"He's gone."

Stella looked up from her paperwork, frowning when she saw how agitated Lindsay was.

"Who's gone?"

"Danny."

Stella's stomach knotted. "He left you?" she asked in disbelief.

Lindsay started to shake her head, but then she stopped. "No…I mean, I don't think he did…" A look of horror crept onto her face. "Oh God, Stella…did he leave me?"

The older woman shook her head, suddenly very confused. She stood up, moving over to Lindsay and guiding her to a chair. Then she sat down across from her and took a deep breath.

"Okay. Start from the beginning."

Lindsay closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts. "I went over to his place last night," she started, opening her eyes again. "He didn't answer when I knocked, or when I called his cell phone, so I used my key to get in. But he wasn't there…and in the kitchen I found a note."

"What did it say?"

Lindsay reached into her pocket and pulled out a little piece of paper. It was obvious that it had been held, read, and folded many times in the past twenty-four hours. With a shaky hand, Lindsay passed the note to her friend. Stella slowly unfolded the paper and read its contents aloud.

Montana,

Don't worry. There's something I need to do. I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise.

Love, Danny

Although the note struck her as odd, Stella gave her friend a reassuring smile. "I don't think he's leaving you, kiddo. It sounds like he'll be back in a couple of days at the most."

"But where did he go?" she asked, tears building in her eyes.

Stella stood up, pulling the other woman into a tight embrace. "Just trust him, Lindsay. If he said he'll be back, then he'll be back."

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Danny had only been gone for a day, and already she was going crazy. She left a message on his cell phone, asking him to come find her when he got back – no matter how late that was.

Lindsay knew that she should find something to do; focusing on other things would help take her mind off of her missing boyfriend. Instead, she paced her apartment, consumed with worry. What if he was leaving her? What did he have to take care of? Was it another woman? Lindsay wanted to bang her head against a wall.

She eventually tired herself out, and collapsed onto her couch. It was almost eleven-thirty, and she had to be in the office early the next morning. Fighting back tears and cursing herself for being so irrational, she drifted off to sleep.

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It felt like only a few minutes had passed when Lindsay shot awake. Glancing over at the clock, she saw that it had been almost an hour. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, trying to figure out what had ripped her out of sleep. It was then that she saw her apartment door swing open, a figure silhouetted by the light in the hallway.

"Montana?"

She was the couch in an instant, running across her living room and catapulting herself into his arms. Danny caught her with a grunt of surprise, kicking the door closed behind him as he held her tightly.

"Montana, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Lindsay pulled back, fixing him with a steely glare before punching him in the arm – hard.

"Ouch!" he cried. "What was that for?"

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" she demanded.

"Didn't you get my note?"

"Yeah, and a big help that was! Where the hell did you go?"

"Montana –"

"No, Danny! Where were you?"

A smile tugged at his lips. "Montana –"

"If you can't tell me –"

Danny reached out, taking her face in his hands. "Lindsay." The use of her name made her stop. "I went to Montana," he said, emphasizing the last word.

Lindsay frowned. "But…why would you do that?"

"I needed to see your dad."

"I don't get it Danny…why would you need to see my dad?"

He set down his bag and reached into his pocket. Slowly, he sank now onto one knee as he pulled out a little black box.

"I had to ask him a question before I could ask you this."

Lindsay's mouth dropped open as Danny lifted the lid of the box, showing her a perfect diamond set into a simple gold ring. Tears flooded her eyes, and all the worries that had plagued her earlier were nowhere to be found.

"Lindsay," he started, swallowing hard before smiling up at her nervously, "will you marry me?"

She didn't have to stop and think. "Yes," she breathed, the tears now escaping down her face. "Yes, Danny, I'll marry you."

Chuckling in relief, he slid the ring onto her finger. Then he stood up, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her up, swinging them both around a couple times. Their lips met, and they sank into one another.

"My dad…" she murmured when they finally pulled back. "You went to go ask his blessing?"

Danny nodded. "I wanted to make sure he was okay with it."

"And he was?"

"Yeah. Your ma cried and hugged me a lot. Your little brother threatened me if I ever hurt you. So I'd say it turned out pretty well."

Lindsay laughed, leaning into him and resting her head on his chest. "I love you."

Danny hugged her tightly. "I love you, too, Montana. Does this mean I'm forgiven for disappearing?"

She kissed him softly through his shirt. "Absolutely."