Maddie walked into the lab with a box in her arms, peeking around the side of it as she went.

"Let me help you with that," Danny called after her.

"Always the gentleman," she smiled, allowing him to take the box from her and carry it over to a counter.

He smiled back a little and quickly changed the subject. "What's all this?"

"Just some stuff you left at school the other day," she told him. "You brought over more chemicals than we can use in a year."

"Oh, okay."

She could tell she'd bruised his ego a bit. "There just isn't enough room in the storage closet for all of it," she continued. "But the kids all told me to tell you thanks and that you have to come back for the science fair in a few weeks."

His smile returned. "They had a good time, didn't they?"

"'Specially those two girls in the morning chem. class," Maddie laughed.

"What two girls?" a female voice asked.

"Oh, hey Aid. C'mere, I want you to meet someone. This is Maddie Parrish," he said, unconsciously bringing out his accent a little more as he spoke Maddie's name. "Maddie, this is Aiden Burn."

The two women smiled at each other.

"Nice to meet you, Maddie," Aiden said. "We've heard a lot about you around here."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Aiden," Maddie returned. "Danny talks a lot about you all, too. I feel like I already know you."

Aiden smiled again. "You know, we're on our way out to dinner in a few minutes. You should come with us," she offered. "It'll be fun."

Danny interjected. "What?"

"Yeah," Aiden continued. "Mac and Stella and Flack and Danny and I are all gonna go grab something to eat. Dr. Hawkes is even coming with us. You should come too," she repeated.

Maddie glanced at Danny out of the corner of her eye to see what he thought and caught the pleased expression on his face. "Sure," she told Aiden. "I'd love to. Then you guys can fill me in on all the embarrassing stuff I don't know about Danny yet."

Aiden patted Danny on the cheek. "We're gonna have a good time tonight," she laughed. "We're meeting at Charlie's in a half an hour."

"We'll be there," he promised. She left to wrap up some business before dinner, and Maddie helped Danny unpack the box of chemicals before they headed out as well.

When they arrived, the others were already seated. Danny pulled out Maddie's chair for her and began the introductions as she sat down.

"Everyone, this is Maddie Parrish," he informed them. Then, going around the table, "Mac you already know…"

"Good to see you Miss Parrish."

"It's Maddie tonight, Detective Taylor" she replied.

"Then it's Mac for me," he smiled.

Danny continued. "Don Flack, Homicide."

Don reached across the table to shake her hand. Maddie reciprocated as they traded greetings.

"Homicide, eh?" she asked. "I have a friend who works Homicide in The Bronx."

"Yeah?"

"Tom Reid…you probably don't know him…"

Don smiled. "Actually I do."

Maddie smiled back. "Small world."

Danny resumed the introductions. "Aiden you met earlier." Both women grinned mischievously at each other and he winced, hurrying on. "Stella Bonasera…"

"Che bella cognomen," Maddie tried, hoping her Italian wasn't as rusty as she thought and that she had in fact complimented Stella's name.

"Grazie," Stella smiled broadly. "E voi…"

"You're in trouble now, Danny," Mac kidded. "They can talk about you and you won't even know it."

"Dr. Hawkes studied Latin," Danny reminded him. "And that's pretty close."

"I gotcha covered," Sheldon laughed. "If they switch to Greek, though, your outta luck."

Stella looked over at Maddie, but Maddie shook her head. "You got me there."

"And of course, this is Dr. Sheldon Hawkes, our medical examiner."

"A pleasure to meet you," Sheldon told her.

Something about the tone of his voice made her smile girlishly. "And you," she replied.

Danny glanced at her curiously while the group, now acquainted, ordered food and chatted as they waited for it. Since the five police officers and medical examiner all knew each other, most of the questions were directed at Maddie. She fielded them all while trying vainly to defend her French fries from Danny's thieving fingers.

Finally she got tired of defending. "If you want my fries so bad, you're going to have to win them from me," she challenged.

His blue eyes flashed in much the same way they had when she'd interrupted Dantrell's interrogation. This time, though, he was grinning. "What's the game?"

Aiden piped up. "What about 'I Never'?"

Don groaned. "That's kinda cheesy, Aid…"

"We can all play," Stella chimed in. "It'll be fun. And we'll get to find out all kinds of things about each other…"

The men exchanged looks around the table. Mac took the bait. "What's 'I Never'?"

"It's a game you play," Aiden explained. "Everyone takes turns saying something they've never done, and if you've done it you ante up. The last person to still have their stash wins."

Danny decided to go for it. "It isn't pool, but I'm in."

"Okay, yeah, me too," Don declared.

Mac and Sheldon followed suit, and the French fries were divvied up among the seven of them.

"Guests first," Danny winked at Maddie.

She smirked. "I never worked for the NYPD."

The five detectives groaned and tossed French fries onto a plate in the middle of the table.

Mac was next. "I never was a teacher."

Maddie laughed and added another fry to the plate. "Yeah, I deserved that."

Then it was Don's turn. "I never lived in the Midwest."

Mac and Maddie both chucked fries to the center, sharing a smile.

Aiden giggled. "I never was hit on by a pair of high school girls."

Danny shot her a "why you little…" look, but quickly began laughing when Mac, Don, and Stella all chipped in. "Stell? You were hit on by a pair of high school girls?" he asked instead.

She shook her head. "It's a long story, and we're changin' the subject. Hmmm…" she thought. "I never dated a co-worker."

"Not yet," Don pretend-coughed.

Maddie and Sheldon anted up, ignoring the inquisitive looks the others were giving them.

"Okay, my turn," Sheldon said. "I…never…went ice skating."

"Oh Sheldon, that's terrible," Maddie told him good-naturedly, tossing her fry on the plate. "I'll take you sometime if you want to go."

Sheldon smiled shyly. "We'll definitely have to do that."

Danny looked at Sheldon and frowned without realizing it. "Guess I'm up," he said. "Uh…I never…went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art."

"Yeah you did, Danny," Aiden interrupted. "You were just there last month!"

He scowled at her and looked embarrassed.

"You know, I haven't been there yet," Maddie told him touching his arm. "Think maybe you could go with me sometime? Show me around?"

He smiled a little. "I could do that," he replied.

"Okay Danny, try again," Mac told him. "This time let's have something you really didn't do."

"Uh…I…never…had a pet hamster…"

They went around and around the table, each trying to think of something they had never done that their companions had. Things got a little silly, especially when Don declared that he had never run away to join the circus and Stella tried to convince them that NYPD was a circus. Eventually, everyone ended up out of fries except for Maddie and Danny.

"Here we go," she laughed as Sheldon tossed his last fry on the plate.

"Just you and me," Danny told her.

She looked at his plate—only two French fries left. She still had four. "I never…have been called 'Professor Messer'."

He laughed at the memory of her Physics class dropping eggs off the roof of the school and anted up. "Okay, I never…rooted for the Detroit Tigers."

"Don't tell me you were cheering for the Yankees that day, Mr. I'm-a-Mets-Fan!"

Danny smirked at her. "Prove it."

She sighed and deposited a fry on the plate. She only had to get one more from him. "I never…" She couldn't think of anything and looked around the table for help. When she got to Aiden, the CSI grinned impishly and jumped out of her seat, walking around the table to whisper something to her. Maddie turned to Aiden, smiling broadly. "No way…"

Aiden laughed. "Oh yeah."

Danny was petrified. What had Aiden told Maddie about him? He looked from one woman to the other and wondered if a plate of French fries was worth it. "Alright," he said, "don't say it out loud. I surrender!" He tossed his last fry onto the plate in the middle with a look of mock defeat.

Maddie laughed delightedly. "It worked!"

"What worked?" Mac asked.

Aiden answered. "I didn't really tell Maddie anything about Danny. We knew that there was something he'd be embarrassed enough about that he'd give…and he did."

"They got you good," Don told Danny.

"Thanks man," he replied sarcastically.

Maddie was still grinning when she decided it was time to leave. "I really need to get going," she told the group. "It's a school night."

She said her good-byes to the detectives and gave Sheldon her phone number so they could go ice skating, then allowed Danny to walk her out to her car.

"You and Dr. Hawkes really goin' skatin'?" he asked as casually as he could.

"Yeah, we are." She looked over at him. "Jealous?"

"No," he said quickly. "I just…do you even know where to go ice skatin' around here?"

"I'll find a place. Maybe Sheldon knows one. Maybe we'll just wander around 'til we find one. I haven't seen much of the city yet…"

They reached her car and he leaned against it. "Well I was kinda hopin' I'd be the one who got to show you around.

She smiled. He was a little bit jealous, wanting her to get along with his friends but not quite ready to share her with them yet. "You can still show me around," she told him, leaning against the car beside him. "We're going to the Art Museum, right? I'll go skating with Sheldon, but I can save the rest of New York for you."

"Yeah?"

"It's the least I can do after taking all your French fries," she grinned.

"Do you play pool?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not in a while."

"Good. I know this place where we can get a table for as long as we want it…"

Maddie elbowed him playfully. "Is that before or after I kick your ass at chess?"

"Before I demolish you at the batting cage, after I clean up at poker…" Danny teased.

She laughed again. "We'll see about that."

"Friday night I'm off at six…"

"You're on," she grinned.

"I'll call you tomorrow," he promised, "and we'll figure out the rest."

"Okay." She brushed a hand over his shoulder as she stepped away from the car. "I'll see you later."

He stood in the parking lot and watched her drive away, looking forward to Friday and wondering which game he had the best chance of winning.