Notes

Danny sat at his desk, aimlessly doodling on a piece of scrap paper. He had just closed a double homicide, and wanted a few minutes to himself. Some time to reflect. Some time to think.

"Probably a bad idea," he mumbled to himself.

His hand still drawing lazy scribbles, he looked up just in time to see Lindsay pass their office, no doubt on her way to the lab, judging by the evidence box in her hand. He saw her pass Flack, and they exchanged a few words. Flack smiled. Lindsay laughed. He could almost hear it himself, and it killed him.

As both her and Flack continued on their original paths, Flack casted a glance in Danny's direction, giving him a little wave. Danny, in return, lifted a hand in a half wave, plastering a smile on his face, one that didn't quite reach his eyes.

He scarcely allowed himself to be true to himself, let alone others, although in this particular case, he admitted to himself that he was jealous of Flack. He had what he and Lindsay used to have. Used to.

He also admitted that he was a selfish bastard, considering seeing her happy, and moving on without him, created this gnawing in his chest. He really should be happy for her, but his chest ached at the sight of her: light, cheerful, hopeful of the future. It was stubborn and rude of him to think she should be more like him, dry, emotional and cross, because they've lost an important thing. Each other.

What kind of ex-boyfriend wants the woman he loves to be a wreck? "An epic fail of not just an ex, but a boyfriend all together," Danny muttered.

It was only then did Danny look down at his paper ramblings. His lips curled up into a dull, but hopeful smile, his eyes focused on the sheet of paper.

"Yo, Danny!" Hawkes booming voice startled Danny, and in an effort to hide his newly written notes, he slid a case file over it. "We've got a scene in Midtown. Grab your jacket."

Danny let out a sigh, pulling himself away from the desk, and also his thoughts.


Lindsay made her way to her desk, having nothing to do but paperwork as she waited for lab results. She looked over at Danny's desk and stack of case files, smiling lightly at the thought of him avoiding paperwork like the plague. She figured their last case folder would be in that pile, untouched, and decided to finish it and get it over with. She stood up, and walked around to his desk, shuffling some papers around, looking for their file.

After a quick glance in each folder, still finding nothing, she noticed a final case file. She picked it up, skimmed over it quickly, finding it wasn't the one she had been searching for.

Placing that folder on top of the rest of them, she glanced across his desk, hoping somehow their case file would catch her eye. Instead, she saw a piece of paper with Danny's chicken scratch writing all over it.

She picked it up slowly and ran her eyes across it, the few words she'd caught causing her to fall into his chair.

His smell immediately engulfed her, something that didn't help the present situation. The paper's short phrases had no pattern, just a disarray of randomness. Although, they really weren't that random. Most had a similar theme: her and Danny.

Danny & Lindsay, i love you, Messer & Monroe and Montana were some of them. She wondered what this all meant, and she swallowed hard.

What struck her the most was near the bottom of the page, a simple little note.

Danny & Montana.

It was written in black ink, with many circles and underlines assaulting it. She could see the light smudge around the edge, where Danny accidentally ran his hand through.

Clearly he hadn't meant for her to find it, but now that she had, she couldn't very well put it back and pretend nothing happened. She decided she had two opinions. One, throw it out and wait until Danny sees it, hopefully understanding her feelings for him.

Or two, she could succumb to the feelings deep within her and somehow make her feelings known. So many thoughts flooded her mind, she began to feel overwhelmed.

Danny. Love.

A glance towards the trash.

Cheated. Hate.

Back to the note.

Montana.

Trash. Hate.

Note. Love.

The stark contrast between her feelings made it so hard for her to decide. She wanted to hate him, boy she did. But in all of her efforts, she found herself drawn to him. Telling herself to get over him, and to work with him and be civil instead of ignore him, made her feelings for him more prominent. Seeing him all the time, acting as though they were simply friends, made her heart ache for more.

Going forward with her second choice, she grabbed a pen from its holder, and quickly added a single word to his page, feeling a lightness she hadn't before. A jittering feeling of hope and excitement for what a reaction may hold. Not just any reaction. His.

Danny & Montana

Forever


A/N: Read n' Review.. they go together like M&M's. :)