Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of CSI:NY, they belong to Anthony E. Zuiker and CBS.

Author's Note: I'm a HUGE Dancing With the Stars fanatic, and I think Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough are gorgeous together, and if they're dating, good for them! Sorry, off topic. Anyway, this just hit me while I was waiting for the elimination results tonight. Think it'll be a three shot, but it might turn out to be more if the reviews come in...

CHAPTER ONE

The beautiful blonde standing in Mac Taylor's office took Danny Messer's breath away.

Or, that could have been the elbow to the ribs from Lindsay Monroe.

...Either way, Danny was in trouble.

"What?" he defended himself. "Even you told me yourself you thought she was pretty."

"Yes, but my opinion doesn't matter, Messer. I can look at a beautiful woman all I want. You, however, are taken. You are not allowed to look. Well, you can look, but most definitely not allowed to appreciate," Lindsay Monroe replied.

"What'd you do this time Messer-wow, who's the blonde?" Don Flack asked as he came around the corner.

Danny looked at Lindsay and raised an eyebrow as if to say, See?

Then Flack received a slap to the back of the head, NCIS-style, from Stella Bonasera. "That's Annalise Stryker, she's one of the top ballroom dancers in the country. There's an international Latin competition in town this weekend. Annalise called the NYPD last night, claims someone was watching her at practice with her partner, and someone's been leaving threatening notes."

"So we're throwing together a protection detail?" Lindsay asked.

"Maybe, but since it's such a high profile case, I bet Mac gets someone undercover. It could be a fellow dancer."

"All this over a trophy and a title?" Sheldon Hawkes asked. He'd joined the conversation a moment ago.

"Ballroom dancing is a cutthroat world," Lindsay explained. "I've seen dancers step on toes and swing into each other during practice rounds to throw the other couple off. It's about being the best dancer in the world."

"So it ain't all frills and short skirts," Danny said, earning him another hit, this time to the shoulder. "Ow!" he complained. But the hit hadn't come from Lindsay this time- it had come from Stella.

Just then, Mac looked up, saw his team standing outside, and motioned them all in. One by one, they filed into his office. "What's up, Mac?" Stella asked him.

"I assume you all know Miss Stryker?" Mac asked them. Most of them nodded, having been privy to Stella's conversation. "Someone is going undercover at the International Latin Ballroom Dancing competition. I need a close eye on Miss Stryker and her partner, Anthony." He looked at Stella. "How's the McDermott case coming?"

Stella shook her head. "Mac, I don't know if I can pull an undercover assignment along with that case. McDermott's court date is in a week and I'm still processing."

"You're the only one on the team with dance training," he said.

"That's not true," Stella said. She looked over at Lindsay. "Lindsay knows some."

All eyes turned to Lindsay Monroe. She shifted on Mac's couch. "Yeah, I took a few ballroom classes in college," she admitted. "Nothing too fancy, though, waltz, tango, swing, stuff like that."

"But that's enough," Annalise said. "I can have you twirling like a passable pro in no time, if you have a little bit of background and can remember the steps."

"Lindsay, how about it?" Mac asked her, his tone giving her no room to suggest anything but a-

"Yes, I'll do it," Lindsay beat him to it.

"Excellent."

"But she will need a partner," Annalise said. "There are no alternates here in New York City."

"What about someone from a dance studio?" Stella suggested.

"That's a good idea," Mac said.

But the thought of Lindsay Monroe dancing with another man made someone in the room protest. "I can dance," Danny said quietly.

"What?" Mac had heard him. He looked over at him. Then, "Really?"

Danny gave his boss a funny look. "Sorry, Danny. You just don't seem like the dancing type," Mac admitted.

"It's been a few years, but I think I can pull it together with Lindsay and Annalise's help," he defended himself. He looked over in the corner, saw the look Flack was trying to hide.

"All right then. Danny, you're in. You and Lindsay will report to Annalise at the competition in a couple hours to start practicing," Mac said. "Don't worry, Miss Stryker, you're in capable hands."

Lindsay tracked down Danny in the break room. "You don't dance," she accused him quietly.

He didn't say anything. "I do, too," he said finally. "A little."

"Danny, we're talking some of the best ballroom dancers in the world! And I've never seen you do anything other than shake your ass at the Policeman's Ball!"

"Yeah, Messer, where did all this 'Mr. Suave Ballroom" come from?" Flack asked, coming inside.

"I can dance!" Danny replied. "It's just been a few years."

It was Hawkes, though, who figured it out. "You were jealous," he said. Everyone looked at him. "Aw, come on. His girlfriend's goin' undercover at a Latin championship and she woulda been bumpin' and grindin' with some other guy!" He grinned. "Danny was jealous!"

"That's what I thought," Flack said with a grin. Then he started laughing. "Monroe, good look on your assignment, 'cause you're gonna need it." He and Hawkes left the break room and burst out laughing when they thought they were out of earshot.

They weren't. Lindsay turned to Danny. "So...exactly how much dancing have you done?" she asked him.

He looked at the floor. "Last time I danced anything but 'bumping and grinding' as Hawkes put it...was my senior prom."

Lindsay's jaw dropped. "You haven't danced in...twenty years?" she asked him incredulously.

"It's been a few more than twenty," he replied miserably.

Lindsay groaned. Now, not only did she have to protect a high-exposure ballroom dancer and look for her stalker...but now the hardest part- she was gonna have to teach Danny Messer to dance!

Aaaaanndddd...review? Like it, love it, hate it?