A/N: So, did we love that episode? Yes we did! Did we get a locker room kiss? Yes we did. Did we get a 'Lindsay Messer' from the Messer herself? Yes we did. Did we get epic Lindsay scenes? Yes we did. Do we love TPTB for once? Yes we do!
I'm sorry, I always think I'm cool when I refer to myself in the third person.
p.s. OTH fans? It's okay, Owen is sipping a holiday cocktail on the beach. We all know Owen didn't really die.
p.p.s. The Amazing Race, TPTB? Shameful advertising? A little bit? Did I find it absolutely hilarious? Yes I did, therefore it totally makes up for it.
Hope you enjoy, and there are still people around reading these. :)
Post ep oneshot, season 6, episode 12; Criminal Justice.
Dragging his hand down his face, Danny Messer let out an almighty sigh as he cautiously settled on his couch.
It'd been a long hard day and although he had shut off Detective Messer, his role of Daddy to Lucy had to be switched on. He loved being her Daddy. He loved the smile she gave when he walked into a room. He loved the fact that she was a blatant Daddy's girl.
He did not however love the blinding pain in his back every time he went to pick his baby girl up.
It had been an instant pain when he had pushed himself too far weeks previous when he was chasing Lockhart. He knew instantly what he'd done; and how the pain he was feeling probably wasn't something he should be feeling. He also knew that if he carried on, he'd end up right where he'd fought not to be. Back in that wheelchair. And with the work both he and Lindsay had put into it, together, there was no way in hell he was going to do that to them.
And aside from all that worry, he now had to deal with the worry of his badge, wallet and his grandfather's dog tags being lifted from an acupuncture office.
An effing acupuncture office. Of all places.
Then, on top of THAT, there was also the anxiety of not mentioning it to Mac as of yet. He'd told Lindsay, but that didn't mean much because he told her everything... now.
He'd been making a solid effort not to keep things from her, no matter how little or small. They had gone through the type of relationship where their own business was their own business, and instead of worrying the other; they just dwelled on it themselves. It hadn't worked for them, clearly. He knew that Lindsay would never admit it, but it was an eye opener, he thought, for her when she overheard the anonymous tip call from Risa Calaveras. He knew that she had probably realised that had she not heard that phone call, the chances of her finding out that part of her husband's recovery was slim to nothing. He'd not been trying to be spiteful by keeping it from her; more that he wanted to keep it from her to protect her. He knew that she worried, and if he could help it, he wasn't going to add to her list of things she insisted on worrying about.
He glanced at the clock and sighed. Speaking of worrying...
He knew that she was part of some undercover thing to make sure that the single eyewitness was kept safe, and while he admired her dedication, he was left with an unsettling feeling about her said dedication. Truth to be told, he didn't really want to know what it was she was doing. He found that to be the only way to deal with the prospect of Lindsay being put in any form of danger. It was just something he failed to deal with.
Like how she worried about his back, he worried about her wellbeing and keeping her safe.
He was convinced that when he put a ring on her finger, it sparked all kinds of emotions and feelings he'd never even imagined feeling.
He took a deep breath as he allowed himself to talk a walk down memory lane. The first experience he'd ever had of caring so much about someone else's wellbeing was in the case with the Holly Golightlys. Lindsay had volunteered herself as one of the Holly's, instantly filling Danny with a dread he could still feel to this day. He knew that she was more than capable of looking after herself, and he didn't doubt her for a second; but there was just something inside of him that wanted her to think about what she was doing. How much danger she was putting herself into.
He could still remember the words pass his lips. "Come on, kiddo...". He could still remember the ways in which he shuffled on that damn seat, desperate to be anywhere else than said seat. He could still remember the way in which her fingers curled as she gripped to his Kevlar, her breathing rapid and her heart racing from the danger she'd been in.
That day, Danny realised how much he liked Lindsay Monroe.
Now, however, Danny realised how he wouldn't be able to live without Lindsay Messer.
He straightened up slowly and let out a breath, as he did so; he felt a kiss to his temple and a pair of small hands sporting a very familiar looking ring run themselves down his arms. Letting his head fall back to the couch, he stared up at his wife and smiled. "I didn't hear you come in."
"I was a ninja in my past life," She giggled as she dropped a kiss to the top of his head and smiled. "How's your back?"
He shrugged, desperate not to start up that conversation. "Did you get him?"
Lindsay nodded as she took a seat next to Danny on the couch. "I wouldn't be sat here if we hadn't. I'd be out tracking his butt down."
"Still too cute for profanity," he teased as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "Did it go okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I got to see the opening credits to Amazing Race; one to which I've not seen since I started the crime lab, so that was nice. Did you know they've changed the logo?"
"Oh don't tell me you used to watch that crap." Danny snorted. "Montana, c'mon. I thought you had good taste."
"A series in its fifteenth season suggests to me that a lot of people think that..."
"Don't feed me the bull you feed me when we talk about those crime shows either."
"All I'm saying is that for a show to last like fifteen seasons must mean that..."
"... CBS has nothing better to do with their time."
"You're mean." Lindsay declared as she prodded his cheek, "I hope you know that."
"I do." He smiled at her. "I guess this'll mean you'll wanna watch American Idol too now?"
"You know what, why don't you just bite me. It might hurt less."
"You're such a fantastic drama queen, Mrs. Messer."
She playfully glared at him. "Watch it."
He chuckled as he draped an arm across Lindsay's shoulders. He let out a breath and laid his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes.
"Go on," she sighed.
"What?" he asked, peeling one eye open so he could peer at her.
"Whatever it is weighing on your mind," she said, "Let's have it."
"I don't know what you're talking about, baby." He lied.
"Oh yeah," she nodded while rolling her eyes. "I'm not buying it. What's the matter?"
He sighed, knowing that against Lindsay, he wouldn't win. "It just scares me, you know?"
"What does?"
"Well," he paused. "Actually, it doesn't matter... I just..." he paused again after seeing the hurt look on her face from him pulling away from her. "You know what it does matter."
"I'm so confused." She smiled playfully, gaining a chuckle from her husband.
"It's gonna sound so random," he warned her.
"And what?" she shrugged. "If it's on your mind, I wanna know. I want to be able to talk it through with you... Make you feel better."
Danny sighed."It scares me that if something was to happen to you, God forbid it doesn't; what would I do about Lucy? With my back, I wouldn't..." he stopped, trying to collect his thoughts. "The only reason I'm the father I am, is because I have you to support me..." he began. "Without you, Linds; I wouldn't... I don't think that I am the type of person to be a single dad. I wouldn't give Lucy the upbringing she deserves."
Lindsay sighed and rolled her eyes. "You know that isn't true."
"I push myself Lindsay and I end up in a wheelchair again." Danny reminded her.
Lindsay licked her lips for a moment before taking Danny's hands in hers and giving them a light squeeze. "Alright, I want you to listen to me when I say this, okay?"
Danny sighed.
"You can sigh all you want, Danny, but just listen to me, okay?"
He let out another sigh before nodding.
"All Lucy needs is love. She needs her Mom and Dad to show her how loved she is and how she's our whole world. She doesn't need you to be active Dad of the year, Danny. Look at how your Dad was. He ran you to every baseball try out in the state, but it didn't make you feel loved, did it? He took you down to Central Park every Saturday, yelling at you to hit it out of the park. He used to get you up to work on your catching on a Sunday before you went to church."
Danny smiled at all the details Lindsay had remembered from a previous conversation.
"But all that dedication and hard work that he put into you playing baseball was overlooked for the one time he told you how proud he was, right?"
Danny sat back. She was absolutely right.
"Lucy doesn't need much, Danny." Lindsay reminded her husband. "All she needs is for you to carry on loving her as much as you do. She knows you'd move mountains for her. You don't have to worry about being a good Dad, either as part of us or on your own, because you are a good Dad."
Still looking unconvinced, Danny shrugged. "Lindsay, I just..."
"It takes just one night to be a Father, Danny; it takes a whole lifetime to be a good Dad. You're well on your way to being an amazing Daddy."
He smiled and closed his eyes for a moment.
"As for me going anywhere? I've told you time and time again, I'm here to stay, and whatever happens will not change how much I love and adore you, okay? We're in this together, no matter what happens, okay? I'll never put myself into a situation where I don't think I'll come out of it. And if I do, then well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
He pulled her into his side and pressed a kiss to her temple. "What would I do without you, huh? You always talk me out of these stupid moods I get into."
"No, I just point out all the good things. You just sometimes need someone to remind you that things aren't so bad."
Danny sighed. "And now I remember I've lost my wallet... and badge... and dog tags."
"They'll turn up." Lindsay smiled reassuringly. "One way or another. We'll let Mac know tomorrow now that he isn't stressed over the case and we'll go from there. There's nothing you can do. You didn't do anything wrong and it's not your fault, okay?"
"What if something happens to my badge?"
"Well, like everything else, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, alright?"
"But babe... I..."
"What you need to do is relax and just let it go." She said, cutting him off. "Did you know that stress can come out in different ways? That it can use your back as an outlet, making it hurt more than necessary."
"It does not," he laughed at her.
"Yes it does," she nodded adamantly. "Stress comes out in the ways you let it; you worrying and constantly thinking about all the things that you are is just giving the stress your feeling an easy outlet. You need to let me take a little bit of the worry sometimes,"
"You have enough to worry about." Danny informed her. "You worry about the bills, and Lucy, and me and..."
"That's my job," she whispered as she pressed her index finger to his lips. "It's the way I am... I'm not going to change, Danny. I worry about the people I love the most. Just like how you worry about me and Lucy."
He sighed, his mood finally lifting. "Worriers together then? If we're gonna worry, we might as well do it together, huh?"
She smiled, "How about, for a change, we don't think about anything; put in a movie that will turn our brains to mush, and just sit here with each other."
"Well if we want to turn our brains to mush, I'm sure CBS are playing the Amazing Race."
Her eyes widened as she scowled at her husband. "I'm gonna kick your butt if you carry that on." She warned him.
"Oh yeah?" he smirked. "You gettin' violent with me now?"
"If you keep teasin' me, you'll find out."
"You wouldn't." He informed her as she passed him the TV remote. "You love me too much."
She sighed as she settled into his side with her head on his shoulder. Even though they had a million things to worry about between the two of them; they had each other. And really, so long as they were happy; nothing else mattered.
Well, I hope you enjoyed it, and it tied up a few loose ends. All reviews are muchly appreciated. Thank you for reading.