sorry for the loooooong delay, people! had lots of stuff to deal with, but I'm back now! hopefully there's still readers interested in this...hehe. and please keep the reviews coming! those are what motivates me to write...and now, the chapter you've been waiting for!

-Twentyone-

"Stop playing games – how long have the both of you been going out, behind my back?"

Despite Danny's serious tone, Morgan couldn't help but chuckle at his use of words.

"It's not like I'm your girlfriend and I've been unfaithful to you… heh heh."

Danny turned to stare at his sister with a look that showed he was close to his breaking point while Flack just looked at her in disbelief. "Not funny. Okay." Morgan said.

"Can we get back to the topic please?" Danny said in an exasperated tone. He was already giving off an intimidating air about himself as he stood with his arms crossed and a stern expression on his face. Morgan stole a glance at Flack, who was having trouble deciding which one of them should speak first. Meanwhile, Morgan was wondering if Danny knew everything and was trying to get them to admit to it, or he was trying to confirm his suspicions by pretending he knew everything. If it was the latter, should Morgan come clean or should she try to lie her way out of this?

While Morgan was deciding on her options, Danny had turned his attention to Flack, who had suddenly taken a keen interest in the floor beneath his feet.

"It was my idea," Morgan spoke suddenly. "What idea?" Danny asked, turning to his sister.

"Not to tell you about…us."

"And why is that, may I ask?" He replied with a certain calmness that felt creepy to Morgan. Oh dear, the calm before the storm, Morgan thought.

"Because I knew you'd freak out if you found out."

Danny took a few steps closer to Morgan who said, "You don't intimidate me, Danny. I've seen that look thousands of times."

"Oh, really?"

"Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a little… but I have seen that look loads of times."

Danny then inhaled deeply and exhaled moments later. "How long?"

"How long…what?" Morgan asked. She looked over to Flack, who was giving her a look, begging her to shut up before Danny really exploded.

"Ever since we wrapped the Henry Darius case," Flack spoke, even before Morgan could open her mouth to answer. Danny looked over to her, and she nodded in agreement with Flack's answer.

Danny stood still with his head lowered, and not even Morgan could tell just what he was thinking. Moments went past and still he hadn't said anything. Morgan was starting to lose patience, and Flack was just about ready to flinch at any time should Danny throw a punch at him.

"Will you please say something?" Morgan said. "Why are you making this such a big deal, anyway? I'm not sixteen years old anymore; I don't need your approval over who I date!" She continued in an agitated tone. Realizing that she'd probably crossed a line with Danny, Morgan tried to even out the tension she'd caused but Danny simply shook his head and walked out of the room.

"What was that about?" A confused Flack asked.

"I don't know, I wasn't expecting such a reaction from him," Morgan said.

"He seemed pretty calm."

"As in, the calm before the storm."

"Okay, should I start to worry about my well-being?" Flack said. With an amused smile, Morgan assured him that she would talk to Danny. "Until I go blue in the face," Morgan added. A call came in for Flack on his cell phone just then and he headed for his car, so that he could speak in private with the person on the line. "Let me know how it goes," he said as he exited the A/V Lab.

XoXoX

Morgan strolled around the crime lab looking for Danny, whom she'd been unable to locate at the moment. How the hell did he know? Okay, Flack and I probably gave ourselves away at one time or another, but someone must've told him. But who? Morgan knew for sure that Mac wouldn't say anything, Stella too. She didn't think Lindsay knew, and as for Dr. Hawkes… she couldn't be sure. That was a question she needed to ask her brother – just as soon as she found him. Morgan had practically made a round in the crime lab once, and headed for the locker room. True enough, Danny was sitting on a bench and facing his own locker.

"Danny, we need to talk. About Flack and me."

"What's there to talk about? You've obviously made it clear that it's none of my business."

"Okay, I deserve that. I shouldn't have used that tone on you earlier, but you were overreacting a little."

"Is that what passes for an apology these days, huh?"

"Danny, would you stop it with the sarcasm? WE. NEED. TO. TALK."

Danny let out a sigh and motioned for Morgan to sit next to him on the bench. "So talk," he said.

"Like I said, I'm not sixteen anymore, I have the right to make my own choices whether you like it or not."

Before Morgan had found him in the locker room, Danny had been thinking about what she had said earlier and flashbacked to the time when his little sister first began to date boys. He knew she had never quite gotten over the fact that he was partly responsible for the short relationship she had had with her first boyfriend, because Morgan had made the mistake of introducing him to Danny just a month after they'd started dating each other; because of Danny's overprotective attitude.

"So, what you're saying is you're sticking to your guns about this, and there's no way you're gonna let me interfere."

"Er, sort of."

There was a sudden silence between them. Morgan really wanted to hear the words, "I'm happy for you" from her brother's mouth, but it looked like getting him to say that would be a big challenge. Just then, Flack walked in and immediately felt the tension between the siblings. Before either of them could say anything, Flack spoke.

"If my being with Morgan would cause any unhappiness between you two, then I'm sorry. But Danny, she's right. She's no longer sixteen and you don't have to watch over her like a hawk. She's an adult now and she needs her freedom. I know this is hard for you to accept but the both of you will have to lead your own lives sooner or later, you can't keep her with you forever," he said. When he finished, he found both Messer siblings staring at him as if they'd never seen him before in their lives. "What?" he asked with an annoyed look.

Morgan then stood up abruptly and lunged toward him, enveloping him in a hug. "Thank you! You took the words right out of my mouth," she said as she turned to Danny to address him. "Danny, what Flack said is right. I've been wanting to tell you this long ago, but I was afraid that you'd be unhappy…"

Danny let out another sigh as Morgan and Flack waited for him to speak. Danny stood up from the bench and walked over to Flack. He leaned in towards Flack and grabbed his collar lightly. "You hurt my sister in any way and I swear I'll kill you." Flack didn't know what to say in reply to this, as he couldn't tell if Danny was for real, or if he was joking. Before he could think of a reply, Danny added, "Try not to get yourself killed outside, too. Or I'll never let your soul rest in peace."

Morgan gave her brother a morbid look. "Will you stop it with all the death threats?" she said.

"Does this mean that you've given us your approval?" Flack asked. Without a word, Danny went to his locker to gather his things. As he turned to walk out of the locker room, he said, "I made myself clear. If he dares to hurt you, I'll kill him. If he goes and gets himself killed, I'll make sure he regrets dying." With that, he walked out of the locker room, leaving the lovebirds bewildered and confused.

"I guess that's a yes?" Morgan said as Flack let out a sigh in relief. "I thought he was going to punch me in the face when he grabbed my collar," he said.

"Damn!" Morgan exclaimed. "I forgot to ask him who blew the whistle on us!"