Adam couldn't help smiling to himself as he stepped off the elevator and was met with the sight of Danny and Mac talking in the hall. It felt nice to know something nobody else in the lab did although, if he was honest, he figured Stella probably knew too. Adam averted his gaze quickly as Danny looked his way; missing the small smirk the CSI sent him. Forcing himself to focus on where he was, Adam made his way over to his lab to see what had been left for him to work on. A mix of relief and fear crossed Adam's mind as he turned to see Danny standing at the door.

"Hey Danny," Adam smiled as best he could. Danny smiled back as he walked into the room.

"Did you talk to Don?" Adam nodded slowly. "So he told you about me and…"

"Yeah," Adam replied quietly. Danny nodded.

"I don't need to tell you that this stays between us, right?" Danny's voice was quiet, as if he was afraid someone might overhear.

"I won't tell anyone," Adam almost whispered.

"Good," Danny smiled widely. "Now go grab your kit; I need you to come on a case with me."

~*~*~*~

Adam stopped shot when they got to the crime scene. Flack was there, babysitting a suspect. It was obvious the detective had chased him down; he was a little tousled and a lot annoyed. Adam took in a short breath; Don looked good. A soft laugh pulled Adam's attention, and he blushed lightly at Danny looking at him.

"Once you're done mentally undressing Flack, we've got work to do." Adam could barely conceal a smile. Danny walked on ahead, alerting Flack's attention. As soon as the tall man saw Adam, he broke into a wide smile. Together, Danny and Flack took the suspect to Don's car and secured him inside. By the time they got back, Adam already had his kit open and his gloves on.

"Where do you want me to start?" He asked Danny when the pair stopped in front of him. Danny was about to answer, but instead he reached for his gun hurriedly, as did Flack. Adam was about to ask what was going on, when he felt a gun barrel pressing against the base of his neck.

~*~*~*~

"Drop your weapon!" Don shouted. Adam was trying his best to remain calm, but the scared looks Danny and Flack were failing to hide somehow made the situation worse.

"Like hell," Came a gruff voice behind him. "If I drop this gun, you'll take me out in a second."

"Look pal," Danny tried to rationalise. "You haven't done anything too stupid yet, alright? So just put down the gun and we can keep it that way."

"Yeah, right," The man seemed to be speaking to himself. "Because holding a gun to a cop's head doesn't count as stupid these days."

"I'm not a cop," Adam mumbled; surprised at the sound of his own voice.

"What?"

"I'm not a cop," Adam repeated; louder this time. "I'm not even a CSI. I'm just a lab tech. I deal with fibres and puzzles all day. I don't have a gun, and…"

"Shut up!" Adam stopped talking immediately; forcing himself not to flinch at the harshness in his captor's tone.

"Ok buddy," Adam looked to Don as the taller man started to speak. "Let's just calm down, ok? What do you want?"

"I want you two to put your guns down, step away, and let my friend go."

"That's not gonna happen," Adam replied quickly. Both Don and Danny looked shocked.

"Adam," Flack started.

"No, Don," Adam seemed determined in his answer, but his lover could see the fear in his eyes.

"You're not letting a murderer go free." Adam closed his eyes as the gun barrel was pressed harder against his skin.

"Do you want to die?" The man whispered roughly in his ear.

"You shoot me," Adam spoke with more confidence than he felt. "There'll be two clips worth of bullets in you before my body even hits the ground."

"You really think they're that good?" The assailant sneered.

"Maybe not," A familiar voice behind them made Adam smile with relief. "But at this distance, I don't think I could miss."