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When Danny leaves, no one says anything. They go on with their party, waiting. When Lindsay and Flack exchange a look and leave the room, one after the other, the party falls silent, and the three remaining techs exchange a look.
Adam breaks the silence. “Ten bucks says Flack comes back alone and Messer and Monroe don’t come back at all,” he says.
Chad grins. “Twenty says it’s Messer coming back alone, and Flack and Monroe who don’t reappear.” He laughs, adding, “After that kiss… man, there’s definitely something going on there.”
“Nah,” Adam disagrees. “They’re like Carter and O’Neil on Stargate. Like how Sam and Jack will never hook up because he’s the superior, but there’s still that one time where they get taken over by that alien thingy and are making out on the ground of the SGC. Flack’s a cop and her superior, and Monroe’s just a CSI, and this is just that one time, the drunken encounter.” He pauses, then points out, “Besides, Messer’s been after her for ages.”
The conversation quickly dissolves into a debate of Stargate versus Farscape, and then follows its natural geeky progression to Star Trek, which Adam quickly supplements with his own bootleg downloads on his laptop.
Lindsay walks in sometime in the middle of Ways They Could Have Made TNG Even Better, takes one look at them, and turns on her heal, fleeing the scene. The boys wait until her footsteps have faded down the hallways, then burst into laughter.
Her re-appearance reminds them of the debate that started it all.
Kelly, unfortunate night-shift tech who agreed to come in to help with the backlog earlier that day, watches the conversation with the look of a woman who has been surrounded by geeks her entire life (and who might, on the rare occasion, partake in the geekiness herself, though she’d pit Battlestar Galactica against Stargate and Farscape any day, she thinks).
“I’ll throw in a bet,” she finally says. She has to speak loud, because the boys have once again lost track of the argument and are on the verge of placing bets on whether or not Mac and Stella will ever hook up.
They turn to stare at her, waiting.
“Fifty says none of them come back,” she says. She doesn’t have fifty bucks in her wallet, and losing this bet means she’s not going to get the new season of LOST on DVD until her next paycheck, but she’s fairly confident.
“None of them?” Chad has to repeat the question, unbelieving.
“That’s right,” Kelly says. “None of them. You’re both right, much as it pains me to admit it. Flack and Monroe have a thing, and judging from that kiss it’s not a new thing. But Messer and Monroe have been doing that love-hate thing for months. And Messer and Flack are good friends, they’re not going to fight with each other over Monroe.” She takes a deep breath. “So, I bet a fifty that all three of them are going to leave. Together.”
Silence greets this pronouncement.
Then Adam laughs. “You’re on,” he says. Chad joins his laughter, agreeing.
Kelly lets them laugh. She saw the look on Monroe’s face when she walked in. Besides, men wouldn’t know a relationship if it bit them in the ass.
They settle down to watch Star Trek, debating who would win in a fight between Kirk and Spock (Spock, clearly, but Kirk would still sleep with all the alien chicks). The light outside the window fades completely, and the wind howls, and they find some popcorn to pop and hang out, geeks in their native environment.
They’re almost totally through the first episode on Adam’s computer when the door to the lab opens. All three look up from their episode.
Flack and Messer stand on either side of Monroe, as close as they can get without touching. They all smile as they collect their coats and bags, make their excuses. The weather’s dying down, they’re going to split a cab, sorry to cut out on the party, see you at work tomorrow.
The door closes behind them with a faint whoosh. Adam and Chad stare for a long moment, jaws gaping. Kelly stands, brushing her slacks. She collects her jacket and scarf, stops in front of the two men, hand outstretched.
“Hand it over,” she demands.
They cough up the money, reluctantly and with disbelief in their eyes. Kelly folds it in half, smug, and tucks it away in her coat pocket. “See you tomorrow, boys,” she says. With a wiggle of her fingers to wave goodbye, she leaves the lab, catching sight of the trio ahead of her as they leave the CSU labs. They’re wrapped up in each other, and it makes Kelly smile at the sight. She’s tempted for a moment to go back and invite Adam and Chad over to her house… then she grins, shakes her head, and heads for the subway. Another time, maybe.
The End (for real)