Lindsay smoothed her shirt out as she walked down the hallway, stopping at Cindy's door. She tapped on the door three times then let her arms rest at her sides. The door opened to reveal the redhead, a smile on her face. "Sorry I'm late. A lead on the case came in late and I…"

"It's fine. At least you showed up."

"Wouldn't miss it," she said, smiling as she stepped into the apartment. Her eyes scanned the small living room and as she inhaled she could tell the whole apartment had that scent that was Cindy. "So, where do you want to go for dinner?"

Cindy looked up at her, opened her mouth but then snapped it shut. They were both quiet for a moment.

"Anywhere but the diner," they said, smiling when they realized how quickly they had both thought about that.

"Nope. Not the diner," Lindsay said.

"Definitely not," Cindy agreed. She looked at the floor for a moment. "I know it isn't really classy or anything, but there is this sports bar my dad used to go to all the time down on Market. I never actually got to go with him, but when I was younger he would always bring me home a burger and fries. It was pretty good food, even being as greasy as it was."

"Sounds like a great place," she said, looking at the redhead. Cindy nodded and led the way out of the apartment, making sure the door was locked behind them. They were silent as Cindy drove towards the bar, finally looking at Lindsay as she grabbed her hand before they stepped over the threshold into the smoky building.

Over greasy burgers and even greasier fries, they shared laughs and Lindsay listened as Cindy told stories about her father. Once the food was gone, Cindy looked at the table for a moment before turning her eyes on the raven haired woman sitting across from her. "So, if something does come of this date, when do we tell Jill and Claire?"

"Do we have to tell them?"

"It would get Jill off your back about dating."

Lindsay chuckled as she reached for Cindy's hands. "Jill will give you the break her heart speech the second she finds out," she smiled.

"You two have a history, don't you?"

"Sort of. Nothing major romantically wise, but she has been my best friend for the past seven years. We've had our moments, but all she really does is look out for me. Just in a different way than Claire does."

Cindy nodded, sliding her empty beer bottle back and forth on the table. "I know this seems really awkward, since, you know, like, six months ago you didn't even know me but…"

"It's easier to date you now, than if I had known you for a couple years, which makes me really glad we are doing this now," she looked around the room at the slowly growing crowd. "It's getting a bit crowded in here. How about we go somewhere else?"

Cindy nodded again, following the woman out of the bar. "Where did you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe a nice stroll through the city since it is a lovely night outside," she replied. The redhead grabbed her hand and held tightly to it.

"This feels really right, you know? Like, I have had many first dates, but none have ever felt like this. As silly as it sounds, it's almost like I had to wait to find you. Tortured soul and all," she said, leaning her head on the taller woman's arm.

"It does sound silly, but I get where you are coming from." As they made their way around the streets of the city, Lindsay felt like something in her life was finally going right. That is, until Cindy bumped into none other than Thaddeus Prescott. Her phone chose that moment to ring, and she wanted so badly to ignore it, but found she couldn't. "I'll be right back." She kissed Cindy on top of her head as she pulled her phone out. "Boxer."

"Linz, I know you have something more important going on right now, but…"

"No." She cut Jacobi off mid-sentence. "I made sure I was completely off duty tonight because I do not want this night to be fucked up," she said, carefully watching the interaction between Thaddeus and Cindy. She didn't like the way he gently put his hand on her shoulder. "Is it something that you can handle on your own? I know it isn't like me to blow off my job, but this is slightly more important."

"Linz, how about this? You don't have to deal with this until tomorrow morning. I will see what I can do about it tonight, and if I don't get it sorted away, you can see what the morning will bring, okay?"

She hated how defeated the man sounded, but she found herself more concerned with the fact that Thaddeus was still getting chummy with Cindy. "Okay. I owe you. Big time," she said, seconds before closing her phone and walking back over to her date. "Ready to continue on?"

Cindy tore her eyes away from the young man in front of them and looked at Lindsay. "Always," she whispered, taking Lindsay's hand again and giving a small wave to Thaddeus as they walked away.

"I thought there wasn't anything there."

"Don't tell me you are going to get jealous. Okay, listen; even if there was something there, he was a bad idea. I don't really go for the younger set of males. Besides, I have you, so I totally don't need anything else."

"You just used the word totally while staying completely serious."

"Lindsay," she stopped walking and grabbed both of the taller woman's shoulder. "I am here with you tonight. I will be with you every night that you want me to be. I will not leave you."

Lindsay smiled, trying to squelch the feeling in her gut telling her that since her confrontation with the creepy FBI agent she shouldn't bring Cindy further into her life. Not when there was so much at stake.

"Do you understand that? I am not going to leave you unless you truly want me to."

"I understand," she said, and for once in her life, she actually did.