I only own the ones you don't already know.
He's got a crush on her
"Hey what's the point of this
Hey what's your favorite song
maybe we could hum along
Hey maybe just a smile
Oh hey, do you know that I can dance
Could we talk for awhile?
I think you're smart
you sweet thing
Tell me your sign
I'm dying here."
-Got You Where I Want You, The Flys
Danny Messer was a complete bastard.
And as Flack sat at his desk at the precinct, attempting to finish paper work that should have been completed and filed away days ago, a dozen or so other choice horribly profane words to describe his best friend popped into his head. He couldn't concentrate on anything. Every time he read a report the words became jumbled inside his head. Each time he tried to write something and put pen to paper, that litany or curse words and a flood of thoughts just took complete control of him. All because Danny Messer had to be a bastard. A fucking spiteful bastard, actually.
After Stella had taken Samantha downstairs to meet Sid and Pino - who'd thankfully gotten no further ahead with his pick up lines and his little winks and smiles and mentions of his condo and his Porche than Danny had with his lame ass Matt Leblanc impersonation- Mac politely reminded all of them that there was still a few hours left in the shift and a lot of work to do still. Samantha wasn't scheduled in until tomorrow morning. Eight a.m. like the rest of them. So she was heading back to Queens to get some rest for the big day tomorrow. And what did Danny Messer do? Announce he needed to head into Queens to find out some more info on his case and offered to drive her own. And she accepted. Only thing was, Danny's case had no connection to Queens whatsoever. As far as Flack knew from working the damn case alongside of Messer all day, there was no reason for the CSI to be in any of the other boroughs. Danny was just being a complete and utter bastard. He'd sneakily found a way to turn it into a competition to see who the new girl would warm up to first. so far, it seemed like Hawkes was winning that race. Charming her in his own quiet, unassuming way. So they were both bastards as far as Flack was concerned.
Why the hell do I even care? Flack asked himself. I barely even know this girl. Why do I care who she's with? Danny, Hawkes, hell even Pino. It doesn't have any bearing whatsoever on my life. Then why the hell does the thought of her -a woman he'd just met- with another guy eat away at him so bad?
Maybe because despite all the little smiles she'd given him or the way she looked him right in the eye, listening to him intently as he detailed Adam's plight in the warehouse and how he'd saved those two uniforms from certain death,she had barely said a damn word to him. Barely gave him the time of day. And it irritated the hell out of him. Immensely. He could remember how soft her fingers had been when he handed her his card and told her to call anytime. If she needed help, a ride somewhere in the city, someone to talk to or hang out with. He remembered the delicate smile she gave him and the way she ever so quietly said I'll put it to good use as she slipped the card into her back pocket. He even remembered the faint yet intoxicating smell of lavender in her hair when she'd stood so close to him in the elevator.
He wanted to be the one that was driving her home. Getting to know her better. Spending time with her and finding out what made her tick. And all because Danny Messer was such a bastard, here he was, relegated to his desk, gripping a pen so tightly his knuckles turned white and pressing down on the paper so hard it left ink blotches. And when he spelled a word wrong that any fifth grader could ace with no problem, he lost it. He snapped.
"You fucking sonofabitch!" he snarled. At the pen or at Danny? Maybe both. And he snapped the pen in two and tossed across his desk, sending it skittering across the cold metal and onto the tile floor. Get a goddamn grip! he ordered himself. What the hell is wrong with you? But the anger was still there and while what he really wanted was to find Danny and pin him against a wall until he cried uncle, he balled up the paper furiously and sent that sailing as well.
"Now that's mature, Flack." Detective Jessica Angell commented as she made her way past and the paper hit the toe of one of her leather high heel boots. "Ever heard of anger management?" she asked light heatedly. His Irish temper was well known in the department and a force to be reckoned with if you got on his bad side. And she avoided that like the plague.
"You ever heard of minding your own goddamn business?" he snapped back, grabbing a pen from the top drawer of his desk and then slamming the drawer shut.
Angell just couldn't resist doubling back to his desk. "You're a real Mary freakin' sunshine this afternoon." she said.
"Its been a long day." he reasoned and gathered his composure and went back to his reports.
"Wanna talk about it?" she asked.
"Nope." he replied simply.
She had taken his offer of an Irish coffee way out of context that night four months ago. All he had wanted was someone to talk to about the crap that had gone down between Danny and Rikki Sandoval that day. Angell had always been a pretty good listener when you needed to get something off your chest. His intentions had been strictly admirable. And when she'd taken it upon herself to kiss him in the parking lot of that dive bar, he'd done what every red blooded guy with a little too much adrenaline and alcohol in his system would have done and kissed her back. But when she asked 'my place or yours?' he snapped back into reality and realized that this was not going to happen. Not on that night. Not any night. That he considered her a colleague and nothing more. One of the guys. That last comment had nearly got him slapped out and they'd barely spoken to each other since.
Truth was, he felt uncomforable around her. While just a sex thing may have been good enough for her, he'd been trying to put those days behind him since the Devon disaster. He'd come to a point in his life where he was looking for something more. And if that meant using a bar of soap and his hand in the shower until that came along, so be it.
"You over at the lab earlier?" Angell asked, taking a seat in the chair beside his desk.
Move along, Angell, he thought. Just move along. "I was." he answered, alternating between reading information off his computer monitor and jotting things down on the forms in front of him.
"What's the new CSI like?" Angell asked curiously.
"She's all right." Flack replied.
"Is it really Adam Ross' sister?"
"It is."
"What does she look like?"
"I just told you. She's all right." Lying bastard, he thought. She's amazingly beautiful and you can't get that smell of her hair out of your head and that feel of her hand off of yours. And its eating you up that she's with Messer and not with you.
"Heard she's some tough little bitch from Brooklyn." Angell commented.
"Where'd you hear that?" Flack asked.
"Word travels. So what's your odds now on the office pool?"
"Slim to none." Flack replied. "Just like your odds of getting into my pants."
"That's harsh, Flack." Angell said and stood up. "Even for you."
He sighed heavily and watched her go. He didn't feel the least bit sorry and had no intention of apologizing for what he said. Now whose the bastard? he thought.
"So what's the deal with you, Brooklyn?" Danny asked, as they sat in a traffic jam on 53rd street. They'd been there for ten minutes and by the looks of things, they weren't getting out of there any time soon. So he jacked up the air conditioner and turned off the police ban radio for a CD of songs he'd downloaded off the Internet and they sipped iced caramel frappucinos he'd bought them at the Starbucks just down from the lab.
"How you mean?" she directed back at him, slipping a pair of sunglasses on her face that reminded him of something that Paris Hilton would wear. Her pony tail twisted and tucked into a sloppy bun and her shoes off and a bare foot sitting on the dash. She had watermelon pink toenails. He found it so innocent and so alluring all at the same time.
He'd never met anyone quite like her. So easy going and down to earth. So free spirited. The soul of a child trapped in a woman's body. She smiled and laughed easily. Her laugh was melodious and oh so feminine. He liked the way her nose and her eyes crinkled when she smiled. The way her eyes sparkled and danced when she she laughed. He liked the way she moved and the way she smelled. The way she handled herself with grace and poise yet kept people at a safe distance. He liked how she stood up for herself and the way she let you know she didn't take any crap from anyone. He liked that she reminded him so much of Aiden.
"What made you come back to New York after all those years in Phenoix?" he asked. "What made you give up eighty degree weather all year round to come back to a place where you'd freeze from December to April and have to trudge through snow up to your ass?"
'Well, first of all, while Phoenix does have roughly three hundred and twenty five days of sunshine per year and only something like 7.65 millimeters of rain, the temperature rarely goes below eighty five in the day. And if you ask me, that is way too damn hot for all year round. Unless your an avid golfer and want to be out on the course all year round, than its less than ideal. I am not a summer person. I prefer the fall. When the leaves are turning colour and the air smells fresh and there's a bit of a bite in the air. I mean, what's Christmas without snow? I missed the New York City Christmas'. Skating at Rockefeller, the Macy's parade, all the lights in all the trees. Not to mention I'm a huge hockey fan and Phoenix has a crap ass team."
"You a Rangers or Islanders fan?" Danny asked.
"None. New Jersey."
"New Jersey? How does a girl from Brooklyn like a team from New Jersey?"
She shrugged. "Guess 'cause both the Rangers and the Islanders suck shit."
"Jesus. Don't let Flack hear that. He's a huge Rangers fan. He's liable to beat your ass if he hears that."
"You like hockey?" she asked.
"I'm more a football guy. The Giants. You into football?
"I've never really watched it." she admitted.
"I know a guy that has box seats. When the season starts up again, I could see if I can cop a couple, take ya to your first football game." he hoped he didn't seem too eager.
She sipped her drink. "Don't you think Lindsay might be a little pissed off?" she asked.
She'd been looking for a subtle way to find out what the deal between Danny and Lindsay was. She just didn't understand how a girlfriend could treat a boyfriend with such utter disdain and disregard, all but attempting to humiliate him in front of his friends and a complete stranger. Good thing it seemed like he had thick skin and that he didn't let him bother him. Or did it just happen so much he'd gotten used to it? Or was it that he was past caring?
Danny shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Fidgeted with his seat belt. "I hope this doesn't make me sound like a complete asshole," he said.
"Well say it and I'll let you know." she teased.
He grinned. "You're that type, huh? You don't put up with crap from no one. Say what's on your mind.'
"I shoot from the hip, Danny," she replied honestly. "I've had to. People look at me and see how small I am, how I look like I just graduated from high school and should be slingin' burgers to pay my way through university. They underestimate me. I learned hard and fast to have the mouth to back up whatever happens next."
"Kick a lot of ass down there in Arizona?"
"The list is long and plentiful. Trust me. You hand someone their ass and then ask questions. My step dad, he has this saying, 'hit first, talk later'. Words that work well in the right situation."
"You know," Danny said, inching the SUV forward. "You remind me of someone I use to know. Another CSI. A good friend of mine. She was from Brooklyn, too. People always underestimated her. She sure showed 'em what's what right quick."
"Aiden, right?"
Danny stared at her.
"Adam told me," she explained. "He felt really bad about it. He said he didn't know really know her, but that seeing you guys struggle with it was tough on him. He's pretty sensitive."
"Your brother is a hell of a guy." Danny praised.
She smiled. "He is." she agreed. "Its hard to loose someone you're really close to. I'm sorry about your friend."
"Thank you." Danny fought back tears. It still hurt. It still hurt so bad. So goddamn bad.
"And it makes me feel god that you put me in the same category. 'Cause you obviously thought very highly of her."
"I did. She was..." Danny shook his head in fond remembrance. "She was something. You two woulda loved each other."
"I'm sure. You never answered my question. About Lindsay."
"Honestly? Forgive me for being so blunt, but I'm tired of carrying about what Lindsay thinks. Things between us have never been easy. She's a little bit of a..."
"Drama queen?" Sam offered.
"You're a good judge of character." Danny chuckled.
"Too bad that doesn't apply to my own life," she sighed. "But that's an entire novel right there. So she's very me, me, me and you're very her, her, her."
"Damn your good." Danny praised.
"Piece of advice, Danny? Worry more about the most important person in your life. Yourself."
"Maybe I should be callin' ya Doctor Brooklyn." he teased.
She laughed. "I am the last person to be shelling out relationship advice. Believe me. I just don't like to see good people hurt. And you seem like good people."
"Thanks." he said. "That means a lot. And you never answered my question either."
"Do I have to wear one of them stupid huge foam fingers and paint my face?"
"I'll scoop ya a jersey and leave it at that." he said.
"Then, sure. I'll give football a go."
"Good. Back to you. What's the real reason you left Arizona? Aside from the nostalgia of New York. 'cause it can't be all warm and fuzzy memories you were missing 'cause Adam told me..." he stopped, realizing he'd said too much too soon.
"Adam and I were abused." she admitted. "But I don't talk about it."
"You don't have to." he assured her.
She smiled. "My grandparents were good to us. Its because of them that Adam and I have some good memories of our childhood. They made birthdays and Easter and Christmas special. Gave is stuff to look forward to."
"You're avoiding my question." Danny pointed out.
"I'm good at that." she said.
"Yeah. You are."
She sighed heavily and ran a hand through her bangs and then bit nervously on a well manicured thumb nail. "Let's just say I burned some bridges beyond repair and it was time for me to go." she said.
Danny nodded slowly. "A guy?" he asked.
"When isn't it? Guys are lying rat bastards. Present company excluded."
"We're not all like that." Danny informed her. "In the lab alone, you've got four guys that are decent. Your brother, myself, Hawkes and Flack. We're all right. I swear."
"I'm sure. Your friend. Is he married?"
"Hawkes? Naw. He's too devoted to the job to be with anyone."
"I meant your other friend." she said.
Why am I not surprised? Danny thought. "Its the blue eyes, right?" he asked. "The blue eyes do it every time."
"I'm just curious." she said defensively.
"Flack married?" Danny laughed. "Right. Flack isn't the marrying kind. Been best friends with him for years. If he ever gets married, I'll have a stroke. Besides, he's gay."
Sam stared at him. "Excuse me?" she asked.
Danny struggled to keep a straight face. "He is." he said.
"He can't be. There's no way."
"He is." Danny insisted.
"What a waste of a good man." Sam concluded. "Whoa... are you serious?"
Danny smiled. "No. I'm not."
She slapped his arm and he laughed.
"Last girl Flack was with was some ditsy rich bitch we all hated. She was gettin' her kicks bangin' a cop. Once something shinier than a badge came along, she was gone. I don't think Flack really cared. He wasn't that into her. She was more something to pass his time with than anything else."
"Is he into that kind of thing?" Sam asked. "Just a passing fling type thing?"
"Naw. He's not really like that. Guess he just got tired of being lonely and went for Mrs Right Now instead of Mrs Right. He works too much to be seriously involved with anyone."
"Maybe he works that much because he doesn't have anyone." Sam reasoned.
"Shit... you're good at this psycho-analyzing crap. You could set up shop next to Mac's office and make a mint just off the team."
"I've got my own issues." she said. "But I've also got this mother hen instinct. I like to protect people."
"Which explains your little thing with Lindsay back at the lab."
"I didn't like the way she was talking to you. So I put her in her place. Why? Was I too harsh?"
"Not harsh enough if you ask me." Danny told her.
She grinned. "I'll work on that." she promised. "I can be the queen of mean, you know."
"Come on." Danny scoffed. "I bet your harmless.'
Sam laughed. "Danny Messer," she said with a shake of her pretty head. "Your life is never going to be the same now that I'm in it."
He smiled. He was definately looking forward that.
Thanks again to all my 'fans'! You all know who you are. Enjoy!