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.

Your reviews warm my heart. :D I've been seriously missing D/L in the episodes so I decided to write my own to give me my D/L fix for the week. :D

The next morning, Lindsay woke up with a smile on her face. She indulged herself and snuggled deeper into her bed, recalling the previous night. She suppressed a shiver as she recalled the words of the song.

I've waited all my life to cross this line, to the only thing that's true. So I will not hide, it's time to try anything to be with you. All my life I've waited, this is true.

Lindsay sighed. It was getting harder and harder by the minute to suppress the inner voice telling her to give Danny a chance, to let herself go, to let herself love him and be loved by him. He's been so patient. I've given him every reason to walk away. I've rebuffed his advances and I've stood him up. But he's still there, waiting for me to be ready.

She chewed on her lip for a minute, contemplating the thought of a relationship between her and Danny. It won't even be awkward at work cause everyone's pretty much expecting this to happen anyway. Hell, she knew that it would happen eventually. It was only a matter of time. Telling Danny all about what happened in Montana was a huge step in that direction though. She shook her head firmly. I meant what I said. I'm not ready for a relationship. Not yet. But I think I will be. Smiling to herself at that thought, she stretched and reached for her phone. I wonder what time he'll get here.

When she flipped her phone open, she found a message from Danny waiting for her. Morning, Montana. Hope I didn't wake u. I have to take a rain check on breakfast. Mac called me to a scene. Let me make it up to you?

Sighing in disappointment, Lindsay rose from the bed. As long as I'm up, might as well get ready for work. She went to her closet and surveyed the contents. What to wear, what to wear? she mused. She opted to wear a scoop necked dark green sweater with her form-fitting slacks. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she knew deep inside that she was dressing up for Danny. She secretly loved the way he couldn't keep his eyes off her sometimes. She pretended not to notice when he would check her out or when he cast sideway glances at her while working.

Humming to herself, she stepped in the bathroom and got ready for work. Half an hour later, she was on the subway to the lab.

When she got to the lab, she stopped by her locker to stow the change of clothes she brought. The last set of extra clothing she had was put to good use the last time she was assigned to do the dumpster dive. She learned the hard way that it always paid to have an extra change of clothes in her locker. She did not want Danny Messer to come near her and smell garbage.

When she pulled her locker open, she was surprised to find another envelope, identical to the one tucked inside the CD case last night. It was propped up against a purple orchid.

Her lips curved in a smile as she read the note. Montana, I'm glad you got to work safely. I'm sorry I couldn't have breakfast with you this morning. Can I make it up to you over lunch? Love, Danny

Lindsay stood there for a moment, grinning like a lovesick teenage girl and holding the soft flower in her hand.

At that moment, Stella happened to breeze into the locker room. She spied Lindsay standing in front of her locker, a goofy grin on her face. She also caught sight of the purple bloom in her hand and wisely kept silent. Stella had a pretty good idea who the flower came from, since she saw Danny sneaking it into the lab that morning. She quietly exited the lab, secretly overjoyed that Danny was doing something to win Lindsay over. They weren't together yet, she knew that much, but she was sure that it was only a matter of time.

Stella was one witness to how much Danny had changed since meeting Lindsay. She loved Danny like a brother. He was brash, cocky, sometimes arrogant, oftentimes funny and hot-headed. His reputation as the lab's Casanova was well-deserved. Ever since she met him, he always had a string of different girls that he took out, never settling down with one, breaking it off before the relationship got complicated. But since he and Lindsay started getting to know each other, she noticed that Danny went on fewer and fewer dates, until it came to the point that the only time he went out was when he was with the team. Or Lindsay.

Good for you, Danny boy. You got yourself a keeper. She just hoped Lindsay wouldn't take too long to realize the truth that everybody knew: she and Danny belonged together. Smiling cheerfully to herself, Stella made her way back to her work area. She could grab her sweater from her locker later.

Danny stepped into the locker room. For some reason, Mac called him early that morning and asked him to assist on a body dump in a back alley in Queens. According to Mac, he was still working the Petersen case with Lindsay but they just needed a little help that morning. If I knew what kind of help they needed, I never woulda come. Danny grimaced. He smelled like crap because he was the unlucky bozo who got stuck with dumpster duty this time. At least I found the weapon. Otherwise that might have been such a bust. Catching another whiff of his unwanted perfume, he decided to take a long shower to get rid of the smell.

As he opened his locker door, he was met by a pleasant surprise. A small brown paper bag with his favorite bagel sat inside his locker. Attached to the small baggie was a note. Hey, Messer. You couldn't come to have breakfast, so I brought breakfast to you. I'll see you later for lunch. Have a nice day! – Montana

Danny couldn't help it. His faced ached because of the fact that his smile had gotten progressively wider from the time that he found the baggie and he finished reading the note. Stop smiling, Messer! He commanded himself sternly. Will you get a grip? Okay, so that didn't work, he was still grinning like an idiot.

He took a thorough shower, making sure that he got rid of the garbage smell from that morning. By the time he finished, his face was still frozen into that dopey grin. He got dressed, pulling on a green shirt as he walked out of the locker room and towards the office he shared with Lindsay. Wonder if she'll be there?

Lindsay spied Danny approaching through the glass doors. She took a deep breath and wondered how she would act around him and how he would act around her.

"Morning, Montana!" he called out, smiling at her.

"Hey Danny! I heard you went dumpster diving again," she answered, smiling shyly back at him. He looked good today. She licked her lips as she took him in. He was wearing jeans that were tight enough and loose enough at the same time. A forest green shirt hugged his chest, arms and shoulders the right way, in addition to the glasses framing twinkling blue eyes and a cocky grin that made her want to throw herself at him.

"Yep. Mac had me doing an assist on a body dump. But enough about that, what have we got on that Petersen case?"

Lindsay drew her attention to the matter at hand. "Fingernail scrapings under the vic's nails came back with seven alleles in common. We're looking for a sibling."

"Okay, that's do-able. She have any siblings that we know of?" Danny asked, his brow furrowing in concentration.

"She does. I called Flack and Jordan with the news. They picked her up and they're bringing her to the station. We're meeting them there in Interrogation Room 5 in about…" she glanced at her watch, "Okay, about now."

Danny laughed, "Looks like I got back just in time. C'mon, Montana. Let's go watch the detectives kick ass."

Flack and Jordan sat in the interrogation room with Sasha Petersen. She was a nineteen year old co-ed, pretty girl like her sister. But unlike her sister, she was dead and she had scratches on her arms. Flack and Jordan were asking her about the said scratches when Danny and Lindsay stepped into the viewing room to watch the interrogation.

Flack repeated, "Ms. Petersen, where did you get these scratches?"

Sasha sat there sullenly, avoiding both detectives' eyes. "I dunno."

Flack raised his eyebrows while Jordan sat and observed. "You dunno? Your sister's dead and that's the best you can come up with? You dunno? You're kidding, right?"

Sasha shifted in her chair and refused to answer.

Suddenly, Jordan sprang up from her casually seated position and sauntered over to Sasha. She perched herself on the table and brought her gaze to level with the suspect's.

Sasha shifted her head and turned away, but Jordan was persistent. She caught Sasha's chin in her hand and forced the girl to look into her green eyes, made flinty by her intensity.

She spoke hard and fast to the girl who blinked at her in surprise. "You listen to me, Sasha. Your sister is dead. We found your DNA underneath her nails because she scratched you. Now, you can tell me your side of the story, or you can choose to not talk. Either way, we can prove that you killed her. We have enough evidence to send you to jail for a long, long time. Talking to us now can make the difference between homicide and murder. So," she finished in the same hard tone. "Your choice, kid. What'll it be?"

Sasha blinked once, twice. She looked at Flack, hoping for a rescue, but all she got was a detective who crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. He tilted his head in his partner's direction and drawled, "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Sasha looked back at Jordan, her expression pleading. Then she crumbled. Tears leaked out slowly from her eyes and she began sobbing.

"I didn't mean to. Shauna and I were arguing. She got mad at me because she found out I started partying again. She was really afraid that my father would disinherit me and I'd have no future so she was always on my case about cleaning up my act. I went to her house that day to get something that I left and we ended up in an argument. She wouldn't let me leave until she finished talking and I got so mad, so I pushed her. She scratched my arm when she fell back and then she hit her head on the corner of her study table. I tried to wake her up, but she wouldn't wake up, she really wouldn't! Please, you have to believe me! I didn't mean to kill her, I didn't mean to kill her…" Sasha dissolved in a heap on the floor, crying.

Flack shook his head and motioned to the two police officers waiting. After they had taken Sasha away, Lindsay and Danny stepped into the interrogation room. Danny was shaking his head in amazement and Lindsay went to congratulate Flack and Jordan.

"Jesus, Addison. Didn't know you had it in you to be that mean." Danny asked, unable to believe that the hard-eyed detective who had gotten Sasha Petersen to crack was the same Jordan Addison pushed up against Flack last night at the bar. She sure as hell seemed really sweet. He had privately wondered how she could go against the scum she would have to face as a member of the NYPD. Now he wasn't wondering anymore. The girl can hold her own.

As Lindsay and Danny talked a little more about the case, Flack allowed his thoughts to wander. He liked Jordan a lot already when she was soft and sweet and a bit shy. But today, she revealed a whole different side of her when they had gone down to Sasha Petersen's apartment to bring her to the station. When the girl refused to come with them, Jordan's persona had changed. From being soft-spoken and quiet, she immediately adopted a threatening stance that did Flack proud and told the girl she was either coming with them willingly or in handcuffs, her choice.

In the interrogation room, her temper and grit revealed itself. She pushed the right buttons and got the girl to crack with the right combination of persuasiveness, logic and threat that Flack secretly found very sexy. He was seeing a whole new side of Jordan Addison and well, he like it a whole lot.

Lindsay pulled Flack out of his reverie by nudging him, "Hey, Flack!"

Flack jerked and said, "Yeah, sorry. Just remembered something. What were we talking about?"

Danny smirked beside him and answered, "Yeah, Montana, I bet you twenty bucks that I know what Flack was remembering."

Flack shot his friend a dirty look and redirected his question to the saner half of that pair. "Lindsay, what were we talking about?"

Lindsay laughed and rescued him. "Nothing, I was just asking Jordan how the moving was coming along. The way she described her place, it looked just like mine when I moved here. Boxes everywhere."

Jordan joined in and laughed with Lindsay. "Well, Don was nice enough to offer to help me move in on his day off, so I guess I'll be making a lot of headway with the boxes soon." She glanced at Flack and smiled at him.

Flack's breath caught when Jordan smiled at him. Damn, that was getting to be an inconvenient reaction. However, he was rapidly getting used to it. A day or two more and he should be able to function normally even when Jordan's smile was aimed at his direction. He couldn't wait until his day off came. He didn't enjoy the idea of helping her move in, buthe knew enough to realize that he would have gone shark hunting if it meant he could spend more time with her.

He hit upon a brilliant idea and a roguish smile appeared on his face. "Say, Messer. Don't we have the same day off? Why don't you help me help Jordan fix her apartment?"

Danny glared at him and gritted his teeth. Dammit, Flack! Why do you have to go and drag me into this?

His thoughts were interrupted by Lindsay. "Yeah, that's a great idea. Flack, Danny and I have the same day off and I could also help if you want."

Danny's scowl disappeared immediately and he smiled. "Sure, Addison. I'd be glad to help out." He silently promised himself to take Flack out for a drink. Never mind the fact that he was maneuvered into spending his day off hauling boxes and furniture. At least Lindsay would be there. He looked at her and smiled and she smiled back.

Flack didn't miss the slight change in the way Danny and Lindsay looked at each other. He couldn't pin it down but something had changed between the two of them. He knew in his gut that they weren't together, not yet, but they had taken a step further in that direction.

Jordan also noticed the exchanged between the two. She stifled the grin that threatened to take over her face. Lindsay was a friend, although they hadn't seen each other in years. They had good memories with each other and she sensed that her friend would be happy with Danny. She would gladly do what it took to help get the two together. Plus, it doesn't suck that I have two more people helping me with moving in. Two birds with one stone, she thought, snickering to herself.

"Well, we gotta go get back to the lab," Danny remarked. "Congratulations, Jordan, you just nailed your first case with the NYPD. Didn't do a bad job at it too."

"Admit it, Messer," Flack interjected. "She did way better than you expected."

"Yeah, Danny," Lindsay chimed in. "Bet you didn't know she had it in her."

Danny held up his hands. "Hey, you two ganging up on me now? Addison, a little help here," he implored, gesturing to the Lindsay and Flack, who were smirking at him.

Jordan burst out laughing. "It's alright, you guys. Leave him alone." She winked at Lindsay. "We got more cases to work on. Gives me more chances to shut this guy up," she replied, jerking her thumb in Danny's direction, with a cheeky smile of her own.

Lindsay smirked with pride at her friend's answer. "Yep. Just like I had many chances to prove him wrong." She laughed at Danny's affronted expression. "Admit it, Messer. You gave me a hard time because you thought I couldn't hack it."

Danny protested, "Hey, I repeat, I did NOT give you a hard time. I was just showing you the ropes."

"Yeah, the wrong ones," Lindsay pointed out.

Flack and Jordan couldn't stop laughing at the two of them.

Danny just glowered at them. "Well, haha, Flack. Don't you worry, buddy. I'll get you back someday. And Addison, you're one of us now, so you're fare game," he said, smirking in her direction.

Turning to Lindsay, Danny teased, "You! I cannot believe you took their side! You're supposed to be my partner!"

Lindsay just laughed at cuffed him on the arm. "Let's go then, partner and get back to our lab." She waved good-bye to Jordan and Flack, "We'll see you guys."

After Lindsay and Danny left, Flack turned to Jordan and said. "Well, after that, I think that we deserve a break. Wanna grab a bite to eat? I didn't get to eat breakfast so I'm kinda starving here." He wagged his eyebrows at her and made her laugh.

Jordan answered, "Well, I guess I can't let you get hungry, now can I? Last thing I need to worry about while hunting bad guys is my partner fainting from hunger."

"Hey! Do I look like the kind of guy who faints?" Flack pointed to himself. "I don't faint. I collapse, in a very manly way."

"Same banana, Don," Jordan teased. She tugged on his arm. "Now, c'mon! All the talk of food is making me hungry."

On their way out, Flack asked her, "Is it okay if we eat at the diner again? I've got a craving for Bernie's peach pie."

"I'm game. Their servings were big enough to fill me up, so that's always great," Jordan replied, shrugging on her coat.

"You know, I have never really met a woman who ate as much as you," Flack shook his head in amazement. "And I used to think Lindsay had a big appetite. You should have seen the expression on Danny's face when she ate with us for the first time. He looked like his eyes were going to pop out."

"You ain't seen noting yet, partner," Jordan retorted good-naturedly.

Flack laughed. Hell, this partner thing was turning out really well. She's pretty and eats a lot. Wonder if she likes sports? Damn. If she liked sports, she'd be like the perfect woman. Shaking his head, he followed his partner out the door.

Danny flipped his phone shut and turned to Lindsay. "So Mac gave us permission to take an early lunch since all we have to do is finish the paperwork on the Petersen case."

"Good, 'cause I was starving," Lindsay turned to him. "Where do you want to eat?"

"How about at the diner? Bernie's making peach pie today," Danny asked her.

"Sounds great. I've got a craving for pie today." Slipping on her sunglasses, she fell into step beside Danny as they walked to the nearby diner.

Danny automatically moved so that he was between her and the street. It was a gesture to keep her safe, and Lindsay's heart melted a little more at his unconscious act of chivalry. While crossing the street, he took her hand. It always was a perfect fit, ever since that case at the doll hospital. Lindsay mused. Sneaking a glance at Danny, who was concentrating on getting them to diner, she experimentally entwined her fingers in his. He glanced down at her in surprise and wordlessly tightened his grip on her hand.

They continued like that in companionable silence. This was one of the things Danny liked the most about Lindsay. Unlike most of the women he'd dated, she didn't have the incessant need to fill up the gaps in the conversation with mindless chatter. She knew when to talk and when to keep silent. Some women just yap away and he loved the fact that Lindsay wasn't like them.

They reached the diner in a few more minutes. Keeping their fingers laced together, Danny pulled the door open for Lindsay. She loved the fact that he did things like that for her. It was so at odds with his brash, hot-headed, street-smart personality. Even better, she knew that he did these things instinctively, because he wanted to treat her right.

On their way to a booth in the back, Danny suddenly stopped, causing Lindsay to bump against him. "What's wrong?" Lindsay asked, concerned.

Danny turned to face her, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Okay, look towards the back the diner, at one of the last booths."

Lindsay craned her neck to see over Danny's shoulder. "Oh my God! It's Flack and Jordan!" She took another look and let out a gasp. "And they're sitting next to each other even though there's more than enough room in the booth!"

Danny nodded, laughing at her disbelief. "What did I tell you, Montana? I ain't completely stupid about people. I told you Flack liked her."

Lindsay smiled at him, "And I bet you anything Jordan likes him back." She thought back. "Even when we were younger, she wasn't the type to let guys come physically close to her unless she liked him. But now, look at them. It's like they're surgically conjoined!"

Danny gave her a teasing grin, "So you want to crash their party?"

Lindsay caught his evil grin and responded with one of her own. "Well, I don't really see any other place where we can sit and I am pretty hungry." She tugged at his hand, "Let's go."

Danny sauntered up, pulling Lindsay behind him. "Well, lookee what we got here. It's Flack and Jordan!"

Flack and Jordan looked up simultaneously, surprised to see Danny and Lindsay smirking at them. They blushed and inched further apart, until Flack noticed that Danny was grasping Lindsay's hand. Flack leaned back in the booth and raised his eyebrows at Danny. Danny caught the unspoken question and shook his head slightly, answering Flack's question.

"Hey, Jordan," Lindsay piped up, smiling mischievously. "Mind if we share your booth?"

If it was possible, Jordan turned even redder as she answered, "Sure. There's more than enough room."

Lindsay laughed and said, "Yep, we noticed." She sat down, pulling Danny into the booth beside her. Flagging down a passing waitress, she and Danny placed their orders. After that, she turned back to Flack and Jordan and asked, "Are you guys finished or did you also just get here?"

Flack answered for the both of them. "Nah, we just got here. We need to go follow a lead a few blocks from here, so we decided to stop for lunch."

Danny nodded his head earnestly, pretending to believe what Flack said. "Uh-huh. Yeah, sure, Flack."

Flack shot his friend the death glare and turned his attention to the women, who were talking about how to fix Jordan's apartment.

A few minutes later, their food arrived. The meal was consumed along with a lot of jokes and laughter and time flew by much too quickly. After they finished eating, the girls excused themselves to go to the washroom, leaving Flack and Danny alone in the booth, resting contentedly after having two helpings each of Bernie's pie.

Danny tipped his head in the direction of the washroom. "What do you think they talk about in there?"

Flack shrugged. "Don't really know, Dan. I think it's one of those things men are never supposed to understand." He let out a burp, excusing himself.

Danny suddenly leaned forward to confront his best friend. "So Flack, spill." He waved his hand in the general direction of the women. "What's with you and your partner?"

Flack shifted uncomfortably in his seat and pretended not to understand Danny's question. "I don't know what you're talking about, Messer."

Danny snorted impatiently. "Cut the crap, Flack. I know you better than that. What's going on with you and Jordan? Do you like her or what?"

But Flack was a cop and he knew that to disarm somebody, you have to hit their sensitive spots. So he went for Danny's. "Speaking of partners, what's with you and Monroe? Are you guys together now?"

To his surprise, Danny actually stopped and mulled over the question. "I'm not so sure, Flack. We got to talk and clear things up a bit. She's more comfortable with me now, I guess," he answered, shrugging his shoulders.

Flack pressed on, "But are you guys together?"

Danny shrugged again. "Don't really know, man. I just follow her lead. I don't want to scare her off by moving too fast. So I'm just waiting to see where she's going with this."

Flack was astonished, not so much by Danny's answer, (he already knew that Danny would go to hell and back for Lindsay Monroe) but more from the fact that Danny answered his question. However, if Flack was a cop, then Danny was a detective and it was not in his nature to let his curiosity go unsatisfied. He turned the conversation back to where it started. He gestured to Flack, "Now that I've answered your question honestly, maybe you can answer mine. What's with you and Addison?"

Flack squirmed. He took a sip of his soda. He asked for the bill. He shifted in his seat. He checked his phone. And Danny was still looking at him, eyebrows raised expectantly for an answer.

Flack threw up his hands in defeat, "Alright! Jeez, Messer. No need to give me the third degree." He glared at Danny.

Danny smirked. "You still haven't answered my question, Flack. You like her, don't you?"

Flack heaved a sigh and growled, "Fine. Yes, I like her. Does that answer your question?"

Danny leaned back in the booth and smiled beatifically at his annoyed friend, "Sure does."

At that precise moment, the girls got back from the washroom to find Flack glaring at Danny and Danny smirking to himself as though he knew the world's greatest secret.

Jordan laid a hand on Flack's shoulder. "Don, are you okay?"

Flack stopped in mid-glare to smile at Jordan. "Yeah, I'm fine." He threw a dark glance in Danny's direction. "Messer's just being an ass, as usual."

That just made Danny laugh even harder, and made Lindsay look at him in confusion. He laughed harder at her expression and pulled her close to whisper in her ear, "I'll tell you on the way back."

Lindsay sat back, satisfied that she would know what it was about in a few minutes. She and Danny soon said their good-byes and headed back to the lab.

As promised, Danny told her about the conversation with Flack, leaving out the part about the two of them. When he finished, Lindsay was grinning with him.

As they came closer to the building, Lindsay pulled free from Danny's hand and looked at him uncertainly. He nodded reassuringly to let her know he understood and she let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't really sure exactly what she and Danny were. In the meantime, it was best to keep it to themselves until they figured it out. Correction, until YOU figure it out, Monroe. Right now, the people who even had an inkling were Flack and Jordan and she was sure Flack would keep it a secret, given the knowledge that Danny shared with her earlier. She smiled at him one last time as they parted ways.

In the break room of the lab, two people reached for the carafe in the coffeemaker at the same time. Problem was, there was only one cup left.

Hawkes and Cassie exclaimed at the same time, "Hey! That's mine!"

Hawkes tugged on the carafe. "Hey, I got here first."

Cassie tugged back. "Well, good for you, but this coffee is still mine."

Hawkes gritted his teeth at the annoying woman. He remembered his promise to Mac and tried to speak in the calmest voice possible. "Cassie, may I please have last cup of coffee?"

Cassie heard his polite tone, considered it for a moment, and said, "Nope. Sorry." She tugged the carafe free and poured the remaining contents into her cup. "Thanks, Doc."

Hawkes closed his eyes and counted slowly from one to ten. After he finished he was still angry. Dammit. He grabbed the now empty carafe and stomped over to the counter to make a fresh pot. He plopped down on one of the sofas and drummed his fingers impatiently.

At that moment, Stella walked into the break room, saw that the coffee maker was still brewing and took a seat next to Hawkes. She noticed that his face was drawn together in a frown and his fingers were creating an invisible tattoo on the sofa from the continuous drumming.

Stella looked at him, concerned. "Everything okay, Hawkes? You look pissed."

Hawkes let out a another annoyed huff and said, "Wouldn't you be annoyed if someone grabbed the last cup of coffee even though you asked nicely if you could have it?"

Stella smothered her laugh. "I see. And who might this person be?"

Hawkes slid her a glance and answered. "Cassie."

With that remark, Stella couldn't hold it back and she burst out laughing. "Did you guys fight again?"

Hawkes looked at her in disbelief and said, "No, I did not! Do I look like the type to pick a fight with a woman?" He held up his hand before Stella could answer. "Never mind, don't answer that."

Stella's laughing eventually subsided and they sat in silence for a few more minutes. She tentatively reached out to touch Hawkes' shoulder and asked, "Hawkes, can I ask you something?"

By now, Hawkes' mood had evened out and he even smiled at Stella. "Sure, Stel. What's up?"

Stella bit her lip and went for it. "Why does Cassie makes you so angry?"

Instead of being angry, Hawkes looked thoughtful as he tried to come up with a good answer. "You know what, Stel, I don't really know. She can just be so annoying."

Stella pointed out, "She was perfectly nice last night."

Hawkes shot back, "Yeah, she was. To you and to Pino." He snorted Marty's name out.

Bingo! Stella thought. Then she asked Hawkes again. "Okay, so she wasn't so accommodating with you. Can't you think of something nice about her?"

Hawkes was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Nope."

Stella bit back more laughter and tried to direct his thoughts. "C'mon, Hawkes. Not even one thing that you like about her? Not even… physically?" she ventured tentatively.

Hawkes thought to himself and begrudgingly admitted, "I guess she is pretty good-looking. Bu that's all I know about her, except that she likes to pick fights with me."

Stella sighed and answered. "Well, the Sheldon Hawkes I know would never randomly react. Why don't you try being actively nice to her? And by active I mean genuinely," she finished, glaring at Hawkes threateningly.

Hawkes ran his hand over the back of his neck. There was no use arguing with Stella when she was like this. "Alright, Stel. I'll give it a shot for you."

Stella smiled indulgently. For now, she had gotten what she wanted. "Good. Thanks, Hawkes." She skipped over to the coffee maker, which had just finished brewing the coffee, made herself a cup, waved good-bye to Hawkes and went back to what it was that she was working on.

Hawkes thought to himself, Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to try. Following Stella's example, he crossed over to the coffee maker, made himself a cup o coffee and went back to what it was that he was working on.

After returning some boxes to the Evidence Room, Lindsay returned to her desk to find a note from Danny waiting for her, along with a brown paper bag.

Hey, Montana. Got called to a scene in Brooklyn. Might not make it back to the lab until after shift. Just reminding you to stay safe ok? Let me know when you get home? Love, Danny.

Lindsay heaved a disappointed sigh. She wasn't going to get to see him until the next morning. She was tempted to open his gift but a part of her wanted to be alone when she did it. This was something between her and Danny and she wasn't quite ready to share yet.

She glanced at the clock. Five-fifteen: Forty-five more minutes and she could make her way home. She decided to put the time to good use and finish the paperwork for the Petersen case. She plopped down in her chair and grabbed the forms.

Exactly forty-five minutes later, she stretched out the kinks in her back and closed the files. This could wait.

She picked up the brown paper bag and grabbed her purse and coat from the locker room and was soon on the subway home.

As soon as she entered her apartment, she locked the door, tossed her keys on the counter and dropped down onto her couch to open the brown paper bag.

Inside was a small, stuffed spider with a bright pink body and neon green legs. She laughed and gave it a squeeze, reaching into the bag once more to pull out another CD. Tucked with the CD was a note. I guess you know what to do with this.

She got up to put the disc in her player and sat back down to listen to the song. Once again, the song surprised her. Danny never struck her as the type to listen to R&B, but he chose a soft, bluesy song with the sweetest words.

I can't buy you fancy rings or all the expensive things you're used to, baby
No trips around the world, no diamonds or pearls to give to you, baby
But what I've got to give is more precious than you'll ever know
My deepest in feelings, my heart and soul

Cause all that I am is a man in love with you
Cause all that I am is a man whose heart is true
A man in love with you

Girl I know you know I'm blind
Cause when I look into your eyes you meet me halfway
Just accept me as I am try to understand that I want you always
Just give me the chance and I'll show you the world, my love

Cause all that I am is a man in love with you
Cause all that I am is a man whose heart is true
A man in love with you

Deny it all you want
I know you have your doubts about me
Just put them all aside and follow where your heart leads

Cause all that I am is a man who loves you
All that I am is a man whose heart is true
Cause all that I am
A man in love with you

As the music faded, Lindsay was lost in her thoughts. This was Danny's unspoken plea and pledge. She closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands. She couldn't do it. She couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't keep pushing Danny away.

I can't live like this anymore. Danny deserves better than this. He deserves a woman who is brave enough to love him. Not me, not this weak, scared soul who doesn't deserve his love. He needs to be with someone who can match his courage. Danny's been through so much yet he's so willing to risk it all to love. To love me.

Stiffening her shoulders, Lindsay stared out in the lights of New York City, Danny's city and made a decision. Danny should be with a woman that was better than what she was right now and Lindsay knew this much: she would make sure that Danny got to be with the woman he deserved, a woman who is worthy of his love.

That's it for today. I'm leaving a cliff hanger. :D Watch out for Lindsay's decision in the next chapter. I'll try to put more Hawkes and Cassie in the next chapter and some parts about moving day with Danny, Lindsay, Flack and Jordan. I'm still working on Hawkes and Cassie. Let me know what you think. This is the longest chapter yet. :D I hope you liked it. :D

P.S. Today's sweet song was by Joe, and the title is "All That I Am".