Disclaimer If I owned him I wouldn't spend my time writing about him believe me! As for the rest of the CSI:NY cast they of course belong to whomever they belong to, and it sure as heck ain't me. I'm just borrowing them...however all the originals are mine.

Fire Escapes

Phoenix stepped into the elevator in the lobby of her building a week later. The ear buds of her ipod stuck snugly in her ears, U2 blaring 'Miracle Drug'. She bopped her head to the music and looked down at her schedule for the next few months. She didn't hear him stop the elevator doors from opening; she just got a whiff of his scent. Nice. She thought but didn't look up. When the elevator stopped she got off, knowing it was her floor. She saw him out of the corner of her eye and stopped as the elevator doors closed.

Dear god now she was hallucinating.

Danny hadn't even noticed her right away; he never really paid attention to people in his building. It was another of his anonymity things; he didn't want to know his neighbours. He might have to investigate their murder someday. However, he looked up as she got off the elevator and couldn't believe it! The chick from the theatre! He'd finally realized it was her that had bumped into Flack at the crime scene the other day, now she was in his building? He shook his head; it was too weird to think about.

"I'm serious, he was in the elevator!" Phoenix was incredulous talking to her friend on the phone, as she bustled around her apartment trying to clean it up a little. She was having a handful of people from the theatre over for a little housewarming at her new place.

Tegan, another one of Niles' stage hands, laughed, "Are you sure he's not just an elaborate imaginary friend?"

"Okay then you just need to commit me cause I could smell him."

"Did he smell good?"

"Like a mixture of flowers and spice, if I had known it was him I would have…"

"Blushed and continued to look at your hands."

"Fuck off Teeg."

"You love me."

"If you say so, when are you coming over to help me set up?"

"Be there in twenty depending on the cabbie I get."

Danny could hear people talking in the apartment below him. It sounded like the new tenant had a number of friends. They weren't too loud and it was still early so he didn't mind, although he was bored enough that he contemplated being a 'friendly neighbour', but that only lasted a second. He grabbed a beer from his fridge and climbed out one of his windows to his fire escape, the quintessential New York back porch.

"I can't believe you got this place for such a kick ass deal Nix!" Cliff marvelled at the apartment.

Chloe, his wife, nodded, "You really have been lucky since you've been here. You've got the best that New York has to offer, typical backwater job, apartment, eclectic friends." She motioned to the variety of people dotting Phoenix's apartment.

Phoenix beamed, "I should write a book."

"Yeah all you need is the love interest." Tegan piped up from the kitchen.

"Won't happen," Cliff quipped, "She's too hung up on Eye Candy, to look at any other guy sideways."

"I like Flowery Spice Boy, myself." Tegan laughed and ducked the flying beer cap and middle finger salute she received from Phoenix.

"Eye Candy? Flowery Spice Boy? What is he a side order at a delicatessen?" Peter, the sound tech, guided his girlfriend Paige into the conversation.

"You'd think so wouldn't you?" Niles laughed, "It's the first I've heard of him, who is this guy?"

"No one!" Phoenix blushed glaring at Cliff begging him to let Niles know that he knew Danny.

"He's gotta be somebody I'm getting hungry just hearing about him." Clara laughed.

"You're pregnant Clara, everything makes you hungry." Phoenix tried to guide the conversation away from her.

It worked, Paige put her hand on Clara's belly and cooed, "Hello baby." She smiled at Clara, "When are you due?"

Niles and Clara started talking all things baby allowing Phoenix to duck into her kitchen where she saw Tegan sitting on the balcony having a cigarette. "Close the window when you're smoking." She complained. Tegan just flipped her friend the bird then motioned with her hand to come out. Phoenix ignored her and went back to listen to baby talk.

Tegan rushed into the room a second later and dragged Phoenix through the kitchen and pushed her toward the window, "I have a sneaky suspicion your Spice Boy lives upstairs." She whispered into her friend's ear.

Phoenix's eyes went wide as she reluctantly allowed Tegan to push her onto the fire escape. She got out there in just enough time to see someone's leg go back over a window ledge. She sighed, "Now you're hallucinate…" She was going to tease Tegan when that growingly familiar scent hit her nostrils. Holy shit, he lived above her!

She finally managed to force the group of people out of her apartment and into cabs at around 1am. She yawned and ran her hands through her hair as she locked and dead bolted her door. She slipped the chain into its place and contemplated going to bed but realized she was still wired. She'd endured a lot of teasing from her friends when Tegan had told them who lived upstairs. She actually kept his name a secret after plying Cliff with drinks and playing off her obsession to just a crush.

She made her favourite hot chocolate threw in a shot of Baileys and climbed out onto her fire escape. She loved the view from up there; she was just high enough to look over the roof of the building next to hers. This wasn't just any other city; it had a pulse that just drew her in. She hugged her knees together and took a sip of her drink.

"You hold tamer parties than the guy before you."

Phoenix shrieked dumping some of her hot chocolate down her shirt, "Shit." She muttered not sure if her beating heart was because she had just scalded her chest or because he had spoken to her.

Danny chuckled and watched her through the grate, "Oops, sorry." She really was quite adorable.

"Yeah right." She mumbled and crawled back into her apartment.

Unfortunately for Phoenix, Danny wasn't easily deterred when he was curious and at this point he was damn curious. He went back into his apartment grabbed a mug, his keys and headed out the door.

Phoenix was pulling another tank top over her head and reaching for her favourite zip up hoodie when there was a knock on her door. She groaned it was probably Tegan too drunk to remember where her own apartment was. Still, this was New York, so she opened the door with the chain still on.

"You," Was all she could get out.

He smiled and outstretched the arm with the mug, "Would you believe I need a cup of sugar?"

She looked at the mug then back at him, "You don't strike me as the baking type."

"I'm full of surprises." He dropped the arm when she didn't budge, "Okay so I can't bake, do you have coffee?" He outstretched the arm again, "I brought my own mug."

She couldn't help it, she had to laugh. Shutting the door she took the chain off then opened it again. "I don't have coffee, but I was going to try hot chocolate again."

He grinned, "Yeah, uh sorry about that." He looked around her apartment, "Wow you've done a lot with the place already."

"Thanks." She walked into the kitchen and tried to think of cool things like ice and snow cause she knew her face was burning. She turned the kettle on then inhaled, shit he was close, she could smell him again.

"Hey," He said leaning up against the island across from where her kettle was, "I'm Danny by the way." He out stretched his hand.

She turned around and gingerly took it, "Uh... yeah... right. Phoenix. But uh, people, my friends, that is, they call me Nix." She loved the way he smirked confidently at her, and simultaneously hated it because it made her feel so inadequate in this conversation.

He shook her hand firmly, "Nix huh? You don't look like a basket ball player."

She scoffed, "And that's not the first time someone has cracked that joke."

"Damn, you mean I'm not original?" He clutched his other hand to his chest, "I'm devastated."

She couldn't think of a damn thing to say…he still had her hand. The kettle whistled jarring her out of her staring contest with their hands, "Uh, I have to, uh get that." She let go and turned around to grab the kettle.

He just kept smirking and reached around her to grab her mug and the hot chocolate with one hand and put them next to his mug on the island. "Do you have anything to make this interesting?"

Her mind plummeted into the gutter, "What?" She licked her lips and just looked at him.

He winked; he had put the double meaning in there on purpose, "The hot chocolate."

"Oh, right, I have Baileys." She indicated the cupboard above the fridge. It was official he was just prime evil and she should be kicking him out of her apartment, but she already knew that wasn't an option.

"Perfect." He went and got it; making himself comfortably at home, "I take two heaping spoonfuls." He answered her unasked question as she scooped the chocolate powder into their mugs and watched as his body stretched to reach the liquor. Damn if voyeurism was always this good, she'd have to consider a career.

They retreated into her living room after putting the right amount of the liquor into their drinks. "So Phoenix, where are you from?" He asked sitting in the corner of her sofa and resting his arm up on the back.

She sat across from him and self consciously buried herself into the corner, afraid to be too close to him, mostly because she wanted to be close to him, "Wisconsin."

"Ah so you must be Niles' cousin then." He took a sip calmly and grinned when she managed to not spill her hot chocolate this time, although her eyes widened in surprise.

"How on earth do you know that?" She finally asked once she had regained her composure.

"Easy, he's from Wisconsin, he told me his cousin has been working for him this past year, you were at the theatre, giving a great smack down may I add," He shrugged, "Boom, you're the cousin."

"Wow you're good." She took a sip mentally wondering how 'good' he was.

He shrugged again, "It's my job."

"Which is?" She prompted, wanting to know more about him.

"I'm a crime scene investigator," He smiled at her confused look, "A science geek who tries to solve crimes by examining the evidence."

She swallowed her hot chocolate then laughed, "You? A geek? I don't see it."

"Well," He kept smiling, "It's true I even get to carry a gun."

"Wait, you're the cop in the building?" She was somewhat incredulous although not very surprised.

"It would seem my reputation has preceded me." He leaned forward to put his mug onto the coffee table; he tapped her knee lightly with his finger before sitting back, "So tell me about you, what brought you to working at Niles' theatre?"

"The insatiable need to get the hell away from small town Wisconsin," She answered truthfully, feeling compelled to do so by the way he was looking at her. She'd watched him stare that intently at the stage and always wondered what it would feel like if he'd look at her like that. It felt warm.

"What? Cow tipping wasn't your thing?" He really wanted to make her laugh again, she seemed a bit ill at ease with him and he wanted her to be more comfortable.

It worked.

She laughed, "That is a typical city boy thing to say."

"I'm anything but typical." He quipped.

"I sorta figured."

"Did you now?" About as much as making her laugh he found he really liked it when she blushed, "When did you figure this out? When you were holding the gun on that guy in the alley or spilling hot chocolate on yourself?"

She looked down, "You, uh, have been going to Niles theatre for awhile."

"It's true, I have." That was all he was giving her, liking to watch her figure out what to say next.

"Well I work there," She tried to play it down; "I've seen you."

"I…" He was going to say something witty about wishing to have seen her or something equally as compelling as that, but his cell phone rang. "I'm sorry," He apologised before answering, "Messer."

"I'm tapped and there's a triple at a Bodega in the west end." Mac said, "Meet Stella there."

"Right," Danny hung up slightly annoyed that his boss didn't even inquire if he was interrupting anything. "It would seem that I have to work."

"But it's almost two in the morning." Phoenix checked her watch.

"Yeah well," Danny stood, "Murderers can't seem to take that into consideration."

Phoenix followed him to the door, "I'd get depressed if I had your job."

Stepping out into the hall Danny gave her a sad smile, "Unfortunately you get used to it."

"I'm sorry." It seemed like the thing to say.

"Thanks for the drink." He lifted his mug at her, "I'll see you around."

She nodded, "I guess you will." She watched him walk to the elevator then blushed when he gave her a wave and a wink before the doors shut.