Thank you to my lovely reviewers: iluvcsi4ever, crazypeoplearemypeople, lily moonlight, and Aly! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. And the House season premiere was AWESOME, FANSTATIC, OUTSTANDING…yeah, I could go on, but then we'd never get to the chapter, so here's chapter eight!

Chapter Eight: A Little Help From a Friend

Chicago, IL

Danny Messer took a break from taking orders and carrying plates full of food back and forth to the tables. Soon the dinner crowds would come, and he hadn't been able to enjoy one second of time alone since the time he had arrived. He sat down at one of the many tables that filled the room, glad to have time to think, but his time to think was gone within a matter of seconds as one of the employees sat down in the seat across from him. She had worked at the restaurant much longer than he had, of course, since he had been a CSI only the year before. He couldn't stand working without Lindsay at his side, so he left. Even though he still felt miserable, he liked the transitions in jobs; if he had had his old job, memories of Lindsay would come back, too many memories. Memories that he now chose not to remember. But today, he couldn't help thinking about them.

"You're looking a little down today, Danny," the waitress said, noticing his plaintive expression. "What's up?"

Danny looked up at her. "I'm just having a few problems with my girlfriend."

She nodded, but he knew that she would do anything to know more. He suppressed a sigh and then continued on, "She hadn't broken up with me, but we kind of separated ourselves apart after evacuating here." The waitress knew the story of the evacuation and how Danny had given up his job as a CSI. She didn't understand why he would go from being a CSI to working as a waiter, but Danny had his reasons. "I've tried to talk to her, but she's always busy with her job and everything. And just before evacuating, she had always kept herself away from the group, and she would always argue with me when I would try to help her." Danny gave her an expectant look, hoping for some kind of advice. She always had advice.

"Call her. Invite her to lunch. Email her. And don't ask her questions like, 'Why don't you love me anymore' or 'What did I do to make you hate me'. Instead, consider her feelings. Ask her what's troubling her and offer her help if she wants it. If she doesn't, let her have some time of her own, to figure out the problem. Maybe you didn't do anything to make her mad. Maybe it's not your fault."

"She has had time," said Danny. "She has had help offered to her. But she ignores me; she doesn't want me to be a part of her life."

"Some people need a lot of time to recover. She is one of those people."

"What does she need to recover from?" asked Danny. "And the hurricane that hit the east coast last year doesn't count."

The waitress shrugged. "Contact her somehow. Then politely ask her what is bothering her. If you don't keep trying, you'll never know."

He knew she was right. If he didn't keep trying, he would never know why Lindsay had been so bothered during that day of the evacuation or why she cried at the end of their flight to Chicago. There were so many things he could ask her, but he decided to keep it simple, and take his friend's advice. "Thanks Courtney. I think I'll talk to her tonight."

She smiled. "Don't mention it, anything to help a friend."

He looked at his watch and suddenly realized something. He worked to three o'clock that day. It was four. He smiled wide and said to Courtney, "My shift ended an hour ago." He stood up from his chair. "I wish you luck with the dinner crowds."

"Yeah," she said. "I'll need lots of it. This restaurant gets way too much business during dinner."

Danny laughed and hurried to the entrance. He turned around as Courtney said something else.

"Good luck with your girlfriend," she said.

Danny nodded. Luck is exactly what he needed. He would send her an email that night, but he didn't know if she would reply back. But he didn't want to be doubtful; he believed that Lindsay would answer back.

He drove home and as soon as he reached his apartment, he hurried to unlock the door and turned on his computer. Once it was turned on, he opened up his email and checked to see if he had gotten anything from anyone. There was an email from Stella, saying there would be a party around Thanksgiving when all the CSI investigators would meet up and chat. She was going to email more about it when she had more information. He considered on going; he wonder if Lindsay would go too.

There was another email from Stella, telling him that she and Mac were married. Finally, he thought. He knew Mac and Stella had a thing for each other. If only it could be the same for him and Lindsay.

At the end of her message, it said, "What's up, Danny? I haven't heard from you in ages! Email me back!"

He didn't plan on answering her right away; he didn't feel like talking to her at the moment. Instead, he opened a new email, and began to type a message.

I need to talk to you…Lindsay, please answer me.

If you don't like me, I understand. I just want to hear your voice again.

Danny

It didn't say much, but he did need to talk to Lindsay. He missed her, he still loved her, but he didn't want her to know that. He just needed someone to talk to, someone who would understand him and listen to him. He hoped Lindsay would be that 'someone'.

Hope you guys liked it…don't worry; the action will start very soon. The next chapter is about Cuddy and the others at Princeton Plainsboro and it's a pretty long chapter. Cold Case is also in the next chapter. Yay! (And we'll hear from House too, but it'll be a while before he's in the story.) All reviews welcome! :) Next chapter will be up tomorrow morning!