Lindsay opened her eyes in the darkness and reached out to silence the noise that had awakened her. Her fingers brushed passed a pair of glasses and a wallet before grasping the offending object and silenced it with a flick of her thumb as she opened the cell phone. "Monroe," she clipped out, ignoring the desire to slip back into sleep.
A questioning voice answered, "Lindsay?"
"I'm not on call today, why are you calling me so early, Flack?"
"I wasn't calling you, Lindsay."
Silence came across the line as she pushed her mind into overdrive to consider the implication of his words.
A whispered hiss of "Shit." made Don Flack, Jr. chuckle to himself.
"Where is he?"
She was caught, "In the shower, getting ready for work. Did you need me to get him?"
"Naw, I just have the address of the scene I need him at."
"Alright, I'll jot it down for him. And Don, if you say anything to anybody, especially Stella, I will hunt you down and no one will even know where to look for your body."
"Gotcha Linds, have a great day!"
Hanging up the phone as she sunk back into the bed, Lindsay groaned as realization fully sank in. The bathroom door opened and light spilled across the room. Danny Messer walked out, jeans slug low on his hips, and pulled on his white wife-beater tank top. He saw Lindsay and a smile graced his lips.
"Why are you awake?" he asked; "You have today off."
"You got a phone call," she blandly stated.
"Toss me the phone; did they leave a voice mail?"
"Not exactly. It's five in the morning and I don't know about you, but I didn't get much sleep due to our extra-curricular activities and so, in my haze, I thought your phone was mine and I kinda answered it."
Danny gave her a smirk at the mention of the 'extra-curricular activities' that they had been participating in. "Who was it?"
"Flack calling with the address of the scene you're needed at. I have it here." She picked up a small piece of paper with a Brooklyn street address scrawled across it.
"We were planning on telling them soon, anyways. It's no big deal."
"I know, but I kinda liked having a secret from trained investigators! And now Flack is going to be insufferable in his teasing."
"You thought it would be me giving us away at the lab."
"Well, if you could keep your hands to yourself, I wouldn't have worried about it!"
"I don't like keeping my hand to myself, and if I remember last night correctly, neither do you, Montana!"
"To true, cowboy! Now make tracks to work or Flack will have even more to rib you about!"
"Alright, see you tonight?"
"Yeah, I'll make dinner. Let me know about when you'll be off."
"Love you, Linds."
"I love you, Danny."
Danny made his way to work, grabbing coffee for himself and for Flack, hoping to soften the grief he was going to get for not telling him about his and Lindsay's relationship. They hadn't meant to hide anything from their friends and co-workers, but there had been a degree of uncertainty as to what they were actually doing.
He had visited her in Montana, they had been going on dates and hanging out and then they had ended up on his pool table. Things had been going wonderfully, they had one amazing night and then their perfect life had been interrupted by the Irish mob. He had three weeks off to recover and Mac himself had been in London for two weeks, and in the two weeks since his return to work, an opportunity to tell everyone hadn't presented itself. But it looked like they were forced into it by accident. One thing Danny could be sure of was that Flack wasn't going to let this slide.
Danny pulled up to an affluent Brooklyn brownstone and saw the yellow crime scene tape marking his entry to work. The black and white patrol cars with flashing lights marred the summer morning. As he exited the car he nodded greetings to the beat cops he recognized and made his way up the front steps flashing his badge to gain entry.
"Good morning to you, Messer," a voice called, tinged with sarcasm and underscored with laughter.
"Morning to you, too, Flack," he responded, slightly weary. "Brought you some coffee."
"Oh, no, you ain't buying yourself out of this one. You know I want all the details."
"How about we focus on the case right now and I don't beat the crap outta ya?"
"Did some one get up on the wrong side of Lindsay? Oh, I mean, the bed? How fast do you want this around the lab, because I got Stella on my speed dial. All it takes to buy my silence is full disclosure and a pizza and beer."
''Fine, come over tonight, Linds is making dinner."
"Oh, how domestic of you, Mr. Messer, the Mrs. making dinner!"
"Domestic? Danny? You have a girlfriend? You haven't had a girlfriend since you broke up with Cindy like a year and a half ago."
"Thank you, Stella, for the update on my love life." Danny answered the woman making her way up the stairs.
"Hey Stel, you wanna accompany me to Danny's for dinner tonight? His new girlfriend is making dinner!"
"Oh, we get to meet her? Must be getting serious! I'd love too! Danny, you don't mind?"
"Nah, I'm sure she'd love to see you. Come on over to my place at 7:30. We gotta start on the scene. Let's get to it." Danny sighed as he made his way to the body.
He'd have to call Lindsay later and break the news to her. He mentally shrugged to himself, it was a good as way as any to break it to their friends. He'd have to schedule an appointment with Mac for the next morning where he and Lindsay could tell him about the shift in their relationship. At least Mac couldn't do too much, since he too was dating another employee of the Crime Lab. The thought of Stella's reaction and her likeliness to squeal was enough to bring a smile to Danny's face again.
As Danny was driving to the lab from the scene he took a moment to call Lindsay and update her on the change of plans that had transpired that morning.
"Monroe."
"Hey babe. We have a slight change of plans for dinner tonight. I invited Flack over for dinner to buy his silence and then he let it slip to Stella that I had a girlfriend and she wanted to come to dinner, too, so I figured we could surprise her tonight."
"So, I'm cooking for four now? Still at your place?"
"Yeah, I'll be home by 6:30 to help and they should arrive by 7:30-ish. I'll stop and get a bottle of wine. You realize Stel is going to squeal, right?" Danny answered as he pulled into the parking garage at the lab.
"I know, I'm surprised she hasn't guessed yet, she's always knows everything first. We'll have to tell Mac tomorrow."
He made his way toward the elevator with evidence bags and his kit in his hands, "That's what I was plannin'. You read my mind, Montana."
He could hear the smile in her reply, "Great minds think alike."
"Wow, modesty suites you," he said as the elevator arrived from the floor below and the doors opened, "I'm at the lab, so I gotta go. I love you."
As she responded with her love, he stepped into the elevator car to see a grinning Stella. "Love, Messer? What's this girl done to you? Hosting dinner parties and saying the 'L' word. This is impressive."
Danny lightly laughed under his breath, preparing an answer. He wanted to be serious to underscore his feelings for Lindsay. "Honestly, Stel, I think she might be my forever."
He glanced up to see her reaction and saw her radiant smile before she pulled him into a crushing hug. "Oh, Danny, I can't wait to meet her. This is wonderful!"
"She is pretty wonderful; I know you are going to love her." He agreed as the stepped out into the lab.
Stella questioned, "What's her name?"
Danny paused but before he was required to answer, a welcome voice sounded from down the hall. Mac stepped out of his office, motioning them to join him, asking them to update him on the evidence they had collected from the scene. Saved by the metaphoric bell. Danny hoped he could dodge anymore reveling questions until the evening.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully as the case they were working on turned out to be fairly simple, leaving Danny to work on the mound of paperwork that never seemed to shrink. By the time his shift ended, Danny was more than ready to make his way home into the waiting arms of Lindsay. He first made sure to stop and pick up her favorite wine to accompany dinner. If Danny knew Lindsay at all, and he flattered himself that he did, she would be making her amazing chicken parmigiana that rivaled even his mother's cooking.
He made two more stops on the drive: one to pick up dessert, two giant cheesecakes, one topped with fresh strawberries and the second filled with chocolate; and a second stop at the florist near his apartment to pick up a bouquet of wildflowers that reminded him of Lindsay.
As he stepped off the elevator on his floor he was greeted with the smell of Italian spices cooking. He paused as the feeling of rightness stole over him. Here he was, Danny Messer, playboy of the NYPD, coming home at a decent hour, bring flowers and wine, hosting a dinner with his girlfriend. He thanked the Maker for bringing him Lindsay Monroe.
As he opened the door, he heard the soft melody of jazz floating through the apartment and the smell of garlic bread wafted in from the kitchen. "Lucy, I'm home!" he sang out with a smile.
"I don't think that quite works with your Staten Island accent." He heard a laughing voice respond from the kitchen. Lindsay peeked her head around the doorway of the kitchen to see him and gasped at the flowers in his arms. "Oh, they are beautiful! Thank you! Let me put them in water and on the dinner table."
Feeling slightly sappy, he said, "You're beautiful, Montana." Lindsay paused as she was heading back to the kitchen and turned to kiss him full on the lips. Thankfully Danny had already set the bags of dessert and wine down, else he would have dropped them as he drew his arms around her and deepened the kiss, wanting to show her how right their relationship was turning out to be. They remained wrapped in each others arms until a buzzer sounding from the kitchen interrupted the moment.
"You mind if I take a quick shower before helping you in there?" Danny asked.
"Go ahead; I'm almost done here, anyways." They proceeded to prepare for the arrival of their guests in much the same way they worked at the lab, finishing sentences and knowing instinctively what the other needed before the need was even voiced.
Seven thirty rolled around and shortly the intercom buzzed. Danny made his way to the door and said, "Yeah?"
The disembodied voice of Flack said, "Buzz us up."
"Alright." Danny turned to Lindsay standing the kitchen, and said, "To late to back out now."
"Like I'd ever bail on you, Dan." They smiled once more before each returning to their last minute tasks.
Moments later a heavy knock sounded on the door and jokingly Flack said, "NYPD, Open the door!"
Danny reached for the door and winked at Lindsay as she backed into the kitchen to await her grand entrance.
"Come on in, guys." Stella and Don made their way through the door and Danny could almost smell the excitement radiating off Stella.
Danny and Don shook hand before Stella pulled Danny into a tight hug while exclaiming, "Where is she?"
"Right here, Stel." Lindsay spoke coming around the doorway.
Danny was not disappointed by the squeal that exploded from Stella. "Oh my God! Finally you guys got a clue! Don, did you know about this? How long have you been together?" Her rapid fire exclamations and questions had everyone laughing.
Flack finally answered, "I had my suspicions, but they were confirmed when Lindsay answered Danny's phone this morning at five."
Again laughter exploded among the friends and Danny, with the occasional comment from Lindsay, explained the progression of their relationship. They detailed how, after Lindsay had returned from Montana, they had begun hanging out after work and how it gradually progressed to dating. And love, thought Stella.
Dinner was an amusing affair, with lots of laughter and joking among the friends. Afterwards, Stella volunteered to help Lindsay with the dishes, if only to get her side of the story. While the boys settled in the living room to catch the replay of the Yankee game, Lindsay and Stella chatted in the kitchen.
"When did you know it might be love?" Stella asked, her hands in the soapy water.
"At my lowest point, Stel. When I was reliving the shooting at the trial, having to face that murderer and I looked up from the stand and there he was. That was what gave me the strength to continue, to make sure my friends found justice."
"Wait, are you saying that Danny was in Montana?" Stella replied, incredulously.
"Did we not mention that part?" At Stella's stern look, Lindsay continued, "He flew out for 24 hours, at the most crucial time of my testimony. He met my parents and brothers. I think my mom loves him. I know I do."
"Wow, you guys are in deep. One time, Danny swore to Mac that he'd never fall in love, but all it took was for the right girl to come along. I'm dying to know, does he cuddle?"
"Does he cuddle? Does a rooster crow? He loves to cuddle!"
The boys heard the laughter erupting from the kitchen and grimaced. Don said, "All your supposed deep, dark secrets have now been revealed to Stella, you get that, right? Your life is effectively front page news from this day on."
Stella continued the girl talk, "Amazing! We were talking today and I was asking him about this girl that had him changed and he said that he thinks you might be his forever. Do you feel the same?"
"I do." Lindsay replied, grinning with tears in her eyes.
"Aww! I am so happy for you! Jealous, but happy!"
"Jealous? What about you and Flack? You two seem pretty cozy."
"Don? We're just friends."
"Well, it's something to consider."
The evening continued in mutual solicitude, with much laughter and joy among the friends. After their guests had departed, Lindsay asked Danny, "What do you think about Don and Stella?"
"Whadda mean? Like together, as a couple? Are they together?"
"No, their not together, yet. I think they'd make a great couple."
"Oh, no, Montana. Just because you're so happy, don't go round trying to make everyone else as happy. Matchmaking does not work."
"I'm not matchmaking; I just think they would be good together. Did you really tell Stella that this might be your forever?"
"Yes."
"Do you mean it?"
"Do I mean it, Lindsay? You are my world. My life. My everything. I love you with everything in me. I can't wait to spend more evenings like this, together, in our home. I can't wait for you to meet my family, for them to love you as much as I do. I can't wait for everyone to know that I somehow got lucky enough to catch a cowgirl from Montana. I mean it, Lindsay, you are my forever. I love you."
"I love you, too, Danny. This is my forever." She snuggled deeper into his arms and sighed contentedly, "I can't wait to see the looks on those lab techs faces when they know your mine!"
"That's my girl! Shall we hit the hay, Montana?"
"I might even be up for a little 'roll in the hay' Cowboy!"
"Make tracks!"
A/N: This One-shot might make its way into my multi-chapter fic, You've Got A Way, (shameless plug, I know!) so don't be surprised if you see it again. Thanks for reading and especially reviewing! Makes all the difference!