A/N: This is a two-shot describing the relationship between Lucy and Lindsay. Hope you guys enjoy it and please tell me what you think! The song is Goodbye's the Saddest Word by Celine Dion
Mamma
You gave life to me
Turned a baby into a lady
She was exhausted. Never in her life had she experienced such pain and tiredness. But despite the intense labor and the almost unbearable pain she had felt less a few hours ago, Lindsay Messer knew it was worth it just to see her precious little girl and the look of undying love for their little girl and her that had not left her husband's face for a moment.
Lucy Messer. She hadn't told Danny yet, but she was going to agree with him on Lucy. While Lydia was a nice name, Lucy seemed a better choice. She smiled, remembering the information she had obtained from Mac and Stella about the more suitable name for her baby girl. Danny had gone to the cafeteria with Flack and the other guys when Lindsay had voiced her want for a cappuccino while Mac and Stella had stayed behind with her and baby Lucy earlier that day.
"Lucy? Well, it's of Latin origin and it means light," her boss had smiled at her as he cooed over the baby girl in his arms. The look of adoration on Mac's face was one Lindsay rarely saw and by the looks of it, baby Lucy already had her Papa Mac wrapped around her tiny finger.
Stella grinned. "Light. Lucy, the light in your lives. I like it."
A small smile tugged at the corner of the new mother's lips. "Me too."
It seemed suitable for their baby girl. Since the moment she had found out she was pregnant, Lindsay had clung on to her growing baby for comfort when she didn't know how to tell Danny about her pregnancy. In the darkest of times during her and Danny's relationship after the whole Ruben and Rikki Sandoval incident, while she and Danny were on rocky times, her baby girl had been her light, had been her hope and faith throughout it all. And after all, didn't light mean happiness? Because her baby had been giving her just that.
Mamma
All you had to offer
Was the promise of a lifetime of love
She cradled her baby girl in her arms and brought the new born baby closer to her chest. Across the room, Danny let out a snort in his sleep and Lindsay stifled her laugh, unwilling to wake him up because she knew what a light sleeper Danny was and because she knew he needed his sleep having been awake for more than thirty-six hours in excitement and anticipation for his new baby girl.
Lindsay kissed the top of baby Lucy's head. "Your Daddy's going to spoil you rotten. He'll bring you to baseball games, buy you whatever you want and make sure that no boy comes near you within a ten mile radius. He's going to always see you as his baby girl that he'll get the shock of his life when you get your first period and then another one when you get your first boyfriend, baby girl."
Baby Lucy kept her eyes closed but Lindsay thought she saw an edge of a smile. The new mother giggled.
"But don't worry, Lucy. Mama will always be here to stop Daddy from going overboard. I'll balance out all the boyish things Daddy's going to make you do and turn you into a proper lady," Lindsay promised and placed a gentle kiss on her baby's forehead. Lucy moved her head a little at the interaction and Lindsay smiled. "Me and Daddy don't have much to offer you, baby girl. We're not rich. But one thing you'll always have, darling, is our love. I promise you. We've loved you from the moment you were in my tummy and we'll always continue to do so."
Now I know
There is no other
Love like a mother's love for her child
"I'm not leaving her alone, Danny."
Danny seriously did not know if he was supposed to laugh at his wife's unwillingness to leave their newborn baby with their new babysitter or annoyed that they were already ten minutes late for work. He decided on laughing and let out an amused chuckle as his wife glared at him from across the room with little Lucy in her arms and an irritated babysitter on her right.
"She won't be alone, Montana. She'll be with Cindy," Danny tried reassuring his wife while looking pleadingly at the babysitter.
"It's Candace," the young woman curtly corrected him and Danny felt his heart sinking. Was he really ready to leave his young baby girl with a woman he hardly knew? Definitely not. He sighed and smiled at his wife.
"Well, it is time the lab rats meet her."
Lindsay grinned and turned to give Candace an apologetic look. "We'll pay you for the first hour?"
Candace shrugged, "Better than nothing, I guess."
Practically skipping to her husband, Lindsay handed Lucy over to Danny and gave him a kiss on the cheek before going into their bedroom to get some change. Danny carried Lucy in front of him.
"Your mama loves you way too much, Lucy Lu," Danny smiled as he kissed his baby girl and hugged Lucy to his chest.
The babysitter across the room snorted and Danny raised his eyebrows at her. Candace rolled her eyes.
"What? She does love your daughter waaay too much."
And I know
A love so complete
Someday must leave
Must say goodbye
Goodbye's the saddest word I'll ever hear
Goodbye's the last time I will hold you near
Someday you'll say that word and I will cry
It'll break my heart to hear you say goodbye
Blood. There had been so much blood. And her mother. Oh god, her mother. Her mother had looked so pale as she fell backwards and into her father's arms. Ten-year-old Lucy could not get the image of the blood oozing out of the little hole in her mother's stomach as she ran towards Lindsay, tears already running down her face. She'd never seen her father look so frightened as he held the woman who had given her life, never seen Papa Mac look so angry and she had never seen the rest of her second family look so lost and helpless as they waited for the ambulance to arrive.
Three minutes. Three minutes had seemed like three lifetimes and Lucy knew that she would never forget the horrible feeling of fear of losing her mother as the ambulance came and took her mother and father to the hospital, leaving her in the care of her Aunt Stella and Papa Mac. It was Aunt Stella who had wrapped her arms around her as she cried for her mother and Papa Mac who had carried her to his car when her legs failed to hold her. They had driven to the hospital in silence, with Mac at the front seat of his car and Stella and Lucy in the back.
She didn't know what happened next. All she remembered was being in her father's arms minutes later and the smell of fresh blood. The red liquid, no doubt from her mother, stained her father's clothes and when Danny wrapped his arms around his little girl, the blood had spread to Lucy's clothes. But her clothes were the last thing on her mind and Lucy just embraced her father back, for both his and her comfort.
Five hours. It was five hours of pacing, of tears and of prayers for her mother. Five hours of her father's nervous actions, of Papa Mac and Aunt Stella and the rest of the family popping in and out while in the process of finding the person responsible for shooting her mama, and of memories of her the days Daddy, Mama and her spent together. Would today's breakfast be the last meal the Messer family had together? Oh god, please let the answer to that be no.
Tubes. And machines. Her mama was connected to machines but there she was, smiling comfortingly at her across the room two hours right after the operation was done with her hand held out to her.
"C'mere, Luce," Lindsay grinned. Letting out a strangled cry as she ran to her mother's side with her father not too far behind her, Lucy gently wrapped her arms around her mother, careful of the wires and tubes around her mother. Lucy felt her father beside her not two seconds later. Both father and daughter embraced the woman they had almost lost and couldn't live without and both listened to her murmurs of comfort. Lindsay had been the one to have been shot, but the ones who were really scarred were the two people she cared most for in the world.
"Shh. It's going to be okay, you two. I ain't saying goodbye yet."
Mamma
You gave love to me
Turned a young one into a woman
"Just one punch, Montana. C'mon."
"No, Danny."
"He hurt her!"
"You are not going to hit a fourteen-year-old boy, Danny Messer. Now calm down or you'll be on the couch tonight."
Lucy managed a small chuckle as her father muttered something unintelligent that earned him a loud smack on his head. She leaned her head against the toilet door, wiping her tears as she prepared herself to face her parents. She stood up and just as her hands were about to turn the doorknob, they froze. Was she ready to face her father's concern for her and anger for Luke? Was she ready for her mother's hugs and comforts? Was she ready to finally face her parent's 'I-told-you-so's? Well, at least it was a yes to the second question.
"Luce? You mind if I come in?"
Her mother's gentle voice seeped through the door and before she could stop herself, her hands had turned the doorknob and Lindsay was in the bathroom in three seconds. Her mother's arms surrounded her body and the tears Lucy had managed to stop shedding earlier on spilled over once again. Slowly, like she always did whenever her little girl was upset, Lindsay ran her hands through Lucy's hair. Soft sobs wrecked the young girl's body and both mother and daughter just stood in that position for the next few minutes.
"It hurts, Mama."
"I know, darling, but things will get better. I promise."
"I don't want to date again."
"Aw, Luce. You know that's not true. You know getting hurt is part of growing up."
"Growing up stinks."
Lindsay chuckled at her daughter's reply and kissed the top of her head.
"Copy that. But seriously Luce, this isn't going to be the last time you're going to get hurt. You're going to have bad relationships every once in a while before you get the right guy. And even then, you'll have fights and arguments and unintentionally hurt each other."
"Relationships suck."
"I know, honey. But remember this. Getting hurt, be it physically or emotionally, it's part of life. A woman's strength is truly measured by the hurt she's endured and the faith she still has afterwards. You're one step closer to being a lady, Luce."
Mamma
All I ever needed
Was a guarantee of you loving me
"DADDY! I'M NOT A SIX-YEAR-OLD ANY MORE! I'M SIXTEEN!"
"WELL THEN, ACT LIKE IT!"
"I WILL WHEN YOU START TREATING ME LIKE ONE!"
SLAM!
Lindsay rubbed her fingers against her temple in circles, hoping that the headache that was threatening to break out would be a minor one, as her husband stormed into the kitchen. Danny wrenched the refrigerator door open to grab a beer, his hands shaking as anger and frustration flowed in his body. Lindsay sighed and got up from the kitchen table to wrap her arms around her husband. Slowly, she felt his tense muscles soften and his arms were around her as he sighed.
"She's growing up too fast," the worried father mumbled. "That boy could be a psycho killer for all we know."
Lindsay pulled away from him gently, so that she could look him in the eyes and gave him a small smile.
"You really think so?" her voice was quiet and gentle, but the amusement she felt shone in her eyes and Danny rolled his.
"You never know, Montana. We've seen enough cases to know anyone is capable of murder. Lucy's sixteen. She hasn't seen the real world. She's young, naïve and –"
"And she's also a Messer. She's sharp and a good judge of character. She can tell just by observing the actions of people to know what they might be feeling or thinking. She knows what she's doing, Danny."
"What if she gets hurt?"
His question was soft and vulnerable and Lindsay felt her own heart sinking at the thought of tears in her little girl's eyes. Were those tears that would eventually come be worth the happiness Lucy deserved?
In a firm voice, Lindsay Messer replied, "Then we'll be there to heal her."
For a few moments, Danny just stood there with his arms around her before he gave a resigned sigh and nodded. Lindsay smiled and gave him a peck on the lips before making her way to her daughter's room.
"Lucy? Can I come in?"
Silence.
"Silence is consent!" Lindsay smirked as she came into her daughter's room.
Lucy was on her bed, hugging her kegs to her chest as tears streamed down her face. She looked sadly at her mother.
"You and Daddy hate me now?"
Lindsay felt her heart breaking right there and then, shocked that her daughter could actually think that. "Oh, darling."
Lindsay crept onto Lucy's bed and hugged her daughter.
"We'd never hate you, baby girl."
"I love you, Mama."
"I love you too, Lucy. So very much."
'Cause I know
There is no other
Love like a mother's love for her child
"You lay your hands on my daughter ever again, and you'll wish you were never born, you hear me?"
Danny's threatening growl made the hairs on the back of her neck stand and Lindsay glared her own glare at the boy across the room. With a sobbing Lucy in her arms, Lindsay clenched her jaw as her husband took the teenage boy roughly by his shoulders and threw him out of the house.
"Lucy?"
The seventeen-year-old stepped away from her mother as the world around her became dizzier and Lucy Messer's world turned black. The last thing she saw was her mother's worried face, last thing she felt were her father's arms around her and the last thing she heard were her frightened parents calling her name.
Lucy awoke five hours later, her mother beside her with her arms around her shoulder and her eyes closed, exhausted from the day's events. Tear tracks stained Lindsay's pink cheeks and Lucy felt a pang of guilt for making her mother worry so much about her. Across the room, Lucy spotted her father on her computer chair with his head on the table and a frown on his lips.
The young lady snuggled into her mother's arms and closed her eyes, reflecting on the day's events. Her parents had warned her about him and she had chosen to ignore them. She'd went along with him, amazed at how cool he was, all the while ignoring the gut at the pit of her stomach that kept telling her to back off. In the end, her parents had been right. He was a bastard who only had one thing on his mind.
Regret pulsed through her veins and Lucy found herself thinking of the fights she had gotten into with her parents, Aunt Stella, Papa Mac and so many others over a guy who hadn't been worth it. She had withdrawn herself from her family, the people who really cared about her. But thinking back, Lucy realised that her mother had never shouted or screamed at her. Lindsay had been calm through everything, though the worry and disapproval in her eyes and on her face had been very evident.
And it was her mother's concerned voice that she had heard when the jerk was forcing himself on her that gave her strength to stop him. It was her mother's voice that had made her strong enough to resist him. It was her mother's love that had made her brave enough to face anything.
Goodbye's the saddest word I'll ever hear
Goodbye's the last time I will hold you near
Someday you'll say that word and I will cry
It'll break my heart to hear you say goodbye
"Mom, it's only college. I'll be back on the weekends."
"Oh, my baby girl's all grown up!"
"Moooom!"
"C'mon Luce, at least let your Mama cry on this day. You're going off to college!"
"Exactly! It's just college! It's not goodbye, Mama.'
"Oh, Lucy Messer, it better not be."
A/N: Okay! So since this is really long, I have decided to break this into a two-shot. Be sure to look out for the next chapter! Please review!