AN: okay so I'm about two episodes behind on the show (thanks to college basketball and Lost coming on at the same time. thank you ABC..ahem) but I've managed to catch up some tonight (becaaause Supernatural was a re-run too). And I just watched tonight's episode so yay! But you have to love when there's a little thing stuck in your head that won't let you go to bed until you write it. Thus, this was born.
SPOILERS for episode 18. If you don't want to know what happens, then don't go any further. You've been warned!
He's there in Montana, not really sure what in the hell he's doing, other than going to find her. The one that had invaded his thoughts, his dreams, his whole being. She'd wiggled her way under his skin when he wasn't looking and he wasn't sure he could get her out. Not that he wanted to. As he entered the court room, trying to be as quiet as possible even though he was tired from the flight and felt like his shoes sounded like lead on the floor. She was on the stand when he entered, catching her eye even from across the room. She looked terrified for a moment but then seemingly relaxed. He wanted to smile, to cheer, to tell her that she was doing great. But...that might be a little out of place in a courtroom, even if Danny does have a big mouth sometimes.
Instead he sits near the back, watching as Lindsay finishes her testimony. He couldn't imagine what it was like for her to remember every detail of that night when she lost her friends. He couldn't imagine the inner turmoil he knew she had going on in her head. She felt guilty, like there was anything she could've done. Anyone in her shoes would've done the same thing, crouched down and tried to block out the sounds. She shouldn't feel guilty. She's going to send the bastard to Hell, after all. He keeps his eyes on hers, as if just watching her will give her a little more strength than she had before. He's not sure if it works or not, although her voice is a little louder, a little more firm.
After she finishes her testimony, she immediately makes her way back towards him and with a small smile she takes the seat next to him. Their shoulders and arms are touching as they sit sit by side, waiting for the jury to come back with a verdict. It doesn't take long, although it feels like an eternity. He can feel Lindsay's skin burning through his worn leather jacket. And it's vice versa for Lindsay. She could swear that Danny was burning up. She hadn't expected him to show like that, she was prepared to do all of this alone. But with him there, that made all the difference in the world. She'd wanted to cry, laugh, just...smile when she saw him. And now they'd gone minutes...or was it hours, without saying a word. But, they didn't have to.
The jury came back and she watched as the judge read over the piece of paper. This was where it was all going to end. It could go one of two ways. The man that had murdered her friends and seemingly ruined her for life could either get off completely scot free or he could be thrown in jail for the rest of his miserable life. She didn't think she could go through years of the appeal process, having to remember her friend's deaths over and over again. She wanted him to be put away. She wanted the key to be thrown away forever. Lindsay reached over, grabbing a hold of Danny's hand and laced their fingers together. He was her support. He was her rock, as cliche as that was. He squeezed her hand back but the two didn't say a word. They didn't have to.
As the word "guilty" came out of the jury foreperson's mouth, Lindsay wanted to jump for joy. Part of her wanted to scream, part of her wanted to cry. Instead Danny squeezed her hand again and she found herself smiling for the first time in...well, forever. The two of them stood as the courtroom began to empty quickly. Her friends' parents were crying, hugging each other. It was finally over. She turned and looked at Danny, who was looking a little expectant. He didn't know how she was going to react after all. The two of them moved closer to each other and within a second, Lindsay found herself clinging to Danny in the tightest hug ever. He smelled like leather, some kind of chemical no doubt from the lab, and aftershave. She smelled like flowers and perfume.
They were mere millimeters from kissing each other, the kind that would be soft and romantic and just perfect when a flash nearly went off in both of their faces. The ever present press were converging on Lindsay. She pulled back with a slightly shy smile and he just smiled back. Without a word, he kept his arm around her as they made their way through the massive amounts of reporters, photographers and people who had been in the court room. Lindsay wanted to breathe, to get out of there and just be with Danny. That wasn't such a horrible request, now was it?
Lindsay gave a few short sound bites as they made their way out but other than that, she didn't speak. She was too busy paying attention to the warm hand on her shoulder and the man beside her. A car was waiting for them, to take them back to the hotel she'd been staying in for the duration of the trial. Without a word to each other, it was just automatically known that Danny would be going with her. And as the car pulled away from the court house and the press that was still converging outside, not a word as spared between the two of them. They had forever to talk about anything and everything. For now, they were just content to be.