A/N So, I am back … kind of. I have had so many people tell me that Flack needs a girlfriend, so I decided to give him one  This is my first attempt at a multi-chapter work, so be kind. This story is also completely AU. However, it fits in with series of D/L one-shots – in other words, Danny and Lindsay are married with twins, for what little they appear in this work. Really, it is devoted to the man I adore – Flack!

I apologize in advance for any geographical errors. I have fictionalized most places and such as I am Canadian and have never actually been to New York City. Some processes are also being written from my Canadian perspective, because frankly, I'm too lazy to research the differences, and this is fiction after all LOL

Disclaimer – Okay, okay, I stole him. I have taken Donald Flack, Jr., and I'm using him for my own purposes. I confess. But I don't apologize, 'cause I'm having way too much fun! But in all seriousness, with the exception of my AU characters, everything really belongs to Anthony Zuiker et al. Damn it.

XXX CSI: NY XXX CSI:NY XXX CSI:NY XXX CSI: NY XXX CSI:NY XXX CSI:NY

Don walked into Sullivan's, his body the customary contradiction of exhausted and keyed-up after what turned out to be a thirty-six-hour tour. He desperately needed a drink, so he waded through the Friday night crowd towards the bar.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry," a woman apologized as she turned from the bar with her drink and nearly spilled it all over him, obviously not realizing he had been quite so close behind her.

"No harm done," Don offered with a dimpled grin. As their eyes met, he could swear she blushed.

She bit her lip, nodded quickly at him, then slid past and walked back over to the table she had been sharing with her friends.

"Damn," he swore under his breath, his eyes following her back to her table, before he turned back to the bartender as he took a seat at the bar. "She ever been in here before?"

Frankie shook his head. "Trust me, I wouldn't have forgotten. She's cute," he added as he turned to help another patron.

"Yeah." Don glanced over his shoulder once again towards the table she had returned to. She was rolling her eyes at something her friends had said, and cute did not begin to describe her for him. There had been something about her, something in her eyes when she had looked at him.

"Hey, man, sorry I'm late," offered Danny, taking a seat at the bar beside his best friend a couple of minutes later.

"Not a problem. I was late getting away anyway. This Rollins case is turning into a headache. You up for some pool?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Beer, Danny?" Frankie asked he returned to their end of the bar.

"No, thanks, I'm on in a couple hours. Just a soda."

"And you, Flack?"

"The usual."

They waited for their drinks then the two cops headed back and secured a pool table.

"Somethin' botherin' you, man?" Danny asked as they played, noticing his friend was definitely distracted by something.

"No, I'm fine."

Messer followed his best friend's gaze then, which he discovered had fallen on a beautiful girl sitting at a table with a couple of girlfriends. She was laughing at something, and Danny could see why Flack was entranced. "She's definitely fine. Who is she?"

Don turned back to him, shaking his head. "Don't know."

Danny missed his next shot, so he set his queue down and took a sip of his soda while Don set up his shot. He took the opportunity to look back over at the girl Don had been watching. Chin length auburn hair, hanging in waves. A cute button nose. She was dressed casually in jeans and a v-neck red sweater, both of which seemed to emphasize her curves. "Is that a Jerusalem cross? You don't see many of 'em 'round here."

Don missed his shot, distracted by the proclamation. "What?"

Danny shrugged. "I remember seeing one a couple years ago on a case. You can get 'em here, but usually someone only gets one if they've actually been to Israel."

"What's your point?"

He raised his eyebrows at his best friend's tone. Flack sounded almost defensive or angry that Danny had noticed anything about her. "Nothin'. I'm just sayin'."

"Monroe know you spend your time in bars studying other women?"

"I was just making an observation. You've been staring at her since we started playing. You're obviously interested."

"I'm sorry. She bumped into me at the bar earlier and there – I don't know. There's just something about her."

"So, go talk to her."

"She's not the kind of girl that wants to get picked up in a bar, Dan."

"I didn't suggest you take her out to the back alley. She definitely doesn't look like that kind of girl. Unlike Devon," Messer smirked.

"It's been a while. You can lay off now."

"C'mon, Flack, not one of your brighter moments and you know it. She was definitely a little … vapid."

"Like every woman you dated before Lindsay was worth writin' home about."

"Okay, okay, point taken. But c'mon, you're better off, right? Now you're free to – I don't know, explore other possibilities." He glanced in the direction of the woman Don had been watching, then proceeded to make his next few shots as Don considered what he had said. He was lining up another when his cell buzzed indicating a text message. He pulled it off his belt and sighed.

"What?"

"DOA down on the subway. Mac needs me in now. I'll see ya later, huh?"

"Yeah. Have a good shift."

Don watched his friend head off, then he hung up their queues and walked back over to the bar.

"Another Guinness, Flack?" Frankie asked.

"Yeah, thanks, man."

"Long day?"

"Long tour. I'll tell ya, Frankie, sometimes I don't know why I do this."

"I would've thought after that big drug bust way back when you could've got out of the homicide business."

"Believe it or not, I chose to stay in."

Frankie got his drink and set it in front of him. "Looks like your day is about to look up, my friend." He glanced to the detective's left. "Another – what did you call it – Torpedo, beautiful?"

Don glanced up to find the woman from earlier standing beside him.

She smiled at Frankie. "Please. Not many places stock B&B. You're my new favourite bartender."

"A girl after my own heart," Frankie replied. "You're my new favourite customer. I'll get that drink for ya."

She bit her lip as she waited, tapping her hand on the bar. Quickly realizing that Don was staring at her, she looked at him sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Not a problem," he replied with a smile.

When Frankie returned, he set a pint in front of Don and the Torpedo in front of the woman.

As she reached into her pocket, Don reached up and touched her arm, stopping her. "It's okay. I got this." He nodded toward Frankie to put it on his tab.

Frankie walked away to serve another customer, leaving the woman with no recourse.

"Where I come from, a gentleman never lets a beautiful woman pay for a drink," Don explained.

"Well, while I'm relieved to see that chivalry really isn't dead, letting me pay for a drink would not knock the world off its axis. And as I recall, I was the one who almost spilled my drink all over your suit earlier. I should be buying a round for you."

"Please tell me you're not a lawyer," he teased her.

"No," she laughed. "Why? You have something against lawyers?"

"I'm a homicide detective. We don't always get along."

"Ah. Well, never fear. I, uh – I work for an insurance company. Noelle Hansen." She extended her hand.

He shook her hand gently. "Don Flack. Can you sit for a minute?"

She quickly glanced over at her friends, then shrugged, trying her best to appear nonchalant as she said, "Sure." She took a seat on the stool next to him, bringing her drink to her lips for a sip.

"I've never known a woman to request B&B," Don commented.

"It's my father's fault. He discovered it a long time ago on a trip to Detroit. I've found very few places that stock it."

He nodded. "So, which insurance company do you work for?"

She hesitated for a moment. "Uh, Fisher-Mathews."

"The building down from the 2-5?" he asked.

She matched his smile, nodding at the reference.

"My dad was a constable in the precinct when I was a kid, so I spent a lot of time around that block. He drilled it into my head that if I was ever off wandering, just to look for the building with the weather beacon on top and once I got there, the station was just a block up the street."

"My dad worked for Fisher-Mathews until he retired, so I used to sometimes come into the city on Saturdays with him. I remember playing around the 2-5."

"So, you grew up here in New York?"

"Yes. Midtown born and raised."

"And now you work for Fisher-Mathews, too. And, what, just out with the girls to unwind after a long week?"

Again, she hesitated. "Something like that."

"I hear ya." He took a sip of his beer.

"Your job must be pretty intense. I imagine there must be a constant adrenaline rush when you're on duty."

"Sometimes. That part doesn't bother me, though. What gets me sick and tired is the stupidity out there, ya know? Seeing people hurt other people because of money, or jealousy, or because they're kids with no parents 'round to teach 'em any better."

"Hmm. Well, that I can definitely understand. Everything's changed since we were kids, huh?"

"My father never would've let me get away with half the things the kids pull these days," he laughed.

"Yeah, mine either."

The conversation flowed easily between the two. They were sitting pretty close as they chatted. She had an arm resting on the bar and every once in a while, her hand would gently touch his hand or his arm. He was more than encouraging. An he was surprised when he glanced at his watch during a pause in conversation and noticed that forty-five minutes has passed. He looked back up at Noelle to find her brow furrowed as she, too, had noticed the time. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh, no. I just – My friend's got to catch a train in half an hour. We were planning to leave right about now."

"Oh." He was disappointed. It had been a long time since he had found it so easy to be with someone and he was sorry to see the evening end.

Noelle did not consider herself very talented in the art of reading men, but she felt pretty confident that he was not grateful to hear she had to go. So, she took a chance: "But I, uh – I actually have another couple hours before my last train pulls out, so I can just tell them to go on ahead without me."

"I'll make sure you get to the station safely," he assured her with a smile.

"In that case, I'll be right back." She wavered for a moment, the headed back over to her friends.

"I take back my initial judgment. She's beyond cute. You get her number?" Frankie asked while Don sipped his Guinness.

Don flashed his dimpled grin. "Better. She's not leaving yet. She's just telling her friends to take off," he explained.

Frankie raised his eyebrows. "Looks like your day's definitely looking up."

"It certainly is. Put their drinks on my tab, huh?" He stood and waited for Noelle to return, then suggested they grab a table.

They sat together in an out-of-the-way booth. Soon they were completely oblivious to the rest of the patrons in the bar as they once again became engrossed in conversation. They found they had a lot of things in common, from their backgrounds to their tastes in music and movies. She looked so beautiful when she laughed, and her sense of humour was very similar to his, he noticed. She was definitely different from most of the women he had an opportunity to encounter in his daily life.

Before they knew it, the time was closing in on Noelle's last train out. Glancing at her watch, she sighed. "I gotta get going."

"If you let me drive you home, we can hang out a while longer."

"That's really sweet, but my place is out of your way. I'm just going to jump on the subway and I'll be home in twenty minutes."

"Well, when can I see you again?" Don asked.

For yet another time that evening, he noticed her hesitate.

"Noelle –"

"Look, Don, I – " She bit her lip as if contemplating something, then smiled. "I, uh – I'd love to see you again, too."

He flashed her a grin. "What about tomorrow?" He looked at his watch. "Well, I guess later today. Dinner?"

She felt her knees weaken a little at his eagerness. "Dinner. Sure," she agreed, not even considering.

"Great."

"Okay." She gave him her number, which he promptly programmed into his cell phone.

He gave her another of his gorgeous grins. "Cool. I'll, uh – I'm just gonna go settle up then I'll walk you to the station."

He went over to the bar to settle his tab with Frankie, then he ushered Noelle out of Sullivan's and guided her down the street towards the subway station. At the top of the steps leading down to the subway, they stood, both reluctant to call it a night.

"So, you must know Astor's, right?" Don asked.

"Of course."

"How 'bout we head there for dinner?"

"Sounds perfect. I'll just meet you – it's like a five minute walk from my apartment."

"All right. Seven?"

"Sure."

He flashed her another smile. "You know, I'd feel a lot better if you let me take you home…"

"It's a twenty minute train ride. My apartment's a block from the station so I'll be fine," she assured him.

"All right. All right. Just, uh … Be careful, okay? And I'll see ya later." Don hesitated for a moment before he finally leaned over and kissed her cheek, lingering just a second longer than necessary beside her. "Goodnight."

Noelle felt butterflies in her stomach fluttering even faster at his close proximity than they had before.

And with that, she grudgingly headed down to catch the subway and he hesitantly walked off back towards headquarters to get his car, both anticipating their date.