He knocked loudly on her door and then took a step back, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. He knew it was early and that she was sleeping, but he also knew that Flack was right - he needed to deal with this NOW, before he lost the best thing he'd ever had.
He was just about to knock again when the door suddenly opened. Lindsay stared at him in confusion, her eyes bleary and her hair sticking out. Even just rolled out of bed, she took his breath away, and he wanted to kick himself for being such an idiot.
"Danny?" she asked. "What's wrong?"
He shrugged, afraid to look her in the eye. "I needed to see ya."
"Is everything okay?" Her voice was worried as she stepped aside to let him in. "And why are you all sweaty?"
"Me and Flack went jogging."
Her nose crinkled, and Danny couldn't help but think of how cute she looked when she was confused. "You hate jogging," she pointed out.
"Yeah, well...I didn't have a lot of say in the decision."
"I don't get it, Danny. Why are you here?"
He turned to face her, suddenly feeling like he was going to explode if he didn't get everything off of his chest.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I know...I know that I been pushin' you away, and actin' distant. I didn't handle Ruben's..." He stopped, running a hand through his hair. "Hell, Lindsay, I fucked up. I shut down and I shut you out." Stopping again, he looked her in the eye. "I hurt you," he continued quietly. "And I hate myself for that."
For a minute she just stared at him. Her first thought when he showed up at such an ungodly hour was that he had bad news. She feared that something had happened to Flack or Stella, or that...or that he was leaving her. An apology was the last thing she had expected.
"Montana?"
She gave him a small smile. "I just wasn't expecting this." Taking a step closer, she reached out for him. "I've missed you."
Danny stepped back suddenly, out of her reach. "That's not all," he said quietly.
A lead weight dropped into the pit of her stomach, and Lindsay felt as though she couldn't breathe. Her hands shaking, she crossed her arms, hugging herself tightly.
As Danny watched her go into protective mode, he silently cursed himself. He hated that he was hurting her, and he knew that he had no on to blame but himself. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to keep his eyes locked on hers.
"Rikki Sandovall kissed me."
It felt as though the air had been sucked out of the room and time froze. Lindsay stared at him in disbelief before turning her head and blinking away tears.
"Did...did you kiss her back?"
"No," Danny said firmly, his voice loud in the apartment. "I swear to God, Lindsay, I pushed her away. Nothin' else happened."
Still not meeting his eyes, she moved into the living room, sitting down slowly on the couch. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked.
Danny followed her, tentatively sitting on the couch beside her. "Because I don't wanna lie to you. Because..." He swallowed hard. "'cause I don't wanna lose you." He waited for her to say something, but Lindsay just kept her eyes down, picking idly at her sweatpants. He could see a few tears escaping down her face, and he wanted nothing more than to kiss them away. But he knew that he didn't have that right - not until she gave it back to him. "I'm movin' out," he told her, wanting her to understand that he was trying. "Flack gave me a number to call...an apartment's opened up a few blocks from here." He looked over at her, moving his hand closer, wanting to touch her so badly it hurt. "I don't want anybody but you, Montana. I know I fucked up, I know that I hurt you, but please. Let me fix things. Please...don't make me leave."
Lindsay finally raised her eyes, the tears still sliding down her cheeks. "You know what the hardest part of this has been, Danny? Losing my friend. I thought we could talk to each other -"
He was on his knees in front of her in an instant, his hands grasping hers. "We can. I swear to you, Lindsay, we can do this. I'll do whatever you want me to, just...please don't leave me."
She untangled her hands from his, and he closed his eyes, his heart dropping into his stomach. But then she was holding his face, and when he opened his eyes again, he found her looking right at him, a sad smile on her face.
"I'm not leaving you," she said quietly. Taking a deep breath, her voice grew firm. "But you have got to move out of there. I don't want that woman anywhere near you."
He fumbled in his pocket, pulling out the card Flack had given him. "I got the number right here an' I'm supposed to call this afternoon. I will call this afternoon."
She took the paper from his hands, setting it down on the coffee table. Then she turned back to him, her thumbs slowly stroking his face. "We can't just go back to the way things were, Danny. It's...it's gonna take time."
He nodded. "I know."
"Come on," she whispered. "It's our day off and I'm still tired."
Danny frowned, his eyes sliding down to the bedroom. Lindsay let her gaze follow his, and then rolled her eyes.
"You're not getting in my pants, Danny Messer." They both chuckled, a lot of the tension seeping out of them. Lindsay shrugged, letting her hands drift down to his shoulders, where her fingers continued to move in slow circles. "But I'm not ready for you to go, either."
Smiling nervously, Danny reached up, barely brushing his lips against hers. "Then I won't go."
He got to his feet, helping her to stand as well. Entwining their fingers, Lindsay led him down the hall and into her bedroom. Once there, she climbed into bed, gesturing for him to do the same.
"You sure, Montana?" he asked. "I'm still kinda sweaty."
She nodded to the dresser. "One of your t-shirts is in the second drawer."
He changed quickly, feeling her eyes on his bare back before he could slip the clean shirt over his head. Then he moved toward the bed, getting under the covers slowly, letting Lindsay decide how close they got. She gave him a knowing smile, silently thanking him for giving her the lead. Moving closer, she snuggled against his chest; Danny let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. He took his glasses off, tossing them onto the stand by the bed, and then closed his eyes, the steady feel of Lindsay's breathing lulling him to sleep.