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 events that transpire on the show.

Stella, Hawkes and Lindsay walked quickly to the car. They loaded their kits in the back and climbed into the car. Lindsay called shotgun, and Hawkes was the designated driver for today and he maneuvered the car into New York traffic.

Since he was so intent on navigating, he missed the mischievous look Lindsay slanted Stella. After a moment, she spoke nonchalantly, "So Hawkes, I had no idea you were such a romantic."

Hawkes glanced at her in confusion, "Huh?"

Stella teased, "I heard you and Cassie had a great time last night."

Lindsay chimed in, "Yeah, Hawkes. Word is you went all out."

Stella sighed, "Candles, flowers, dinner, romantic setting." She reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Hawkes. You did a great job with your date."

Hawkes shook his head. "Damn, you guys are good. How did you find out anyways?"

Lindsay answered him, "Well, Cassie and Marty are really good friends. Marty asked her how your date went and she told him. Marty told Flack who told Danny, who of course, told me," she finished triumphantly.

Hawkes glanced at his watch in consternation. "Didn't we all get in just an hour ago? When did all this happen?"

Lindsay shrugged her shoulders delicately, "News travels fast, Hawkes. You should know that better than anybody."

Hawkes groaned good-naturedly in response.

Stella piped in, "Plus, there was your very obvious display of affection in the Trace Lab this morning."

Hawkes slid a sideways glance at her, "Let me guess. Adam?"

Stella laughed and answered, "Yep. Adam told Flack, who told me and Lindsay, who told Danny."

Hawkes groaned again and replied, "I'm almost afraid to ask, but does Mac know?"

Stella grinned and answered, "Yep."

Hawkes muttered grumpily, half to himself, "Of course he knows. The man knows everything." He heaved another long-suffering sigh. "That's probably why he stuck me with you two, so that I can get grilled."

Stella and Lindsay burst out laughing. Mercifully, for Hawkes, the conversation was cut short by the fact that they arrived at the high school and their thoughts turned to the job at hand.

They grabbed their kits from the trunk and Stella, as lead, assigned tasks. "We're supposed to go to the cafeteria. You guys start taking pictures. I'm going to go talk to the victims."

Hawkes and Lindsay nodded and headed off. Stella looked around for the temporary EMT station set up in the back of the cafeteria and found Detective Angell talking to the victims.

Just then, Detective Angell noticed Stella and waved her over. Stella, camera in hand, was introduced to the victims.

Angell made the introductions. "Guys, this is Detective Stella Bonasera from the Crime Lab. She's here to take some pictures of you and to find out what happened earlier, but I'm going to talk to her in private for a while, okay?" When the five kids nodded, Angell led Stella away.

Stella asked, "Whatcha got so far, Angell?"

Angell answered, "From what they told me, they were just having lunch when suddenly, two masked people ran into the cafeteria and started firing shots." She glanced at her notepad. "Victims are all seniors: Hallie Johnson, Mark Lee and Charlie Miller, all 18 and Tara Wilkins and Kerri Thomas, 17." She closed her notepad and said, "I'm going to leave you with the 5 kids and I'm going to try and see if there are others who can give us a statement."

Stella nodded and answered, "Sure. Thanks, Angell. I'll keep you posted."

Meanwhile, Hawkes and Lindsay were surveying the cafeteria.

Hawkes glanced at Lindsay, "Damn. It's Columbine all over again."

Lindsay swallowed to keep the bile from rising in her throat. Sometimes, the job was too much. "I know. I wonder what triggered it this time."

Hawkes exhaled and said, "Whatever it was, I'm sure it wasn't worth killing someone over." He suggested, "How 'bout I take this area and you take that?"

Lindsay nodded and they each began to take pictures and collect evidence.

Moments later, Lindsay called out, "Hawkes?"

Hawkes raised his hand, "Here. What's up, Linds?"

Lindsay answered, "Keep an eye out for bullets or shell casings. Most of the shots seemed to be through-and-throughs. I've already got a bullet here."

Hawkes replied, "Got it."

They worked steadily through the rest of the morning and by lunchtime they were headed back to the lab. So far, all they collected several bullets and shell casings. Stella and Angell managed to get some statements.

The three detectives decided to drop the bullets off once they got back to the lab. They also decided to order some sandwiches to take back to the lab.

As they headed there, Lindsay took out her phone to call Danny. He answered after a few rings. "Hey, Montana."

The sound of his New York accent never failed to make Lindsay smile. Now, even after the horrible crime scene this morning, Danny's voice made her heart lift.

"Hey, yourself," she answered, smiling softly. "Hawkes, Stella and I are grabbing some sandwiches from the deli before we go back to the lab. You want anything?"

Danny answered, "Doesn't matter, Linds. You decide. I don't have anything in particular in mind right now. Mac and I just finished up here and we're heading back to the lab. I'll see you soon, okay?"

Lindsay replied, "Alright. If I don't see you in the break room, I'll just leave the baggie there for you."

Danny said, "Thanks, Montana. I love you."

Lindsay answered, "Me, too." Then she clicked her phone shut.

Stella asked, "He and Mac going back to the lab?"

Lindsay nodded, "Let's pick something up for them as well." She turned to Hawkes, who once again, was driving. "You might want to check if Cassie had lunch already so we can get her lunch if she hasn't eaten yet."

Hawkes grinned. "I'm ahead of you, Monroe. I already texted her. Why do you think I suggested getting lunch before going back?"

Stella laughed, "Wow! You're impressing me, Hawkes."

Hawkes chuckled, "Glad to know I'm passing the female standard."

He slid the SUV smoothly into a parking space in front of the deli. The three detectives jumped out of car and ordered their food. Thirty minutes later, they were seated around a table in the break room.

The dug heartily into their lunches and talked about the case. Stella told them the names of the kids who were shot and Lindsay and Hawkes reported what they found.

"Nothing but bullet casings, Stel," Hawkes concluded, taking a huge bite of his sandwich.

Lindsay offered, "But we did get a lot of photos of the scene. Let's see if we can recreate it and pinpoint the location of the shooters."

Stella nodded, "Sounds good. Let's get started on that after lunch."

At that moment, Cassie breezed into the break room. "Hey, I heard from somewhere that there's lunch here with my name on it." She walked over to Hawkes, who slipped an arm around her and kissed her softly.

Hawkes smiled and said, "Here you go, Cass. Turkey on rye."

Cassie returned the smile and said, "Thanks." She disentangled herself from Hawkes and headed to the fridge, grabbing two bottles of mineral water and handing one to Hawkes. She took a seat next to him and reached for her sandwich. "Damn, that's good. You got here just in time, Doc. I was starving."

Stella flashed a satisfied grin at the scene in front of her. Lindsay laughed at Stella's smugness and took another bite of her lunch.

Moments later, Danny pushed open the doors of the break room. "Hey, Montana. Whatcha got for me?" Same as Cassie, he walked over to Lindsay and planted a resounding kiss on her lips before investigating the deli bag she handed him.

"Perfect," Danny remarked. "Grilled chicken on wheat, just what I had in mind." He waved the sandwich at her, "You're good, Montana."

Lindsay laughed and said, "Glad you like it, Messer." She smirked at him, "I got lunch, so you're picking up dinner tonight."

Danny nodded and said around a mouthful of grilled chicken sandwich, "You got yourself a deal."

Stella groaned and said, "Ugh! Couples everywhere! I feel like I'm chaperoning!"

Hawkes, Cassie, Lindsay and Danny laughed. Just then, Mac entered the break room. "Danny told me you guys got lunch for us."

Stella reached for a bag and said, "Here you go. I got you your usual."

Mac sniffed the bag appreciatively and said, "Thanks, Stel." He sat down and dug into his lunch.

Danny and Lindsay shared a secret smile. Seems like Stella might stop complaining about all the hooking up being done in the lab soon.

Lunch was spent with the detectives updating each other about their cases. Cassie listened raptly. She didn't really have much desire to move out of the lab and into the field like others did, but she enjoyed hearing about the cases nonetheless. It gave a lot more context to the various items she analyzed in the lab.

To Cassie's regret, the hour ended quickly and they all had to get back to work. Stella and Lindsay left to go recreate their crime scene and Mac and Danny had to follow up on a lead.

Hawkes told Stella he'd help Cassie clean up and catch up with her and Lindsay in a few minutes. Stella acquiesced with a smile, reminding him not to take too long.

Hawkes and Cassie cleaned up the remains of their lunch while they caught up on what they did during the morning. Hawkes found himself telling her how disturbed he was by the crime scene in the high school.

"They're just in high school, Cass," he explained wearily. "They're kids. And this isn't even one of those high schools in the bad parts of town. We're talking strictly middle class here, students who are well-fed and cared for." He sighed in frustration. "What in the world would make a bunch of teenagers shoot each other?"

All through out his explanation, Cassie had been listening sympathetically. Now she walked around to table to stand close to Hawkes, slipping into his arms and hugging him, whispering softly, "Don't worry, Doc. I'm sure you'll find an answer to your mystery." She ran her hands reassuringly up and down his back as she tipped her head back, smiling warmly at him. "I have complete faith in you."

Hawkes softened despite himself. It was hard to be discouraged in the face of such belief. He leaned down to kiss her. "You're amazing, you know that?"

Cassie nodded smugly and answered, "Of course!" She hugged him again and said, "Now go and use that astronomical IQ of yours to find the bad guys. If you need help, just send it to the trace lab, I'll make Adam analyze it."

Hawkes burst out laughing, "Thanks, Cassie."

Cassie smiled back at him, "No worries, Doc." She waved him out, "I'll see you later okay?"

Hawkes nodded as he exited the break room, a goofy grin on his handsome face.

That's it for this chapter. :D I'm going to start working on the next one, but don't forget to review so that you can let me know how you found this chapter. I'll be inserting little Mac/Stella moments every now and then. :D