Life according to Hawkes
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters; this is simply my imagination put to paper.
Summary: Meet Hannah
Chapter 2
Danny hung up his phone as he and Lindsay sat at their respective desks. "Lindsay, it's me and you on a DB in Central Park," he said without making eye contact with her.
"Let's go."
This was going to be another cold day at work for Lindsay Monroe, despite the sweltering heat outside. Her reluctant partner had not warmed up to her, even after months of working together. If they weren't discussing cases, there was very little conversation going on between them. He took every opportunity to make fun of her in front of others, including saddling her with the nickname 'Montana.' He always acted as if he didn't want to be seen with her. It was a common scene for him to walk much faster than she did, with her double timing it, trying to keep up.
As usual, the ride to the crime scene was silent except for the radio. Danny always drove and he always chose which radio station they were going to listen to. Lindsay didn't have this problem with Sheldon Hawkes. Sheldon let her pick the station if she let him drive. For her, that was a no-brainer, as driving in New York was not in the least bit appealing.
As Danny parked, she unbuckled her seat belt and prepared to hop out of the uncomfortable chamber of silence. The voices of the police and the voyeurs were music to her ears – much better music than what her partner forced her to listen to.
Danny looked just as relieved as she did. He found that ignoring his partner was exhausting.
"What we got, Flack?"
Flack turned to face Danny. "Hey, Danny. Where's Monroe?" Just then, Lindsay walked up with her kit. She was a little breathless after speed walking while trying to keep up with Danny.
Although they were friends, Flack did not share Danny's dislike for Lindsay. She could be a bright spot in some very ugly situations, such as every scene they were called to. He knew why Danny kept his distance from Lindsay, but he felt as if he sometimes crossed the line from being aloof to being downright mean. It wasn't necessary to humiliate her, especially not in front of her coworkers.
"Morning, Lindsay. Nice of you to join us." Flack smiled at her and she rolled her eyes at him as she returned his smile.
"Anyway, our vic is Brenda Mullins. Harry Lempkus," he gestured to an elderly man in a jogging suit, "found her at 0700 while running with his seniors' club. She has bruises on her neck and, as you can see," he points to her torn stockings and high heel shoes, "she was dressed for a night out on the town, so she's probably been here for quite some time."
"Thanks Flack," Lindsay said with a frown. She set her kit down and began processing while Danny combed the perimeter.
"So, Lindsay, you coming out with us tonight?" Flack asked.
Lindsay had overheard Danny asking Stella earlier, so she knew that if he was going she wouldn't enjoy herself in his company, although she missed spending time outside of work with her other coworkers.
"No, I can't make it."
"Come on, Monroe. You can't keep depriving us of your company. I'm beginning to take it personally."
Lindsay smiled weakly. "Don't take it personally. I just have some things that I need to take care of, that's all." It was so tempting to go, but she knew that she'd be setting herself up for a night of humiliation at the hands of Danny.
Flack knew why she wasn't coming, but he tried to talk her into it anyway. He knew that Danny was no good at hiding his feelings, and even though he might find out later that he had wrongly characterized a person, he still didn't give everyone a fair shake. If he didn't like someone, that person usually knew it.
He got close to her and said in a hushed tone, "Look, Lindsay, if it's Danny that's bothering you, I'll make sure to keep him off your case tonight. Okay? Believe me, I've got the goods on him, so if he takes a shot at you, I'll take a shot at him. What do you say?"
"Don, I'm so tired of him humiliating me. I won't spend my off time that way. I'm not subjecting myself to it." Lindsay was very firm in her decision.
"I know, I know. Trust me, okay? He'll leave you alone, I promise. Besides, think of how much fun you'll have watching me embarrass him!"
Lindsay couldn't help but laugh at that prospect. "Flack…"
"One night, Lindsay. That's all I'm asking, and after that, we'll plan some Messer-less outings for the team. How's that?"
She sighed. "You've convinced me. What time?"
"Six o'clock. You sure you're going to be there?"
"Yes, Don."
"Ooh. You called me Don. I guess I'll leave you alone now." Lindsay light-heartedly smacked him on the arm.
CSI:NY
Lindsay walked into The Blue Room on Flack's arm. He had obviously said something funny and they both laughed. As they approached the table, Lindsay spotted Danny and her laughter stopped. Everyone said their hellos and Flack made sure that he and Lindsay sat together and that she wasn't seated next to Danny.
Stella was pleasantly surprised to see that Lindsay decided to join them – as much as she loved the guys, she was glad to have another female around. Besides, she and Lindsay got along very well.
"So, Lindsay, where's your cast?"
Lindsay knitted her brow in confusion. "What?"
"I know that Flack twisted your arm to get you to come out with us tonight."
"Very funny, Stella."
"But seriously, I'm happy you're here." She winked at Lindsay. "I thought you'd get to meet Aiden tonight since she and Danny are joined at the hip and he goes on and on about her all the time, but she couldn't make it. It's too bad. I think you would have liked her."
By the time she finished her sentence, they heard Danny say to the others with whom he was conversing, "Montana would know about that, eh? Nothing to do on the farm so you go for a roll in the hay…"
Flack's promise to protect Lindsay was not empty. "I'm sure that Lindsay wouldn't know about rolling in the hay, but you would know about rolling around in the locker room with a certain former FBI agent."
Everyone at the table got quiet and Danny's and Lindsay's eyes flew open. Danny couldn't believe that his friend would call him out like that. That was fine when it was just them ribbing each other, but having his business put in the streets in front of his boss and Lindsay threw him.
Don gave Danny a look that let him know that he had a lot more where that came from. Lindsay lowered her head because once the shock wore off, she had to fight hard to stifle her laughter. Flack was right – it was so worth it to witness Danny getting a taste of his own medicine.
CSI:NY
Danny had very little to say about anything after Don silenced him. He seemed to be a lot less cocky, and Lindsay enjoyed herself immensely. As long as Don was there, she would gladly go out with the team more.
Her phone rang and she flipped it open and turned away from the table to answer it.
"Monroe."
"Lindsay?"
"Yes," she answered cautiously.
"I'm so hurt that you don't recognize my voice. It's Hannah."
"Hannah? Oh, my goodness! How are you?"
"I'm fine, Lindsay. Have you missed me?"
"Of course I've missed you. It's been too long. Are you still in Montana?"
"Are you kidding? I high-tailed it out of that god-forsaken place two years ago."
"God-forsaken? Don't forget where you came from, Hannah."
"If my intel is right, you've also gotten out of Dodge and haven't been back since."
"You'd better believe it. I high-tailed it out of that god-forsaken place and I haven't looked back since!"
Both ladies laughed.
"Where are you now?"
"Linds?"
"Yeah?"
"Turn around."
"What?"
"Turn around."
Lindsay slowly turned around to face the door and spotted Hannah. She screamed, hopped out of her chair and ran to her, giving her a bear hug. Those at the table were startled by her scream and watched her as she ran to the unknown woman standing in the front of the restaurant.
After a lot more hugs, Lindsay walked Hannah back to the table to introduce her to everyone. Hannah was a beautiful woman with chocolate-colored skin and very short curly hair, not quite a fade, but very short. She stood about 5'4 and had curves in all the right places. She had on a red tank top with spaghetti straps and dark-wash boot-cut jeans. Men couldn't help but notice her, and the men at the table were no exception.
"Let me introduce you to my coworkers. Starting at my right, there's Don Flack, Danny Messer, Mac Taylor, Stella Bonasera, and Sheldon Hawkes. Guys, this is Hannah Miller."
Sheldon stood up and extended his hand to Hannah, which she took.
"Hannah. That's a beautiful name for a beautiful lady."
Hannah smiled coyly. It was obvious that there was a mutual attraction between the two. Hawkes still had not let go of her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Sheldon." Neither could suppress their smiles.
"Have a seat." Sheldon gestured to his seat so that Hannah could sit down and quickly grabbed a chair from the empty table adjacent to theirs and pulled it over to the table and sat down. While doing all of this, he barely took his eyes off of her.
Lindsay saw the attraction between Hawkes and Hannah, but she wanted to catch up with her friend.
"Hannah, what brings you to New York? Business or pleasure?"
"Business. I've set up a private practice here. I provide a service that I thought a lot of New Yorkers could use."
"Psychotherapy."
"Exactly."
Everyone at the table nodded their heads in agreement.
Sheldon tried to hide his excitement upon hearing the news that Hannah was in town for good.
"This is great. I have another friend in New York! You're going to have to come over for a girl's night. Stella and I try to have one every other week."
"Sounds great. It will be great to catch up."
As they talked, they realized that Hannah's new office was in a building close to the lab.
Hannah and Danny made eye contact; he was the only one who hadn't said much since she'd arrived. "Your name's Danny, right?" He nodded. "Are you always this quiet?"
He just shrugged while the others stifled a laugh. She looked at Lindsay curiously and Lindsay whispered, "I'll explain later."
7/11/07
Next: Life According to Flack
