Disclaimer: I am not connected in any way with the creators of any of the CSI shows. (I wish I was though, so Danny and Lindsay would get together already.) These are just my mind's version of the show.

Thanks for the first set of reviews. I hope to hear from you again after this chapter. :D

Unknown to the CSIs in the bedroom, the two detectives were having a hush-hush conversation of their own. The ride down to the crime scene that morning had accomplished a lot towards making the two new partners more at ease with each other. Both Jordan and Flack were actually surprised that they hit it off so easily, that they meshed well, despite the fact that they only met that morning.

By the time they made their way back to the station, Jordan was comfortable enough with Flack to ask him the question that had been bugging her about the exchange between the four detectives.

"Don?"

Flack looked away from the road to glance at Jordan. All of a sudden, he realized again how attractive she was. That is one pretty partner I've got. "Yeah?"

"Is there something going on between Danny and Lindsay?"

Flack turned towards her, surprise evident in his eyes. "Wow, you're good. Although, not really. Anyone who spent more than ten seconds in one room with the two of them will know that there's something going on between them."

"So what is it then?"

"Why so worried, Jordan?"

"Well…" she hedged, trying to find words to explain. "Lindsay and I knew each other for a long time. I mean, we've been out of touch for so long, but we were pretty close in college and I kinda know her really well." Her voice trailed off as she tried to articulate what she saw in both Danny and Lindsay's eyes at that moment. "She looked.. I don't know, cornered, I suppose, like she was caught between a rock and a hard place. Danny didn't look any better. I don't know, I don't know him really well, but I felt this… vibe. He looked… " she stopped, trying to find words to describe the emotion in the young detective's eyes. "Helpless," she ended, with a sigh.

Flack sighed, both impressed and pained by Jordan's intuitiveness. It was no secret in the lab that Danny Messer and Lindsay Monroe had a thing. At first, the guys, especially Flack, found it amusing that Danny Messer, the NYPD Crime Lab's resident playboy had been brought to his knees by a sassy investigator from Montana.

For the most part, they enjoyed the playful banter that the two shared. But the people in crime lab were more than colleagues, they were friends. Stella and Flack personally witnessed Danny's personal agony when Lindsay went undercover. They had seen the raw panic he tried to rein in as they listened in the van to the events as they happened. They felt his urgency as he rushed from the van to the building where Lindsay was in danger. They personally witnessed the emotions that flowed through the two CSIs as they held each other in the midst of the rubble of the blast. After that, it was a foregone conclusion in their heads that Danny and Lindsay did not have a thing. They had the thing.

After that incident, the situation had been doubly tense between Danny and Lindsay. They still worked well together and they joked around every once in a while, but those who were closest to them, the people they treated like family: Stella, Hawkes, Flack and even Mac, noticed that the two were fighting a losing a battle against their feelings. Danny had given in. In a moment of weakness, Danny told Flack all about that confusing conversation he had with Lindsay. Given that there were no secrets at the lab, especially between Mac Taylor's team, Stella, Hawkes and Mac soon found out why Danny and Lindsay were having such a hard time.

Since then, the rest of the team took to referring to it as "the conversation." They concluded that Danny was a goner. Lindsay gave in only in the sense that she finally acknowledged that she and Danny felt something to each other. But she was stubbornly clinging to the idea that a relationship between her and Danny Messer was not going to work out. That meant Danny had a long, hard battle to fight for his Montana's heart.

Jordan gazed at Flack as he indulged himself in a moment of contemplative silence. She guessed that he was finding a way to answer her question without seeming like he was dishing out office gossip. For the first time since that morning, she was given an opportunity to see him, really look at him. This morning, at the station, she was too overwhelmed to assess Flack. Now, as he remained silent, Jordan mentally catalogued what she knew about Don Flack Jr.

Flack had short black hair cropped close to his head. Neatly trimmed, which gave him a fresh look that she appreciated. If you were going to be seen around New York, it wasn't a bad thing to be seen with a tall, good-looking police officer. He also had blue eyes that Jordan could only describe with the word brilliant, both literally and figuratively. Not only were they a startling shade of blue, they also shone with an intelligence and grit that she was rapidly beginning to admire.

Next, she looked at his hands, which were wrapped loosely around the steering wheel. Jordan had always been fascinated with hands. She had long acknowledged that she had a rare fetish for men with nice hands.

Don Flack definitely had nice hands.

He had long, strong fingers and his nails were neat without the help of a regular manicure. They were good hands. They were a man's hands.

With a start, Jordan realized that she was sizing up her partner as though he was a potential date. Not good, Jordan, she mentally berated herself. It's bad enough that you managed to get a partner who's gorgeous and hits all the right notes with you. She took a steadying breath and forced her mind back to their discussion. At this point, Flack still hadn't replied to her query.

"Don?" she prompted him.

Flack glanced at her again, narrowed his eyes as though coming to a decision, and then sighed in defeat. Well, if she's going to be part of the team, then she might as well know what's going on, he reasoned. Besides, she already knows Lindsay well enough, so it's not like I'm telling a complete stranger all about her love life. Whatever there is of it.

"Alright, Addison. I'll tell you the story. But it's getting late in the day and I haven't had anything to eat. Since there's nothing to rush, why don't we grab a bite?"

Acknowledging that her stomach had started rumbling a few minutes earlier, Jordan agreed to have lunch with Flack. He steered the car to a small diner near the station. Apparently, he was a regular there, since people behind the counter started waving.

"Hey, Flack! Who's the pretty lady?" Bernie, the cook, called from behind the kitchen screen. "New girlfriend?"

Flack cast an embarrassed glance at Jordan and replied, "No, Bern. This is my new partner, Jordan Addison. Jordan, can you do me a favor and wave hi to the big dude behind the screen? That's Bernie and he's the cook here so it always helps to be on his good side."

Jordan let out a small laugh and dutifully waved, calling out a hi to the jolly man who greeted Flack. He led her to a booth in the back, where a waitress promptly came to take their orders.

"What can I get you for today, Flack?" Annette asked, snapping her gum.

"Double cheeseburger with extra fries and a large coke," Flack responded.

Annette smirked, "My, aren't we hungry today." She turned to Jordan and asked, "And what can I get you/"

Jordan thought for a moment. What the hell. "I'll have what he's having. Thanks," she answered and smiled at Annette as she walked away.

Flack gaped at her. "You're going to eat all that?"

Jordan imitated his gaping face and surprised tone, "You're going to eat all of that?"

Flack recovered clumsily. "Well, it just seems to be a pretty large order, for…" he paused, hesitating. His mama didn't raise any dumb ones.

Jordan smiled at him. "I could just change my order to a salad to make you feel better." She looked at him steadily for a moment and then burst out laughing. "What? I get hungry if I don't eat a lot."

Flack joined in her laughter. "Alright, Addison. No more jokes about your humungous appetite. If you get mad, you might chop me up just so you can have enough food for dinner."

Jordan retorted good-naturedly, "Don, just cause I'm a girl doesn't mean I eat like a rabbit. Now, if I remember correctly, you owe me a story."

Flack sobered up as he began, "Okay, see, Jordan, here's the thing. About a year and a half ago, one of the CSIs left the lab for personal reasons. She was really good friends with Danny and before you get suspicious, they were really just friends. We were really close, actually, me, Danny and Aiden."

He glanced at her to gauge her reaction and she nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"Soon after that, the team found out that we were getting a new CSI, fresh from Montana. On principle, Danny decided that no one was taking Aiden's place and that he would make life as hard for this new CSI as possible."

Flack chuckled as he continued. "On Lindsay's first day, we had a case at the zoo. She met Danny and Mac at the tiger cage. Danny advised her to call Mac, "sir". And the thing is Mac hates being called sir. At the lab, he got in her way as much as he could. For a while, it wasn't a pretty situation. They kept bickering with each other, especially since Danny kept calling her Montana."

As they ate, he told her a little bit more about how Danny and Lindsay's relationship changed. He told her about the undercover incident and about "the conversation". When he got to that part, Jordan visibly winced, in silent sympathy with Danny. Although I sympathize a little with Lindsay, too. I wonder what made her push Danny away?

Before they knew it, an hour had passed and they needed to go back to the station to follow up on their leads. Three hours and a meal after meeting each other, Don Flack Jr. and Jordan Addison had laid down the foundations for a solid friendship and partnership.

They both rode back to the station in silent thought. Finally, Jordan broke the silence and said, "I know Lindsay well enough to see that something big made her push Danny away. She'll come around eventually. It's just a question of whether Danny's willing to wait."

At this, Flack felt the need to defend the man he considered his best friend. "Believe me, Danny's willing to wait. I've known Danny for a while and he's never been like this with any woman, ever."

Jordan grinned at Flack and suggested, "Well, they might need a little help."

Wondering what she meant, Flack looked at Jordan and caught the twinkle in her eye. Then he smiled because he finally figured out what she was thinking. In the short span of time that they had known each other, Flack knew enough about Jordan to know that she was a good woman, much like Lindsay and Stella Bonasera. And Flack also knew that there was nothing a good woman liked more than meddling in other people's affairs. Whether Danny or Lindsay knew it or not, their so-called relationship would soon get a jumpstart.

He flashed a smile of his own and said, "Sure, partner."

What do you think? Reviews are awaited with bated breath. :D Thanks to all those who read the story. Let me know how I can make it better for you okay:D