flack, but you don't have to do that, I mean, it's not necessary." She told him, giving him an out, so he didn't feel obligated.
"You're right. I don't have to do it, but to me, it is necessary. I had pegged you for someone entirely different. You fooled me. I wanna know how you did it." He said, his tone teasing as a slight smile formed on his face.
Her stomach was flipping giant cartwheels at that very moment. She managed a smile as he glanced at her.
"If you don't want to…" He trailed off, praying to God that she wanted to.
"NO! I mean, no, I want to." She protested, mentally chiding herself for getting overexcited. But if Flack noticed, he didn't show signs of it.
"Good." He said, not even bothering to keep the huge grin off his face.
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