You've Got a Way A Danny/Lindsay CSI:NY Fanfic
Chapter 2
New York Minute
Author's Note: This is my first fanfic ever! Reading and Reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks for the great reviews on chapter one!
Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY! Wouldn't it be nice, though!
Lindsay was giddy with excitement. Her two weeks in Montana were done and she was headed home. Home. She wasn't sure when New York had become her home, but she had a feeling that it had something to do with Danny.
Danny. They had talked several times since he had returned to New York. She had updated him on the sentencing component of the trial. He had told her of some of the cases he was working. They had not discussed the kiss they had shared or how their relationship was growing. There was an unspoken agreement to take things slowly.
He'd wanted to pick Lindsay up at the airport, but she had refused, wanting to get settled before seeing him. She agreed to meet him at Sarducci's after she had unpacked and refreshed herself. She smiled at the thought of Sarducci's. They had gone there almost a year previously for the first time. Danny had discovered the café while he was processing a scene across the street and had wanted to try it out. They had gone there the night of the bombing after leaving Mac and Stella with Flack at the hospital.
Flashback
"You still want that ride?" Danny asked.
Lindsay responded with a slight smile, "Yeah, sure."
They bid goodbye to Mac who was standing watch over Flack. As they headed to the SUV, Lindsay asked, "Do you mind if we find someplace to eat? I don't think I'm ready to head home yet." She was still feeling a little shook up from the blast.
Danny replied, "Sure, I ran across this little café a few weeks ago and have been dying to try it." The truth was that Danny didn't want to go home either. So much had happened in the last few months, hell, the last year, that Danny was having trouble processing his emotions.
They arrived at Sarducci's and ever the cops, headed to a table near the back that would allow both of them to see the door. They both ordered the grilled sandwiches that made the café famous, Danny's with everything and Lindsay's with everything but the jalapeños. Danny teased her about that, "You eat bugs but you can't take the heat?"
"Not tonight," she replied dryly.
"How you feelin'?" Danny asked in reference to the injuries she received from the blast this morning.
She grimaced slightly, "A lot better than Don."
"Yeah, aren't we all? This has been one hell of a year for the team, Aiden, Stella and now Flack."
"Not to mention you and Louie. How are you holding up, Danny?"
"Honestly, I have my good days and my bad days. On the bad days, I still feel so guilty 'bout Louie n' Aiden. I should have been able to do something to protect them both. And don't go sayin' that they made their own choices and that there was nothing I coulda done. My head knows that, but my heart… not so much."
"I wouldn't say anything so trite. I know what it's like to carry guilt around. I wish I knew how to make it go away. Justice has been served to those who hurt Louie and Aiden. Sonny Sassone and DJ Pratt will never see the outside again. At least you have that much."
"Whadda mean? What do you feel guilty for?"
Lindsay shook her head, "A split second decision."
When it became clear that Lindsay was not going to explain anymore than that, Danny changed the subject of their conversation. He mentioned the latest draft picks for the NFL. "How do you know so much about football?" he asked.
"When you grow up with two brothers and a father who lived and breathed football throughout high school, you get pretty well versed in it. Strictly self-preservation!"
"You play any?"
"A little, every year for the annual Turkey Bowl. The whole town heads to the field on the day after Thanksgiving to play. It is supposed to be flag football, but somehow, every year, I come home filthy and bruised. I have been on the championship team for the last seven years!"
They progressed through several more topics and cups of coffee before there was a lull in the conversation. Danny glanced at his watch and exclaimed, "Whoa, Montana, the rooster is about to crow! I better get you home to rest. It's been a long day."
"Thanks, Danny, for talking. I really needed it."
"So did I," he admitted.
End Flashback
Lindsay arrived at Sarducci's fifteen minutes early. She recalled the last time she had agreed to a date with Danny and how she didn't show. She didn't want him to have the slightest worry about her standing him up this time, hence the early arrival. She giggled as she pulled open the door to reveal Danny already sitting at 'their' table. He had arrived twenty minute early, anxious to see her.
As she entered the shop, he jumped up, nearly knocking the water pitcher of water off the table. Once she reached the table, he pulled her into a bear hug, inhaling her unique scent. She relaxed into his arms, all the tension flowing out of her body, content just to be near him.
They settled into their chairs and proceeded to order lunch. While they waited for their sandwiches to arrive, Danny asked if Lindsay felt ready to return to work.
"I've been ready for about a week and a half!" she replied, laughingly. "A little time off goes a long way in Montana. My first shift is tomorrow morning."
"Great, Stella will be thrilled. She's been complaining that she's the only woman on a team of 'cocky males,' as she put it."
Their sandwiches arrived, Danny's again with jalapeños and Lindsay's without. Lindsay leaned across the table to glance at Danny's sandwich. "Can I taste the jalapeños?"
Danny smirked, "Only when I'm done."
She blushed at the promise of a kiss, "Sound good to me!"
They finished their sandwiches and headed towards Central Park to talk. Danny was the one to bring up the status of their relationship. They had paused by a fountain in the park when he began to speak. "Lindsay, all I am asking for is what I asked for last time, a chance to get to know you better, dinner, a few drinks and some laughs. We can take things slow and see how it works out."
"I'd like that, Danny," she replied with a smile that extended deep into her soul.
Danny placed his arms around her waist and drew her gently to himself. Their second kiss was even more magical than their first had been, laced with excitement and passion. They pulled apart and continued to walk, hand in hand, through the park.