Dawn….

Tidwell stood staring through the blinds in his office out at his detectives in the bay. Two particular detectives garnered most of his attention, Dani Reese and Charlie Crews. There was something different about them, he couldn't quite place his finger on it, but since Reese had returned in the past few weeks, there was something noticeably different about the two detectives.

Dani had been cool to him lately. She'd been through a lot with Roman and Tidwell gave her space, but maybe he'd given her too much. Maybe he needed to see her again outside of work, which he knew he wanted, but sensed Dani didn't.

Crews was like a shadow that never left, never further than an arm's length away, the man watched her continuously without even actually seeming to. It was subtle but Tidwell saw it. Crews was attuned to her every movement, expression and nuance in a way that made Tidwell envious. And Dani smiled for him, more freely than she'd ever smiled before, but he did rescue her from Roman, Tidwell thought. She owed him her life maybe that was it…. No…he thought…still not quite right.

Throughout that day and the next, he watched them together and noticed something he'd never seen before, something that was either new or which had gone unnoticed before. They spoke more with their eyes than their mouths, each seeking acknowledgement of the other, understanding and confirmation of intent without speech. What was more they seemed to find the answers they were seeking in each other without verbalizing it and accepted it. From time to time, one or both would shyly smile - understanding their link was unusual, but the connection was still fundamental and powerful.

Underneath he realized they were far closer than either of them wanted to admit so he asked Dani to dinner and decided to press the issue with her. He gently probed her connection with Crews and she stonewalled him, even becoming pissed at one point. He pushed back from the table and laid all his cards there for her to see.

"You love him you know?" he said simply. "You may not see it. He may not see it, but I see it." Her eyes widened and nostrils flared in anger, but he continued unabated.

"Look, I love being with you. I love us together, but I'd be a real jerk if I kept you from what you really wanted. What you have with Crews…we can never have that. You should try to make a go of it with him. If it doesn't work out, I'll be here. But I'm no fool Dani - he's what you want. He's who you want - even if you don't know it yet."

She said not one word, but stood up and walked away – and he was pretty sure she would not be back.

Dani Reese fumed all the way home and when she got there she sat in her car and cursed in every language she knew. How dare he? That man knew next to nothing about love. He'd fouled up three marriages and he had the gall to tell her who she loved? Really? She pulled out her cell phone and fingered the number she wanted to call – Crews.

Was she in love with Crews? More importantly, was he in love with her?

Instead she called her mother, which was no help whatsoever because her mother was a master at putting the ball back in Dani's court. As a result an hour later, she was still sitting in her car, only this time it was in Crews' darkened driveway.

He answered on the second ring, "hey Reese, got a body?"

Her mind did dirty things with that comment, so she said nothing for a moment and then blurted out "uh, no…are you busy?"

"Never too busy for you. What do you need?"

She wanted to say "you", but settled for a non-committal "someone to talk to" and the air on the other end of the phone was pregnant with possibilities.

So Dani Reese finally wanted to talk… she could imagine him thinking so she said it. "I know I'm not much of a talker, but…."

"…tonight's different? Tonight you want someone to talk to and you want that someone to be me?" he finished her thought for her as he did often.

Rather than patented annoyance, her sigh was one of relief as replied softly, "Yeah, something like that."

"Okay, then maybe you should get out of your car and come in the house," he smiled at her down the line and ended the call. Damn he knew she was there. Of course he knew she wondered how but accepted that he did.

She climbed from her car more than mildly chagrinned and he met her at the open front door and shepherded her inside. "Aren't you gonna ask me…"

"…what this is about?" he finished. She nodded. "I figured you'd tell me when you were ready."

"I think I'm ready," she began.

He cocked his head to the side and looked at her quizzically. Of course it would stand to reason that the really hard questions would have to come from her.

"I… uh….I think Tidwell and I just broke up," she divulged quickly.

"And you drove all the way here to tell me that?" he probed gently. He stood before her in jeans and faded t-shirt, barefoot with a hoodie hanging loosely off his tall frame.

"No," she lied, then instantly owned up to it, "yes."

"Why?" he inquired as he deliberately walked to within inches of her.

"He says…" she began but he stopped her with a shake of his head.

"I don't wanna know about him. I wanna know about you," he led her with his voice where she wanted to go anyway. "Tell me why you came here Dani. Why you came to me…"

She stood stock still facing him, staring into his guileless blue eyes until she had no fear anymore, until all she saw was her partner, the man she trusted and loved. He was patient and attentive, but as dawn broke for her he saw it too.

"I'm in love with you," she said in a small, but clear voice.

"Good," he smiled in response to her declaration.

"Good? I come here and tell you something like that and your response is…good?"

The fire in her eyes when she became agitated was something he adored. But he moved quickly before she could pull away and descended on her mouth to feed on her hot breath with a quick kiss. It stunned her into silence.

"If you'd let me finish, I would have said that I'd hate to think I was the only one that felt this way," he teased before kissing her again more slowly and with a thoroughness that left no question he'd long awaited her call.