A/N - So here it is, the conclusion. Thank you so much to everyone who has followed this story through to the end. I only meant it to be like 10,000 words and now it's closer to 40,000! So big thanks all!

Flack, Danny, Hawkes and Adam were all sat in the break room of the Crime Lab on a Wednesday evening in New York City. To anyone who dared enter the room for a coffee they were faced with four of the most rowdy and happy men known to mankind. Outside, the night air was humid and sticky but none of the four men could care less about the heat. It wasn't hot in the lab, of course, and it just so happened that two of them had had rather a strange experience that day to detract from any suffering due to the humidity.

All four of them burst out laughing again, tears in their eyes, and the remaining few lab techs in the breakroom scarpered away.

"So you really thought it was a witch?" laughed Hawkes in glee.

"It seemed the only reasonable explanation at the time," replied Danny, smiling.

Two hours ago he and Flack had been released from the hospital and Hawkes had driven them over to the lab for their briefing with Mac. Afterwards they'd hobbled into the breakroom, seeing Hawkes and Adam in there and joined them for a coffee. They were all due off duty in an hour and with the case closed and time to kill the two detectives had relented and told the others the whole story of what had happened to them from beginning to end.

"Well it does explain why you were acting so weird," mused Adam.

"It just seemed so real," Flack said in disbelief, shaking his head.

"Yeah, but a witch? Come off it," laughed Hawkes again. "You guys are such girls!"

"I'd like to see you tell that to my wife," Danny muttered and the others ginned at him. Lindsay was probably tougher than all four of them put together.

"So how many things have we got to add to the list now, Detective Flack?" asked Hawkes.

Flack scowled at him but resumed laughing after a moment. "You know what, I don't care. I don't care if I'm a girl cos weird houses and spiders freak me out..."

"Among other things," nodded Danny.

"And I don't care if what we saw today was really a weird dream, some sort of drug...whatever. I'm just glad to be alive and far, far away from the creepy-ass house!"

"Here, here," Danny agreed.

"And may I also add that I have three of the best friends a man could ask for here right now," Flack added, smiling round at the others.

"Aw, Flack, you've gone all soppy, man," Hawkes grinned but they all raised their coffees and toasted Flack's announcement.

"It's weird you guys are the detectives and yet you needed Hawkes and me to come rescue you," Adam laughed after a moment.

"Hey, don't you go spreading that around," Flack warned. "Cos I'll know it was you."

"And what you gonna do? Need me to rescue you again," giggled Adam.

Flack looked rather ticked off but couldn't really say much in response. It was true, Adam and Hawkes had rescued them.

"So you keeping the rabbit then, Flack?" Danny asked.

"Yep. Robert stays with me," Flack said definitely. "Providing you did take him to my place?" he asked Adam worriedly.

"I said I did and I did," Adam said defensively. "I left him on your couch."

"Pardon?" Flack said blinking up at him.

"I left him on your couch."

"You left him on my couch?"

Adam frowned. "Yes, I left him on your couch."

"You left him on my..."

"YES!" Danny and Hawkes laughed.

Flack scowled at them all. "You do realise my apartment will be a complete mess now, Adam?"

"Hey, don't go blaming Adam, you wanted the rabbit," Danny reminded him.

"And where else was I supposed to put him?" Adam grumbled.

Flack tilted his head in thought and then grinned. "You know what I don't even care!"

"Oh well, all's well that ends well I guess," mused Hawkes as he drained the last of his coffee.

"Still can't believe we really thought she was a witch," Danny laughed, shaking his head.

"It seems so absurd now," Flack agreed.

"It was your idea," Danny pointed out.

"And you went along with it," Flack retorted.

"You're very convincing when you want to be," Danny replied. "Guess that's what makes you a great detective."

"Aw, thanks, Mess. You think I'm a great detective?" grinned Flack.

"I sure do, bro," Danny replied and slapped Flack on the back.

The taller man grinned even more and blushed slightly at the compliment. Danny had his back, that, he was sure of. And nothing would ever come between them.

"So you really sure there must have been a gas leak then?" Adam asked, breaking into his thoughts.

"It's the only logical explanation," Hawkes nodded.

"Well, either that or an old lady did live there and she put something in the tea and then the rest was a dream," Danny mused.

"Either way, it didn't happen," Flack stated.

"Didn't happen," agreed Danny.

"Because witches don't exist," added Hawkes, still laughing at the two detectives.

"Neither do talking houses," chipped in Adam.

"Whatever alien-boy and ghost-doctor!" Flack retorted.

All four men chuckled light-heartedly in merriment.

"Hey, you know what I liked best about your story?" Adam finally said.

"What's that?" asked Danny.

"Adam Ross, the boss!" Adam grinned.

"I think you'll find that I'm the boss," a quiet voice said from behind him.

Adam jumped so high he almost flew out of his chair as Danny, Flack and Hawkes laughed hysterically while Mac raised an eyebrow in amusement at the timid lab-tech.

Sheldon Hawkes yawned tiredly as he unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped over the threshold. He paused by the door as something came to his nostrils, some scent. He frowned and shut the door, slipping off his shoes before padding down the corridor into his lounge. He smiled when he saw Camille sitting on the couch, looking stunning as ever.

"Hey," he smiled.

"Hey. Long day?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," he laughed.

He walked forward as she got up and they met in an embrace in the middle.

"Mmmm, I missed you," he whispered.

"I missed you too," she replied. "How're the stings?"

"Awful," Hawkes admitted honestly. "I've wanted to scratch them all day."

"Aww, my poor baby," she murmured and then pulled back, smiling. "Well I have a surprise for you."

"For me?" Hawkes raised his eyebrows.

"Yes," she grinned. She led him towards the bathroom and opened the door. It was lit with candles, a scented aroma filled the air and a nice, warm bath had been poured ready.

"Why don't you relax in here, soak your stings and then afterwards I can give you one of my massages?" she whispered huskily.

"Mmmm," Hawkes hummed. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Oh nothing. But I will be expecting a better day off next time."

"Anything you want," Hawkes replied. "But I can think of one thing to make this better..."

"What's that?"

"How about you join me in there?" he asked suggestively, nodding at the bath.

"I thought you'd never ask," she smiled.

Hawkes grinned happily and leant in to kiss her.

He was a very happy man indeed.

Danny Messer hobbled up the last few steps on his crutches and let out a sigh of relief as he finally got to his floor. He proceeded down the corridor to his apartment, feeling miserable about spending another night alone, especially after what had happened today at the house. He'd rung Lindsay earlier from Flack's cell, explaining what had happened but she'd already finished work and was busy with Lucy when he'd phoned. He slotted the key into his lock and pushed open the door, grimacing at the smell of 'burnt' that invaded his nostrils. Then he frowned. It didn't smell like 'burnt' at all. He hobbled into the lounge and stared in awe, mouth dropped open in surprise as the smell of fresh paint almost intoxicated him. There, in his lounge, was his wife and daughter paintbrushes in hand, yellow, pink and blue smudges covering their faces and in their hair and the most beautifully painted wall he'd ever seen in his entire life behind them.

"Supwise!" yelled Lucy running towards her daddy and pausing before she ran into him.

"Dwady hurt?" she looked up at him worriedly.

"You can hug me here, Luce," Danny smiled, pulling her under one arm.

The little girl cuddled into his side and he stroked over her hair. Lindsay came forward and circled her arms round him, hugging him gently.

"Do you like it, Dwady?" asked a little voice from below them. "Mwomy let me stay up late to hwelp."

"I love it!" Danny said happily, looking over at the bright yellow wall covered with wonky blue and pink flowers.

"We used the paint we'd bought for the nursery," Lindsay murmured in his ear.

Danny snuggled closer to her, his two girls giving him support. "But I thought you were staying at Ma's?"

"I changed my mind," she replied.

"Why?" Danny asked.

"Because I love you."

Danny smiled happily. He was a very lucky man, and the happiest in the world.

Adam Ross pulled out his headphones as he unlocked his door and entered his home, slamming it closed behind him. He frowned immediately as he noticed a light on in his kitchen. He never left the lights on. He approached warily and peeked through the doorway, eyes widening in surprise at what he saw. His small kitchen table had been covered with a white cloth and laid for dinner. A candle was burning merrily in the centre and a rose was placed in a glass beside it. Pots and pans bubbled excitedly on the stove and a delicious aroma flooded his nose.

"Like what you see?" whispered a voice from behind him.

"Michelle?" Adam said in surprise.

"Expecting someone else?" she asked.

"No. But I...well, I thought you'd be kinda cross I left you in the restaurant," Adam said timidly.

Michelle smiled at him. "I was...but then I realised I shouldn't have laughed at you and wanted to apologise."

"So you did this?" Adam asked.

"I recreated a restaurant for us and cooked a nice dinner. It'll be just how it should've been last night."

Adam stared at her in wonderment. "You're amazing, you know that right?"

She hugged him tight and gave him a quick kiss.

"Dinner's ready," she murmured and then walked over to the stove.

Adam watched her in excitement. He'd never felt so happy in his life.

Don Flack felt exhausted as he rode up in the elevator to his floor and watched as the doors slid open. He hobbled down to his apartment and opened the door to let himself in. It was dark inside and he flicked on the light-switch as he closed the door. He groaned as his eyes glanced across his floor. The whole place was a mess, bits of paper and fluff everywhere but no bunny to be seen. He poked his head into the kitchen, the cupboards were open and bits of cereal and other food was spilt across the floor. In the lounge his magazines had been shredded and what looked very much like a nest had been built in one corner of his couch. Flack checked inside but there was no rabbit in it. He sighed and turned to the bedroom, hobbling over towards it on his crutches. He frowned as he saw a light flickering from it and noticed the TV was on. The remote lay on the end of the bed and Flack realised the rabbit must have hopped on it. He flicked on the light and shook his head in exasperation at the mess. His shoes had been pulled out of the wardrobe and strewn about the place and a few of his clothes had joined the mess on the floor too. In the middle of his bed, resting against his pillow and snuggled in the covers was the sandy bunny with the bright blue eyes. Flack grinned despite himself.

"Robert, look at the mess you've made," he scolded jokingly. "I'm gonna have to clean this up!"

The sandy bunny blinked up at him and squeaked. "Well it's about time you got home, young man. Your apartment is so dull!"

It had all been real...

Flack promptly fainted on the spot.

A/N - And that's it. Hope that was all okay!

My next story will be up soon and I'm trying something a bit different. What's the point in not experimenting I ask myself. It revolves around a Mac/Don relationship, Danny/Lindsay relationship and a Mac/Danny father-son relationship, although everyone else is in it too . It deals with main character death and the consequences of that. So it will be M rated as quite dark, full of angst and the death scene is quite graphic and upsetting.

And if that's not your cup of tea (I don't blame you!) my fic after that will once again be a Danny/Don friendship story except this time something comes between them and may well break up the bromance forever!