umm, hi. so my computer decided to hate me and not want to post this until now, even though it was supposed to be posted YESTERDAY :(

but oh well, HERE IT IS !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (well, belated birthday) LAURA !!!! :D

again, my computer decides to hate me whenever I try to do anything nice for you, hahah.

hope you all enjoy ;)

--mtc.

You Belong With Me

Lindsay Monroe glanced in her full length mirror once more before leaving for the crime lab. Her dark blue sweater accented every curve in just the right way and was cut low enough to make an immense impact on Danny without being inappropriate for the workplace. Her skirt did just the same, revealing enough skin to make her Italian coworker go weak in the knees—as well as other areas—without getting her called into the boss's office for being an unsuitable choice for work.

She was well aware that the guys were planning on going to the bar after their shifts had ended in order to start out their weekends, and with a little help from her well coordinated outfit, she was sure Danny would finally muster up the nerve to ask her to go with him.

She had been a part of the New York crime lab for a year and a half now; that entire year and a half she had also spent getting to know Danny Messer.

Just not in the way that she had hoped to.

Danny was her best friend, the one she went to when she needed a confidant, a shoulder to cry on, or just someone to hang out with. And the actions were reciprocated both ways. She had lost count of all the times Danny had showed up outside her apartment at 2 o'clock in the morning to complain about his girlfriend—well, now ex-girlfriend—Cindy, or showed up on a Friday night when he knew she was sitting alone in her empty apartment with nothing to do, with a movie in his hand. They would stay up for hours talking, laughing, joking, and he would often end up staying the night.

But nothing romantic had ever come from their late nights spent together.

Lindsay sighed at the memories.

"That's all about to change," she said to her reflection as she gave her appearance another look over.

She knew he had been dying to ask her to the bar with the guys on the weekends, he was just too shy; she was like no other woman he had met before, and it scared him; she could see it in the way he looked at her. If she wanted to get him to make a move, she would have to put on the moves herself.

Her plan had to work.

"And if not, I'll just have to pull him into the locker room and convince him myself," she muttered to herself as she hitched up her chest in the mirror.

"Hmm. I guess it'll do." She pulled on her four inch pumps—which would definitely make maneuvering around the lab difficult, while at the same time making her legs irresistible to Danny—added a little more lip gloss, blew a kiss at her mirror, grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

----

When Danny had thought about his upcoming day on his way to work, he imagined there would be lots of scene processing, evidence analyzing, and some playful bantering with Lindsay.

Never had he pictured this bantering to be dressed in a thigh length skirt and a shirt cut so low it made his dick twitch.

It was not the right day to be wearing jeans.

And Lindsay had definitely noticed the amount of discomfort the denim was currently causing him as she sauntered into the room.

"Hey Messer, something wrong?"

Really Montana? You're really going to talk to me in that seductive little voice of yours now? He thought to himself, biting his tongue as he tried to seat himself farther under the lab bench so that his growing problem would be out of her line of sight.

"Uhh, uhh no, no Linds everything's just fine and dandy over here," he stuttered, his upper body now almost completely submerged under the table by this point. Way to go Mess, you sound like a dumbass already. Is that the same charm you were gonna use to get her to go out with you? Cause if it was, it's just you and your hand tonight.

"Good, I'm glad," she smirked. Now let's see how high I can get those pants to rise.

Grabbing her lab coat and a pair of goggles off the rack, she slowly strolled to her lab station, Danny's eyes popping out of his head to follow her ass the entire way. As she neared his lab station, she casually dropped her goggles, positioning herself so that when she bent over, it was inevitable that Danny would have to stand up a little to see down her shirt.

And that he did.

Lindsay purposely lingered over the goggles, torturing him as he rose slowly from his chair, mouth agape, hoping to catch a peek.

Which was exactly what she hoped he would do.

Come on Montana, just stand up a little more and—

"Looking for something Messer?" She tilted her head up letting her curls fall around her face, and winked as she finally picked up the goggles, trying to refrain from laughing as the wheels on Danny's chair flew backward and he landed in a tangled mess on the floor.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK. Real smooth Danno, real smooth!

Lindsay walked over and extended a hand to Danny, the smirk still playing at the corners of her lips.

"Need a hand?"

"Uhh no, no thanks, I got it." If she even comes any closer to me I'm gonna need a new pair of jeans.

"Alright then."

And just like that she retracted her hand; teasing him, torturing him, and having the time of her life doing so as his face dropped in disappointment. She stood up and turned, walking out the door slowly so that he could get a good long look at her ass as she left the processing room to find something else to occupy her time while she came up with another plan to coax Danny into asking her out—and possibly, if she played her cards right, back to someone's apartment after. Caught up in her thoughts, she didn't even notice that Noah, the cute new lab tech, was rounding the corner at that same moment—right into her chest.

"Whoa, sorry Lind—sorry…" She scowled a little as his eyes bulged out of his head and his apology quickly turned into an ogle-fest. But she quickly realized that Danny was still within earshot and line of sight, and she began to devise a new plan.

One that involved a little bit of flirting and little bit of making him jealous.

Noticing that the files Noah had been carrying were now lying in a mess around their ankles, she laughed to herself before putting her plan in motion.

"Oh that's okay Noah," she began, turning on her seductive voice once again. "Don't worry, I'll get them." She bent over slowly to pick the files up, sneakily checking behind her to make sure Danny was watching—which, of course, he was—and gathered the papers, lingering on the ground for a little too long while Noah got the show of his life and Danny's pants seemed to be growing tighter and tighter.

She hitched up her chest as she stood up, handing the stack back to Noah whose jaw had long since hit the floor. Leaning in close, she whispered in a low voice so that Danny had to crawl forward in order to hear her.

"Now make sure you keep a tighter grip on these; don't wanna go misplacing one now, do we?"

A gulp came from the brunette's throat, as well as Danny's, which could be heard echoing throughout the lab, making Lindsay snicker. This is almost too easy. I wonder how much of a horn dog he was back in high school if he's still this bad now.

Come on Mess, make your move before this jackass cuts in! Danny was still contemplating whether or not he should risk exposing his compromised situation to the entire lab just to ask Lindsay out, but he realized that if he didn't get up soon he would lose his girl.

"Hey Montana, I was wondering— "

"Me and a couple of the guys are going out drinking after work. Would you like to go with me?"

Fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck fuck.

"That sounds great; I would love to go with you Noah." The entire time she was speaking to him, she was staring at Danny, a look of "try a little harder next time" in her eyes.

"Cool, awesome, sweet, uhh I'll meet you there around 8?"

She chuckled at his amazement in the fact that she had said yes.

Poor kid. I feel bad using him, but at least he'll get to enjoy it while it lasts.

"Sounds good, I'll see you then." She let her finger trail slowly down his bicep—not nearly as big as Danny's, she noticed—before walking past both men, giving Danny that same "you better up your game, boy" look.

----

"I mean what does he have that I don't have Flack?" Danny asked his best friend as they watched the M.E. bag up the body at the crime scene they were currently at.

"I have looks, I have charm, I have swagger—"

"Danno, you did not just say that you have swagger."

Completely ignoring his friend's comment, he continued listing off more qualities in himself that he figured Lindsay would approve of over Noah's. "I have a great smile, great hair, great uhh, assets, ya know?"He gestured to his crotch, which had lessened since earlier in the day, and Flack rolled his eyes, motioning for him to continue his self-flattery speech. "Like seriously, what does this guy have that I don't? A new ID that allows him to legally drink? He can't be more than what, 22? She needs someone older, more experienced; someone like—"

"Lemme guess: someone like you?" Flack asked already knowing the answer.

"Exactly! Someone like me! I mean look at me; I would sure as hell date me. Wouldn't you?"

"Please don't make me answer that question."

Danny turned to his friend, a look of disappointment slowly washing over his face.

"Listen Danno, I'm sure you'll get another shot. Don't worry about this one buddy, there's plenty of other fish in the sea."

"But I want the one from Montana!" He sat down on the sidewalk and put his chin in his hands like a child; Flack rolled his eyes and motioned for him to get up before he grounded him like a child, and off around the corner Lindsay stood snickering to herself as she stepped out of the Avalanche, arriving to the scene just in time to see Danny finally confess his feelings.

This could work to my advantage. He wants a fish from Montana, he'll get a fish from Montana…

She grabbed the bottle of water out of the front seat and made her way towards the boys, a smirk playing out across her face already as she thought about what Danny's reaction would be.

"Hey boys, how's the scene comin'?"

"Montana, hey!" Danny exclaimed, jumping up from the sidewalk excitedly.

"It's really hot out here, isn't it?" She wiped her brow in exaggeration and twisted the top off of the water bottle. Bringing it to her lips, she couldn't help but giggle a little at the look of wonder and amazement on Danny's face. He was like a little kid who was just meeting Mickey Mouse for the first time.

Or maybe it was more along the lines of a big kid who was going to the strip club for the first time.

She shrugged mentally and returned to her task, purposely spilling the water down her front; Flack, who had obviously caught on to what was happening, crossed his arms as he watched his friend, laughing as the expressions on his face changed outrageously.

"Uhh Mon, Montana? You uhh, you spilled a little water there," Danny stuttered, pointing out the obvious.

"Oh, is that what that wet feeling was? I thought it was something else." Flack bit his lip to stifle his laughter as Lindsay continued to play his friend.

"But I'd better get out of this shirt before we process; I don't want water dripping on potential evidence now? Do you think it's a good idea Danny?"

Damn are you good at this, Danny thought as the pressure in his pants began to return. He bit his lip to the point of breaking skin and tried to picture anything but Lindsay removing the soaking wet sweater.

"Uhh, yeah. Yeah, I definitely think you should take it off. The sooner the better." Way to go asshole, now you sound like you want to bone her right here and now. Well, not that you don't but still! Not the place or time.

His rushed words elicited another giggle from both Lindsay and Flack; Lindsay because she was enjoying watching her plan work, Flack because he hadn't seen any boy act this way since he was a freshman in high school.

You know, I could probably have a little more fun with this Lindsay thought as she was about to go back to the car where she was bound to find a spare shirt.

"Hey Danny, would you mind giving me a hand with this? The material is clinging to my skin so it's a little hard to get off."

She barely heard his "I gotta go" before he had darted off the scene, one hand dangling at his side while the other seemed to be situated in front of his jeans.

She turned to Flack and as soon as Danny had cleared the corner, both doubled over in laughter.

"Seriously Monroe, how long you gonna drag this out for?" Flack asked as they began to regain their composure.

"Just until he decides to man up enough to ask me out himself. I figured I'd give him a little push in the right direction, you know?"

"Oh he's being pushed alright," Flack snickered as they both turned to see Danny returned, the color completely flushed from his face.

"What was that all about Danny? We've got a scene to process."

With that, Lindsay picked up her case and headed into the house that their vic had been found outside of.

Danny picked up his case as well, looked at Don and shook his head.

Only four and a half more hours until their shift was over.

But then again, I really don't wanna have to see them together tonight.

Danny cringed at the thought of another man being with Lindsay, let alone having his hands all over her.

It was going to be a long day.

----

"I don't think I can do this Flack." Danny bounced on the balls of his feet as he looked over the crowd at the bar trying to find Lindsay and that boy.

I refuse to use his name, even if it's just inside my head. Good, be mature about it, he thought to himself.

"Do what? Drink yourself into a coma? Come on man, I've seen you do it before, you're perfectly capable of doing it again."

"No you idiot, I don't think I can watch Lindsay go on a date with this clown."

Flack rolled his eyes at his immature friend. "Danno, how old are you, sixteen? Relax. They'll be drinkin' all night, and chances are they won't even remember anything tomorrow mornin'."

"But what if he takes her back to his apartment and takes advantage of her? I don't wanna see her get hurt!"

"Dan, she's a big girl, she can protect herself."

"But I wanna be the one to protect her Flack. Some scumbag off the streets tries to get with her I'll be there; this asshole from the lab tries to pull anything I'll be there; hell, a bear in the mountains of Montana tries to attack her I'll be there."

"No offense buddy, but I think she'd be the one saving you from the bear," Flack replied with a laugh as he pictured Danny hiding scared behind Lindsay as she took down a full sized grizzly bear.

"You're not even listening! I'm being goddamn sentimental for once in my life and you're making bear jokes!"

"Listen, I know you're freakin' out about alla this but trust me, it'll all work out in the end."

"I hope for your own sake that you're right, cause when I'm up at night cryin' it'll be on YOUR couch."

"Oh please, find another buddy to eat ice cream and watch soap operas with; Adam's probably into that shit, but I'm a real man."

"Whatever." Danny swished his beer around in the bottle before he brought it to his lips to take a drink.

"Hey look, Lindsay and Noah are here."

Fuck.

That drink quickly turned into chugging one bottle and violently tapping the bar for another as he saw just how closely the two were interacting.

"I need this more than you do," Danny said as he grabbed Flack's beer out of his hands, growing too impatient to wait for the bartender to bring him another one.

Maybe if I'm lucky enough I can drink myself into oblivion.

"Hey Don," Lindsay said cheerfully before completely changing her expression to one that reminded Danny of his multiple fantasies that he had had of her. "Hey Messer, what's shakin'?"

He gulped down the rest of his beer, turned around, and walked as far away from her as he possibly could.

----

"Really?" Lindsay muttered under her breath for literally the hundredth time that night. This was supposed to be a fun, relaxing night; time to unwind with her coworkers after a long week of case work and to get Danny Messer to finally ask her out on a date.

But no.

Sadly, someone had to ruin that for her.

That someone coincidentally named Danny Messer.

And that someone was currently in the process of scaring off every woman in the bar with his frightening rendition of the Single Ladies dance as Beyonce blared through the bar. Lindsay tried to ignore him as best as she could, but it was too funny not to watch as he "put his hands up" and kicked his leg out.

Right into a pretty girl's gut.

But Danny was too engulfed in his "dipping" to notice the scowl she was giving him as her friends stopped her from attacking the poor drunken detective.

Lindsay calmed her laughter and turned back around.

"I mean, it's not like it's my fault he doesn't have the balls to ask me out himself!" Turning to her date for the umpteenth time that day, she frowned apologetically.

"I'm sorry Noah, this isn't supposed to be about him; you asked me to come here with you and I'm completely ignoring you."

"It's okay," the shy brunette said with a smile. "I would probably be acting the same way if I had let him grab you before I had the chance."

Lindsay smiled at his compliment.

"You know what? No more talk about Danny; we're just going to enjoy ourselves and---oh God, now he's SINGING?!"

Sure enough, Danny Messer had jumped on top of the bar and was now belting "Single Ladies" at the top of his lungs.

"IIIIF YOU LIKED IT THEN YOU SHOULDA PUT A RING ON IT!" he screamed completely off key, waving his hand at Flack as his tall friend was standing with his hands on his hips giving Danny a look you give a five year old when they've climbed on top of the counter to steal a cookie out of the cookie jar.

"Messer, get your ass down from there now," he scolded as Danny turned around and waved his "Dereon jeans" covered ass in Flack's face.

"If you liked it then you shoulda put a RING on it, BUDDY," Danny yelled back at Flack as he went back to his dancing.

Flack could do no more than shake his head as he walked past his intoxicated friend and over to where Lindsay and Noah were attempting to enjoy a drink.

"I'm really sorry about that," he said, gesturing to the bar as two bulky bartenders tried to remove Danny from the counter despite his many pleads of "I'm a cop, I can do what I want!" and the numerous times he flashed his badge.

"It's okay, we'll manage," Lindsay said rolling her eyes.

"You sure about that Monroe?" Flack said gesturing behind him as Danny took the stage underneath a neon sign that read "Karaoke Night".

Fuck.

Lindsay leaned her head back and let out a small cry before turning her attention back to the situation at hand. She grabbed the beer out of Flack's hand and offered a simple "I need this more than you do" before downing the rest of the bottle. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and walked towards Danny with vengeance in her eyes.

"Heyyy Montana, wha's shaaakin?" Danny said in a slurred voice as he tried to drape his arm nonchalantly around the microphone stand, failing miserably and falling to the ground.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," he announced to the entire personnel of the bar, none of which seemed to be paying attention, as he steadied himself back on the stage.

"Danny, what the hell are you doing?"

"Wha's it look like I'm doin'? I'm 'bout to sing you a song!"

"Why?" She crossed her arms across her chest and tried to be as serious as she could with the alcohol coursing through her veins.

Danny pondered her question a moment, opening and closing his mouth several times before finally deciding on an answer. "'Cause Taylor Swift writes my own life better than I can. All them teenage girls is right, she really does know me better than I know muself."

"Danny, please don't do this; you've already embarrassed yourself enough."

"But I'm not gonna embarrass myself, I have a beautiful singin' voice! You even said so yourself one time, I think…you did, didn't you?"

"Ughh, I can't deal with this anymore!" Lindsay exclaimed in frustration. "If you want to express your feelings to me, do it yourself! Don't make Taylor Swift do it for you!"

"But I try and try and you still don't get it," he complained back.

"Danny I'm sorry, but making perverted jokes about how 'you know I want you body' isn't exactly telling me how you feel."

"Wait, you want my body?!" he asked stunned, the alcohol clearly deteriorating his brain by this point.

Lindsay let out a scream in frustration before turning on her heels and stomping back to her table, her plan to get Danny to soberly tell her how he felt clearly going downhill.

"Come on Noah, let's get out of here."

She grabbed him by the forearm and began dragging him towards the door.

But Danny's voice stopped her dead in her tracks as it began to fill the speakers of the bar.

That same voice had serenaded her a time or two, put her at ease when she felt like her life was falling apart, and helped her drift off to sleep when nothing else had seemed to work.

That voice, although now slurring through the lyrics of its current song, still made her go weak in the knees.

She turned around and watched as he swayed back and forth on the stage, the words of Taylor Swift pouring out of his mouth.

"If you could seeeee that IIIIII'm the one who understands you, been here alllllll along so why can't you seeeee you belong wiff meeeeee, you belong wiff me!"

She had dropped Noah's arm by this point and the brunette pretended not to be offended, but as the song continued playing and Lindsay edged closer and closer towards the stage, he left the bar in a huff of frustration.

"Oh I 'member you drivin' to my house in the middle of the night; I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're 'bout ta cry. I know ALL your favorite songs and you tell me 'bout your dreams; I think I know where you belong…"

The music continued playing on but Danny had paused, noticing that Lindsay was now standing right at the foot of the stage once again. As if all the alcohol had momentarily drained from his system, his eyes brightened for a moment and he put the microphone down—missing the stand, it clattered to the floor—he walked towards her and finished out the song, his beautiful, soothing songvoice warming her heart.

"I think I know it's with me…"

He stepped off the stage, letting the music continue softly in the background as he pulled Lindsay close to him, his hand on the back of her neck as he pulled her mouth up to his. She didn't care that they were both drunk, because the moment their lips came crashing together, she was on an absolute new high. His tongue begged access at her lips and she immediately gave in, letting out a small moan as they searched each other's mouths for the first time. They stayed tangled together in the middle of the bar until they had to come up for air. When they opened their eyes, they were both a little hazy, and Danny refused to let go of her for fear he might lose her.

She took the hand that was still clinging on for dear life at the back of her neck and slowly removed it, entangling their fingers together as she reassured him that she wasn't about to leave him, and they made their way to the door, hailing a cab back to Lindsay's apartment. The entire car ride was spent in silence, Danny's arm wrapped protectively around Lindsay's waist while Lindsay laid her head on Danny's shoulder.

They made their way up to Lindsay's apartment in silence as well, still refusing to let go of one another. When they arrived inside, Danny sat on the couch while Lindsay put on a pot of coffee and popped the top on a bottle of aspirin. She sat down next to Danny, handing him a mug and two pills as she swallowed her own. As she finished off her cup, she placed it on the coffee table and hugged her knees up to her chest as she waited for Danny to say something.

What came out of his mouth was not at all what she was expecting.

"Lindsay? I think I love you."

--

now here's my dilemma--

do i keep going...? ;)

R&R ? :)