A/N: I just want to say that I wrote this story up prior to Snow Day, so it will be different, it has very mild spoilers for SooH, it is definetly not another "Danny takes Lindsay home" fic. I might try and work Snow Day into it, I might not. We will see. As it is, this story has ended up being a little AU, a little, but not much. Many thanks to Dee and Camden, my wonderful beta's, who put up with my fanfics even though they don't watch CSI:NY.

Disclaimer: The characters and concept of CSI:NY are in no way mine. This story however is mine.

Lindsay woke to an incessant ringing noise. She swatted her arm out towards the bedside table, trying in vain to turn off what she hoped was her alarm clock. After three fumbled attempts, finding nothing but her watch, she cracked open one eye and reality quickly set in.

Of course, her alarm clock wasn't there; it wasn't even her apartment, never mind her bed. She rolled over, leaning across the gorgeous man that was still sleeping next to her. It was her phone that was ringing, not the alarm clock. Briefly wondering how on Earth her boyfriend was sleeping through the noisy intrusion, she glanced at the silent clock, its red numerals telling her it was currently 6:20am. She groaned as she snatched up the offending phone.

"Hello?" she croaked her voice still thick with sleep.

"Lindsay?" came the voice of her boss. Lindsay quickly pulled the phone away from her ear and glanced at it before putting it back. Shit! I just had to have picked up his phone, hadn't I?

"Oh, um hi Mac--"

"Why do you have Danny's phone?" Mac was asking. Lindsay was sure she heard amusement in his voice. She felt Danny move a little beneath her.

"Uh, he must have left it here when we were watching a movie last night." Lindsay smiled at her own quickness as Danny let out a low chuckle.

"Right," Mac said. "Well, I need you to come in. We have a hot case on our hands. I'll go phone Danny at his apart-"

"No!" Lindsay blurted out, mentally cursing herself. "I mean, don't worry about it. I'll phone him and pick him up on my way to work."

"Oh, okay," Mac replied. "See you shortly."

Dammit! Lindsay thought as she looked at the beautiful man lying half-under her, who she knew was only pretending to be asleep now. She slid off him so that she was lying next to him. She smiled to herself, he looks so peaceful; she stroked his dark blonde hair, and then traced the stubble along his jaw line. Pity really, that she had to stir him.

"Danny," she said quietly, laying soft kisses along his jaw line where her fingers had been mere seconds ago. "Danny, you need to get up."

"Gimmie a minute," he murmured, his arm draping across her middle. She shoved him playfully in the shoulder. "Oww!" He opened his eyes, deep blue pools meeting her chocolate brown, a mischievous grin working onto his face. He grabbed her and rolled them over so he lay on top of her, her legs instinctually wrapping around his waist. Propping himself up on his elbows, he bent down and kissed her, his hands cradling her face. He had a knowing look in his eye.

"Danny-"

"Now, this position would be a lot more fun if we weren't wearing jammies..." he trailed off in a growl.

"We agreed to wait," she smiled sweetly at him.

"I don't think it is really considered rushing things when we have been sleeping in the same bed every night since we got back from Montana." He kissed her again, deliberately taunting her by slipping his tongue into her mouth, leaving her with no choice but to be receptive.

"I feel safe with you," she whispered, sliding her hands under his t-shirt, feeling the soft skin of his back, the strong muscles under her fingers.

"Ah, come on now Montana, we'll go slow," he grinned. "We are not rushing this thing between us."

"We have to go to work anyway," Lindsay smiled, removing her hands from under his shirt and draping her arms around his neck.

"It's Sunday!" he whined.

"We were meant to be working today anyway," she said, a little confused.

"Not at half past six," he grumbled. With one last kiss, he rolled off her and hopped out of bed. "Ladies first," he said, gesturing towards the bathroom. He wandered from the room, no doubt heading off to make breakfast.

Lindsay lay smiling to herself for a moment, wondering how on Earth she had managed to snatch up Danny Messer. The man who she had said no to (when it had truly pained her to do so) had waited for her, had come to Montana to support her and did not seem to want anything from her in return. He wasn't pressuring her into a relationship; they were taking things one step at a time. She called the shots, but she didn't want to keep saying no. She wanted to say yes; yes to everything that Danny had to offer. Now she just had to work up the courage to tell him that rather than only showing him that.

She quickly showered then dressed, selecting the last pair of jeans and a deep-blue sweater with ¾ length sleeves from the drawers that Danny had given her to put her clothes. Her shoes were sensible dark blue flats. She looked up to see Danny staring at her in the doorway; she smiled at him.

"Your turn," she said, her hand brushing his stomach as she manoeuvred past him. His hand caught hers and they shared a meaningful look before he let go and headed towards his bathroom.

Lindsay wandered through to his kitchen where a mug of steaming tea and two slices of toast waited for her on the breakfast bar; once again, she smiled to herself. Danny was unbelievably good to her; she had clearly underestimated how sweet he could be. She sat up on one of the stools at the breakfast bar and cautiously sipped her hot tea.

She was munching on her toast when Danny emerged from his room, his hair still damp and sticking up on end. He pushed his glasses up his nose and looked over at her as he walked towards her. She perused his body with her eyes, admiring the jeans that slung low on his hips and the white buttoned down Henley t-shirt that clung to his well-defined torso, he looked good; damn good.

"See something you like?" he kissed her before sitting opposite her, stealing the second slice of toast from her plate and taking a bite. He took a sip of her tea then wolfed down the rest of the toast.

"When you stuff your face like that?" she questioned. "Not particularly."

"Funny, Montana" he muttered as he put the plate and empty mug in the sink.

Lindsay and Danny arrived at the lab a little after twenty past seven, only to be told by a lab tech that Mac had headed out to the scene and wanted them to meet him there. Lindsay wondered why Mac had not phoned either of them with the latest information, but she chose not to push the issue. Lindsay dozed on Danny's shoulder on the ride to the crime scene; she woke with Danny stroking her cheek, smiling at her in a way that made her heart melt.

"Come on sleepy head, Mac's waitin' on us," he whispered. She rubbed her eyes and stepped out of the SUV as Danny held the door open for her.

Mac was beaming at them as they made their way of the crime; he noted how closely Danny and Lindsay walked together, Danny just slightly behind her with a hand touching the small of her back whenever they stopped. Danny let out a wide yawn, giving Lindsay a sideward glance before looking expectantly at their boss.

"Hard night, Danny?" his boss asked good-naturedly, motioning for his two CSI's to follow him into the apartment block.

"Dunno what you are talkin' about Mac," Danny quipped, not willing to give Mac any satisfaction in making him squirm. Lindsay, however, looked like she wanted to kick herself, her cheeks a pale shade of rosy pink. God if this is what she is like when all we do is kiss and sleep, what is she going to do when we sleep together...not just beside each other. Somehow, that thought didn't faze him; instead it gave him a warm, happy feeling inside. He wanted to be with her no matter what. He loved everything about her, and it was too late to try to deny it- not that he would want to anyway.

Mac stopped abruptly, as did Danny, causing Lindsay to crash into Danny's shoulder and grab his arm to steady herself. "Oof!" she huffed. She hurried to compose herself, letting go of Danny's arm and straightening her sweater. She really didn't want Mac to witness how close she and Danny had become lately. Danny however, didn't care in the slightest and placed a hand around her waist. He quickly removed it when she shot him a pleading look. Thankfully Mac was not paying the slightest bit of attention and was instead opening the door to apartment 204, the scene of their early morning crime.

There was not much to see; it was a typical student apartment really. A small lounge with a TV and a table with books scattered over it, an equally small kitchen with last night's dinner plates still in the sink, two bedrooms led off from the lounge; one had a dead body in it.

Katie Harris was lying face down on the bed. No sign of sexual trauma, no signs of weapon used, no evidence of strangulation. In fact, there was very little to go on at all. It looked simply as if she had passed away in her sleep. Unfortunately it just wasn't that simple; Katie was only twenty four-years old. There was no reason for her to die in her sleep. The victim looked too young to have died, her face still serene. Danny wondered if she had even been aware her killer had been in the room. Lindsay visibly paled, shrinking behind Danny, feeling like an utter fool. Since when have I ever needed to hide behind Danny at a given opportunity? She stepped around Danny, moving around to stand at the other side of Mac.

"Her roommate found her at half past five this morning when she returned from her boyfriend's apartment," Mac informed them. "You two process- I am going to go see if anyone heard or saw anything last night."

"Okay," Danny said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He eyed his girlfriend suspiciously as Mac exited. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Danny," she said quietly, putting her kit box on the floor before taking out a pair of latex gloves. "Let's get on with this, huh?"

Danny didn't reply, he only nodded ruefully and set down his own forensics kit on the floor.

Danny and Lindsay worked methodically around one another, quietly sharing theories as they processed their crime scene. Lindsay concentrated on taking photographs whilst Danny focussed on bagging evidence. They had just finished bagging and tagging when Peyton arrived.

"I think it is time for breakfast," Danny mumbled.

"You had toast, my toast!" Lindsay chastised with a grin.

"That was not enough to keep my goin' till lunchtime."

"Hey guys!" Peyton exclaimed as she passed the threshold. Her mouth formed a small 'o' as she got the impression that she had just interrupted something.

"Hello, Peyton," Lindsay greeted, sharing a look with Danny before saying, "Well, we will leave you with the body. See you back at the lab."

"See ya, Peyton," Danny uttered before leading Lindsay out of the room, kit boxes in hand. They met Mac in the hallway just as he was coming down the stairs.

"You guys done?" Mac asked, more out of habit than doubt.

"Yeah, we are gonna grab some grub then head back to the lab." Danny ran a hand distractedly through his hair, "Want anything?" He had not expected the knowing smile that their boss was giving them.

"Go, enjoy yourselves," Mac said. As his two CSI's retreated he muttered "It's my fault you two had to get up so early on a Sunday morning."

After Danny and Lindsay secured the evidence and their kits in the trunk of their SUV, Danny chivalrously opened the door for Lindsay so she could jump in the passenger's side before he made his way to the driver's seat. He chuckled when Lindsay buried her face in his chest; he held her, waiting for an explanation.

"Oh god, Mac knows!" she practically whined. One of Danny's hands cupped her chin, tilting her face up to look at him.

"They are all going to find out eventually," he grinned, not feeling it prudent to add how Flack, Hawkes and Adam had been winding him up about acting like a love-sick-puppy around Monroe.

"Yeah, I know," she smiled. "And I wouldn't mind, but they are all going to assume that you and I have...done something that we haven't yet."

"Let 'em think whatever the hell they want, Montana," he said quietly. "It's only what we think that matters."

"You are too good to me," she said, leaning up to kiss him before clicking in her seatbelt. "Let's go get you fed!"

"Good, I'm starving," he replied as he patted his belly.

"You are always starving!"

"Need to keep my strength up" he winked at her. "You know, for all that stuff we are supposedly doing."

They stopped at a little diner about a block away from the lab. Danny ordered coffee for both of them and made a point of asking for two bagels with bacon, lettuce and tomato, not taking Lindsay's protests to heart. In the end she gave in realising once the food was put down in front of her she was hungrier than she thought.

"Danny," Lindsay said, putting down her half-eaten bagel. He looked over at her, bidding her to go on. "Do you feel like I am leaning on you too much?"

"What?" his brow furrowed. "Of course not!"

"Its just-...y'know we have never really been apart since Montana...in a relationship sense I mean ... not the work sense."

"Lindsay, I missed you like crazy when you were gone," Danny smiled, placing a hand on top of one of hers. "I like being with you."

"I like being with you too, Danny," she said quietly, she bit her lip before going on, "but tonight, let's stay in our own apartments."

"Oh...okay," Danny looked rather awkward all of a sudden; he removed his hand. Lindsay looked upset. "Montana-"

"I am not backing out, Danny," she reassured him, "I just—I feel weak, like I am relying on you too much and I don't want that."

"Lindsay, I am always here for you"

"I know," she whispered.

A/N hope you enjoyed it! please reveiw!