Set immediately after Snow Day

OK so all of you die-hard fans of mine (lol, I might be a bit full of myself, but you guys really are just fantastic) know that in my heart of hearts, I'm a DL shipper. That's not in question. But lately, well, I've been listening to a lot of FM radio… And I have to admit, there are some aspects of FM that are appealing… So I'm going to give it a shot.

This is my first crack at a true FM fic, so your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Change of Heart

Chapter 1: Vulnerable

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"You weren't supposed to be here. You took my shift."

Danny replayed their conversation over and over again. Each time he did, he sunk a little bit deeper into his pool of self loathing.

It wasn't her fault. She hadn't done anything wrong. She hadn't asked him to switch, over even to wake her up. She would have gotten up the first time she'd woke, and that would have been that.

But it wasn't that easy. For as simple and uncomplicated as she was, Montana turned his emotions into one big complex mess. She made him vulnerable, emotional, and susceptible to rash, illogical decisions. He didn't like that. He didn't like thinking with his heart. Thinking with his heart had only caused him problems in the past, and frankly, he didn't want to back down that road.

Which was why he'd, as gently as possible, let go of Lindsay 4 hours before.

"I… I care Linds. Ok, I do. And probably too much. I'm gettin' sloppy, making snap decisions, not usin' my head like I should. And it ain't your fault, you didn't do anything. It's me, I'm just… I'm bad at this. I'm sorry, God, I'm so sorry, I didn't think… I lead you on, did all I could to get to you and I do this. I feel awful Lindsay and I really wish I didn't have to do this…"

She'd been crushed by his words. Lindsay wiped furiously at the tear that rolled down her cheek. Damn him! Damn him for making me cry… She'd been completely shocked when he'd told her it was over… Whatever "it" was… It was over before it even began. All those months of flirtation, chasing, extending olive branches, it had all come down to this.

All because he felt vulnerable. What did he expect??! Being vulnerable is part of being in a relationship… Not that I should be surprised, Danny Messer doesn't know the first thing about relationships!

Truth be told, she was angry more than anything else, and in a way, that wasn't such a bad thing. Anger was an emotion she could deal with. Anger made it easier to get over him. At this point, she'd rather be mad at him then be sad over him.

Finally, after wallowing for a few hours, she dragged herself to the bathroom, splashed some cold water on her face, and padded to bed, falling in, promising she wouldn't cry herself to sleep.

7AM came early. Lindsay blinked several times at the harsh sun pouring in through her bedroom window. She rolled over and swung her feet to the floor.

30 minutes later she was clean and fresh, and none of it made her feel better. She stared at her face in the mirror. Her hair was wet and sticking to her face in places. Her face was pale, her cheeks round.

Him dumping her… It made sense… She wasn't Danny's type… She wasn't from the city, she wasn't street smart, blonde, tiny… She was plain old Lindsay Monroe from Bozeman Montana. She didn't date the Danny Messers of the world.

She'd affected him… just not in the way you're supposed to affect someone you care about. She tore her gaze from the mirror, unable to continue to look at herself.

With her short black terry cloth robe wrapped around her, she strode to her closet, pulling out her favorite light grey pants and her new vibrant red v-neck t-shirt, and her black boots. She laid them on the bed and returned to the bathroom, quickly blow drying her hair straight, a look she hadn't worn in a long time. Danny had liked her hair curly… Stop…You can't just call him to mind every 5 minutes. She reminded herself sternly. She applied her makeup, paying more attention to detail than she normally did.

She glanced at the bathroom clock. She needed to get going. She pulled on her outfit, stuffing her feet into her shoes. She grabbed her purse, keys, phone and sunglasses and left for work.

She stepped off the subway a block from the lab and strode out into the sunshine. She was pleasantly surprised to find the temperature more than bearable. It was nice actually. Nice enough to bring a smile to her face.

"What can you possibly be happy about at 8:30 in the morning Monroe?" A deep voice laced with sleep questioned.

She turned and found Flack walking from the east, his eyes covered by dark aviator shades, his suit was dark, a bright blue button down underneath.

"Actually, I wasn't until I realized it was a nice day." She replied softly as she waited for him to catch up.

He fell into step beside her. "Long night takin' care of Messer's wounds?" He questioned.

At the mention of his name, her face dropped. When Flack got no response, he turned and glanced. "What's up? What's wrong?" He asked, lowering his voice and slowing his gait.

"Danny… After I took him home and tried to help him get settled, he… He ended it with me…. He told me I was changing him, that being around me was affecting him… And not in a good way. So he ended it because he's not good at being vulnerable." She replied, instantly regretting her words.

Confiding in Flack…. AKA Danny's best friend… Definitely not your best choice Linds. Way to go.

He snapped her out of her daze by grabbing her arm and steering her to a small corner stand selling coffee and donuts. He plopped her on the nearby bench.

"Stay." He instructed, his tone kind but commanding. Not that it mattered, she wasn't going anywhere.

She nodded, closing her eyes, willing the tears to stay put, promising herself that she wouldn't cry in front of Flack.

"I need two black coffees and a couple glazed donuts. Thanks." Flack said, tossing the man a ten before coming back to sit by her.

"I probably should have warned you." He told her, handing her a coffee and a donut before biting into his own.

She took a bite and a sip of coffee. "He's right… He isn't good at relationship stuff. This sort of thing has happened before. I thought you were gonna be different, that since he liked a girl like you, it had to mean he was changin', ya know? But I was wrong, and I should've known better. I should have told you." He explained, his voice laced with guilt.

She was quiet for a moment while she processed his words and chewed her donut. She swallowed and turned to him.

"It wasn't your responsibility. You aren't a babysitter and you aren't his mother. Besides, it's not like I didn't know. I heard the rumors about Danny. I'm a big girl. I made a decision. I allowed myself to be pursued, to be flirted with, to go out with someone so obviously out of my league-" She started.

He stuffed a piece of his donut in her open mouth. "Shut up. You don't ever say Danny Messer is out of your league." He informed her sternly.

Lindsay sucked the donut into her mouth, chewing quickly before swallowing. "All I'm saying is I'm not the kind of girl the Danny Messer's of the world date. I'm just not. He's a bad boy, he like tiny little blondes from Brooklyn, not stocky brunettes from Bozeman." She explained.

"Solid." Flack argued, then took a long gulp from his coffee, feeling her eyes on him.

She shot him a confused look.

"You aren't stocky. You're solid. Strong. That's what freaked him out. You didn't need him, you didn't need anyone. You moved here, to New York City, from Podunk Montana and you never asked for help. He isn't used to that. Hell, most men aren't used to that." Flack responded.

Lindsay studied the man next to her. He seemed intent on surprising her. Him and Lindsay had never spoken for long periods of time, never spent a great deal of time together, inside the lab or out…

"Bozeman." She blurted out.

His gaze slid over to her, and she could tell he was trying hard not to look at her like she'd grown a third eye.

"Bozeman Montana. Not Podunk." She went on, and realization dawned on his face.

"I know, I was just making a point. All's I was saying is that you're solid." He told her, tearing off a piece of her donut, seeing as he'd already finished his. He shoved the piece into his mouth and leaned back.

"Solid… I'm not entirely sure that's a good thing." She said, her voice low.

"This city…There are two kinds of women here. There are the ones with bleach blonde hair, plastic breasts, inch long talons for fingernails who dropped out of high school. Then there are the career women, with their black suits and their high button collars, with no sense of humor, fancy educations and a condescending attitude. We don't get many of your type around here." He explained, his voice gentle and quiet.

"You are everything a man wants and needs but usually they're too afraid to admit it. Most men don't always know what to do with you. You're the kind of woman that makes a man want to be better. You affect us. You make us want to do crazy shit that we'd never do, you make us think in ways that we'd prefer not to. And sometimes, for some men, that's just too much to handle. It's too much change." He went on, hoping to god she understood what he meant. All he wanted was for her to understand that none of this was her fault.

"Danny just couldn't handle it." She whispered, staring at her coffee cup, gripping her fingers around it a little tighter.

"Danny's a good guy, my best friend, but it never would have worked out with you two. If he ever settles down, it'll be with a girl from the old neighborhood. A girl who gets him, who'll stay at home and raise the babies, a girl who doesn't make him crazy, who doesn't fight back, doesn't make him feel like he wants to be better. A girl who won't have any affect on him at all." Flack assured her.

"I'm not that girl." She choked out after several long moments. Her inner voice was telling her that Flack was right, that it would have never worked out. But even though she knew he was right, it hurt… It hurt to know that she really and truly wasn't right for Danny. Her nails pressed tighter into the cup, thankful it was now empty.

He watched her reaction, and gently pried the cup from her hands, helping her stand.

Once she was on her feet, he didn't let go of her hands, not until she looked up and made eye contact with him.

"No you're not. And I can't think of one person who'd want you any other way." He told her, as she pitched the donut wrapper.

"I can."

So there you have it. My first chapter of my first real, honest to goodness FM story. I hope you all give it a chance. I just felt it was time for a little bit of change. I get bored and this has been nagging me. I'd really appreciate your thoughts.