Just a quick A/N: I've been working on this for the past 24 hrs (it came to me yesterday) and I really wanted to get it out before the new episode aired tonight, so I apologize in advance if it feels a bit rushed. It's a bit of speculation on what could happen in 6.12.

THIS IS BASED ON SPOILERS FOR 6.12 (tonight's episode), SO YOU'VE BEEN WARNED – IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, TURN BACK NOW!!!!!

I own nothing. All mistakes are mine.

Enjoy!!

The Right Woman

Danny Messer desperately wanted to stop fighting with his wife Lindsay, but he knew that she had every right to be mad at him because the reason for their argument was completely his fault. Lindsay had found him sitting at his desk with a heating pad behind his back, and when she confronted him about his back and the fact that he had failed to mention that it was still bothering him after a couple of weeks, it had gotten pretty heated between them. But the worst part of the argument had come at the end:

"Look, Linds, I was only trying to protect you. I just pushed myself too far that day, and now I'm paying for it. That's on me. It has nothing to do with the fact that I came back too early, and you know I couldn't have taken more time off – we can't afford it. I'm sure that if I just take it easy for the next week, I'll be good again. Don't worry about it."

"You're my husband, so I'm gonna worry whether you think I should or not. Quiet honestly, if this had been the first time you've kept something from me, I'd probably believe that you were trying to protect me, but this is far from the first time this has happened. I think that you keeping things from me is more about power and you being in control in our relationship. Frankly, Messer, if you're looking for a wife who blindly follows you and who does and believes everything you tell her, you obviously married the wrong woman."

With that comment, Lindsay had stormed out of their shared office, leaving Danny in shock. He was taken aback by her parting comment – hurt by it really – but after thinking back on his behaviour over the last little while, especially since the shooting, it dawned on him that he was treating Lindsay almost the exact same way that his dad had treated his mom.

And now it was time for Danny to rectify his mistakes.

Lindsay arrived home to a quiet apartment, which was her first indication that something was going on. Usually when she arrived home after Danny, she would find Lucy and Danny playing in the living room, or Danny cooking in the kitchen while simultaneously trying to entertain Lucy in her highchair. It was still at least another half hour until Lucy's bedtime, so Lindsay had no idea why her home seemed to be deserted.

She had expected to come home and have things be a little off given the argument that the two of them had had at work, but she figured that she and Danny would finish their argument once Lucy was in bed. Lindsay was still torn about how she felt about their argument: part of her was still pissed, but the other part felt horrible for her parting shot at Danny.

Moving further into the apartment, Lindsay made her way toward the bedrooms when she found Lucy sitting in the middle of the hallway, playing with her favorite teddy bear. Lucy looked up and smiled at her mommy, leaving her bear behind as she crawled over to the wall and used it to push herself onto her legs. Lindsay crouched down, ready to catch the still-shaky infant, and noticed that Lucy had a piece of paper pinned to the front of her pyjamas. Lucy finally reached her destination and threw herself into Lindsay's arms, who stood up with the girl, hugged her and kissed her cheek. "What have you got here Luce?" Pulling Lucy away from her body, Lindsay began to read the note:

Dear Mommy,

Daddy is very sorry about what happened today and he hopes that you'll be willing to talk to him because he owes you a huge apology (and I agree).

If you're willing to talk to him, he's lying down in bed because his back is bothering him.

Love Lucy XOXO

Lindsay laughed despite herself and after picking up the discarded teddy bear, took Lucy with her to the bedroom. Peaking in, she found Danny lying flat on his back, craning his neck to stare anxiously at the doorway. Danny's worried faced eased a little at the sight of his wife.

"I can't believe it, Lucy's only just learned to walk and now she's writing in complete sentences with perfect grammar." Danny smiled at the ice breaker, appreciative that his wife was willing to talk with him. He waited until they were both on the bed, Lindsay sat at the foot of the bed while Lucy sat between them in the middle of the bed, completely engrossed by her teddy bear, before speaking.

"I'm really sorry Lindsay. I've been such an asshole," Danny cautiously mouthed the word to her, given that Lucy had a tendency to try and repeat whatever they said. "I shouldn't be keeping important things related to my recovery from you. And I don't want a robot for a wife – we're in this together as equals, and I know that's not how I've been treating you. We've not even been married for a year yet and I've already done this to you so many times. You deserve better than this – better than how my father treated my mom. He used to keep things from her, things that he didn't really care if Louie or I knew because we wouldn't dare cross him, but whenever Louie or I used to ask him why he didn't want us to tell her, he always told us that he was protecting her.

"The entire time my mom knew something was going on – you could see it on her face – but she never once asked Louie or me to tell her what it was. I'm not telling you all this as an excuse for my behaviour, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm really gonna try to undo the crap my father taught me – I don't want Lucy to have to grow up like that, seeing me lie to her mom, it's not right."

Lindsay sighed before responding. "Danny, you're not your father. I know that you truly think that you're doing what's best, but it really isn't the best thing to do in a relationship, keeping things from one another – it can kinda kill it."

Danny glanced at Lindsay in a panic and she realized that her choice of words, when coupled with the earlier parting jab, could be misconstrued. Lindsay quickly grabbed Danny's hand. "Relax, Danny, it hasn't killed us, I'm not going anywhere. I shouldn't have said what I did earlier, it was too far, but I was, and still am, so frustrated with you shutting me out. While I'm happy that you're gonna stop doing it, it may take some time for me to get through this, OK?"

Danny nodded. "I'll wait forever if I have to." Lindsay blushed at the remark and made a point of interlacing their fingers and giving his hand a firm squeeze.

The couple sat in silence for a little while and watched Lucy play with her teddy bear, but it wasn't long before Lucy's eyes began to get heavy and her head started drooping. "I'm gonna go put her to bed," Lindsay told him. Disentangling their hands, Danny pulled Lucy into his body and kissed her. "Goodnight sweetheart. I love you."

Lindsay took Lucy from him and placed her on her shoulder. Getting off the bed, Lindsay started toward the doorway when Danny called out to her. "I'm gonna go start dinner while you're putting her to bed." Danny sat up on the bed, but before he could stand up, Lindsay appeared in front of him. Looking up at her, Danny's eyes questioned what was going on. Ignoring the look, Lindsay leaned forward to kiss her husband. Danny had expected it to only be a quick peck on the lips, so he was a little surprised when Lindsay quickly deepened the kiss. Danny responded enthusiastically, but Lindsay pulled apart from him before he could really get into it and headed for the door once again. Danny glanced at her over his shoulder and was happy to see her look back at him and smile before heading for Lucy's room.

Danny felt his heart swell at that moment because despite the words that had been exchanged earlier on and his behaviour, he knew that Lindsay still loved him and wasn't willing to so easily give up on her relationship with Danny when it got a little complicated. It was in moments like this that Danny knew that he had married the right woman and knew that Lindsay felt the same way about him. Armed with that knowledge, Danny knew that he and Lindsay could make it through anything, good or bad.

As always, thanks for reading!!!!