Miles to Go – a sequel to 'Combustion'

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, CBS does. I am not making any monetary profit from writing this. This is a work of fiction. It's purely to exercise my overly-vivid imagination. Only the plot and storyline belong to me, derived from my own family drama. For topical use only. Frequent use has been shown to cause low birthweights in mice.

Author's Note: Pack your bags - here we go on a D/L road trip! This is meant to be an extensive, long-running fic. It's a sequel to 'Combustion', but will focus more on drama. Still, a healthy dose of Fluff will be included in each chapter! I have done some research, but please grant me the proverbial 'Creative License' when it comes to any legal terms and proceedings. Also – there WILL be some grammatical errors with Danny's speech. But that's how he talks, and I am trying to be authentic.

Chapter 1 – Quitting Time

Tick, tick, tick.

The clock could not move any slower, at least for Lindsay Monroe. This had possibly been the longest Monday ever, and she was finally wrapping up a case that had stumped her from day one. She was looking forward to going home to a nice dinner and some quality time with Danny. They had been together for almost a month now, and she felt like she was walking on air.

In spite of how well everything was going – confidence in her job, a growing relationship with Danny, adjusting to city life – she couldn't shake a sense of foreboding. A dark cloud of fear would occasionally creep over her. Still, she tried to ignore it, telling herself it was just ghosts of the past trying to defeat her.

The clock finally hit 5:00, and with a smile of satisfaction, Lindsay tossed her final report in Mac's inbox and waved goodbye to Stella. In the quiet darkness of the locker room, Lindsay gratefully pulled on her coat and grabbed her purse. Even though she was expecting it, she still jumped when she felt two strong arms wrap around her from behind.

Whispering into her ear, Danny said "I can't keep it up".

Lindsay snickered. "You sure didn't have that problem last night."

Danny laughed – her favorite sound. "I mean keeping secrets. Keeping us a secret. I can hardly function. I want to tell everybody."

She turned and snuggled into him, placing her finger against his lips. "Mum's the word! Until we figure out how to handle it. I don't want to risk losing my job, or more importantly – you." She flashed him her brightest smile that she knew always made him melt. "Now, I'm headed home. Meet me there by 6?"

The creak of the locker room door caused them to instantly separate, playing cool as two chatty lab techs entered. Unable to resist, Lindsay pinched Danny's ass as she walked away, leaving him grinning like a fool.

Twenty minutes later, Lindsay walked in her apartment door, humming softly to herself and tossing her keys on the table. Danny would be over within half an hour. It was funny how even after these four weeks together, she still got butterflies. She thumbed through her mail, and paused to glance at the new issue of 'Glamour' magazine. "Is Your Man Wrapped Around Your Little Finger?" the cover screamed. Lindsay grinned. I already know the answer to that, she thought.

As she continued sifting through the stack of mail, a cream-colored envelope slid to the floor. Lindsay kneeled on the carpet to pick it up, and when she saw the return address, her stomach churned.

Gates & Dean
Attorneys-at-Law
Bozeman, MT

With trembling hands, she tore open the envelope and read the contents. Now sitting on the floor, she buried her head in her hands. So this is what my subconscious has been trying to tell me, she thought. It's not over.

Twenty minutes later, Danny found her like this. He knew as soon as he saw her that something was terribly wrong. "Lindsay?" he inquired gently, still standing in the doorway.

Fighting back tears because she didn't want to lose control in front of him, Lindsay croaked, "I'm going back."

"Back?" he questioned. "Where?"

"Montana," she whimpered. "I have to."

Both anger and raw fear was written on Danny's pale face.

"So that's it? You're up and leaving, just like that?" he snapped in a tortured voice. "Everything between us is over?"

Lindsay leapt up and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "No, no, no, NO! I'm not leaving permanently, Danny, just for a few days." A few stray tears ran unchecked down her face.

Still in her embrace, Danny went limp and staggered to the sofa. He sank into the cushions and rubbed his temples. She felt strangely touched by his reaction. Even though their relationship was great, she always thought in the back of her mind that she loved him more. NEEDED him more. To see him show vulnerability made a warm feeling spread inside of her. Maybe she wasn't the only one with abandonment issues after all. She ran her fingers up and down his back. "I'm sorry I scared you," she apologized.

"What's going on? Why do you have to go back?" he muttered, his eyes closed.

"It's my family." Lindsay shook her head. "It's such a long, screwed up story".

Danny cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs supporting her chin. "Talk to me, Babe. You don't gotta carry this alone". He delicately kissed away her tears.

Lindsay sighed and leaned against him. There was no place on earth that felt as safe as his arms. "My father died when I was eleven. At that time, I became the heir to his inheritance from my grandparents. I get half, and their other son, my uncle Dale, gets half. My grandfather died two years ago, and my grandmother passed in September, right before I came here." Hugging herself, Lindsay stood up and walked to the window. Night had settled, and headlights blinked up at her. It reminded her of the fireflies back home.

In a softer voice, she continued. "But my uncle and his daughter – my cousin – think he should get 100 percent of the inheritance. My cousin is also an attorney, and now they're contesting the will."

"They can't just do that, can they?" Danny asked, rubbing his neck. "If you've been named in the will already?"

"You don't understand. It's a small city. My cousin, Rachel, is the assistant DA, and has all the judges in her back pocket. She had a hand in writing my grandparents' will. She's married to the mayor. She made me out to be the Bad Guy, and everyone believed her. I was ostracized at my job. That's why I transferred to New York. I wanted to be far, far away from that. I thought I was, but now they are trying to keep me from getting what I deserve."

Danny cleared his throat. "How much is at stake?" It was a personal question, but he only wanted to help her.

"A quarter of a million dollars".

Danny blanched. "Whoa".

"So I have to go, and fight this. Even though I'd rather just forget it. My grandmother would want me to fight." Lindsay took a deep, rattled breath. "It will take about three days to drive there."

"Why don't you just fly out? It would take less time." The idea of Lindsay driving across the country by herself made Danny nervous. Plus, he was going to miss her like crazy. The idea of not falling asleep and waking up next to her made him ache.

"I have to return the car, it's part of the settlement," she replied. Danny had always wondered about Lindsay's fancy SUV, and how a Montana CSI could have afforded it.

Something clicked in Danny's head; he knew what he had to do. He stood up and crossed the room to stand at her side.

"Then I'll go with you," he said, reaching out to gently squeeze her shoulder.

Lindsay looked at him, shocked. "You've got to be kidding, Danny. I don't want to drag you into this. It could get very messy. Besides, Mac won't let us both have a week off."

"I have plenty of vacation time. It's not like I take off to the Hamptons every summer." Danny retorted. "I want to be there for you. If somebody wants to try to hurt you, they'll have to go through me first."

A sad smile crossed Lindsay's face. "I know, and that's why I love you-".

She froze and slapped her hand over her mouth. The L Word. She did love him, but hadn't said it for fear of scaring him away. It had just slipped out. "I'm sorry. I didn't me-"

He grabber her wrists and pulled her close, looking deep into her eyes. "What? You think I don't feel the same way?" He traced her bottom lip with his finger. "Don't think you're not my whole world, Lindsay."

For a moment neither of them spoke. Then, firmly, Danny stated, "I'm coming with you. Case closed."

Please review! I esp. like to hear your favorite lines.