Disclaimer: Peel off the sticky back and apply the standard disclaimer here.

Spoilers: If you know who Lindsay and Danny are then you're fine. This has no canon events.

Author's Note: Tis the season for me to start this fic. Seriously, I only have like 5 days left until this is no longer seasonal. Lord knows I have enough WIPs to keep me busy but this will not leave me alone.

"Hey, Danny," Stella called out as she entered the lab, "you don't happen to have a letterman's jacket, do you?"

Danny grinned at her.

"Talk about random, Stel. Yeah, I do. Why?"

"Any chance you could get a hold of it, let me borrow it for Halloween?"

He twisted so he was facing her fully and crossed his arms across his chest.

"You're dressing up for Halloween?"

She looked at him like he was crazy.

"So are you, Danny."

His eyes widened.

"I am? Since when?"

Stella chuckled.

"Since the mayor decided to host a fundraiser for our department that night. The costume ball? Remember?"

Danny groaned.

"Oh man. Why do I gotta go?"

"Right, Messer. Like I believe you forgot. With all the scantily-clad women there are likely to be prancing around?"

He laughed and pointed a finger at her.

"You know me too well."

She smiled at him and made her way to the door.

"So does that mean I can use your jacket?"

"As long as it's returned safe and sound, sure. I'll get it this weekend."

"Great. Thanks, Danny."

"You do realize you'll owe me, Stel?"

"Trust me, Messer. I know what I'm doing."

He turned back to his work. Stella wheeled around when she reached the door.

"One more thing…what were your high school colors?"

"Green and white…why?"

"It's a girl thing."

He waved her away and picked up the file he had been reading.

Stella made her way to the locker room where Lindsay was changing after her shift.

"Hey, Lindsay," she greeted as she made her way into the room.

"Oh, hey, Stella. What's up?"

"I was just thinking about the Halloween ball we have to go to."

Lindsay's face was blank for a moment, and then confused.

"I thought only you and Mac were going?"

Stella shook her head in mock despair.

"I'm afraid the mayor has decided that all of our faces should be seen. Something about it being our fundraiser and all."

"Yes, with the funds going to our department I suppose it makes sense that we should make an appearance. I'm sorry you and Mac won't get to go alone, though."

Stella froze.

"What makes you say that, Lindsay?"

The younger woman couldn't possibly know, couldn't have seen what she so carefully concealed from the world, could she?

Lindsay barely glanced at Stella as she continued to put her things away.

"Oh, you know. You guys are such great friends but this job must get in the way of it sometimes. You probably don't get as much time to spend together outside of work as you'd like to where you can just focus on being friends and stuff, right?"

Stella took a moment to breathe easy before she replied.

"True, we don't really spend a lot of time together outside of work like we should," Stella shook her head and went back to the subject at hand. "So about the costume thing. I was thinking since we all have to go anyway why don't we all go together? That way we can hang out as a team, not have to worry about finding dates…what do you think?"

Lindsay stood up and fixed Stella with a serious look that Stella wasn't expecting.

"That depends. Are you suggesting this because you think I can't get a date?"

Stella burst out laughing.

"God no! Why would I do that?"

Lindsay blushed and looked away.

"Sorry, Stella. It's just that…well, it's stupid but the other day I heard these lab techs talking about me and they were saying some stuff…"

She trailed off and Stella realized she had no intention of continuing.

"Lindsay? What did they say?"

"It doesn't matter. Look, I'm sorry I even brought it up. Let's just forget I said anything, all right?"

"No, it's not alright. What did they say about you?"

Lindsay fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.

"They were just saying things about me not fitting in, not being attractive. You know, dumb high school stuff that I thought I'd never hear again and am still strangely sensitive to, much to my dismay. I don't know why they were talking about me, though. I guess it's because I'm still considered the new girl, even after all this time."

Stella had her suspicions who was doing the gossiping and she was pretty positive she knew why they were dissing Lindsay like they were, but she could see how upset Lindsay was about the whole thing and so she decided to drop it…for now. She could get their names later. For now she set about reassuring her friend.

"Don't let them get to you, Lindsay. They're just jealous of you."

Lindsay snorted.

"Right. But thanks for saying so, Stella. You're a great friend."

"And as your great friend will you do me the honor of accompanying me and the rest of the team to the ball?"

Lindsay snickered.

"Yeah, why not? I trust you're handling the arduous task of convincing the guys to come on board?"

Stella shook her head and smiled.

"Leave them to me…like putty in my hands."

"Okay. The only thing left to worry about is of course, a costume."

Stella's eyes sparkled.

"Actually I thought we could discuss that together and come up with some stuff?"

"Sounds great. When are you free?"

"How about we grab a bite before our shifts tomorrow?"

"I'm game. I'll call you in the morning and find out what you feel like eating. How does that sound?"

"I'll look forward to it," Stella said with a smile as she exited the locker room. She felt like clapping her hands together in glee…everything was going according to plan.

"These waffles are delicious, Stella. I'm so glad you chose this place," Lindsay gushed the next day as they sat in a booth at a diner near the lab.

"Yeah, I love a place that serves breakfast all day," Stella added as she dug into her own food, "So what were you thinking for a costume?"

Lindsay tilted her head and considered the question before shrugging.

"I don't know, maybe a ghost?" She laughed at Stella's shocked expression. "What's wrong with that?"

Stella put her silverware down and folded her arms on top of the table. Lindsay could tell she took this pretty seriously, and it made her smile and mimic Stella's posture.

"Not that I don't think you could do Casper proud, Linds, but this is Halloween we're talking about. More than that, it's the one night of the year where we get to dress a little or a lot differently than we normally do, and it's okay."

Lindsay shook her head and grinned.

"Not to mention it's a costume ball, Linds. We have a responsibility as the minority to do our sex proud," Stella insisted. Lindsay furrowed her brow.

"Say what now?"

"We are outranked by the guys like three-to-one, and it's our duty to remind them why there should be more of us there."

Understanding dawned in Lindsay's eyes and she chuckled.

"Uh-huh. So we dress in sexy costumes to make them think having more women on the force is a great idea…is that what you're getting at?"

Stella nodded emphatically.

"Now you're getting it. Not to mention it's a prime opportunity to make sure that your crush keeps his baby blues on you all night."

Lindsay blushed but refused to break Stella's gaze.

"Now Stella, how many times must I remind you that I do not have a crush on Flack?"

Stella smiled.

"Ha ha, very funny. Don't be surprised when Danny asks you about your costume…he's going to be dying to know what you're going as."

Lindsay brushed aside her comment with a wave of her hand.

"It'll be a moot point if we don't decide what we're wearing, so I'm open to suggestions."

Stella pondered the topic for a few moments and Lindsay took the opportunity to sneak in a few more bites of food.

"How about a sexy Little Red Riding Hood?"

Lindsay smiled but gave the imagery some consideration. There was the cape, which was good to cover herself with. She briefly wondered if Danny would go as the Big Bad Wolf, and then it hit her that the Wolf wanted to eat Red and thus the costume was dismissed.

Nope. No way was she going in a costume that just begged for one of Danny's smart ass comments, especially a comment that would likely include a combination of the words you, eat, want, and I.

She blushed just thinking about it and shook her head no. Stella shrugged.

"Okay, what about a pirate wench?"

Lindsay gave it due consideration until she came to the conclusion that Danny would say something about plundering her treasure and yeah, she'd rather avoid that.

"A genie?"

Lindsay only gave that idea as much time as it took for her to remember a song about being rubbed the right way.

She didn't need any more images of Danny rubbing her…wait. She flushed and tried to come up with a costume idea of her own.

Fifteen minutes later the ladies were discussing how they were going to assemble their costumes, a discussion which they continued as they rode the elevator together to the lab.

Lindsay waved goodbye to Stella and went to grab her lab coat. Stella swallowed the triumphant grin that threatened to break free until Lindsay was out of sight. She was so good, and yet so bad at the same time.

Her plan was brilliance, if she did say so herself. All she had to do was make costume suggestions she knew Lindsay wouldn't let Danny see her in until her real suggestion could be slipped in oh so innocently.

Lindsay had agreed readily enough, but it was certain Stella would be facing her wrath if she found out just why Stella was so keen to see Lindsay in this particular outfit.

Danny had confessed a drunken fantasy to Stella and Aiden one night, and Stella had held on to the memory until proper a time for blackmail. But once Lindsay entered the picture Stella knew she could use the information to help her two co-workers, and herself in the process, find a lasting relationship.

She just had to make sure Lindsay didn't blab the details of her costume to anyone, especially Danny.

She bided her time until the three of them were on a case and then oh-so-innocently asked Lindsay for an update on her costume.

"Say, Lindsay, how's your costume coming along?" she asked. Lindsay lifted her head and was about to reply when Danny piped up.

"So whaddaya gonna dress up as?"

Lindsay looked at him and then at Stella, who rolled her eyes at Danny and mimicked zipping her lips. Lindsay smiled at Stella and nodded slightly.

"None of your business, Messer," she told him with a grin. He pouted as he tried to think of a way to get her to crack, but all he could think of were the myriad of skimpy costumes that she had to choose from.

A sudden thought hit him…what if her costume was like all encompassing? What if it was like a bear costume or something? He barely suppressed a shudder at the image.

"Is it like a polar bear or somethin'?" he asked.

Lindsay stopped what she was doing and stared at him, surprised not only by the question but also by the serious tone he was using.

She hated to admit it but she was impressed…slightly. She would have picked him as the type of guy to automatically guess something ultra-revealing. She flushed as she thought of all the costume choices she had rejected.

Stella had to turn away and bite her fist to keep from laughing. Danny was obviously trying not to let on how horrified he was at the prospect of Lindsay wearing something that covered her so well, and she found it cute that he cared enough about Lindsay to try.

"C'mon, Montana, tell me what you're gonna wear," Danny pleaded, his curiosity piqued by her blush.

"No, Danny, you can wait to see it until I meet you guys here that night," Lindsay insisted, amused at his begging.

"What if I pick you up on my way in to the lab that night?" he asked with a grin.

Lindsay shook her head. He sure was anxious to know what she was wearing. Stella inwardly cheered.

"Fine. You can come pick me up and that way you'll get to see what I wear a whole twenty-some minutes before anyone else. Happy now?"

He bounced on the balls of his feet for a minute and smiled at her. She rolled her eyes and went back to their scene.