A.N. I've had a couple people tell me that the relationship between Danny and Lindsay seemed strained. So I thought it might be time to address the issue. Here are my thoughts on the subject:

I didn't want it to be as drastic as it apparently has been, but I didn't want them to be uber close either because Lindsay did turn him down again. So, I see Danny giving her lots of space to let her figure out her stuff, you know? Besides, it's kind of her turn to be the one to bridge the gap. (I mean, the guy DID fly all the way to Montana only to be turned down again.)

Also, I've been trying to focus on Lindsay coming back to work and I think I put too much emphasis on the cases.

Hopefully, this chapter and the last showed that Danny and Lindsay are getting back on the right track.

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"And what did Miss Stilton have to say?" Lindsay asked when she ran into Angell in the hall.

"Hello to you, too," Angell said. When Lindsay just shrugged, Angell blew out a frustrated breath. "Nothing. Oh, except that she has a convenient alibi for last night."

"Which is?" Lindsay asked warily.

"She was stripping in front of about three dozen men at a private bachelor's party."

Lindsay blinked. "Riley Matthews, the richest broker in Manhattan, was associating with a stripper?"

"Maybe. Maybe not," Angell argued. "The butler said he refused to see her."

Lindsay frowned. "Did she say why she was there?"

"Apparently, he owed her a little money."

"For what?" Lindsay murmured as they came to a stop in front of the elevators.

"Better question: how much?"

Taking in Angell's smug expression, Lindsay raised an eyebrow. "Okay, how much?"

"Half a million."

"Whoa," Lindsay drew out, holding up her hands. "Why in the world is Mr. Fancy Pants paying a stripper half a million dollars?"

"Maybe she's just that hot."

The women glanced at Flack as he stepped up next to them. Lindsay shook her head at him then turned back to Angell without responding. "She still downstairs?"

The doors slid open. "Waiting for you to swab away."

The women stepped inside, leaving Flack to follow, ignored and sullen. Lindsay stifled a smile as she shared a glance with Angell, who was also trying not to chuckle.

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Picking up her phone, Lindsay dialed and turned her eyes back to the paper she held. "Angell," she heard on the other end.

"It's Lindsay. You're not going to believe this," she said, her tone wry.

"After the day I've had, I doubt you could surprise me," Angell warned then sighed. "Okay. Spill."

Ignoring the odd warning, Lindsay cleared her throat. "Kyra Stilton is Riley Matthews's half sister."

There was a short pause on the line. "You're kidding."

"Nope."

"Well, Hawkes called a minute ago and told me the print you found at the scene belonged to one Thomas Draper, a private contracto. He was in the system for an assault case that never made it to court. Charges were dropped by the victim."

"Who?" Lindsay asked with a sense of dread."

"One Miss Kyra Stilton."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Unfortunately, no."

Hearing the lab door swing open and Angell's voice echo, Lindsay shut the phone and turned to face the detective. "And Stilton didn't mention him? At all?"

"No, not when I asked about boyfriends or enemies."

"So we've got a pair of siblings, one of whom owes the other half a million dollars and refuses to pay out. Why is set aside for now," Lindsay said with frustration. "And a man who attacked one sibling—"

"Two years ago," Angell interjected, leaning against the lab table.

"Two years ago?" Shaking her head incredulously, Lindsay continued. "And suddenly he appears in his victim's secret brother's apartment the night Mr. Matthews is murdered."

"That about sums it up." Angell watched Lindsay tamp down on her annoyance.

"Two years is a long time for a stalker not to do anything," Lindsay said, rubbing her temple.

"Maybe he's not a stalker."

Lindsay sighed and shrugged. "So, we find Thomas Draper."

Angell nodded and pulled out her phone, heading out of the lab. "I'm on it," she called over her shoulder.

Glancing around the lab, Lindsay wished she had something to do. This was the worst part of the job, the waiting. When there was no more evidence to run and all you could do was hope the human trail led to more.

Looking out of the glass of the walls, Lindsay caught a glimpse of Danny moving around in a lab down the hall from hers. She watched him for a few minutes as he leaned over the microscope, straightened, made a note, leaned again.

Before she could think better of it, she ripped off her gloves and strode down the hall towards his lab. He didn't look up as she came in.

She settled herself against the table behind him and watched him ignore her. Without bothering with a conventional greeting, she asked flippantly, "Why do men stalk women?"

"Why do women stalk men?" he countered, sliding his glasses back down onto the bridge of his nose.

She waited as he noted something on a paper, but he didn't turn to look at her. Frowning, she tried again.

"All right. Granted. Why would a man stalk a woman then attack a brother no one knew about who owed said woman half a million dollars?"

"I take it this isn't a hypothetical?" he murmured, writing on the side of an envelope.

"Nope, new case. With Angell and Hawkes," she added casually, trying to see if there was any sort of reaction.

But he just nodded and continued writing his notations on the envelope, which he then set aside and moved back to the microscope.

"Two years. That's the part that bugs me," she muttered, moving back to her original thought.

"What?" he asked.

"He beat her up, then didn't do anything for two years, and now his print suddenly shows up at her secret brother's apartment the night he dies?"

"Odd."

His voice was mild, but it grated on her already frustrated nerves. Danny usually bounced ideas with her when they were stuck. What was going on? Trying to calm herself, she changed the subject.

"Anyway. How was Sullivan's?"

He finally glanced over his shoulder at her. "Good. How was the movie?"

Tilting her head to the side, she met his eyes. "Hilarious."

His blank face, so disturbing to see on him, relaxed and his lips curled into a smile. "Told you."

She smiled self-consciously back at him. "Yeah, you did."

"You know," he said, after a moment, turning to close the folder on the table. "Movies are always better with company."

Her cheeks warmed. "Yeah, they are."

He looked at her sideways, a small grin on his face. "Yeah."

Suddenly, Lindsay's phone buzzed and she jumped, breaking the heated gaze between them. Danny chuckled as she fumbled the phone out of her pocket. "Monroe."

"Lindsay, we found Draper, but you're not going to like this."

"What now?"

"Draper was working on a country house for Matthews. He says he went over there to pick up a check for the new supplies they needed."

"Jesus," Lindsay muttered. "So we're supposed to believe there's no connection? It's all just a big coincidence?"

Danny was watching her as he packed evidence away. Sighing, Lindsay put a hand to her forehead as Angell answered.

"We're bringing him in for questions now. We should have him in interrogation in about twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes?"

"His office is ten blocks away," Angell explained dryly.

"This case is so strange," Lindsay told her.

Angell snorted. "Seriously."

Flipping the phone closed, Lindsay pinched the bridge of her nose. "Weirder than a horse being the primary witness?"

Looking at Danny, she pulled a face. "No. It's all just too convenient, you know?"

Danny crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against his table. "Maybe it all is a big coincidence."

"If it is, we have to find a new suspect. Cuz no one else had prints in that room."

Danny shrugged. "Just don't discount the possibility."

Scowling, Lindsay nodded. Danny chuckled. "While you were gone, we had a case where a guy had people convinced he was the next Noah. Now that's weird."

Her heart skipped a beat at the easy reference. 'While you were gone' as if she'd taken a vacation to spend time with her mom. Forcing a smile, she reminded herself that he didn't mean to be flippant, that wasn't Danny. He'd been there for her despite how she'd treated him. But her breath was coming hot and fast, so she pulled out her phone and pretended to check the time.

"I should go," she said after she'd laughed appropriately.

He was eyeing her strangely. "Sure, sure."

"Bye," she said, keeping her eyes on the phone.

"See ya."

She knew she was being stupid, that Danny hadn't meant anything by it. She couldn't expect him to remember not to say certain things, have it at the forefront of his mind at all times. And she wanted him to forget, to treat her normally, like he used to.

Stopping back in her lab, she ripped off the white coat and hung it up. She was at a loss for what to do now. She'd normally find Danny when she had a few minutes to spare. But she didn't want to make it any more obvious than it already was that she'd just blown him off.

Sighing, she turned to go get a cup of coffee and nearly ran into Adam. "Oh, sorry," she said, trying to smile.

He laughed easily. "Don't worry about it. Where's the fire?"

"Coffee cart." They both laughed, and Lindsay jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "You game?"

"Sure." He shrugged. "I haven't reached my caffeine quota of the day."

It might have been paranoia, but she was sure she could feel Danny's eyes on her back as she and Adam headed for the elevator.

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"According to the butler, he didn't let Mr. Draper in that night," Angell told Lindsay as they walked down the hall towards interrogation. "He'd stopped by that afternoon, though."

"Really? Now isn't that interesting."

The women glanced at each other. "Good cop, bad cop?" Angell asked.

Raising an eyebrow, she eyed Thomas Draper through the blinds over the windows. "No, this needs more finesse."

Without another word, she pulled open the door to the room and strode inside, leaving Angell to follow. The man sitting at the table glanced up as they came in, his eyes lingering on Angell a little longer than strictly necessary. Lindsay resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Mr. Draper," Angell said, pointing to Lindsay. "This is Detective Monroe."

"How you doing?" he said, jerking his head towards her.

Lindsay smiled tightly and took the seat across from him. "I just need to ask you a few questions about Wednesday night, Mr. Draper."

"So I heard," he replied, shifting in his seat with a casual expression.

"Why were you there that night?" Lindsay asked, locking eyes with him.

He looked a little exasperated and turned to Angell. "Didn't we already go over this?"

"I don't remember her being there," Angell told him, leaning a hip against the table.

"Humor me," Lindsay added with a sweet smile.

Sighing, he raised a hand to scratch his eyebrow. "I'm building a country house for Matthews. Or I was. I was picking up a check."

Lindsay nodded. "And what time did you get there that night?"

"I don't know," he said, meeting her eyes directly. "Probably around nine."

"Little late for business." She didn't let his eyes drop.

"Construction isn't nine to five necessarily."

"We can understand that, right Monroe?" Angell asked dryly.

"Sure can. This isn't exactly a desk job." Turning back to Draper, Lindsay furrowed her forehead. "The thing that I don't understand—and feel free to explain it to me—is that Mr. Matthews's butler says you weren't there that night. You were there that afternoon."

His expression never changed. "He didn't have the check that afternoon. I came back."

Lindsay hummed in response. "I see." Turning a page in the folder in front of her, Lindsay studied the sheet for a moment. "One more thing."

Raising her head again, she stared at him for a moment. "Why are you covering for Kyra Stilton?"

Draper froze for a moment then relaxed again. "I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't seen Kyra in two years."

"Really?" Lindsay frowned and glanced at Angell. "That's strange. When we asked her about you, she was quite talkative."

Draper's eyes flicked between the two women. "Impossible. I haven't seen her in two years."

"Sure, sure. Okay," Lindsay said, flipping the folder closed. "So you won't mind giving us a DNA sample?"

His eyes narrowed. "I wanna call my lawyer."

Angell nodded. "We'll get right on that."

The detectives left in silence as the uniform in the room took Draper by the arm. Outside and halfway down the hall, Angell finally spoke. "How the hell could he be covering for Stilton? She has an airtight alibi."

"The club where she was stripping is three blocks from her brother's building," Lindsay said. "Gotta love Google maps."

"What now?"

Lindsay shrugged. "We wait for his lawyer. Let's get Stilton in here, too."

"I'm all over that," Angell said with enthusiasm. Noticing Lindsay eyeing her as they pushed into the bullpen of the precinct, she smiled a little. "She got on my nerves."

"Use the cuffs," Lindsay advised with a smirk.

"Oh yeah."

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"Thank God it's Friday," Angell groaned, rubbing her shoulder.

Lindsay glanced at her as they moved towards Mac's office. "Not working tomorrow?"

"Nope. You?"

"I'm on call."

Angell wrinkled her nose. "You at least have Sunday free?"

Shrugging, Lindsay rapped her knuckles on Mac's door. "If I don't get called in tomorrow."

"Rough," Angell murmured as Mac waved Lindsay in. She wandered a little bit down the hall as Lindsay stepped through the door.

"What can I do for you?" he asked, closing the file he had on his desk.

Lindsay offered him the report she and Hawkes had prepared before he took off for another scene. "We have two confessions from two murderers in cahoots. We can place both at the scene."

Mac smiled a little. "All right. Could you check on Stella before you head home? Hawkes went out with her, but they could be there awhile. They might need a hand."

"Sure, Mac." Pulling out her phone and heading for the door, she scrolled through the contacts to Stella's number, but Mac's voice stopped her from pressing send.

"Lindsay." Pausing, she looked at him questioningly. "How are you doing?"

She tried for a smile. "I'm all right."

"Not good?"

This time her smile was real. "Getting there," she promised before turning and walking out.

Angell fell into step beside her as Lindsay strode down the hall. "What's happening?"

"Checking on Stella's case," Lindsay murmured, ignoring the look Angell shot her. The phone rang in her ear several times before she picked up.

"Hey, Lindsay," Stella greeted her. She could hear noise in the background, but she could just barely make out Hawkes's voice, nothing distinct.

"Hey, Stel. Mac asked me to check on you guys. See if you need an extra hand."

"Your case all done?"

"Just wrapped it up. It practically has a bow on it."

"Well, we're all right out here. Almost done, actually. We could use some help with processing, though."

"I'll see you here, then."

When she flipped the phone shut, Angell was looking at her dryly. "Do you ever go home?"

Embarrassed, Lindsay waited a beat before answering. "They just need some help with the processing. Big case, I guess."

Suddenly, Flack was sprinting by them on his way to Mac's office. "Sullivan's, seven o'clock," he said, pointing at them as he passed.

Lindsay looked at Angell, who just looked back. When she glanced at where Flack had been to answer, he'd already turned the corner.

The women eyed each other warily. Where Flack went, so went Danny, which meant this would be an interesting outing.

Obviously trying to shake it off, Angell turned towards the elevators. "I'm going to go finish my paperwork. Try not to have too much fun up here."

"Shut up," Lindsay muttered good-naturedly.

"Geek," Angell tossed back over her shoulder on her way to the elevators.

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Kavi Leighanna: I kind of already addressed some of what you said up in the first A.N. I think if I'd posted the chapters in a more timely fashion, it wouldn't have seemed as if all the progress they'd made in Montana was suddenly moot. (Lindsay's still freaking out, I guess was my point? I don't know…I don't think it came across well.) Though, as I said above, I do see your point when reading these chapters without the context that's locked in my own head. Hopefully, the next few chapters will fix that.

scoob2222: Hehe, thanks again! I'm glad the story is still keeping you interested.

The Little Corinthian: They will be getting much closer in the next few chapters. Interpret that as you will.

Tenley: Because Lindsay is jealous. That's right, J-E-A-L-O-U-S. Ha! (clears throat) Sorry, that was a little mean to Lindsay. Progress is coming, I promise. As is more Angell-Lindsay action/adventure.

Lauren: Thanks for reviewing! Lindsay and Danny are slowly making progress, I promise.

Tiantian Wang: I think I mentioned this before to someone else, but at first I was pretty ambivalent towards Angell. I'm starting to like my version of her, though, so you'll be seeing a lot of her in this story. The cases are actually the hardest part of the writing for me; it's hard to make them interesting and not repetitive. (I taped the last episode and I have watched it three times now, AND forced my roommates to watch it with me…they squealed, too, even though they don't know the whole story. It was awesome.)

TBD: Thanks for giving up your lurker habits to review! I'm glad you've like the story so far. I hope you keep reading!

mercy4vr: I'm glad I'm conveying the emotions believably. It's hard to do without being flamboyant about it, and I worry if I'm being too subtle sometimes and overly dramatic at others. So thanks!

ReJo: Hi and thanks for the review! I hope you liked this last chapter and that you keep reading. : )

serenity2bliss: Thanks! I hope this chapter was as enjoyable. Another one'll be up later today, just have to edit it.

messermonroe: Oh, well, Angell's not going anywhere anytime soon. However, the next chapter somewhat addresses, or at least starts to address, the issues between them. I'm glad you're liking the story. I hope you keep reading!

CSIMel: I'm glad you like she and Angell together! I like them, too, so I've been trying to be convincing.

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A.N. So work got in the way last night, and I couldn't get a second post up until this morning. Hopefully the same thing won't happen tonight. Meh. I hate working on the weekend. :-p