A/N: And… Another Sheldon Jr creation – well half Sheldon Jr, half laptop...
I do want to warn people though that this here has SEASON SIX SPOILERS as an emphasis like from the beginning-ish. So if you don't know anything, you may want to think twice before you read if you want to continue to know nothing – (but come back and read once we've seen the season, mkay?)
A very long oneshot – seen as Megan laughed at me with my last little one… (Admittedly, it grew and I didn't change the A/N… I'll give you that.)
Hope you enjoy it :)
P.S. read the lyrics below! I'm convinced Danny could have written it for a certain girl… If you know, he wasn't fictional *whistles*
They say behind every man is a good woman,
But I think that's a lie…
'Cause when it comes to you, I'd rather have you by my side.
You don't know how much I count you to help me,
When I've given everything I got and I just feel like giving in.
And you look at me,
And give me that come-here-baby smile…
It's all gonna be alright,
You take my hand,
You pull me close and you me tight…
And, it's the sweet love that you give to me;
It makes me believe we can make it through anything.
'Cause when it all comes down,
And I'm feeling like I'll never last,
But, I just lean on you 'cause baby,
You're my better half.
'You're My Better half,' - Keith Urban.
A/N: Told ya! :P
"I can't believe you talked me into this." Danny smirked as he headed down the Monroe's drive from the Ranch, leading to the main road.
"When was the last time you and I got out?" Lindsay implored. "Alone," she added, "without the titles of Mommy and Daddy?"
Danny sighed. "You know, I don't even know."
"I do." She said. "The night you got shot. How long ago was that?"
Danny sighed heavily as he felt the twinge in his back at the mention of the bar shooting. "Well over eight months ago."
"We need this." She smiled as she grabbed her nail polish she had tossed into the cup holder before they had left. "We deserve this… And my Mom and Dad wanted the day with Lucy to themselves with them not seeing her that often, so I mean, what more than a perfect opportunity?"
Danny glanced over to her from his position in the driver's seat. "You actually think you can paint your nails when I'm trying to get us into civilisation on this dirt road?"
"Hell yeah!" Lindsay smirked as she finished shaking the bottle, uncapped the lid and kicked her shoes off. "I spent my teenage years doing it. And anyway, I'm a woman. I can do such 'trying tasks'."
"Smartass," Danny scoffed.
They fell into a comfortable silence as he paid attention to the winding road ahead of them, while she painted her toes.
He knew, despite his hesitance, that they did in fact need this.
The months after his shooting and his physical therapy left him with hazy memories. The only thing he could remember about those months after the shooting was Lindsay. How she was always there and how she was the one that pulled him through. She had given him the strength to fight the excruciating pain. She'd done it for him as she brought Lucy into the world, and now, he'd done it for her. For them. She'd said it was just another obstacle they had to tackle. 'What's another bump? We can get over this easily…' She'd singsonged as she tried to lift his spirits – something that had been a regular occurrence, in his near depressed state at his ongoing battle of fighting to be able to walk on his own, only to fall at each hurdle.
Even when he'd wanted to give up and just stay confined to the wheelchair, she'd never given up. He had other people spurring him on and offering him encouragement. He appreciated them, and they knew that – but her words mattered most to him. They affected him the most.
They were what got him through it all
They'd battled four huge obstacles and challenges, and had gotten over all of them– all the while strengthening their relationship.
"What'cha thinkin' about?" Lindsay drawled as she licked her lips, in attempts to help her concentration and hand as she painted her toes.
"You," He answered her. "How much I've leant on you these past months, for you to keep me standing the whole time. How good it feels that we got through it together, for once."
She smiled shyly. "What else would I have done? I promised you that I would be there, and I was. You needed me…"
Danny reached across to her in the passenger seat, and took her hand, squeezing it lightly. "Thank you."
She smiled and rubbed his hand with her thumb. "You know I'd do anything for you."
He nodded as he raised her hand and kissed it. "Hows your toes comin' on?"
She stretched her legs on the dashboard, and wiggled her toes as she let go of Danny's hand and screwed the lid securely on the bottle of nail polish. "They're dryin'." She drawled.
"That right?" he mimicked in his own country accent. He'd teased her that the minute they had landed in Gallatin County Airport that her accent slipped into a country drawl and he needed a translator. But really, he actually quite liked listening to her, despite the fact he knew – as well as she did, she was playing on the whole thing. Either way - he loved this side of Lindsay; the country girl that his wife was and being able to see her in her roots.
Finally coming to the end of the long drive, Danny sat at the stop sign, and looked both ways.
"Left or right?" he asked her.
"Excuse me."
"Pick one," he smiled. "Left or right?"
"Right," She smiled.
Turning right, Danny reached for her hand and linked their fingers together as he placed their hands on her knee. "We're seeing where the road takes us."
Lindsay smiled as Danny finally hit the gas, the wind now blasting in through the windows as they sped down the road in her father's truck. "Were we a bit nervous back there with the windin' roads, cowboy?"
Danny snorted.
"Hmm?" Lindsay pressed. "Nervous?"
"If I knew the road…"
"There we go." Lindsay cut him off, "An excuse as to keep that macho Daniel Messer exterior."
"I was just being cautious." Danny scoffed. "I didn't want to go 65 down a road I had no idea where the bends were. I'm not a maniac when it comes to driving… Unlike some…"
"Growing up, I drove and was driven around roads where you'd be lucky to see another person for three miles. My mom's old Pinto got upset if I…"
"Upset? Oh, Christ Lindsay,"
"She did! Martha used to stall and everything at stoplights!"
"The car had a name?"
"You love my little quirks." Lindsay teased.
"Martha though? Really?"
"What's the matter with the name Martha?"
"Nothing," Danny snorted. "I just… I've not heard of people namin' cars."
Lindsay turned and stared at him. "What?"
"What?" Danny said as he glanced at her briefly before turning his attention back to the road, "What'cha looking at me like that for?"
"You've never heard of people naming cars… You've never named your car?"
Danny snorted. "Oh, can you see me with the Avalanche? Come on Jeffrey; let's just get to the next intersection… Please, come on now Lindsay."
"You've missed out." She shrugged.
Danny shook his head. "I may call our car the Batmobile."
"Don't start." She scoffed. "We all know the car's called the Mach 5."
Danny snorted. "Oh please, which is cooler, the Batmobile or the Mach 5…"
"We've had this conversation, Messer. Numerous times actually…"
"And we'll keep havin' it till you realise I'm right and you're wrong."
"You realise that'll never happen, right?"
Danny sighed.
"Turn left," she instructed.
"Why?"
"Just do as I say."
Complying, Danny turned left and headed down the narrow road, "Where you takin' me, Messer?"
"You'll see." She smiled. "There's a sharp bend not far down…"
Danny swerved as he found the said bend. "A little more warning next time, babe?!"
"I was warning you!" she scoffed. "Turn here."
He turned as he was told and they reached the end of the road and emerged into a clearing.
"How the hell did you know this was here?" Danny gasped as he carefully drove down towards the lake that had met them as they had come off of the road. "This is amazin'! You wouldn't even know this was here."
"I have my ways. I'm awesome like that."
Danny smiled as he parked the car. "You're like a walking internet database site. In fact no – you ARE Google. Directions. Random trivia. Recipes. I hit the gold when I married you, babe."
She rolled her eyes and slugged him before twisting in her seat as she reached for the cooler that was placed in the back seat.
"Now?" Danny laughed as he killed the engine. "It's only eleven thirty."
"You wanna walk back to the car once we're hungry?" she laughed. "I've been there and made that mistake. I think I actually have the t-shirt somewhere too."
"Oh," Danny laughed as he jumped out of the pick up truck. "Is this where you brought all of your little boyfriends?"
"Yeah," She deadpanned.
His face fell as he rounded the car to where Lindsay was stood. "Oh… I…"
"I used to come here at the weekend with Kelly and the girls." She smiled, deciding she'd teased him enough. "We'd swim in the lake, camp in sleeping bags under the stars… that kind of thing."
"Torture all the full grown black bears that I'm sure are just waiting to jump me…"
"Oh please, would I take you somewhere where you'd get ripped to shreds?"
"Depends… were you pissed with me as we left the house?"
"Depends… did you leave the toilet seat up again?"
"I made that mistake once. Have you seen me do it again?"
She smiled as she rubbed his arm. "Alright darling… It's okay; we're slowly training you up."
"Careful wiseass - you might be going swimming before you'd anticipated."
She smiled as she tossed him a sleeping bag. "Carry that would ya?"
"You only brought one? And you call yourself a Mommy. I thought Moms were always supplied and equipped. The last time I counted, there were two of us."
"Yeah, I got that, wiseass!" She said, elbowing him. "My thoughts were that it comes to that we could share. Be a little closer."
Danny blushed. "I didn't think of that."
"I didn't think so." She smiled. "Lock the doors."
Danny sighed and did as he was told.
"Come." She smirked.
"Sit?" Danny asked. "Roll over?"
"Play dead." Lindsay teased.
"You're mean to me." Danny declared
Taking his free hand, she led him down the path to the lakeside. "You know me better than that."
He smiled as he laced their fingers together. "Yeah I do…" he nodded, giving her hand a little squeeze. "And you like bein' mean to me."
She growled as she shoved him away from her. "Oh, you better run!"
Lindsay sighed happily as she trailed her fingertips across Danny's chest. "That one looks like a heart." She smiled.
"It does not!" Danny laughed, "Are you crazy?"
"It does so!" she cried. "That's a definite heart."
"Well have you seen that one? It looks like Mac's face."
"That cloud does not look like Mac, Danny. God, you're such a moron!"
"Hey! Play nice! You married the moron."
She shifted her head from where it lay on his chest so that he could see her. She stuck her tongue out and giggled.
"You're like a kid." He informed her.
"Is your back alright?" she asked him, ignoring him completely.
"I'm fine. I told you."
"I just don't want…"
"Linds," Danny sighed, "If I start to seize up or my legs are hurting, I'll tell you, alright? Stop worryin' about me."
"I know you though," she sighed, "You'll just suck the pain up and not say anything and I don't want you in pain."
"I know you don't." he smiled as he trailed his fingertips down her arm. "And I love you for that, but Linds, I need to do this my own way. I need to heal – I can't stop doing what I would usually do. I just need to do it and get on with it. Just let me."
She sighed. "Just you know… Make sure you…"
He raised his hand and held his index finger to her lips. "I will."
She smiled and kissed his finger covering her lips. "I just worry, you know?"
Danny nodded. "I know. But Linds, I'm a big boy."
"I know, I know." She assured him, "I know. I'm not trying to…" she sighed. "I just care… a lot. I don't want to see you like hurting how you were."
"Lying in the sun with you wrapped in my arms won't put me back into a wheelchair, Linds. If anything it's a reason to get out of that fuckin' thing."
She let out a puff of air, to which Danny thought was a release of emotions she was trying to disguise. "Hungry?"
"Starvin',"
"When are you not?" she smirked, her brown eyes glistening.
He shoved her lightly and playfully as he sat up and reached for the cooler they had placed to the side of them. "I'm glad we decided to do this, today." He commented as he opened the cooler. "I think you were right, we did need this."
She smiled.
Danny continued. "Just takin' it easy and everythin', no worries… No havin' to keep lookin' up to check on what Luce is doin'…"
"Exactly," She smiled. "We don't have to worry about a certain Daddy's girl demanding all your attention."
"Jealous?" Danny teased.
"She can have you." Lindsay smirked.
"You don't mean that."
She smiled, "You're right… I don't. I think I can share with my baby girl."
"What's next on the agenda?" Danny asked.
"After we're done eating?" Lindsay shrugged. "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know; you're the Montana girl. You tell me."
"We could try some fishing." She smirked. "Get down into my country roots."
"We've not got a rod, babe."
"Who said anything about a rod? I meant with our hands."
"Pass." He shuddered. "I'll be a spectator."
"Wuss," She teased. "S'matter, scared?"
"Scared?" Danny scoffed. "Scared? Me? Please."
"Yeah, scared?" She repeated.
"Yeah actually," He admitted. "I don't fancy gettin' eaten by Jaws."
"In a lake, Danny? God I do wonder about you sometimes."
"Linds, I saw Lake Placid."
"That was a crocodile, honey… Not Jaws."
"Eat your salad." Danny smirked. "I'll think of something that isn't life threatening."
"Fishing is not life threatening. You used to fish off of Battery Park with Louie. That right there is a health hazard."
"With rods..." Danny added. "And I watched."
"Wuss," Lindsay smirked.
Danny sat back on their blanket and smiled at her. It'd been a long time since they had bantered with such ease.
"I've missed this." He sighed, pressing a kiss to her temple from his position next to her.
"What, Montana? Danny you've…."
"I mean us. Bantering like this… just being us, it's nice."
She smiled. "It has been a while since we didn't have a million and one things to worry about."
Danny merely raised his eyebrows in agreement. "You can say that again."
"It has been a while since we didn't have a million and one things to worry about."
"Alright, smartass, let's knock that off."
Lindsay snuggled into his side as she discarded her salad to the blanket. He knew from the sigh she'd released she wanted to talk about something heavy, regarding the shooting – he'd quickly come to recognise it – and all the times she'd keep whatever it was to herself; not wanting to worry him or upset him. He wrapped his arm around her, offering her security, hoping that it'd help her open up.
Sure enough, within seconds of her snuggling further into his side, he heard her take another deep breath.
"Danny?"
He took a deep breath, "Yeah baby?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Absolutely," He said sitting up, "You know you can."
She pulled him back down to the blanket, and gazed up at him as she chewed her lip, deciding how to phrase what she was about to say.
Running her fingers through her hair, she took one last deep breath, "Do you…? Ever…" she sighed.
"Go on," Danny urged. "Say whatever it is you're wantin' to say to me."
"Do you ever regret going down on top of me when we heard the bullets and saw the glass shattering?" She paused. "'Cause the reason you got shot was because you made sure that I was safe and underneath you. And I mean, had you just let me go to the floor, it might have been…"
Danny cut her off, "Lindsay, I'm begging you not to finish that sentence."
"But Danny, it could have been me instead of you, and you wouldn't have had to…"
"Go through all the pain?" Danny finished. "Lindsay I thank God everyday it was me that got shot and not you. I thank whatever Divine intervention it was that let me keep you safe. You didn't have a scratch on you. As soon as I saw that first shard of glass leave that windowpane, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Not what I had to do. What I wanted to do. You're my wife, Linds… I'd take a bullet for you… Literally. And I'd do it again."
"But Danny, after all those months of therapy and all what you went through… That pain – I could see it on your face; even when you slept I knew it was hurting, and…"
"You'd rather have had me watch you go through that?"
Her face fell. "I didn't mean it like that…"
"I did what I did that night Linds, and I'd do it again – in a heartbeat."
She sighed.
"How long have you been thinkin' about that?"
"Honestly?" she laughed nervously, "Ever since I had been in that hospital waiting room waiting for word on your surgery. It's all I could think about. I had your blood all over me, baby… it was just – there. All over Hawkes and I. As I gripped onto his hand, it was all over his hands… I think it was all both of us could think about."
"Hawkes said…?"
"No – no!" Lindsay assured him, "But I could see it on his face, you know, like – wow, the guy took a bullet for her."
Danny shrugged. "I'm fine though… I've got the war wound to prove that ya'know – I'm gonna keep you safe no matter what. I promised you that I'd protect you when I married you. Love, cherish and protect you. And I hope that's what I do. At least, that's what I try to do."
She leant over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You know you do."
He turned in his position, so that he was facing her on his side, and took the sides of her face with his rugged hands. Resting his forehead against hers, he pressed a delicate kiss against her lips. "I don't want you thinkin' about that anymore."
"I just…"
"Yeah well, I'm just sayin' – don't." he said with a finality in his voice. "How would we have gotten through those months if it'd been you, Lindsay? What would we have done about Lucy? We joke that she's a Daddy's girl – but Linds…" Danny shook his head. "You're the one she wants. At night, when she wakes up… In the morning… During the day… When she's sick… When she's done something good… All of that is you; not me. If you would have been confined to that wheelchair, not only would that have broken me – but Lucy wouldn't have understood."
Lindsay shrugged.
"And," Danny said as he fell back to the blanket and wrapped his arm around her once more, "Truth to be told, I honestly don't think I could have been as strong for you as you were for me. I feel shitty sayin' it – but if the tables were turned, I wouldn't have been able to deal when you were cryin' cause it hurt, like I did. I don't know how you did it. But you did. You were what got me through, Linds… Your smile, your encouragement… And all the time in the chair, all I could think of was 'thank God this is me and not her.' Hand to God."
"I had to be strong." She sniffed, "You were in that chair because you'd wanted to protect me. I couldn't then turn around and get upset every time you cried. I had to give you support and encouragement. I needed you to get better. Yeah, I wanted you to… But Danny, I needed you. Call me selfish but I couldn't bare the thought of you being in that wheelchair for the rest of your life because of me. I couldn't… I had to gave you that constant reassurance not only because you needed it… But I needed it too. I couldn't… I couldn't…"
A tear slipped down her cheek.
The first tear Danny himself had seen her cry.
He sat up and pulled her into his lap, as she moulded herself around his body effortlessly, burying her head into his shoulder.
"I got'cha sweetie," he whispered as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "It's alright… just let it all out."
She let out a wail and a hiccup as she gripped tighter to him. "I… I'm… sorry."
"What for, honey?"
"That… that…"
He wrapped her tighter in his arms, and held her to his chest as he rocked her back and forth.
"It's alright, just let it out. Don't worry. I got'cha."
Sobbing into his chest, Danny sighed as he continually traced his fingers through Lindsay's silky hair as a reassuring gesture.
We really did need this, he thought to himself as he gazed down at his sobbing wife.
We needed this a long time ago.
Danny sighed as he dumped the random array of wood and branches around the area where Lindsay was creating a campfire.
"Isn't this against some kind of law?" Danny wondered.
She looked up at him through her eyelashes and smiled. "Who's gonna arrest us, really?"
"The Park Ranger?"
Lindsay snorted and looked down to where she was arranging the branches.
"Let me guess…" Danny smirked as he sat next to her, "we're rubbing two sticks together to get a spark aswell."
She nodded excitedly. "We're going old school."
"Why did I quit smokin'?" he implored. "I could have whipped out my lighter and…"
"Oh, I have a lighter." Lindsay smiled. "We're just trying it old school first."
Danny rolled his eyes.
"Hey!" she cried as she slugged his arm, "Be nice."
He stretched and let out a yawn.
"Tired cowboy?"
He nodded as he rubbed his eyes. "I'm not used to all this fresh air…." He said as he smacked his arm, "Or mosquito bites."
"Just cross the bite and you'll be fine."
"Do the what?"
She sighed and grabbed his arm as she inspected where he'd been bitten. With her thumbnail, she made a cross shape on the area and continued with what she was doing.
Looking to his arm, and then to his wife, Danny gestured wildly with his hands, "Um, what the hell did you just do? What the hell was that?"
She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Danny, where the hell did you grow up? You've never crossed a mosquito bite before?"
"Does this face look as if I've crossed a mosquito bite before?"
She laughed. "Basically it'll take the itch out of it for a while."
Danny glanced down at his arm, "Oh."
She rolled her eyes as she grabbed two sticks and contemplated rubbing them together in attempts to start the campfire.
"Go on then, country girl… Show me what you've got." Danny teased.
She considered it, but instead of lighting it herself, she placed the sticks on the ground, flailed back on the floor and wiggled across the blanket to her to her bag and pulled out a lighter.
"Wimp!" Danny called out to her. "You can't do it."
"I can do it," she informed him as she sat up and lit the fire. "I'd just rather not waste my time rubbing two sticks together when you can be cuddling me,"
He shrugged, "I'll take it as a reasonable excuse."
"Excuse?" she scoffed as she placed her lighter down by her bag again. "It's true."
"Mhmm." Danny nodded. "I'm sure it is."
"It is!" she cried.
"Yeah. Mhmm."
"Ugh!" she cried as she flumped down next to him. "You're mean."
"You can't light camp fires." He sing-songed.
"I light fires under your ass enough."
"Oh, touché."
She smirked; satisfied that she'd made her point.
Shuffling across to his wife, Danny wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "How you feelin' now? You alright?"
She nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I guess seeing you so mobile now – it's like how you used to be. You know, driving… walking… I guess it all got to me and things…"
He held his finger over her lips, before quickly replacing said finger with his own lips.
It took her a few seconds, but after that, she melted into his kiss. She fell back to the blanket they had arranged on the floor, letting him take his place on top of her, as they kissed languidly, her fingers lacing their way through his messy hair bringing him closer to her, deepening the kiss, as they both fought to cover every surface of the other.
She felt disappointment wash over her as he began to press soft kisses to her lips as an indication the kiss was coming to an end – and soon enough, Danny pulled away. Snapping her eyes open she glared at him while licked his lips as he smirked at her.
"I was enjoying that!" she sniffed with her bottom lip pouted for effect.
"And I wasn't?" Danny flashed a smile. "I have evidence to suggest that if I was to enjoy that anymore then this show we're putting on for all these black bears was about to go up to a rated R."
She wiggled her eyebrows.
"Where's that sleepin' bag?" Danny asked, "I'm getting cold now."
"No babe, that's just your body temperature dropping from all your blood rushing to a certain area." She said as she got up and headed over to the collection of their belongings where the single sleeping bag lay.
"You're such a wiseass, you know that?"
She tossed his the sleeping bag, letting him lay it out, "You tell me everyday."
He unrolled the sleeping bag, and zipped it open, making it easier for them both to snuggle in.
"So we're gonna be on bear watch tonight then?" he pondered, "What are we gonna do? Take it in turns?"
She laughed.
"No really…"
She laughed – now in disbelief with her eyebrows raised and an amused look, plastered across her face. "You're really not kidding, are you?"
"Hand to God." He said, "Deadly serious."
"Danny," she said with a roll of her eyes, "I would not bring you somewhere I knew had black bears running around."
"Why? How do you know?"
"Because my Uncle doesn't have Black bears in his front garden…"
Danny blinked. "Country girl say what now?"
She moved over to him and pointed towards some trees. "Can you see that light there?"
Danny nodded as he saw the dim light in the distance.
"That's my Uncle's porch light. This is his land."
Realisation set in. "This is why you and the girls used to come down here on the weekends – 'cause you would have your uncle close by."
Lindsay nodded.
"And that's why you didn't think twice about lighting the campfire."
Lindsay nodded again.
"And that's why you knew where it was so easily."
Lindsay nodded.
"How did you know he would be okay with us comin' down?"
"I called him."
He shook his head as he pulled her into his side and pinched her sides, "You're a scheming one, you know that?"
She giggled and pushed him away from her. "Hey! Have we or have we not had a nice day together."
Danny couldn't argue with her.
Smiling proudly, Lindsay plonked herself to the ground, at the amusement of Danny, as she snuggled into the sleeping bag. "You getting in, cowboy?"
He shrugged as he kicked off his shoes and took his place next to her. "Where the hell do you get sleeping bags this big?" he implored.
"My Mom made it." She smiled as he zipped them up, letting her take her usual place of resting on his chest.
"Please don't tell me for your Mom and Dad?"
She rolled her eyes and slugged him. "No, stupid. I'm a wiggler, remember."
"How could I forget?" he scoffed. "That was a nice surprise. You wiggling every two seconds… You should have seen my face the first night we slept in my bed. I was like, 'what the fuck have I signed up for…'."
"Who's tellin' this story?" she glared at him.
"I apologise, you were sayin'?"
"Well," She said, dramatically. "I always used to wiggle and get tangled up in my sleeping bag as a little girl, so she decided to make this for me to stop me waking up and getting freaked out that I couldn't move."
Danny smiled as he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "You always have the sweetest stories of when you were little."
She blushed and giggled softly.
"I'm hungry." He commented.
"You ruined the moment!" she cried in disbelief. "I knew! I knew you'd say something to ruin the moment!"
"But Linds…"
"I know, you're hungry… again." She thought about it for a second. "You wanna make S'mores?"
"Hmm?"
"S'mores," she repeated. "You know… S'mores."
"I heard you the first time… Remind me what they are."
"Alright, I'm sorry – but I'm gonna need a divorce. You don't know what S'mores are?"
He shrugged.
"Please tell me you've had them before though, right?"
"My Dad wasn't big on outdoors. He liked his air-con."
"You went to camp though, right?"
Danny nodded.
"Well, didn't you have them there?" Lindsay asked.
"I went to baseball camp, babe… It wasn't like camp, camp… It was all about baseball."
"Yeah, so… We need a divorce." She smirked at him. "Seriously? You've seriously never made S'mores."
"Can I keep you if I lie and say that I have? Is lying frowned upon in this conversation?"
"You've never made S'mores… Not even in the microwave?"
He shook his head. "I don't even think I've had the pop tart's that are S'mores flavoured."
"But you went to camp!" she cried. "You…"
"Baseball camp, baby," he reminded her. "All boys – diehard baseball fans."
"It had the word camp in it. You should have made S'mores. Period."
He smirked. "I didn't realise you had such strong views on S'mores."
"I didn't realise you didn't!"
"Does this change things?" Danny asked, humouring the situation.
She considered it for a second. "It won't… so long as you go and get everything from over there."
"But that means getting out of the warm sleeping bag and…"
He saw her raised eyebrows.
"So, marshmallows and chocolate in the cooler?"
"Graham crackers in the other bag," she nodded as he unzipped the sleeping bag and wiggled out.
He shivered against the cool breeze as he padded quickly to the cooler and the plastic bag and collected the items she wanted along with the two metal skewers she had in there.
"What's… oh, these are to cook the marshmallows?"
"Where the hell did you grow up?" she scoffed as she snatched the marshmallows and skewers out of his hands, "Mars?"
"Mercury, actually." He smirked. "I mean come on – you've seen how hot I am."
She rolled her eyes and cringed. "Oh Danny. Danny, Danny."
"What! I thought it was a good one – what with Mercury being the closet to the sun… Hot… We both know how hot I am… It was good. Admit it."
She shook her head with her lips pursed, trying not to laugh.
"You know you want to giggle." He teased as he tickled her sides.
"In fact, I take Mars back; right now you seem to be from Uranus."
"Oh, that was as cold as Pluto, Montana."
She turned and shoved the bag of marshmallows at him. "Get two out, idiot. Stop playing 'Name the Planets'."
He did as he was told and handed her two, letting her stab them onto the skewers.
"Right, hold that." She said, handing him the skewer.
He held it upright around his crotch.
"Look Linds, it's me."
She gasped and burst out laughing. "I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves there… We're…" she looked up and down the thin metal skewer. "If you want to compare yourself to that then, Dan…" she snorted, unable to finish the sentence.
"I take it back!" he cried. "I meant the leng-… oh never mind."
She took his hand, despite her laughter and pointed it at the campfire. "Hold it there."
He nodded. "Teach me the error of my ways!" he teased her.
She turned slightly in her position and smiled at him; her eyes and smile warm.
He wrapped his arm not holding his marshmallow skewer, around her, as she rest her head softly on his shoulder, while they toasted their marshmallows.
And as they sat, side-by-side, Danny sighed as he pressed a kiss to her temple before resting his own head on top of hers.
Despite everything they'd been through, she really was his better half.
And he wouldn't have it any other way.
I'd love to know what you thought. Thanks for reading! :)