"Stella," Mac greeted as he stepped up beside her at the crime scene.

She looked up, smiling at him. "Hi."

They got to work, examining the dead body that lay on the steps of the Museum of Natural History, finding trace evidence and securing it. Their routine was quick and efficient, and it wasn't too long until Stella was packing up her kit and preparing to go back to the lab so that they could examine what they had found more thoroughly.

"You headed back?" she asked Mac.

"Yeah." He frowned as he continued to stare at her, his eyes seemingly searching for something.

"Is something wrong?" Stella finally asked, unconsciously fidgeting under his heavy gaze.

Finally, Mac gave her a small smile. "No, nothing's wrong. It's just...are you growing your hair back out?"

The blush was immediate, and there wasn't anything Stella could do about it. Looking away, she tucked a strand behind her ear and smiled. "Yeah. I decided to try it long again."

Mac knew there had to be something else behind it, but decided to let it drop for the moment. "It looks good."

As he turned and walked back to the car, Stella rolled her eyes and silently cursed Flack - but she still couldn't get the smile off of her face.

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"Hey."

Stella glanced up, smiling when she saw Flack walking into the lab. "Hey, yourself. You're not working this case."

He shrugged, leaning his arms on the table as he stood next to her. "I was gettin' results from Monroe. Decided to come see you."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm touched."

"What are you workin' on?"

"Dead body over at the museum. And this milky white substance was on the vic's pants."

Flack frowned. "Is it...?"

Stella laughed. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"Believe me, that was the very first thing I tested for."

"'Cause it sure looks like it..." He shook his head in disgust.

"Don't tell me there's actually something that still grosses you out on this job?"

"Hey, not all of us are desensitized like you." Stella gave him a hard glare and he held up his hands, laughing. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean that."

"Don't you have work to do somewhere? Maybe in your building?"

"Ouch. You don't play very nice, Bonasera."

She smiled. "You know you like it."

"And here I was, comin' over here to see if you wanted to grab lunch with me and Messer...but no, I'll just go back to my building..."

"Actually, lunch sounds really good."

"Oh, so now you suddenly wanna go?"

Stella smiled, packing up the evidence and resealing it. Then she walked over to the rack and shed her lab coat, hanging it up next to the others. Turning back around, she saw Flack staring at her.

"You okay?"

He shook himself, as though he'd been lost in his thoughts. "Sorry." He smiled at her and turned to hold the door open for her. "You look really pretty today," he said quietly.

Stella was sure she hadn't blushed this much since she was fifteen.

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"You been eatin' an awful lot of those lately, Stell," Flack commented as they walked down the hall.

She frowned as she opened a package of Smarties. "I've been craving them lately. Not sure why. I haven't had them since I was a kid."

He raised an eyebrow. "You know what cravings are usually a symptom of..."

Stella elbowed him in the side. "I'd have to be having sex to be pregnant, Flack."

"I can't imagine you have a hard time finding partners, Stell."

She raised her own eyebrow, a thrill rushing through her as their flirting hit a more personal level. "Are you fishing for information, Detective?"

He shrugged. "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"Liar."

"But I'm cute."

"You're fishing again."

"Are you sayin' I'm not cute?"

"I have to get back to work," she said, turning toward her office. As she reached the door, she looked back over her shoulder with a smile. "And Don? I believe the word is 'hot.'"

This time it was Flack who blushed.

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Stella sighed as she trudged up to her office. Her day had begun early, with Mac waking her up and dragging her out to a crime scene on her day off. From there, it had only gotten worse, with mutilated bodies and dumpster searches, and then a sudden afternoon thunderstorm just to cap it all off. She was wet, and frustrated, and the only thing she wanted to do was go home and curl up in bed.

As she went to open her door, something taped to the wood caught her eye. Frowning, she pulled it down, staring at the package of Smarties in confusion. A note was wrapped around the package, and she slowly undid it so she could read the cramped handwriting.

For all those cravings. Sorry you had a rough day.

-Flack

She was smiling before she even realized it. Walking into her office, she started to eat the candies. savoring them as they melted on her tongue. Sugar had been just what she needed, and she made a mental note to thank Flack the next time she saw him.

Dropping her purse into her chair, she started to pack up her things; she was anxious to get home, and now that the rain had stopped, she was thinking that it would be a nice evening to walk. But as she reached for her coat, something caught her eye and made her stop, a huge smile blooming on her face.

Spelled out in Smarties, Don had left her a message.

Dinner?