Simply Beautiful

It was a Monday. Not the most exciting day of the week, and arguably the one that drags on the longest. The CSI team hadn't experienced its normal volume of calls, and the slow, boring day had people running for the exits as soon as their shift ended.

Danny was thrilled it was finally 6p.m.; it meant he was officially off the clock. He grabbed his stuff from his locker, punched out and headed for the parking lot. Passing Stella and Mac on the way he paused to say a quick goodnight and laugh at a joke Stella made at Mac's expense.

As he finally approached the double doors that led to freedom, he smiled and gave one last quick glance down the hallway. His smile froze and slowly faded as he watched Lindsay lean against the wall, and wrap her arms around herself as if she was warding off a chill. She was too far away to notice him, and in truth Danny couldn't make out her facial expression, but her body language told him everything.

Lindsay's hair and clothes were mussed, her head was dropped forward so that her chin almost touched her chest, and Danny could hear the sigh that slipped through her lips. She looked defeated and broken, tired and fragile; he had no idea what was wrong or how to make her feel better.

Danny kept his distance because he knew Lindsay appreciated the space he was giving her, and because he didn't really know what was eating at her- -he didn't want to say the wrong thing and just make matters worse. He hoped at some point Lindsay would choose to share that part of her with him, but until then he would just have to wait…

As Danny left the building and walked towards his black 4Runner he brainstormed what would put a smile on Lindsay's face- even if just for a moment. 'It should be something subtle,' he pondered, and as he opened the door and slid behind the wheel. Genius struck as Danny placed the key in the ignition and he quickly threw the car into gear. He glanced at the dashboard clock; he had just enough time to complete his errand before Lindsay's shift ended.

Lindsay needed to go home and when the clock read 7p.m. she was more than ready to haul it out of the lab. She gathered her belongings, punched out and hoped she didn't run in to anyone on her way out the door. She wasn't in the mood to make small talk. As she climbed in and started her silver Explorer, she felt more weary, confused and frustrated than she had in the past two weeks combined.

'When the going gets tough the tough get going," Lindsay thought to herself while driving, making hysterical laughter bubble up in her throat. She had no idea why that cliché had popped into her head, and in her overwhelmed state found it delightfully funny. She was sure the attendant at her apartment parking garage thought she was crazy, laughing alone in her car, but she didn't care. The laughter at least released some of the crazy emotions bottled up inside her.

Wearily she dragged herself up to her 3rd floor apartment, stumbling on the top step as she noticed something in front of her door. It looked like an enormous boxed bouquet of flowers, larger than any Lindsay had ever seen. 'Probably another delivery mix-up," Lindsay thought regretfully, glancing at the door of the apartment to her left. It happened all the time; the gorgeous girl who lived in apartment #306 was always getting flowers from someone. Unfortunately the delivery men sometimes got confused and left the bouquets at Lindsay's door instead.

Sighing Lindsay stepped over the flowers, opened the door and placed her belongings on the table just inside the entryway. She went back to pick up the flowers, tamping down on the urge to peek at the bouquet inside, and laid the box at the proper address. As she stood up, she noticed the card had slipped off during transport, so she grabbed it and prepared to slide it under the burgundy ribbon that sealed the bouquet.

Lindsay started as she recognized her name sprawled across the envelope in a familiar bold script. She quickly gathered up the flowers and quietly returned to her apartment. Once inside she placed the card down, she already knew who they were from, and hurried to gather scissors, water, and a vase.

She carefully lifted the ribbon off the box, removed the lid and gently pushed the emerald green tissue paper aside. Her breath caught at the beauty laid out before her; delicate pink and white star-gazer lilies mixed with radiant purple larkspurs and accented by sky-blue orchids, were surrounded by a circle of blushing pink roses. They were the most stunning flowers Lindsay had ever seen.

Handling each flower as if it was made of delicate silk, Lindsay watchfully place them in the vase, making sure each stem touched the water, and each blossom could soak up the sun. She was entranced by the flowers splendor and delicacy, and unconsciously the tension in her body melted away.

Finally satisfied that the flowers were in an excellent position to receive an optimal amount of sunshine on her coffee table, Lindsay picked up the card and settled on the sofa. She fingered the envelope a moment appreciating its ivory color and rich smooth texture. As she extracted the rectangular card, her fingers tingled, almost sensing the traces of Danny left on the papery surface.

Lindsay slowly opened the card, and read its contents, not even noticing the smile that stole across her face the moment before she had completed the message. 'How had he known,' she wondered. 'I barely saw him all day but somehow he just….knew….'

Inside the card read:

Montana,

I know we haven't talked much lately

but I wanted you to know you're

never far from my thoughts.

Yours,

Danny