Disclaimer: I obviously do not own CSI: NY. I wish I did because then Danny and Lindsay would be together already! Anyway, I do own any characters that you do not recognize. You can borrow them if you ask permission first!

A/N: I sincerely apologize for the long update. Life got crazy! Here's the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D

Chapter 8.

The Cat's out of the bag

It was eight p.m. when Danny decided to wake Cory up. He walked softly into the bedroom and carefully sat down on the bed. "Bella? It's time to get up." He shook her shoulder. "Come on, darling. If you want to have time to get ready for the club, you need to get up."

Cory opened her hazel eyes and stared into Danny's blue ones. "Hi. What time is it?"

"Almost eight."

Cory groaned. "Okay. I'm getting up." She sat up and rolled her head. "Wow. I don't remember getting home."

Danny laughed. "There's a good reason for that. You fell asleep in the car. I carried you up."

"Thanks. I need to go take a shower. Oh! I forgot to tell you. Stell, Linds and Lydia are coming over at nine. We are supposed to get ready together. I think that they are bringing the guys, so y'all can have some good guy time while we get ready."

Danny just nodded. "Okay. I'll go make sure everything is guest ready."

Forty-five minutes later, Cory was out of the shower and trying to dry her hair. "Uh. I swear I'm going to cut it all off one of these days!"

"Cory? You okay?"

Cory jumped and dropped her hair dryer. "Jeez, Danny! Give a girl a little warning before you come up on her."

Danny just started laughing. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. You just sounded frustrated."

Cory rolled her eyes. "I am. I'm getting tired of trying to fix my hair. I'm considering cutting it."

Danny opened his eyes wide. "What? I love your hair!"

Cory smirked. "Yeah, because you don't have to take care of it. You get to take, what, ten minutes on your hair? Mine takes almost an hour." She saw his look of horror at the thought of her hair gone. "Don't worry. I won't cut it all off. I may just get it cut back to my mid-back. Take some of the weight off."

"Okay. The girls are here. Should I send them back?"

"Of course. I don't care if they see me in my underwear. We're all girls." Cory turned to put on her underwear while Danny went to get the girls.

A few minutes later, there was a soft knock at the door before it opened. Cory turned and saw Lindsay peek here head in. "Linds!!" She went to the door and pulled her in a hug. "Oh my. You look very well rested. How was Paris?"

Lindsay grinned. "It was good. How did you know where we went?"

"Come on. Who had to tell Flack where the best place to stay and the best sights to see?"

"I should have known that you had something to do with that! Oh, by the way, I have gifts for all of you." She turned and looked at Stella and Lydia as they walked into the room.

Stella looked at her. "Gifts? From Paris. My day is complete."

Lindsay laughed. "Of course!" She reach into the bag that she was carrying and withdrew three gift bags and handed them to the girls. "Here you go."

They opened the gifts. Stella and Lydia looked puzzled, but Cory got a huge smile on her face. "Agent Provacateur? Linds. You didn't get us lingerie, did you?"

Lindsay shook her head. "Nope. It's a strip poker set. The cards have pictures of models wearing their lingerie."

Stella still looked puzzled. "Okay. I get the strip poker set and trust me; I'll have fun with it. But what's Agent Provacateur?"

Cory was the one who answer. "They are kinda like Frederick's, but they make them look tame. Some of their lingerie is definitely for the uninhibited. Thanks, Linds. I can't wait to challenge Danny to a game." Cory put the box into her lingerie drawer and turned to the others. "Let's get ready. Oh, Stell. Thanks for finishing the arrangements for tonight. I take it you told the guys to meet us here?"

Stella nodded. "Yeah. No problem. Why did you have to go out of town all the sudden?"

Cory shrugged her shoulders. "It's a long story. I'll fill everyone in later."

The women seemed to understand and each reached into their bags to pull out their clothes.

(Meanwhile, in the living room)

Danny and Flack were catching up when there was a knock on the door. Danny stood up and walked to the door. He opened it and found Hawkes and Mac standing outside. They were both dressed casually in jeans and a polo.

Mac noticed Flack on the couch. "Hey, Flack! Glad to see you back. How was the honeymoon?"

Flack smiled. "I've never been so relaxed my entire life. Paris was a great idea. Lindsay loved it and there were some amazing sights to see." Flack nodded to Hawkes. "Hey, Hawkes. How's it going?"

"It's been busy. We'll be really glad to have Lindsay back in the lab. Danny and I are working on a serial murder case. The perp is smart enough to not leave any useful evidence. Hopefully, now that Cory is back, she can shed some light on our victims. All we know is that they are young, blonde, and we suspect they are foreign exchange students."

"Interesting." Flack jerked his head towards the bedroom. "Why do women have to get dressed together?"

Mac smiled. "It's a woman thing. All I know is that every time Claire would get dressed with other women, she would look phenomenal. Danny, how did Cory's trip go? Is her cousin okay?"

Danny smiled. "Yes. That's not really the reason she left though. I let her tell you about it when she is ready. She hasn't even talked to me about it yet. Course, she did sleep the entire way home from the airport."

Flack looked at Danny. "Cory was out of town? Man, you holding back on me?"

Danny looked at Flack sheepishly. "Naw. She just got back today. She hasn't even told the girls about it, yet. I'm respecting her privacy." Danny turned to look at the clock. "It's only nine-thirty. Anyone want a beer?"

There were nods all around and Danny walked into the kitchen to grab the drinks. When he got back everyone had started a discussion on how well the Yankees were doing. He handed out the drinks and sat down to join the discussion.

(The bedroom)

The girls looked at each other. "Wow," Cory breathed. "We sure do clean up nice. We're going to knock their socks off!"

Lindsay and Lydia agreed, while Stella stayed silent. Cory realized her almost slip and turned to Stella. "Stella? How many guys are you planning on picking up at the bar?"

Stella smiled, knowing that Cory was just trying to cover up for her. "I just have my eye on one. I think it's time that I came out of the proverbial closet."

Lydia looked confused, but Lindsay just gasped. "I knew it! You and Mac are going out! You sly dog. Trying to keep such juicy gossip away from us."

Stella rolled her eyes. "How long have you known?"

Lindsay smiled. "Since my wedding. The way that you and Mac looked at each other during the ceremony was a dead giveaway."

Stella scowled. "Damn. Here I thought we were being so careful."

Cory laughed. "Honey. You were careful. I can promise you that they guys don't know. Danny made a comment at the reception about how he wondered if you and Mac would ever come to your senses and date. Trust me. He's clueless."

Lydia laughed. "But it's Danny. He's always clueless. Sheldon has some suspicions, but I don't think he's fully on board yet. What about Flack?"

Lindsay looked at them. "He's like Danny. He has no clue."

Stella sighed in relief. "That's good. I was hoping to keep it a secret longer, but it took all I had to convince Mac to come with us tonight. He's only coming because I told him how I would be dancing with other guys."

Cory laughed. "That's true. I've already told Danny that I have to dance at least one dance with Chad and let me tell you, he was so not happy at that!! How do I look?"

The other three looked at Cory. She was wearing faded low rise jeans, with a black and white halter top that showed off her dragon tattoo. She had on a dragon necklace and a matching dragon belt. Her hair was wavy and pulled into a high pony tail. To top off the outfit, she was wearing platform wedge sandals.

Lydia looked at her. "Fabulous. What about me?" She was wearing a white baby doll top that really set off the duskiness of her skin. Matched with that, she was wearing a white mini skirt with platform white Mary Jane's. She had on a simple silver necklace and matching silver hoop earrings. Her long back hair was straight and like Cory's pulled back into a high pony tail.

Lindsay nodded. "You look like a model. I wish that I had your height."

Lydia laughed. "Sweetie, I'm only five-six. I just always wear heels, so I look taller. You look great, too."

Lindsay was wearing a purple camisole that left her midriff bare. She was wearing black, low rise jeans and stiletto sandals. She had straightened her hair and it was styled in a flyaway style. "Really? I don't have any jewelry on, though."

Cory thought for a moment. "I have the perfect necklace for that outfit." She walked into the bathroom and a moment later was back with a purple and silver necklace. It had many strands, varying in length. "Here. This matches your outfit." Cory then turned to Stella. "And you, Stella, are the picture of sophistication." The other girls nodded as they looked at her outfit.

She was wearing faded, low rise jeans, with a simple green, sleeveless satin shirt. The shirt had a plunging neckline. She had a silver chain belt and matching necklace. She was wearing stiletto heeled boots to complete the outfit. Her hair was a riot of curls that just reached her shoulders. Stella nodded and looked at them. "Let's go knock the socks off the guys."

The girls grabbed their ID's and walked out of the bedroom.

In the living room, the men turned at the sound of the door opening. Cory walked out first and Danny became very tongue-tied. "Wow. Bella, you look amazing." Cory smiled and winked at him.

Behind her walked Lydia. When Hawkes caught sight of her, he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Lindsay walked in behind Lydia and Flack swallowed at the sight of her. "Linds. Wow. Um. Wow." Lindsay smiled as she moved out of the way of Stella.

When Mac saw Stella, he almost groaned. Is she trying to put me into heart failure? He was so lost in thought that he was surprised when she walked over to him. She looked deep into his eyes and then kissed him.

Danny and Flack looked on in shock, while Hawkes just smirked. Danny glanced at Flack and Hawkes and noticed that Flack looked just as confused as he was, but Hawkes looked unsurprised. "Wait? Did I miss something? Mac and Stella? You guys are dating?" When he got no response from the couple, he looked at Cory for confirmation. She nodded her head. "How long?"

Stella ended the kiss. "Long enough to do that." She had the firm, no-nonsense tone to her voice that told Danny he would get nowhere by trying to question her further. Well…Damn. I'll ask Cory about it later.

Cory looked at the seven other people in the room and cleared her throat. "Y'all ready to go?"

(Trance)

When the group got to Trance, Cory led them up to Bobby, so he could let them in. She smiled as she walked up to him. "Hey, Bobby. Is there enough room for eight more?"

Bobby smiled. "Of course! Come on it." He unhooked the velvet rope and let the eight walk in.

Cory led the group to the bar and waived at Arianna. "Hey, girl!! Let me introduce you to everyone. You already know Stella and Lindsay. That's Lydia, Danny, Flack, Mac and Hawkes." She turned to the group. "Guys, this is Arianna. She is the best bartender in New York City. Just give her your order and she'll take care of it." She turned back to Arianna. "I want my usual."

Once everyone had their drinks, Cory led them to a group of tables. They gathered around the tables and talked about the previous week. Finally, Cory heard the beat of the music change and grabbed the girls to drag them to the dance floor.

Danny and Flack knew what to expect when the girls started dancing together. Hawkes and Mac just swallowed at the sight before them. Danny leaned over to Flack and whispered, "Let's let them dance for one song, then I'm claiming Cory before that guy Chad gets here."

Flack nodded. "I agree. Gawd, I love to watch them dance." He couldn't take his eyes off of Lindsay and noticed that a group of college age guys were also ogling the group of girls. He nudged Danny. "Look. Let's see if they decide to make a move."

Out of the dance floor, the girls were lost in the music. Cory turned with the beat of the music and noticed a group of guys approaching them. She wiggled in another circle and looked at the girls. "Warning. Incoming college guys. Let's see how creatively they're going to hit on us."

Stella smiled and just went on dancing. She watched as the four men walked up to them and began to dance with them. She had to admit that they were great dancers. They weren't trying to make conversation, just trying to enjoy the dance. She spared a glance at Mac and the guys and saw that they weren't too excited to see the guys dancing with them. She leaned over to Lydia and said, "I think Sheldon is jealous."

Lydia looked at her and then looked at Hawkes. She smiled and winked at him, hoping to get him to come up and dance with her. It worked and she saw him lean towards Mac, Danny and Flack, then get up.

Hawkes watched the men go up and start dancing with the girls. He felt a little bit of jealousy at the idea of someone else dancing with his girlfriend. Then he saw her wink at him. He leaned towards the other guys and said, "Hey. I'm tired of watching someone else dance with my girlfriend. I'm going out to dance. You guys coming or what?"

Mac looked at Hawkes and then looked at Stella. He felt the jealousy rise in his chest at the sight of her dancing with another guy, but he was uncertain about dancing. Techno was not really his genre of music. He was more of a jazz man. Still, he knew that he had strong feelings for Stella and was willing to try something new, just for her. He slowly got to his feet and followed Hawkes out on the dance floor.

Danny and Flack followed the other two onto the dance floor. Flack came up behind Lindsay who was dancing with a blonde guy. He bent his head and breathed into her ear, "Ya miss me?" It got the reaction that he was hoping for.

She turned in his arms and gave him a quick kiss. "Of course." She raised her arms above her head and began to dance with him.

Danny was having a similar intervention with Cory. She felt him come up behind her and recognized the scent of his cologne. When he put his hands on her hips, to draw her close to him, she wound her arms around his neck. Danny looked at the guy who had been dancing with her and shot him a look of victory. Admitting his defeat, he moved away.

Mac walked up to Stella and gave the guy she was dancing with a death stare. The guy to the hint and backed away. When he left, Stella turned around and saw Mac standing there. She smiled and drew him close to her. She knew that he did not have any experience dancing to this type of music, so she decided to teach him. Grabbing his hands, she put them on her hips and began to sway in time to the music.

Hawkes walked up to Lydia and began dancing behind her. She turned to see who it was and a big smile appeared on her face. She leaned towards him and put her mouth by his ear. "Glad you got the hint." She moved back and they started dancing.

The four couples danced for a bit, then decided to move back to the tables to rest. When they got back there, everyone sat down, a little flushed from the exertion. Hawkes got up to go get more drinks, but Cory stopped him. "Don't worry about it. Arianna is sending a waitress with our drinks."

Hawkes looked at her. "How do you know that?"

Cory smiled. "Let's just say that I get some specific perks here. I helped the owner who was having a problem with the IRS. Ever since, he treats me like family." Just as she finished that statement, a waitress showed up with their drinks. "See?"

Hawkes just shook his head in amazement.

Mac leaned in to get his drink. "This is a nice place, Cory. Not normally someplace that I would come, but it's nice." He nodded his head to her. "What happened last week?"

Cory drew in a breath. "This is not the place to fill you in. Can I take a rain check?"

Mac nodded, knowing that what she needed to tell them was serious. "Of course."

Cory heard the music switch to some more of The Prodigy and grabbed Danny's hand. "Come on. I want to dance some more. And since Chad's not here, you don't have to worry about someone else dancing with me!"

Danny laughed and followed her onto the dance floor. He had a smile of contentment on his face as they began to dance the night away.

The other three couples looked out onto the dance floor and decided to join them.

Finally, three hours later, the group decided to leave the club.

(Mac and Stella)

Mac walked Stella home. While they were walking, he took her hand gently. She looked at him and smiled. "I had a great time tonight. Thanks for coming, Mac."

Mac looked at the light in her eyes and knew that he could never deny him anything. "I'm glad. I had a good time, too. I don't think that I've ever been to a techno club before. It was nice. Very different than what I had expected."

Stella laughed. "I know what you mean. I've been to other clubs like this before, but none of them are like this. The owner, Jerry, has created a hip club that has the bar-down-the-street feel to it. Maybe I feel that because of the way Cory is treated there, but I don't think so. I know that's why it's so popular."

Mac nodded and decided to change the subject. "What's going on with Cory?"

Stella shook her head. "I'm not sure. I know that she went to California last week to visit a sick relative, but when we were getting dressed, she said that there was more to the story. She said that she would tell all of us later." She looked at Mac. "Mac…She's fine."

Mac rolled his eyes. "I know, but I can't help but get the feeling that there is a lot more to this story than what's she told us so far. I'll just be patient."

By this time, they had reached Stella's apartment. Mac leaned forward and captured her lips in a searing kiss. When he finally withdrew, Stella's knees were weak. She looked into his eyes and came to a decision. "Mac? Do you want to come up?"

Mac looked into her eyes and saw the desire simmering there. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Definitely." She grabbed his hand and led him into her apartment.

(Hawkes and Lydia)

Lydia followed Hawkes out of the club, with a smile on her face. He noticed her smile and took her hand. "You feeling better?"

Lydia nodded. "Much. This was a great stress relief. What about you? Did coming out with us help you forget about the murdered girls for the time being?"

He nodded. "For a bit. I'm thinking about them in a new light. Let me ask you a question." Lydia nodded. "Okay. You're a foreign exchange student. Where do you go to party in the city?"

Lydia thought for a moment. "Well. You would find a group of people that you feel comfortable with and then hang out with them. You would probably do things as a group. You might find someone from the city, someone that you trust, to show you the city. The nightlife, club spots, etcetera."

Hawkes felt the light go on in his head. "That's it! You're a genius. I need to find out what all the girls have in common besides from being from a different country!" Hawkes stopped and drew Lydia into a deep kiss. "Thanks. Now I have a plan for tomorrow. I know what I need to do."

Lydia laughed. "I'm glad I could help. Oh, look. We're at my apartment. Do you want to come up?"

Hawkes looked at her. "I'd love to."

Lydia grabbed his hand and drew him into the elevator and a long kiss.

(Flack and Lindsay)

Lindsay kicked her shoes off once they got into their apartment. She looked around the apartment, at the unopened wedding gifts. "I guess we get to open those tomorrow. I wonder what's been going on with Cory."

Flack looked at her. "I don't know. But if I've learned anything about her…She'll tell you."

Lindsay smiled. "I know. It's just frustrating that I obviously missed a lot this week. Not that I would change a bit of the last week."

Flack laughed. "I'm glad I can still surprise you. I'm with you though. Let's open the presents tomorrow and go to bed now. I'm tired. I think I'm still on Paris time."

Lindsay yawned. She smiled and turned to pick her way to the bedroom. "I agree. Let's go sleep."

Flack yawned and followed her lead.

(Danny and Cory)

Danny led Cory into their apartment. "How are you feeling?"

Cory yawned. "I'm still tired, but I do feel a lot better." She sat on the couch. "I think I can coherently tell you about what happened now."

Danny nodded, dreading the conversation that was coming.

Cory drew in breath. "The Martinez Brothers have put a contract out on my life and the lives of my friends and family members."

Danny sucked in a breath. "What!"

Cory put her hand over his. "I expected that. I've been making life very difficult for them. What I didn't expect was who they hired to try to kill me. His name is Antoine Frasier. He's one of the top assassins in the world."

"Bella. I'm not going to lie to you. I don't like this."

Cory shook her head. "Neither do I. I'm terrified. And I'm more terrified about my friends and family members getting hurt, than I am me. I don't know if I could stand it, if you were hurt." Cory was shaking as she finished her sentence.

Quickly, Danny drew her into his arms and rubbed her back in a soothing manner. "Shhh. It'll be alright. We'll all protect you. Why are they doing this?"

Cory sniffed and laughed. "That the best part. They aren't. They are an end to means. All Ortiz knows is that he thinks that it was actually Javier Montoya who put the hit out."

"Who's that?"

"The leader of the biggest Colombian drug cartel. But I've never had any dealings with any case that had him involved. Ortiz suspects that Montoya is getting involved in terrorism." Cory shrugged and began to think aloud. "But that brings me back to another thought. What if this is just some big elaborate trick by Ortiz to try to get me back? Huh? He could have ties with Montoya. He could be planning this. I won't put anything past him where it's concerned with me."

Danny closed his eyes. "I'm glad you said that. I've been worried about him doing that exact same thing, but we have no proof."

Cory raised her hands to her face, to rub away the exhaustion. "Welcome to my life. It's never boring or predictable." She sighed. "Mon chere? I'm tired. Can we go to bed? I'll tell everyone else about this later. I just need to lie in your arms and let you chase the demons away."

Danny kissed the top of her head. "Sure." He got up off the couch and when she stood up, picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.

AN: I am so sorry that this took almost 3 weeks to get up. But work got really crazy (let just say that my workload tripled in about a week) and then my dad was in the hospital. He's fine, but that's still a very stressful call to get! I think I have a better idea of where the main story is going, but the small ones in there are another story. I'd love to hear some of y'all ideas. If I end up using the idea, I will definitely give you credit for it!!

Soccer Bitch - I'm glad that you are enjoying the story. I'm loving writing it. Although it's not going as fast as ATTH, it still like the direction of the story!

chili-peppers - But it wasn't really the Martinez Brother's who took out the hit...I have to admit, I'm chomping at the bit to get to the part of the story where I get to write Antoine. I've never written an assasian before and I think I'll have fun. But that's me. As much as I love Cory...I love to write Ortiz and the bad guys even more!!! So what did you think about Cory's mental wanderings at the end???

kasmith101 - I'm totally cool with a late read. Better late than never!! lol. I'm interested in seeing what's going to be revealed. It's strange. I went into ATTH with knowing pretty much how the story ended. I have no clue with this one! I'll just see where my muse takes me!!