She saw him standing inside of their office, and she took a nervous breath. It had been less than a day since Ruben was killed, and she hadn't had a chance to really talk to him yet. The prospect of that conversation scared her – she had never been good at comfort, or saying the right words. But she knew she couldn't turn away and pretend that nothing was wrong; she could see the pain in his eyes, and it cut her to the quick.
"Hey," she said quietly.
He looked up, regarding her for a long minute. "Hey."
"How are you?"
He shook his head, moving toward the door. "Lindsay –"
"Please, Danny."
"I don't wanna talk about it," he said firmly, brushing past her.
Lindsay watched him stride down the hall, his shoulders tense and his fists clenched. The only thing she wanted to do was go after him, make sure that he knew he wasn't alone. Instead, she sighed and sat down behind her desk – maybe he just needed some time.
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It took him three days. Three days of sitting alone in his apartment, feeling sorry for himself. Three days of snapping at everyone and closing himself off. Three days of avoiding Lindsay and making sure that they didn't talk about anything other than work.
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He knew that if he went home to his empty apartment again, he was going to lose it. So after shift, he headed in the opposite direction, praying that he hadn't messed things up too badly.
When he reached her apartment, he knocked loudly. It didn't take her long to come to the door, but every second that ticked by convinced him that she wasn't going to answer. His stomach was a mass of nerves by the time he heard her undo the locks, and he stuffed his hands into his pockets to make sure she couldn't see them shake.
"Hey," he said.
Lindsay smiled at him warmly, and hope flared in his chest. "Hi." When he didn't say anything else, her smile faded slightly. "Is everything okay, Danny?"
He bounced on his feet, refusing to meet her eyes. "I…I wanna not talk about it with you," he said quietly.
The look on her face told him that she understood what he was talking about. Stretching out an arm, she took him by the hand, pulling him inside of her apartment. Once the door was closed and relocked, she came to stand in front of him. She still didn't know what to say, but he had just told her that that was okay. Reaching up, she slid his jacket off of his shoulders, and hung it up in the closet. When she came back, she gently prodded him until he slipped his shoes off as well, and she put them over by the door. Then she took his hand again and led him down the hall.
When they got to her bedroom, Lindsay led him over to the bed, crawling in without a word. Danny hesitated for a second, suddenly unsure. He knew that he wanted to be with her, that he wanted nothing more than to lay with her and let everything from the past week drain away from him. But he was still unsure that he deserved all that – at least until Lindsay turned and gave him another one of her smiles. Seeing that washed his doubt away, and he climbed in next to her.
She immediately pulled him into her arms, and Danny didn't fight her. Instead, he just rested his head on her chest, letting her hold him tightly. She ran her fingers lightly through his hair, placing a gentle kiss on his head.
"Sleep," she whispered.
And he did.
