Tuesday evening, Danny's office
Danny leaned back in his chair at the lab, checking the time before dialing Mac's number again. Not stalking him, just wanted to check in with him before he chickened out once again. Since Lindsay was busy, this was the perfect time.
Mac was in his office working on his latest case and stewing about this weekend. Irritated when he heard his phone ring, he picked it up and barked, "Taylor."
"Whoa, Mac." Danny flinched, sitting up straight in his seat. Okay, calling was a bad idea. "'s Danny. Returning your call."
"Danny," Mac sighed. "Sorry. Just busy." He shuffled the paperwork on his desk over to the side and leaned back. "How's it going up there?"
"Yeah, know the feeling." Danny shrugged his shoulder, leaning back again as he spun his chair to look out the window. "It's goin' well. Actually, wanted to thank you for helpin' me get this job."
"You're welcome. Thought it might do you some good, getting out of the city. You like it up there?" Mac watched the goings-on outside his office. "How is it working under Lindsay?"
"I miss the city, but.. if this is where I gotta be, at least there's someone I know." Danny grinned, having to bite his lip hard to keep from laughing at Mac's question. "Oh.. uh, it's good. She's fair. And you really could have warned me that she'd be my boss!"
Mac laughed. "Well, I figured she'd fill you in. Glad you're making it work up there. It's," he paused. "It's not the same around here without you, Danny." That was the closest he'd likely come to telling Danny that the lab missed him, but it was just how he was. "Glad you two are working it out. Bit different from how it was here, isn't it?"
Danny nodded. "Doing what I can. It's a.. culture shock." He wet his lips, sighing out softly. "Thanks, Mac. I never expected I'd end up somewhere like here." He missed NYC like crazy, but.. certain people made it easier. "It's a completely different world. Slower, but the crimes are still interesting. You should come up, check it out."
Mac coughed. "Ah, no. Don't think that's possible anytime soon. But, thanks for the offer. Might take you up on it at some point." He shook his head and turned to look at the decorations on his wall. "So, how's Lindsay? She adjusting well?"
"Too busy? If you ever want to make it, let me know." Danny smirked, yeah, figured. Still not on his good side, apparently. He looked down, swallowing, praying he didn't let anything slip because she's his boss. "Oh, yeah, she seems to be doing fine. We're becoming friends. Can you believe that? We still do all of that yelling and stuff, but we're getting along."
Mac raised an eyebrow. "You yell at your boss? I see." He frowned. Didn't like the thought of Danny yelling at Lindsay. Didn't much like the thought of Danny doing *anything* to Lindsay.
"No, not like that." Danny bit down on his lower lip. Shit, Mac was on the phone and still so intimidating. "We're better than we were in New York. We.. agree more. Work together well. All a'that."
Mac nodded. "Well, that's good. You need to respect her, no matter how you might feel about her, Danny. She's your superior now, not the new kid." There was something in Danny's tone that Mac couldn't put a finger on, like he was hiding something. He sounded like he had during the Tanglewood case. This did not please Mac. "She settling in alright?" He desperately wanted to ask Danny if she was seeing anyone, but he knew he couldn't.
Danny let out a breath, tense as he put his feet up on the corner of his desk. "Yeah, my superior. I'm lead up here, which is good. And whenever she disappears somewhere, I get to be in charge. She trusts me." And boy did she ever. Which was something he hadn't gotten from Mac in a year. He hoped it wasn't in his voice. "She's settling in, yeah. Makin' friends, goin out."
"She made you lead? That's good. Make sure you don't let her regret it." Damn. That might have been a little harsh, but when he'd put Danny on the promotion grid, well... "She disappear often? Lindsay's only been there a little while longer than you have, she shouldn't make it a habit."
"...yeah, wasn't planning on it." Danny swallowed hard. Mac was never gonna forgive him for that, was he? Even all the way up here. So thankful he'd left. "Nah, not often. But in the case that she has to go to conferences, take a weekend off or what have ya. We met with the mayor the other week, he seemed pretty impressed."
"So you're on the mayor's radar now. Good work. Was it just a meet and greet, get to know the new faces in town?" Mac pressed his lips together. "Hmm. There's a conference coming up in April that you both might be interested in." Good, Mac. Suggest that they go somewhere together. "On blood spatter analysis, actually. I'll send her the info, you can work it out between you."
"Yeah, pretty much.. A welcome party for our new DA. Montana was invited, dragged me along to meet everyone." Danny wet his lips, remembering the dress she wore, too. "Yeah? Where's it at? Might be good for us to go to." Niice.. Little trip together, somewhere not here.. "Our lab should be able to give us both the time, too."
Mac grunted. She hadn't said anything to him about a party, let alone taking Danny with her. "I hope you two went as representatives of your lab." Damn. Too much. Shit. "Wouldn't want to give anyone the wrong impression," he tried to cover. "Not that anything improper is going on, of course." He hoped. "The conference is in--" he looked at the flier he'd just received -- "Las Vegas. I know the director there, Conrad Ecklie. If you're planning on going, let me know."
Danny swallowed hard, squinting suddenly at the tone of Mac's voice. Was that jealousy? Or just Mac bringing him down as usual? "Right, and what exactly is your idea of improper, Mac? It was an official party, and I'm pretty sure I know how to behave." He bit his lower lip. "Vegas? Never been there. I should go, just to get updated on things. Haven't been to a conference in awhile."
"Danny, I didn't mean anything by that. I know you know how to act at a function like that." Damnit. He'd let too much slip. Even though he'd said nothing, it was all right there in his tone. "I haven't been to Las Vegas in years. Went there for an entymology conference a while back, given by a Gil Grissom. Man was a genius when it came to bugs." He paused and sipped his coffee. "You should go, get out there. Everyone should go to Las Vegas at least once." Might give him a chance to be alone with Lindsay, if she didn't go. He idly wondered if there was any hope for the two of them.
Danny bit back a reply, swallowing hard. "Sure. It was boring as hell, don't know how people put up with going to those kinds of things." He leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "Grissom.. heard of him. Read some of his research not long ago." He tapped his fingers lightly on his armrest. "I'll see if I can. Work something out with Lindsay, see if she's interested instead. Since I gotta coordinate everything with her now."
Mac frowned. He seemed to be doing that alot in this conversation. "Coordinate with her? Hm. Guess I'm just not used to you being so accepting of your superiors." That was low, and Mac knew it. "And you get used to the parties. Comes with being a supervisor, or being a lead. Part and parcel."
Danny pulled the phone away from his ear, staring it before putting it back to his ear. "Yeah, well, she's not what I'm used to, either. She doesn't rush to judge me without hearing me out." Except Friday in the car, ouch. "And yeah, they're just not my style, thats all."
Mac winced, and had anyone been looking in his office at that moment, they would have seen it. "Danny. I," he didn't know how to say it. COuldn't bring himself to. "You're an asset up there. Lindsay's lucky to have you." He sighed. "Look, I should get back to work. There was a big break in a case this weekend, and everyone's still ... you know how it is. If you talk to Lindsay, could you tell her to call me?"
"Yeah." Danny shrugged, biting down on his lower lip. "Don told me about the case, so good luck with it... always a good feeling to break a case wide open, Mac. I'll pass the message onto Lindsay, we're having dinner tonight. So I'll tell her to give you a call as soon as she can."
Mac's mouth dropped open. He was having dinner with her? So the smiles during the phone calls were more than just friendly. And maybe Danny was the reason she wasn't returning his phonecalls. Got it. He swallowed. "Right. Thanks. So, I'll talk to you again, Danny. Glad you're making it work up there."
Danny smirked. Yeah, just like that, he still had it. Wonder why Mac was so pissed off, it's not like he had any reason to be or that he knew he was with her. He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm making it work. Got some good people up here. And if you need to get in touch with me, Flack knows where I am. Or leave a message."
"Gotcha. Have a good night, Danny. Take care of Lindsay," Mac said as casually as he could possibly make it sound.
"Will do, Mac. Have a good night." Danny shrugged before taking the phone away from his ear and clicking it off. Whatever. Don't know what he did to make Mac act like this with him still. He'd thought they've moved past Tanglewood. Guess not. He glanced over at the clock and sighed. Time to go see if Lindsay was ready to get going.
Danny needed a beer.
Mac was in his office working on his latest case and stewing about this weekend. Irritated when he heard his phone ring, he picked it up and barked, "Taylor."
"Whoa, Mac." Danny flinched, sitting up straight in his seat. Okay, calling was a bad idea. "'s Danny. Returning your call."
"Danny," Mac sighed. "Sorry. Just busy." He shuffled the paperwork on his desk over to the side and leaned back. "How's it going up there?"
"Yeah, know the feeling." Danny shrugged his shoulder, leaning back again as he spun his chair to look out the window. "It's goin' well. Actually, wanted to thank you for helpin' me get this job."
"You're welcome. Thought it might do you some good, getting out of the city. You like it up there?" Mac watched the goings-on outside his office. "How is it working under Lindsay?"
"I miss the city, but.. if this is where I gotta be, at least there's someone I know." Danny grinned, having to bite his lip hard to keep from laughing at Mac's question. "Oh.. uh, it's good. She's fair. And you really could have warned me that she'd be my boss!"
Mac laughed. "Well, I figured she'd fill you in. Glad you're making it work up there. It's," he paused. "It's not the same around here without you, Danny." That was the closest he'd likely come to telling Danny that the lab missed him, but it was just how he was. "Glad you two are working it out. Bit different from how it was here, isn't it?"
Danny nodded. "Doing what I can. It's a.. culture shock." He wet his lips, sighing out softly. "Thanks, Mac. I never expected I'd end up somewhere like here." He missed NYC like crazy, but.. certain people made it easier. "It's a completely different world. Slower, but the crimes are still interesting. You should come up, check it out."
Mac coughed. "Ah, no. Don't think that's possible anytime soon. But, thanks for the offer. Might take you up on it at some point." He shook his head and turned to look at the decorations on his wall. "So, how's Lindsay? She adjusting well?"
"Too busy? If you ever want to make it, let me know." Danny smirked, yeah, figured. Still not on his good side, apparently. He looked down, swallowing, praying he didn't let anything slip because she's his boss. "Oh, yeah, she seems to be doing fine. We're becoming friends. Can you believe that? We still do all of that yelling and stuff, but we're getting along."
Mac raised an eyebrow. "You yell at your boss? I see." He frowned. Didn't like the thought of Danny yelling at Lindsay. Didn't much like the thought of Danny doing *anything* to Lindsay.
"No, not like that." Danny bit down on his lower lip. Shit, Mac was on the phone and still so intimidating. "We're better than we were in New York. We.. agree more. Work together well. All a'that."
Mac nodded. "Well, that's good. You need to respect her, no matter how you might feel about her, Danny. She's your superior now, not the new kid." There was something in Danny's tone that Mac couldn't put a finger on, like he was hiding something. He sounded like he had during the Tanglewood case. This did not please Mac. "She settling in alright?" He desperately wanted to ask Danny if she was seeing anyone, but he knew he couldn't.
Danny let out a breath, tense as he put his feet up on the corner of his desk. "Yeah, my superior. I'm lead up here, which is good. And whenever she disappears somewhere, I get to be in charge. She trusts me." And boy did she ever. Which was something he hadn't gotten from Mac in a year. He hoped it wasn't in his voice. "She's settling in, yeah. Makin' friends, goin out."
"She made you lead? That's good. Make sure you don't let her regret it." Damn. That might have been a little harsh, but when he'd put Danny on the promotion grid, well... "She disappear often? Lindsay's only been there a little while longer than you have, she shouldn't make it a habit."
"...yeah, wasn't planning on it." Danny swallowed hard. Mac was never gonna forgive him for that, was he? Even all the way up here. So thankful he'd left. "Nah, not often. But in the case that she has to go to conferences, take a weekend off or what have ya. We met with the mayor the other week, he seemed pretty impressed."
"So you're on the mayor's radar now. Good work. Was it just a meet and greet, get to know the new faces in town?" Mac pressed his lips together. "Hmm. There's a conference coming up in April that you both might be interested in." Good, Mac. Suggest that they go somewhere together. "On blood spatter analysis, actually. I'll send her the info, you can work it out between you."
"Yeah, pretty much.. A welcome party for our new DA. Montana was invited, dragged me along to meet everyone." Danny wet his lips, remembering the dress she wore, too. "Yeah? Where's it at? Might be good for us to go to." Niice.. Little trip together, somewhere not here.. "Our lab should be able to give us both the time, too."
Mac grunted. She hadn't said anything to him about a party, let alone taking Danny with her. "I hope you two went as representatives of your lab." Damn. Too much. Shit. "Wouldn't want to give anyone the wrong impression," he tried to cover. "Not that anything improper is going on, of course." He hoped. "The conference is in--" he looked at the flier he'd just received -- "Las Vegas. I know the director there, Conrad Ecklie. If you're planning on going, let me know."
Danny swallowed hard, squinting suddenly at the tone of Mac's voice. Was that jealousy? Or just Mac bringing him down as usual? "Right, and what exactly is your idea of improper, Mac? It was an official party, and I'm pretty sure I know how to behave." He bit his lower lip. "Vegas? Never been there. I should go, just to get updated on things. Haven't been to a conference in awhile."
"Danny, I didn't mean anything by that. I know you know how to act at a function like that." Damnit. He'd let too much slip. Even though he'd said nothing, it was all right there in his tone. "I haven't been to Las Vegas in years. Went there for an entymology conference a while back, given by a Gil Grissom. Man was a genius when it came to bugs." He paused and sipped his coffee. "You should go, get out there. Everyone should go to Las Vegas at least once." Might give him a chance to be alone with Lindsay, if she didn't go. He idly wondered if there was any hope for the two of them.
Danny bit back a reply, swallowing hard. "Sure. It was boring as hell, don't know how people put up with going to those kinds of things." He leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "Grissom.. heard of him. Read some of his research not long ago." He tapped his fingers lightly on his armrest. "I'll see if I can. Work something out with Lindsay, see if she's interested instead. Since I gotta coordinate everything with her now."
Mac frowned. He seemed to be doing that alot in this conversation. "Coordinate with her? Hm. Guess I'm just not used to you being so accepting of your superiors." That was low, and Mac knew it. "And you get used to the parties. Comes with being a supervisor, or being a lead. Part and parcel."
Danny pulled the phone away from his ear, staring it before putting it back to his ear. "Yeah, well, she's not what I'm used to, either. She doesn't rush to judge me without hearing me out." Except Friday in the car, ouch. "And yeah, they're just not my style, thats all."
Mac winced, and had anyone been looking in his office at that moment, they would have seen it. "Danny. I," he didn't know how to say it. COuldn't bring himself to. "You're an asset up there. Lindsay's lucky to have you." He sighed. "Look, I should get back to work. There was a big break in a case this weekend, and everyone's still ... you know how it is. If you talk to Lindsay, could you tell her to call me?"
"Yeah." Danny shrugged, biting down on his lower lip. "Don told me about the case, so good luck with it... always a good feeling to break a case wide open, Mac. I'll pass the message onto Lindsay, we're having dinner tonight. So I'll tell her to give you a call as soon as she can."
Mac's mouth dropped open. He was having dinner with her? So the smiles during the phone calls were more than just friendly. And maybe Danny was the reason she wasn't returning his phonecalls. Got it. He swallowed. "Right. Thanks. So, I'll talk to you again, Danny. Glad you're making it work up there."
Danny smirked. Yeah, just like that, he still had it. Wonder why Mac was so pissed off, it's not like he had any reason to be or that he knew he was with her. He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm making it work. Got some good people up here. And if you need to get in touch with me, Flack knows where I am. Or leave a message."
"Gotcha. Have a good night, Danny. Take care of Lindsay," Mac said as casually as he could possibly make it sound.
"Will do, Mac. Have a good night." Danny shrugged before taking the phone away from his ear and clicking it off. Whatever. Don't know what he did to make Mac act like this with him still. He'd thought they've moved past Tanglewood. Guess not. He glanced over at the clock and sighed. Time to go see if Lindsay was ready to get going.
Danny needed a beer.