CORACAO NESASIO

I am not going to tell you what the title means until the end of the story. If you know what it means, please DO NOT put it in any reviews or anything. I want it to be a mystery. :)

This is going to be told through Lindsay's POV. Although I may try a chapter or two from Mac's perspective.

This is a DL fic. It also has kind of a Mac/Danny, father/son vibe.

Summary; Starts off with 'Zoo York'. Danny and Lindsay met for the first time at the New York City Zoo. He had been confident, snarky. He had even played a small joke on her. Despite this, Lindsay could tell that her new colleague was hiding something, but once she discovers what it is, what will happen next?

I do not own anything.

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Chapter One: Meeting a Mystery

I walked up to the Tiger exhibit. It was my first day here in the Big Apple, and I'd already been called in to the field. I saw a stern looking man kneeling down next to a tiger. I knew immediately that this wasn't going to be like anything I had ever worked on. It was a tiger for Christ's sake! I tried to compose myself as I finally reached the metal bars of the enclosure. I paused, taking in the crime scene. There appeared to be bloody body parts strewn about on the ground. It was quite gruesome, but I've seen worse... Much worse.

"Detective Taylor?" I hazarded a guess.

He looked up at me with a blank face, "Yeah", and quickly put his eyes back on the tiger, though the look on his face told me I still had his attention.

I felt myself smiling. I could tell right away that this man, despite his stern face and legendary reputation, would be quite easy to work with. "Lindsay Monroe", I introduced myself, smiling.

Detective Taylor looked back up again, also wearing a small grin, "My new investigator from Bozeman." It had not been a question. He seemed to be simply filling in the blanks for himself.

I nodded, "Your office said that you wanted me to come down as soon as I arrived?"

He gave me an odd look that I could not decipher, "Glove up."

"Now?" I asked. I had assumed that since this was to be my first case with them, I would probably be sitting on the sidelines for most of it. Of course, if the rumors I heard about Mac Taylor were true, he never was one to stick to the normal protocol.

He looked up once again, a smirk on his face, "Are you here to watch or work?" He was pouring some water into a bowl with casting powder in it.

Well, work of course! I hastily put down my kit and take out a pair of gloves. "Do you want me to start processing?"

"No," he said, casually, "Danny's got that covered." He nodded his head, indicating a person standing behind me.

I turned to meet the person.

"That'd me, Danny Messer. How ya doin'?" He was obviously a native new yorker, if the accent was any indication. I couldn't tell if he was giving me a sincere smile, or a smirk.

At first glance, I never would have thought that man would be a cop, much less a crime scene investigator. Back in Bozeman, all the officers seemed to have disturbingly similar features; Stern face, hard eyes, neatly kept hair, and they were always professionally dressed. From what I'd seen so far in New York, the standard seemed to still apply. This guy however, had a puppy-dog face and soft brown eyes, hidden behind stylish glasses. His hair seemed to be spiked up in some places and lay flat in the others (although she had to admit, the look fit him). He wore what appeared to be a white wife beater, underneath a nice dress shirt and to top it all off, a rather worn looking leather jacket. He had latex gloves on and was gripping a camera.

"Hi" I said, slightly unsteady. I was still not sure what to think of this man.

I looked back when Mac spoke up once again, "I'll need you to hold the tiger's jaws so that I can get the dental impression." My eyes widened a bit at his request.

I felt Danny lean in closer to me, speaking reassuringly, "Jus' take a deep breath, don't let 'im know yer afraid, 'cause he can sense when yer nervous."

I replied back to him, "The tiger's tranquilized." I looked back at him, "I think I can handle it."

He leaned in again, "I was talkin' 'bout Mac." His seemed dead serious. He began to walk away, and then, as if an afterthought turned back and said "An' make sure ya call 'im 'sir'." I turned, only to see him wandering off, supposedly in search of evidence.

I walked through the employees' entrance to the enclosure and knelt down next to my newly acquainted boss. I grabbed the tiger's jaws, prying them open. Suddenly, Danny's words came back to me. And in spite of them (or maybe because of them), I was suddenly very nervous.

'Oh no, ' I thought to myself, 'don't go spouting random facts like you always do when you're nervous'.

He was just placing the casting material in the tiger's mouth as I let it slip out. "You know, petting a cat has been scientifically proven to lower your blood pressure?"

He looked at me, one eye brow raised, "Maybe our vic heard the same thing." Was he patronizing me, or just being nice? I couldn't tell.

'Just shut up, already!' I berated myself. Mac was now pressing the tiger's paw into a foam mold. I still couldn't stop, "Tiger's stripes are like fingerprints, no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes." He was looking at me, quizzically this time.

'Stop talking!' My mouth kept going though, "Females range eight to nine feet long..." He continued to stare at me. "Sorry sir, I recite meaningless trivia when I'm nervous."

"This is a male." he said pointedly, gesturing toward the lower half of the feline's anatomy. I glanced over, a blush burning my cheeks.

"Right, should have checked first, sir."

Looking back down at the task at hand, Mac said one more thing, "And don't call me 'sir'."

I looked over my shoulder. I could see Detective Messer standing there, pretending that he had not been listening. I could tell he was holding in his laughter.

'What the hell?' I thought.

About two hours later, I found myself still in the tiger enclosure. The large cats had been relocated to a safer location. Danny, after returning from questioning people, as well as a tall, blue-eyed detective, who had politely introduced himself as Don Flack had joined us. I found myself shooting angry glares in Danny's general direction every few minutes. I listened closely as Danny informed Mac of what he had learned, while questioning the staff and patrons of the zoo. I was crouching in the dirt, examining some of the body parts that the tigers had not gotten a chance to eat. Mac was busy at the top of a ladder, which was leaning against the fake rocks. Danny was stabilizing the bottom of the ladder, as a precaution.

"I've got blood trace" Mac said in a monotone voice.

"Nice," said Danny, enthusiastically. "I got the curator gettin' us the list of all the people who have access to the zoo after hours. Like the vets, feeders, security... Not includin' the nut jobs who sneak in from the river though."

Mac responded quickly, "We need to have the curator have his crew save anything the tiger passes and get to down to us."

"Passes?" I asked, worriedly. Surely Mac didn't mean...

Danny interrupted my thoughts. "Passes... I'm sure ya never seen anythin' like that that up in Montana."

I didn't miss a beat, "Ever seen what a full-grown black bear can do to a person?"

He lat loose a soft chuckle.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

He was cut off by the alarm on his wrist watch. He looked down at it, a frown marring his face. He sighed, "Damnit" He looked up at Mac, "Hey, boss." Mac looked down at his employee. Danny pointed a finger at his watch. Mac nodded, with an understanding look.

"It's alright, Danny, I think we've got it from here. You can go." said Mac gently.

I watched all this happen, and the detective in me was ashamed to say that I had no idea what was going on.

Danny let out another sigh. "I'll be back at the lab as soon as I can." Lindsay could tell he was frustrated.

"We know, Danny, go ahead. We'll see ya later" Detective Flack told him. He to had an understanding expression on his face.

'What the hell? Where is Danny going?' I thought. I wasn't angry or anything. Just curious. Especially since Danny, for the first time since I met him, looked sad.

Danny nodded. He took off his gloves, picked up his kit, and walked quickly toward his department issue SUV.

I couldn't stand being in the dark anymore. "Where's he going?"

"None o' yer business" snapped Flack, in a rather defensive tone. My face adopted a hurt look. Don sighed, "Sorry." he apologized.

Mac chimed in, "It's kind of a personal matter, Lindsay. You should probably just leave it alone."

I nodded. It's not like I was going to contradict my new supervisor on my first day.

I looked again in the direction Danny had driven off to. How mysterious.

"Let's finish up here. Then we can go to the lab and we can introduce you to the rest of our team."

I nodded again, getting back to work.

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For those of you who are reading my other story, 'Entanglement', don't worry, I'm not abandoning it or anything. An idea just popped into my head and I had to start a story before I forgot it. (I'm quite forgetful)

Please review!!