Danny pulled into the parking lot at Eastside High School on the appointed day about a half an hour before classes began. He found a space and parked, making sure to lock his gun inside the glove compartment before he got out. He wasn't really supposed to even have it on school grounds, but coming to this place without one just seemed like asking for trouble.

He grabbed a box of supplies and his kit from the car and headed up to the school. Maddie had introduced him to the security guards the first time he'd been there, so he said hello made small talk with them while they inspected his gear and sent him through the metal detectors. Once inside, he gathered his equipment together and walked down the graffiti-covered hallway to Maddie's classroom.

"Knock knock," he called as he entered the room.

Maddie came out of the little office in the back. "Hey Danny," she greeted him. "More stuff? I thought you brought over everything yesterday."

Danny shrugged as he placed the box on an empty lab table. "Found a few more things I thought you could use."

She smiled. He had seen the empty supply closet on his previous visit, and was now determined to fill it. Out loud, all she said was, "Thanks." She had already learned not to make a fuss over his big gestures—he hated that. Little things he'd brag about for days, but the important things he didn't want any recognition for. She opened the box and began taking out the supplies, making a mental note to find some small way to show her appreciation later on.

The two chatted a little and finished setting up the lab they had planned for the students. When that was done, Maddie wrote a few chemical equations up on the chalkboard for them to balance as their "warm-up" exercise at the beginning of class. Danny found a stretch of counter that wasn't being used and opened up his kit to fish out a few things he needed for his talk. When the bell rang a moment later he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Nervous?" Maddie laughed.

"Me? No, I'm not…" He caught the look she gave him and stopped. "Okay, yeah. I'm a little nervous."

She grinned. "You'll be fine. This class is pretty good," she promised him. "Just speak slowly, answer their questions as best you can, and remember to breathe," she told him patting him on the shoulder.

He nodded and took a deep breath.

"Ready?"

He exhaled and nodded again. "Let's do this."

Maddie led him out into the hallway to stand watch over students as they visited lockers and headed to classes. When hers entered the room they all went through the same motions. First, they looked at Danny some smiled, some were half asleep, and some regarded him with suspicion, but they all noticed him. Then Maddie would greet each by name and their gazes would shift to her, responding to her with a "good morning Miss Parrish" as they ambled inside.

"Looks like you're the star of the show already," Maddie grinned.

He smiled back uneasily. "Oh good."

The bell rang again and Maddie shooed the stragglers into the classroom, pulling out her attendance book and instructing them to get started on the warm-up. Danny made his way to the back of the room and watched her run the class, noticing how most of the students did what she asked of them and participated in the discussion that followed. Good, he thought, maybe this will be okay.

When the warm-up exercises were complete, Maddie made a few quick announcements about tests and events that were happening the following week then introduced Danny.

He walked up to the front of the room and cleared his throat.

"Good morning," he started. "I'm, uh, Detective Messer from the Crime Lab, and I'm here this morning to tell you a little bit about my job." He looked out at the sea of eyes locked on him and suddenly knew what it was to have stage fright. He cleared his throat again and continued, "I, uh, do some of the things that regular cops do…I can arrest people, question suspects and witnesses, all of that. But the bulk of my work is collecting and processing evidence from crime scenes. I know that Miss Parrish has already told you some things about being a CSI, so why don't we start with any questions you guys might have for me?"

No one budged for a moment. Then a hand popped up in the back row.

Danny looked relieved. "Yes?"

"Do you carry a gun?"

He nodded. "Yes I do."

Another hand appeared on the other side of the room. "You ever shoot anybody?"

Danny looked uncomfortably at Maddie, who had stationed herself in the same back corner that he had vacated. She smiled encouragingly at him and mouthed "you're doing fine." He smiled weakly back and wished their places were reversed.

"No, I've never shot anyone."

Disappointed looks were exchanged around the room and the students got quiet again. Danny started to panic a little.

"Any more questions for Detective Messer?" Maddie asked from the back of the room. When no one else volunteered, she continued, "Why don't we start the lab then?"

The panic faded and Danny nodded. "Okay, here's how this is gonna work. Miss Parrish and I have set up a simulated crime scene in the back of the room there for you all to practice collecting evidence with. Once you think you've found everything, go to your lab stations and run some tests to see what you've got. The first group to correctly figure out who committed the crime gets to come to the Crime Lab for a tour."

Maddie stood ready with lab sheets, boxes of latex gloves, and multiple sets of tools for the students to use in their evidence gathering. She passed all these out as Danny explained what each tool was for and which tests produced what information. By the time he was done talking, the class was becoming more active and they went to their stations with some enthusiasm.

Danny stood in the middle of the room watching the groups start the lab. Maddie walked over to him, still smiling.

"How do you do this every day?" he asked her. "I wasn't even up there that long and I'm sweatin' bullets."

She laughed. "This is a weapons-free zone, Detective," she replied playfully. "You'll have to take your bullets off campus."

He smiled and rolled his eyes at her with a mock groan. "That was pretty bad."

"Been hangin' around you too much," she teased.

"Detective Messer…" a student called. "What does it mean again when the swab turns pink?"

Maddie's smiled broadened. "You're up, slugger."

He dutifully went over to the group that had asked the question and Maddie made the rounds of the room, stopping to answer other questions as she walked. After a few minutes she looked up to check on Danny and found him leaning over one of the lab tables with another small group of students. In one hand he held a test tube, in the other an eyedropper, and on his face was what Maddie referred to as the "teaching look". He was showing them something he had learned from experience, something that would help them in their quest to find their simulated criminal, and he was beginning to enjoy himself.

By the end of class, Danny had almost forgotten about his stage fright and was mingling with the students as if he'd been with them every day. He had grown up in much the same way these kids had, making it easy for him to relate to them. The students, too, found Danny easy to talk to, more so than any other police officer they'd encountered, and enjoyed hearing his stories. When the bell rang, the students quickly cleaned up their stations and said their good-byes, many of them thanking Danny for coming in. A pair of girls even smiled and giggled at him as they left the class.

"What was that all about?" he asked Maddie as she got ready for her next class.

She giggled a little herself. "They think you're hot," she explained, her blue eyes twinkling. Danny looked at his shoes and actually blushed a little. She giggled harder, but couldn't resist telling him the rest. "They told me your glasses were really sexy," she managed to get out before dissolving into laughter.

She watched the color creep across his cheeks for a moment more before sighing and going back to her preparations. "This next class is going to be pretty dull," she told him. "Basic Science. They're a handful, so I can't do much with 'em. I know you haven't seen much of the school, so if you want to hang out with the security guards for a while they'd be happy to show you around."

Danny frowned. She had said "handful" but her face read "rough". "Mind if I stay here?"

"Sure. I wouldn't mind having some extra muscle in here," she winked.

Her comment was meant to be a joke, which he understood moments later when two huge young men walked through the door. They were followed by several not-as-big students, who made up in attitude what they lacked in size. The bell rang, and Maddie began the class, managing to keep them under control for the most part. Danny resumed his position in the back of the room, ready to lend a hand if needed. At one point, two students did jump out of their seats and get in each other's faces. The combatants were about to begin trading punches when Danny sprang up from the chair he was sitting in and felt his hand slide underneath his suit jacket, looking for his gun. Maddie handled it with little drama, but Danny could feel his heart beating just a little bit faster.

A third class came through the following period—another demanding Basic Science class—and Maddie looked drained by the end of it. "So whaddaya think so far?" she asked dropping down into a student's chair.

"I think when you retire from teaching you could do something less stressful….like be a paramedic or an air traffic controller…"

She grinned tiredly. "Or a cop?"

He smiled and took a seat at the desk next to her. "Or a cop. You'd actually make a good cop…don't take crap from nobody."

She laughed a little and rubbed her eyes, resting her face in her hands when she stopped rubbing. "At least the day's half over," she said.

Danny looked over at her and started to reach out to comfort her. He hesitated a moment, though, wondering if he knew her well enough to do that. Her arms folded down onto the desk and she put her forehead on them, and something in his brain decided that he did know her well enough. He touched her shoulder gently, sliding his hand down her upper arm as she sat up.

"Having you here has been a big help, too," she told him. "The kids really do respond well to you, even in the Basic Science classes."

"Anything I can do to lend a hand," he told her. Their eyes met momentarily and they shared a smile. Then, rising form the desk he continued, "So what's on tap for this afternoon?"

Maddie stood as well, stretching as she spoke. "This is my lunch period right now," she told him, "and it runs right into planning period. My other chem class comes in after that, so you'll be on again," she grinned. "Then I have this fantastic little physics class at the end of the day. We're studying collisions, so we'll be dropping eggs off the roof today."

Danny laughed. "This I gotta see."

"You can teach them all about velocity and spatter patterns," she said cheerfully. "They'll be calling you Professor Messer before long."

He ignored the obvious rhyming, figuring she'd bring it up again later and tease him anyway. "How 'bout some lunch first?"

She grinned again. "Come on, we'll eat in the teacher's lounge," she told him taking his arm. "I want to introduce you to the rest of the department."

"You're gonna owe me so big…"