Disclaimer: Nothing is mine except the idea and Gregory, Tanya and Blu-Zen! lol Enjoy :D
It was mid February. Snow was falling gently outside over the fairly busy streets of downtown Manhattan. A few children were in the park making snow angels on the ground, whilst others were throwing soft snowballs at each other - 60 of them missing and smashing into the passing vehicles. When it snowed in New York, it really did snow - a lot.
Lindsay looked through the steam rising from her coffee mug across to the empty seat infront of her. There was no one else in the diner with her apart from the waitress Dolores, who was busy pinning up posters in the window.
"You look a li'l down darlin'?" Came the familiar, thick irish accent from behind her. It startled Lindsay at first, not knowing where the voice came from. Then she realized who it was.
"Oh- I'm ok, Dolores.. thanks." Lindsay replied as her dry, soft lips curled up on one side in to an unwanted half-smile. She wrapped her hands around her coffee mug, desperately trying to warm her hands.
"Are ya sure? I mean, you look a lil' down for this time of year! Its Valentine's Day soon - you're supposed to be happy!" Dolores steped down from the step ladder and slid herself to sit opposite Lindsay in her booth.
"Valentine's
Day... " Lindsay sighed "Whats that?"
Dolores
looked at the dissapointed expression that fell upon Lindsay's face
and instantly knew that she hadn't felt the true spirit of
Valentine's Day for while. "Now listen here darl', "
Dolores replied softly, reaching her arm across the table to rest on
Lindsay's wrist. "There is someone out there for you, trust me.
What about young Danny? He's a lovely guy."
Lindsays
eyes widened in surprise. Dolores had no idea how much she wanted
Danny to be there for her - especially for Valentine's. "Danny?
Uh.. No, he is definately not interested in me like that.. And
besides, we're colleagues. its not ethical..It doesn't -"
"Dear,
Dear Lindsay!" Dolores chuckled, throwing her head back. "You
have no idea how much like him, do you? There's no denying it darl' -
You like him! I haven't seen your face light up like that since you
arrived in New York!"
Lindsay felt her cheeks redden - Was
it really that obvious?
"You mark my words, honey... there is
more to this 'friendship' between you two.. and it's not just on your
part either."
Dolores smiled and slid back out from the
booth as a customer walked through the door, signalling the bell.
Lindsay smiled to herself and took a large mouthful of her
coffee. As the silky, dark liquid hit the back of her throat and
slid down she felt the warmth circulate through her body.
Once
she finished her coffee, she looked at the time - It was almost 8am
and she knew she should make the small trek home to get some sleep
after a hectic night shift with Stella and Danny. Lindsay pulled
herself out of the booth and made her way to the counter.
"Dolores,
I'm off now.. Thanks for the coffee." Lindsay called as she
thrust her hand into her pocket and pulled out some change.
"Ah,
it's on me darl'." Dolores replied pushing her hand away.
Lindsay smiled greatfully and released the change back into her
pocket. She turned towards the door and opened it before stepping
out onto the crunchy sheet of snowfalkes beneath her feet.
As she
made her way along the streets, dodging the small icy patches on the
sidewalks, every corner she turned stood a couple either hugging or
holding hands.
'If only I could be that happy...' Lindsay
thought to herself as she brought her shoulders up to her neck
stopping the cold air from seeping down her jacket. She crossed the
road and hurried up to the few stairs that lead to her apartment
building. She opened the door and let herself in, shutting out the
cold.
Danny
sat staring at his computer screen waiting for his fingerprint
results to come up with a match in AFIS. His coffee had long since
grown cold and he had lost all sense of time. He didn't know how
long he had been sitting there, and was shocked to realize the time
was almost 11am.
"Danny?" Stella called to him as she
stood in the doorway and leant against its frame. "Danny?"
He casually looked up from the screen, his eyes blurry from all the
various screens that had whizzed before him for the past few hours.
"Huh? Oh hey Stel." Danny replied with a yawn.
"Any
luck with the prints?"
"Nada... " He sat back in
his chair and removed his glasses. He closed his eyes and rubbed his
hands over his face, trying to wake himself up abit. As soon as his
eyelids had shut, they instantly burned from being so tired. "You
get anything from DNA?"
"Only thats it's male.. and
unknown." Stella replied. "Has Lindsay gone home already?"
"How should I know?" Danny answered as he put his
glasses back on.
"Well.. you do share an office? And
besides, don't think I haven't noticed how close you two have been
getting lately!"
Danny snorted. "Yeah well, I guess you
can say that's just a one sided thing on my part. She's not in the
least bit interested Stel."
Stella moved inside the room and
sat at Lindsay's desk . She moved forward and a grin spread across
her face.
"I can hear your brain ticking over and I don't
like it." Danny said. "Wha'dya want now?"
"What
are you doing on Wednesday?" She replied with a smile.
"Nothing.
Why?"
"Well! It has come to my attention that Lindsay is
doing exactly that - nothing!" She relaxed and leant back into
the chair. "I know a great new place that opened just last week
- My childhood friends Gregory and Tanya run it down on Rose-Bard
Avenue. It's called 'Blu-Zen'."
"And?" Danny
asked. "You on commission or something?"
"Well he
has a nice secluded area up top for special people - I can get you a
table?"
"Stella," Danny chuckled as he sat forward
and linked his fingers together in front of him "What makes you
think that Lindsay will be taking me up on that offer? She doesn't
even take me up on an offer for a friendly drink at Cozy's - so why
would she even bother for Valentine's Day?" He licked his lips
and waited for Stella to come up with an answer.
"Because,
Danny Messer - Stella Bonasera is going to help you." She
replied flashing her smile. "I'm going to do all the work so you
can just sit back and relax." She got up from her seat and made
her way towards the door.
"Stel-"
"No, Danny
honestly, I can see it - And everyone in the lab knows there is
something between you. It's about time she was happy."
"But
I don't -" Danny protested, but it was too late - Stella had
already dissapeared out into the hallway. He took a long, deep sigh
and let himself fall back into the chair, resting his hands behind
his head.
'Maybe, its not a bad idea after all...' he
thought to himself, smirking.
