A/N It's been a loooong time since I wrote a one-shot, but a turn of events in my multi-chapter Flack-based fic "When You're Not Looking" inspired this. It follows naturally the series of one-shots I published last year (for a list, you can check out my profile). Cheers!
"Hey, Montana, I'm home!?" Danny called as he walked through the front door of their apartment. He furrowed his brow when there was no response. He unloaded his gun then put it away in the lock-box now kept on a shelf in the front hall closet, right next to his wife's. Although he had started locking away his glock even before Matteo and Olivia, it was especially important now that they were walking – or more accurately, running – everywhere.
Danny shut the closet door and started making his way through their home. "Linds?" He glanced at his watch. Mac had said she had left while he was still out in the field, which meant at least a full two hours before his shift even ended. If she'd had errands to run, she still should have been home by now. He passed through the kitchen, the bathroom, the guest room, the nursery, and had his cell phone out as he walked into the master bedroom. However, no calls had to be made. He noticed the door to the ensuite was ajar, and he could see his wife sitting up on the counter, holding something in her hand that seemed to have her so immersed she had not even been aware of his arrival. He raised his eyebrows as he crossed the room and pushed the door to the bathroom open even wider. "Babe?"
Finally hearing him, Lindsay glanced up, reaching up with her free hand then to furiously wipe away a couple tears that had stained her cheeks. "Dan. I, uh – I didn't hear you come in."
"Yeah, so I noticed. What's goin' on?" As he stepped further into the room, his eyes moved to the object in her hand, and he stopped in his tracks. His eyebrows just about met his hairline. "Wait, what is – I mean, is that what I think – Uh, why are you takin' a pregnancy test?"
"You're a flipping Crime Scene Investigator! Why do you think I'm taking a pregnancy test, you moron? 'Cause I'm late! And I've felt like crap for the past two weeks." She hopped down off the counter. "And this is all your fault!" she added, slapping his shoulder, a little harder than she intended.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. If you're pregnant, Montana, I'm pretty sure you had somethin' to do with it, too," he replied, his hands flying up to defend himself in case she decided to hit him again.
She scrunched up her nose and stepped back.
"So?" Danny pressed.
Lindsay shrugged. "I don't know yet. It needs a couple more minutes." She glanced over her shoulder, though, her expression sheepish. "But those ones all were."
Messer followed her gaze to the counter behind her, where four other pregnancy tests were sitting. The apprehension that had started to set in got the best of him, so he did what he did best and cracked a joke. "So, we've got, what, at least an eighty-percent chance here, huh?"
She scowled.
"Wow." He whistled in astonishment. "You're knocked up? When? How?"
Lindsay's eyes widened incredulously. "I'm pretty sure you know how, Messer, considering it's one of your better talents!"
He found himself smirking at the backhanded compliment until he was met with a glare. "C'mon, Linds, you know what I mean. I'm just as surprised as you are here. We've been really careful."
"Not careful enough, apparently," she muttered. She set the latest test down on the counter top then walked out past him into the bedroom.
Danny followed her, running a hand through his hair and causing a few strands to spike up. "Look, I know this is a bit of a shock. Though more to me here. You've obviously been sittin' with this for a few days. Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because Matteo and Olivia just turned one and we haven't even really talked about having any more kids. I love my job. I love being out in the field. And our best friends are dealin' with maybe losing one of their kids…The timing of all of this couldn't be worse!"
Danny walked over and ran both hands down her arms, bending slightly to meet her gaze. "Baby, I think we learned the first time around that the timing ain't never gonna be perfect when it comes to having kids. But Linds, we're talkin' about a baby, here. Our baby. A child we created, I'm guessing durin' some really hot sex in the showers at the precinct. I mean, five-alarm, ridiculously hot, earth-shattering sex."
She rolled her eyes but could not help the smile the turned up the corners of her mouth slightly.
"Good or bad timing, we're gonna have a baby. Lindsay, far as I'm concerned, that can only be a good thing."
"It's a scary thing." She creased her brow and walked over to the bed, slumping down on its edge. "Matt and Liv aren't even gonna be two when this baby comes. And what – Oh, dear God, what happens if its another multiple? Danny, I can't deal with another set of twins."
"C'mon, the odds of that happening –"
"I'm sure that's what Jon and Kate said," she murmured.
"Who?"
"You know, that couple who have that reality show on TLC or whatever. They had twins and then they had sextuplets."
"We're not gonna have sextuplets, Montana," Danny assured her. He moved over to her, crouching down in front of her. "This is good. I promise. It's gonna be a good thing."
Lindsay took a deep breath. She reached over and touched his cheek, her fingers sliding over the scruff of his goatee. "I love you. And I'm happy about this. Or I will be. Once it hits me. I just – Danny, I just really did not expect this."
"I know. Me neither. But ya know, I love you, too. And I love our kids. Before I met you, I didn't think about bein' anything more than a CSI. Now I know how crazy that was, that there was no satisfaction in just that. This, here, this home we've made? This is what gives me satisfaction and makes me proud. Olivia and Matteo have made me happier than I knew was possible. And this kid…" He reached over and laid a hand across her flat stomach. "This kid's just gonna add to that."
She smiled, overwhelmed and touched by his words. She leaned over and kissed him gently.
"Hold that thought…" He jumped up and wandered back into the ensuite. When he returned, he was holding up the last pregnancy test she had taken. "Five for five. I'd say that makes it pretty official."
She nodded, her earlier trepidation beginning to dissipate, to be replaced by some excitement and anticipation.
Danny set the test down on the armoire then went and sat down next to his wife. "We don't gotta get Matt and Liv from Ma's 'til eight. Ya wanna celebrate?"
As his lips found her neck, she sighed. "Isn't that how we got into this in the first place? And by the way, I bruised my ass during that ridiculously hot, earth-shattering sex. I'm not doin' it in the locker room anymore."
He groaned a little as their lips met. "Fine, no more sex in the locker room," he consented between kisses. "Still leaves our bed, bathtub, the kitchen counter, the pool table…"