Disclaimer: C'mon now, if I really owned any of these characters do you really think I'd be writing fan fiction? Jerry Bruckheimer owns everything...like literally...you can't turn on the tv without seeing "Executive Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer". Magwyer's Pub does exist, it's very small and in Canada but since I just went there recently I decided to use the name and atmosphere.

A/N: Got some really sweet reviews last time...thanks a bunch y'all!

Danny was engrossed in a case file, the same one Aiden had been poring over the day before, when he felt a pair of eyes burning into the top of his head. He looked across the layout table to find Aiden watching him, looking away quickly when she was caught. Aiden's eyes remained down as she bit her lower lip and continued studying the photos in front of her. Danny had been trying all morning to decide whether the early morning kiss had been one of friendship or something more and if that smouldering look was anything to go by, he would guess the latter.

"Hey Aid?" he asked suddenly.

"Mmm?" Aiden wouldn't look at him, but Danny took the plunge anyways.

"You, uh, maybe wanna go out for like dinner and drinks after shift?" He felt like a geeky schoolboy asking out one of the popular girls. Her head shot up, Did Danny Messer just ask me out? Oh my GOD! The silence stretched on between them, increasing Danny's nervousness. When Aiden finally realized that she hadn't said anything, the words came out in a rush.

"Yeah, that sounds great Danny," Aiden smiled serenely, belying the anxiousness and excitement churning inside her.

"I gotta do a few things first," Danny started.

"Me too," Aiden cut in.

"So how about we meet at Magwyer's at about eight and we'll go from there."

"Yeah okay," Aiden smiled shyly at him before returning to the photos, only to be interrupted when Stella poked her head in the door.

"Hey you two, Flack just brought in your suspect for questioning, thought you guys might wanna take a stab at him first...ooh bad pun," Stella wrinkled her nose and glanced at the pictures of the victim, twenty two year old male stabbed twenty two times...on his birthday. She disappeared from the doorway as quickly as she'd arrived, leaving Aiden and Danny to head off towards the interrogation room. Four gruelling hours of good cop-bad cop later they had a full and signed confession from their suspect, who admitted to killing Mikhail "Big Micky" DeMarco, as initiation to a gang.

Danny and Aiden were both buried under mounds of paperwork for the remainder of the day, running into each other in the locker room before they left for the night. "So Magwyer's at eight?" Danny confirmed. Aiden nodded as she walked out of the room, butterflies pounding their wings in her stomach.

"See ya there!"

Aiden entered the bar at twenty to eight. She wore indigo blue jeans that hugged her in all the right places and a feminine floral halter top, showing just enough cleavage to give the straight boys a tease. Aiden wove her way through the crowd towards the bar, happy she had chosen a low heel that didn't impede her walking.

"Hey Leo!" she called over the din of multiple conversations, partially drowned out by the dull thud of the music's bass beat. Aiden carefully manoeuvred herself onto a bar stool as the bartender made his way towards her.

"What can I get for ya Miss Burn?" Leo asked, a twinkle in his eye.

"Twisted Vanilla Coke with an extra cherry," Aiden said, surprising the bartender.

"Alexander Keith won't be happy," Leo said, mixing her drink, "So what's got ya so worked up that it requires vodka instead of beer?"

"Date," Aiden replied simply, not wanting to go into details. The bartender slid the drink across the bar, accepting the bill Aiden slid towards him and smiling when she waved off the change.

"Do I know him?" Leo prodded, a slight lull in the pub's activity allowed him a moment to chat up Aiden.

"Yeah," she replied, still not giving any details.

"Well then, it looks like you aren't going to spill and I've got another customer but don't think you've heard the last of this!" Leo grinned at her as she rolled her eyes before quickly scanning the room for Danny. In fifteen minutes her glass was empty except for a few unmelted ice cubes and she really had to pee. With no sign of Danny she signalled Leo,

"If you see Danny, just tell him I'm in the ladies," Aiden slid off her chair and heard Leo exclaim behind her back,

"Aha! I knew you had a thing for him Burn!"

"Shaddup Leo!" she called over her shoulder, sashaying to the back of the bar.

When she exited the bathroom five minutes later she nearly ran into a man who looked vaguely familiar.

"Sorry," Aiden mumbled and tried to walk around the man.

"Not so fast sweetheart," the man stepped into her path, stepping towards her and forcing Aiden to take a step back. "Quite the pretty little thang ain't ya honey," the man placed his hands on the wall above Aiden's shoulders, blocking her exit. "Whaddya say you'n me'n my friend Jose Cuervo go back to my place and have a little fun?" He leaned in closer and Aiden pressed her back against the wall, turning her face from his.

"Actually I'm waiting for someone, so if you don't mind," Aiden tried to push one of his arms out of her way when the man struck, grasping her wrists in his hands and pinning them above her head. "Let go of me," Aiden demanded, trying not to show any fear. The man managed to trap both of her wrists with one of his hands as the other roughly turned her face towards him. His face was only inches from hers and the smell of tequila was strong on his breath. Aiden wasn't quite sure when she began screaming, she only knew that she managed to attract the attention of the entire bar, including Danny. The man released her and tried to make a run for it just as Danny reached her.

"Aid? Aiden are you okay?" Aiden felt Danny's hands on her shoulders and finally gave in to the urge to cry. Aiden clutched his shirtfront as his arms encircled her, making her feel totally safe. Aiden's attacker hadn't made it far, Flack had been on a date of his own in Magwyer's and had taken the guy down immediately.

By the time the night-shift cops had arrived Aiden had calmed enough to give a statement and watch her attacker, a suspect in a previous case, be carted off to jail.

"Want me to take you home Aid?" Danny asked, his arm still protectively around her waist. She shook her head,

"I'm not gonna let some stupid guy scare me off of having a date." Aiden smiled bravely at Danny and allowed him to help her into a barstool. Leo nodded at Aiden, silently asking if she was alright. She smiled at him in confirmation and told him she wanted something with lots of chocolate. Leo cracked a can of Strongbow and slid it to Danny and pushed a frozen, chocolate swirled concoction to Aiden. She raised an eyebrow in question,

"Frozen Mudslide, with extra cherries of course," Leo said with a smile, accepting the money and invitation to the change proffered by Danny. The two sat in silence, sipping their drinks until there was nothing left to keep them from talking. Danny couldn't keep his eyes off the red marks encircling Aiden's wrists and when she noticed him staring she tried self-consciously to hide them.

"So, dinner then?" Danny asked, breaking the silence. Aiden nodded, smiling when Danny wrapped his arm around her waist again as they exited. They emerged into the cool New York night and Aiden shivered, grateful when Danny pulled her closer. Danny flagged down a cab, opening the door for Aiden before getting in on the other side. "Adriano's on Fifth," he told the driver, sliding his arm around Aiden's waist and pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. Aiden smiled to herself before resting her head on his shoulder. When they arrived at the restaurant Aiden glanced at her watch and then to the darkened building.

"It's probably closed Danny, it's after eleven," Aiden fought back tears, nothing was going right tonight and the attack at the pub had left her emotions running high. Danny smiled and exited the cab, opening her door and helping her out before they proceeded to the restaurant. Danny raised a fist and knocked loudly, stopping only when he heard Adriano's muffled shouts from inside. A deadbolt clicked and the door swang open to reveal a short, greying, Italian man dressed in chef's whites. The old man looked Aiden up and down before proclaiming,

"You made a good call calling in my favour for this one Danny-boy. Well come on now, let's not let the food get cold," Adriano ushered them inside to a table near the fireplace in which a small fire burned. Adriano returned a moment later with a bottle of wine, followed by a young man bearing two steaming bowls of soup, "Now Miss Burn, was it? I hope you don't mind that I decided what would be for dinner. It's just that Danny said you would be late so I had to plan everything."

"I'm sure whatever you chose will be wonderful," Aiden replied softly, inhaling deeply as a bowl of Italian wedding soup was placed in front of her, along with a glass of white wine and a basket of bread sticks. The two men returned to the kitchen, leaving Danny and Aiden to eat their first course alone. "How did you manage this Danny?" Aiden spooned soup into her mouth, closing her eyes and concentrating on the flavours.

"Adriano owed me a favour, I told him I had a special date and asked him to stay late for us." Danny smiled, watching in fascination as Aiden savoured every spoonful of soup, her face displaying her pleasure. The way her lips wrapped around the spoon and the intense pleasure on her face was driving him crazy.

"Well thank you Danny. This date may have gotten off to a rocky start but it's gotten better already." Almost as if by a sixth sense Adriano and the server returned with the main course, clearing away the empty bowls.

"Chicken parmigiana on a bed of buttered fettuccine," Adriano announced, "with steamed vegetables as an accompaniment." Their glasses of wine were topped up and they dug into the meal, Adriano's absolute specialty. The couple talked, avoiding the subject of the night's earlier events, food and wine disappearing at an alarming rate until Adriano reappeared with two silver goblets of gelato. When the food was finally all gone and they were ready to leave Adriano called them a cab and walked them to the door.

"Everything was really wonderful Adriano, thank you." Aiden smiled at the chef, pulling back in fear when he grasped her shoulders for a traditional Italian double-kiss. Danny immediately reached out for her, his arms around her waist. Adriano apologised profusely as they left, Danny assuring him it was alright. Danny gave the cab driver Aiden's address, pulling her close to him and placing soft kisses in her hair.

"I over-reacted," she whispered, embarrassed by her actions.

"It's okay Aid," Danny assured her. He could tell she didn't really believe him but he decided that he could convince her later. There had been more than enough stress for one night. When they reached Aiden's Danny paid the cab driver before following Aiden to her apartment, his hand protectively on the small of her back the whole way. When they reached the door, Aiden turned to him,

"Wanna come in?"

"Sure," Danny smiled, frowning slightly when he noticed how her hands shook as she unlocked the door. Danny flopped unceremoniously onto her couch when they entered, flicking on the television and motioning her to sit with him. Aiden joined him and they sat together in a comfortable silence for a while before Aiden began to fall asleep.

Aiden woke the next day with a headache and the vague memory of being carried to bed by Danny. She had overslept, again, and forwent breakfast in favour of a cup of coffee as she dashed out the door. Danny would be mad if he found out she'd skipped breakfast but she was in too much of a hurry. Aiden signed in and sank into her chair right on time, surprised to find a bag containing a bagel with cream cheese and a cup of coffee. As she reached into the bag her fingers grasped a note, pulling it out she smiled as she read;

Morning Aiden,

Hope you had fun last night...well minus the first part anyways. If I know you (which I do) I'm sure you skipped breakfast – eat the bagel, don't make me force feed you – and after all that wine these aspirin and the black coffee should help. See you later,

– Danny

PS: Lunch later? Let me know.

Aiden ate as she reviewed her open cases, checking to see if there were any new leads. It took her a few moments to realize that everyone in the office was stealing covert looks in her direction, whispering among themselves. She rolled her eyes, she should have known that news like that would travel like wildfire.

"You okay Aiden?" She jumped at Mac's voice.

"Yeah I'm good Mac," he nodded in affirmation and headed off towards the briefing room, Stella in his wake.

"Morning Aid," she said brightly, "you comin' for assignments or what?"

"Well I guess you didn't hear," Aiden started.

"No I heard, just figured you'da had enough of people fawning over you by now," Stella said as they walked, the staccato click of their heels tapping a steady rhythm on the tile. Aiden smiled, leave it to Stella to read everyone's minds. They stepped into the briefing room, an immediate hush falling over the occupants, all eyes on Aiden as she made her way over to a chair next to Danny. Immediately his eyes locked on her now bruised wrists and Aiden quickly pushed her sleeves down to hide them. Soon Aiden and Danny were in the AV room, reviewing tapes from one of their open cases, sitting silently beside each other. Twenty minutes into the tapes Aiden began to fall asleep, the fuzzy and silent black and white images lulling her into a dream filled slumber.

Aiden woke with Danny's fingers gently brushing her cheek, vivid images of the night before and what could have happened seared into her brain. "Shh it's okay Aid. Just relax..." Aiden opened her eyes and looked at Danny, fear evident in her eyes and her breath erratic. Danny's blue eyes searched hers, sensing the unusual fear and vulnerability. His hands rested on her shoulders and he quickly pulled her into a hug, stroking her back and whispering softly into her ear. Aiden's whole body shook as she tried to erase the images of her attacker, she hated to be so vulnerable, especially at work but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't hide her emotions. She thanked God the door to the AV room was shut and that it was a windowless room, the whole lab didn't need to see her break down. Danny held her close, her head tucked under his chin and his arms wrapped securely around her as she cried into his chest for the second time in as many days. Danny kissed her hair softly as she struggled to regain her composure, wishing she was anywhere but at work, and fighting the urge to curl up in Danny's arms. "C'mon Aid, I'm takin' you home," Danny whispered.

"No Danny, I'm fine," Aiden insisted, pulling away from him and angrily brushing away the tears. Danny took her chin in his hand and tilted her face towards him, the lie evident in her eyes.

"No you're not Aid. I know you don't want to admit it but you're shaken up, maybe even scared. I'm not going to let you do this to yourself. I'm taking you home." Danny insisted.

"Fine," she grumbled and allowed Danny to lead her to the locker-room and then Mac's office. When Danny knocked on the door Mac looked up from his work, his eyes immediately fixated on Aiden's tear stained cheeks and swollen, red eyes.

"Aiden..." Mac started, cut off by Danny as Aiden swiped at another tear.

"Mac I'm taking her home and staying with her. I'll call you later," Mac nodded and watched them leave, Danny's arm going protectively around Aiden's waist.