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.

Flack opened the door to his apartment and found Danny waiting outside.

"You're just in time. They're starting the pre-game interviews," Flack said in greeting as Danny stepped inside his apartment and hung his coat on a rack near the door.

When Danny turned to the living room, he found Flack, Hawkes, Marty and Adam sprawled out in various places around the TV. Bowls of chips and bottles of beer were on the coffee table, making Danny smile in anticipation of an evening with friends doing the usual things all American guys did: watching sports and eating junk food.

Walking over the couch, Danny stepped over Adam, who was sprawled out on the floor, and was contentedly munching from a big bag of chips that he had placed on top of his stomach.

Hawkes looked up from the floor, where he was propped up on a small mountain of cushions stolen from the sofa. "Heard the girls emptied out the stores, Danny," he remarked with a smile.

Danny rolled his eyes as he made room for himself on the couch by pushing Marty and Flack to the side. "That's an understatement. When I got home, I couldn't even see the floor of our living room. There were that many bags."

Flack grinned excitedly, "Guess that means they're going to be getting all dolled up for us."

Danny shrugged. "Guess so. But we won't find out until the party itself."

Marty asked, "Why?"

Danny rolled his eyes again as he answered that question. "Don't really know, Pino. Montana said the girls had a 'pact'," he said, making air quotes with his fingers. "No showing us the dresses until the party."

Hawkes smiled in anticipation, "I wonder why."

Flack caught the grin on Hawkes' face and asked dryly, "Why do you look so happy about the idea of a surprise, Hawkes?"

Hawkes shrugged modestly. "Nothing. It's just that I've learned that when Cassie says she has a surprise for me, it's usually a good thing," he answered, unable to keep a wicked smile from splitting his face.

Adam saw Hawkes' face and grimaced, "Eww. Stop it!" He shuddered, "That's my partner you're talking about for crying out loud!"

Hawkes merely laughed and tossed some popcorn at Adam.

Flack turned the conversation back to the earlier topic. "So, we don't get to see these magical dresses, at all, until the party itself?"

Danny nodded in confirmation. "'Fraid so, man. I even heard that they're going to get ready at Stella's and we're supposed to pick them up together, cause Mac hired a limo for all of us."

Adam piped up, "A limo? Seriously?" He shook his head, "Mac can be a really cool boss sometimes."

Marty inquired, "Who are you bringing to the party anyways, Adam?"

Adam shrugged, "Don't know yet." He stretched out, tucking his hands behind his head as he spoke, "Haven't really thought about it actually."

Marty said, "I heard Trina from Ballistics likes you."

The other guys were surprised to see Adam blush.

Flack said delightedly, "Well, well, Adam my boy." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Looks like we got a prospect there. Why don't you ask her to go with you?"

Adam sighed and said, "I don't know, you guys." He shifted uncomfortably. "Isn't it a bit scary to go out with a chick who's really good with guns?"

Danny answered sarcastically, "Well, I don't really know, cause my girlfriend's not just good with guns, but also with scary-ass looking bows that shoot arrows at 200 kilometers per hour." He lifted his brows sardonically at Flack and asked, "What about you, Flack?"

Flack shrugged. "Don't really know, Dan. My girlfriend's also kinda good with guns. Bit needed for her job and all, given the fact that she's a cop."

Adam looked injured and turned to Marty and Hawkes for support. "Tell me you guys at least see my point."

Marty nodded thoughtfully. "Guess you're right, Adam. Hell hath no fury like a scorned woman who knows her way around guns and all that jazz."

Hawkes just laughed at all of them. "Don't look at me. Cassie may not know her way around guns, but that woman is pure magic with chemicals. I'm telling you guys, one day, I piss her off enough and Pino here will be scratching his head finding the cause of death." He rolled his eyes and said, "She'll probably poison me with a new substance she invented just to make me suffer."

Marty laughed uproariously at that.

Danny changed the subject asked, "How 'bout you, Pino? Who're you taking?"

Marty smiled modestly, "This woman that I met in the NYC library."

Hawkes spoke up, "Yeah, Cassie mentioned her. What's her name again?"

Marty replied, "Lisa Schaeffer. She's a grad student at NYC."

Danny smirked, "Guess you did your wonder boy bit with her, didn't ya?"

Marty shrugged, "What can I say? Women these days really do prefer brains." He grinned. "Although it helps that I'm… What's that word women use again? Ah… Adorable."

Flack groaned and threw a pillow at Marty's head.

Marty caught the pillow and pushed it behind his head. "Thanks, Flack." His thoughts wandered. "But seriously guys, aren't you the least bit curious about these dresses?" He let his imagination take over, "They could be, like, really low cut… Or slit really high… Or backless… Or maybe even transparent…" he said, his voice trailing off.

The four other men followed his train of thought and were lost in images of Lindsay, Jordan and Cassie in wonderfully revealing gowns.

Then Adam said dreamily, "Damn. You guys are really lucky to have hot girlfriends. If Marty's right about any of these things, you're going to have every cop in the NYPD drooling over your girlfriends."

Danny, Flack and Hawkes were pulled out of their daydream at the same time and they cast horrified glances at each other.

Danny muttered, "Flack, we gotta take a look at those dresses before the party." Flack nodded vigorously.

Hawkes overheard and said, "You're right." He shuddered, "Who knows what those women are up to?"

Danny shot him a look. "I thought you and Cassie have this thing about surprises."

Hawkes shrugged in response. "Well, the surprises are usually good for me. But I most certainly don't want every cop in New York hitting on Cassie. It'd totally ruin Christmas."

Suddenly Adam interrupted, "Guys! The game's starting!"

The four other men quickly turned their attention to the television. But Flack, Danny and Hawkes' minds were still on the mysterious dresses.

All three were wondering the same thing. I wonder if I could make her break that pact?

At ten in the evening, Danny opened the door and let himself, Flack and Hawkes into his and Lindsay's apartment. The guys had decided to come home with Danny and walk the girls home and hopefully, find out what all the fuss was about.

They entered the apartment to find Jordan, Cassie and Lindsay on the couch, watching Jerry Maguire. They had just gotten to the part where Renee Zellweger says, "Shut up. Just shut up."

The guys started to speak, but all three women distractedly motioned for them to keep quiet at the same time. Danny, Flack and Hawkes exchanged amused grins, and waited patiently for the part to be over so they could kiss their girlfriends hello.

When the scene was over, all three women had misty eyes and the guys ventured forward. Danny and Flack plopped on the couch next to Jordan and Lindsay, while Hawkes perched on the armrest of the recliner where Cassie was curled up.

"So," Flack said casually. "How was shopping today?" He draped his arm around Jordan's shoulders and she nestled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He gestured playfully to the mess of bags that were still littered all over Danny and Lindsay's living room and said, "Looks like you guys found what you were looking for," he teased.

"We definitely did," Jordan answered, flashing conspiratorial smiles at Cassie and Lindsay.

Cassie linked her fingers lazily with Hawkes' and agreed with Jordan, "Stella's great to go shopping with."

Lindsay chimed in, "I told you, she knows all the best places. And I said that even before today," she pointed out, returning her friends' sly smiles.

Danny was starting to look pained. "Okay. There is way too much smiling between the three of you. What's with these dresses anyways?" He rose quickly from the couch and started peering into the various bags.

"Come on, Cass," Hawkes urged. "Let me see the dress you got."

He was surprised when Cassie shook her head regretfully. "Sorry, Doc. No can do. We promised."

Jordan grinned when Flack opened his mouth, "Don't even try asking cause I won't. It's a surprise."

Lindsay just rolled her eyes at Danny, who was still hunting through the shopping bags. "Give it up, Messer. The dresses aren't there. We had Stella take them home, cause we knew you guys would get snoopy and the only safe place was Stella's apartment."

Danny sighed in defeat and fell back down on the couch with a whoosh of air, putting his arm around Lindsay. "Fine, fine," he grumbled. He turned to Lindsay suddenly. "Just tell me one thing, Montana. Is it going to make me freak out?"

Lindsay regarded him thoughtfully, "Freak out in a good way or a bad way?"

Danny was starting to look frazzled while Flack and Hawkes watched in silent anticipation. Out of the three of them, Danny probably stood the best chance of getting an answer to the question that had been haunting the three of them ever since Marty brought it up.

Danny growled, "When am I ever freaked out in a good way?"

Lindsay merely smiled wickedly at him and watched as Danny's face changed when he got her drift. He cleared his throat distractedly before continuing, "Okay, in a bad way then."

Lindsay leaned back until she was encircled in Danny's arms again. "Hmm… What would make you freak out in a bad way?"

At this point, Flack got so impatient that he asked, "What he means is, did you guys buy dresses that will have the entire police force drooling at you the entire night?"

Jordan laughed and she joked, "Baby, don't you think the entire NYPD is already drooling over us right now?"

Hawkes considered the question and said, "She's got a point there, guys." He tightened his grip on Cassie's fingers. "Face it, gentlemen. We happen to be lucky enough to be going out with three of the most beautiful women in New York." Cassie smiled at the faint note of pride she heard in Hawkes' voice.

Flack and Danny both let Hawkes' words sink in. And they realized that he was right.

Danny leaned down and kissed Lindsay's temple. "Well, I guess that's the downside of having a really gorgeous girlfriend."

Lindsay laughed softly and said, "See, Messer, I knew you'd see it my way." She kissed him softly and said, "Don't worry, I promise it will be worth the wait."

"Same here," Jordan whispered to Flack, who grinned and hugged her.

"Me too," Cassie said, smiling smugly at Hawkes, who laughed at the cat-ate-the-canary expression on Cassie's pretty face.

The three couples sat there contentedly. When the movie finished and the credits started rolling, Flack and Hawkes held out their hands to tug Jordan and Cassie to their feet.

Hawkes said, "We better get going."

Jordan said, "Yeah, we'll see you guys around."

Danny laughed, "Till the next case, I guess."

The two couples soon left the apartment and made their separate ways home.

Lindsay grasped Danny's hand in hers. "Let's get some rest, cowboy. I'm exhausted."

Danny laughed, "Yeah, walking around the city carrying around a hundred bags can do that to you." He let himself be pulled to his feet and he and Lindsay walked to their bedroom.

A few minutes later, Lindsay's voice floated out from the bathroom where she was changing. "Danny?"

Danny answered, "What?"

"Remember when you asked me earlier, when do you get freaked out in a good way?"

Danny answered as he turned towards the bathroom door, "Yeah…" his voice trailed off as he saw Lindsay standing in the bathroom door, dressed in a lacey-silky little red nightie that fell high on her thigh.

Danny licked his suddenly dry lips and croaked out, "Yeah, this is a pretty good way to get freaked out." He smiled crookedly and held his arms out. "Come here, Montana."

This is it for tonight. It's a short chapter and I think the next one will lead up to the NYPD Christmas Ball already. Find out if Danny or Lindsay won the bet, cause Flack and Jordan will be moving in together soon.

Please review. I'm sorry if it's a short chapter, but there's really not much you can say about guys' nights out. :D I await your reviews with bated breath!