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 all the great reviews! This chapter is about the gang's night out at Sullivan's. :D Enjoy :D

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. Reports were filed, suspects interrogated, samples analyzed. Before the inhabitants of the crime lab knew it, six o'clock had come.

At the locker room, Lindsay had just taken off her shirt when Danny walked in. He sent a silent prayer of thanks to the powers that be and quickly snaked one arm around her waist. He covered her eyes with his other hand and kissed the side of her neck. "Guess who?" he teased in his very distinctive New York accent.

Lindsay jumped when Danny put his arms around her, but at the sound of his voice she relaxed. She decided to play his game. She said tentatively, "Ralph?"

Danny grinned and played along, "Nope. Try again."

Lindsay pursed her lips in amusement and continued the joke. "Hmm… Must be my other boyfriend then."

Danny answered, "I bet it is."

Lindsay choked back a giggle, "Mike?"

Danny grit his teeth in frustration. Was she planning to name every man in New York? He sighed in annoyance and whirled her around. "No, it's me, Montana."

Lindsay kissed him. "Damn. With that accent, I was hoping that it was that cutie from that cop show, you know, Carmine what's-his-face."

Danny made an injured frown and glared at her. "So you like that type of guy, huh?"

Lindsay laughed and slid her arms around him, resting on the small of his back. "Yep. That's the way I like them." She studied him more closely, "You kinda look like him actually."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Montana. So you're just with me cause I look like some guy on a cop show, huh?

Lindsay gave him a smile that melted his heart. "Nope. You're cuter." She pulled his head down to kiss him deeply and soon, Danny became all too aware of the fact that they were in the middle of the crime lab's locker room and that his girlfriend was not wearing her shirt.

He pulled away with a groan of frustration, "You wanna skip Sullivan's and go straight to my place?"

Lindsay was also a bit glassy-eyed from the passionate kiss they just shared but she managed a small giggle at Danny's disgruntled expression. "Tempting, but don't you think they'd know where we went?"

Danny raked his hands through his short, sandy-blond hair in annoyance, "Y'know, Linds, at the moment, I don't really care."

Lindsay privately agreed with him, and the innately female part of her reveled in the sensual power she had over a man like Danny Messer. She suppressed a shiver at the thought and instead, gave Danny one last kiss and said, "I know, Messer. Me, too."

Danny's eyes lit up with hope, "So we're skipping Sullivan's?"

Lindsay laughed and said, "You know we can't cause even if we went home, Stella would call us."

Danny groaned again. He really liked hanging out with his friends, really he did. But right now, with Lindsay all soft and warm and tempting in his arms… Well, he was liking his friends a lot less.

Lindsay smiled teasingly at him and said, "Tell you what, I'll make a deal with you." She pulled his head down and whispered in his ear. "On our next day off together, we'll take our phones of the hook and lock ourselves in your apartment for the entire day, just the two of us, and you can do whatever you want with me." She emphasized one last word, "Whatever."

As he listened, Danny's eyes widened. When she pulled back, he was grinning widely, like a kid who found out that Christmas had come early.

He kissed her hard and said, "You got yourself a deal, Montana." He reached into her locker and pulled out a shirt, "What are you waiting for? I'm sure everyone's there already."

Lindsay laughed and pulled on her shirt. When she was ready, she slid her hand in Danny's and they walked to Sullivan's.

Only Stella and Hawkes were at Sullivan's when Danny and Lindsay got there. They quickly ordered two beers for themselves and settled in the booth. They decided to get an extra large basket of nachos while waiting for the others.

"So where's everybody?" Danny asked, popping a nacho chip into his mouth.

Stella answered him, ticking off her fingers as she spoke, "Flack and Jordan are on their way. Cassie and Adam were finishing up on something in the lab when I went by on my way out, but they'll come straight here. Sid and Marty were in a meeting with Mac, so I just left a message for the three of them."

At that moment, Flack and Jordan entered the bar. Flack had his arm around her shoulders and Jordan was tucked closely against his taller frame. They were laughing as they scanned the room, looking for their friends.

Danny saw them and waved them over. Jordan slipped out from Flack's embrace, but she reached for his hand and pulled him to where the group sat.

Flushed with laughter, they said hi to everyone and sat down. Jordan chose to sit next to Lindsay and Flack crammed himself next to his girlfriend.

"Hey!" Danny protested. "I'm getting squashed here!"

Flack retorted, "Correction, you're getting squashed next to Lindsay. Should you be complaining?"

Danny immediately saw the logic in this statement, and shrugged his shoulders. "Could be worse, I guess."

Lindsay turned to him in mock anger and said, "Hey!"

Danny laughed and pulled her closer. "Kidding, Montana. I love getting squashed up against you," and kissed her softly. Lindsay blushed.

Stella, Hawkes and Flack watched the exchange in surprise and amusement. Who would have thought Danny could be so affectionate? They've worked with him for so long, and they knew that although he was hot-headed, he wasn't much for displays of emotion, let alone affection.

Guess Lindsay really was good for him, Stella mused, a satisfied smile curving her face.

Flack changed the subject, "Is Mac coming?"

Stella nodded. "Yep. I cornered him this afternoon and threatened bodily harm if he didn't come with us. He already missed the last time we went out for drinks and he's not missing this one."

Jordan remarked, "It's really cool that you're actually friends with your boss. In LA, they never allow stuff like that."

Stella shook her head. "No, see, before I threatened him, I made it very clear that I was talking to him as a friend. I said, 'Mac, can I tell you something as a friend?' before I told him that, so that's okay," she nodded firmly to emphasize the point. "That's different."

The others burst out laughing at Stella's audaciousness. Only she could get away with something like that.

Hawkes reached up to flag down a passing waitress and they ordered more nachos. They'd almost gone through the first order and they needed something to nibble on.

By the time the second tub of nachos arrived, Marty and Cassie came through the door and spotted them. They immediately headed over to the table of noisy detectives.

"Hey, everyone!" Cassie said as she plopped down beside Hawkes.

Hawkes was suddenly grateful that there was no space on the other side of the booth, so Cassie had no choice but to sit next to him. But that also meant that Marty would be sitting next to her and frankly, he didn't really want to be beside the happy couple.

Stella noticed that Marty didn't sit down. "Marty, have a seat."

Marty shook his head and grinned, "Nah. I just stopped by to walk Cassie here. I can't stay, cause I got a hot date tonight." He waggled his eyebrows in expectation.

Hawkes was suddenly confused. Wasn't Marty with Cassie? Why is he going out on a hot date with another girl? A shaft of hope shot through him, but he quickly quashed it.

Stella teased him, "Hot date huh? Who's the new flavor of the week?"

Marty glared indignantly at her and said, "I resent that. I do not date that many women. And if you must know, I met this girl while I was doing research in the NYU library."

Danny butted in with a smirk. "Pino, we got a state-of-the art system in the lab that connects to all major newspapers and information databases in the country. What do you need to go to NYU for?"

Marty tried to look innocent and failed. He gave up and answered, "Cause NYU has a ton of smart and pretty girls."

The girls groaned at the innate maleness of Marty's response and he held up his hands in mock defense. "Hey, I'm not being a chauvinist pig. I said pretty and smart. Emphasis on the smart."

Hawkes asked casually, "Why? No hot girls at the lab for you, Pino?"

Marty answered good-naturedly, "Well, let's see, Monroe here's pretty much taken, even before you two officially started dating," pointing his finger at Danny and Lindsay. "And even before that, there was no way I was getting on Danny's bad graces by asking Lindsay out."

Danny grunted his agreement and raised his beer bottle to Marty, who nodded to acknowledge the gesture. Lindsay just rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's caveman-like response and settled herself more snugly against his side.

Marty continued, pointing his finger at Stella next, "Stella here has refused to go out with me more times than I can count and I figured it was a lost cause." Stella burst out laughing at that.

Marty moved on to Cassie, "Well, I can't take you out, cause you're weird," he said, earning a burst of laughter from her. Hope rose again in Hawkes, and this time, he didn't to anything to stamp it out. Hmm… This looks promising.

Marty's eyes settled on Jordan and his eyes lit up hopefully. "Are you with him?" referring to Flack. "Cause if you're not, maybe you and I could get together some time."

Jordan laughed as Flack growled at Marty, "Back off, Pino." He draped his arm possessively around Jordan's shoulders and Marty once again raised his hands on a defensive stance and said with a laugh, "I rest my case."

Danny laughed, "All right, Pino. We get it." He waved Marty off, "You go and have fun with your co-ed."

Marty laughed as well and headed out to the bar. "See you around, guys." Before he left, he turned to Cassie and said, "Remember what we talked about okay?"

She nodded and rose to give him a hug. "Bye, Marty. Have fun!"

She settled herself back in the booth next to Hawkes and grabbed a nacho. "Sid and Mac asked me to tell you that they'll do their best to come, but right now, they're debating on something in the morgue. Something about a brain, I think," she finished, picking up a chip loaded with ground beef, cheese and salsa.

Stella gritted her teeth in annoyance and said, "I really need to have a talk with Mac."

Lindsay agreed with her. "Yeah, he's been working so hard lately. He needs to take a break."

Stella immediately launched into a tirade, "I know! I've been on his back to quit holing up the lab and being antisocial. He hasn't been out with us in so long…"

Hawkes tuned Stella out as she ranted about Mac. He found himself studying Cassie Simmons. Her hair was pulled back again, with loose curls framing her face and her brown eyes gleamed with laughter as she listened to what Stella was saying.

Hawkes was unsure when it came to Cassie. He found her attractive in many ways. Physically, he found her appealing. He liked the way her hair curled around her face as it pulled loose from being twisted at the back of her head. Her wide brown eyes were expressive, especially when they were flashing in anger or dancing with amusement and laughter. She also had a great body that made him think of things he really shouldn't be thinking about.

But what was more dangerous was the stuff that he found attractive that had nothing to do with the way she looked. He liked the fact that she was intelligent. Many times, he despaired of ever finding a woman who was his intellectual match.

As a child, Hawkes often found it difficult to connect with other people his age. At the tender age of 8, he had been declared a child prodigy, which made other kids uncomfortable since he was so much smarter than they were. He was soon boxed into the identity of an incredibly smart child.

As he grew older, it became easier to find people who he could level with intellectually. One thing he loved the most about his job, was the people he worked with. They were smart enough to understand a lot of the things he said and they all shared that fascination with science that he had since he was a child. He also appreciated having friends his own age who he could also have fun with, just like now. Never did he regret his decision to leave the ME's office to become a CSI.

But he also learned that finding that oh so special woman who would ignite his brain as well as his heart and body was proving to be difficult. Deep down inside, Hawkes was a romantic and he refused to settle for relationships that were half-baked. Flack and Danny often teased him about being picky when it came to women and he always just shrugged it off with a noncommittal smile and said that he just wasn't interested in meaningless relationships. That remark was often followed by guffaws and snickers from the other two. Well, look at them now, he thought wistfully.

His thoughts turned back to Cassie. He could sense the intelligence in her, see it in her eyes, and feel it in her intensity as she did her job. Even more dangerous than the intelligence, he sensed a hidden vulnerability in her that was shielded by her sharp tongue and fiery temper. Hawkes longed to find out what she was like, to get to know her and understand why she seemed so fragile under all that sass. He also wanted to protect her from whatever it was that she was protecting herself from. He was disturbed by the realization that this protectiveness had never come out with the other women he dated.

Danny's voice cut into his thoughts. "Hey, Hawkes. It's just beer, man. What's wrong?"

Hawkes looked up to find the entire table staring at him. Lindsay looked across the table into his eyes, her lips curved into a knowing smile. He was suddenly uncomfortable. "What?" he asked defensively.

Lindsay smiled like the cat that swallowed the canary. "Nothing," she answered innocently. "It's just that you've been staring at your beer bottle for ten minutes now."

Cassie turned toward him and touched his arm in concern. "What's wrong, Doc?"

Stella laughed, "Don't worry. I've seen him look at something longer than that. There was this one case where he was just staring at this one piece of evidence. He sat there for almost half an hour before he ran out and found the answer to his question."

Jordan looked at Lindsay's expression and quickly caught on. She bit back a smile of her own smile and said, "Well, whatever it was he was thinking of, it sure was important."

Flack and Danny looked at each other over their girlfriends' heads. Both sensed that the girls knew something they didn't.

The conversation quickly turned back to other topics and Hawkes joined in, not wanting to be grilled for spacing out again. His arm still burned where Cassie touched it. He resolved to find out what was going on between her and Marty. He cannot keep having these thoughts about her if she was seeing Marty. Somehow, I don't think she is, he mused, giving in to the hope that unfurled in him.

Flack bent his head towards Jordan's and whispered in her ear, "What's with you and Lindsay?"

Jordan looked innocently at him and said, "Why?"

Flack answered, "You know, when we were talking about Hawkes spacing out and stuff? You guys did that secret non-verbal communication thing that girls are so good at."

Jordan laughed softly, amazed that he sensed what she and Lindsay were doing. No man had ever read her as clearly as Don did and they've only known each other for less than a month. "You should know, you and Danny do that all the time," she retorted. "Only with you guys, I call it that caveman thing you guys do when you grunt and you get what the other guy is saying."

Flack chuckled at her description. "No, seriously. What were you guys up to?"

Jordan said mysteriously, "I'll tell you later on the way home."

He let out a long-suffering sigh. "Fine, but you're saying over at my place. I have a feeling this will be a doozy of a story."

Jordan shot him a sassy smile and whispered in his ear, "You bet your ass I'm staying over tonight. Don't worry, though, the story is short."

Flack swallowed, not just because of what she said, but also of the way her breath felt against the sensitive skin of his ear. "So what do we do with the rest of the time when you're done with your story?"

Jordan smiled innocently at him and said, "Guess."

Flack resisted the temptation to haul her out of that booth right then and there to take her home. He took a deep breath and shot her an evil glare. "You will regret teasing me. I'll make you, you know that, right?"

Jordan smiled at him and said, "I know." Then she added, "I can't wait," and smiled saucily at Flack.

By nine-thirty, the group decided to head on home. Aside from Lindsay and Hawkes, most of them were on call tomorrow, so they decided to call it a night. Flack had excused himself a few minutes ago to go to the bathroom before they left.

Most of them had stood up from the booth and were just waiting for Flack to get back. He was taking an unusually long time in the bathroom.

Suddenly, Lindsay let out a choked laugh and tapped Jordan's shoulder and said, "Uh… Jordan?"

Jordan turned around, "What's up?"

Lindsay pointed hesitantly. "I think I found Flack."

The entire group followed the direction of Lindsay's finger. They saw Flack wedged up against a corner of the bar with an obviously uncomfortable expression on his face. A blond haired woman in a white tank top and tight faded jeans was pressed up against him.

Flack was scanning the bar anxiously, hoping to see Danny and flag him down to get rescued. No such luck. He had been on his way back from the bathroom when the woman cornered him and struck up the conversation. He had given all the blatant signs that he wasn't interested, but if anything, it made her more persistent. He gritted his teeth. Dammit. Where the hell is Messer when you need him?

He made a frustrated sound and swept his eyes through the crowded bar again and this time his eyes locked with Jordan's. In the darkness of the bar, her expression was unreadable. Oh no. This is not good. He didn't want Jordan to see him with this woman and get the wrong idea. He totally meant it when he said that he didn't want to see anybody else while he was seeing her. He felt helpless and he fought the urge to bodily push the blond woman away. Dammit, she's really persistent. She was now pressing herself tightly against him and there was no more space for him to shrink back.

Hawkes and Danny watched with an impending sense of doom. Danny whistled and said softly to Hawkes, "Wanna bet that Flack's dead in an hour?"

Hawkes' eyes were glued to the scene in front of him. "Make it half an hour."

The women were exchanging amused glances. It was clear to Stella, Lindsay, Cassie and especially Jordan that the woman was the one hitting on Flack, not the other way around.

Stella slid a teasing glance towards Jordan. "So how long are you going to make him squirm?"

Jordan stifled a laugh. "I don't know. This is kind of entertaining."

Lindsay was looking at Danny and Hawkes, "No, this is funny." She motioned to the two men, who were staring at Flack in dread. Cassie looked at them and smothered a chuckle. "They're mentally measuring him for a shroud."

Jordan finally gave in. She sighed. "I never really had the stomach for blood sport. I better go rescue him." She resolutely walked over to Flack and the woman.

Flack watched Jordan walk closer. Oh no. He looked helplessly at her and wanted to explain but he wasn't sure how to.

Before he knew it, Jordan had smoothly pushed the other woman out of the way, grabbed the lapels of his suit and kissed him thoroughly. Flack kissed her back in relief. She wasn't mad at him. There was no way in hell that she would kiss him like that and be mad at him. He pulled his arms more tightly around her and fitted her closer to his body, forgetting the fact that they were in a crowded bar and an annoyingly persistent woman was hitting on him less than a minute ago.

They pulled apart after a while and Jordan said softly, "There you are. I thought you were just going to the bathroom. You took so long and I missed you." She slid her arms around his waist and leaned into him and he puller her tighter against him in relief. It was going to be okay.

More confident now, he said, "Sorry, baby. I would have come back sooner, but this lady here had a question."

Jordan raised her brows innocently at the woman and said, "Oh, I didn't notice you there. You were asking my boyfriend something?"

The blond woman saw the naked challenge behind Jordan's eyes and gracefully conceded. "Sorry," she said, smiling apologetically. "Didn't see the 'sold' sign."

Jordan smiled sweetly and said, "Maybe you should look harder next time." She turned her smile on Flack and pulled him from the bar, saying, "Let's go, Don. I want to go home."

Flack smiled smugly at the woman and waved goodbye.

After the exchange, Danny and Hawkes' mouths were hanging open in disbelief, while Stella, Cassie and Lindsay were smiling in satisfaction. As they reached the group, Lindsay said, "Nice."

Hawkes spluttered, "What was that?"

Stella smiled archly at him and said, "That's what we women like to call, marking our territory."

Flack let out a bark of laughter and pulled Jordan into his arms for a hug. "So that's your version of peeing around my desk?"

Jordan nodded proudly. "Uh-huh!"

Flack kissed her and said, "I like it."

Jordan let herself be pulled in for another kiss and whispered in his ear, "I know."

They shared a secret smile before heading outside with the others.

As usual, Stella made sure everybody would get home fine. Danny and Lindsay were leaving together, as well as Flack and Jordan. The only thing to fix would be…

"Cassie, why don't you let Hawkes walk you home?" Stella suggested.

Cassie looked at Hawkes uncertainly and said, "I don't know."

Hawkes jumped in the conversation eagerly. This was his chance to find out once and for all what was going on between Marty and Cassie. "It's no problem," he assured her, smiling cajolingly.

Stella noted that Cassie was wavering and gave her one last push, literally. She lightly shoved Hawkes and Cassie in the direction they should go and said, "Great. Hawkes, make sure she gets home fine okay?"

Hawkes nodded obediently. He turned to Cassie and said, "Let's go?"

Cassie turned back to Stella one last time and said, "What about you? Who will take you home?"

Stella waved her off, touched at her concern. "Don't worry about me. I'm waiting for some friends here. They got off late and we'll walk home together."

Cassie bit her lip and said, "Are you sure?"

Stella nodded her head firmly. "Positive. Now, go. It's getting late. Stay safe, you guys."

With one last round of goodbyes for everybody, Hawkes and Cassie walked away.

Stella smiled in satisfaction and turned to the other two couples and regarded them affectionately. "Keep them safe, guys."

Danny grinned and answered, wrapping his arms around Lindsay. "Will do, Stel. You take care okay? Let us know when you get home safe."

Flack answered, "Yeah, Stel. Thanks again." He smiled down at Jordan.

The two couples headed there separate ways into the cool New York night.

Hawkes and Cassie kept up a constant stream of conversation on the way home. They talked about random topics: sports, music, where they grew up, what school they graduated from and a lot of other things.

Hawkes paused in mid-step, turning to face Cassie. "Hold on, you mean to tell me that your IQ is 145?"

Cassie nodded warily. That really wasn't something that she usually told people and she really didn't know why she told Hawkes. People were never comfortable with her intellectual capacities and she learned to live with people being freaked out about how smart she was. But somehow, she knew that Hawkes understood. "Why?"

Hawkes laughed softly and said, "Mine's 148."

Cassie gaped at him and said, "No way!" Then she smiled. "That is so cool."

Hawkes laughed and resumed walking. She followed suit and for a moment, they were silent.

Then Hawkes said, "Cassie, can I ask you something?"

Cassie looked sideways at him. "Sure. What's on your mind, Doc?"

Hawkes looked uneasily at her. He took a deep breath and let the question out. "Are you and Marty seeing each other?"

For a moment, Cassie looked surprised. Then she laughed. "God, no. Why do you ask?"

Hawkes looked a bit uncomfortable and said, "Well… The other day, when I invited you to come out with us, you said you had plans with him and when he mentioned having a date today, I guess I just got a little confused."

Cassie laughed again. "No, Marty and I are friends. We're really tight, though," she answered, crossing her index and middle fingers together to emphasize her point.

Hawkes was still confused. "But how come you let people at the lab think that you're a couple?"

Cassie looked at him thoughtfully and said, "All right, I'll tell you, but you have to promise that you won't tell people about this."

Hawkes flashed her a smile and said, "We never talked about this." He smiled at her again to encourage her to continue.

Cassie stuffed her hands into her pockets and said, "See, here's the thing. When we first met, Marty actually hit on me. He asked me out and I said yes."

Once again, hope fluttered in Hawkes' stomach. "And then what happened?" he asked, unable to repress the slight smile that formed on his lips.

Cassie saw the smile and she had to force herself to concentrate on what she was saying. She took a deep breath and looked away. "So anyway, we went out and we had dinner and coffee and it was great. Conversation was flowing and we had fun and we really got along. It looked really promising."

The hopeful feeling refused to be squelched. Hawkes walked silently beside her, waiting to hear the rest.

She laughed softly and said, "The problem came when we… uh… tried to… uh…" she stuttered, unable to find the right words.

Hawkes teased her gently. "What? Cassie Simmons is at a loss for words? I'm shocked!"

Cassie smiled self-consciously and continued, the words expelling from her mouth in a rush. "The problem came when we kissed."

Hawkes ground to a halt and said, "What?"

Cassie took a deep breath and said, "When we kissed, it just, didn't feel right, I guess," she finished, shrugging her shoulders slightly. "Since then, we decided that we were better off as friends. I keep the clingy girls away from him when he needs help and he helps me screen dates by acting like my boyfriend."

Hawkes' brow furrowed as he tried to figure it out. "But won't that get complicated when you guys meet people you actually like?"

Cassie explained, "See, we figured that when he finds a girl, I'll do my friend thing and talk her up and casually explain who I am. It's not supposed to be that big of a deal."

Just then, they reached her apartment building. They stopped in the doorway of the building, facing each other.

Hawkes prodded, "But what about you? It works when Marty dates a girl, cause you can chat her up. But what if you find someone? The guy will probably stay away cause thinks you're with Marty."

Cassie blushed slightly and answered with a shrug, sliding an uncertain glance towards him, "I guess, if the guy wants to be with me enough, he'd try and find out what was really going on between me and Marty, right?"

Hawkes swallowed, feeling like he was sucker-punched as she looked up at him uncertainly. He made it past the lump on his throat to answer her, "Right," he smiled awkwardly and motioned to her door and said, "It's getting pretty late and you should get some rest."

Cassie fiddled with the strap of her bag. "Okay. I guess... Thanks for walking me back."

Hawkes said softly, "It was my pleasure. Bye, Cassie. I'll see you tomorrow."

Cassie smiled back at him and said, "See you tomorrow, Doc."

She was walking up the steps when she heard Hawkes call out her name. She turned back to him expectantly. "Yeah?"

Hawkes walked swiftly up the steps and he said, "You're right. A guy would try to find the real story." With that, he leaned down and kissed her lips softly. "I asked, Cassie." He gently pushed her into the building and said, "Good night."

This is one of the longest chapters so far. How did you like it:D I'm focusing more on Hawkes and Cassie getting together, with a lot of D/L and F/J moments. I look forward to your comments and reviews cause they brighten my day! Thanks again to all those who reviewed:D I hope you enjoyed this one.