Flack was not nervous. He didn't get nervous but Danny was making him edgy. The CSI's swinging moods were making their friendship slip ever so slightly from the bond they shared. Danny and Flack, Flack and Danny… it was a friendship that relied on both sharing and relaxing around each other. And right now, that wasn't happening. Danny was so tensed up some of the time he couldn't ride his Harley (which frustrated the hell outta him). He had been let off work for the whole of the Rueben case and Mac was still uneasy about letting him back after that. But he did, which was proving to be hard for the rest of the team. They offered him a shoulder to cry on: he didn't want that, they offered him a drink and talk things out: he didn't want that either. Flack knew – not because he was psychic - that the best way to help Danny was, to carry on like normal. Where Stella was cautious and Hawkes avoided arguments with him, Flack did what he always did, be there for the guy. Flack didn't pressure him into talking or move around him like he was a hungry caged lion, he treated him as the Danny he… well… cared about.

So Flack had an idea: some way to loosen Danny up. Do something with him that he knew would make him happy. Take him to a baseball game. Flack had got the tickets and so he walked into the lab where he knew Danny was wrapping things up about a case. The smaller detective looked at him and grinned. He saw through the grin, but pretended he didn't and pushed that out of his mind.

"Hey Flack, you wanna go for a drink after?" he asked, his voice a little huskier. Flack, who normally was the one asking Danny, was shocked. Some form of improvement was happening. Good.

"Ur yeah if we have time" he said casually, as though Danny already knew what he was talking about.

"Huh?" typical Danny expression. Brows furrowed and mouth parted.

"You're coming with me to see a baseball game. Detroit Pistons vs. Indiana Pacers. I was going to take Adam but, you know, he has a date." Flack said his eyes wide. Danny's reaction was quite interesting to watch. He was not looking at Flack, but more interested in a lined sheaf of paper on the desk, and when Flack stated about the baseball game, his head jerked up. Flack handed over one of the tickets from his jacket pocket. Danny took it and Flack knew he had returned him to the days of the tender age of seventeen.

"Wow thanks Flack. Seriously man this is great" Danny said his voice lower than usual.

"Well come on don't just stand there, you got anymore paper work that Mac'll kill ya for?" he asked teasingly. Danny shook his head and Flack chucked him his jacket, the idiot had left it on his desk. They walked out of the lab and along the corridors when Danny frowned.

"Adam has a date?" he asked, not sounding convinced. Flack laughed.

"Apparently" he said and they passed Stella who said:

"You guys off to Diane's?" and they shook their heads.

"Nah Stella, we're going to a game" Danny said waving his ticket. Stella looked at Flack and nodded with a: "Have fun".

The game was brilliant. They had pitch side seats and Flack couldn't help but keep smiling. Danny was back to being Danny. The loud, the critical, and the sports loving- Danny. Half way through the game Danny – through eating most of the contents of Flacks tacos – was talking nonstop about the ball control, showing off what he knew from his college days. Flack normally stops listening after a while, because anyone who knew Danny knew that he could talk forever on the topic of baseball. But Flack listened intently to what Danny was saying because this night was focusing on cheering the guy up, every little step at a time. In some part of his mind Flack knew this was all too good to be true. He felt like one of those fan fiction stories, something bad would happen any minute. Flack was – not surprisingly – correct. Danny had stopped talking because he had to drink. Whilst drinking he was looking around the pitch. Flack and Danny liked to look at other people in the stands, see if they could see people they knew. Small slurping noises came from the blond which, apart from being irritating, did not bother him. It was when Danny seemed to freeze like a statue that Flack got a bit concerned.

"You okay Messer? What's up Danny?" he asked leaning onto his knees. The CSI had the straw still in his mouth but he wasn't drinking – there were no noises coming from him. His eyes had gone wide and he was staring. Flack frowned and followed his gaze. When he saw what Danny was looking at a part of him crumpled. A little boy, around the age of eight, was walking up the steps with his mom. He was smiling and had a shock of dark hair. The young boy was having trouble walking up the steps but he was so happy to be at the game amongst adults. He waved at Danny who waved back slowly. Flack eased into his seat, feeling everything collapse. Danny slowly relaxed once more. But there it was again, that tense feeling Flack had.

"Danny-"he began, he hadn't intended on his voice coming out in a pity tone, but evidently Danny thought it was.

"Don't say it. I know what you're going to say: it's not him, just a boy with dark hair, he's not coming back, but I don't need that Don I'm fine" Danny nearly growled, looking at him Flack saw the edges of his mouth were tight as if he were biting back tears. Flack knew this was bad, because Danny tended to call him Flack out of habit, so hearing his first name made him more alert.

"Actually I was going to say, you've eaten all my tacos" he said and Danny looked at the empty box in Flack's hand. A small smile spread slowly across the blonde's lips. A whistled began indicating the start of the second half of the game.

Chapter 2, you like it? If so review please. I like reviews :D xxx