A/N: I own none of it… sadly. The song, nor the characters… although, my birthday is coming up… anyone want to get me Carmine? Anyone? Anyone? Never mind, just read, please.
Characters belong to CBS and that gang.
Song: Smoke Rings In The Dark by Gary Allan.
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Well I won't make you tell me
What I've come to understand,
"I have to know what's going on with you." Isn't that all he had said? He'd left her open for a comment, and she had turned him down, faster than a movie star drops a relationship. All he had wanted was a little insight as to what made her tick. Nothing seemed right when she wasn't happy, and Danny was getting the feeling Lindsay Monroe was not the most upbeat person on the planet right now. He wanted to help her with that. But she'd turned him down.
You're a certain kind of woman;
I'm a different kind of man.
He'd tried to not fall for her, ever since that day at the zoo. It was impossible; mentally, physically, emotionally, the works. It was a miracle Danny had even made it to this point without jumping her at work. He had got up enough guts to talk to her about it, damnit; she was going tell him something.
I've tried to make you love me,
You've tried to find a spark of the flame that burned but
Somehow turned to smoke rings in the dark.
"Don't tell me you don't feel it also." The look on her face was heartbreaking. Was everything he had just said a lie? His tone was almost pleading and Lindsay felt a tiny part of her heart break. Oh, Danny, don't look at me like that. If you give me that puppy-dog stare, with those eyes, I may not be able to make it out of here in one piece. She sighed.
The loneliness within me,
Takes a heavy toll.
'Cause it burns as slow as whiskey through an empty, aching soul.
"It's not you, okay, it's—" She trailed off. What was she going to say? "It's not you, it's me. Yeah, Linds, that would go over real well with Danny Messer, who's probably used that line on hundreds of girls before you. "I just…I need to be by myself, so I can work some stuff out, that I thought I had—put behind me." Please, Danny, don't look at me like that. She shut her eyes. This would be so much easier if I didn't like him so much. But he can't know about any of it…it would kill him.
And the night is like a dagger
Long and cold and sharp,
"I didn't mean for this to happen."
"'S'okay." Danny shook his head, recognizing the pain in her eyes. She really was regretting having to reject him. He was starting to regret starting the conversation in the first place. The pain was slowly seeping its way into his heart and mind. He wasn't used to this kind of hurt; it scared him, but not as much as the pain on her face.
As I sit here on the front steps
Blowing smoke rings in the dark.
"Maybe we should just do our jobs." Those words, from her mouth, had torn him to pieces. She walked away while he was forced to pick his heart up from the ground and dust it off. Danny sighed into the cold night air and blew a cloud of smoke. His mother always said smoking would kill him, but right now, wasn't he already dead? Lindsay's brown eyes danced in front of his face and he closed his eyes to block out the image of her face. The boundaries have been set, and I'm still dreaming of her.
I- I- I know I must be going,
'Cause love's already gone.
And all I'm taking with me are the pieces of my heart,
And all I'll leave are smoke rings in the dark.
Danny sighed and stamped out his cigarette, rising from his front stoop. A few hours sleep would be a welcome repast after this ordeal. He stretched to the sky, noticing the rain clouds. No one die tonight. I'll kill you.
The rain falls where it wants to,
The wind blows where it will.
Everything on earth goes somewhere
But I swear we're standin' still.
Lindsay's pillow was beginning to match sill outside her window, cold and damp. She wiped her face for what seemed like the millionth time that day. God, how could I have hurt him like that? His eyes, oh God, his eyes. Tears started to well up anew, much to her dismay. She looked at the clock on the nightstand. 3:28. She considered picking up her cell phone, calling him, talking him through what had just happened. But he was probably asleep by now.
So I'm not going to wake you,
I'll go easy on your heart.
I'll just touch your face and drift away;
Like smoke rings in the dark.
Danny sighed. It was already 3:30, and the rain was falling hard and fast outside his window. The sound that would usually soothe him into sleep wasn't doing anything for his broken heart, and he desperately wanted to just forget. The smell of cigarettes wouldn't let him. How come all the relationships end with one person smokin' in those songs she always listens to? He groaned and rolled over, hugging his pillow. There was little hope for sleep, but he had no doubt that the memory of her face would keep him awake all night.
I- I- I know I must be going,
'Cause love's already gone.
And all I'm taking with me are the pieces of my heart and
All I'll leave are smoke rings in the dark.