Chapter 38: Voodoo

"Aw look, Princess fell off her throne and got hurt," Thatcher sneered at Gus hobbling in the door.

"Don't start, Thatch," Parker said coming over to Gus and Flack, "Broussard, heard about the scene, offed her two kids and her husband and set the building on fire?"

"Pretty much sums it up," Gus said not wanting to talk about what she saw at the scene.

"And you dove through a window not knowing the kids were already dead?" Parker had to admit he was impressed. Partially that was because he nor any of his lardass co-workers could have fit through that window.

"Mom said her babies were inside, I just reacted," Gus said trying to situate herself at her desk, "dammit," she said dropping a crutch.

Parker handed it back to her, grinning slyly, "did you really get stuck in the floor"? This tease didn't have as much venom in it and Gus thought maybe she had flipped another member of homicide over to her side.

Gus smiled up at him, "how else was I supposed to meet a hot fireman in this city?" she joked.

Flack tried to not glower at his desk. He couldn't be jealous, she was right in saying it was too complicated. She could be his friend, his partner, but nothing more. Besides there were plenty of women out there that wanted him, that didn't try to run from him and that weren't so damn confusing.

"Never had that urge myself, but glad you are okay." Parker thought maybe this chick wasn't so bad. "Yeah, well I ain't ever going on a call with her," Lafferty spoke up, "she's bad luck."

"Two cases, two collars, I would say she had pretty damn good luck," Angell said coming up with two coffee cups. "From special vics," she said putting it on Gus' desk.

"Thanks!" Gus sucked it down like it was water.

"No problem, sorry I couldn't get you from the hospital. I was dealing with that bitch of a lawyer," Angell shook her head, she hated attorneys.

"I heard, it's all good, Flack didn't have anything better to do," Gus joked.

Angell perched herself on the edge of Gus' desk, "yeah well, Anna's at Elmhurst and no matter what happens she can't hurt anyone else."

"Actually, I like the psychosis defense, lot more room at the psych hospitals, she won't get off just because they need the cell for a more violent criminal," Gus shuddered thinking the woman was pretty damn violent but the system had its priorities.

Angell grimaced, she had seen the two tiny body bags come out, had talked to Sid about the autopsy. Apparently Peyton refused to do it. "True. So tell me about the hunka burning love that pulled you out the building. Had it been me, I would have gotten Quasimodo and he probably woulda dropped me!"

"I hardly think that would be the case, but he was pretty cute," Gus could feel herself blushing.

"And went to the hospital with you, tell me you got his number?" Angell couldn't believe this woman's luck. Sure it was bad she got stuck in the floor while the building was on fire, but that guy had to be one of the hottest of a notoriously hot fire departmet. Gus nodded, willing herself to look at Angell and not make any gesture toward Flack. Friends, partners, nothing more, right? "Tell me ya going use it, otherwise pass it over here!" Angell looked at her expectantly.

"If you two could got finish your girl talk somewhere else, I would appreciate it, I'm kinda trying to work here!" Flack bitterly snapped at them.

"Whoa, sorry there, didn't mean to step on any toes," Angell looked at Flack who was tapping his pen angrily against his desk, and Gus who was busy signing off on her stack of incident reports wondering if there was truth to the rumors she had heard, they did seem close, but she didn't know if that was different than any partners that spent a lot of time together. But he did seem very overprotective, but she knew from experience that came with any male/female partnership. Hmn..."Well I gotta go beg Loo to not put me with Lafferty or Thatcher since you won't be out on the field for a while. Thanks for that," she joked sarcastically.

"Believe me I didn't do it on purpose," Gus moaned.

The Lieutenant Daddino came walking through right then, "Broussard, you're making me look bad."

"Sorry, sir, I really didn't mean-" Gus started to stammer.

"I was kidding, kid, you got a collar, that's all that counts for me. I woulda done the same thing, you didn't know the kids were..." he trailed off, thinking of his own kids, "anyway, Angell, you'll be flying solo, I think you earned your wings."

"Funny sir," Angell dryly stated.

"What? Oh, no that wasn't a play on words. Flack, since Broussard here was so graceful and I got a good report from your doc, you'll be back out there this week. Take it slow, I am putting you with the task force team for a bit, you need extra back-up until you get on your feet," the lieutenant continued.

"I don't need extra back-up, I'm good," Flack wondered what this was all about.

"Don't fight me on this, junior, I got a call," he looked at Flack, his father had called and chewed him a new one, and he wasn't about to put the elder Flack's baby boy straight back into it. Flack's jaw tightened, he bet who knew who Daddino got a call from. "There's about to be a narcotics bust, I need you there to make sure things go by the book. I need extra rank there."

"Ya got it, sir."

"And then you and Angell will switch off cases. And you," he said looking down at Gus, her foot wrapped and propped on the desk, "Calamity Jane, you just try to not injure anyone with those crutches. I am going to have you run through surveillance info see if you can do some of your voodoo on the intelligence, catch anything the boys haven't."

"Actually sir, I am Catholic and why many voudouns used Catholic Saints to incorporate their beliefs it is rather assumptive to-"

"Doc, stop with the history lesson, or I am putting you down in the evidence locker." Gus' eyes grew wide, not the locker! "Voodoo, joke, got it."

"Is she always so serious?" the lieutenant jerked his thumb at Gus while turning to Flack.

"Sometimes," Flack sighed.

Chapter 39: Flowers for Gus

Flack returned to street duty happy to be away from that damn desk. Even if he was angry at his father for trying to protect him and angry at brass for falling for it. He was also angry at Gus for getting hurt and not being able to be his partner back out there. He begrudgingly went to work with the task force on the narcotics bust. Only because it got him away from the desk. He liked homicide, it was were he felt he did the best work, he had chances to work in about any damn department, but he couldn't imagine being permanently anywhere else other than homicide. At least they didn't stick him back on a beat, he thought in the war room with the team, trying to work out the details of the raid. Hopefully, he would be back with the CSI team soon enough. He just had to get through the next couple of weeks. And if would do Angell some good to get out there on her own. She hadn't had much of a chance to prove herself and she was a good cop. What he was going to do with Gus he hadn't yet figured out, other than to ignore the fact that he was still turned on every time he saw her, despite her apparent decision to shut him down and out. Plenty of women to pick from he just kept telling himself. Now what was the team lead saying? Focus, job comes first, job always comes first...

Gus had trouble with desk duty to say the least. She managed it when she was put on it after punching out Smith because she wanted to keep her job and she had a full case-load. Now she was stuck going over crap surveillance footage and information and feeling like an utter failure. She was also not enjoying the empty desk in front of her and refused to admit it. She was saved by Mac who felt guilty about not going to the hospital and for not checking in with her since he started seeing Peyton. He called and invited her to come out to Cozi's to listen to one of his friend's bands. She realized how much she had missed music in her life. At least in New Orleans she had been able to see live music at any moment she felt like it. Since she had been in New York, she realized it was one of the things she did truly miss about her old home. She had thought about spending more time at Cozi's but she hadn't wanted to invade Mac's turf and his escape.

She told him so and he scoffed at her, "I don't own Cozi's, Gus. And you can do more than watch. I didn't teach you guitar for you to never play. I remember how you lit up when you played your first full song, I remember you performing on a whim at a coffee shop in Chicago, Claire was stunned, she didn't know you could play anything other than the piano..." he trailed off wistfully.

"That's what I mean, I know you think about her when you are up there with just you and the music and I don't want to take that away from you," Gus knew he hadn't dealt with her aunt's death very well, if at all. Though thankfully, he was finally seeing someone else.

"You're not, just come and watch at least."

"Fine," Gus said, "I'll be there, not like I have anything else to do."

She of course spoke too soon, because just then a delivery man wandered in carrying a bouquet of flowers with a get well tag.

"I'm looking for Detective Broussard?" the guy asked nervously glancing around at all the cops in once place.

Probably has a warrant out, Gus thought. "Look it here, princess has an admirer."

"Shut it!" she roared in the direction of Thatcher and Lafferty, slamming her hand on her desk. She had missed her pain pill that morning.

"Right here," she said waving at the delivery guy, "but you gotta come to me," she gestured at her crutches and the fact that her entire desk area was covered with tapes and papers and god knows what else. Three days sorting through surveillance and she had destroyed her work if you still needed rescuing, call me -Murphy Gus read the card and shook her head.

"New boy toy, Broussard?" Parker asked coming up behind her picking a path through the destruction.

"Maybe so, Parker, just maybe."

"Really now, 'cause I thought you and Flack..."

"Stop right there Parker, there is nothing happening there. And besides, I think I am about to have a date with a very good looking fireman, that is if you will get off my desk so I can get to my phone."

"A firefighter? Huh, switching to the other team already? Hey guys, listen up, Princess here is already giving up on us cops and going out with a fire bug!"

"Parker if you don't leave my desk I'm gonna shove my crutch up your-"

Parker jumped off her desk and put is hands up in mock surrender, he wouldn't put it past her to injure him, "I'm leaving, I'm leaving. Make your call to the fireman."

Gus rolled her eyes as she dialed Colin Murphy's number. "Murphy!" barked a voice.

"So I was sitting at my desk thinking maybe I shouldn't have missed a pain pill and here comes a gorgeous bunch of flowers for me from a very handsome firefighter and I just thought I should call to thank him," she all but cooed, pulling up all her debutante training, happy it wasn't completely forgotten.

"Detective Broussard, how's the ankle?" he grinned to himself, he knew the flowers would get her, he knew women.

"Better than desk duty," she remarked dryly, "anyway I was thinking seeing as you saved my life and all the I probably owe you dinner or something."

Murphy was hoping for the or something, the woman was damn hot and he would love to add a detective to his collection. "I think that could be arranged," he said, "though I'm working third shift for the next couple of weeks."

"Do you actually get off at 11?"

"In an ideal world. Though they've cut back on our overtime lately so, usually off close to on time."

"Well you happen to be in luck, because I am not big on sleeping and I could take you out for a late dinner then."

"Works for me," Colin felt satisfaction rising through his body. He liked bagging them easy.

"Though..." Gus started feeling awfully bold, "seeing as you saved my life, I am thinking dinner at some late night joint is not going to make up for it, so we might have to see each other more than once, if you're up for it," she flirted.

"I could think of a lot of worse things" he flirted back.

"So when's good for you?" Gus asked, striking while the iron was hot, even if in the back of her mind she wished it could be this easy with Flack.

"Hold on, let me check," Murphy scrolled through his schedule, dammit he couldn't fit her in this week, and the weekend was sure as hell out, unless he could convince Christina that... "Sunday work for you?" he said making a note in his calendar.

"Yeah, Sunday is fine," Gus was a little deflated, hoping for a more traditional date night but knowing she was in the land of the not normal schedule now and she would have to get used to that again. "I'm looking forward to it, and thanks again for the flowers, they were completely unnecessary, in fact I think I should be the one sending flowers."

"Don't be doing that now Broussard, guys would kick my ass here."

"I'll keep that in mind, see you Sunday," Gus smiled hanging up the phone.

Just then Flack came in excited with cheeks flushed pink from a very successful bust. Maybe narcotics wasn't so bad...he skidded to a stop staring at Gus surrounded by mounds of surveillance information and were those flowers and why was she smiling all girly like? "Who are you and what have you done to my partner?" Flack said waving his hand in front of her goofy grin.

"Huh, what, Flack? What are you doing here, I thought you had that big bust today?"

"Already done, 50 keys not hitting the street and a bad guy in custody," he said, his chest puffing up with pride.

"Damn good work," she held out her hand for a high five.

"So what's with all this?" he gestured and smacked her hand.

"Oh, just a little present from special ops to wade through until my eyes bleed."

"And those?" he said pointing.

"Let's just say I have plans for Sunday night," she grinned to herself.

Flack picked up the card, "you're kidding me right, you fell for this crap?"

"What if I did? But I think I at least owe the man dinner, he pulled my ass out of a burning building."

"I dunno Gus, I did some checking on him, this guy has a reputation," Flack started.

Gus attempted to stand up forgetting her ankle and fell back down. "Checking, you did some checking, you frigging with the CIA now, who told you to do some checking?" she yelled at him, garnering the attention of every detective in the pit.

"Simmer down, I just want to make sure he's legit," he looked around, "hey any of you every heard of this Murphy guy from engine 32, lover boy's putting the moves on Broussard."

Eyes averted them, no one wanted to enter this war. "Nope, don't know him. Haven't heard nothing. Can't help you."

Gus lowered her voice to a hiss, "I don't need you checking, what's it to you? Go find your own date and do some checking on her, okay Sherlock?"

Her eyes told Flack to not take it any further. If he hadn't been so elated about the bust, he would have felt a little crushed.

Chapter 40: Off the Foot

Gus got through the rest of the week, feeling rather elated. The boys club had simmered down, she had lunch with the girls where they pumped her for information on the fireman. "I don't know, I haven't even been out with him yet!" Gus responded with a laugh, though she was looking forward to it.

"What does Flack think?" Lindsay asked, trying to eat New York's sloppiest sandwich.

"I don't know he did some 'checking' but I told him to buzz off and find his own dates," Gus replied, handing Lindsay a wad of napkins.

"You didn't!" exclaimed Stella, spearing her salad.

"Why not?" Gus didn't understand Stella's shock.

"So how hot is this guy?" Lindsay said grinning while mopping up her mess.

"Smoking!'" Gus said, grinning while the other women groaned.

Sunday she was wading through the reams of paper on her desk, trying to make order out of them when Flack stopped by. "Hey," he said not looking directly at her.

"Hey yourself, haven't seen you for a few days," Gus said not looking up from her files.

"Yeah, I had this case with the team..." he paused not sure how she would take that news being cooped up.

"That's good, I'm glad they are letting you out in the big bad city." Gus wondered what was going on behind his gorgeous blue eyes.

"It wasn't that dangerous, some guy dead on the Brooklyn Bridge, botched engagement to a stripper he got pregnant," Flack smirked.

"Got to watch getting stripper's pregnant, I guess," Gus joked, finally looking up.

"I'll keep that in mind," he looked down concernedly at her.

Gus smiled a smile that didn't quiet reach her eyes. "So I bet the team is glad to have you back, how much teasing did you get?"

"Only from Lindsay and Danny and a coupla techs" Flack smirked.

"Of course," she smirked back trying to imagine the ribbing he was getting. At least his was all light-hearted and not, you don't have a penis so you shouldn't be here. Thank god Flack was like that, Gus sighed.

"So you're hot date's tonight, huh?" he stood over her desk, shuffling through the files on her desk.

"Yep, what about you?" Gus put her hand on top of the precariously leaning pile to steady it, why was he messing with her files?

"Nothing, my hot date was last night," Flack replied, wanting to test her reaction.

"I see," Gus felt a twinge but ignored it, "she didn't make you do brunch did she?"

Damn, Flack reminded himself to never play poker with her. Another jab, "we didn't really get up in time for that."

"I see," Gus said again, trying to ignore the clawing in her stomach, she had her own date tonight and she was the one who ran Flack off.

Flack wasn't going to get anything from her, he could tell so he softened, "I just wanted to come by and apologize for being a jerk the other day. You have a right to date who ever you want."

"True." Gus still wasn't giving him an inch.

"I just don't want you getting hurt," he said with all sincerity. He still felt a knot in his throat every time he thought about her being trapped in the building with him stuck at a damn desk.

"I appreciate your protectiveness, I do Flack, I'm glad you care, but you could go about showing it a little better," Gus warned.

"I just heard some stuff. I think he was married once and he cheated on her and-"

Gus put her hand up, "it's just one dinner OK, if I start asking you about china patterns, you can come talk to me again, deal?"

"Deal," he said "but sunshine?"

"What?"

"Don't ever ask me about china patterns!" Flack stated sarcastically.

"I'll make a note," Gus said shoving his hands off her files.

That night Gus arrived at the restaurant before Colin. She hoped he was going to show, but who knows if there had been a call, she should have brought her radio. Just then she saw him enter and break into a wide grin. Seriously, why all the dimples around this city, my knees can't handle going weak that often, Gus thought, breaking into her own grin and waving him over.

"Detective Broussard, you are looking delicious this evening, much better than when stuck in the floor," Colin said sliding in across from her and taking in her silk dress...

Did he just call her delicious? "Thanks, and really call me Gus."

"Gus is sort of an unusual name for a girl," he forced himself to look at her face.

"It's Augusta, actually, Gus seemed to always fit better though."

They attempted to get through the typical first date banter, but both seemed to be holding back a lot. Gus thought he may be nervous, especially as he kept fiddling with his phone. Gus was holding back because she didn't want to go through the whole "parents killed, boarding school, graduate degree, Katrina, uncle" story. Luckily she had worked with enough adolescents to be able to keep things at a very non-threatening and surface level.

"So how is the ankle?" he asked her as they were finishing the meal.

"It's going to be fine but I am still supposed to be staying off of it," Gus replied, looking dejected.

Colin was happy that his plans involved her staying off of it and Christina hadn't called yet so..."I'm glad to hear it isn't a mortal wound," he reached across the table and gently stroked her arm and hand.

Gus couldn't deny that it felt nice to be desired by someone she could act on those desire with or the tension that had been building in her for weeks and she blamed this for the words that spring from her mouth, "want to come have dessert at my place?"

Colin nodded, he couldn't believe his luck, he figured he would have to romance this one a little more. He hailed a cab while she settled the bill and in no time they were back at her place already worked up from a make out session in the back of the cab. "Now if I remember correctly, you are supposed to be keeping off this foot," Colin said, scooping her up in the same fireman's pose as when he rescued her.

"I did say that didn't I?" she said reaching up to stroke his face. He gently laid her on her bed and proceed forth in a not so gentle fashion.

This man definitely had skill or practice or both, Gus didn't really care which as long as he was safe, which he was. She wrapped her legs around him and gave into the pleasure. The only problem was, when she reached climax, it was Don's face she saw behind her eyelids.

Shortly afterward, Colin got up and said, "sorry I'm not the spend the night on the first date kinda guy, I gotta get home, I have a dog to let out."

"That's fine, as long as it isn't a wife," Gus joked.

He didn't miss a beat, "Nope no wife."

Gus was thinking she was happy he hadn't faltered and he was thinking a fiancee isn't a wife nor is an ex.

"I'd like it if you called me," he said grinning down, pulling his shirt back over his head.

"I could oblige that."

"Just call the cell, it's the only way you'll ever get me."

"I know that feeling," Gus said, wrapped herself in the sheet and satisfaction.

He kissed her briefly said, "stay off the foot," and was gone.

Thus Gus started seeing Coling Murphy. The hard part was actually seeing him. They worked opposite shifts and were both busy with their lives. Gus wanted to be accommodating to his schedule, knowing it was part of the deal, so mostly the talked on the phone and stole some time to see each other where they didn't do much talking at all. Talk usually revolved around work and not much personal. Gus was fine with that, it was a nice brake from Flack wanting to know every detail of her life and history.

Speaking of Flack, he was busy back with the team and who knows what else, so much that Gus felt like she hadn't seen him in forever. She caught up with him one day when she hobbled over to the lab. "Howdy stranger," she said hopping up beside him.

"Hello sunshine, you are getting much better on those things."

"Thanks, practice I suppose. Watcha working on?" she questioned trying to peer over his shoulder at the case file.

"Case with blood diamonds," he said turning to show her the file. "Wow, that sounds messy and politically complicated," she remarked.

"I just have to catch the bad guys, I'm not getting into all that stuff." He surveyed her up and down, "damn!" he shouted.

"What?" she jumped.

"I could use you really bad right now," he said his voice full of anger.

Gus drew back from him, "I thought we talked about this?"

"Stop it, get your head out of the gutter! The team, we need some hot blond to do a stand in for a girl we arrested in this case. She helped hold up a jewelry store, someone got killed and we need a stand in for her to do the jewelry drop to find the dealer."

Gus' eyes light up, her adrenaline racing, she loved that kind of stuff. Then she deflated, "I hate my body," she whined.

"Don't ever say that again, sunshine or I will have to make the kind of comments we talked about not talking about," he dimpled down at her. "Lindsay's going but you would have been a better fit. You gotta stop getting hurt, I need you out there."

"I'll try to keep that in mind." Gus felt a wave of depression wash over her, feeling like she was letting the team down.

"So how are things with the fire bug?"

Gus shrugged, "dunno, haven't had a chance to see him much, different shifts and stuff."

"But he's treating you good?" Flack asked more warning than questioning.

"Yeah Flack he's treating me good. Stop worrying about me." Gus was getting agitated.

"Not gonna happen," he said bopping her lightly with the file.

"I'll let you know if he stops treating me well, after I kick his ass myself first."

"Gotcha. Listen, I got to head out to this scene, but I'll catcha later?" Flack said squeezing her arm and heading off.

"Catch ya later," Gus said but really wanted to yell out, 'I miss you'...

Chapter 41: Ice Cream, Margaritas, and Men

Gus was tucked in her apartment when her phone range, it was Lindsay wanting to come over. "Sure, no problem, just let yourself in though, I think I have been stepping on the ankle too much."

"You want me to bring ice cream?" Lindsay asked hoping the answer was yes, because she wanted nothing more than to about take a bath in ice cream right now.

"Whoa, you did have a bad day! And when have I ever turned down ice cream?"

Lindsay was over pretty quickly looking confused and dejected and closed off and carrying two pints of Ben & Jerry's. She went to the kitchen, gabbed two spoons and slumped down on the couch.

"Crap, I know that look," Gus said, "Trouble in Boyland, huh?"

Lindsay stabbed angrily at the still very frozen ice cream. "I hate him, no I hate me, no I hate every male that has every made me feel bad to get to this point which makes me hate me again," she stabbed one last time and a plop of ice cream flew out of the container and onto the couch. "Crap I'm sorry Gus, I'll clean it up."

"What are you gonna do, it's cookie dough anyway, same color. And this is me we're talking about you can dump red wine on this thing and it'll roll off."

"Glad to hear," Lindsay said, scrapping the ice cream off the couch with a spoon. "I'm going to go get a towel or something."

As Lindsay padded off to the kitchen, Gus' phone buzzed again. "Miss popularity tonight it seems," she muttered, brightening at the caller id, "Hey fireman, rescue any pretty ladies today?"

"None as pretty as you," came Colin's response. "So I just got off shift and wanted to come over."

"Really?" Gus felt tingles in her stomach, the man did know his away around a woman's body...then she remembered Lindsay in the kitchen. "You can, but I have a friend here, you could come and meet her though."

"Er, uh, I don't think so," Colin became flustered.

Lindsay came back in carrying a towel and looked at Gus with a befuddled look. "Ya saying you don't want to meet my friends there, Murphy?" Gus laughed into the phone.

"Um, it's not really what I had in mind," he half-groaned, thinking he wasn't looking for anything more than physical involvement.

"Ah, I see," Gus said stoically, realizing that they hadn't really done more than hook up.

"It's just, I have limited time and..."

"No, I got it, it's fine, works about better for me that way, much more low maintenance for both of us that way," she vamped. Lindsay was trying to not laugh at the exchange.

Colin wondered if Gus was really fine with the situation or if this was a trap. "I just don't want to share you," he flirted back.

"I'm in high demand, you'll have to learn. Do I get to meet your friends?" she interjected smoothly.

"I definitely am not sharing you with them," he replied.

"So I shouldn't expect an invite to the Firemen's Ball then, huh?"

Crap, crap it was a reasonable request for her, but how was he supposed to answer that, sorry babe you are hot and all and I like sleeping with you but my fiancée will kill me if I don't take her. "You would send too many good men to the hospital with heart attacks."

Gus felt the hair on the back of her neck stand, something was going on here, but she fought her feelings down."Such flattery, Murphy. Look, I gotta go, but you call me when you have free time," she trilled into the phone. Her face crumpled as soon as she hung up the phone.

"What's going on with you, Gus?" Lindsay didn't like seeing her friend look so dejected.

"I don't know, something is a little off with a certain hot fireman," she shrugged, "but the sex is amazing." It was her turn to stab at the ice cream, which had luckily melted a little by this point.

"Now back to you and stupid males and not beating ourselves over men," Gus said trying to turn toward her friend while keeping her ankle up.

"Something sort of happened at the scene today, the blood diamonds."

"Yeah Flack said you were going to stand in for a suspect, was mad at me for not being able to."

"Yeah well they were all California blonds like you."

"I'm from Louisiana, hon."

"You know what I mean, not 5'2' with sort of blond hair and lacking a chest."

"Lindsay, what's going on, why are you putting yourself down, and so I'm taller than you, big freaking deal. And I'm not that endowed, I just know how to buy good bras!"

Lindsay cocked her head at Gus, "Really?"

"Yes, the art of illusion. But you! Your gorgeous and fabulous and intelligent and any guy should want you and what the hell did Danny do to you? I will kick his ass when I am off these damn crutches!" Gus practically yelled.

"No, no, he didn't do anything bad. He just..." Lindsay trailed off and then continued after a mouthful of ice cream. "I went in and it went bad right away, the guy knew I wasn't the suspect, so I had to detonate the flash bang I brought with me and things got a little chaotic."

"Crap Linds, are you alright?" Gus studied her friend for any signs of shock, wishing she had known earlier. She hated, despised, loathed not being in the field.

"I'm fine, I was a little disoriented at first..." she paused wrinkling her brow and chewing her lip. Gus knew that look, she had the same one, spit it out, she thought. "Actually I was terrified at first, they caught on right away that I wasn't who I was supposed to be and I thought I was toast. But afterwards, Danny...well I don't know it was nothing really."

"Define nothing."

Lindsay shook her head not wanting to tell her friend about the embrace, which really did seem like nothing now, it was probably just a friendly hug, but Lindsay felt herself falling down a rabbit hole standing there in the midst of the dust protected in Danny's arms, feeling like she was where she most belonged in the world. "Nothing, really just a hug, anyone would have done it, I was a little freaked, right?" Lindsay tried to smile it off.

Yeah kinda like any one of you would have made out with me in a park when talking about New Orleans that kind of nothing, Gus thought. Gus nodded, intrigued with freeing a peanut butter cup from her ice cream. "Nothing, got it. Hey I know what you need!" Gus struggled to stand.

"Where you going?" Lindsay asked.

"Just sit and it your ice cream, Linds."

"What exactly do you think I need, other than a non-complicated man?"

"I am pretty sure such a thing does not exist, Linds. So do you want me to make margaritas or not?"

"More than anything," she moaned.

"Even Danny?" Gus teased

"I'm not answering that,"Lindsay said scraping to the bottom of her ice cream.