DISCLAIMER: CSI: New York and its characters are property of CBS and creator Anthony Zuiker. The events of this story, as well as the character Aspen Murray, are property of me.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This story does contain spoilers of CSI: New York's third season. However, this is merely MY version of the events that could possibly happen on the show in the upcoming season.

SUMMARY: New York City Crime Lab technician Adam Ross is on a date with Aspen Murray, the new girl in town, when a shooting rips through the bar they're at, killing two cops. As Mac Taylor's team of CSIs try to find the killer before he attacks again, Stella Bonasera must deal with her unresolved emotions over Frankie's death and Mac's new relationship with Dr. Peyton Driscoll, ME. Adam's friendship with Danny Messer becomes strained as he fights with the detective for Aspen's heart, while Lindsay Monroe must re-evaluate her decision to keep Danny at arm's length despite his attempts to woo her first. Meanwhile, well on the road to recovery but suddenly realizing it's time to change some things in his life, Don Flack knows there's one thing he has to face right away: his growing affection for Stella.

PAIRINGS: Danny/Lindsay, Adam/Aspen, Mac/Peyton, Mac/Stella, Flack/Stella

LYRICAL CREDIT: A Day Late by Anberlin, Vitamin R by Chavelle

A DAY LATE
could have been lovers

CAST FROM SHOW:
AJ Buckley : Adam Ross
Anna Belknap : Lindsay Monroe
Carmine Giovinazzo : Danny Messer
Claire Forlani : Dr. Peyton Driscoll
Eddie Cahill : Don Flack Jr.
Gary Sinise : Mac Taylor
Hill Harper : Dr. Sheldon Hawkes
Jonah Lotan : Dr. Marty Pino
Melina Kanakaredes : Stella Bonasera

NEW APPEARANCES:
Aspen Murray

Chapter One
A Special Place Of My Design

The place was packed – and what's more, it was packed with cops. Vaguely, Adam Ross wondered if it was such a good idea to take his 'date' here…he probably could have managed someplace a little further from work, but he'd been so nervous about asking his coworker out anyway that he hadn't really thought the actual outing all the way through. Still, perched comfortably against the bar, with her standing comfortably close and two pints of beer with their names on them, he supposed this wasn't so bad. Aspen was smiling and content, and seemed comfortable enough. She was beautiful, all dark-eyed mystery, and he was definitely caught in her spell, completely absorbed in watching the way the dim lights played over her skin, lit the dark pools in her eyes. He had to take a moment to remember what they'd been discussing…oh right. Mac, and the fact that Mac could get into places like Wild Wild Wet on Broadway, whereas Adam was positive he'd never be admitted – even with a badge.

"Well, it is a hip and salacious club. I can't imagine the boss there…Definitely not Mac's kinda place." He paused as if to reflect on that. "Not really my kinda place, either."

Aspen had turned to face the bar, but she glanced at him over her shoulder, eyes half-teasing, half-smoldering in the low light. Adam's tongue flicked out over his lips. Damn, but he wished he had a sharpie. And come to think of it, as good as she looked, he could probably use that lab coat, too.

"Not your kind of place?" Her lips curved, and he couldn't tell if she was teasing him or toying with him. "What, you don't like a packed club full of hot bodies, all with the express intent of turning you on?"

He swallowed, sure that his cheeks were bright red and hoping that she couldn't see. "Uh, well…when you put it that way…"

She laughed and lifted the pint to her lips, giving Adam a moment to remember how to breathe. He couldn't believe that she'd said yes – she'd said yes! – seeing as she was absolutely gorgeous and he was…well, him. He knew he wasn't a total loss, but for a girl like Aspen? She was definitely settling. Not that he was going to complain. If she wanted to settle, he was fine with being who she settled for. She was brand new around the lab, only on the job for about two weeks. And better, she was from California, full of West Coast ease. He would happily, he thought with a little grin, help her keep from getting too chilled during her first winter away from the sandy shores of Pacific Beach.

"I thought you might change your tune. You just needed to look at it from a different point of view," she was saying, drawing his attention back to her. He couldn't repel the urge to smash his red curls into submission, but he knew it was hopeless. She turned fully toward him, caught the hand he'd half-lifted to his scalp, and was about to say something to him when all hell broke loose.

One minute he was standing there, with Aspen looking up into his eyes and leaning in, and all he could manage to think about for that sweet and unfortunately solitary second was, OhsweetLordshe'sleaningintomeandtalkingaboutsalaciousclubs! The next moment, gunfire exploded through the bar. Two cops closest to the door went down, but Adam didn't wait to see if anyone else had been hit: he dragged Aspen to the floor and searched for the source of the gunfire as glass burst into shards on the wall behind them. By the time he'd gotten his bearings and really started to process the chaotic scene before him, he was covered in alcohol and a little blood, and the shooter was fleeing. Somewhere in the direction of the door, he could hear muffled groaning. He cursed. The two cops.

Someone had already called it in. Other cops from the nearest precinct had come running, and beyond that, there was a telltale wail of sirens from the streets. Beside him, Aspen stirred slowly and carefully from her bed of glass. He wrenched himself up more quickly, trusting his leather jacket to protect his arms.

"You okay?" he asked her. She nodded, looking a little dazed, and then her eyes fell on the fallen cops.

"Adam…"

He was already turning from her, quickly half-crawling to the cops. As he reached the side of the first one, he felt a sickening lurch in his stomach. The cop was clearly dead, eyes staring up at the ceiling. His blood was already mixing with the alcohol on the floor. Carefully skirting the body, he dove for the second guy. He was bleeding from the stomach. Not a good sign. Adam was no doctor, but he knew what being "gutshot" meant. It meant a slow, agonized death unless the guy got medical attention right away. Applying pressure to the wound and silently thanking Hawkes for the emergency medical aid tutorials, Adam began talking to the guy.

"Hang tight, man. I got ya. Hang tight." He looked up hopelessly for help. But this was not the lab, Dr. Hawkes wouldn't be just strolling by, and keeping this guy alive had fallen on him. He felt suddenly, wildly inadequate for the job, but it was his whether he felt capable or not. Breathing hard, he pushed harder against the wound, trying to ignore the groaned protest. Aspen was shakily gaining her feet, checking on the rest of the bar inhabitants. They were all asking each other frantic questions: Did anyone see the guy? What kind of gun was it? Anyone see which way he went? Why the fuck would he shoot at a bunch of cops?

Adam blocked them all out, focusing on the man bleeding beneath his hands. "Stay with me, okay? Stay with me. You just keep looking right at me," he said, knowing his eyes reflected the panicked horror in the other's.

It was an eternity of the murmured encouragement, of fear and helplessness, before two paramedics were taking over. Adam collapsed backwards, all of his bones liquefying in terrified relief. Aspen's hands were there, grabbing at his shoulders and staggering back under the weight of him as, boneless, he slid back onto his butt on the floor. He clasped her, more out of instinct than any conscious reaction, and watched as the paramedics strapped the guy to a gurney and rushed him toward the ambulance that idled on the sidewalk, waiting for its damaged goods.

"Jesus," he muttered, dazed. Aspen said nothing, and he could tell she was just as shell-shocked as he was. They sat in mutual shock for a long time, as officers poured in and began seeing to the witnesses and victims. He knew they'd have to give statements, but he didn't rouse himself off of the floor. He was suddenly more tired than he'd ever been, even after eighty-hour workweeks in the lab, or being up all night trying to track down that one particular species of fungus found under a vic's fingernails. This weariness – by far – beat those feelings of exhaustion. Behind him, Aspen respected his silence. Her forehead fell forward, resting against his back as she took the time she needed to get her bearings.

"That first guy…he was…"

"Dead," Adam confirmed, his mouth drier than the Sahara in high summer. He felt her hand tighten on his shoulder, and felt oddly comforted by the contact.

They sat like that for God knows how long before a familiar voice finally caught Adam's attention.

"You gotta be kiddin' me…Adam?"

It was Danny Messer, trailing just slightly behind Adam's boss, Mac Taylor. Immediately, Adam felt like an idiot, sitting on the floor in a pool of beer and blood, with Aspen behind him. He stood, helping her up before he turned to face the pair of oncoming detectives. Carefully plucking their way across the floor, hoping to keep from stepping on evidence, they halted before the lab tech. Adam shook his head a little, still feeling dazed.

"Christ, you look like hell." Danny's blue eyes were critical, but not unsympathetic. He studied Adam for a long moment, then his gaze flicked over Adam's shoulder to Aspen. Though the look lacked recognition, there was surprise there. Adam knew Danny was wondering why such a pretty girl was there with him, and he felt a flash of blind rage. Blinking, surprised by the force of his sudden, hot anger, he took a deep breath.

"The detectives haven't talked to us yet – it's pretty packed, they haven't finished questioning everyone."

Mac finally spoke up, his eyes scanning the room around them. "It's okay. Flack's with us, he'll take your statements. Are you both alright?"

Adam nodded, relieved to see Aspen nodding as well. He looped his arm around her, giving her a quick squeeze. Danny's eyes caught the movement as well – damn observant bastard.

Mac missed the sentiment. "You were both here?"

Adam felt his cheeks heating again. Amazing, that he could feel embarrassed even after having been through such trauma just a few minutes earlier. He avoided Aspen's gaze, wondering if he should tell Mac it was a date. "Yeah."

If Mac read into the implications of that affirmative, he made no indication. Instead, he waved Flack over to take the statements. Adam glanced at Aspen, but she seemed distracted. How could he blame her? He'd just had a dying man in his hands. She glanced at him as Flack motioned for her to step away with him, then turned fully toward the tall detective, following him trustingly. Adam sighed. It was going to be a long night.

"So wait – wait." Danny was laughing, leaning against the desk in the Trace Lab. Adam shot him a look ripe with murderous hate. Between them, Lindsay Monroe looked back and forth at the pair as if she couldn't decide who was the lesser evil.

"Go back to the part where you were on a date."

Adam rolled blue eyes, clearly exasperated.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" the tech demanded, hands on his hips. He wasn't surprised that Danny was making a huge joke out of the entire situation. Then again, Danny hadn't had a man dying in his arms, either. Adam found that he didn't really appreciate the humor this morning.

"Wait – you were on a date, and someone shot at you?" Lindsay's brow furrowed.

"Well, no…not at me. Just in the bar." He could still hear the shots when he closed his eyes, but he tried not to appear too affected. These two were seasoned detectives, after all.

"Who were you on a date with?"

Here, Danny cut in, suddenly an expert on lab personnel – something which Adam found annoying to no end. "Only the hottest girl in the lab. The new one – what's her name? Aspen. Like the tree."

"I know what aspens are," Lindsay shot back, obviously annoyed at the mention of how hot this new girl was. Adam knew how she felt – Danny didn't even know her name, but if he went after Aspen, he was doomed. She'd fall prey to the Bronx-native's charms in moments, and what chance did a crime lab tech stand against that?

"Anyway—"

"She's from California." Danny barreled past Adam's attempt to change the subject. "Flack and I have this bet about her tan—"

It could have been as innocent as whether it was a real tan or a fake one, but knowing Danny and Flack, Adam didn't think it unreasonable to assume that the bet was if she was tan everywhere.

"Can we maybe get back to work?" he asked, cutting in, and Lindsay shot him a small, grateful look. No doubt she had drawn similar conclusions as to what the bet was about. Danny gave them both a look, then shrugged.

"Sure, sure." He was all business suddenly, leaning over to see what Adam had been working on. Under a microscope, Adam had arranged several fibers taken from the crime scene, thought – more like hoped, really – to belong to the shooter's jacket. With a cop dead, one in critical condition, and another wounded, the NYPD was on guard and alert. Whoever this shooter was, he'd just made a lot of enemies – armed enemies.

"So, whaddaya got?"

"Looks like regular cotton fibers." Adam sighed. "Not much to go on. There was some kind of stain, maybe blood? I sent a sample over to Jane in DNA, but I think that's a pipedream." He shook his head. "We don't have much to go on, not until I can get my hands on those security tapes. And even then…"

"It's a long shot." Lindsay pursed her lips and glanced at Danny. "Do you think Morelli and Carter were specific targets, or…?"

Danny let his eyes roam up to the ceiling as he thought about her question. He rocked back on his heels a bit, then blew out a quick breath and shook his head. "Hard to say. I mean, the guy wasn't packing much heat if he wanted to do a lot of damage, but on the other hand…"

"Those two went down pretty fast," she finished, watching him carefully. He nodded, letting his eyes fall onto her. Adam caught something in the look, but it was too quick and he wasn't sure what had just passed before his eyes. The pair, while having always been at a playful sort of odds, seemed hyper-aware of each other in a quietly anxious manner. Something had happened between them, something that had Danny a little weary and Lindsay a little frustrated.

Maybe Hammerback was right about that crush thing after all. Adam frowned. But…if that's the case, why is Danny on the defense?

It was not, he knew, how the detective normally handled potential relationships with women.

"I'll call you guys if I find anything else," he promised out loud, wondering what in the world was going on around the labs. Since the explosion that had nearly killed Mac and Don Flack, things around the lab had gotten a little strange. For one thing, there were new people around. A new medical examiner, Peyton Driscoll, had taken Dr. Zao's place, and of course Aspen had been hired to help the lab keep up on the steady stream of work. Plus, there were whispers -- mere whispers, but enough -- that suggested that there was more than one reason that Dr. Driscoll had joined their ranks.

Doesn't make sense…Mac doesn't get involved like that, not with people he works with. But the rumors were flying, and Adam himself had been party to a rather awkward, very recent meeting between Mac and Stella Bonasera, his long-time partner. It had been tense, and there was something unsaid between the two of them that had even Adam feeling uncomfortable. Perhaps there was more merit to those rumors than he'd thought.

"Sounds good." Danny nodded, watching the thoughts play across Adam's face for a long moment. Lindsay touched Danny's arm, and his eyes turned to her, for a moment flashing with that old fire. Suddenly, Adam became very aware that he was the third wheel -- in his own lab.

"Okay, so, I'll call you and you'll come back, but until then…" He knew he was stressing their departure a little, but he definitely didn't want to be around all the flying sparks. He was just about to insist they take off when the door opened, catching everyone's attention. And there, strolling in, was Aspen. She looked up from the file she'd been glancing over and smiled warmly at Adam before nodding to the two detectives.

"Jane sent the file with your results over. It's not blood, but there was DNA in the sample."

Danny's smile was a little too appreciative, and both Lindsay and Adam noticed. "Nice work," the detective said, and Aspen grinned and shook her head at him.

"I didn't do anything but bring over the report."

Danny only shrugged and continued to smile. Lindsay rolled her eyes and stuck out her hand to the other woman, barely reigning in her exasperation. Aspen took it, giving it a firm shake. The sizing up, Adam noted, was one-sided. Apparently, Aspen hadn't yet picked up on the chemistry between Danny and Lindsay -- or how she was throwing a kink into it.

"I'm Lindsay." Despite her obvious discomfort, Lindsay introduced herself with genuine interest. Which is good, Adam reminded himself. This was a team, after all, and when there was fighting, it wasn't good for the overall effort of finding killers and getting them off of the streets.

"Aspen," the tech replied, releasing Lindsay's hand to give the report over to Adam. He thanked her, perhaps a bit warmly than he needed to, but he couldn't help it. He liked the way she looked at him, and he wanted to make sure she kept looking at him. But it didn't last. Danny pushed himself off of the counter and snatched the report smoothly, looking it over with critical eyes.

"Thanks for your help, guys. Lindsay, let's see if we can find someone in CODIS that matches the physical characteristics the DNA specified for us." He looked up, his eyes finding Aspen's face. Though he was addressing both lab technicians, it was clear who the focus was. "I'll see you later."

He was strolling out before anyone could reply. Visibly agitated, Lindsay stalked after him while calling a curt "goodbye" over her shoulder. Adam blew out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. What in the hell, he wondered, is going on around here. But he looked at Aspen and knew he wasn't immune to whatever it was that was going around. Still, the way Danny had looked at her…

Their gazes locked, and Aspen's playful smirk lit up her face and eyes. "I want a drink to replaced the one that got shot up."

Adam couldn't help but grin. "Okay, but I think we should try a different bar."

She laughed as she headed out, waving over her shoulder. "Good plan," she agreed, and was gone, disappearing out the door and around the corner. Adam sat for a long moment, absorbing everything that had happened, and then he turned back to the fibers he was examining. There was still, after all, a cop-killer to catch.