Life According To…

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters; this is simply my imagination put to paper.

Summary: Aiden and Lindsay talk

Chapter 9

Lindsay was surprised to get a call from Aiden since she had only heard of her through others and had spent limited time with her at her own party. She couldn't figure out what she could want to talk to her about.

Aiden seemed to be Danny's type, so it was no surprise that they were together, but she seemed to be a lot kinder and more polite than Danny was.

Lindsay met her at one of her favorite places, Panera Bread. Aiden was sitting at an outside table waiting for her with a smile on her face. They greeted each other and Aiden took note of Lindsay's curious look, so she got to the point.

"Thanks for meeting with me, Lindsay. There are a couple of things that I have to talk to you about."

"Oooookay," Lindsay said slowly.

Aiden couldn't help but laugh at the hesitation in Lindsay's tone.

"First, I know that we don't really know each other, but I think that we need to have a talk – woman-to-woman."

Uh-oh. Any talk that starts with 'woman-to-woman' could not be good. That usually means someone is suspected of cheating with another's mate. I hope she doesn't think I have a thing for Danny!

"I want to talk to you about Danny."

Uh-oh. She definitely did not want to have this conversation, or any other conversation about him.

"I hear that Danny hasn't been treating you very well."

Lindsay was too shaken to respond verbally, so she nodded.

"I'm sorry to hear he's been giving you a rough time, but I want to talk to you so that you understand why he acts the way he does."

What? She's apologizing for him? Lindsay was torn between hearing the reason why Danny was such a jerk to her, which she was sure would provide many laughs, or not wasting anymore time, telling Aiden that it really wasn't necessary, and leaving. She thought that the polite thing would be to hear her out. But first, she'd let her know how she felt about Danny.

"I'm not trying to be rude, but you really don't have to apologize for Danny's actions. He's a grown man and if he doesn't like me, that's fine. I'm not too crazy about him at this point, but I try to show him more respect than he shows me. Believe me, you have my deepest sympathy for having Danny as a boyfriend."

Aiden laughed heartily, almost falling off of her chair, which baffled Lindsay.

"What's so funny?" Lindsay did not like being laughed at.

When Aiden regained her composure she asked, "You think that Messer," she couldn't finish her sentence before she fell out laughing again. "Messer and I," she laughed, "we're boyfriend, " more laughter, "and girlfriend?" She teetered on the edge of her chair, trying to control her laughter.

Now Lindsay was thoroughly confused. "You don't…But he talks about you all the time and you always go out together…and I guess I jumped to the wrong conclusion, didn't I?"

Aiden nodded as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Wait 'til Flack hears this. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to laugh, but just the thought..." She got serious. "I can't imagine what was going through your mind when I invited you here today. What was going through your mind?"

Lindsay was at a loss for words. She shrugged and said, "I had no idea what you wanted to talk about."

Aiden looked at her and shook her head. "If you thought Danny and I were an item, you're going to fall out of your seat when I tell you what I came to tell you. You ready?"

Lindsay wasn't so sure she wanted to know anymore, but she nodded anyway.

"Okay." She paused for what seemed like an eternity. "Let me tell you a story about a boy and a girl."

"Let me guess – Danny's the boy." Lindsay grinned.

Aiden's eyebrows rose high. "The CSI mind at work is a beautiful thing." They both laughed.

Aiden proceeded to tell Lindsay about Danny and Lauren.

"This brings me to one of the reasons why I asked you here today. " She looked Lindsay straight in the eye and said, "You thought that Danny and I were going together, but I can assure you that I am not Danny's type – you are."

Lindsay's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "What?? I'm sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else. Hello? Lindsay Monroe here, the one Danny loves to torment."

"I know that it sounds crazy. I know that, but I've known Danny for a long time and he is my best friend. You're his type. I think Danny Messer is in love with you, and he's in denial about it. What he doesn't realize is that you can't choose who you fall in love with."

"You are sadly mistaken, Aiden. You've read him wrong."

"I don't think so. Have you ever noticed that you're the only one he gives a hard time? There's a reason."

Lindsay was not buying Aiden's argument. "There's no way, Aiden. No way. He hates me, and besides, I have a boyfriend. You met Stephen."

"Yeah, I did." She paused while she gathered her thoughts. "That's the other thing I want to talk to you about."

"Stephen?"

"Yes, Stephen. I noticed the other night that he seems a bit…clingy."

"Yeah, he can be a little jealous at times. He's a nice guy, though." Lindsay thought about the times when she and Stephen went out on dates and other men gave her 'the look.' He would shut down and their evening out was usually ruined because they would invariably argue about his jealousy. She put up with him because their good times together were very good and she had missed having male companionship, but she was quickly becoming fed up with him, although she wasn't about to tell that to Aiden.

"I know that it's not my place, but I just want you to be careful. We've all seen men go from 'clingy' to 'abusive' and it can seem to come out of nowhere."

Lindsay nodded her head. "Oookay." Why is she so concerned about me?

An uncomfortable silence ensued.

"So, is that all we have to talk about?"

Aiden chuckled. "Yeah, I guess. Hey, do you want to go out later? Danny, Flack and I are going dancing tonight."

Lindsay shook her head.

"Oh, come on. I want you to see another side of Danny, and believe me, with Flack and I there, Danny wouldn't dare be the idiot that I know he can be."

Lindsay again shook her head. "No, but thanks for the invitation."

"You're still not buying that Danny has feelings for you?"

"Nope. And even if he does, he treats me badly and I am not volunteering to be subjected to that."

Aiden sighed. "Alright, Lindsay. The way I see it, I paid for your lunch, so you owe me a night out." She cocked one eyebrow up to let her know that she wasn't giving her a choice. Lindsay closed her eyes as she dropped her head to concede defeat.

CSI:NY

After leaving Lindsay, Aiden met up with Flack so that they could knock some sense into Danny, idiot that he was.

"Hey, you're early." Danny looked at his friends curiously while letting them in his apartment.

"How very observant of you, Oh Wise One," Flack mused.

Aiden did not beat around the bush. "Have a seat, Danno, we have to have a talk with you."

Aiden and Flack confronted Danny about his feelings for Lindsay, which he vehemently denied.

"Danny, everybody knows how you feel about her. You can't deny it forever."

"I'm not denying anything, Aiden. Just because I went out with Lauren and she was a country girl does not mean that I'm going after every country girl that comes my way. I don't have 'a thing' for Lindsay, okay? We just work together."

"And you pay special attention to her because…"

"Because I get a kick out of aggravating her. It's what I do!"

Flack and Aiden looked at him incredulously.

"Whatever, man. Look, the sooner you admit your feelings for Ms. Monroe, the sooner we can get you to stop tormenting her. I have to tell you, Mac's not too impressed with the way you're treating her."

And on and on it went, round after round of Flack and Aiden accusing Danny of having feelings for Lindsay, and Danny denying it.

Before long, it was time to meet Lindsay at the club. Neither Lindsay nor Danny would make eye contact with the other. They greeted each other shyly, with Danny trying to remember to call her 'Lindsay' and not 'Montana.'

Flack and Aiden pretty much ignored the silent pleas for help their comrades were giving them and immediately abandoned them for the dance floor.

Aiden and Flack danced and spurned the advances of anyone who tried to interfere in their conversation.

"So, how long do you think they're just going to sit there looking at each other?"

Flack shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. I'm having fun. Danny can be as stubborn as he wants – he's not fooling anybody. If you ask me…"

"Oh, look! I think they're going to dance together…Way to go, Messer!"

Danny led Lindsay to the floor and they danced to an upbeat song, although they were so far apart they almost didn't seem to be together. Danny was sneaking looks at Lindsay as she moved rhythmically and worked up a sweat, which he couldn't deny was a turn-on. Lindsay wasn't innocent either. She stole glances at Danny which led her to thinking not-so-platonic thoughts about him and the way his rhythm could be put to other uses. He was a jerk, but he was a man, after all. She had to keep reminding herself that she had a boyfriend.

After a few songs they headed toward a table to catch their breath. They continued to steal quick glances at each other, smiling when caught.

At the same time they both spoke.

"Lindsay – "

"Danny – "

They laughed and Danny gestured for Lindsay to continue.

"Thanks for the dance, Danny. I don't get out too much because Stephen doesn't have much time away from his practice, but I love dancing."

"No problem. I usually get to come out a couple of times a month with Aiden and Flack, but they don't usually ditch me the way they did tonight."

"I think they had ulterior motives."

"Yes, I think they do. They don't do 'subtle' very well. So tell me, do you at least get free therapy?"

"Why? Do you think I need it?" Lindsay pretended to be upset.

"No, no, no! I was just…"

Lindsay laughed. "I'm just kidding, Danny. I know what you mean. Sometimes he slips into 'therapist' mode and I have to remind him that I'm not one of his clients, but other than that, we're a normal couple. He is a good listener, though."

Danny nodded and they both tried to think of something else to say.

"You know, I thought you and Aiden were a couple."

"A couple of what?" he asked jokingly.

"I'm serious. As much as you talk about her, and you're always with her, I just thought…"

She was interrupted by his laughter and began to laugh herself, remembering how Aiden couldn't contain herself earlier that day when she heard the conclusion that Lindsay had jumped to.

"No, Ms. Burn and I are not an item. I am currently unattached."

"Oh." Why did her heart leap when she heard that? Wasn't he her arch nemesis?

Flack approached with a grin on his face, slightly out of breath. "So, you two seem to be getting along better."

They nodded and smiled, trying to wrap their heads around the fact that they weren't at each other's throats – a first for them. But after so much time, they still were unsure how long their truce would last, so they decided to be very cautious with the other.

Aiden was perspiring and breathing hard. "Alright, you two. Can one of you be a gentleman and get a couple of ladies a drink?"

Danny got up and made his way over to the bar through the tight mass of people who had somehow crammed into the building and waited his turn to place his order.

Flack and Aiden's eyes lit up as Aiden leaned in to ask, "So, Lindsay, I see that you and Danny are getting along. You even danced!"

Lindsay smiled. "You two are very obvious, you know. Yes, we've been civil to each other tonight."

Flack's eyes danced. "That's a first for you two, right?"

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Laugh it up, you guys. I don't know what you did, but it will be nice to go to work without the fear of being verbally attacked." She looked at Aiden with suspicion. "But that doesn't mean that I believe you, Aiden."

"Believe what?" Flack asked.

"She doesn't believe that Danny has the hots for her."

"She doesn't know Messer very well – yet. Give her time. Danny's not known for being subtle."

"You all are forgetting that I already have a boyfriend. Remember Stephen?"

Aiden rolled her eyes. "How could we forget?"

Lindsay was getting very comfortable with Aiden, otherwise she would have told her something about getting in her business. "He is quite amazing, isn't he?" She knew that she was getting under Aiden's skin.

"Yeah, he's a prize, alright," Aiden retorted sarcastically.

"Aaaannnnyyyywaaayyy," said Lindsay to change the subject, "You've met my friend, Hannah, right? She introduced me to Stephen and they're friends."

"Give me five minutes and I can change that." Aiden winked at Lindsay and they both smiled.

CSI:NY

While in her bed, Lindsay allowed her mind to wander over the day. Her mother had always impressed upon her the importance of having a solid network of female friends, and now she felt as if she had one more to add to that network – Aiden. Little did she know how much she would need her friends in the upcoming weeks.

Next: Life According to Mac