Author's notes: Sorry, I had meant to get this out sooner. One or two more shorter chapters to go. Hope you are still enjoying this.
CSI:NY CSI:NY CSI:NY
The two men turned as the cold blast of air invaded the room. A bulky figure stepped into the room and pulled the ski mask from off of his face. "Don! Is everyone ok?" Shawn stepped further into the room and shut the door. The cold caused Amber to wake and she slowly sat up.
"Hey buddy, glad to see you." Flack had turned to face his friend. In turning his towel slipped slightly exposing his naked legs.
"Whoa, did you get bored and decided to play a little strip poker?" Shawn noticed all three were clad in towels.
"Funny." Flack's tone implied it was any thing but funny. "What took you so long? We thought someone would have been here sooner?"
"Sorry. The girls ran out of gas and it took them a while to make it down the slope." Shawn made his way back to the door, opened it and motioned to the others waiting on snowmobiles to come in. "I'm guessing your pants and shoes are soaked?"
"Yeah, plus Danny has been shot in the arm."
"No big deal Shawn, Flack is just as bad as a mother hen." Danny pushed his glasses back up as he nodded towards the detective.
Flack snorted, "I save the man's life and this is the thanks I get. Did the girls tell you to call the police?"
Shawn nodded, "They mentioned gunshots?"
"Amber's," Flack motioned towards the girl, "boyfriend got a little violent. The local police are going to want to find him. He's the one that shot Danny."
"Lucky shot, I might add." Danny chimed in.
"I got his gun, but they will still need to consider him dangerous." Looking at the others who were now entering the building, "I suppose you didn't bring any extra clothes with you?"
"No, but it won't take long to get the three of you back to the lodge. I'll give them a call and have them send an ambulance to take Danny to the hospital." Shawn moved towards the door to use his two-way radio.
"Forget the ambulance, someone can drive me in." Danny was adamant. "Maybe Stacy could take me in?" His tone was hopeful.
Smiling at Danny's suggestion, Shawn called the lodge, relaying the information Flack had given him.
One of the men had offered Amber the use of his ski pants. She slipped back into the bathroom to put them on while the two men struggled into their own wet blue jeans.
With in minutes everyone was ready to go and they left the warmth of the building to climb onto the snowmobiles.
"Sorry about the window," Flack told Shawn as he climbed on behind his old friend.
"Not a problem. I'm just sorry the whole thing happened."
The trip down the ski run to the lodge didn't take very long, however by the time they reach the bottom, Flack again was freezing cold.
Inside waiting for them were Stacy and Chris, the local police and a pile of warm blankets. Giving the men enough time to step out of their sodden clothing, the police began to question Amber.
Pulling on a pair of sweatpants that someone had found for him, Danny looked over at his friend and complained good naturedly. "So, good thing we got out of the city for a while. Fresh air, beautiful scenery, drug addicts running around with guns. Sorry Don, but next year I think Time's Square will be safer."
"You may have a point there." Flack rubbed at his cold clammy legs with a dry towel, trying to warm them up faster. "I'll talk to the police, you get to the hospital."
"Ok, but remember to make my injury sound a little more impressive than a lucky shot hit me as I was diving for cover. Remember, I've got to look good for the ladies."
Laughing slightly at Danny's concern, Flack pulled on his set of sweats. "I'll see you when you get back from the hospital." He left the room and went in search of the police.
Stacy poked her head in, "Are you decent?"
"Yeah. Ready to go?" Danny stood and walked out with her to the waiting car.
An hour later Flack had related the events of the evening to the officers. After being assured that they would keep him appraised of the situation, he walked slowly back to his room. Unlocking his door, he was surprised to hear the television. Opening it hesitantly, he could also see that the lights were on. He entered slowly, unsure what might be waiting for him. He stopped short when he realized that there was a noticeable bump under the quilt on his bed.
Turning off the lights and the t.v., he moved over to the bed. Leaving his sweats on, he pulled back the covers and slid into the bed. The bump murmured slightly and he moved closer. The bump rolled slightly, revealing a sleeping Chris. Smiling at her peaceful face, Don wrapped his arm around her, drawing her close to him. He closed his eyes and was soon asleep.
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It was almost noon before Don awoke. The spot that had previously been taken was now empty. He frowned slightly. He had hoped to wake up with Chris still beside him. Sliding up he glanced around for a note or some explanation as to where she went. Finding none he laid back closing his eyes again, deciding if he wanted to continue sleeping.
He heard the metallic click as the keycard unlocked the door. The door opened to revel Chris balancing bagels on top of two cups of coffee. Pushing the door shut softly, she crossed to the low dresser and sat the coffee down. Seeing that her progress had been monitored, she smiled brightly at the dark-haired man.
"I thought you might appreciate a hot cup of coffee and a bite to eat."
"Thanks, I would."
Chris handed him a cup and both bagels. She then sat down on the chair across from the bed and began to drink her own cup of coffee. "I didn't know how you liked your coffee, so I went with black."
"Just perfect thanks again." Don took a bite of the bagel and then a swallow of the coffee. Within minutes the bagel was gone and he was draining the last of the coffee. "I hate to admit, I'm still hungry. What do you say I throw on some clothes and we go grab some lunch?"
"Sounds good to me. I ran into Stacy in the lobby and she said Danny is back and is probably still sleeping. They didn't get in until almost 7 a.m. She is planning staying up to make sure the afternoon shift is covered and according to her she is going to sleep for a week." Chris stood up, "I'll go out and wait for you in the hall."
"You don't need to do that. I'll step into the bathroom and change quickly. I think I'll take a quick shower as well." Don climbed out of the bed and stretched.
Less than twenty minutes later they headed down to the dining room. Don held the door and followed Chris in. After being seated, they scanned the menu, each discussing their likes and dislikes. The server approached the table and both ordered.
After the server had departed, Chris smiled at Don. "How do you eat that much and stay as lean as you are?"
"Good metabolism." He took a big drink of the milk that had been delivered. "I wanted to thank you for being there last night."
"I'm really sorry that I fell asleep before you got in. I didn't know if you would need someone to talk with or not." Chris said sincerely.
"That's all right. I was dead tired, I hit the pillow and I was gone. I did appreciate it." He paused, not knowing how to sum up in words how much holding her had meant.
As if sensing his meaning, Chris shook her head knowingly. "Sometimes, after a bad day, it's nice to hold on to someone." She paused for a moment and continued on, "So with Danny out of commission, that kind of messes up your plans for this trip."
"Danny wasn't too excited about the skiing anyway, know it just gives him a convenient excuse to stay in the lounge or the hot tub. I could really use a ski partner, if you are up for it."
"I'd like that. What do you say we head out for a while after lunch? They say the new snow is already packing down and the runs are fast."
They finished their lunch and Flack headed back to his room to change. He hesitated and then decided to knock on Danny's door after all. The sharp raps finally elicited a response and he could hear Danny on the other side. The sound of the chain being removed preceded the door opening.
Looking rather the worse for the wear, Danny looked bleary eyed, sans glasses. "What?"
"Hey, Happy New Year to you too." Don smiled at him. "Just wanted to hear how the arm is."
Danny held up his arm, indicating a band of white gauze wound around the wound. "Doctor said I was lucky and to take a week off of work." He ran his other hand through his hair; it was sticking up all over the place. "I guess now I'll have an excuse to stay off the slopes."
"That's another reason I roused you from your beauty sleep, Chris and I are going skiing this afternoon."
"Have fun. I'm going back to bed. Wake me for supper."
"Not a problem. See you later."
Danny turned and hesitated. He turned back towards his friend. "So? This thing with Chris."
"Thing?" Flack laughed. "Danny we are two adults, going skiing. End of story. It's not like I'm going to be proposing to her tonight. Although I'll probably see if she and Stacy want to join us, unless you don't want me to?"
"Adults. Yeah, I guess you are."
"What do you mean by that?" Flack was confused.
"Nothing, I'm just tired and talking nonsense." Danny shook his head as if to clear it. "Hey, happy New Year Don."
Flack smiled broadly, "It's looking a whole lot brighter than last year already." He walked down the hall to his room.
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Danny shut the door and squeezed the bridge of his nose, pushing back the conversation playing in his head.
The long wait at the emergency room had given Danny and Stacy time to talk. Discussing what might be transpiring back at the lodge between their two friends, Stacy had laughed at Danny's prediction of Flack and Chris becoming more than just friends.
"Won't happen Danny." Stacy replied soberly.
"Why not? Flack's a great guy. Not bad looking, good job, knows how to treat women," Danny ticked the reasons off on his fingers.
"I really shouldn't be sharing this with you." Stacy looked guiltily as him. "Chris is engaged to be married and she decided to come up and visit me and have one last fling. She decided that it would be easy to hook up with someone and have it be an anonymous kind of thing. No one at home would be the wiser."
"What?" Danny was instantly pissed. "She goes around letting Flack think that something is happening and she's off the market."
Stacy spoke defensively, "Oh, and I'm sure you've never done something like that? One-night stand not in your vocabulary?"
That silenced Danny; he backed down and looked somewhat contrite. "Point taken. It's just that Flack is coming off a stretch of real shitty experiences." He then filled in Stacy. "I guess I hoped for his sake he would have a nice little romance that might lead to something. He is a real nice guy. Nicer than me." Danny confessed.
"I don't know about that," Stacy squeezed Danny's good hand. "I think that you're a good friend. Don't tell him that I told you though."
"I won't. I'm not sure how I would tell him or even if I need to. I mean, maybe things will have cooled off between them."
Skiing this afternoon. Supper tonight. Flack and Chris didn't seem to be cooling down, if anything Danny was worried that it was heating up.