Rose Duncan
by messersmontana
Summary: After the Duncan family is murdered and the case is solved, Lindsay decides to adopt Rose Duncan and asks Danny for his help.
A/N I wrote this a year ago, before season 5 started, I was mad at Danny for what he did to Lindsay, but wanted to forgive him. I still think that Danny and Lindsay should be together. This takes place sometime after Boo towards the mid to late season 4. I just had to write this, Lindsay really connected with this little girl. I'm still working on my series, just taking a break to type up this story I wrote last year. I'm still suffering writers block. There will be a hint of Flack/Angell in it. I hope that you like it. Oh and I'm making this up as I go, so if I have wrong info on the foster system, I'm sorry. This story is un-betaed.
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it. If I did, Jess and Don would have gotten together sooner, and she wouldn't have died. Oh wait, in my little world, she didn't. Oh and Danny wouldn't have cheated on Lindsay either. 'Nuff said.
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Lindsay walked into her office that she shared with Danny and sat at her desk with a sigh. This had turned out to be a pretty bad day. She'd spent most of the day with Rose Duncan at the foster home she'd been taken to since her hospital release six months ago. Lindsay went to visit her everyday after work, and spent most of her days off with the little girl.
Rose Duncan was the only survivor of the Duncan family. Her family, mom, dad, and two older brothers, had been killed on Halloween by Henry Willens, but she survived. She'd been shot while hiding in the hidden wall space in the hall. Lindsay had been the one to find her and Danny had been the one to tear the wall down to get to her. He then personally took her to the hospital where she had recovered.
Lindsay and Danny had gone to the hospital to find out if she knew what had happened, grabbing a small stuffed animal from the gift shop for her. Lindsay talked to her and found out that Rose had seen the whole thing and said that a monster had killed her family. That monster had been Henry Willens, and what she had seen was the tattoo on his back.
Of course they had solved the case and both Henry and his mother Betty were now in jail awaiting their sentencing. Lindsay went to visit Rose in the hospital everyday after her shift, sometimes dragging Stella and even Danny with her at times. She had become very fond of the little girl. So fond in fact that she'd tried to find out what she needed to do to adopt little Rose.
Stella walked in and saw Lindsay, looking not so very happy. In fact the last time she'd seen her this way was when she had to go back to Montana to testify against Daniel Cadens. That had been last year.
Lindsay hadn't seen her yet, lost in her own thoughts, so Stella sat down across from her in Danny's chair. "Hey Lindsay, what's going on? Aren't you off today?" Stella asked her.
Startled, Lindsay looked up to see Stella looking at her. "Oh hey Stella. I didn't see you come in." She replied.
"Are you okay Lindsay?" She asked her, getting worried about her friend.
Lindsay tried to smile. "No Stella, I'm not. I'm really disappointed in the judicial system right now." She said with a sigh.
Stella got up and walked over to where her friend sat and placed a hand on her shoulder. "What happened Lindsay? This doesn't sound like you at all." She asked.
Lindsay looked up at her with tears in her eyes. "I just found out that Rose Duncan has no family left alive. They're going to keep her in the foster home until they can find someone to adopt her." She explained.
"That's great Lindsay, or isn't it?" She asked as she saw the look on Lindsay's face.
"I asked what I could do to adopt her myself and the guy actually laughed at me Stella. He said that I was single, a cop, and not a relative of the child and my chances were slim to none. He wouldn't even let me apply to be her foster mother Stella." She told her friend.
Stella squeezed her shoulder again. "I may have a way to help you there Linds. I grew up in the foster system, remember?" She asked.
"Yeah, I remember you telling me about it. How can that help though?" She questioned her.
"Well, I'm still in contact with my foster mother and some of my contacts in county might be able to tell me how you can beat the system. Now I can't promise a miracle, but maybe I can use a connection to tell me what you can do." She said.
Lindsay smiled for the first time since Stella walked into the room. "Do you think that someone can help me?" She asked her.
"Like I said, I can't promise anything Linds, but don't give up hope. I'll talk to you later, I've got some phone calls to make. Why don't you go home and I'll come by after work when I've got some news." She said as she walked out the door.
Hopeful for the first time that day, Lindsay got up and headed for home. She stopped by the store to pick up something to make for dinner. Stella and Jess were coming over tonight for a girls night, and it was her turn to make dinner. She was glad for that, it would give her something to keep her mind off of Rose and the possibility of adopting her.
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At 6 pm, Stella and Jess showed up at Lindsay's place. Stella knocked on the door. She had good news and not so good news to tell her young friend. She hoped that they could solve her problem and Rose could live with Lindsay. She just had to help her find a way.
Lindsay opened the door and ushered them in. "Hey Stella and Jess, dinner is almost ready so I hope that you're both hungry." She told them as she moved back to the kitchen.
They followed her into the kitchen and sat at the table. "I'm starving and Don wouldn't stop and let me get a burger earlier. He said something about needing to hurry back to the precinct so her could make a game with Danny."
Stella and Lindsay laughed. "Do you need any help with Dinner?" Stella asked her.
"No, I've got it, but thanks anyway. Have you told Jess what's going on? Have you found out anything?" She asked Stella.
"Yeah, I told her. I'll explain what I got for you over dinner. I can set the table if you want." Stella said.
"Thanks Stell. The garlic bread is in the oven and the spaghetti is done. Do you guys want some wine to go with it? I have red and white wine." She told them.
"Red goes better with pasta than white. I can help Stella set the table." Jess said.
"Thanks guys, I don't know what I'd do without you both." Lindsay told them.
"Not a problem Linds, that's what friends are for." Jess said.
Lindsay put the pasta into one bowel and handed it to Stella, then she put the sauce in another one and handed that to Jess. She went to the oven and grabbed the garlic bread, and headed to the table where her friends were waiting.
Once they were all seated, Lindsay asked the question she'd wanted to ask since they got there. "I hope that you have good news for me Stella. Oh, I forgot the salad. Be right back." They watched her rush back into the kitchen for the salad and the dressing.
Stella waited until she got back and grabbed the folder of information she'd collected for her. "Here is what I came up with for you. First off, Rose has already been placed in a foster home. The good news is that she was placed in my old foster home. Marilyn Bennett is good with kids and she'll make sure that Rose is taken care of for now." She explained and watched Lindsay's face fall. "You can apply to be her foster mom while she's there and I've cleared it with Marilyn for you to visit Rose anytime."
Lindsay was both relieved and disappointed at the same time. She had hoped that there would be good news about Lindsay getting custody of Rose soon. She'd promised Rose that she would take care of her. "What did you find out about my adopting her?" She asked Stella, as she read the application to become a foster parent.
Stella wished that she had better news for her. "Well the guy at the foster house was right about the adoption. You're not married so they won't let you adopt her, but once you've become her foster mother, there is a good chance that eventually they'll let you adopt her." Stella explained.
Lindsay sighed. "So, my best bet is to fill this out and hope that I pass? Hope that they'll let me become Rose's foster mother?"
Jess watched them and wished that there was something that she could do to help Lindsay out here. This was all out of her league, but if Lindsay needed a material witness, or someone to tell these guys what kind of a person Lindsay was, she'd be there at the front of the line to help her.
"I'm sorry kiddo, I wish there was better news for you. Just fill this out and I can set up an appointment with my friend to hurry your application through the system. Let's get through this part of the process and we'll go from there." Stella told her as she handed Lindsay a pen.
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A few days later, Lindsay and Stella met with her friend and went through the questions and background of Lindsay's life. He told her that the fact that Lindsay had witnessed a horrific crime at the age of fourteen, would be good for Rose because she knew what the child was going through.
He told her that everything looked good on Lindsay's side, but that they wanted to talk to Danny because he was such a big part of Lindsay's life. Danny wouldn't have to become a foster parent, but he would need to answer some questions before Lindsay could be approved.
Lindsay was quiet as they left in Stella's car. "Hey kiddo, how are you holding up? What's going through your mind?" She asked.
"I'm worried about asking Danny to come in. I haven't told him that I want to adopt Rose, or even become a foster mother to her. I'm not sure if he even wants to be anywhere near a child after what happened to Rubin. How do I ask him?" She asked Stella.
"Well kiddo, that's a tough one. I know that Danny loves kids and that when he's ready, he'll make a great dad. The only thing I can say is to just ask him. Tell him how much you love that little girl and how much she loves you. He'll come around and even make the appointment himself. If you need me, just call me and I'll talk to him for you. Better yet, ask Jess if she can get Flack to talk to him for you." She said as she pulled up in front of Lindsay's apartment building.
"I'll try, he's been acting strange lately and he's been kind of avoiding me too. I really only see him at work the last couple of days. I mean he even forgot my birthday." She told Stella.
Stella laughed. "Oldest mistake in the book. I bet you let him know that you were upset too." She said.
"Yeah and he didn't like it either." She said as she got out of the car and leaned in, "Hey, thanks for everything Stella. I'm going to call Danny and ask him to come over for dinner tonight. I'll ask him then. See you at work tomorrow."
"Alright, call me later and let me know how it went." She said before she drove off.
Lindsay watched her friend drive off and then opened her cell phone and called Danny. After he promised to be there, she hung up, a knot started to form in her stomach. Things lately haven't been good between them, starting right after Ruben's death. Lindsay sensed Danny's grief and how he'd begun to pull away from her. She suspected that something might have happened between him and Ruben's mother Rikki, but she couldn't prove it, and she wasn't sure that she really wanted to know. Danny had called her one night and asked her to come over so they could talk, but she ended up going home.
Danny was her only hope of getting custody of Rose. She had to convince him that this would be good not only for her, but for all of them. He could benefit from Lindsay becoming Rose's foster mother too, but most importantly, Rose would benefit from having both of them stably in her life. This little girl has been through so much and so has Danny. Maybe, just maybe the two of them could heal together.
Lindsay busied herself, making dinner and getting the table set. Then just before he was supposed to be there, she took a shower and got herself dressed. She tried to calm herself as she waited for him. They hadn't spent much time together alone lately. She missed him and she missed the way things used to be between them.
Right at 8pm and on time, Danny knocked on her door. Taking a deep breath and more nervous than she had ever been, Lindsay opened the door. "Hey Danny, come on in. Dinner will be ready soon. I got you beer to go with dinner, would you like one?" She asked him.
He smiled at her. "Sounds great, what's for dinner anyway?" He asked her as he followed her into the kitchen.
She grabbed a beer and handed it to him. "I made home made Chicken Parmesan with creamy corn and a salad. And for desert I made pudding, your favorite." She said as she finished setting the table. She motioned for him to have a seat and went about getting dinner on the table. She was getting nervous about the talk that they needed to have. She wanted this so bad, but didn't want to pressure Danny at the same time.
They ate in silence for a few minutes until Danny noticed that she was just moving her food around on her plate. "Hey Linds, are you okay? You haven't eaten a thing." He asked her.
Lindsay gulped and tried to find the words she needed to say. "Well, yes and no. You know that I've been visiting Rose Duncan, right?"
He nodded. "Yeah, she's such a cuttie pie." He replied.
"Well, she's been put into the system. Right now she is in a foster home. To be precise, she's in the foster home that Stella grew up in." She told him.
Danny sighed. "I'm so sorry Lindsay. I know she means a lot to you. Kind of like I was with Ruben." He said and a lump formed in his throat. He still ached when he thought of him.
"Thanks Danny. I asked about adopting her myself, but they wouldn't let me because of my job and because I'm single. So Stella pulled a few strings and I might be able to apply to be a foster mother to her and maybe eventually they will let me adopt her, someday." She explained to him.
"That's good news." He said as he started eating again.
Lindsay silently prayed before she continued. "Well there's one condition."
"Oh yeah? What's that?" He asked as he took a drink of his beer.
"They'd like to interview you, because you're my boyfriend. They said that you won't have to apply to be a foster parent, but they'd like to get to know you because you'll be around here a lot." She looked up at him from her plate. "Talk to me Danny.
Danny closed his eyes. He couldn't handle being an important part of another child's life. He'd messed up so bad with Ruben. If it hadn't been for him, Ruben would still be alive. "I'm not so sure I can do that Lindsay. I mean look at what happened to Ruben. I'd hate to be the cause of another kid getting hurt, especially if I got too close to her."
Lindsay sighed and reached over and took Danny's hand. "What happened to Ruben wasn't your fault. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. You need to stop blaming yourself Danny."
"He was there because of me, I walked him that way Lindsay." He argued, as he tried to pull his hand away.
Lindsay held his hand tighter. "Listen to me Danny Messer. You are not the reason that Ruben died. I know that you're not going to believe me, but you were the world to that little boy and he wouldn't want you blaming yourself like this. It just happened that you were there at that time. It's not your fault."
Danny had tears rolling down his cheeks. "I miss him so much Linds. Sometimes I can still hear his laughter in my dreams, and hear him running up and down the hallway outside my door."
She got up and moved over to him. "He'll always be with you Danny. As long as you remember him, he'll always be right here." She told him as she placed her hand over his heart.
"But I'm not sure how good it will do for me to be interviewed on your behalf, not if they find out about Ruben." He said as she pulled him out of the chair.
Lindsay led Danny over to the couch and sat by him. "Just answer their questions truthfully and you'll do just fine. But I only want you to do this if you're comfortable with it. If you're not, I'll find another way to do this." She told him.
He pulled her into a hug. "I'll do it for you. Maybe Rose is the key I need to start healing, I mean besides you. Linds, I am so sorry about being an ass lately. I kept pushing you away when I should have been holding on tight. Can you ever forgive me?" He asked her sincerely.
She kissed him for the first time in a long while. "I'll always forgive you Danny, I love you. And thank you Danny, this means a lot to me, to us." She said as she hugged him. They talked late into the night, just like they used to. They fell asleep in each others arms on her sofa.
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Lindsay paced back andforth, stopped and stared at the closed door, then started pacing again. She always hated waiting, and this was taking forever. Finally, she went and sat in the vacant chair next to Stella. All of their friends were there to support them. Mac was there sitting on the other side of Stella, Flack and Angell were sitting quietly talking on the sofa, while Hawkes, Sid, Adam, and Kendall sat around a table drinking whatever was in their cups.
"Lindsay calm down. Everything is going to be okay. These things just sometimes take a while. Danny is doing okay, just relax." Stella tried to comfort her.
"I hope so Stella. He had another nightmare last night. He kept crying out for Ruben again. I just hope that we're doing the right thing and he'll be okay." She sighed.
Mac leaned forward. "He'll be fine, we'll all make sure of that. We're all family and we take care of our own." He promised.
Lindsay got up and started pacing again. She felt a little better at their words, but she'd be a lot better when Danny got out of there.
Ten minutes later, the door opened and Danny walked out with another man. They shook hands and he turned to his friends. "Hey guys, what's up? I didn't know that everyone had to go through this."
"We didn't Danny, we came here for morale support for both you and Lindsay." Flack said.
The man in the doorway cleared his throat and spoke to Lindsay. "Miss Monroe, everything looks in order and you should hear from us in 24 hours." He then turned and closed his door.
Danny hugged Lindsay. "I think it went well. I answered all of his questions and we talked about Ruben. He also told me that Ruben's death wasn't my fault."
Everyone stood there staring at him with their mouths open. "That's what we've been trying to tell you Messer." Flack told him.
Danny held his hands up. "Alright, alright, I give. I know that you all have been trying to tell me that. I'm sorry that I've been so pig headed and an ass."
Everyone laughed and agreed, then they moved out of the waiting room. They were all going to Sullivan's to sort of celebrate.
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Lindsay and Danny were sitting in her apartment watching TV when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and turned down the TV. "Hello?" She said into the phone.
She said a few yes sirs and I understands, then hung up the phone and turned to Danny and sighed.
He'd watched her all through the call, and couldn't hold it in any longer. "Well?" He asked her nervously.
She sighed again. "He told me that I need to look for a two bedroom apartment soon. Rose will be moving in with me by the end of the week. I'm officially Rose's foster mother. They're going to let me have her." She said without emotion, because she was in shock. Then when it started to sink in she got the biggest smile on her face.
Danny hugged her, then he kissed her. "That's great Montana. I'm so happy for you."
"For us Danny, be happy for the three of us. For me, Rose, and for you too. You're a part of this now too." She hugged him back.
"Yes, for us." He sighed as he dialed Mac's number to pass on the word.
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Stella was pouring the juice into the punch bowel and Jess finished hanging the streamers, while Lindsay finished decorating the cake. "Thanks for the help you two."
"No problem Lindsay, we're happy to help." Stella said as she gave her friend a hug. "Marilyn will be bringing Rose by in an hour."
Jess heard some banging in the den turned temporarily into a bedroom for Rose. The guys were in there trying to make it more comfortable for Rose until Lindsay and Danny could get a bigger place for the three of them. "Are they trying to fix up the room or tear it up?" She asked as she heard someone curse.
The girls all laughed, then Lindsay sighed as she finished the cake. "I'm so nervous/ What if I don't make a good mother to her?'
"Not going to happen, besides you'll have all of us to help you." Jess assured her.
They moved back to the living room to see Kendall supervising Mac and Adam blowing up balloons, while Hawkes was finishing wrapping the last gift. Sid was setting the gifts on the table and Don and Danny were in the smaller room, trying to set up an small bed for Rose.
"I wanna thank you all for doing this and for being here today. This means a lot to me and I couldn't have gotten through all of this without any of you." She started to tear up.
Danny and Don had just walked out of the room to hear her speech. "I wanna thank you all too. I don't know what I would have done if you all wouldn't have made me see what I was doing to myself, or what I was doing to Lindsay." He said and wrapped his arms around Lindsay.
Stella placed the cake on the table. "Like Mac keeps saying, we're family and family sticks together."
Jess walked over to stand next to Stella. "Well as the newest member of the family, thank you for including me."
Stella smiled. "You've been a part of the family for a while Jess. I mean, even if you weren't dating Don, you'd still be a part of this family." She said as she watched Don come over and put his arms around Jess's waist.
Everyone jumped at the knock on the door., Lindsay all of a sudden froze. Stella had to give her a nudge. "Go answer it Lindsay."
She moved over to the door with Danny as everyone followed them. She opened the door and smiled at Marilyn and Rose. "Welcome to your new home Rose. This is your new family." She took her hand and introduced everyone to Rose as Danny took her suitcase.
They asked Marilyn to stay and have some cake. Rose was shy at first, but between Danny, Flack, and Adam, she broke out of her shell.
There was cake, and Rose opened her gifts with a smile on her face. Danny and Lindsay bought her some clothes and toys. Stella and Mac bought her some kids DVDs. Adam and Kendall bought her a Playstation 2, and Flack and Angell bought the games for it. Hawkes bought her some books and CDs. They all had chipped in to by her a bike. Sid and his family had bought her a helmet and pads for when she road the bike. She was one happy little girl.
Mac and Stella stood back and watched the group sitting on the floor by the sofa, playing video games. "Today they start the healing process. Not only Rose, but Danny and Lindsay too. Today turned out to be a good day." He told Stella.
She smiled at him. "It sure is Mac. I haven't seen Lindsay this happy in a long time. I see a bright future ahead of them. As long as they have each other, they can make it."
Mac smiled. "As long as they have each other, and all of us have each other, we'll all make it." He replied as he hugged Stella. "Life is good."
The End
A/N I hope you all like this one. I was going to write a sequel to this, where Lindsay finds out that she's pregnant with Lucy, but my muse has abandoned me. Lol
Please be kind and send feedback.