It had been a long, boring day. Neal had tried to catch up on his reading - a few exhibition brochures for art shows in Saint-Tropez and in Prague next week - but he was looking forward to getting home to keep working on the little drawing he'd been perfecting lately.

Just as he was about to get up and head for the door, Peter called from the next office. Neal sighed, heading in. "Yeah?"

"There's a girl who wants to see me. Says she's friends with your girlfriend. You know a Danielle? British?" Peter looked at him.

"I do. Yeah. She's a ... coroner, I think." Neal blinked. Why would she be here?

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(Post a new comment)

	likessmart 2011-09-20 03:05 am UTC (link)
	Peter blinked. "Well, she's here, so I guess we might as well see her. Why would she ... okay, yeah, send her in." He gestured to his new intern who led a ... really tall girl toward them. She was pretty and looked professional, but Peter was obviously gaping. He'd never seen a girl who was 6'4" in heels before. (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-09-20 03:10 am UTC (link)
	Neal saw Dani come in, complete with glasses and lab coat. He started to kiss her cheek in greeting, but stopped, not sure he should. He settled for a wave. "Hi, Dani. What brings you here?" Peter was looking a little ... stunned. (Reply to this)

daniwithani 2011-09-20 03:12 am UTC (link)

Dani smiled warmly at Neal. "Well, my mission here is twofold - is your partner going to be okay?" She blinked, waggling her fingers in front of the older man's face. "Anyway, I came here to let you know that BB's totally on board with the double date thing. We're dragging you boys to my friend Brendy's restaurant. The chef's table there is lovely. And I was going to yell at your partner, but now I feel kind of guilty about it." (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-09-20 03:14 am UTC (link)
	Right. Double date. Neal couldn't help but feel a little awkward at the idea, especially since he figured Dani's boyfriend still thought he was an ass. Still, he nodded. "What kind of restaurant is this?" he asked instead. Peter looked confused. "Yell at me? Why?" (Reply to this)

daniwithani 2011-09-20 03:20 am UTC (link)

"Brendy's got two restaurants. One's a kosher slash vegan place - basically everyone he felt was getting screwed at regular restaurants. That's not where we're going. He calls it Trio - basically for every course, there's three options, a homey one, a fine dining one, and a foodie one. But he's totally friends with Ezio, so odds are we'll get an Italian twist on all three." At the mention of Ezio, she turned to Peter. "One, you thought my best mate would cheat on this gorgeous piece of man here, and two, you dragged my poor sweet boyfriend into it, you pillock." (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-09-20 03:23 am UTC (link)
	"What's a pillock." Peter whispered to Neal, who shrugged. Neal just looked slightly pleased when Dani called him gorgeous. Peter shook his head at Dani. "I didn't mean to. I was just looking out for my friend." She could yell more if she wanted; he wasn't going to go into more detail with Neal right here. (Reply to this)

daniwithani 2011-09-20 03:25 am UTC (link)

"A pillock is an idiot." Dani folded her arms. "And I know that. Yelling at you was secondary. Just don't do it again. Oh, I also came to offer my aid to you as an outside consultant." She fished through her briefcase, pulling out a manila folder. "All of my credentials are inside, plus a copy of my most recent paper. I know you boys don't usually handle corpses, but on the off chance that you do." (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-09-20 03:28 am UTC (link)
	Peter took it, looking it over quickly. Neal just sort of shrugged, figuring it wasn't his decision to make. "Impressive," Peter said, raising an eyebrow. "You're awfully young." "She killed a zombie in front of me," Neal supplied. Hey, it was impressive to him. (Reply to this)

daniwithani 2011-09-20 03:32 am UTC (link)

"I'm the youngest forensic pathologist that MI-5 has ever had. They actively recruited me." She felt a bit sheepish, knowing that part of the reason she'd gotten in was her brother's friend Penelope. "But yes, I managed to skip a couple of years off of med school. Eidetic memories are useful things. It's why I'm also fairly respected in forensic odontology as well." Neal's statement made her pinch the bridge of her nose. "Neal, love, does Peter know those things exist yet? He's going to think I'm as mad as he thinks you are." (Reply to this)

classicratpack 2011-09-20 03:34 am UTC (link)

Hey, it wasn't a day without making someone nosepinch. "He should, if he doesn't." Neal figured it was better to be prepared. Besides. Peter was good with guns. He had nothing to worry about. Peter was mimicking Dani, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I didn't know, no .... but I guess it's sort of understandable in this crazy place." He'd figured Neal was crazy for a while, and he hadn't been proved wrong yet. (Reply to this)

daniwithani 2011-09-20 03:36 am UTC (link)

"Lots of ... fairytale things are true here." She nudged Neal with an elbow. "Really, Neal, break your friends in more slowly. So. Action plan. Neal, report to BB's after work so she can get you dressed and ready for dinner. Peter, call me if you get any corpses and stop surveilling people, nobody needs it, even if it is adorable of you." She pushed her glasses back up her nose, sighing. "Boys. Idiots, the lot of you." (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-09-20 03:41 am UTC (link)
	Neal shrugged; amused at her giving orders. "I'll see you later, then, I suppose." Peter was still pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's nice to meet you. Was nice to meet you." Whatever. (Reply to this)

	daniwithani 2011-09-20 03:44 am UTC (link)
	"Until then, Neal." She saluted Peter before exiting, rolling her eyes at them. Peter blinked. "... what just happened?" But he was looking through the papers with interest. "She's ... how old is she? She had to have been a resident for five years in the UK." (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-09-20 03:46 am UTC (link)
	"Twenty-five, I think." Neal shrugged. "She's the best at what she does, from what I understand. I've been in the morgue with her. She's ..." He thought for a moment. "Dedicated." (Reply to this)

	likessmart 2011-09-20 03:47 am UTC (link)
	"Well, I'm sure we'll need her help one of these days." He thought to the case where Neal had first come on; there had been a corpse then. It would've been helpful to have her around then. (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-09-20 03:49 am UTC (link)
	"You can call her if we do." It'd come in handy to have someone else do the dirty work, on the cases where they did have bodies. Neal would remember that conversation when he knocked on BB's door. He'd gotten up to Sweden fairly quickly, trying the door and finding it unlocked. "Hey. It's me. You here?" (Reply to this)

	folleconnasse 2011-09-20 04:04 am UTC (link)
	"In the bedroom!" She'd gotten into a comfortable dress that she hadn't gotten a chance to wear very many places, as well as a pair of comfy flats. She was finishing off her makeup when she saw him, smiling. "Hey, how was work?" (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-09-20 04:06 am UTC (link)
	"Hey." He kissed her forehead briefly. "It was ... weird. Dani appeared out of nowhere and yelled at Peter. And then she offered to do consulting work on cases where we have bodies." Seriously weird. "How should I dress?" (Reply to this)

	folleconnasse 2011-09-20 04:10 am UTC (link)
	That made BB laugh. "Yeah, that sounds like Dandylion." She smiled and squeezed his hand, straightening his tie. "You look perfect as you are, but here." She undid his necktie, setting it down on her vanity. "Now you have a reason to come home with me, and you'll be more comfortable." She kissed him gently before taking his arm. "We'll meet Dani and il mio mentore at Trio." (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-09-20 04:19 am UTC (link)
	If no tie, he'd leave his suit coat at home, too. The hat tended to class things up a bit, and he didn't want to overdo it. "Sounds okay to me." He was still nervous, but if she swore her teacher was okay with this, he believed her. Neal took off his suit jacket and set it on her bed, fixing his collar. "Good?" (Reply to this)

	folleconnasse 2011-09-20 03:10 pm UTC (link)
	She bit her lip, seeing him in just his shirt and vest. "Very." She shook her head, smoothing out her own dress, wishing she'd worn something a bit sexier. But he was the pretty one in their couple, and she squeezed his hand. (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-09-20 03:15 pm UTC (link)
	Neal smiled, kissing her cheek, down to her neck for a minute. "Let's duck over and give Peter his suit," he murmured, "or we're going to not show up for this thing." (Reply to this)

	folleconnasse 2011-09-20 03:18 pm UTC (link)
	Purring, she ran her fingers through his hair for a moment. They went to Peter's without incident and managed to arrive at Brendy's restaurant on time. BB grinned when she saw Dani, jumping up and wrapping her arms around her. Dani caught her with one arm, snogging her with a smile. (Reply to this)

	classicratpack 2011-09-20 03:26 pm UTC (link)
	Ezio was standing behind Dani, and blinked when she jumped into the other woman's arms. It was rather sweet, if odd. He saw Brier's gentleman friend standing behind her, and went over to shake his hand. "A proper introduction," he said, with a hidden smile. "Ezio Auditore." Neal had the grace to blush when he returned the handshake. "Neal Caffrey. It's nice to meet you." (Reply to this)

daniwithani 2011-09-21 01:42 am UTC (link)

Dani and BB finished their kiss with BB eventually hitting the ground. "I think you found the only guy taller than you, Dandylion!" Dani laughed, scratching the back of her head. "And it's good to see I haven't scared off your gentleman friend. Neal, it's good to see you again. Shall we go inside and I can introduce you to Brendy? Ezio, I didn't know you already knew him, he sounded happy to see you again when I chatted with him earlier." (Reply to this)

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