"Linds?"

Flack came further into the locker room, frowning when she didn't look up. She sat on the bench that ran the length of the room her head in her hands and her shoulders shaking. Worry tightening in his chest, Don moved quickly, crouching down in front of her.

"Lindsay?" he asked again, his voice soft.

She looked up then, her red eyes meeting his own. She looked so lost and alone that his breath caught in his chest, and he reached out for her, wiping away the tears that ran down her face.

"I can't do this," she whispered.

"Do what?"

Lindsay closed her eyes, more tears falling down her face. Don let his thumbs move against her skin, wondering what could have broken her down so much - he had never seen her like this before.

"It's over," she finally murmured. "Danny and I...it's over."

His heart pounded at her words, his lips suddenly dry. "What?"

She looked at him again, and the pain in her eyes was staggering. "He cheated on me."

Rage filled him, and he had the sudden urge to kill his best friend. Danny had had the best thing in the world right in front of him - hell, sleeping in his bed - and still he had ruined it all. Flack didn't know who the other woman was, and he really couldn't have cared less. All that mattered was that he had hurt the woman he was supposedly head over heels for. He clenched his fists as he looked at Lindsay, her tears still falling. He would never treat her this way, or push her aside because he was busy feeling sorry for himself...

"That fuckin' bastard," he growled.

Lindsay reached for his shoulders, pushing hard to keep him from rising. "Don't."

His eyes found hers again. "I'll fuckin' kill him."

This time he launched himself to his feet, brushing off her hold. He didn't care that they were at work, or that Danny was his best friend. The only thing he could think of was beating the crap out of him, letting him know just what an idiot he was for throwing her away. But halfway to the door, she called out to him.

"Please, Don."

It was the pleading in her voice that did him in. Turning around, he stared at her for a long minute. He was so torn between wanting to make Danny hurt the way she was, and comforting her, wrapping his arms around her and telling her that everything would be okay. Finally he sighed, settling for taking a seat back on the bench. Lindsay had risen to her feet at the same time he had, and now she stared down at him, hugging herself tightly, a grateful look on her face.

"He's an idiot," Flack said quietly.

Lindsay reached out, cupping his cheek with her hand. "I know."

Before he could talk himself out of it, Don stood up, pulling her into a tight embrace. She stiffened at first, expecting a short hug, but when Flack kept holding her, she let herself relax into him. There was something comforting about being in his arms, and she felt safe, safer than she had in a long time. Sighing, she breathed him in, letting all the pain of the past few weeks seep out of her.

When they pulled back, Flack didn't release his hold on her. His eyes sought out hers as he tried to think of something, anything, that could make her feel better. But nothing came to mind, and he ended up just staring at her. Lindsay met his gaze unflinchingly, one hand reaching up to slowly trace the lines of his face.

Then she lifted herself up onto her toes, brushing her lips against his. Flack froze, staring at her in disbelief. When he didn't pull back, though, Lindsay kissed him again. It was firmer this time, and Don found himself kissing her in return, his mouth moving slowly against hers. Running her hands down his sides, Lindsay pushed him back until his legs hit the bench and he sat down hard. She didn't take her mouth off of his as she wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her body up against his. Flack knew that he should put a stop to this, but for the life of him he didn't want to. She felt so good in his arms, her fingers tangling in his short hair as she struggled to bring them even closer.

Any thoughts he might have had about pulling away disappeared when Lindsay nipped at his bottom lip, plunging her tongue into his mouth. Don's mind effectively shut down as their kisses became more furious, their hands roaming over the other in a frenzy. Lindsay shifted, setting her knees on the bench and lowering herself onto his lap. Flack moaned in pleasure, holding her hips in place so that he could feel her against him.

It was the tears that finally made him stop. When he felt them fall on his cheeks, he finally pulled back, staring at Lindsay in confusion. She clung to him, her lips hovering over his.

"Please," she begged. "Please, Don."

And that was when he knew he couldn't do it. As much as he wanted this - as much as he wanted her - he couldn't let her use him like that. It wasn't a matter of thinking he deserved better; he knew that she would eventually hate herself for it, and he couldn't risk losing her friendship. Sighing, and inwardly cursing, he reached up and gently took her hands off of him.

"We both know why you're doin' this, Linds," he said softly. "You don't want me."

As though she finally realized what she was doing, Lindsay dropped her head into her hands.

"God, Flack, I'm sorry. I just...I wanted it to stop. Even if it was just for a little bit."

He leaned forward, kissing her forehead. "Don't worry about it." Lifting her off of him, he set her back on her feet and then stood up himself. "C'mon, let's get back to work."

Lindsay nodded, staring up at him with sad eyes. "Thank you, Don."

He gave her the only smile he could find. "Anytime."

As she walked out of the locker room, he watched her go, certain that his heart was leaving with her.

8888888888888888888888

Danny didn't see him coming until the last second. Looking up, he opened his mouth to greet him, but Flack had already pulled his arm back, and seconds later his fist crashed into his friend's face. Danny went down hard, sprawled out on the floor of the lab.

"That was for fuckin' up and ruinin' everybody else's lives."

He had nothing else, so he turned to go, not caring if he had broken Danny's jaw or not.

8888888888888888888888

"You look about as bad as I feel."

Stella looked up to see Flack take a seat on the bar stool next to her. "Does that mean you want to get drunk with me?"

"That does sound like a good idea."

As he ordered his drink, Stella caught a look at his knuckles. "So it's true," she murmured, taking a hold of his hand. "You really did deck Danny."

He shrugged. "Bastard deserved it."

"What exactly did he do?"

Flack took a long drink, hoping the alcohol would start to work quickly. "Cheated on Monroe."

Stella's eyes went hard. "What?"

"You heard me."

She dropped her face into her hands, resting her elbows on the bar. "God, I've been so wrapped up in my own problems that I didn't even notice there was something wrong."

Flack watched her for a moment, taking in the tired sag of her shoulders, the defeat in her voice. "What's wrong, Stell? You've been...off, the past couple days or so."

She glanced over at him. "I thought we were getting drunk."

"Maybe that's not the best idea."

"You have a better one?"

Flack stared at her for a moment. Stella was his friend - she had been for a long time now. And he couldn't talk to Danny or Lindsay about what was bothering him, when they were both the problem. And he didn't want to bring something like this to Mac, since it would mean airing all the drama going on in the lab. But he was fairly certain that he could talk to Stella, and he could see that she needed someone as well.

"Maybe we could just talk," he said quietly, praying that she wouldn't shoot him down.

Stella regarded him, her eyes searching his. There was a desperate need in his expression, and she realized that it mirrored her own. "I've got some strong tea back at my place."

Flack nodded. "Tea sounds great."

When they got to Stella's apartment, they both kicked off their shoes, and Flack took off his jacket and tie, laying them over the back of the recliner. Stella went into the kitchen and made their tea, finding Don sitting on the edge of her couch when she came back in. Giving him a small smile, she handed him his cup and then took a seat next to him, curling her feet under her.

For a long time they just sat there. The tea was hot and strong, as Stella had promised, and Flack was surprised to find that it was ten times more soothing than the alcohol would have been. Leaning back against the cushions, he sighed.

"So which one of us goes first?"

Stella chuckled at that. "I've never been very good at opening up."

He glanced at her. "Does that mean it would be easier if I started?" When she nodded shyly, he took a deep breath. If he didn't tell her, he wouldn't tell anybody, and he knew that he couldn't carry this inside of him. "Lindsay kissed me."

Stella almost dropped her cup. Staring at Flack in obvious shock, her brain steadfastly refusing to function. "Excuse me?"

"I found her in the locker room today. She was cryin' 'cause of what Danny did...I was tryin' to be there for her, to be a good friend...And then she kissed me. And I couldn't stop her, Stell...hell, I didn't even wanna try."

And for the first time, Stella saw it. It was written all over his face, and she could hear it every word, see it in every gesture - Don Flack was in love with Lindsay. Reaching out slowly, she took his hand in hers.

"Oh, Don," she whispered.

He shook his head, refusing to look at her as his eyes filled against his will. "But I couldn't do it, Stell. I knew she didn't want me. She just wanted to hurt Messer, and I was the best way to do that."

Stella was suddenly furious with Lindsay. She knew that there was no way the other woman suspected that Flack had feelings for her, but that didn't excuse her actions. Instead of dealing with the pain, she had tried to use a friend to get back at Danny - and in the process, she had broken Flack's heart.

He looked over at her. "Don't," he said quietly, squeezing her hand.

"Don't what?"

"Don't get mad at Monroe. She didn't mean to hurt anybody."

"Except Danny."

"Yeah, but he deserves it."

"She still should have known better."

Flack's eyes slid away and he nodded. "Yeah," he said dully. "Yeah."

Watching him, Stella knew that it was her turn to open up. She hated letting people in, telling them what was bothering her. But Flack had laid his heart out on the table for her to see, and she owed the same to him in return. And right now, she was fairly certain that he was the only one who could understand what she was going through.

"Mac is seeing someone." When Flack looked at her in confusion, she dropped her eyes, unable to look at him. "I found out the same day I was going to tell him how I felt about him."

Realization dawned on him as he saw that he wasn't the only who had been carrying a torch for the past couple of years. He mimicked her earlier gesture by squeezing her hand.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

She shrugged, frustrated that the tears were once again building in her eyes. "Guess we have more in common than I thought."

He reached out, gently tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "Then maybe we could help each other through it."

She looked at him warily. "How?"

Flack shrugged. "By hangin' out, talkin'...stuff friends do. I don't really think we got anyone else we can turn to right now, Stell."

Rolling her eyes, she nodded. "Ain't that the truth," she whispered.

She watched him for another minute or two before moving closer, and hesitantly resting her head on his shoulder. Flack wrapped one of his arms around her, pulling her closer as he lifted his feet up to rest on her coffee table. It was awkward at first, both of them stiff and nervous. But as the minutes ticked by, they grew more comfortable with each other and relaxed a little.

"I have one condition," Flack said suddenly, "but I don't want you to laugh at me."

Stella glanced up at him, frowning in confusion. "What is it?"

He took a deep breath. "No comfort sex."

She wanted to laugh, to brush his words off with a wave of her hand. She might have, too, if the same thought hadn't crossed her own mind only minutes before. Instead, she just nodded.

"Agreed."

Flack nodded, kissing the top of her head and pulling her close again. "Good. You're all I got left right now, Stell. I can't lose you, too."

Stella rested her head on his chest, staring at her feet as they rested next to Don's.

"You won't," she whispered.