Disclaimer: I do not own any of the CSI NY characters, but Zoey is all mine!

A/N: Here is the second instalment. It's not as good as I hoped it would, but my muse hasn't been kind lately…things will pick up a bit more after this one.

Thanks for the reviews everyone! 

Chapter 2

"Hey Messer, I bet you had a good night?" Flack said with a wink.

Danny just looked at him.

"Oh….not good?" Flack asked.

"I didn't see her after the….uh…incident."

"Didn't you go to her place? I got you the address!" Flack said.

"She wouldn't come to the door. Her roommate ran interference." Danny sighed.

"Roommate. Really?"

"Ya, surprised me too. Dammit! I totally screwed this up." Danny exclaimed.

"Easy man, she probably had to do the girl talk thing. And you'll be all good to go today."

"You think so?" Danny asked hopefully.

"Ya, uh, sure." Flack supplied, obviously unsure of his answer.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So?" Zoey asked as they jogged along the path in Central Park.

"Okay, here's the plan." Lindsay started. "It never happened."

Zoey laughed and looked quickly at Lindsay. "You're serious? That's your big plan? Pretend it never happened?"

"Ya, good plan, no?"

"NO!"

"What!"

"Linny, that's a horrible idea!"

"Why?"

"Because you actually like this guy Linny. And you need to pick up where you two left off. He is a hottie. Don't you have that police ball thingy next week? You should ask him to go."

"No way Zoey!" Lindsay exclaimed.

"Lindsay, just don't do, or not do, anything you'll regret, ok?"

Lindsay sighed. She knew Zoey was right, but she was scared to death.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey Sid, what do you have for us?" Danny said, trying to dissolve the tension between him and Lindsay. Since she'd arrived at work that morning, she'd been acting weird. At first, it was like nothing had happened, but now; she was unusually quiet and evasive.

"Your Central Park jogger was suffocated. I found some fibers in her trachea and nose. I put them over there. Time of death is between 1 and 2am. Tox screen came back. Positive for Naproxen Sodium." Sid replied.

"Naproxen sodium?" Danny asked.

"Known as Anaprox." Sid supplied. "Used commonly for osteoarthritis."

"Our 23 year old jogger has arthritis?" Danny asked, glancing at Lindsay. She had her brow crumpled in concentration. Suddenly her face softened, like the light bulb in her head just flicked on.

"Sid, is Zoey around?" she asked.

Sid looked confused, but nodded before he went to the back of the morgue. Minutes later he returned followed by a young woman. It took Danny a few seconds, but he recognized her as Lindsay's roommate.

While she walked over, he took a moment to give her the standard once over. She was taller than Lindsay, by about an inch, and just as slim. Dark brown hair pulled up into a neat ponytail. She must have noticed him looking because she blushed as looked away nervously. Lindsay noticed too, and shot Danny a look.

"Hey Zo." Lindsay smiled. "Sorry to pull you away, but I need your expertise."

"Sure" Zoey smiled, refusing to look at Danny.

"You take Anaprox, right?"

"Uh huh."

"What's it for?" Lindsay asked.

Zoey blushed a deep red and looked at her feet. "Cramps."

"Hmmmm, that's interesting." Sid murmured. "Any side effects?"

"Usually dizziness for me, other than that I think irritated stomach in another one. You have to take it with food." Zoey supplied.

"So why does a woman, in pain, go jogging in the middle of the night?" Danny asked.

"I do it all the time; helps keep my mind off the pain. Gives the meds a chance to work." Zoey said casually. "Of course, only on the nights Lindsay's working can I manage to sneak out."

"Typical dose?" Lindsay said narrowing her eyes at Zoey's comment.

"550 mg is one tablet, twice daily as needed."

"Great, thanks Zoey. You're awesome." Lindsay winked before walking away.

Danny jogged up to her once they were out of the morgue. "You're roomies with the shy morgue girl?"

Lindsay stopped in her tracks. "Don't you ever call her that. You don't even know her."

'Woah, if looks could kill…'

"Easy Montana. It's just, I've been here for years, and I've barely seen her…never heard her talk before today."

"She's only been working here two months Messer. She teaches high school in Harlem, and then finds a summer job to occupy her time." Lindsay started walking away.

"Isn't she a little young to be teaching in Harlem?"

"She's 25! You've known her for two minutes and you're judging her?" Lindsay asked incredulously.

"Woah, I'm sorry. I'm just curious." He held up his hands in surrender.

"Well, you won't have to be curious for long. School starts in a week, so she'll be gone."

"You best friends or somethin'?" Danny snickered.

"And if we are?" Lindsay retorted.

Danny was about to respond, but Marty came dashing down the hallway. "Hey Monroe, you comin' tomorrow night?"

"Of course! Would I miss a karaoke night?" Lindsay laughed. Danny huffed and crossed his arms. Why didn't he know about this?

"I can't believe she's leaving. How will we function without her?" Marty asked.

"I'm sure you'll survive. She's not leaving town you know…"

"I know, but who would want to leave this to teach a bunch of high school hooligans!" he winked.

"You know she's all about 'making a difference'. I'll meet you there at 9!" She called after him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Are we invited?" Flack asked Lindsay a few hours later.

"Invited where?"

"Karaoke night."

"So Danny's told you about it?" she laughed.

"He may have mentioned it. Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Your roommate…she teaches in Harlem?"

"She does. She teaches gym and science. Why?"

"Is she big and burley and tough?" he asked, completely serious.

"No! What did Danny say about her!" Lindsay was officially pissed off.

"Nothing! Which is why I ask. He was all cryptic about it. I mean, come on, she'd have to be one tough chick to survive teaching high school in Harlem." Flack replied.

Lindsay smiled. "She is a tough chick. She could probably kick your ass in basketball."

Flack scoffed. "Never."

"You wanna bet?" Lindsay raised an eyebrow.

Flack grinned. "Sure. This weekend. Let's make it 2-on-2. The girls against the boys. Danny'll come along."

"You've got yourself a bet Flack. You are going to be very sorry about this." Lindsay smiled wickedly.

"In your dreams Monroe."

A few moments of silence passed before Flack spoke again. "So? Are we invited?"

Lindsay sighed. "9 o'clock tomorrow at Patty's."