Stella was out near the front reception area when Maddie arrived at the lab. "Hey Maddie," she smiled. "How are you?"
Maddie returned the smile. "I'm pretty good. You?"
"Not bad," Stella replied. "You here to see Danny?"
"Yeah, is he around?"
"Sure, I'll take you back."
Maddie clipped the "visitor" tag onto her blouse and picked up the paper bags she'd been carrying, following Stella into the restricted area of the lab. They found Danny perched on a stool peering into a microscope, his glasses pushed up on his forehead, hair sticking up a little in the back. His cheeks were pink with excitement from whatever discovery he had just made, and he was concentrating so intently he didn't hear the two women come in.
Stella grinned. "Kinda cute like that, isn't he?"
Maddie laughed and a startled Danny looked up. He recognized the laugh instantly and knew who it was before he could see her.
"Hey heartbreaker," he grinned, pulling his glasses back down onto the bridge of his nose.
"Heartbreaker?" Stella asked.
It was Danny's turn to laugh. "You shoulda seen her the other night, Stell…"
"We went to play pool," Maddie cut in.
Danny walked around the table toward the women, his eyes twinkling. "A bunch of guys were hittin' on her…"
"It was only one guy…"
Danny laughed. "It started out with one guy. He tried to pick her up and she told him she'd play him for a date."
Stella smiled at Maddie. "So do you have plans on Friday?"
Maddie grinned and opened her mouth to say something, but Danny interrupted. "She wiped up the floor with him," he said proudly. "Sent him home cryin'…"
Stella laughed. "Was he that bad or are you that good?"
"Well, I beat Danny…"
"You did?"
Danny's smile faded. "She did."
"Three times," Maddie added for good measure.
"Remind me never to play you in pool," Stella laughed. Then her cell phone rang. "That's me…I'll catch you guys later…"
"So what's in the bags?" Danny asked as she left, hoping not to discuss playing pool any longer.
Maddie smiled. "Dinner." She told him. "When you said you were working late tonight, I knew you'd be eating from the vending machines, and I still owe you for talking to my classes…"
His smile returned. "What'dya get?"
"Not get," she replied, "make. I cooked."
His eyes lit up. "Great! I'm starvin'." He led her into the break room and helped her unpack the food she'd brought. "Wow, you really went crazy here…"
"The first of many times," she promised. "You won't be fixing your own dinners for a while."
"No more microwave burritos…"
She laughed and sat down at the table with him. They talked while they ate, and the conversation quickly turned to Eastside High.
"How're those science fair projects coming along?" Danny asked between mouthfuls.
Maddie smiled, thinking how sweet it was that he kept tabs on her students. "The kids have been keepin' 'em under wraps," she explained, "so I don't really know what they have planned. I do know that they've been asking me every day to make sure you come."
"Really?"
"Dantrell's been especially insistent," she continued. "He's doing something about forensics, but he won't tell me what it is, just that you need to see it."
Danny smiled almost shyly. "It's Thursday night, right?"
Maddie nodded. "Yep. Seven o'clock."
"I'll be there."
"Excellent! The kids'll be thrilled…"
And they were. Thursday night Eastside High's best and brightest assembled in the gym to display their projects. Danny arrived right on schedule with half the lab in tow, so eager was he to show off the students he knew so well.
Maddie met them at the door and ushered them into the gym. "Wow, you brought the whole pack," she laughed. Then Don walked in behind Aiden. "Don? I didn't know you were a science guy."
He shook his head. "I'm not. I'm just here to even out the numbers."
Aiden chuckled. "Just stick with me, Flack. I'll explain everything."
"That's what I'm afraid of," he mumbled.
"Okay, everything is all set up, and each student is standing with his or her project, so feel free to ask questions of them," Maddie told them group. "There are a lot of demonstrations, too, so wander around, look, play, and have a good time."
Mac and Stella headed off in one direction and Aiden and Don in another, leaving Danny with Maddie.
"Wow, you'd almost think they planned this," Maddie laughed.
Danny glanced over at his coworkers. "I know Aiden did. She's been trying to figure out how to spend some time alone with Flack for a while now."
"And Mac and Stella?"
Danny shook his head. "I don't know about those two. I think, maybe, but…"
"He isn't ready yet," Maddie finished softly for him. There was silence between them for a moment, then she took his arm. "Shall we?"
"Yeah," he smiled allowing her to lead him around the gym.
They meandered slowly up and down the rows, checking out each project and stopping to speak to each student. Danny was smiling, that look of excitement creeping across his features more and more with every project. Then they reached Dantrell's station.
"Hey man," Danny shook the teenager's hand.
"Detective Messer," Dantrell grinned shaking back. "You came!"
"I wasn't gonna miss this," Danny replied.
Maddie squeezed his arm appreciatively before letting go. "Okay, so spill it. I've been dying to see this project of yours, Dantrell…"
"Well, I got the idea from the Detective here," he began, "that day we processed the simulated crime scene. Detective Messer showed us a couple of different ways to perform the same test, and I started wondering which way worked best. So I did some reading and some research on my own, and put together a comparison of five forensic techniques used by the NYPD, Miami-Dade PD, Las Vegas PD, the FBI, and, for you Miss Parrish, Detroit PD…"
Maddie was impressed with her student and smiled proudly as he continued his little presentation. Danny was practically beaming, asking questions and commenting on the details of Dantrell's display. He praised the boy several times, making sure he knew what a fantastic job he had done and how accurate everything was.
Danny shook the young man's hand once more and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You did a beautiful job here, Dantrell."
He was elated. "Thanks, Detective Messer."
Maddie promised to return before the judging was completed and took Danny's arm again as they walked through the gym. "You really made his day, you know."
Danny ginned proudly. "Our kid did good," he told her. "I just wanted to make sure he knew that."
"'Our kid'?" she smiled.
"Yeah, well, you're always calling your students your kids. I guess I just feel invested in his future now, that's all," he replied.
She squeezed his arm again, her smile growing. "I was hoping that would happen."
"Now we gotta get Mac and Stella…they have to see this…" He signaled the two senior CSIs and they walked over, wondering what was going on. "Take a look at this one," Danny directed, leading them back to Dantrell's display. "This is one of Maddie's chemistry students…"
Don and Aiden had heard Danny's voice and wandered over to see what was going on. Aiden joined Mac and Stella at Dantrell's table, but Don hung back a little with Maddie.
"How ya doin', Don?" Maddie asked, noting the drained look on his face.
"I'm hanging in there," he responded. "Aiden's doin' her best, but science is just not my thing."
Maddie smiled slyly. "But you get to spend the evening with Aiden…"
Don blushed ever so slightly. "Yeah, I do. And you get to spend the evening with Danny…"
She chuckled. "He's not here for me, he's here for the kids," she said, watching Danny play proud papa while Dantrell went through his project for the other detectives.
"Okay, yeah, but would he be here with the kids if you weren't here? I know I wouldn't be here if Aiden hadn't asked me…"
Maddie brushed him off. "I know what you're thinking Don, and you're wrong. Danny and I just aren't interested in each other that way."
"Well I predict that the four of us will be going on a double date in the near future," Don informed her.
"That would require you to ask Aiden out first," Maddie teased. Aiden heard her name and looked over curiously. Don blushed again and looked at his shoes, and Maddie giggled. "And that's going well…"
"Very impressive," they heard Mac say. "Come and see me when you graduate from college, Dantrell. I might have a place for you in my lab."
The student's face glowed with pride and Danny's smile widened. Everyone shook hands again as they moved to the next display, but Dantrell tugged on Maddie's sleeve to get her attention. She turned toward him, but he spoke first.
"Thank you Miss Parrish," he said softly.
"Hey, you did all the work," she returned smiling gently.
When she caught up to the group, Danny was still lauding Dantrell's brilliance. "You know, I taught him about the KM test, didn't I Maddie?"
She took his arm once more and laughed. "Yes, you did…"