A/N: Guess who's back? AUSTIN! We sure like her over here.

The alarm buzzed shrilly and Lindsay groaned before throwing her arm over her eyes. It was way too early to get up if she didn't have to be at work until this afternoon. She sighed and glanced over at the clock, glaring at it instead of hitting the snooze. She was never going to volunteer to cook Thanksgiving dinner again. It had started out as Stella's idea, to make dinner for everyone who was stuck at work on Thanksgiving. Lindsay had been more than happy to help out, but then Stella got involved in a case and that left Lindsay to do the whole thing herself. Austin was coming over to help because according to Danny she was capable of making "the best sweet potato thing in the world."

Resigning herself to the fact that she had to get up, Lindsay reached over and turned the alarm off, then slowly drug herself out of bed and into the shower. She started making a mental list of all the things she had to get done and how she was going to get the timing right. No one really realized what a big job this was, and she was certain that after cooking all morning, taking the food all the way over to the lab and serving it, the guys were going to scarf it down and leave her to clean up. Such was the life with a bunch of boys around.

She stepped out of the shower and got changed, toweling her hair dry and praying that it would look somewhat normal so she wouldn't have to go ten rounds with the curling iron later. She took a deep breath before venturing into the kitchen, thanking her lucky stars that she had put the turkey in the fridge to defrost a week ago. She preheated the oven and turned on a pot of coffee before prepping the turkey. She'd watched her mom do it many times and was pretty confident doing it herself, but this was her first go of it alone, and that is why she had Food Network's website up on her laptop. She wasn't going to ruin this.

She washed her hands and put the turkey in the oven then poured herself a cup of coffee. It was a small turkey and a hot oven, so she was estimating a little over an hour before it was done. Of course it would have to rest for a long time, and then there were other things to make like mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, stuffing, and dinner rolls. Her head spun with all she had to do and she took a big sip of coffee.

She was going to kill Adam. Decaf in her regular coffee bag again. He claimed he was worried about her heart, or her blood pressure or stomach lining, but really, he just liked messing with her.

She found her cell phone and called him, tapping her fingers on the counter until he picked up.

"Hey."

"What's the ransom?"

"What?"

"I want you to give up the location of my real coffee. What do I have to do to get it?"

"Oh, this could be interesting."

"Adam…" she warned, trying to keep up the gruff façade. "I am willing to go along with your little game here, but you've got to play fair. Alright?"

"Alright. The coffee is somewhere in your apartment."

"That's helpful."

"Promise me a back rub and I'll tell you where it is."

"Okay, promise."

"Not just five minutes. I real back rub. The kind I give you."

"Alright, fine."

"It's on top of the entertainment center."

"But… I can't even reach that standing on a chair."

"That wouldn't be a problem if you didn't drink the coffee that stunted your growth in the first place."

She narrowed her eyes even though he couldn't see her.

"You are evil."

"You are an addict."

"I thought you loved me more than this."

"So you want me to be an enabler?"

"For the sake of this conversation."

"I'll enable you right now, but that is not going to make the coffee come flying off the shelf. Plus I have to get back to work. Tide yourself over with decaf and have regular when you get to work."

"I'm not coming in for hours!"

"It's a hard-knock life, babe."

"You're not making it any easier. I thought that was what I paid you for."

"I should be collecting retro pay then because I have not been receiving checks in a timely manner."

"Oh Adam, what am I going to do with you?"

"Pay me, I just said that."

She chuckled and stepped off the chair she had been using to try and reach the coffee, despite her knowledge that it wasn't going to work.

"I'll give you a dollar later."

"Yay."

"So enthusiastic."

"Well, it's just a dollar. Everyone has 'em."

"I'll give you… a noogie?"

"Refused."

"I'll let you make out with me."

"As payment? Pretty sure that's illegal."

"I'll make you a chocolate cheesecake."

"Now you're talking. I've got to get back to work."

"Did someone just walk in the room? Should I start making kissing noises to make you blush?"

"Two chocolate cheesecakes if you do."

"Bye honey. Love you."

"Love you too."

She hung up the phone, perfectly willing to exchange her real coffee for banter like that. He simply made her happy.

"Hey Lindsay hurry up, these potatoes are burning a hole in my pocket."

"Why are you carrying potatoes in your pocket?" Lindsay asked as she opened the door. Austin shrugged.

"Sounded good in my head. These are super heavy though. If guys didn't eat so much I would still be able to feel my left hand."

"Put it on the counter."

"Geez it smells good in here. You've been hiding an apron under your lab coat?"

"Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Your secret's safe with me. I need to microwave these potatoes."

"Go ahead."

Austin crossed the kitchen and used a fork to poke holes in the sweet potatoes before putting them in the microwave.

"Oh my word," she said with a chuckle.

"What?"

Austin turned around, a strip of pictures in her hand.

"Was this an ugly face contest?"

Lindsay grinned and glanced at the pictures of her and Adam from the photo mat. It had been hanging on the fridge for months and she had actually forgotten about it.

"Pretty much. Who do you think won?"

"I couldn't begin to speculate. Reminds me of ER when Mark and Susan-"

"Went on separate double dates and ended up ditching the duds?"

"Exactly."

"I love that episode. I am a sucker for Mark and Susan."

"So am I. don't tell Danny I'm an ER fangirl."

"No problem."

"Speaking of Danny, I'm sure he told you…"

"I have the fire department on speed dial."

"I could kill that man."

"Just don't kiss him for a day; to him that's almost as bad."

"I'd rather just knock his block off and get it over with."

"And she has a violent streak."

"Word has it I popped out of the womb and slugged my brother."

"That's what any good sister does after all."

"You're plagued with brothers?"

"Three older ones. Man, the revenges I have planned for them."

"Did they ever wake you up on your birthday by putting a snake in your bed?"

"Where did he get a snake in the city?"

"Oh, Andy saved up for months and went and bought one at the pet store."

"Ooh, that's evil. Did you scream?"

"It was the first time my parents ever heard me curse. It's a good thing I was halfway down the street before they knew what happened."

"At least you only had one brother to deal with. Mine were strategic planners and I learned early on that if they said "Come on Linds, it'll be fun" I had to get out of there as soon as I could."

"Injuries?"

Lindsay chuckled and shook her head.

"Too many to count. They knocked out my front tooth when I was four. We'd had a snowstorm that winter and we were quite literally snowed in. My dear brothers thought it would be a great plan to ride the old crib mattress down the stairs. And it was a great plan the first three or four times. But before I knew it, Jake was giving me an extra push, Eli was opening the front door, and Riley was cheering as I sailed down the front steps across the wood floor, out the front door, over the front porch and directly into the five feet of snow that were piled outside. The snow had frozen through, so I had bruises all over and my tooth was gone. Somewhere in the snow… and we never found it."

"Andy and Danny were playing with bottle rockets and they misfired and it shot into the back of my head."

"Riley bounced me off the trampoline, I landed in a fresh cow pie and broke my wrist."

"Andy convinced me that if I held onto a kite I could fly out of a tree. Big fat swollen knee."

"Eli dared me to take the old tractor off a dirt bike jump. Broke the other wrist."

"Andy used to help me sneak out of the house to go to shows with him, and while shimmying down the drainpipe is pretty easy, shimmying back up is kinda hard. So it's raining and I'm climbing and Andy is down there going "Hurry up Austin, dad's gonna kill us!" So I climbed faster, slipped off the drain pipe, ripped my jeans and broke my ankle when I hit the ground. And Andy's standin' there screaming because he thought I was dead, the whole neighborhood woke up and I never lived it down."

"Jake used to do this thing where he would lay on the floor and we would sit on his feet and he would launch us to see how much air we could get. One day he decided to try a new technique where he would push harder with one leg than the other in an effort to turn us midair. Fine and dandy until my butt went through the wall."

"Oh man I hope you didn't hit a stud."

"I was lucky."

"Brothers kinda suck."

"Yeah they do."

"But then they do nice things, like calling you at midnight on your birthday."

"Or letting you wear their coat when you walk home from school because it's really cold out."

"Or when you're 14 and Danny breaks up with you, your brother throws you in the car and drives all night until you smile again."

"Maybe brothers aren't so bad after all."

Austin nodded and took the sweet potatoes out of the microwave.

"Oh, hot."

"Yeah, I think that's the idea."

"You're seriously going to mock me while you stand there listening to Backstreet Boys and looking utterly confused over the Stove-Top stuffing directions?"

"That seems to be the case."

"I am not beyond starting a food fight."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The phone rang and Lindsay grabbed it off the counter, keeping one eye on Austin lest she make good on the threat.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Stella."

"Hey Stell."

"So I hope you're not cutting vegetables already."

"No, not yet."

"Because I went ahead and grabbed a relish tray this morning, so you don't have to worry about it."

"Really? You rock."

"Yeah, I thought so. You girls don't burn anything down, okay?"

"Don't worry, I just got my fire extinguisher serviced."

"Dirty!" Austin shouted.

"Oh dear."

"Good luck with that, Lindsay. See you later."

They hung up and Lindsay looked over at Austin who was giggling.

"Sorry. I never get a chance to say that."

"Okay, so I'm not trying to be misogynistic or nothin'," Danny started.

"Big word."

"But I'm really glad that women have natural inclinations in the kitchen."

Lindsay and Austin glanced at each other, not sure where to take the compliment.

"So what are you saying there, Danny?"

"Just that… this is really good. Why, what do you think I was saying?"

"You don't want to clarify your words?" Austin asked, arching an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

"I think what Danny means is thanks for making dinner," Mac said with a grin.

"See, chivalry is not dead, nor does it wear a wife beater," Austin said, tossing her rolled up napkin at Danny's head.

"But apparently the concept of being a lady is lost on you, Graceless."

"Maybe it is, but she's only trying to be a lady for you. I'd give up as well," Lindsay said with a shrug. Austin snickered while Danny glared.

"Why is everyone pickin' on me?"

"Cuz you open your mouth without thinkin' ninety percent of the time," Adam answered. "And these women here, they jump on stuff like that. You gotta be in tune with your audience."

"You're going to give me advice on women, Adam? Seriously?"

"You don't have to take it."

"It might be better if I don't. I mean, you're not exactly really up on the issues."

"Because I don't read GQ?"

"No, because you read Gamer's Monthly."

Lindsay was trying so hard not to burst out laughing that she was afraid her chest might actually explode. That would be nice and festive.

"At least I read and don't just look at the pictures."

"At least I have a pulse."

"At least the pulse I have doesn't objectify women."

"At least I don't… ah, I'm out."

Stella and Mac rolled their eyes in perfect unison, much to the amusement of Lindsay and Austin who both happened to see it, and unfortunately looked at each other. Girlish giggles erupted from their side of the table and Danny sighed, shaking his head. There would be no living with either one of them after this.

"You know, I think that since all you boys are off the clock now, and all us girls have to get on the clock, all you boys should clean this up," Stella said, checking her watch.

"Oh man, come on Stella!"

"Yeah!" Adam agreed. "There is nothing worse than cleaning up Thanksgiving dinner when you have a tryptophan hangover."

"I can think of something worse," Lindsay supplied, standing up from the table. "Conan O'Brien in his boxers, eating jelly beans."

"Aw, Lindsay! That was six months ago! You lured me into a false sense of security that you had forgotten about it."

"I never go back on a promise, buddy."

She patted his shoulder and left the room, Stella and Austin following her.

"So, what are the odds of them cleaning this up if we just leave it?" Flack asked, checking his tie to make sure he hadn't dropped anything on it.

"I think it might be more accurate to ask what the odds are of us being alive after they inevitably clean this up because we left it," Mac countered, standing up. "We'd better get to work. If I know Stella, she'll be back to check on us in 20 minutes."

"She's mean."

"No she's not. She's really just a pink fuzzy bunny," Flack said. "Like Mac."

"I am pretty sure I resent that."

Adam's shirt was wet up to the elbows with dishwater and he was pretty certain the gravy on his pants had been a carefully executed sabotage by Danny and Flack. No one ever said that men could safely be left to their own devices though, so he shouldn't have been surprised.

Night had fallen around the lab, and it was quiet, the lights dimmed just a little as people went about their work. Everything seemed to slow down on the holidays, even if crime and evidence waited for no man. The slower pace was a nice reprieve anyway.

He was heading home, but wanted to find Lindsay before he left. He felt like he hadn't seen her all day, despite eating dinner together. It was the time alone that he really loved, even if it was just a moment.

He peeked into the lab and found her concentrating on some reports, her brow furrowed as she tried to connect the dots. She sighed and bit her lip, shuffling through the papers again.

"Hey," he started, stepping into the room.

"Hey. I thought you'd left already."

"On my way out. Wanna walk me?"

"Sure."

She stood up and joined him in the hallway, both of them walking slowly towards the elevator.

"So did you end up getting your coffee?"

"I'm on my fourth cup."

"I'll get your real stuff down later."

"Yes, yes you will."

He smiled and grabbed her wrist, pulling her down a dark hallway that probably hadn't been used in months.

"Hey, what are you-"

"Just c'mere."

The hallway was dark enough that she could barely see him, and before she could process what was going on, she had been back up against the wall, his lips descending on hers in the most frenzied kiss she'd received from him to date. She gasped from the surprise of it, then regained her balance and returned the fervor, her hands wrapped around his arms to keep from falling.

"What in the world…?" she questioned, near panting when he pulled away. He just smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Night Linds."

She leaned back against the wall, grinning as she watched him walk away. Leave it to him to completely distract her from what she was supposed to be doing. And breaking their cardinal rule of no PDA at work? Maybe he wasn't such a good boy after all.

She was nearly humming as she made her way back down the hall, no motivation to get back to work. She'd probably get after him for it later, but she was going to enjoy it for now.

She came around the corner and nearly ran into Stella and Austin, who were deep in conversation about an autopsy report.

"Oh, sorry," she said, still distracted.

Stella took one look at her, took in her huge grin and the flush on her cheeks and knew exactly what had just happened.

"Couldn't keep it away from work, could you?" Stella asked with a smirk.

Lindsay just giggled, her eyes drifting to the floor.

"Wait, what am I missing?" Austin asked, crossing her arms.

"Nothin'," Lindsay answered softly.

"Oh come on, you…"

Realization dawned on her; the pictures on the fridge, the other picture on Lindsay's bedside table that she'd noticed when she had used the bathroom, the fact that Adam was a pretty prominent figure in a lot of stories Lindsay had told her.

"Seriously?"

"Shh."

"Really? Really, really?"

"Yes, really. Stop acting so scandalized."

"Oh, it all makes sense now! I'm not insane. Finally some good news. And now Danny owes me a fifty. I mean, not to belittle this, but Adam has been way too happy lately."

"Yes, and I am taking the credit."

"With such confidence she says this."

"I have work to do. Don't go running your mouth about this, Austin. Not even to Danny."

"Why not!" she screeched, crossing her arms.

"Mostly because I said so. Keep your pants on."

Austin's jaw dropped and she half chuckled.

"Dang, sister's got 'tude."

"Yes, I do," Lindsay said with a little smile before escaping back into the lab. She loved having this secret, but she also liked spilling the beans sometimes too. Of course leaking the truth meant she and Adam were going to have to have another talk about when to tell people. Not that it really mattered as much now as it had at the beginning. They were both in it to stay, neither of them fearing that it would end as suddenly as it had started. It was safe now. Maybe it was time after all.