Author's Note : Hey, ...first allow me to thank jorizo, rapidtetv, unlikelyRLshipper, laurzz and afrozenheart412 for reviewing and finding humour in the last chapter. I had tonnes of fun writing and visualizing it. Sorry for the late update. Hope you enjoy it alright?
Disclaimer : CSI NY. Love it! Crazy for it! Can't wait for it! But do not own it.
XOX
Lindsay sighed and snuggled into her pillow. Breathing in the scent, it must be a new kind of detergent that they were using for the bed linens. Somehow it gave out a more masculine and outdoor kind of sensation.
Not the kind of vibes you get from a bunch of guys after their game of Kick the Ball out in the dusty field. But more like, like, like... those visions of a man when... (AN : You know those cologne ads for men on tv (our present time, of course), where they are all looking hhhhot and just so so so oh oozing with hypnotizing appeal? And you are practically giddy with the imaginary scent? And your nose twitched towards the tv screen? Yeah like that!). Lindsay hugged her pillow tighter. Wouldn't you?
If she was dreaming, there was no way she wanted to wake up any time soon, Lindsay thought. This must be a dream. Only in a dream would Danny be carrying her across her Dad's garden and leaving his size12 boot print half inch deep in the soft soil in between the daisy and the lily bush. Big shoe print. Woot!
White clouds were fluttering by in the sky. The wind was blowing a gentle breeze that caressed his hair lightly and sending errand locks falling on his glasses and obstructing his view. But more importantly, obstructing her view of his eyes. She reached up and pushed them back. He smiled. His 'Hey' was hypnotizing, making her feeling light and cuddled.
There was always music in the background when the hero carries the heroine somewhere. Lindsay sigh at the sound of music that was in her ear. She must be dreaming, she told herself as a rhythmic sound emitted from her pillow. A very rhythmic beat. A soothing beat. A beat that was getting louder. Almost tribal.
Then they were suddenly in a horizontal position with his arms tight around her.
This must be turning into one hell of a dream, she mused. Being in the arms of her man. Hearing the beat of drums that ushered a wild and hip gyrating movement. Oh Deary Me! Is that his hips moving down there?
Then like in every girl's nightmare, SOMEBODY just HAVE to spoil the moment. Usually in the most embarrassing way by a member of her own beloved family.
"Pumpkin! Pumpkin!"
Lindsay opened her eyes to find her father standing over her. She was lying on top of Danny with her father's underwear that she had strung up earlier, crushed between them. Definitely a new kind of detergent. The drawstring was around Danny's neck. His glasses were askew. One of his discarded boots, was stuck in the mud between the flower beds. It IS a size 12! Woot!
It was his heart that was beating. She could hear it now. Oh WOW! And he was trying to sit up, wriggling to help her up at the same time.
Ordinarily Danny would have loved to have the sweetie he just met, stay in his arms. But having landed on a rose bush full of thorns, draped in someone's unmentionables after slipping on the slick mud and having her father standing over them with a scalpel in hand and a bloodied apron covering his torso, well. Well. Wouldn't YOU wanna run?
XOX
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid"
"Lindsay? Pumpkin?"
"Yes Dad?" Lindsay answered her father who was outside her bedroom door.
"Sweet Pumpkin, we are starting dinner soon. Think you could join us after you've finished knocking your head on your bedpost?"
"Dad..."
"Listen. I know you want to hide after what happened. But then think of the company that you'll be missing downstairs. Looks like a very nice boy. Even calls me 'Sir'."
"Boy!"
"Alright." Sid sighed. "Man. He is a man. I know that. But calling him a boy just sounds less...hmm...scary. For me."
Lindsay opened her door and found her father standing there, clutching her late mother's portrait.
"Why are you holding Mama's portrait Dad?" Forgetting her initial reason for opening her door.
"It gives me courage to talk to you about...er.. flying poultry and insects before it's too late?"
"Huh?"
"Your Mama had the chance to talk to your sisters about, about, about, that, that... you know."
"You want to talk about THAT now?"
"I'm not sure if you were..er.. informed." Her father quoted his fingers on the last word with a sheepish smile. "Do you know where babies from?"
"Unprotected sex?"
The good physician was so shocked at her reply that he could only impersonate his pet goldfish. Bulging eyes and gasping mouth. "Don't shock me like that, Pumpkin. And simple yes or no would have been sufficient."
"Aww Dad. Stella and Jessica taught me all about The Birds and The Bees. But I don't understand why they call it The Birds and The Bees though. Why didn't they call it The Ant and The Elephant or The Giraffe and The Grasshopper or.. OR simply straight to the point : The Man and The Woman?"
"Yes. Yes." He father agreed.
She shook her head. "No. no. I still don't get it. I mean, bees? They collect honey for a living. And birds? How do they come into the picture? Wait! Unless. The bees don't get enough of, you know, from their own kind. Let's face it, there's only one queen bee. She can't service the whole hive, can she? So the bees go to the birds. Now, wait a minute. The bee is so small that it would disappear right up the bird's..."
"Oh is that your grandmama calling?" Her father interrupted.
"She died years ago Dad." Lindsay rolled her eyes.
"Really? I could have sworn I heard her voice." He exhale and chuckled nervously. "Right. Now that we've got that out the way, let's go down for dinner shall we?"
"Dad?" Lindsay hugged her father's arm and rested her cheek on his shoulder as they walked down the stairs.
"Yes Pumpkin?"
"Why did you say it was scary just now?"
"It's kind of scary to think that my baby is all grown up. You don't get married to a boy. Boys are friends when you are young. And they are too young to take away my baby. From me. You know what I mean, Pumpkin?"
"I do. But I won't ever leave you Dad. I love you."
"I love you too." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "So, let's go and interrogate our guest. Let's see if I can scare the pants of him or see if he is man enough to handle it, shall we?"
"That sounds good. Really good. Really really good!" She smirked.
"That smirk don't look good. Really don't look good." Sid frowned at his daughter.
She giggled and hugged him tighter. Her father sighed and ruffled her short hair.
"You know, it's not like I've never seen it before." Lindsay couldn't resist goading her father.
"Where?" He gasped as she expected him to. "By the way, when I mentioned 'it', I was referring to my interrogation technique not ..." He tilted his head downwards. His daughter rolled her eyes.
"I've seen you and Adam worked on lots of dead bodies. But I must say that they are not really impressive to look at. They lack or shall I say slack..." She dimpled at him.
"Lindsay Hammerback! It's ill to speak of the dead." He scolded.
"So you are saying that a live one will be impressive?"
"I...I...Is that your grandmama I hear?"
"Oh fine Dad! I get it. You are not comfortable discussing sex, in verb or noun or adjective, with me." Sid exhaled a breath of relieve. Which didn't last long when his cheeky daughter added.
"Come on Dad. It's rude to keep our guest waiting. And by the way, if you are still planning on scaring his pants off, to my delight might I add (AN : I can see you all nodding too), you might want to lose Mama's portrait first."
XOX
During dinner, Sid Hammerback was like an eagle eyeing its prey. Watching every move. Noting every twitch. Homing on every little action.
After running a background check on his guest with Sheldon and after questioning the man personally, Sid sat back and observed.
His daughter.
She dropped her fork twice. Her napkin, thrice. And she would even have pushed the pepper shaker off the table if Sid hadn't caught it in time. These were all done after each time Sid asked Danny a question.
Their guest must have realized something was going on when he too dropped his fork to see if there was something lurking under the table. His perfect timing earned him a 'Hey' from Lindsay as she too bent to retrieve her fork. A discreet cough was heard but they lingered a few seconds longer as he took his time to smile his 'Hey' back.
The thud of an apple dropped on the floor and the scrape of Sid's chair finally made them sat straight up.
After that, dinner continued with easy flowing conversation and no more 'Heys' under the table. Only a little game of footsie went unnoticed by the good Doctor.
Danny was invited to come back the next day for lunch. In his heart, he would come back at five in the morning to fix breakfast for the Hammerback household if it means he could see Lindsay again.
XOX
"Really? Size doesn't matter you say?" Lindsay eyed Danny in disbelief.
"No..no...nnnoooo...ohh. no.. it ...rrrreally ...donna.. matt...tter." He groaned.
"But that's not what the girls said down at the..."
"Have...have... ahhh... you ever...trrrried it yourself?" He hissed.
"No."
"Ahhh...yyeeooowww...Lindsay? Think we coouuld...stop this..for a a a minute?" He wrapped his hands around her wrist.
"Am I that bad?" She jerked her body backwards.
"No. You are doing great. I'm just not used to it that's all. How long have you been doing this?" He reached for her hands again.
"You are my first customer." She admitted shyly.
"So I'm your guinea pig?"
"Fine. I'll give it to you for free. And of course not. I've tried on others before."
"Like...?"
"My family and Sheldon." She bit her lips.
"And...?"
"My sisters love it. The always asked for more. Adam. He can't keep his mind off his work. Every time I do it him, I get no reaction. Shel? Too ticklish. Dad?" She sighed. "He usually falls asleep after two minutes."
"I see.."
"What? What's with that grin?"
"Nothing. Just wondering if you are gonna have to do it by the book all the time." Pointing to the open book beside her with diagrams and notes scribbles all over.
"Until I get it right. So. You still going to let me practice it on you?"
"As long as I don't have to get off my back, I am at your mercy. You are welcome to practice your reflexology on my feet any time."
"Thank you." She began messaging his foot again. She managed to hit the point on his heel and he groaned. "Sorry."
"No. That's a good groan." He winked despite grimacing.
"So. You were telling me about the size thing."
"A word of advise? Don't believe everything people tell you. Try it yourself. Oh! That felt so good."
"I don't think Dad will allow me to. And for the record, have you ever heard of heroines having to work for a living in fairy tales?"
"No. But are they allowed to have stimulating conversations with the hero in fairy tales?"
"This one we're in is rated 'T'."
"Ahh! That's explains me being half naked earlier."
" * cough * Drool * cough * worthy and smart! So, what other requirements are there?"
"Good riding skills and stamina. And maybe a good sense of direction."
"A good sense of direction?"
"Of course! In fact, that's a must if you want to get to your ultimate destination. There's no point in becoming a messenger with the Pony Express if you keep getting lost all the time."
"That's true. Why did you stop doing that?"
"I got shot. I was not able to ride for almost a year."
"You were shot? Where?"
"Lift your eyes just a little higher than my belt and you'll have it right. But it's round the back." He winked.
"Why?"
"Someone had a little trouble understand the meaning of the phrase 'Don't shoot the messenger.' When I got better, given my skill and natural talent, my Boss gave me this present job."
"An F.B.I?"
"Yeah."
"So you have a natural talent for telling which is good or bad just by looking?"
"Yes. But not always."
"Do people run away when they see you?"
"No. Most of them don't even know I'm there. They shouldn't really. It's supposed to be an undercover job. Anyway, I need to know the truth not have them put on false front. That would defeat the purpose of my job."
"True. What good is Food & Beverage Inspector if you can't catch them in the act? You know, we are lucky we have you making sure we are guaranteed good and safe food when we dine out in inns and taverns, Danny."
"Stop goofing off. We still have not finish this foot massaging session."
"I get it."
"What?"
"Since you don't take compliments and gratitude easily, next time I'll just a slip a Thank You card under your saddle or something."
"Wiseass." And he threw a cushion at her. Her giggles were music to his ears. But his smile smirk turned to grimace when she found a point on his foot that coz to hold his breath or scream like a baby.
"Who is the wisea...er... wise one now?"
"Can't swear can you? OWWWW!"
"No. But I have the power to bring you down to your knees." She said innocently.
"I might just do that one day." He whispered to himself.
"Do you travel a lot?"
"Yeah. Most of the time. I can't stay at a place too long."
"You think you'll ever settle down?"
"Marriage?"
"No. That's not what I meant. I mean would you ever stay at one place if your job requires you to."
"I can't be an F.B.I forever. I have plans to start a DNA project, when the time is right."
"DNA?"
"Short for 'Danny's Neighbourhood All-You-Can-Eat'. My travels have shown me there are people who are not so fortunate as some others. I see hungry people and what they'll do to just have a bite to eat. The children always gets to my heart. I planned to open a hall that serves free food for these people and call it DNA."
"Awesome!"
"Awesome?"
"Something that's really awe inspiring! You are so getting another card!"
XOX
Danny spent some more time in Csiny. Most of the time was spent with Lindsay. They went for walks, rides and other activities that involves two people moving. (AN : TSK! Shame on you for thinking of anything naughty!)
He had fun having her showing him how to use the slingshot. Her arms around his shoulder was certainly more than fun. Her cheek so close to his that he couldn't see the target five feet in front of him.
She really enjoyed the delicious snacks that he made her. He was quite a good cook and having fed her little bits of vegetable or fruits as he cuts them, was simply more delicious. She never knew that the kitchen counter was such a useful place.
He agreed to one day let her try acupuncture on his back. One day. Much, much, later, one day. Not so soon, one day. In the meantime, he was happy as she was ecstatic, when he stripped his shirt off and let her study his back. Studying the muscle, feeling the bones and getting interrupted every time by someone or other.
Alas, as in all fairy tales, evil lurks.
One day, as Sheldon was again engaged in his part-time job, collecting water samples by the lake, he spotted a messenger arriving on a horse. He waved to Danny and Lindsay who were having a picnic by the water's edge.
Dun-dun-dunnnn...
TO BE CONTINUED...again...
Stay tuned to see the concluding episode in the coming chapter. In the meantime, please tell me if you enjoyed that.