Lips of an Angel

by LadeeBear

[DL] Borderline angst. Not really sure how to describe it, other than it's my first Dannycentric fic. So, let me know what you think.

This has been in my head for a while, and I just had to get it out. And for the first time ever (gasps) I am writing a Danny-centric fic. It's pretty exciting, not gonna lie. LOL. So, sit back, relax, and (hopefully) enjoy! Spoilers for 3x02. Disclaimer: I do not own CBS, Hinder, and therefore own none of Hinder's lyrics. But you probably already knew all of this anyway.

"It's really the sound of the voices, the sound of the words, the sound of the sound that we're interested in." – Anne Dudley

"Lips Of An Angel"

Honey why you calling me so late?
It's kinda hard to talk right now.
Honey why are you crying? Is everything okay?
I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud

He was awoken from a pleasant dream, started from his sleep by the annoying faint buzz of the telephone in his left ear. He groaned and shifted in bed, determined to try and fall back to sleep. The ringing persisted and so he sat up and floundered around for a moment in an attempt to find his glasses. Once they were on his face he yawned and picked up the phone from its base.

"Hello?" he asked groggily. There was a muffled sob on the other line. The man took one look at the rhythmic breathing of the figure in his bed before rising slowly and tiptoeing into the kitchen of his apartment. He sat down at the table and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Lindsay? Is that you? What's wrong?"

Danny's heart was caught in his throat as a multitude of thoughts raced through his mind. She's hurt. He hurt her. She's been attacked. She's lost. She's…

"I'm…I'm just lonely right now, and I needed someone to talk to. So, I called the one person who I trust more than anyone else. You."

Well, my girl's in the next room
Sometimes I wish she was you
I guess we never really moved on

Danny exhaled and replied. "Lindsay…I'm glad that you called me…"

Lindsay hiccupped on the other line. "Have you been having second thoughts too?"

Danny swallowed hard. "Yeah…it's just…so good to hear from you."

He paused for a moment, as memories rushed through his mind, blurring together, forming one solid picture: them. No one was like his Montana. She was feisty, and smart – yet she wasn't conceited or arrogant. She was friendly and sweet. She had won his heart nearly from the moment when they had met outside of a tiger cage. And it was ironic to him that a sweet girl from Montana could melt the heart of a cold New Yorker. But sometimes, he thought to himself, sometimes Love was just strange that way. She was cruel and ruthless one moment, and then kind-hearted and generous the next. He would never understand Love.

Love, he thought bitterly, had taken Lindsay away. Or rather, it was not Love, per se, that took her away from him – it was Love's antithesis – Fear.

It's really good to hear your voice saying my name
It sounds so sweet
Coming from the lips of an angel
Hearing those words it makes me weak

"I miss you," she whispered delicately on the other line. Her voice was fragile and meek, timid almost. He let out another sigh, running a hand through his short hair. He looked over his shoulder at his closed bedroom door where she was sleeping, and continued in a hushed tone.

"Lindsay, I miss you too. It's so hard though, right now, because I have to accept the fact that you're gone…and I can't…I can't…"

It was Lindsay's turn to sigh now. "I know. It's not the same. I'm not there with you. Maybe if I was still in New York…would it have made any difference?"

Danny rubbed his temple and tried to hold back the wave of emotion that was consuming him at the moment. It drowned his common sense and his rationality – oh, but she always had that effect on him. She could smile, and his heart would melt. When she would cry, his heart would shatter into a million pieces. And when she was scared, all he wanted to do was hold her. His mind flashed to the moment when he thought she was gone.

"Lindsay?" he cried frantically. No answer. He tried again. "Lindsay?" The smoke was thick, and he could barely see two feet in front of him, but his eyes were scanning the room, searching for her. That would be the only assurance that she was alright. If he could just get to her –

"Danny!" she cried. The young woman rose to her feet, covering her ears which were still ringing from the noise of the smoke grenade. She stood up hesitantly and watched a figure approach her from behind a curtain of smoke. It was him. He had come to rescue her.

He rushed towards her and steadied his hands on her shoulders before momentarily moving them to her waist. He had to make sure that she was real – that she was actually standing in front of him. She had a look of complete terror on her face, almost as if she was a tiny fawn trapped in the headlights of a car. They looked into each other's eyes for a brief second before he pulled her into him.

"You alright?" he asked breathily. She was there. She was in his arms – safe.

"Yeah," she replied softly. His hands were on the back of her head now, and he pulled her away from him for a brief moment. Their eyes locked and Lindsay's eyes revealed her fear, her worry, her pains. 'Hold me, please, and don't let go,' she seemed to beg. He brushed the hair away from her face tenderly and studied her face for a moment, before pulling her back into him. He rested her head against the side of his face and merely looked up at the ceiling. She clutched his shirt tightly and never wanted to leave his embrace.

And I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel

"Lindsay – you left. You had to do what you had to do. Who was I to stop you from doing that?" he asked slowly. He could hear Lindsay sniffle on the other line.

"Sometimes I wonder if I made the wrong decision, moving back here. Sometimes, I still think about what-might-have-been…"

Danny exhaled deeply. "I think about that too sometimes," he admitted.

It's funny that you're calling me tonight
And, yes, I've dreamt of you too
And does he know you're talking to me?
Will it start a fight?
No I don't think she has a clue

"…and sometimes, I even dream about us. You know – everything that went on between us," Lindsay continued in the same soft-spoken tone. Danny felt as though his lungs had become constricted. Memories flooded his memory – of her laugh, of her smile, of the way that the hair fell in slight curls to her shoulders.

"What about Alex?" Danny asked suddenly, recalling the man that Lindsay had been seeing. Lindsay sighed.

"Kind of complicated, but we broke up."

"Over me?" he asked curiously.

"No, not just over you…"

"…but I had something to do with it, right?" It seemed to Danny that both of them could not survive relationships very long unless it was with each other. And that fact is what startled Danny the most.

"And what about you and Meghan? How's that working for you?" she asked stiffly. Danny involuntarily turned to look over his shoulder at the closed bedroom door to where his girlfriend was sleeping.

"I guess we're okay."

"Does she know that I'm talking to you?" Lindsay asked with curiosity.

"No, she's asleep," Danny replied, skillfully evading the answer. It was true that Meghan probably wouldn't have been too enthusiastic to hear about him talking to another woman on the phone at 2am.

Well my girl's in the next room
Sometimes I wish she was you
I guess we never really moved on
It's really good to hear your voice saying my name
It sounds so sweet
Coming from the lips of an angel
Hearing those words it makes me weak

"I really do miss you, Danny," she remarked after a moment of hesitant silence. "I guess that every guy I meet I instantly compare to you. And so far, no one I have found here has matched up…"

"I really miss you too Lindsay," he replied with a wistful tone. "God, what I wouldn't give to have you in my arms again…"

"But Danny, you have Meghan, okay? Don't let me be the reason that you two break it off. I know what it's like to tell someone that you don't have feelings for them – please, just don't let me be the reason for Meghan's heartache. I couldn't stand myself if I knew that I was that reason…"

"Lindsay, maybe we just need to let go," he said, voice becoming constrained with fatigue and wracked with emotion. He loved her. He loved her, but he was a fool and he let her go. And he had to deal with the consequences of his actions, no matter how foolish. It was his responsibility to be faithful to his girlfriend. The old Danny Messer may have had no problem with cheating. But that was the Danny Messer before he met Lindsay Monroe.

Whether she knew it or not, Lindsay had changed his life. He had been transformed from the inside out, starting with his heart. He had never believed in love, but she had changed all of that. He was always the kind of guy with a reputation to be a ladies man – but once she stepped foot into his life, she changed that too. He was…he was different, there was no doubt. And even with their current nonexistent relationship, he still realized that she held the key to that turning point in his life. No matter if she was his girlfriend or not – she had affected him in such a way that he could never thank her enough.

And Meghan was a woman whom he could only be faithful to. As tempting as it was to drop everything and run away with the past and with all of the memories that it held between him and Lindsay, he could not do that. He cared deeply for Meghan and would be faithful to her for as long as he dated her.

Danny and Lindsay had a trust, a relationship that ran deeper than office work or cases; a relationship that was not based on sex, or dating, or any other trivial area. No, they had a relationship based on the one thing that could never fail them: love.

"You know, I always thought it was a stupid saying, but I have to agree with it right now," Lindsay replied with a slight chuckle. "My mother used to say: If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it was meant to be. If it doesn't, then it never was. Kinda like us, isn't it?"

Danny thought about it for a moment before replying. "Yeah, it is. And even if your path doesn't lead you back here…"

"…or if yours doesn't lead you to Bozeman, Montana…"

"…whoever we end up settling down with…"

"…even if it's not with each other…"

"…we'll be alright," Danny promised.

"Yeah," Lindsay acknowledged, seeming to smile on the other line slightly. "Yeah, we'll be alright in the end."

Danny felt a sting to his heart as he watched the minutes of the clock tick by. "Lindsay, I should go and get some sleep…"

He didn't want to hang up. He never wanted her to leave. He wanted her voice to remain in his mind, ringing in his ears forever. If only he could hear her sweet voice, then he would know that everything was alright again.

"Me too," she added quickly. "Thank you," she said, and then added even softer, "Thank you – honestly."

Danny opened his mouth to find the words, but could only add: "You're welcome. And Lindsay? Take care of yourself."

There was a pause, and she seemed to grin. "I always do."

A click, and silence, and Danny was left sitting at his kitchen table staring at a phone. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and placed the phone on the table before rising. At the door to his bedroom, the man turned around. The phone was silent. And it tore him apart inside to be greeted with only silence – silence and darkness. Nothing more, nothing less. And the thought still seemed to echo in his mind as he replayed the conversation with Lindsay.

Honey why you calling me so late?

You like? You know what you should do? COMMENT! Give me feedback. I'm not sure if this is quite how I wanted this story to turn out, but oh well. Please leave your opinions! Thanks!