A/N Well, I'm back. Kind of. I am recovering from surgery and my muses have been a little clouded by the painkillers, I am afraid, so I have not been able to write like I hoped I would. However, something finally came to me last night, and here it is. Consider it a fluffy prequel to the first fic I ever posted, The Sandlot. If it sucks, let us blame the drugs. Sorry also to all of you who reviewed my last two pieces. I did not get a chance to respond to everyone before I went in for surgery. I will try to get caught up over the next few days.
"Get a room, you two," Flack teased Danny and Lindsay as he and Hawkes walked across the street to where the couple stood in front of the Crime Lab, lost completely in each other.
A little embarrassed, Lindsay pulled away from the deep kiss her boyfriend had been bestowing upon her and glanced up at her friends and colleagues.
"Shut it, Flack," Danny chided, seeing the look on his girlfriend's face. "What's goin' on?"
"Adam's got some results in on the Wallace case," Sheldon explained. "You're finally out Linds?"
She nodded. "Finally."
"And I'm on. Half-way through the rotation," Danny sighed. They had been on opposite shifts the past few days, and it felt like he had hardly seen her. Mac had been doing this a lot since he had confronted them about their relationship – putting them on opposite shifts, and when they were on together, sending them on different cases. He knew Mac was just being cautious, making sure that what was going on between them was not just some fling that might go sour and risk taking down the team. But Danny missed her.
Sheldon glanced at Don, nodding towards the building, betting that Danny wanted to spend his last few minutes of freedom with Lindsay. "We'll see you later then."
Lindsay smiled. "Night, guys."
Flack nodded at them both then headed inside with Hawkes.
Danny turned to Lindsay apologetically. "Sorry 'bout that."
"It's fine."
"If you want, I'll keep my hands to myself when we're in public."
"I don't want. Mac's rules don't apply outside the lab," she replied with a smile.
Seeing her shiver slightly in the cold, he pulled her close then, wrapping his open overcoat around her. "As soon as this tour's over, I'm gonna take you out."
"What, stealing moments isn't good enough for you?" she kidded. "At least we're both off for Thanksgiving."
"Right. Which we're spending on Staten Island with my entire family."
"But we'll be together. You promised me a tour of the old neighbourhood, remember? I'm holding you to that, cowboy."
"I know, I know. I actually can't wait to show ya my old stomping grounds." He leaned down and captured her lips in a searing kiss. "Damn," he swore as they pulled apart.
"I kind of hate our job right now."
"Don't kill me 'cause I mean this in the nicest possible way, but you look tired, babe. Go home and get some sleep, huh? You're back here in less than eight hours."
"Yeah. Hopefully tomorrow I'll actually get off on time and we can get a couple hours if you come crash at my place."
He nodded.
She leaned up and kissed him languidly, sliding her arms around his waist under his overcoat.
"Whoa, there, Messer, don't make us come over there and arrest ya for indecent exposure!"
At the cat-calling from one of their fellow officers, entering the building with a couple other cops for the night shift, Danny broke the kiss and shook his head incredulously. "You're just jealous, O'Malley!" he called.
"Wait, is that Monroe?" one of the other guys yelled back. "Jeez, get a room, you two!"
Danny rolled his eyes as the officers headed on into headquarters. "Sorry, babe."
"Hey, I'm not the one that's gonna be getting razzed for the rest of the night," she teased him. "But I guess whoever didn't know before will now. Go on. I'll go catch my train."
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
He furrowed his brow then. "No catching bodies on the way home, huh?"
"I'll do my best. But I gotta get going or I'm going to get stuck with the bar crowd."
"Call me when you get home, okay?"
She nodded. She leaned up and brushed her lips against his quickly, her gloved hand sliding down his face tenderly. "See ya."
He kissed the tip of her nose then let her go, standing on the sidewalk until she was out of sight.
An hour later, he was on his way to a scene when his cell rang. He picked his phone up from the passenger seat and glanced quickly at the call display, a wide grin crossing his face. "Hey, babe," he answered.
"What do you want for Christmas?" was his girlfriend's reply.
"What? Why?"
"'Cause, it's our first Christmas together – well, together together – and I want it to be special."
He smiled to himself. "How 'bout you, naked, wrapped only with a bow?" he offered suggestively.
"Difficult to fit under a tree. You know, we have some logistics to figure out. You know, where we're spending what and when, that kind of stuff."
"There a reason you're worrying about all of this now? We've got a month," he pointed out, stopping at a red light, trying to get the image of her naked in front of a Christmas tree out of his mind.
"Yes, but I came home to an email from Daddy asking if I'd booked my flight yet. I'm sorry. I kind of told them I'd go back for a couple days since I'm actually off this year."
"Not a problem. I'll go with you. We should book something soon. The fares will probably skyrocket once Thanksgiving rolls around."
"This is why my parents love you. You never answered my question. What do you want?"
He almost blurted it out right then. The damn ring was burning a hole in his pocket and if he did not think that she would never forgive him for asking her over the phone, he would have just gone ahead and done it right there, sitting in traffic en route to the scene of a homicide. Instead, he said, "Let me think about it. And you need to give me a list, too."
"I don't need anything. I've already got everything I ever wanted," Lindsay replied with a sincerity that tore at his heart.
Damn, he hated night shifts. "Aww, Montana, I got a reputation to maintain here on the scene. Don't go gettin' all mushy on me. Besides, you, uh – You need to get some sleep, baby."
"I'm just about there. I love you, Danny."
"Any other night, and this would turn into a rousing round of phone sex, you realize. But I can see the squad cars. I love you, too. Sleep well."
"As well as I can without you. I hate our job," she kidded. "'Night."
"Bye, babe." He flipped his phone shut with a sigh. He hated his job right now, too.