A Matter of Conviction
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI:NY or any of its central characters and plots. I intend no copyright infringement, so don't sue me for not doing something that I'm not supposed to be doing any way.
A/N: This is just a little idea that would not get out of my head after watching 'Yahzerit'.
A/N 2: This is largely not a humor story, but there is a funny moment or two....or five, depends on how easily your funny bone is tickled. So, eat and drink at your own risk!
Watching the young detective momentarily as he headed towards the locker room to collect his things before leaving on the two week suspension Internal Affairs had handed down, one which Mac personally thought was unfair, Danny's words rang in his head:
" The upside to this suspension is though? I get to spend time with my new wife before our little bambina arrives."
Before Mac could follow through on where that train of thought was leading him though, he caught a glimpse of Stella with a look of besetment on her face. He knew that look, and feeling, all too well when it came to Stella Bonasera. He had felt the same way when he'd given her a clear opportunity to come clean about her ongoing involvement, despite his direct order not to continue, in the Greek coin mystery. He'd given her that opportunity to tell him that she was still involved, when he informed her of the anonymous female caller that led police to the murdered body of Sebastian Diakos. He knew he didn't need to tell her though, she was the one that called it in, he just had hoped that she trusted him enough to be able to be honest with him. To say that her refusal to do so didn't hurt would be an outright lie because it did hurt, a lot. The two had been friends for a long time, and he hoped that the report, the trust, the two had built up over the years would be enough. Clearly that wasn't the case. However, that was a matter for another time. First, he had to find out what was going on in her head right now, and then he had to turn his attention back to Danny.
Having talked to Stella, Mac made it back to his office and immediately sat down at his desk and dialed a familiar number.
"Lindsay Messer," the tired greeting made Mac smile with sympathy.
"Hi, Lindsay. How are you doing?"
"Well," she sighed "I waddle like a penguin, I have to stand in front of a full length mirror to see my sausage toes and cankles, all I want to do is sleep yet I can't seem to stop cleaning and organizing. I wish Danny could experience this for one day because I don't think I can take it any more," she sighed. "Other than that, I'm doing just fine. It's good to be home. See my husband again."
"It won't be much longer now. How far away is your due date," he asked knowing she probably knew down to the minute how much longer the doctor said it would be until she could get out of a chair without assistance again.
"Sixteen days, Mac. I could have to wait sixteen days, or more for our baby girl to arrive. While I was in Montana, my mother told me I was almost three weeks late," she told him, her voice rising an octave at the end.
"I'm sure you won't be that late Lindsay. You're nesting, so maybe it's not even two weeks away," Mac was choosing to be an optimist right now and hoped that the very tired, very pregnant detective would appreciate it.
"Thanks Mac, I needed that. I haven't heard from Danny yet. Do you know how his hearing with Internal Affairs went? I'm starting to get worried. I know he was stressed out about that, with the baby on the way and everything, the last thing he needed was his job on the line for what he did."
"That's why I was calling you, actually. He's been suspended for two weeks, no pay," Mac continued on when he heard the expectant mother wind up to come to her husband's defense. "I don't think it's fair either, Lindsay. But, like I told Danny, we live in a litigious society. Right or wrong, everyone has the same rights. You know what he said back," the older detective asked, a grin threatening to break out on his face.
"I can only imagine," she muttered knowing what 'pre-husband-and-father-to-be' Danny would have said about such a thing, and she knew that there was a part of him that would always be that Danny. Though he may grow, mature and change throughout his life, there was always going to be that hot headed Italian cop somewhere deep inside of him, and she accepted that that would come out from time to time. His passion was one of the things that made her fall in love with him in the first place.
Mac chuckled, knowing all too well what she was thinking. Two-and-a-half years ago, he would have expected exactly the same thing, but not now, "you've changed him Lindsay. Since he's met you, he's grown up significantly, calmed down and more recently, he's started to consider the repercussions of his actions on other people. I think that's because of you."
She blushed at her boss's kind words, "He has changed a lot, hasn't he? So, if he didn't say something off color, then what did he say?"
"He told me that there's an upside to this suspension. He said the upside is that he got to spend some time with you before the baby arrives."
Hearing this, made Lindsay smile a smile that Mac could hear over the phone when she replied, "thanks for calling and telling me all this. I better get going. If he's on his way home, I want to get dinner started."
"Alright well, I'll let you go then. Have a good night Lindsay. And don't worry, you'll see your feet again soon. I'm pretty sure it's medically impossible to stay pregnant forever; though I can confirm that with Hawkes if you'd like," he joked.
"No, no, I'll be fine," she laughed. "Thanks for the offer though Mac. I'll talk to you again soon."
"Night, Lindsay."
"Night, Mac."
For the true-blue Italian that he was, Danny's favorite meal that Lindsay cooked with Country Fried Steak, with milk gravy of course, and mashed potatoes. She had made it for him on their first stay-at-home date, and he absolutely loved it! Since then, she had only made it for him once, when they got back together after all the bedlam surrounding Rikki, and she wanted him to know that she still loved him and wanted to be with him.
"Is it any good," she asked although the fact that he hadn't stopped eating long enough to say any thing told her that it was.
"Mm. Mm-hmm," was the only response she got as he was busy chewing.
"Just like the first time?"
"Better."
"Better? Really. What makes it better," maybe it was tad bit mean of her, but she was determined to make him stop inhaling the meal long enough to actually talk to her.
"Well, the fact that you'll even give me the time of day after how I treated you, makes everything pretty damn good right now."
"Danny, you made a mistake."
"I never meant to hurt you Lindsay."
"I know you didn't Danny," she reached out and affectionately squeezed his arm.
In response, he cupped her cheek gently, his fingertips grazing her ear. Though he didn't say the words, she knew the look in his eyes and gentleness of his touch all came together to silently tell her that he loved her.
The sound of the front door opening brought her out of her reverie.
"Babe, I'm home," he called though he could clearly see her very pregnant form in the kitchen, cooking. "What'cha doing Montana?"
"I'm making us dinner," she replied as she emptied the boiled potatoes into the colander.
"Aw, baby, why don't you let me do that. You should be resting," Danny commented as he made his way over to where she was.
"Dan, I'm pregnant, not sick. There's no reason I shouldn't be able to make my wonderful husband dinner if I feel like it," she replied as she dumped the potatoes back into the pot before leaning up to kiss him.
"Alright, but you haven't felt like it lately," he observed resting his hands on either side of her belly, feeling their child stretch as much as she could, waking from what Danny imagined was a restful nap.
"That's because I'm pregnant," she laughed at the expression on his face, as she grabbed a beer from the fridge and placed it on the breakfast bar. "Dinner will be ready soon, have a seat and relax a bit."
Danny watched his wife walk back to the stove and grab a frying pan from a lower cabinet and the shortening from a higher cabinet. "So we're frying something," Danny deduced as he got up from his stool and headed towards the fridge, where she had just turned towards. "Baby, let me help. What do you need?"
Smiling gratefully, she listed, "I need the cube steaks, eggs, milk, butter, half-and-half and garlic."
He gingerly set the requested ingredients next to her cooking area where she had also placed the flour, saltine crackers and spices. She handed him the crackers along with a zip top bag and rolling pin.
"Put the whole pack into the bag, make sure it's completely sealed and go to town. Pretend it's I.A.B," she smiled over her shoulder at him and he pecked her nose before doing exactly as instructed.
Ten minutes later, Danny was taking his aggression out on the potatoes.
"That supposed to be Elgers' face," Lindsay asked as she gingerly placed the breaded steaks into the hot grease, being careful not to splatter herself.
"Linds, it's just not fair! I'm supposed to just stand by and let that sack of shit throw his racist hate at my friend? Hell no!"
"Hey now, the potatoes didn't do anything to you," she said softly taking the masher from him momentarily.
"It sucks, I know, but the world is full of people like him. On the same token, I probably would have wanted to do the same thing," she commented, as she handed him back the masher and indicated for him to add the half-and-half, butter and freshly roasted garlic.
A few minutes later, and the couple was sitting down to a nice dinner, complete with salad and sparkling red grape juice, in the wine glasses Lindsay's brother and sister-in-law had sent them as a wedding present.
"So, country fried steak. What's the occasion," Danny asked.
"I wanted to make you feel better after a shitty day," she explained.
"Well, just seeing your beautiful face after sitting across the table from that moron with I.A.B is enough to make me feel better. He's really not anything to brag about."
"Daniel Jacob Messer, don't be a jerk," she admonished much like a mother would, "besides, my beautiful face is starting to resemble one of my parents' barn yard animals," she grumbled.
"You mean they have a cat as beautiful as you? I really need to meet these people," just as he hoped, his overly dramatic interpretation of what she said had been enough to make her laugh.
As what he said lingered in both of their minds, they began to laugh together. Really, it was funny...in a way. Lindsay's parents had never physically met him, and now he was their son-in-law and the father of their first granddaughter.
"They want me dead, don't they?"
"No, they don't want you dead. They just want to meet you one day. And Daddy wants to take you on a hunting trip," she added the last part almost as an afterthought and almost choked on her drink when she saw his skin blanch and his beautiful blue eyes practically bug out of his head.
"Dan, relax! They're just happy that I'm happy. And my Mom is happy that I won't be having to raise the baby all on my own," she answered honestly.
"I would never leave you alone to raise our baby Linds. Even in the beginning that never even entered my mind as an option, I swear it!"
"I know Danny, and that's just one reason that I love you."
"Just one of? Care to share the rest of them with me," he replied with a cocky grin.
"You made me proud of you today," she finally admitted what she'd wanted to say since he'd walked through the front door, looking so disappointed.
"You're proud of me? For getting suspended," Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Well I'm not proud of that, but I am proud of you for standing up for what you believe," she clarified.
"Well Hawkes is upset with me," that disappointed look was back on his face.
"Danny, as far as equality and civil rights goes, he comes from a different viewpoint than we do. He's learned how to deal with guys like Elgers because he's had to do it his whole life. We haven't. Just try to understand his view point and give him some time to understand yours. The two of you will come together again, just like you did after the blue flu," she explained the situation as best she could from her view into it; though her allegiance would firmly be with her husband, even if she could understand the other person's point of view.
"I love you," he told her sincerely.
"I love you too Cowboy."
"Elizabeth Barret Browning said, 'love doesn't make the world go round, love is what makes the ride worth while.' A toast to a worth while ride that may last til death do us part," Danny raised his glass, and Lindsay did the same. The two objects clinking together in such an ordinary gesture that, in that moment, meant so much.
"Til death do us part," she whispered, locking eyes with Danny over the rim of her glass.
The pair finished their meal in a comfortable silence, once all the leftovers had been cleared away, Lindsay started to do the dishes, only to have Danny grab her wrist.
"Leave them. Let me take care of them tomorrow," he said, reminding her that he would be around for the next two weeks. A thought that made Lindsay positively giddy.
Smiling, she took his hand and wordlessly followed him to their bedroom. No words were needed.