Disclaimer: I don't own anything here but my own thoughts. Really, if I did do you think I would be sitting on my couch in Texas! All belongs to the fab people at CBS who bring us CSI:NY every week! I wish I was one of them!

Summary: This is a DannyLindsay story.

AN: I am so very sorry for the long update. I really wanted to have this posted before the season premier happened, but life intruded! I want to take this time to thank everyone who read and everyone who reviewed. YOU GUYS ROCK! This has been one of the most frustrating stories to write, but probably one of the most fun! If you haven't guessed, this chapter is Taste and I really had to rein my muse in to keep it from going to an M rating. So use all y'alls lovely imaginations for what happened after then end of the story! Okay, I also do not own, "Lips Like Morphine" by Kill Hannah. If you haven't heard that song….Go listen to it as soon as possible. It really fits with the way the chapter ended up! Please read and review…I will respond back to any reviews I get to this chapter by PM…So if you review as anonymous just know that I am very grateful for the review!

The Little Corinthian- I agree with cliffies, but I had to lead into this chapter somehow! I am totally on the wanting to be comforted by Danny bandwagon, so stand in line. (:D)

soswimmer13- I tried really hard not be random, although this chapter does have some randomness to it. I'm glad you like it!

Princess of Peas- Thanks! I love your pen name!

chili-peppers- I'm glad you love it. I only hope that this chapter fulfills your expectations!

brainDamage089- Please don't throw something at me for the long update! I really meant to update sooner, but c'est la vie. I hope you didn't fall off the edge of your seat…That would hurt. (:D)

SecretSophie- Psst…I saved the best for last (grins manically).

Chelliyah- I hope that this chapter is just as good as the rest. I had the worst writer's block trying to get this started!

stargazr- don't worry about it. Life intrudes and FF has been a little...um…weird lately! I'm glad that you like it!

Axellia- I completely understand about trying to catch up and especially with FF being weird…Jumping up and down like Christmas? Surely this story is not that exciting! That's why I like where I went with this. They are professional and dating at work is hard enough without even contemplating the crazy hours they work! Thanks for the compliment on the thoughts process! Grab a paper bag and breathe deeply into it. That should make the lightheadedness go away! Was I successful in trapping you into the gutter again? Yeah, he's gotta smell wonderful! I'm definitely thinking Herbal Essences for her shampoo…It smells so good! (btw…that was my fav line from the chapter…Bad thoughts, man. Bad thoughts!)

Again my many thanks to my overworked and VERY patient beta—princessg! Without her there would be so many more mistakes in this!

Chapter 5.

Taste

Taste. To try or test the flavor or quality of something by taking some into the mouth. To perceive or distinguish the flavor of. To have or get experience. To perceive in any way. To enjoy or appreciate. To have a particular flavor. To smack or savor. A relish, liking or partiality for something. The sense of what is seemly, polite, tactful. One's personal attitude or reaction toward an aesthetic phenomenon or social situation.

(Both POV's)

Danny and Lindsay arrived at her apartment and just sat in the car.

"So." Danny turned to look at Lindsay.

"So." Lindsay turned to look at him.

They both just sat there, not saying a word, the same thought running through their heads. How did I end up here, thinking about how sweet a possible kiss could taste?

(Danny's POV)

Taste occupied Danny's thoughts day and night. He couldn't stop imagining how her lips would taste if he kissed her. His mind screeched to a halt. How does she taste? I've know the woman for all of a day and I'm already imagining how she would taste when I kiss her? Man, you've been without any nighttime activities way too long. Maybe, I should call up…Gawd, what's her name? Come on man. Think! You dated her for two months! Shit. Damn it….Um…Stacy? Or was it Tracy? Whatever. The point is you need a woman. A man has needs. You just haven't fulfilled yours in a while. That's the only reason you are having these thoughts. They'll go away.

Danny shook his head to clear his thoughts, trying to focus on processing the evidence in front of him. He stared at the tape in front of him. Studying the evidence. Eventually he got control over his thoughts again. Until she walked into the room. He drank in the sight, sound and smell of her. His mind began racing towards the thoughts of her lips.

He briefly wondered about how her lips would affect time. What would he taste on them? Then he mentally slapped himself upside the head. That's it. I'm going to see if Flack wants to go out tonight. I obviously need to meet a new woman.

A month passed and Danny had managed to keep from thinking about her lips. Then she surprised him with the night at Cozy's. That night his senses threatened to short circuit from the stimulation that they were getting. And he began to fantasize about her lips again. He watched her drink her wine, then that girly drink that was served with a straw. He watched her lips gently purse around the straw. That is one lucky straw. He realized what he had just thought about and kicked himself. Don't go there, man. Don't go there!

He walked her home, trying to suppress his erotic thoughts about her lips and a straw. When he walked her up to her apartment door, he debated to himself about seeing if he could kiss her goodnight. Before the decision had been made, she was in her apartment and he was staring at a door. Sighing in disgust at himself, he made his way home.

His mind kept going over the night in his head, on his way home. He tried to turn his thoughts away, thinking about the taste of anything but her lips. That's it. The bugs. Gawd, those were disgusting. And the chef didn't help by asking if it tasted like chicken. Nope. Why in the world would rich people pay so much to eat…Bugs? Eww.

Those thoughts help to quelling the rising obsession he was having with her lips. When he got up the next morning, he had managed not to think about her.

The next month passed in relative easiness. He had managed to control his thoughts when around her, although he did find himself having to leave the room whenever she chewed on a pen. The only glitch that he could see of turning away his thoughts was when she asked him to carry her across the sand. He had to turn his brain off at that point. It was just too good to even contemplate.

He found that he had not defeated his feelings; he had just repressed them. They all came rushing back full force. Damn. She's a colleague. I work with her. I can't feel this way. What the hell am I supposed to do?

The decision was taken out of his hands the day that Flack was hurt. As he strode onto the scene, the only thoughts in his head were of her safety. If she is hurt, I'll never forgive myself. I can't lose someone else. I can't.

So he made sure that he could take her home, after shift. Now he sat in his car, staring into her wise chocolate eyes, realizing that the emotions he was feeling was being reflected back at him. Stunned he took a breath and prepared to admit his feelings.

(Lindsay's POV)

Taste was the one sense that Lindsay did not dwell on. After all, it was common. You used it everyday. That was until she met Danny.

After she had gotten over her initial shock of being on the receiving end of his 'hazing', she found him occupying her thoughts. This is wrong. You've taken this path before, it led to heartache. Let it go.

Her brain commanded, but her heart refused to listen. She found herself wishing for a glimpse of his smile. The cute way he licked the corner of his mouth when he was smirking. God. That drives me crazy. It makes me think about what his lips would taste like. Would his kiss taste different than a guy from Montana? Hmm. That's a good question. To bad I'm too much of a professional to try it out.

She tried to banish thoughts of him from her mind, but her dreams were another matter. Lindsay groaned when she woke up thinking about how his kisses would taste. She could imagine her lips traveling over his body, tasting him and bringing him pleasure. Stop right there! She tried to command her brain, but it only obeyed her while she was awake.

It helped when she took his dare to eat the bugs. "What? It's just protein." She grimaced inwardly as she took the first bite of the deep fried spider. So it is true. Things really do taste better deep fried. Definitely will have to keep that in mind.

She felt them growing closer and her thoughts turning more erotic and her dreams were such to make a porn star blush. She just couldn't keep the idea out of her mind.

When she showed him the results of the DNA test from the cigarette, she could almost taste his fear and anger. She didn't understand why, but she knew that something was truly wrong. So she pushed her own desires to the background and concentrated on clearing his name.

Finally, the day that changed her life happened. She could taste a little blood on her lip and that combined with the taste of the bile rising in the back of her throat at the sight of the destruction was almost her undoing. She turned off her emotions and struggled to stay a professional. Her only thought after that day was that she could not deny what was growing between them. She had to confront it. She had to tell him how she felt and hoped that he returned her feelings.

As she sat in the car, she turned to him and looked deep into his blue eyes. She felt a wave of relief pass though her when she saw her feeling reflected in his eyes. She could taste victory and she opened her mouth, to hopefully try to confess her feelings.

(Both POV's)

"So."

"So."

"Um. Lindsay?"

Lindsay bit her lip and decided to take the plunge. "Danny? Would you like to come up to my apartment?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah."

They got out of the car and silently walked up to her apartment. When they got inside, Danny looked around. It was a very comfortable apartment. Stylish, yet homey. "You have good taste. Maybe you should decorate my apartment. I've lived there for five years and haven't done half of what you've done in your place."

Lindsay smiled at the compliment and went to turn her stereo on. "Thanks. I just made it feel like home."

Danny was amazed when he heard the alternative rock coming from the speakers. He recognized the song that was playing. It was Lips Like Morphine by Kill Hannah. He listened to the chorus. "Cuz I've waited here for all my life; to be here with you tonight."

He smiled. The song fit. He was tired of waiting. He just grabbed her hand and pulled her to his body. He bent his head and pressed his lips against her. He groaned. She tasted just like he had imagined. Fresh and a little like strawberries. He deepened the kiss. His tongue demanded entry into her mouth. She complied and Danny's brain shut down at the pleasure he was feeling.

Lindsay was a little shocked when Danny pulled her to him. When his lips descended on hers she only had one thought in here head. He tastes better than the guys back home. God, I'm in so much trouble. When he deepened the kiss and began to plunder her mouth, her toes curled in desire.

Alarms went off in her brain. She pulled back. "Wait. Danny? I don't know if I can do this."

He looked at her in shock. He had never felt the feelings that were roaming through his body and was pretty sure that neither had she. "What do mean that you can't do this? That was perfect Lindsay. Why?"

Lindsay felt tears come to her eyes. She didn't want to hurt him. "I just…I think it's best that you leave."

Danny shook his head. "No. I'm not leaving. I'm not abandoning what we have without a damn good reason."

Lindsay looked at the steely glint in his eyes and felt the last barriers she had erected come crashing down. "I don't deserve you. I'm definitely not in your league, Messer. You deserve someone better than me."

Danny felt his anger fade and her softly spoken words. "That's crap and you know it, Montana. If anything, I don't deserve you. Why would you think something like that?"

Lindsay turned around and walked to her couch. Tiredly she sat down and stared at her hands. The tears began to roll down her face as she thought about Frank.

Danny watched her and realized that she was crying. He walked over to her and gently made her look into his eyes. "Lindsay, please. What's wrong? Why don't you feel like you're not the best thing that has ever happened to me? Huh? If not for you, I would have given up on life a long time ago. So I don't want to hear you say that you are not good enough for me. That's crap!"

Lindsay looked up at him. "You're wrong. You would have been fine. Why would anyone want to be with me? I work crazy hours. I'm obsessed with doing a perfect job. I'm not a good girlfriend. Trust me. If you want I can give you the testimonials to prove it." She shook her head and looked away form him. She muttered under her breath, "Frank was right about me. I'm destined to be alone."

"Who is Frank?"

Lindsay jerked her head back at that point. "You heard that?" Danny just stared at her, waiting for an answer. She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Frank is my ex-fiancé. He dumped me rather spectacularly. Basically he said that I was an emotional eunuch and no man would ever love me." Lindsay felt a little rage creep into her voice. "The bastard had been cheating on me with my best friend for four months."

Danny had a brief thought that it was a good thing that this Frank guy was not around. He didn't trust himself not to break his kneecaps. "Lindsay? He's wrong. You're perfect the way you are. We all have our battle scars, but he obviously didn't know what to do about an independent woman who could probably take him down in a fight."

He saw the disbelief in her eyes and responded the only way he knew how. He kissed her again. He felt relief when he felt the tension leave her body. "Montana, I have serious feelings for you. Do you feel the same way?"

Lindsay looked at Danny. She felt whole for the first time in almost a year. She knew that the heat that they generated when together had burned the doubts from her brain. "Yes, Danny. I do. I've wanted to do this with you since the first day I saw you. I'm sorry for being stupid."

"We were stupid together. I think that's enough talking right now."

Lindsay smiled as she tasted his lips on hers again. They both had the same thought running through their heads. Oh, yes. I can get used to this.

Fini.