Chapter 2 – Nik's Place

Luckily, no more calls came in for her that day, and Lindsay was able to spend her time between helping out with the case processing, and working on her own paperwork. She was feeling better by the day's end – she didn't think she would have been able to cope with another ridiculously busy day, as it had been in the last few weeks. She was grateful to have time to herself.

And as much as it excited her to be in close proximity to Danny, whether it be processing a scene or evidence in the lab, or simply getting information from a witness, she was glad that she hardly crossed paths with him today. Not that she didn't want to see him – it was more that she was already nervous enough for the Gala that she didn't need the extra anxiousness bubbling up inside her.

She had just begun gathering up her belongings from her office, when she was interrupted by a knock at her door. She looked up to see Flack standing there, in the same pose he had that morning.

"Hey Lindsay," he said smoothly. "Hawkes, Danny, and I are heading to Nik's Place for dinner. Danny's fridge broke last night, so he's got no food, and guilt-tripped us into going with him for dinner instead tonight. Thought I'd see if you were interested – you could probably use some nice atmosphere, judging by the warpath you were burning this morning."

Lindsay laughed at his comment, and thought about it. She had been looking forward to spending the night alone, but she also had a hard time saying no to the opportunity to hang out with Danny outside of work. But in the end, she decided against it. She wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to get everything she was going to need for the gala ready, that way she wouldn't have to worry about rushing around at the last minute tomorrow night.

"Thanks for the offer Flack," she replied slowly, "but I think I'm just going to take it easy tonight. I have a few things I need to get in order before tomorrow, so I should do that while I still have time."

"You sure?" Flack asked.

"Yeah, but thanks for the invite – I'll come out to the next one for sure!"

"I'm holding you to that," Flack laughed. "Have a good night, enjoy your you-time."

Lindsay smiled as he walked out. She had barely resumed getting the last of her stuff together, when she was again interrupted.

"Montana, don't give me any of this 'me-time' business, you're coming with us," said Danny, very matter-of-factly.

"Um, why?" asked Lindsay, feeling a bit flustered. What was going on?

"Look Montana. Don't think that I'm making a habit of this, but Flack mentioned this morning that you seemed to be having a pretty crappy day. I arranged this outing purposely so that you could come out with us and take your mind off things. Besides, the only food I have in my house is questionable, so unless you're planning on inviting me over for dinner, you're coming with us. Besides, the atmosphere is far more boring when you're not there."

Lindsay just stared at him in disbelief. He specifically wanted her there? That was different…

A look of surprise crossed Danny's face, as he realized how what he said could have been interpreted. He racked his brain for a recovery (not to mention trying to conceal the fact that he really wanted to spend some time outside of work with her), but nothing sounded right. Eventually, he took the cheap way out and replied, "Stop stalling by staring at me like that – I've done enough attempting to interpret facial expressions for one day. You're coming with us." And with that, he walked over to her, swiped cell phone, and jogged out of her office, knowing that she couldn't go home without it, and would inevitably end up coming out with them.

"Danny!" Lindsay called after him, but he pretended not to hear her. She scooped up her purse and ran after him towards the elevators, where Flack and Hawkes stood, both laughing.

"So what, my invitation isn't good enough for you Monroe?" joked Flack.

"At least you gave me a choice! Messer the bully over here wasn't quite so nice about it," Lindsay replied, glaring at Danny, but a playful grin made its way across her face. She grabbed her cell phone out of Danny's hand, and put it safely inside her purse. Inside, she was happy that Danny pulled that little stunt – if he had asked her in the first place himself, she knew she wouldn't've been able to say no to him, but at least this way, he gave her an excuse to come along.

But why did he do it in the first place? She had had a bad morning… so what? Don't jump to conclusions, Lindsay, you'll just end up disappointing yourself. She followed the guys out of the elevator and across the street.

Nik's Place was a simple restaurant, with some pool tables and a few TV screens showing various sports events – overall, your typical sports pub. Lindsay knew the guys frequented this place, but she had only been twice previously, both times with Stella on their lunch breaks. She was surprised that the didn't come here more often – it was one of the only good places to eat that was walking distance from the lab. The atmosphere was much different this time – even the guys noticed that it was busier than normal. As Danny looked up at one of the television screens, he realized why. Stanley Cup finals. Edmonton Oilers versus Carolina Hurricanes.

Danny led the way through the crowd, finding a booth for four not too far into the restaurant. He allowed Lindsay to slide in first, then smoothly took the seat across from her. Hawkes claimed the other half of Lindsay's booth, while Flack slipped in next to Danny.

A bubbly blonde came up to their table. "Hi! Welcome to Nik's!" she greeted them. Danny couldn't help but notice she was staring right at him. He stole a glance at Lindsay, who appeared to have noticed the same thing. Danny grinned. "Few pitchers to start would be just fine," he ordered. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Great!" replied the waitress, as she practically skipped away, blonde hair bobbing behind her.

"Careful, Messer, you'll start drooling if you don't watch it," Lindsay teased. Flack and Hawkes laughed along.

It was the second intermission of the game, not that any of the CSIs were paying attention. They'd look up whenever a team scored, but for the most part, the game might as well have not been on. Lindsay found herself having a great time, much more than she had anticipated. She had also noticed, though, the curiously great service they were receiving, and how the waitress seemed to only be aware of Danny at the table. But why did that bother her? She found herself cringing and glaring at the blonde every time she came by – she doubted Danny noticed anything out of the ordinary; after all, this sort of situation was normal for him. But still… why was it irking her so?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the chime of Flack's cell phone.

"Flack… yeah… sure… just him? I have three of them here… alright, got it… be there in 15."

Danny looked at Flack quizzically. "Got a call?"

"Yeah, DB over at 73rd and Park. Looks like an argument gone wrong – Mac's already got the likely shooter in custody – he just asked for Hawkes to come and do some simple processing… said there's no need to bring everyone out," Flack said. He looked over at Hawkes. "We'd better get going. You two going to be alright here?"

Danny laughed. "Sure, we'll be fine. Assuming Monroe's not scared of me or anything."

Lindsay just rolled her eyes. "I'm petrified." She turned her attention to Flack. "We'll be fine – give a call if you need some help and we'll come over."

Hawkes got up and smiled. "Thanks – enjoy the rest of the game," he said, dropping some money on the table for the bill later on. "Bye!" he said, as he and Flack walked towards the exit.

"Just us then, Montana. Think you can handle it?" joked Danny.

"Oh please, you give yourself too much credit."

Danny's reply was drowned out by sounds of cheering, as one of the teams scored. The only response she was able to receive was the boyish grin he flashed her… the grin that drew out an equally giddy one from her.

Hawkes and Flack walked towards the exit; Hawkes noticed that Flack had a stupidly silly smirk on his face.

"What's up with you?" inquired Hawkes.

"Oh come on, you couldn't see it? You could take the tension between those two and throw it at someone, and it'd do some serious damage!"

Hawkes was shocked. He had thought maybe there was something, but couldn't believe the stunt Flack just pulled. "You mean that wasn't Mac on the phone?"

Flack laughed. "No, that was Mac – he was just wondering where I left a file, but it turned out that he just lost it under the pile of junk on his desk. He hung up rather quickly – I just staged the rest of the conversation." Flack seemed to be extremely pleased with himself. He looked at his watch. "If we hurry, we can walk to The Merchant down the street and get there before the third period starts."

"You're unbelievable!" mused Hawkes, as they walked towards the other sports bar.

Lindsay wasn't sure how she felt about being left alone with Danny. On the one hand, she was thrilled that she was going to get to spend some time with him, but on the other hand, completely nervous. She wasn't sure she trusted herself not to do anything she'd kick herself for later, be it shameless flirting or otherwise, particularly after a few pints. She'd been housing a crush on Danny since her first day on the job - there was just something about him that made her flare inside, even though he sometimes drove her absolutely out of her mind. But as she grew more comfortable in the lab, she found herself disappointed when she'd find out she and Danny were assigned to different cases. But even then, they always found some way to interact, though she couldn't be sure if it was by her own doing, or his. It always just sort of ... happened.

She was yanked out of her thoughts by another loud cheer around her. The fans in the bar seemed to be pretty split between the two teams.

She took in a breath, wanting to say something, anything, but being cautious not to let the beer speak for her. "Thanks for making me come out tonight – today has been rather hectic, and as much as I really couldn't afford it time-wise, I really needed this night out. So thanks for that." She smiled at him; he returned the sentiment.

"Anytime, Montana. Just don't expect me to bail you out of a crappy day every time. Can't have everyone at the office thinking I'm Mister Sensitive or anything." He took a sip of his beer and turned his attention to the television. Lindsay followed his gaze. Only a few minutes left to go in the 3rd period, and it was tied 4-4.

"Looks like the game is going into over—" but she was cut off as Carolina scored with only minutes remaining, making it 5-4. "Guess not," she corrected herself. Danny just grinned. She couldn't be sure if it was the effect the alcohol was having on her, or if it was just the swooning girl inside her that she was constantly shoving deeper down, but every time he flashed that gorgeous smile in her direction, she could feel her protective walls coming down just a bit.

Lindsay looked at her watch – 11:30. She knew she really had to get going – as much as she wanted to stay with Danny, she knew she had to take a few minutes to get her Gala stuff together anyway. "I really should get going, Danny – still have to get up for work in the morning, and so do you." She fished for her wallet, but Danny was quick to stop her.

"Don't worry about it Montana – I've got this. No, don't even—" he saw she was trying to protest "—try to do that. I told you, I've got this. And if you give me an issue, you can walk home."

Lindsay just smiled, a bit surprised, and put her wallet away. They stood up together, and began to make their way through the extremely rowdy crowd. Danny led the way, but Lindsay struggled to stay close to him. The Carolina fans were all cheering and celebrating their team's victory, while the Edmonton fans still looked shocked and in disbelief.

"Hey! Leaving so soon!" came an overly-bubbly voice from Lindsay's left. She cringed. The blonde waitress had been driving her nuts all night, coming by to the table every 5 minutes to gawk at Danny. She noticed that she had also been staying for longer after Flack and Hawkes left. The attention she was giving Danny made her insanely jealous. Worse, Danny was flirting back, but he probably didn't even realize it… Just who he was.

"Hey, yeah," he said, walking over to the bar. Lindsay followed him. "We're just heading out – game is over and we have to work tomorrow anyway." Lindsay blocked out the waitress' response – she didn't want to hear the cheesy line she was bound to give him back, nor did she want to be listening when she tried to slip him her phone number. She turned her attention to the restaurant's patrons on her other side.

"Hey there, sweetness," said the burly man on her left, apparently noticing she was ignoring Danny. "Your boyfriend's being awful friendly with that hot waitress over there." He was very large, and stunk of alcohol – he had obviously had more than his share of drinks for the night. His clothes looked as though they hadn't been washed in ages, and his hair was greasy and matted. His words slightly slurred together.

Lindsay scowled at the man. "Not my boyfriend," she said curtly, looking away. Not in reality, anyway, she thought.

"Oh, well, in that case, let me buy you a drink." The man began to motion towards the bartender, but Lindsay interrupted.

"No, thanks, we're just on our way out."

"Oh come on now sweetness, that's no way to treat a gentleman. Your friend's clearly occupied anyway."

"I said, no thank you." Lindsay was quickly growing irritated with this man, who apparently would not let up. She suppressed the urge to throw back a sarcastic comment about him referring to himself as a 'gentleman'. She mentally willed Danny to finish talking to the blonde bimbo and get out of there.

"Bartender!" shouted the man, "Two beers over here, one of me, and one for this pretty lady." He grinned stupidly.

Lindsay interjected. "No, just one for this man, nothing for me." She felt the man put his hand on her arm.

"Now listen here – it's not nice to turn down a friendly gesture. Just sit with me for awhile. Your friend's not going anywhere for awhile." He reached up towards her face.

Lindsay instinctively backed away from him, bumping into Danny. Danny Turning, he noticed Lindsay trying to distance herself from a very drunk, very shady-looking man.

"Hey there," he said coolly, "anything I can help you with?" He ignored the waitress' hand on his arm, obviously trying to turn his attention back to her.

"No thanks man, just checking out your friend here, who apparently doesn't know how to accept a nice gesture from a flattering guy." He was practically drooling.

Lindsay regained her balance, then looked at Danny. "Can we get going?"

"What's the rush there, hun?" This man just was not letting up, and it was beginning to irritate Danny. "Man, why are you so protective? If you're not dating her, then why can't anyone else?" He stood up to face Danny.

Danny felt himself tense up. The man easily had fifty pounds on him, plus a solid four inches. Lindsay stood between them, practically disappearing between the much larger frames of the two men. Wanting to avoid a confrontation, Lindsay put one hand on each of their chests, though she was slightly more apprehensive to touch the drunk guy. "Now, now, boys. It's late, and," she turned to the drunk man, "as much as I appreciate the offer for a drink, I do need to get home – work in the morning."

The man just glared at her, then up at Danny, then back to Lindsay. He did not look too pleased with Lindsay's response, but slowly took a step backwards. Lindsay breathed a sigh of relief. She had just begun to lower her arms, when the man grabbed her arm, a deranged, flaming look in his eye. She quickly returning her hand to Danny's shirt, grabbing it – he had already turned to walk out, assuming Lindsay was right behind him.

"Hey man, let her go, we just went through this," warned Danny.

"Back off. You're not dating her…" He lowered his head to Lindsay. "All I want is a date to get to know you better. This guy clearly has no interest in you, so why not give someone a chance to treat you nicely."

Lindsay tried to release herself from his grasp, but his grip on her wrist was firm. She could feel Danny's hand on her shoulder, as he moved up beside her, trying to put himself between her and the man. She still hadn't let go of Danny's shirt.

"I said, back off." Danny's voice was firm and steady. He had one finger pointed at him. Lindsay had to struggle to keep herself from grinning blissfully. She loved listening to Danny's voice when it carried this tone – the low grumble was smooth, sexy, and intimidating. Dammit, Lindsay, this isn't the time! she thought to herself angrily. Unfortunately, Danny's tone was not having the desired effect on the man.

"Look buddy. She's free to do what she wants. Come on, babe, let me take you away from this jerk." He pulled her out of Danny's grasp, but Danny had had enough. He swiftly swung a fist towards the man, clocking him in the cheek. The quick distraction was enough for Lindsay to release herself from the man's grasp, and she moved herself behind Danny. But at the same time, the man used his other arm to throw a punch back. Danny ducked, not realizing Lindsay had moved; the man's fist caught her jaw. His coordination was sloppy enough that he didn't get a clean shot, but the fact that Lindsay wasn't expecting it made it worse.

Danny turned to Lindsay, then turned back to the man, who was holding his face.

"Oh NOW you've gone and done it," he said, biting his tongue. Danny delivered a smooth upper-cut to the jaw, but was rewarded by a swinging fist to the side of his mouth. Danny grabbed him by the shirt, forcing him against the bar. He could feel Lindsay's hands on his shoulders trying to get him off, but now he was just fuming, and he could taste his blood in his mouth.

"Don't… you… ever…" he seethed, "touch her." He gave the man a shove, letting go of his shirt. He touched his hand to his mouth, a scowled at the blood on it. He turned around to face Lindsay. "Go," he said, placing his hand on the small of her back and leading her out.