"My heart tells me this is the best and greatest feeling I have ever had. But my mind knows the difference between wanting what you can't have and wanting what you shouldn't want. And I shouldn't want you." ~ Cassandra Clare

A/N: Writing another story about Marisol & Dan just because watching re-runs makes me want to explore another crack ship and I have wanted to story writing stories with more random pairings.. and I thought this would be an interesting pairing. I also kinda used my own acknowledgements from the show to further develop into Marisol's aspirations and that compassionate side of Cooper that wasn't seen as much as it could've been.

"Hey Dan," Marisol Delko smiled as she approached the A/V analyst who had been waiting for her at the beach.

Dan turned around to see the older Delko sibling and was in disbelief. "Hey Marisol. How's business school?" "I'm finally finishing off the three years, so hopefully, I'll be there soon." She said. Before the diagnosis with cancer, Marisol had been aiming to work with the State Attorney's office or get a degree and use it for something relating to criminal law. She'd done the four years, but hadn't been able to do the last three. So that's what she was doing now it was said she was okay.

He knows how much Eric cares about his sister, and that it would be him signing his own death warrant if he did anything wrong. "That's great to hear. What do you plan to do when you finish law school?"

Marisol took his hand and smiled. "I'll see where life takes me, Cooper."

He squeezed her hand as they began walking down the beach together. Marisol had grown quite the liking for the lab tech. She knew it seemed a little cliche. Falling for her brother's friend. But it wasn't up to Eric who she chose to pursue, it was her life and she didn't need that constant protection when eventually, she wanted to settle down and live her life the way she had always wanted to.

When they were together, it was like there was nobody else there. Dan knew that he wasn't exactly the greatest in relationships. None of them usually lasted more than a year. But he knew that was because he'd never found the right person for him. He had a feeling about what he had with Marisol. That it was good.

They'd met each other in the halls of the lab on pure coincidence. Dan had been taken by her beauty. The Latina wasn't like anyone he'd met before. She wasn't loud and obnoxious, yet, she was reserved and so naturally beautiful. There was nothing superficial about it. He wasn't joking when he said she was hot. He was attracted to her and that was no secret.

As they were walking, they came across a party of people dancing. It was a little much for them and they carried of walking.. until they noticed a truck driving by with a rifle set up out of the window.

"SHOOTER!"

Everybody immediately started running, some diving to the floor and others taking cover as the bullets started flying. Dan, out of instinct, covered Marisol as they drove themselves onto the ground behind a bench to take cover. And she grasped his shirt in fear as all they could hear was gunshots.

The sound of sirens became more evident as patrol cars zoomed past in pursuit of the vehicle while others pulled up to secure the scene. People all around began to appear from hiding and they saw fire and rescue pull up to tend to the woman who'd gotten shot. Cooper stood up, helping Marisol up as she dusted off her clothes.

She didn't know what to say. He'd put her first in something that he easily could've just saved himself from. "You didn't have to do that." She said quietly as a detective walked up to them. "It's what friends are for." He replied, then turning to Detective Soto.

Friends. Right. She didn't know why it bothered her.. being classed as a friend. Because that's what they were. Good friends. And best friends can hold hands. They can.

They gave their statements to the detective, before he walked off and left the two where they were. Marisol leaned her head into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. "I wish there was something that we could've done." She mumbled as he rubbed her shoulder gently. "Me too."

It was at that point, he realized how much she needed him to be there for her. He had to make that choice. And there wasn't a big period of time for him to do so.

She lifted her head up and found her eyes stuck on Dan's. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For not trying to impress me. For just being you, Coop." She said, her lips curving into a smile.

Dan nodded. "Didn't take much. It's not like I know how to impress anyone anyway."

The two were interrupted in their gaze by Lieutenant Caine. He had heard that his A/V tech and Marisol had been involved in a shooting that went on and he wanted to make sure they were okay. When he saw them closely staring at one another, it became evident that there was something going on. Whether they saw it or not. He could tell. "Are you two okay?"

Marisol smiled. "We're okay, Lt."

"Yeah. We saw the vehicle and took cover when they pulled out a rifle. Gave a description to another Detective."

Frank and Horatio glanced at one another, before looking back at them. "No harm done?"

"No. Not at all."

"Ok. We'll be in touch if we have any more questions." Frank said, he and the lieutenant then turning their attention to the victim Alexx was examining.

A few feet away, Eric and Ryan were searching the perimeter. Everything about the crime suggested a professional hit. Since Calleigh was in court and Natalia had another case, it was just them for this case. As Ryan was pulling the silencer out of a bush, he saw Marisol and Dan walking within a small crowd along the rest of the beachside.

"Hey dude, isn't that your sister?" He mentioned, still trying to get the dammed thing out.

Eric, convinced Wolfe was bullshitting, looked in the direction he pointed to. And that's when he saw them. His friend.. and his sister. That was something he'd not been informed of. "Focus on get that silencer, will you?"

"I am. It's not like you're helping." He grumbled, giving it one last tug that sent the CSI onto the floor with the silencer in his hand. "Bingo."

"There ya go." Eric said distractedly.

Later on at the lab, Cooper had been called in earlier so he'd been in the A/V working on some CCTV evidence that could help them catch their shooter. Marisol had gone to see Horatio, but thought she'd also see Eric while she was there. She had a feeling that he had figured it out and wanted to give him the proper rundown on what was going on, so he wouldn't keep assuming things he didn't know.

He was heading to DNA with a blood sample for Valera, but was stopped when he saw his sister in the waiting area. "Mari? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you." She said.

"Ok, let me get this to DNA and I'll be right back."

Marisol nodded, watching as he walked in direction of DNA with a poker-faced expression that she couldn't yet decipher. Elena was the FBI agent. She tapped her foot on the hard floor in wait of her younger brother.

Eric came back and sat down beside her. "I heard you were there when that woman got shot. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay. He protected me from the bullets, Eric. I'm sure he got grazed by one. But he didn't leave my side."

He slowly nodded. Eric wanted to be happy for his sister. He really did. But there was one thing that still stuck to his mind. His sister's broken heart from the guy who left her after it was discover she had cancer. He didn't want it to end up being as bad as that was. Even though they weren't even officially dating, Eric just wanted to be curiously aware of what was happening. It was like his colleagues knew more than he did.

"Do you trust him..?"

"Of course I do, Eric. He's my friend... And I really like him."

It was true. Dan and Eric hung out a lot, however, they didn't have the most intimate of friendships. Nobody would ever be as close to Eric as Speedle was. But Cooper wasn't a bad guy to get with on occasion. And he didn't have an actual problem with him, other than his big mouth sometimes. He was working on that though. And if he really made Marisol happy — could he really judge the guy?

They were close in age, had similar likes and dislikes, were both looking for something to settle maybe sometime in the future. It's not like it was someone that he completely disapproved of. Cooper was his friend too.

"Don't keep me out of the loop this time." He warned his older sister with a serious look.

Marisol chuckled. "Okay."

While they were talking, Marisol's eye wandered as she saw Cooper clocking out at the reception desk. He came over to the Delko siblings a little afraid of what would happen. "Hey Delko." He greeted them as they stood up.

"Hey. You planning on heading out for lunch?" Marisol asked with a smile.

"Yeah. Do either of you wanna join?"

Eric laughed. "I would, but I've got a case."

The older Delko sibling grinned bashfully, her eyes diverting to the floor. "I'd love to."

"See you two later," Eric said as he began walking away. "..Look after her, or else you'll have a bullet in your head soon enough." He whispered to the A/V before disappearing down the hall. Dan nodded, making a mental note for the fifth time this week as he and Marisol headed to the elevator.