A/N: Well who knew there were so many of you out there ready to get the Christmas holidays going a little early? :D
Thanks to all you lovelies who left a review for the first chapter. You have no idea how good it felt to finally publish that sucker. As I've said, I've been sitting on it for over a year and I've been dying to share it for-freaking-ever! Merci beaucoup to mckenzie, RandomTVFan30, CTI-Jenn, webdlfan, anonymous, Daisy1966, afrozenheart412, ioanhoratio, and Alex Joleta.
Rest assured – for those of you who have asked (with varying degrees of impatience!) – that I am still working on updates for Something Wicked and High School Daze. It's just that seeing as I already have this chapter lying around, I figured I'd share it with you ;)
We've got arriving in-laws and of course it wouldn't be a Messer Family story without little Lucy running around!
Enjoy!
Lindsay fluffed her hair, smiling at her reflection in the mirror. The nap had done her good, as had the shower Danny had insisted she take. The hot water had felt invigorating, and after blow-drying her hair and applying her makeup, she looked and felt more like herself.
"Babe? You almost done? They'll be here soon!"
"I'll be right out!" she called back, glancing at her watch. Her parents had landed in New York about an hour ago, calling from the airport to let them know their plane had arrived on time. When they had booked their flight, Danny had offered to go pick them up, but Dana Monroe had been insistent – this was their first trip to New York and they wanted to have what she referred to as the 'real' New York experience, which apparently meant shelling out a small fortune to take a cab all the way from the airport to their apartment.
Likewise, Danny's mother had called just before Lindsay got in the shower. They were leaving their house and were hoping to arrive around six o'clock, right around the same time as her parents.
Butterflies fluttered nervously in her stomach at the impending meeting. What if they didn't get along? She knew it was ridiculous – both she and Danny had made a point of familiarizing their parents with one another; telling stories, sharing photos. But nothing compared to actually meeting in person.
Slipping down the hall to the bedroom, Lindsay quickly changed into the outfit she had selected earlier that afternoon. She wanted to look good, but she didn't want to be overly formal. So she'd chosen a simple black skirt with a fitted red sweater. It was festive without being overwhelmingly so, and she thought it was actually kind of sexy in a subtle kind of way, which she knew Danny would love. Taking one last look in the full length mirror, she nodded her satisfaction at her appearance.
Emerging from the bedroom, a wide smile spread across her face as she watched Danny setting the table, chatting with Lucy who sat in her high chair, overseeing his progress.
"What do you think, Luce?" he asked, holding out two different coloured candles for her to choose from for the small centrepiece Lindsay had picked up the day before. "This one -" he held out a red candle followed by a similar candle in green, "- or this one?"
"Wed!" Lucy shouted, pointing excitedly to the red candle.
Danny smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before inserting the candle into the centrepiece. "Alright, baby. Red it is. Good choice, Luce."
"I hewp, Daddy," she chirped, clapping her hands.
"You sure did, kiddo."
"Yay, Yoo-see!"
"Hey, guys. Looks good," Lindsay said, crossing the living room and making her presence known.
Lucy turned and grinned at her mother, pointing to the table. "Mama! See? See? Yoo-see hewp!" she giggled. "Pwetty!"
"It looks beautiful, Lucy. Good job!" Lindsay praised her daughter, gently ruffling the little girl's curls. She looked up to see Danny gazing appreciatively at her, his eyes slowly moving down her body, and she felt her cheeks flushing with colour.
"Wow," he said, finally finding his voice. "Wow… you look so beautiful, Linds. I mean it. Really, really gorgeous."
"Thank you," she replied, smiling shyly back at him.
He rounded the table, taking her in his arms and pressing a delicate kiss to her lips. "You're welcome. Merry Christmas, baby."
"Merry Christmas, Danny."
"T'wis-mass!" Lucy shouted, and her parents turned to smile at her.
"Merry Christmas to you too, squirt," Danny said, taking her from her high chair and blowing a raspberry on her cheek.
"Daddy!" she squealed with delight, squirming in his arms.
Danny grinned at her, moving in as if to bestow another raspberry when he heard a knock at the door.
"Can you get that, honey?" Lindsay asked from the kitchen.
"Who's that, Luce?" he asked, jiggling his daughter in his arms. "Who's at the door?"
"Dat?" she asked, her eyes wide with excitement. "Dat, Daddy?"
"I don't know, Luce. Should we open it and find out?"
"Yah!"
Danny peered through the peephole then pulled open the door, smiling at the older couple standing out in the hall.
"Hey! Look who it is, Lucy!"
"Dat?" Lucy asked, burying her face shyly in Danny's neck, her little fingers gripping fistfuls of his shirt.
"It's Grandma and Grandpa," Danny whispered to her, gently stroking her back. "You remember when we went to visit them? Hey? Do you remember when we played with the horseys?"
"Haw-see?" Lucy said, her voice pitifully small as she slowly raised her head and stole a cautious peek at her grandparents.
"Hey there, little lady," John Monroe said, smiling and wiggling his fingers at his granddaughter. "You remember your old Grandpa, don't you?"
"G'ampa?" Lucy whispered, and John smiled encouragingly at her.
"That's right, Lucy. And who's this?" Danny asked, pointing to his mother-in-law. Dana smiled and gently stroked Lucy's cheek. "Is that your Grandma?"
"G'amma?"
"That's right, baby," Danny praised her, stepping back to let the Monroes into the apartment. "Can you say hello?" He loosened one little hand from his shirt, waving her arm. "Hi, Grandma. Hi, Grandpa."
Lucy stared at the pair of strangers for a moment, looking back and forth between the two of them. Finally she turned to Danny, pointing a chubby finger at her grandparents. "Tana?"
"That's right, Luce! Good girl," Danny said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "You saw Grandma and Grandpa in Montana!"
"Tana!" Lucy giggled, clapping her hands in glee. "Hi G'amma!" she said, waving at John and Dana, "Hi G'ampa!"
Danny handed Lucy over to her grandparents, who fussed and cooed over her while he grabbed their bags from out in the hall and closed the front door behind them.
"Oh, Lucy! You're getting to be such a big girl!" Dana said. She handed Lucy over to John and pulled Danny into a tight hug.
"Hi, Mom," he said, blushing slightly when she kissed his cheek. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Danny," she replied. "How are you?"
"I'm good, thanks," he said. "How was your flight?"
"Ugh," John grunted, handing Lucy back to Dana while he shrugged out of his coat, holding it out for Danny to put away. "I hate flying. Overrated way to travel if you ask me."
"I'm right with you on that one, sir… uh… Dad… um…" Danny stuttered, not sure if John's offer so many months ago to call him Dad was still on the table.
John grinned at him, clapping him on the shoulder. "Now I remember why I like you, son. You're a funny guy." Danny laughed nervously, while John and Dana moved further into the apartment, leaving him standing in the entrance way holding their coats. "Now, where's my little girl?" John asked loudly.
"Hi, Daddy!" Lindsay said, emerging from the kitchen and rushing into her father's open arms.
"Hi, Pumpkin," he said. "How's my favourite daughter?"
"I'm fine, Daddy," Lindsay replied, smiling up at him before turning to her mother and letting herself sink into the comforting embrace of Dana Monroe. "Hi, Mom."
"Oh, honey!" Dana gushed, "You look lovely! Doesn't she look lovely, John?" John smiled in response, taking Lucy from Dana and plopping himself down on the couch, bouncing the little girl on his knee. "Oh, we've missed you so much, Lindsay!"
"I miss you too, Mom," Lindsay said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm so glad you guys decided to come see us."
"Wild reindeer couldn't have stopped us," Dana said, giving Lindsay a watery smile as she wiped at her eyes. "Now, are we just going to stand here, or are you going to show me around your home?"
"Danny, can you watch the stuff in the kitchen?" Lindsay asked, "I'm just going to show Mom and Dad around."
"No problem, babe," he replied, giving her a wink before he moved to take his post in front of the stove.
"Thanks, honey," Lindsay said. "Dad, are you coming?"
Lindsay gave her parents a tour of the apartment, showing off the view of the city from their living room window, the kitchen and dining room, then down the hallway to the bedrooms.
"This is Lucy's room," she said, opening the door to reveal the nursery. "We moved her crib into our room for now so you two will have some privacy," she explained, gesturing to the bed they'd borrowed from Mac's spare room for the occasion. "It's not much, but I hope you guys will be comfortable."
"It's lovely, sweetie. Thank you," Dana said. "Are you sure it wouldn't be easier if we stayed in a hotel? We don't want to intrude."
"Oh, no," Lindsay assured her. "No, we're happy to have you. And Lucy doesn't mind, does she?" Lucy grinned at her in response. "No, it's fine. For her, it's kind of a special treat to get to sleep in our room."
"But won't the two of you… I mean, you can't really… not with Lucy in the room…"
"Dana!" John interrupted, giving her a withering glare. "Please… don't start that again."
"Oh, John. Stop being such a prude. How do you think we got little Lucy here?" she huffed at him. "Did you think she just appeared out of thin air? They had sex. Now deal with it."
"Secks," Lucy said matter-of-factly, nodding her head at her grandfather. He stared back at her, a horrified expression on his face.
"Now look what you've done," he muttered as Dana erupted in laughter, taking Lucy from his arms and tickling her gently under her chin.
"Oh, my God," Lindsay sighed to herself. Out loud, she tried to continue the tour. "Okay, so moving on… the bathroom is there," she pointed at the door at the end of the hall, "And this is our bedroom here." She stopped in front of a closed door, not at all sure that she wanted to open it, especially after the recent topic of conversation. But her mother would have none of it, reaching past her and pushing open the door.
"Oh, Lindsay, what a beautiful room!" Dana enthused. "Hmm. The closet is kind of small," she mused, "But, oh my! What a nice big bed! And that mirror…" She eyed the large mirror hanging from the wall across from the bed and winked at Lindsay, who blushed furiously, knowing that her mother understood full well what that mirror was for. "Very nice, don't you think, John?"
John stood out in the hallway, peering briefly around the door frame before nodding his head and giving a grunt of approval. Then he turned and disappeared into the living room, muttering something about needing a drink.
"Oh, don't mind him," Dana said, smiling as she sat on the edge of the bed, "He's just grumpy because he doesn't like the idea of his little girl growing up, that's all. He'll come around."
"Yeah, well, it would probably help if you didn't bring up the topic of s-e-x again, especially around Lucy."
Dana grinned at her then rubbed her nose against Lucy's. "It's not my fault that she's such a clever girl," she said. "You're a clever girl, aren't you, Lucy?"
"Yup," Lucy replied.
Lindsay rolled her eyes at her mother. "Okay, so that's the bedroom. Now, can we please go back to the living room?" she asked. "And can you please behave yourself, Mom?"
"I'll try my best. But I'm not making any promises," Dana sing-songed as she waltzed past Lindsay out the bedroom door.
Lindsay sighed, closing the door as she stepped out into the hall. She loved her mother, she really did. But sometimes…
God, I've missed Dana Monroe! Kind of forgot how much fun she was to write ;)
I hope you've enjoyed seeing the Monroes again after a lengthy absence. Next up? The Messers!
