Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, anything you don't is mine.

Contains season six spoilers so read own at your own will.

A Walking Miracle

A sheen of perspiration lined his face, his breathing heavy as though he'd just ran the New York marathon several times over, he simply refused to give up though, his reward was worth the pain and stress he was putting his body through, pausing at the door jamb for a breath, turning slightly to gauge the distance he'd already covered. What would normally have taken seconds had taken minutes but it was worth the effort, he'd crossed a milestone he'd set himself, to walk unaided, no matter how short the distance.

A giggle brought him back out of his reverie; his daughter had been within touching distance mere seconds ago, now she'd shuffled her way into the middle of the living room. "You're better than any physio huh baby" Danny smiled, as he took a deep breath and shuffled forward into the living room "Someone should pay you the big bucks" he groaned as a jolt of pain shot through his back, but he kept going, he could hardly stop halfway there.

He was glad that Mac had called Lindsay in, he'd been too reluctant to lean on her, to use her as a support frame and she'd let him, with only Lucy left at home until she returned it was the perfect opportunity, I mean he could hardly lean on Lucy now could he?

If he leant down he could have lifted Lucy up into his arms, but he wasn't quick enough, the eight month old infant had shuffled around on her bottom with a giggle and crawled slowly and wobbly towards the couch, it was as though she was silently ordering him to follow her. He grinned at his achievement as he flopped down on the sofa, he'd already spent eight months in the wheelchair, he didn't really want to spend any longer in there, and the doctors had told him it could take anything from months to years before he could walk again. He'd had to admit that with everyone around him telling him how hard it would be, and how long it would take to find his feet again had been off putting, the arguments with Liz his physio-therapist had been growing more intense.

She was disappointed in him, thought he had more motivation in him, but instead he'd let her and everyone else down by giving up so easily and so early. He'd simply snapped back that she didn't know what it was like; she was just a young woman with a degree. If Lindsay hadn't have walked in Liz was sure she'd have slapped him while she screamed that she'd been in his position before and she hadn't just breezed her way through college because she liked the sound of the job.

Lindsay had remained silent through the car ride home, asking him in a saddened voice if he was really giving up his battle to walk again, she'd reminded him that they hadn't exactly had it easy as a couple, and asked him where they'd both be if they'd given up the fight, asking him if they'd have Lucy if they'd simply given up. Danny had informed her with determination he wasn't going to give up, but he did need sometime to calm down before he called Liz back to apologize and beg her not to drop him as a patient.

And yet here he was, walking across the apartment, from the bedroom to the living room, with only Lucy for encouragement.

Lifting Lucy into his lap he lovingly kissed her wispy brown hair and held her close to his chest, before pulling the rattle from his pocket, the object he'd been to retrieve before he'd abandoned his wheelchair in the bedroom, and handed it over. He was rewarded with a grin consisting of two front teeth and gums, as the teething rattle made its way into her mouth. A turn of a key in the lock had his heart beating fast, he wanted to see his wife's reaction, but nervous as to what she'd say. He heard her slip her heeled boots off, and her socked feet padding through to the bedroom, no doubt to change into something more comfortable before they settled down for the rest of the evening. He'd purposely left the chair where she'd either trip over it or have to move it to avoid tripping over it.

"Either Lucy's stronger than I thought or you walked" he could hear her smile in her tone. Pride engulfed her expression.

He grinned back at her "Lucy decided it was time daddy got his butt into motion and walked" he smirked "she was chewing the furniture again, so I had to get her the teething ring" he continued when she sat down, a silent expression asking to him to explain further, "she followed me through, I was scared she'd get under the wheels going back through so I didn't have a choice, get up and walk or run her over"

"I'm so proud of you" she grinned to both Danny and Lucy, dropping a kiss to both their cheeks "daddy's little hero" she laughed when Lucy offered to share her teething ring with her mother.

"She crept crawling until I got to the couch"

Lindsay nodded "How do you feel?" she asked, worry showing through, walking was all good and well but exertion was not.

"Great, but err, I'm gonna need a few of those pain pills" the adrenaline was slowly wearing off and the pain was settling in. Gratefully accepting the two small white pills and the bottle of water he paused until Lindsay had lifted Lucy from his lap "I'm gonna give Liz a call later and ask her to schedule me back in" Danny mentioned.

"You don't need to do that" Lindsay offered "I bumped into her and Mike on the subway, I invited them over for lunch later" Danny answered her with a grateful smile. "So you helped daddy walk huh?" Lindsay teased their daughter as the infant herself launched her small body forward in an attempt to retrieve the locket that Lindsay wore around her neck.

"Who knows? Maybe we'll both find our feet at the same time" Danny suggested, a grin spreading across his face as Lucy reached over to retrieve her teething ring once more.

"Maybe" Lindsay replied hopefully "So what we having for tea? Liz and Mike will be here for seven" a quick glance told them they had little over an hour to make something.

A knock on the door alerted them to the arrival of their guests, knowing what he had to do, Danny cast a quick glance in Lindsay's direction, seeing her reassuring glance back in his direction, he braced himself with a deep breath and shuffled himself off the sofa biting down hard on his bottom lip he stood, his legs shakily holding his upper body weight.

It took him a few minutes to reach the door but the proud smile Lindsay shot his way made the time and effort worth it. Leaning heavily against the door jamb he pulled the door open and shuffled aside to let them inside.

He'd just closed the doors when Lindsay warned him not to move. Feeling a dull tug on his jeans he looked down to see his daughter stood using his leg as a support to keep her upright.

"Who have I got to thank for sticking a rocket up his behind to get him out of that chair?" Liz teased as she handed the bottle of wine over to Lindsay with a smile.

"As much as it hurts to walk, it woulda hurt Lucy more if I'd have run over her" Danny replied as Lucy finally dropped to her backside and crawled back in the room so he himself could walk back.

Liz and Mike laughed as Lucy disregarded their personal space in order to retrieve the baby biscuit she'd left half eaten on the sofa.

"Appetite just like her daddy" Mike smiled as Danny sat down beside them once more. "Glad to see you up and about Messer, had us boys worried we'd have to look for someone else to fill your spot on the team" it had been Flack who'd recommended Liz to him for physio, he'd been skeptical about it, claiming he wasn't ready for a stranger to be telling him what to be doing, when he'd heard through the grapevine that her husband Mike was the very same Mike who was on the NYPD baseball team with them. Reluctantly he'd agreed and after the nurses had given the go ahead, physio had begun.

"I was hoping that we could start over Liz?" Danny asked meekly, hoping she'd catch onto his subtle plea for help.

Liz nodded but looked at him sternly as she relayed her 'new rules' to him "I want you out of that chair altogether before the end of the year" a quick mental calculation told him he had five months to make progress "You don't get to give up Messer, it's gonna be hard and you need to put the effort in" she continued "You give in this time and I'm quite happy to tell Mac you're not fit for lab work either" she grinned at his horrified look.

He agreed as Lindsay announced dinner was ready. "Daily hourly sessions and then you practice whenever you can" Danny nodded in agreement as he silently set himself a target to be walking by Christmas unaided.

I would love to know you're thoughts. There will be an epilogue to this I promise to get it finished and up as soon as I can. Thanks for reading :)