Title: Siúil A Rún

Disclaimer: Slash. Violence. Angst. Language.

POV: Danny

Chapter Two: A Man a Mile

I step out of the shower. Flack is standing by the door. Seeing him gives me a start. He smiles a smile that twinkles in his eyes.

"A little privacy?" I ask.

"Why? I've seen it all before." I roll my eyes and throw a towel at him. He chuckles. "I think you need this more than I do."

I push him out the door, closing it behind him. "What do you want?"

"Was wondering if you planned to go into work today."

"Yes," I reply. "Mac warned me about losing my job. I need to go." I make sure to take my time drying off and getting clothed. It'll drive Flack crazy. I can hear him pacing back and forth by the bathroom door. Probably checking his watch every few minutes. Finally, I open the door.

"Come on, or you'll be late."

His offer to carpool is fine with me. My mind isn't up-to-par. I don't believe I could handle driving right now. All the crazy people that live in New York, I'd most likely get myself killed.

Would that be so bad? You tried to fly…don't forget…

I block out the sounds of the radio as we make our way to the lab. My head leans against the cool glass of the window. Flack mumbles something about some person behind the wheel of another car. I dread going to work. There haven't been any new developments in the murder of Aiden. And every day that passes makes the chances of an ending less and less.

Flack drops me off. He gives me a worrying look as I climb out of the car. I've been silent and off in my own world for a some time now. Maybe coming to work wasn't a good idea. Still, I find myself walking through the doors, pass the reception area, and into the lab itself.

"Danny, have you seen Stella?" Hawkes asks coming up beside me.

I eye the former coroner. Sheldon Hawkes, a man of much knowledge, stands two inches shorter than me. We are almost eye level. It's kind of nice. Flack is taller than me by five inches and looking up isn't always fun. At the mention of Stella my mind flashes back to the unkind things she said that day. The threat the she threw my way.

I shake my head, trying to hide my unhappiness and disgust. "Nope, haven't seen anyone but you. I just got here."

"Oh, well, if you see her tell her that I'm in the garage going over the car in our case, okay?"

I nod, knowing that it'll be a lie. I don't want to talk to Stella. Never again. Hard as that will be, though, since we work together. At least she's paired with Hawkes for a crime, not me. Last time I went out in the field, Aiden died. I'm content processing evidence for a bit longer. Hawkes takes off to look over his own evidence. I wearily eye the halls looking for Stella. More like looking out for Stella. Instead I come across Lindsay next. She holds a cup of steaming coffee in her hand.

"Morning, Danny," she chirps happily.

"Morning," I echo.

"Busy day ahead for you. I hear that night shift is back-logged and they've sent evidence your way." She sips the coffee.

"Is that so? I'll make sure to work on our stuff first." That makes her smile. "Hey, I was wondering, you want to come over tonight? Maybe have dinner?"

Her smile lights up the hall. "Sure, that sounds great. What time?"

"How about around seven? Is that okay for you?"

"It's a date. I'll see you then. As for now, I have a crime scene to get to. A breaking and entering. Bye, Danny," she waves.

"Bye," I call after her.

I smile inside. I've been telling myself to be nicer to Lindsay. Now I finally have. Flack hopefully won't be upset by having her over tonight. It is at my apartment after all. If he doesn't like it, he can always leave. That thought puts a quick damper on my mood. I want Flack and Lindsay to both be at my place tonight. I feel the deep desire to be surrounded by people that I like. I would invite Mac, but he'd turn me down. He never does anything after work with any one of us. Maybe I'll follow him one of these nights to see just what it is that he does.

The lab is full of evidence bags and even a few boxes. I groan at all the extra work. True to my word, I start on the day shift evidence. I've just about finished processing a shirt full of blood when the door opens. I look up with a happy greeting for whoever is there. It's Stella. The happiness fades away.

"So, Flack not enough for you? Do you think he'll be happy to know you have a date with Lindsay? An actual girl? Do you even like girls, Daniel?" Every word feels like a little knife cutting through my skin. Why does Stella hate me so much all of a sudden?

"Hawkes is looking for you," I state before returning my attention to my evidence. Best to give her the cold shoulder. Maybe she'll leave me alone. My luck is always bad.

"You going to ignore me?" She smiles a positively evil smile. "I have a meeting with the chief of police at two, today. Aren't you the least bit curious at to what we'll be discussing?"

"No," I say offhandedly. "It has nothing to do with me." I place a slide under the microscope to analyze it.

"Oh, but it has everything to do with you. You and a certain detective." She storms out before I can reply. Her words leave my feeling cold from head to toe. Flack is still on probation. There's no telling how his boss will take the news that his prize detective is sleeping with me. There has to be something I can do.

Flack rhymes with…?

That's it, a way to ruin Stella's plan. I pluck my cell phone from my pocket after sending a foreign substance through testing. I hit speed-dial and listen to the ringing on the other end. Flack picks up on the third ring.

"What can I do for you, Danny?"

Gotta love that caller-ID. "I need you to come over here right now. Can you manage that or will it get you in trouble?"

"Depends, what do you need me for?"

I can hear the touch of coyness in his voice and choose to ignore it. "Do you like your job and want to keep it?"

"Yes," he replies all serious now.

"Than get over here right now." I hang-up, not giving him a chance to argue. This needs to be done.

I leave all the evidence as it is. No time to bother with small matters. The reception area is rather empty, as usual. All the family members of any recently deceased will be in talking with someone. The receptionist looks a little puzzled as I pace the small area. She's not used to us CSI's spending an excessive amount of time in the reception area. Too easy for the press to get a hold of us for interviews.

Flack shows up in a record five minutes. I grab him by the wrist, getting a curious look from the receptionist. I ignore her and drag Flack toward Mac's office.

"Hold up, Danny, what is going on?" He asks pulling his wrist from my grip.

"We're stopping a problem before we both lose our jobs. Just come with me."

Mac is on the phone when we enter his office. He lets us know that he'll be just a minute longer and finishes the call. Flack is looking at me, trying to read the thoughts in my head. I feel like throwing up and passing out, preferably in that order. The thought of telling Mac what's on my mind makes me extremely uneasy. It has to be done, though. It's the only way I can see to ruin Stella's plan, however far it goes.

Mac places the phone in its cradle. "Something I can do for you Messer, Flack?"

Flack shrugs. "He dragged me here."

My mouth is feeling rather dry for some reason. I choose to ignore it. "There's something that needs to be discussed. It's a somewhat touchy subject."

Realization dawns on Flack and his eyes open wide. "Danny-"

"Flack, just go with me on this." He shuts up and I turn back to Mac. It's now or never. How will he take it?