A/N: Here's something a little different for you all. This one-shot is a collaboration between myself and the lovely webdlfan! We put our heads together over the past few days, threw around a couple of ideas and this is what we've come up with. We hope you enjoy the story and have as much fun reading it as we did writing it!
This one starts late in Season 4, shortly after Personal Foul. Danny invites Lindsay for a drink. Where things go from there… well, that's anyone's guess!
She hadn't shown up at his apartment, not that he blamed her. He didn't blame her for much, these days. As Danny swirled his beer around in his bottle, he waited a second time. This time he'd asked her to meet him for a drink after work.
He checked his watch and sighed. Strike two. She was a no-show yet again. He was just about to get up and pay his tab when he heard the door open and a gust of chilly night air blew in from outside. He glanced up and couldn't believe his eyes. There she was.
She looked at him and smiled, then headed through the room toward where he was seated at the bar. "Hey," she said as she took a seat beside him. "Got caught up bringing Mac up to speed on my case."
He nodded toward the bartender, having already ordered for her. Instead they guy came over empty handed.
"And what are you having?" the bartender asked, leaning in a little too close and getting a little too friendly with Lindsay for Danny's liking. "Let me guess... pretty girl like you? A Cosmopolitan."
Lindsay laughed and shook her head. "Actually, I'll have what he's having," she said, nodding at the beer in Danny's hand.
The bartender shrugged his shoulders. "Your loss. I make a mean Cosmo," he said with a wink, wandering off to the other end of the bar to grab a beer from the cooler.
Lindsay offered him a smile, too tired to notice the scowl on Danny's face as his eyes followed the bartender.
"I just need that beer," she murmured then turned to lean an elbow on the bar so she could look at Danny. "You've never offered me a Cosmo."
"Never really thought of you as a Cosmo girl, I guess," Danny said without thinking of how his words might sound. He grimaced and tried to backpedal. "I mean... I've never seen you order one, so I guess I figured..."
"You figured what?" Lindsay challenged, biting her lip to keep herself from smiling at Danny's verbal entanglement. The bartender returned before Danny could answer, setting a beer down in front of Lindsay along with a martini glass filled with a toxic looking red liquid. "On the house," he said.
Lifting her brows in surprise she offered the bartender a smile. "Thank you."
"A pretty lady deserves a pretty drink."
Laughing, Lindsay reached for the glass, taking a tentative sip. "Mmm..." she said, nodding her head at the bartender's expectant expression. "It's good."
"Thought you'd like it," he replied with a grin, flashing a mouthful of dazzling white teeth. He waited while Lindsay took another sip and Danny narrowed his eyes at the guy as he turned and wandered back to tend the other patrons at the far end of the bar.
"Ugh," Lindsay muttered, spewing the mouthful of liquid back into her glass. "God, that's revolting. Tastes like... I don't even know. Cough syrup?"
She wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket, pulling a face as the taste of her drink lingered in her mouth.
"And that's why I never offered you one of those," Danny observed wryly as she grabbed her beer and took a long, grateful pull. "Didn't figure you were the fruity little drink kinda gal."
She set the beer down and considered him. And then she did it, that thoughtful, teasing look where she tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. "And what kind of drink did you think suited me?"
Danny snorted. "I don't know." He tapped the neck of his bottle against hers. "I'm just glad you're a beer girl, first of all."
"Oh, come on Messer. We've enjoyed some quiet evenings with a nice bottle of wine."
"Enjoying and trying it is not the same as worrying and fussing over it. You like your beer and your coffee strong, and I don't mind that you like to … try things out," he grinned at her, remembering a number of experiments she'd brought into their relationship. He glanced down at the glass. "We could always call Flack. He'd probably enjoy a good Cosmo."
"You really want to bring Flack into this conversation?"
Danny laughed and shook his head. "Not really. But you know me. I can never resist a good dig at the guy."
Lindsay smiled in response and they each took another sip of their beers, lapsing into an uncomfortable silence.
"So..." Danny began, pulling at the label of his beer and keeping his eyes downcast. "I'm really glad you came tonight."
"You thought I wouldn't?" Lindsay asked.
Danny shrugged his shoulders, still avoiding her eyes. "Crossed my mind. I wouldn't have blamed you. I wouldn't exactly be first in line to hang out with me either, the way I've behaved lately." He finally raised his head, his blue eyes filled with regret. "I know it's late and I know it's not enough, but for what it's worth I'm sorry, Linds."
There was a softness about him that she'd missed. The way his voice went just a little bit quiet, and the way the blue of his eyes deepened. An awareness sparked between them. It was an interesting mix. It had always been this way.
Except for those months when he'd shut her out, when the electric charge that remained left her lonely and cold.
I'm sorry.
She swallowed against the grief she felt for what he'd gone through and all that had happened. "You said that already."
"I can't say it enough."
"Once was enough." She lifted the bottle to her lips and took one long drink as she watched him struggle over even the chance of forgiveness. He wasn't ready for it, nor she figured, was he ready for the depth of emotion and understanding.
Setting down her beer with a thump, Lindsay reached for the Cosmo. Tipping her head back, she drank long and deep before she set the empty martini glass aside.
"There," she winced over the resounding after bite. "Now we both have regrets."
"Lindsay." The emotion she could hear in his voice was evident on his face. He shook his head and sighed. "It can't be that easy. I can't just say that I'm sorry and make everything alright between us."
"You think this is easy?" Lindsay asked. "Because it's not, Danny. Not by a long shot. I loved you and you hurt me. I know you didn't do it on purpose, but you did it all the same."
Danny nodded his head, his eyes once again focused on his bottle of beer. "I know," he replied quietly. He picked at the label again, twisting the bottle between his hands. "I don't know what to say."
Seeing that he was quickly descending into the melancholy that had consumed him for months after Ruben Sandoval's death, Lindsay reached out her hand, gently touching his cheek. "I'm sorry was a good start," she replied. He looked up at her, his eyes hopeful. "I want you in my life, Danny. I've missed you in my life. But I have to figure out whether I can let you in all the way again. Do we try to carry on from where we left off?" She withdrew her hand and shook her head, picking up her beer and taking a sip. "I don't know. Maybe we go back to just being friends and see where that takes us."
"I don't want to be just your friend, Lindsay."
"But I need you to be mine." With that said, she pulled out a few bills and tossed them on the table. "Make sure he knows I paid for that drink."
Danny watched her go, his mind spinning. She'd come, she'd met him more that halfway, and she'd left him with a dozen other questions that neither of them had answers to.
Lindsay hadn't known what to expect from Danny after she'd left him at the bar. She'd said her piece and laid her cards on the table, now the next move was up to him. But what his move would be, she had no idea. The truth was that she wanted more from him than friendship, but she wasn't sure if he was as ready to jump back into anything more than that. Despite the tough exterior he wore like a protective armour in public, she'd seen his more vulnerable side. And he'd seen hers. She didn't think that either of them could handle it if they moved too quickly and things didn't work out between them yet again. And so after a restless night of very little sleep, Lindsay dragged herself in to work, wondering whether Danny had given as much thought to her words as she had.
After dropping her bag off in the locker room, she made her way to the office she shared with Danny. She didn't know if she was relieved to find it empty, or saddened that he wasn't around.
With a sigh she rounded her desk and smiled at the familiar cup of coffee that sat there. It was something he'd started a long time ago, as the lovely sparks of attraction had sizzled between them. If he was coming in first, around the time of her shift, he would bring her a cup a coffee.
Strong and black, with just a hint of peppermint and spice.
She was smiling as she picked up the coffee and took a moment to breathe in the rich aroma. She didn't know that Danny stood watching, out of her view, relieved to see that spark of warmth in her eyes at the gesture.
"Back to our old ways, I guess."
Danny stiffened as he turned to find Hawkes at his side, arms crossed in a way that told him he'd been standing there for more than Danny was comfortable.
No, he wanted to argue, there was something different now, something new.
"You want something?" he shot back, but Hawkes only laughed and swatted his arm with the file folder he held.
"Mac's looking for you. He said when you got back from your break to meet him out at the Stedham murder scene."
Danny pulled out his phone to check and see if he'd missed the message. "He couldn't call?" he muttered, looking at the screen.
Hawkes laughed again, already on his way. "You don't have a bigger supporter of your endeavour to win Monroe back than Mac Taylor, Messer. Didn't you know that?"
Scowling, Danny cast one more glance at the office. Lindsay had settled down at the computer, but he was pretty sure that smile on her face had little to do with the reports she was flipping through.
Finally, he thought, as he headed out to meet Mac. He was headed toward first base. Striking out had definitely sucked and he was glad he'd reconsidered his game plan.
A few days passed, then a few weeks. Danny and Lindsay hovered between friendship and something more. The flirtation and banter quickly escalated into its old form, and did much more to heal the wounds of their shattered relationship than any long talk or counselling session would have done at this point.
It did, however, frustrate their colleagues to no end. No one knew the status of their relationship, and everyone was watching. It wasn't like the last time when everyone expected them to fall for each other. There was so much more at stake now and neither could afford to make a wrong move.
But as nothing had really happened yet, the flirting and banter only served to frustrate one in particular to no end.
Standing in the hall outside the trace lab, Flack watched Danny and Lindsay processing the evidence from their latest case. He narrowed his eyes as Danny leaned in to whisper something in Lindsay's ear, causing her cheeks to flush a rosy pink and a tinkling giggle to escape from her lips. She smiled at Danny and gave him a playful nudge with her elbow, earning a smirk from him.
Flack shook his head. It was like history repeating itself all over again and it was driving him insane. Watching the two of them flirt and tease one another like that, it took him back over a year ago, before Lindsay's world had been thrown into tumult by the resurfacing of the case from her past. Yet again, the two of them barely seemed aware of the effect they had on one another, and while the rest of their coworkers seemed to take the resurrection of their flirtation in stride, Flack was nearing the end of his tether.
"What the hell is wrong with them?" he muttered to himself.
"You can't rush it, Flack." The voice at his side startled Flack and he jumped, unaware that he hadn't been alone in watching the obviously love-struck couple in the lab. He turned to see Stella standing beside him, a bemused expression on her face. "As much as we might want to bash their heads together and tell them to get on with it already, they have to get there on their own."
Flack grunted his acquiescence. "Yeah, well they better make it snappy. I'm getting tired of all of this." He gestured to the pair in white lab coats who were now giggling like naughty school children over something else Danny had said.
She smiled as she patted his arm supportively, leaving him unprepared for her parting shot. "Maybe Jessica Angel would be interested to know how impatient you are with Danny and Lindsay. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're a big fan of slow and steady."
Flack scowled as she walked away. "Things are moving just fine with Jessica," he muttered under his breath. Alone in the hall, Flack sighed and glanced at his watch. He was now fully aware of the fact that he'd been standing there taking in the live version of the love connection for a full ten minutes, waiting for someone else to come along and be the bad guy. Why did it always have to be him to break up the party? Why couldn't someone else have stepped up and interrupted them for a change?
Resigning himself to his fate, he walked over to trace and tapped on the glass door before sticking his head in. "Hey - Monroe," he watched the smile fade from Danny's face as Lindsay turned those brown eyes on him. "Got a call from our suspect's office manager. Looks like our boy showed up to work this morning after all. He went out to do some work out at a site. Got an address."
Her smile was instant. She tugged off her gloves and made a notation on the evidence sheet. "I'll meet you down by the elevator," she promised before slipping past him out the door.
Flack looked back to see the dazed look on Danny's face as he followed her with his eyes out of the room and down the hall. Flack snorted. "You better do something to get your hands on her soon, Messer."
"What makes you think I don't have my hands on her already?"
Flack nodded toward the pair of tweezers he held in his hand, and the way both his hands had tightened into fists. "A hunch."
"Yeah, well you might want to apply that hunch to your own sizzling waiting list then. Heard through the grapevine that you're falling behind on the job in that area."
Flack groaned and walked away. Why couldn't people just leave his relationship - or steadily progressing one - alone? It was fine.
Lindsay moved her hand to her gun as she walked at Flack's side onto the construction sight. "Something seem a little off to you?"
Flack looked around the site, at the stacks of lumber, bricks, and the scaffolding that lined the side of the old apartment complex. "That they're just putting a new facade on an old building?" At Lindsay's snort he grinned, completely in sync with her thoughts. "I guess you meant that no one's here."
"Who called you?"
"The construction offices downtown. The office manager we talked to yesterday said he came to work this morning and headed out on assignment before she could delay him." He pulled out his phone to check. "I kind of figured he was headed out to work on an ongoing project though."
"Looks like this one's been delayed."
Then she heard it. The loud grumble of a diesel engine starting up. She met Flack's frown with her own and slowly scanned the site looking for a source.
She'd taken a few steps toward the brick wall before Flack shouted, and the pile of bricks came tumbling down.
"Lindsay? Lindsay!" Flack's voice was frantic as he watched the landslide of bricks descend upon Lindsay. "Oh, God... oh Jesus."
He dashed over, relieved the see her shoving aside the few bricks that had hit her upper body. She groaned even as he began to shift the red bricks out of the way. "Lindsay? Lindsay, can you hear me?"
"Yeah," the word came out almost as a moan. Her hand shifted down to her torso and hovered over her abdomen. "Hurts."
"Yeah, well …" he fumbled with his phone and called for a bus, then he eyed her legs as he removed the last brick. "Your legs… can you?"
She winced and shifted her legs slightly. "Yeah. Don… you need to go after…"
"And leave you here? Not in this lifetime."
But he called it in, giving dispatch their location as he watched her shift slightly to test the pain. When she started to sit up, he ordered her to stay down. "Danny would kill me if anything happened to you," he said. "Anything worse, I mean," he added, grimacing at the nasty cut on her cheek. "He might just settle for skinning me alive instead. Lucky me," he deadpanned.
Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a drama queen. He would not."
Flack raised his eyebrows. "Oh no?" he asked. "You have met Danny right?"
She snorted, but the goofy look on her face told him she'd crossed back over into that loopy live version of the love connection - unless she was fading out on him.
He shook his head. "Come on Monroe, stay with me."
"I'm not going anywhere, but I should probably call Danny; tell him I'm okay before he hears about this from someone else."
"I'll do it."
When she lifted a brow at him, he simply handed her his phone.
"You're sure she's alright?" Danny asked for the umpteenth time. Lindsay had called and filled him in on what had happened, assuring him that she was fine. Just a little bruised. He'd made her put Flack on the line - not that he'd been any help. How many bricks? Flack had hesitated. Could he not count? If he couldn't count them...
"Danny, she's fine," Flack repeated. "We're just waiting for the bus to come and take her to the hospital to get checked out properly."
Running an agitated hand through his hair, Danny paced back and forth in the trace lab where he'd remained working on their evidence after Lindsay had left. Should he meet them at the hospital? Would Lindsay want him there, fussing over her? He didn't know. But she had called him, hadn't she? Surely that meant... Danny shook his head. He had no idea what that meant. But he did know that for his own peace of mind he needed to see her.
"Which hospital?" he asked.
"What did he say?" Lindsay asked as she watched Flack tuck his phone back into his pocket. "Is he okay?"
"He's worried about you," Flack explained. "He's gonna meet us at the hospital."
A small smile flickered across Lindsay's face before her brow creased in pain when she tried to move her legs. "Oh, God... my ankle. I think it's broken."
"Stop trying to move, Monroe. Just wait for the ambulance," Flack urged, once again helping her to lie back. He removed his jacket and bunched it up, forming a crude pillow which he slid beneath her head. "There. Comfy?"
"Oh, yeah. This is better than the Ritz. I might come here for my next vacation," Lindsay grumbled, although the grateful smile she flashed his way told him that his gesture was not unappreciated.
Flack glanced back toward the entrance, then started thinking about their suspect. His brow furrowed as he got up and scanned the site. There had to be other ways in and out.
"I'm going to take a look around."
"I'll be right here," Lindsay tried for a bit of humour. "But if you see a hot dog cart..."
"I'm not going far, Monroe…" He kept his eye on her, but he looked around as best he could. He wasn't sure what was going on, but their suspect had come here for some reason. The office manager had said that their suspect had arrived at work, picked up the keys for this site and headed out.
He hadn't come here to work. He'd come because he'd wanted something.
But Flack couldn't look around until he had backup, and it was likely that whoever had been here was gone now.
He could finally hear the sirens when the sound of rapid footsteps caught his attention. He turned and raised his gun at his supposed assailant.
"Danny?" he asked, lowering his weapon.
But Danny didn't answer, rushing past Flack and crouching down at Lindsay's side.
"Montana."
Lindsay managed to turn her head toward Danny's voice. "I thought you were meeting us at the hospital."
"Yeah, well Mac called it in. We were ahead of the bus, so he came here." He looked around at the bricks and her body, his face set in a deep frown. "You said you were okay."
"I'm fine, Danny."
"This isn't …" he tugged at her shirt, and she wasn't fast enough to stop him. "Oh, babe," he sighed, reaching out to run a gentle hand over her stomach. "Those bruises look pretty bad. You are definitely not okay." He looked wildly around him, his eyes falling on Mac who had just jogged up to Flack. "Where's the damn ambulance?"
"It's almost here, Danny," Mac assured him. He turned to Flack. "What happened?"
"We came here off a tip from the office manager. Our suspect picked up the keys for the portable office they keep here," Flack explained. Leaving Danny to look after Lindsay, he led Mac around the side of the derelict apartment building, pointing to a small, innocuous looking trailer.
Mac lifted a brow as he looked at Flack. "Seems like your suspect just dropped a load of bricks on himself. Before he was just a suspect. Now he's our prime suspect," he said. "Call the office manager, see what was in there that he might have wanted. I'll get Hawkes here and we'll process this scene."
"What about Danny?"
Mac glanced back at where Danny knelt beside Lindsay, her hand held tightly in his. Flack groaned as he realized they had already fallen back into the easy flirtation that flowed so naturally between them, even if Lindsay's facial expressions were more subdued.
Mac didn't question Flack's concern for Danny when it was Lindsay who was hurt. He simply smiled, and with a pat on Flack's back, assured him; "I think Danny is going to be just fine."
Lindsay watched as Danny fidgeted, trying to make her more comfortable in her own home, or rather in her own bedroom, to be exact. He'd barely left her side since arriving at the construction site, making a nuisance of himself at the hospital. He'd stayed through the rounds of tests and even snuck her a double cheese burger and fries before promising the doctor that Lindsay was going to be taking it easy. He would personally make sure of it.
Lindsay didn't mind though. After all, he was kind of cute when he got all flustered. "Danny, you know you don't have to stay here."
He didn't really respond. Instead he turned from her and began riffling through her bureau. She pushed up on her elbows and watched him with a raised eyebrow until he turned around holding her pyjama pants and a tank top. She clucked her tongue when he stepped toward her.
"Going to try and cop another feel there, Messer?"
"I wasn't trying to - you were hurt, Montana."
"Uh huh," Lindsay arched an eyebrow in amusement at the way he was squirming. "It was my stomach that was hurt, Danny. So how did your hand end up on my chest?"
"I... I was checking... you could have hurt your ribs," he offered lamely.
"Well, you were very thorough," Lindsay teased, laying back down against her mountain of pillows.
Danny had the good grace to blush. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips and Lindsay could see a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Not that thorough. I only actually got a chance to examine one side."
Lindsay laughed out loud. "And you think you're going to get another chance now?"
Danny shrugged his shoulders, a grin spreading across his face. "Probably not. But a guy can hope, can't he?" He looked down at her pyjamas and sighed. "Maybe I'd better leave you to get changed on your own."
He placed her pyjamas on the bed beside her and turned to leave. But Lindsay's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Danny?"
"Yeah?"
"Stay and help me. Please?" Lindsay began to tug at the oversized sweatshirt of Danny's that she'd worn home from the hospital. She grinned slyly at him. "It's not like you've never seen me naked before."
"Yeah, but that... that was different, Lindsay," Danny said, casting his eyes to the floor when Lindsay pulled the shirt over her head. "We were... different then. It's not the same now. I can't."
She grabbed his hand. "Danny. I like where we are now."
Danny smiled, still not looking at her. "Yeah. It's good to be... friends," he said.
"But it's not what you really want, is it?" Lindsay asked.
"No," Danny admitted with a shake of his head. "But if it's all I get, then I'll take it. But I can't... you can't ask me to stay and watch you get changed if that's all we're ever going to be to one another, Linds. It's not fair."
Lindsay sighed and tightened her hold on his hand. "Danny," she murmured, imploring him with her eyes as she pulled him down to sit beside her. "You're not listening to me. A month ago I told you I needed you to be my friend, but I never said that's all you were to me."
And leaning forward, just as she had done the first time, she set her lips on his and kissed him. It didn't take him long to respond. The tension dissipated as relief settled in. His arms gently wrapped around her. He was being careful with her. She smiled into the kiss before pushing back.
Danny met her smile with his own.
"Now," Lindsay said coyly as she picked at his t-shirt. "If this is still about friendship I can always call Flack… and Hawkes and Adam over here to help me get ready for bed."
Danny bristled instantly even though he knew she was only kidding. "Not funny," he grumbled, narrowing his eyes at her. "Not funny at all." He leaned forward and kissed her again, briefly and chastely, before he pressed his forehead against hers, savouring the feeling of closeness between them. He could feel her breath against his face and her heart beating against his chest. "If you really want that help, then I'm your guy."
"I really want your help, Danny," Lindsay replied.
"And maybe in a few days when you're off the strong stuff, I can take you back to that bar," Danny suggested. "I feel like I could go for a dirty martini. I have a feeling he makes a really good one of those, too." Lindsay slapped his arm and he laughed. "Okay, okay. A pair of beers it is."
"I promise I'll show up on time," Lindsay said.
"Yeah, of course you will," Danny replied. He stroked her cheek. "Because I'll be picking you up, like a proper date."
"That sounds like a good start," Lindsay smiled. "But then again, so was your pool table. I've got a Benjamin just burning a hole in my pocket you know."
He grinned. "You planning on losing that Benjamin, Montana?"
"Depends," she replied, her eyes shining with mischief. "Have you been practicing your game? I seem to remember you were pretty easy to beat that first time we played."
Danny laughed and shook his head. "You know I let you win, right?"
"Of course you did," she laughed. "Now, about those pyjamas."
"Right," Danny said, picking up her night clothes. He held out the tank top for her, once again keeping his eyes averted while helping her into the garment. Once Lindsay was ready for bed, she lay back against her pillows, pulling Danny down on the bed beside her. And as he wrapped his arms around her, his face nestled in the curve of her shoulder, Lindsay sighed in contentment. She was glad she was a beer girl. She'd never been a Cosmo girl and she never would be. Living in New York had changed some aspects of her life, but they hadn't changed who she was. Not really.
As she cuddled closer to Danny, it struck her how comforting it was to realize that he knew that about her, he had known all along.
So there we go. Thanks for reading everyone! We hope you liked the little journey we took you on. Don't forget to leave a review if you liked what you read here!