Danny insisted on paying for the pizza and they watched the game in relative silence aside from the commentary of the stats of players Danny seemed to like. Lindsay wasn't even sure what team was playing but tried to keep up and nodded as though she understood.

Her understanding of sports was basic but she knew a few things. Home team in whites, away team in darks. She had decided basketball was an amazing sport to watch but hard to follow with all of the players in college, university and professional teams. Football was violent but not as gory as rugby and far more confusing especially if someone tried explaining the difference between the NFL and the CFL. Hockey was an intense sport and the players generally had more fractures, lost teeth and injuries in one game than any other victim at a typical crime scene. She also knew that baseball had nine innings which were easier to enjoy with beer and hot dogs at a game and beer and pizza when watching at home.

Lindsay studied the television, debating whether to ask who the other team was. The initials in the top of the screen weren't helping anything and every time she thought they mentioned the team, Danny would start about another player. His stats, his history, who he's played for in the past and if he's Yankee material or not. She also noted Danny wasn't as keen on the players from outside New York and less likely to think they had a future if they had second houses in California.

As he chewed the pizza thoughtfully and polished off his second beer. "So who's the guy?"

Lindsay looked over from the television, a commercial for muscle cream and found Danny to be watching her. She raised her eyebrows, questioningly. "What guy?"

Danny nodded toward her kitchen, cracking open a third he had waiting for him. "In the picture."

Suddenly she felt shy and embarrassed. "No one," she murmured, taking a long sip from her beer and shoving more pizza in her mouth.

Danny grinned. It was just too cute. "Old boyfriend?"

Brought up in a home not to speak with her mouth full, Lindsay shrugged as she chewed the large, greasy pizza. It could have been the best pizza she had ever eaten and she said so when she swallowed what was in her mouth.

Danny reached over with his left hand and wiped a small glob of sauce from the corner of her mouth with his thumb and gave her a look like he didn't believe her. Instead of wiping the sauce on the napkin on his lap, he licked it off his thumb and turned his head slowly back to the television, like he had been doing that his whole life.

Lindsay's heart nearly stopped and she said the first thing she could think of. "Who are the Yankee's playing?" she blurted out.

Danny took another sip of his beer and focused his attention on her again. "Are you kidding me? We've been watching this game for over an hour."

"Well you've been talking about forty different guys since the game started and I haven't exactly been taking notes," she defended. Finishing off her second beer, she put the bottle on the table and realised she was feeling silly, something she felt when she was drunk.

"They're playing Florida," he said with a smile but it sounded like Flah-ri-dah and Lindsay couldn't stop an involuntary smile.

He took another sip of his beer and Lindsay deduced with the way he his eyes were drooping and the redness in his cheeks, Danny might feel a little tipsy himself. He didn't seem like a lightweight with his liquor and she wondered if she had missed him drinking a beer or two.

"How many more innings?" she asked.

"Four," he replied. "Are you getting bored?"

Lindsay shook her head; she was enjoying being with him in such a still state. Danny struck her as a 'shouting at the television' kind of Yankee fan but she guessed he saved that for the stadium and the sports bars.

"I like baseball," she replied. "It's hard to follow when you don't know the players though."

Danny grinned. "Do you know who's winning?"

Lindsay stopped and gave a funny smile. "No."

Danny and Lindsay shared a look and laughed. Danny put his hand on hers and shook his head. After he stopped laughing she gently pulled her hand from his to pick up her pizza.

Danny eyed her approvingly. "You got a pretty good appetite for-"

Lindsay put her hand over Danny's mouth and shook her head, trying to chew as fast as she could. "Don't say it."

With a curious look, he asked her why not and she her head. "C'mon, women in Montana don't like to be commented on their healthy appetites?"

"Healthy appetite?"

"Yeah, I like to see a woman who can pack it in," he said approvingly and Lindsay laughed. "What?"

"Pack it in? I'll remember to eat less when I get a date," she replied, opening another bottle.

"What's wrong with that?" he said.

"You make it sound like I'm a prize pig out for the blue ribbon," she explained and they laughed. "Sounds attractive."

His face was serious and his voice was low as he assured her, "It is."

Lindsay smiled quickly and felt the colour rising in her cheeks. "I'll keep that in mind," she replied and took another bite.

"That's good advice," he said, watching the television.

Lindsay's telephone rang then and Danny reached over to the coffee table to answer it, obviously forgetting where he was.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Is Lindsay Monroe there?" a male voice asked.

"Can I ask who's calling?" Danny replied, glancing over at Lindsay.

She reached for the phone and Danny put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"It's James Ivey," the man replied.

"James Ivey," Danny repeated and watched Lindsay's face turn from annoyance to shocked.

"Yeah, James Ivey," the man repeated. "Tell her I've got the opera tickets."

Lindsay shook her head, telling him to hand over the phone but Danny just grinned. This was fun.

"Lindsay's in the bathroom, can I take a message?" he said.

"Tell her I called," James replied and gave Danny his number. Danny wrote the number on a napkin and handed it to Lindsay.

Danny hung up the phone and gave her an amused look. "Well, well, Miss Monroe. Opera tickets with James."

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "It's not like that."

Danny's expression told her he didn't believe her.

"He lives in my building and his little girl was locked out of the apartment one afternoon so I sat with her until he got home," she explained. "He has a friend who works at the Met and he said he'd get me some tickets."

"So, why didn't you want to talk to him?" he countered with a smile.

Lindsay shook her head. "How's your girlfriend?"

"I think he's trying to ask you out," Danny said with a laugh and Lindsay looked at him in humoured disbelief. "C'mon. You gotta get creative in New York, this city has it all."

"I think New Yorkers are a little cynical," she retorted with a grin. "I'd much rather just be asked flat out but then again, I am from Montana."

Danny nudged her gently and took another sip of his beer. Three innings later they were still on the couch, only two slices of pizza remained uneaten and there were now seven empty bottles of beer on Lindsay's coffee table.

There was a knock at her door and Lindsay sighed as she got up from the couch, using Danny's leg as leverage. He watched her stand on her toes to see who it was and grinned, thinking it was the most adorable thing he had ever seen.

Lindsay opened the door. "Hi."

Danny looked over to the doorway from the couch to see a tall, dark haired man smiling at her affectionately. He wondered what kind of nerve a man had to come over when another man answers a woman's phone but Danny surmised if he was after Lindsay, he'd do the same.

"How's it going?" he said.

Lindsay smiled shyly. James was a really good looking man but from what Lindsay understood from James' daughter, he and his wife weren't divorced yet.

"I'm good," she replied, shifting her weight. "I haven't seen you. I thought you ended up going on that vacation Jenna mentioned."

"It's not quite camping season yet," he said with a wink and Lindsay laughed with a nod. He handed her an envelope. "Anyway, it had been a while since I called so I thought it would be okay to drop these off for you."

Danny suddenly felt like he was seven years old and overhearing a conversation between his mother and their building super, who had a thing for Danny's mom. Deciding not to be ignored, he cleared his throat loudly and took another sip of beer.

Lindsay took the tickets and gave him a smiled. "I appreciate it. Thanks."

"Jenna can't stop talking about you. I'm happy you had such a positive influence on her," he replied. "She's actually interested in school again."

Lindsay shrugged modestly. "I didn't do anything. I just told her why I liked being a scientist."

James looked over to Danny, studying the beers and pizza box as well as Danny's centered position on the couch. He smiled down at Lindsay good-naturedly and caught Danny's eye.

"Howyadoin'?" Danny said with a cool nod.

"Good, you?" James replied.

"Good," he replied and looked at Lindsay. "You're missing the game."

James shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not much of a Yankees fan."

Danny held back a smile and Lindsay gave him a warning look. It was all she needed to know Danny might say something else to offend James and she touched James' arm gently, pulling his attention back to her.

"So I'll see you tomorrow," she said.

James agreed and left her doorway. The door was barely shut when Danny stood up from the couch with his arms spread wide.

"Are you kidding me?" he said loudly.

"Keep your voice down!" she whispered, walking toward him to put her hand over his mouth.

Danny shook his head, taking her small hand in his. "No true New Yorker says he's no fan of the Yankees."

Lindsay shrugged. "I think he's from Rhode Island."

Danny scoffed. "Rhode Island? That guy can't say he's grown up on the eastern seaboard and not picked a favourite baseball team."

Talking about James with Danny was just weird. She also didn't want to put-down someone for not choosing a baseball team, especially when she hadn't decided if she were a Yankees fan herself.

"How is your case going?" Lindsay attempted as she sat back down on the couch. "Mac told me a little about it but I'm not sure I follow."

He crossed the room and sat back on the couch next to her. Shifting restlessly, he picked a piece of invisible lint of his jeans. She noted he had changed after work into a well fitting dark blue Yankee's T-shirt and a blue zip-up sweat shirt. Lindsay watched him, one lip bit between her teeth, she desperately wished she would just feel comfortable. It was still a new friendship or at least what she thought was a friendship. Men were a lot different in New York, especially the men of Danny's calibre.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "We got a guy with writing all over his body, who was found in a dumpster in the expensive carpet he stole from his older brother."

Lindsay smiled. "Was he a Big Labowski fan?"

Danny gave her a surprised smile. "You never know!" Danny laughed and shook his head. "Anyway, tomorrow we're looking at everyone who knew him."

"He's a writer?" Lindsay asked and Danny nodded. "Every peice of art is always worth more after the death of the artist."

Danny nodded. "I've thought about that too. The final chapter of a novel written on the body of the writer."

"It's a sensational story and even more juicy for a book tour," she said. "But murder is never that simple."

"This job will teach you that," he confirmed and finished his beer.

Lindsay nodded. "I 'm learning a lot."

"I'm still learning. Every day you find out something about a city you lived in your whole life," he replied. He checked his watch and let out a long sigh. "I'm gonna get going."

Danny leaned over on the couch and kissed her cheek, like he had been doing it his whole life. She could hear his lips make contact with the skin on her face, and her face flushed.

Unable to look up from her hands, she nodded. "Okay."

Danny pulled her off the couch and she followed him like two teenagers to the door. He ran his hand down her arm and gave her a nod. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

Lindsay shut the door behind him, knowing she wouldn't get an ounce of sleep that night.