A/N: Alright, so let's have confession time. This isn't a chuffing oneshot, nor is it a few chapters. I was just kidding myself, obviously. I don't have a plan as of yet, but I have an idea of what I'm going to do. If you guys are interested, Fred and I can write it. Let me know what you guys think :)
Must say as a side note, the response to the second chapter was amazing! I was so thrilled that so many of you were pleased to see a second chapter! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this. Huge thank yous are due to: montanascreed, mckenzie, Sweet LIL loz, ck, messerlovesmontana, webdlfan, Thorne Lockehart, LoveIsInTheAir4DL, Daisy1966, hope06, brendanakai, afrozenheart412, 18lzytwner, alexindigo, Gigglesforcsi and CSINYbabyy. You guys are brilliant, thank you! :)
Sitting back in his seat, Danny watched carefully as Lindsay patiently sat with Ella, his oldest cousin's daughter, as they worked together on the puzzle that Lindsay had bought for her. From a case a couple of weeks ago, Danny had been given an inkling that Lindsay was good with children. With the doll, Sophie, and Abbie, Danny had watched from across the precinct when Abbie had been, quite frankly, a pain in the butt and not breathed a word about the pivotal secret that Sophie had held. And despite the initial look of shock on Lindsay's face at the little girl's refusal to share her secret that would help them essentially solve their case, she kept her cool. He knew for a fact that he'd have had a lot less patience and would have probably ended the conversation with bashing his head against a wall. But not Lindsay. She had an overwhelming amount of patience that quite frankly, touched Danny.
She'd been watching Ella get restless shortly after they'd finished dinner, and she'd quickly side-stepped any drama by offering Ella the opportunity to open the present that Lindsay had brought for her; which had obviously gotten Danny's attention. Although the puzzle that Lindsay had purchased was only something small, and would undoubtedly be hidden at the back of the closet come the end of January, Danny knew that the small gift was going to be their lifesaver for the rest of the day. It was a relatively big puzzle for a five year old – at one hundred pieces, Danny predicted that Ella would lose interest after being unable to match pieces together... but Lindsay had proven him wrong, and rather than have Ella work on the puzzle herself – Lindsay had sat on the floor with her as they worked on it together. Danny had watched them, mesmerised for fifteen minutes, before Cindy had reappeared in the room after slipping outside for a cigarette. Since then, he'd resorted to stealing quick glances every now and then.
The more time he spent watching Lindsay interact with Ella, the more he realised how easily Lindsay fit into his life... and how awkward it was to make Cindy fit. He knew that it was wrong, but when he compared the two women; he knew exactly who it was that would be, hopefully, spending the next Christmas with him and his family... and just maybe the Christmas after that too. If Danny Messer had been confused with his mixed feelings before, Christmas Day had effectively given him a concrete understanding of exactly what he wanted. He wanted Lindsay Monroe. And not just in the sense that he wanted her for the time being; but rather, he could see him with her for... well, for as long as she'd have him.
All of his internal anguish aside, Christmas day dinner had gone as well as Danny could have hoped. Cindy had behaved herself, and Lindsay had tried to reach out to his girlfriend and form some kind of rapport with the woman. Granted she'd had very little luck with Cindy offering one worded answers, but he couldn't fault Lindsay for trying – after all, nobody else had made any effort with his girlfriend. As he progressed through his meal, he could feel himself reaching his limit, but he couldn't help himself as he reached for his third portion of Lindsay's sweet potatoes. They'd taken up the majority of space on his plate and he'd dribbled the sweet and sticky sauce all over his dinner; which hadn't gone unnoticed by Cindy. Every time Lindsay received a compliment about them, Danny could feel Cindy tense next to him.
Present exchanging, however, had not been as... easy going. The purchases that Lindsay had made for Danny's immediate family were well received and highly appreciated. She'd gotten safe items; but all things that surprisingly fit Danny's family perfectly. For his mother, Lindsay had bought a festive baking cook-book; one that her own mother swore by. She'd given his father a sweater that surprisingly fit him like a glove and suited his no-fuss dress sense perfectly; and for Louie, she'd given him a framed picture of Danny and himself; one that she'd secretly stolen from Danny's Facebook profile. Although Louie didn't express his emotion; there was a sparkle in his eyes that told Lindsay he'd been touched by the small, but thoughtful present. Then there was the puzzle she'd purchased for Ella, the fire truck she'd gotten for Ethan and the chocolates she'd put out for everyone else to nibble on.
Danny turned as he acknowledged Cindy speaking to him; he nodded and offered some words in response, and quickly turned his attention back to the space on the living room floor where Lindsay and Ella were getting excited over a chunk of the puzzle they'd been working on.
"It fits, Lindsay! It fits!"
"Connect it to the rest of the picture," Lindsay instructed. "But make sure you do it gently, we don't want to ruin all of our hard work, do we?"
Ella shook her head adamantly and Danny watched as the little girl took great care in connecting the two parts of the puzzle together. The smile on her face was huge and stretched across her face as she beamed towards Lindsay.
"Good job, Ella." Lindsay smiled brightly. "You were super with that."
"You helped me," Ella pointed out. "It's only because you helped me."
"I didn't do anything," Lindsay shook her head. "It was all you, you clever girl... you keep going with this okay? I'm going to go and get a drink and I'll be right back sweetie."
Ella glanced up to Lindsay with bright green eyes and nodded, "But come back, k?"
"I will." She laughed as she ruffled Ella's hair playfully before turning to look at Cindy. "Want to come with me?"
"For a drink?" Cindy glanced at Lindsay before turning to look at Danny. "Sure." She placed a long kiss to Danny's lips; leaving Lindsay with no choice but to look away from the display of affection. Uncomfortable with the situation, Lindsay cleared her throat when she realised that neither had surfaced for air in their kiss a few moments later. Danny broke away first, with a slight look of confusion, mixed with annoyance plastered across his features.
Cindy stood silently and led the way to the kitchen. Together, they passed Danny's mother and father whom were still sat at the dining room table with their fingers linked together, laughing and talking quietly together. Lindsay stood for a prolonged moment as she soaked in the image of Danny's parents. Although her parents were still very much together; it had been a long time since she'd seen them so loved-up like she was currently witnessing with Danny's parents. Stress of a building a life together and the obstacles they had faced as a family, she assumed, had wedged a block in-between them that they hadn't been able to move for a number of years. A block that had her name written in big, bolded letters. Although she'd tried not to feel guilty about it; sometimes she couldn't help but wonder what if - what would her parents be like now if they hadn't faced what they had to in the aftermath of the Diner shooting? She knew that they still very much loved one another, but the spark wasn't as bright as it had once been. Realising however, that she was staring and lost in a reverie, Lindsay quickly made her way into the kitchen, where Cindy was stood tapping her foot against the linoleum, waiting for her.
"What were you looking at?" she questioned as she let out a sigh. She then turned away from Lindsay as she peered at the desserts, displayed across the kitchen counter in their cling-film, waiting for everyone to decide that they were hungry enough for their third course.
"Danny's parents." Lindsay answered as she went to the fridge and grabbed a drink for herself and Cindy. "They were sat giggling and holding hands at the table and I couldn't help but stare. It was pretty sweet to see actually. Danny's a lucky guy seeing his parents like that together."
"Mhmm." Cindy commented under her breath as she accepted the drink Lindsay was handing to her. "Lovely."
Lindsay took a deep breath before taking a drink her of beverage to calm her nerves... and give her the confidence to say what she was about to. "Listen Cindy, I get that it must be hard for you... seeing Danny go to work every day and spending all day with me. I get that. But I promise there's nothing going on between us. We're just friends. And I'd really like for us to be friends too-"
"-So he tells me," Cindy interrupted her.
"I'm a little confused." Lindsay stepped in, ready to defend herself. "Have I done something to upset you, Cindy?"
"No," Cindy shook her head. "No you've been perfectly sweet today; overly sweet if I'm honest."
"Excuse me?" Lindsay raised her brow.
"Do you think I'm stupid Lindsay? It's painfully obvious that you and Danny aren't just friends."
"I'm not sure I know what you mean." Lindsay said crossing her arms over her chest; an unconscious move to protect herself from what she expected was about to come.
Cindy stared at Lindsay with an unnerving glint of something vicious within her eyes. "See, it's just... I was going through Danny's pockets a few weeks ago and there was a stub to a tribute band, then in the other pocket there was receipt for two burgers... it just so happens that on that same night, Danny told me that he had to work late and cancelled on me. You're good at piecing together puzzles Lindsay; tell me, what conclusion would you have come to if you'd been presented with that hard evidence."
Lindsay licked her lips as the angry butterflies in her stomach spread through her entire body. While Cindy was well within her right to question Danny's actions – and probably Lindsay's too – she didn't like Cindy's tone of voice; nor did she like the attitude she was receiving from the woman stood opposite her. "Well, we're friends," Lindsay began defensively. "It's not uncommon for friends to go to dinner together, Cindy. It's nothing malicious or spiteful at the end of the day. It's just innocent."
"And do friends go to crappy concerts too?" Cindy raised her eyebrows. "I'm not as stupid as you think I might be, Lindsay Monroe." She began. "I know you like him; it's plastered all over your face, okay? You think you're subtle bringing all of these gifts and homemade food dishes, but the thing is, he's mine; not yours. He could have split up with me for you, but he still hasn't. What does that tell you?"
As a last resort to keep herself in check, Lindsay bit her lip harder than necessary, drawing a little bit of blood as she did so. The last thing she wanted was to get into a fight with this... woman. But she had to give it to her, Cindy was doing a fine job of talking Lindsay into a slanging match.
"He tolerates you, Lindsay." Cindy continued on. "He knows he has to put up with you at work, and he's figuring that if he spends a bit of time with you, get you comfortable with him and if he manipulates you to make you think that he likes you; he can push the paperwork off on you at the end of the day; get you to do the stuff that he doesn't want to do. Get with it, sweetheart. Danny isn't anything you could get your hands on. And I mean, come on; are you really anything to write home about? I didn't think so."
With that, Cindy downed the rest of her drink and turned on her heel, heading back into the living room. Lindsay swallowed the lump in her throat and ran her tongue over her now bleeding lip. She could feel the tears beginning to form in her eyes and knew that she had to slip out of the house quickly so that she could muster up a little bit of the dignity that was left in order to face Cindy and Danny after that... altercation. She slipped from the kitchen, into the hallway and tried to shut the front door as quietly as possible.
Letting out a sigh of relief once the freezing chill hit her, she let the first tear fall. She was smart enough to know that the amount of alcohol in her system was the main culprit for the tears slipping down her cheeks; but a part of her also argued that Cindy's spiteful and hateful words had hit Lindsay's insecurities with a great force. It would have been silly to deny the fact that on some level, Cindy was right – technically Danny was still with her; he hadn't broken up with her for Lindsay. And although they'd shared a kiss not an hour previous; he was still with Cindy. And, come to think of it - was she really anything to write home about? She was confident enough in herself to appreciate a compliment; but really, was she anything special? She'd thought that Danny had thought she was but now... she wasn't too sure.
She swiped at her tears once again and jumped as she felt a blanket being draped across her shoulders. She turned and through her blurry eyes, she could see the outline of Larry Messer. Absolutely speechless, Lindsay wrapped the blanket around her a little more, and shuffled across the top step, offering an invitation for Danny's father to take a seat next to her if he wanted to.
They sat in silence for a few moments; tears' slipping down Lindsay's cheek and Larry's heavy breathing filling the quiet surroundings.
"I heard what she said," Larry Messer's mixed Italian and New York accent broke the silence. "And I'll tell you right now that she hasn't got a damn clue."
Lindsay sniffled and licked her lip, removing the metallic taste from the skin; cursing herself for biting her lip so hard. "I'm not so sure."
"Well quite frankly, if you believe a word of that, Lindsay; you're as dumb as she is." Larry said.
"Thanks," Lindsay laughed.
"I'm serious; it appears that as I've aged, I've gained this thing called experience and let me tell you; I know a lot more than you think I do... I can tell you with great confidence that I know a hell of a lot more about you than I do her. Danny may be with her, Lindsay, but he loves you. He doesn't know it yet, but he does – and if he doesn't yet, then he will in time. Don't let what she said make you change what you feel for him. Don't allow her to spoil the connection that you two so obviously have with one another."
"I just..." Lindsay sighed. "I feel like I made a mistake in coming today."
"A mistake? Sweetheart, I would never have tasted your sweet potatoes if you hadn't come today; and that would have been a tragedy in itself. You've gotta remember that everything happens for a reason – it might not be clear why right now, but soon you'll make sense of why you came today."
"To mess up Danny's relationship I'm guessing."
"He's good at doing that himself." Larry smirked, "He doesn't need your help, honey."
Lindsay turned to smile at Danny's father. "I'm sorry, I just..." she let out a long sigh. "It's hard to explain."
"Dating's definitely hard," Larry nodded. "That's why I'm so lucky Denise snapped me up when she did. She saved me a lot of heartache; because there's no way on this earth I would have ever gathered up enough courage to ask her out. You don't have to worry about that with Danny. Once he comes to his senses, he'll fight to the death for you, Lindsay. He goes in head-first and heart-strong with everything he does."
"Heart-strong?" Lindsay questioned.
"His heart knows what it wants. He might not seem it, but he's very strong willed."
Lindsay nodded in understanding. "But... what if he wants Cindy? I couldn't blame him; he's already with her, it's familiar... it's the easy option."
"What is it that they say?" Larry thought for a moment, "Nothing that's worthwhile is ever easy. Remember that, Lindsay. It might come in handy someday."
Lindsay smiled and glanced down to her lap. "I should probably call my Dad." She said softly, "he's good at this kind of thing... like you."
"We all have our strengths," Larry smiled as he stood from the step and then offered his hand to Lindsay to help her up. "I'd get something on that cut though, hon. It doesn't look too good."
Lindsay shook her head. "Back home my Dad always used to say that it was better to let it breathe; I'll be okay."
"I know you will be," Larry rubbed her back softly. "And I don't just mean about your lip, you know?"
"I know." Lindsay smiled knowingly.
Danny craned his neck as he caught sight of Lindsay slipping up the stairs; leading to their second storey. From his place on the couch, he could see Lindsay's puffy eyes and slightly swollen lip. Coupling that with the smug look on Cindy's face and his father's presence in the living room after spending the majority of the day with his mother; Danny managed to figure out that Lindsay and Cindy's exchange in the kitchen hadn't been a particularly friendly one.
Not wanting to jump to conclusions however, Danny leant forward; "Where's Montana goin'?" Danny quietly questioned his father, trying not to draw attention to his concerns.
"I think she wants some alone time," Larry returned, just as quietly – obviously receptive to Danny's dilemma.
He narrowed his eyes, silently mouthing to his father if she was okay, and in response Larry shook his head.
With that, Danny turned his attention to his girlfriend that was curled up on the couch with a smug and satisfied look on her face. Realising that he needed to step in, Danny cleared his throat and prepared himself for the conversation he was about to have. "Cindy, will you come with me a sec?"
"Where are we going?"
"Just outside, I wanna ask you something," he said quietly, as he stood from the couch and helped her up from her seat.
Ignoring the glares that his mother was directing towards Cindy, Danny led them through the house, all the while hoping Lindsay wasn't too upset about whatever had happened between the two of them. Either way, he didn't have to wait much longer. He opened up the front door and let Cindy make her way outside first. She shivered with the cold and he ignored her hints and advances for him to snuggle up to her on the step that she'd automatically sat on. The same step Lindsay had been sat on not moments previous.
"What's up sweetheart?" Cindy inquired with a bat of her eyelashes, "Why did you bring me outside? It's freezing honeycakes."
"What did you say to Lindsay?"
"Nothing..."
"What did you say to her, Cindy?" He repeated, his tone becoming stern. "Why is her lip bleeding? Why are her eyes puffy? Why did she run upstairs?"
"She did her lip all by herself, and if she wants to cry then that's her own problem."
"What did you say to her, Cindy?" he growled.
"I just laid it out to her. She couldn't figure it out for herself, obviously."
"What couldn't she figure out for herself?"
"How you're mine." Cindy barked. "Not her's."
"What?" Danny snapped. "Are you serious?"
"I found those receipts, Danny; from the time you took her to dinner and to that concert. You didn't hide the evidence very well."
"I've got nothing to hide!" he implored. "She's my friend, Cindy. She bought the tickets anyway. She felt more comfortable in checking her bag and I kept my coat with me, and we just shoved the ticket stubs in my pocket."
"Why did you cancel on me that night then?" she implored, "If you've got nothing to hide, then why did you lie?"
"Because she asked me if I wanted to go and I did, so I said yeah. I wanted to spend time with her," Danny said. "I shouldn't have lied, but I did."
"Why?"
"Because we're friends Cindy; that's what friends do. They go places and do things together."
"See, she said that too... except; I don't believe either of you. I bet she was all over you as well, wasn't she?"
"You know what; I've had just about enough of your crap; what's your problem? What's she done to you?"
"I want to ask you a question and I need you to tell me the truth."
Danny sighed, but nodded regardless. "Alright, fine, what?"
"Have you slept together?"
"Are you being serious? For God's sake, Cindy! No, we haven't." he implored. "She's my friend and we're close; there's no crime in that. Do I question you and your friends like you question me and Linds? We'd be here forever if I did; the amount of guys you've got scratching at your door. But the difference between you and me is that I'm comfortable in our relationship to not get hung up over things like that. I could easily struggle to trust you Cindy, but I put my faith in you."
"Are you kidding me? You've been staring at her all day, Danny! I'm not blind. I know what's going on here; first you didn't tell me she'd be here, then you both disappear for ages and you come back in with cherry flavoured lips and then you've spent the rest of the day just staring at her... you've never looked at me the way that you look at her. You're not friends, Danny. I'm not even sure you were ever just friends."
"Well we are."
"In your head you might be, but I think somewhere inside of you is telling us both that there's a lot more to your relationship with her." Cindy paused. "I just don't understand why you'd say it's okay for me to come if you had no intentions of making the day special for us. Why did you invite her?"
"Because she was gonna be by herself..."
"So?"
"I wouldn't have just left her to be by herself on Christmas, Cindy. She's not really got any family other than her Uncle."
"And?" Cindy shrugged. "So?"
"So, I could have left you by yourself today too, but I didn't."
"So what, you're like a Christmas charity? Offering girls in need a place to go for Christmas? How sweet of you," Cindy snipped.
"You know what, if you got to know her, you'd friggin' love her, Cindy."
"Oh, like you do?" Cindy snapped.
"That was uncalled for," Danny scowled at his soon to be ex-girlfriend. "Not to mention childish..."
"Don't change the subject, Danny." She scoffed. "We both know that you like her."
"You haven't even given me a chance, Cindy. You never even considered being friendly with her; she was instantly a threat."
"Do you blame me?" She implored. "All I ever hear about is Lindsay this, Montana that... it gets old Danny. Why wouldn't I see her as a threat? You're obsessed with her."
"You're being childish and ridiculous, Cindy. There's a time and a place for this conversation and it's neither here nor is it now."
"You really think I'm stupid, don't you."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"My hair might be blonde Danny, but I'm not stupid. If there's something you need to tell me, then tell me already. Stop dragging it out. I tasted the cherry on your lips. You know I hate cherry, so that sure as hell wasn't me that you were kissing."
Danny licked his lips, as he stared at his girlfriend, he realised that there was nothing left for him in this relationship. "You know what," Danny spat as he felt the words he'd suppressed for months finally filtering out of his mouth, "Fine; I kissed her. I kissed her right here actually." He began. "You're right; there is a hell of a lot more going on between us, feelings wise, but she's been holding back because she knows that I'm in a relationship with you. Doesn't mean that I have though, so if you're angry and want to take that anger out on someone, it should be me rather than her. She hasn't done anything wrong."
"She kissed you back!" Cindy implored.
"I kissed her though, not the other way round. It's my fault." Danny raised his eyebrows. "I shouldn't have done what you did to you Cindy, and I'm sorry, but you know what... even if I didn't feel like I do for Linds, this still wouldn't work. I can get a new girlfriend... I can't get a new best friend. If you can't get along with Lindsay, then I don't think this would have ever worked."
"You say that as if it's a surprise," She shook her head. "I think we both knew from the start that when Lindsay came into this picture this," she gestured between the two of them, "wasn't going to work; and to be perfectly honest... I'm glad."
"You are? Good." Danny nodded, "I'm glad that there's a mutual understanding here. Let me go and get your coat. I've been drinking so I can't drive you home, but my Dad can; he'll drop you off."
"There's no need. I've got someone coming to get me anyway."
"But I thought you were going to be staying here..." Danny raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah, I was." Cindy began, "But I realised about an hour ago that if you didn't end things with me, I'd be ending things with you. I'm not going to be second fiddle to that in there, Danny. I know that I can do better than being your second best. I just hope she's damn well worth it."
Deciding that enough had been said, Danny bit his tongue as he stepped back inside to get Cindy her coat and see her off home. All the while thinking, you have no idea how worth it she really is.
"Alright then Dad, I love you too. Merry Christmas... bye."
Lindsay took a deep breath as she felt the string of tears hit her. Her Christmas, as nice as it had been to spend it with Danny, had been something entirely different to what she was used to. She'd caught her family when they'd been sat by the fire drinking their hot-chocolate with marshmallows as they settled down to watch It's a Wonderful Life; one of their many Monroe family traditions. It had always been one of her favourites, and to speak to them, knowing all the while that she was missing out, had hit her harder than she thought it would.
She assessed the damage to her lip; cursing herself as she realised that she'd bit it far harder than she'd ever wanted to. She was a little angry with herself for being so silly and reacting like she had; but it had been a sore subject and Cindy had hit a nerve head on.
Sighing, Lindsay brushed the tears from her eyes and turned on her heel as she unlocked the bathroom door and made her way out into the hallway. She looked up and stopped in her tracks as her eyes fell on Danny, whom was stood opposite the door with one leg propped up against the wall with his arms folded over his chest.
"Sorry, have you been waiting long?" Lindsay asked, as she quickly swiped away her stray tear.
"Well, long enough to know that you miss your parents but I'm looking after you and making things a little more bearable.' Danny smiled. "You didn't have to sit in the bathroom to speak to your parents, Montana."
"I know," she blushed. "I just didn't want to make a fuss. I thought if I slipped away, it'd be less obvious."
"Nah, I noticed." He said as he stepped away from the wall and caught one of her tears with his finger.
"You did?" She blushed again. "But... I didn't even go near the living room."
"What can I say? I've got some kind of radar when it comes to you." he smirked. "Cindy noticed me noticing you leaving too." He informed her.
"Shouldn't you be getting back to her?" Lindsay said, as he took her hand before sliding down the wall in the hallway, opposite the bathroom. She reluctantly followed suit and settled next to him.
"I would but uh, we broke up."
"You what?"
"We broke up," he repeated.
"Well, I heard that... but, seriously?"
He nodded. "Turns out that we want different things." He said as a way of explanation.
"Like how?"
"She wants me but I don't want her." He said, "I'm not sure whether I was ever really in the relationship to be honest."
"Danny, don't say that on my account. Don't belittle what you had, okay? It isn't fair on her."
"Are you sticking up for her?" he implored.
"Well... no, but... yeah."
"Lindsay, why?" he implored. "How can you after what she said to you?"
Lindsay shrugged as she glanced to the floor.
"Lindsay, about what she said, I'm sor-"
"Don't apologise for her." Lindsay cut in. "To be honest, I don't really care anymore. Let her think and say what she wants, you know?" She paused as she laid her head on Danny's shoulder. "It doesn't matter anymore." She shrugged.
"It does matter."
"It doesn't," Lindsay shook her head. "Trust me."
"She tell me what she said to you, but I get the sneaky feeling it wasn't anything pleasant."
"It wasn't," she shook her head. "As you can tell," she gestured to her face.
"It wasn't true," he whispered as he swiped away a tear. "Whatever she said that is. It wasn't true. I want you to know that."
Lindsay leant into his touch and let out a relieved sigh. "I'm sorry you split up." She offered apologetically.
"Don't be," he shrugged, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. "I ain't."
"But still, breaking up on Christmas isn't exactly the most romantic of ways to spend the holiday."
"So? It needed to be done... what happened to your lip?" he asked her. "And why are your eyes so puffy?"
"My lip? What do you mean?"
"What do you mean what do I mean?" he said softly. "You know fine well that you've cut it. What happened? Did she hit you?" He knew that it probably wasn't the case, but he just wanted to make sure regardless. He'd witnessed what Cindy was capable of saying and doing when she had a few glasses of wine in her system, and he hated that Lindsay had been at the receiving end of that.
Lindsay blushed and shook her head. "She didn't hit me."
"What happened then?" he implored as he softly touched her lip so that he could see it a little better. "It looks really sore."
"I uh... well, I bit it."
"You bit your lip?" he raised his brow as he turned his gaze from the lip in question to her eyes; surprised that Cindy had told him the truth. "Uh, why?"
"Because she was saying things to me... and, it's really stupid. I'm a little embarrassed and I'd really rather not talk about it."
"Why did you bite your lip, Montana?"
"Because..." she sighed, realising that he wasn't going to let up on his insistence to find out what had happened between the two of them. "Because the things she was saying was making me a little emotional and I didn't want to let her win. So... I bit my lip to stop myself from retaliating."
"You're a stubborn pain in the ass, you know that kiddo?" he asked as he assessed the damage that her teeth had done. "I'll tell you what..." He let out a sigh before he closed the distance between them and placed a delicate kiss to Lindsay's cut lip. "Does that feel any better?"
"Hmm, it's still a little sore." She pouted; a ghost of a smile tugging lightly at the corners of her lips. "Try that again."
"It is?" he smirked as he leant in for another kiss. "What about this?"
Their lips met softly, the essence of the day's alcohol consumption evident in both of their breath; but despite the units they'd drank over the course of the day – both of them were surprisingly in control of their actions and emotions. At least, they thought so. Tomorrow, Lindsay thought, may tell a different story.
When they eventually broke away from one another once again, Danny ran his finger over her lip. "You ought to put something on it."
Lindsay shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips at the similarities of Danny and his father. "Back home they say it's better just to let it breathe," she said simply.
"Cute," he smiled.
After their playful kisses and banter had filtered away, Lindsay took a deep breath which filled her with confidence for what she was about to say. "Listen Danny, in all seriousness; I hope you haven't broken up because of me." She said quietly.
"It wasn't because of you exactly," he shook his head. "But I'd be lying if I didn't say for me; it was because she wasn't you. You can't deny that chemistry we have, Montana, and like I said to her, I can get a new girlfriend, but I can't get a new best friend. If she wasn't okay with me having you in my life, then that's her decision. She made it really easy for me."
"Danny..."
"Linds, about that kiss from earlier on the porch," he interjected quickly, "I know that it was wrong, but I – I don't regret it and I want you to know that. I'm just not sure about what we're gonna do about it."
"Going to do about what?" she said quietly.
"What are we gonna do?" he said softly. "About us, I mean."
She shrugged and twisted her lips in anguish. "I'm not sure."
"Do you..."
"I do." She nodded, understanding somehow what those two words meant; two words that posed a heavy question. "But, in the same sense... I don't know."
"You don't know?" Danny's voice hitched a little.
"Let me explain a little..." she began. "I like you," she smiled. "I do... I like you a lot, Danny, but I don't want to put pressure onto us by committing to something straight away. We work as friends; we work so well together being ourselves – and as much as I do have faith in us, I want to make sure that we can make that transition from friends to something more without ruining what we already have. The last thing I want is to lose you because you've come to mean a lot to me, Danny."
"And I don't want to lose you either."
"So, that's why I think it's probably best to not label it or rush into anything," she said with raised eyebrows. "Why don't we keep doing what we're doing and see where things lead. If they lead somewhere, then I'll be happy. If we keep doing our non-dates but use them to test to the water?" she suggested. "I don't want to look back on this with regrets, but I don't want to rush this either."
Danny nodded in understanding.
"Plus, you've literally just broken up with Cindy like fifteen seconds ago." She teased him. "How do I know that I'm not just a rebound?" she questioned him playfully.
His fingers instantly sought out her ticklish sides and he playfully tickled her before he pinned her at an awkward angle so that she was half on the floor, and half against the wall. In her position, she was pinned so that she was looking up at him through her lashes; his face mere inches from her own. "You would never, ever, be a rebound, Lindsay Monroe." He whispered softly.
"You sure about that?" she replied; trying to be playful, but her insecurities surfacing just a little.
"More positive than you'd ever know."
She offered him a smile.
"I think you know that anyway, Montana." He smirked, keeping his voice low. "I think you're fishin' for compliments."
"Maybe," she blushed. "They don't hurt though."
"Well, you know what Montana, even though it might not seem like it right now, I think I could be the guy that you picture yourself with." He began. "I might not be the ideal guy right now... but if you give me the chance, I could prove myself to you."
"You've got nothing to prove Danny." She cupped his cheek. "I think you underestimate yourself sometimes."
"Well, I've not got a lot going in my favour really... I've kissed you when my girlfriend was sat inside my house gettin' a hard time off my mother... not to mention the countless times I've ranted to you about her. It's not exactly a good selling point for me as a boyfriend, is it?"
Lindsay shrugged. "I'm not completely innocent in this whole fiasco."
"You've got no other ties." He reminded her. "I'm the one who had a girlfriend."
"Yeah, but who has asked you out to dinner? Who snuggled into you at concerts? Who insisted we played pool at your apartment and ended up sleeping in your bed with you?"
"All of that was innocent."
Lindsay glanced down. "Not entirely." She admitted.
"Huh?"
"I... I thought that maybe if you and I spent some time together, I'd get to know you properly. But as we got to know each other, I realised that I no longer wanted to get to know you; I just wanted you... and I've been pretty jealous of Cindy."
"You have?" he implored.
She nodded; her embarrassment evident all over her pink cheeks.
"That's kind of cute, Montana... Didn't realise you were the jealous type."
"I'm not," she scoffed. "Just moping over something that I couldn't have."
"Well, I'm up for grabs now; can you see yourself wanting me somewhere down the line?"
She twisted her lips together playfully and held her index finger to the corner of her mouth; suggesting to him that she was carefully considering her answer. "I could see myself falling for you, Danny Messer."
"And I could see myself fallin' for you too, Lindsay Monroe." He said softly. "I could see myself fallin' for you big time."
She leant towards him and captured his lips in a soft kiss once again. "Maybe we can use these next few months and we'll see how good that prediction of yours is."
Danny nodded. "You know, this works pretty well because my Ma hated Cindy. I'm pretty sure I'd have left with a good smack if I hadn't have stepped in and stuck up for you. She loves you, my Ma that is. Adores you, actually... Ten points for you, Montana. She's not an easy woman to win over when it comes to me."
"Mama's boy." She smirked. "But I'm glad she likes me."
"Adores." Danny corrected playfully. "You know, she told me earlier that if she could pick someone for me to get with and settle down with, it'd be you..."
"It bodes well then that you're planning that marriage proposal then," Lindsay giggled.
"Montana!" He cried. "Jesus, don't joke about stuff like that when she's in earshot... She'll have the plaza booked before I can say just kidding."
Unknown to the couple giggling and joking with one another; their audience was finally done of giving them their alone time. Clearing her throat, Ella made her presence known. "Lindsay..."
"Lindsay?" Danny cut in before Lindsay could answer. "Lindsay? What about me? What am I? Chopped liver?"
Ella giggled as she nibbled on the sleeve of her Christmas sweater. "Lindsay, you promised me you'd come back and you never did."
"Aww sweetheart," Lindsay apologised, "I'm sorry; I had a few things I needed to do. Have you been waiting for me?"
Ella nodded. "I put together like fifty more piece though!" She implored. "Well, fifty-ish."
"Wow!" Lindsay cast a quick, amused glance to Danny. "I better come see then, hadn't I?"
Ella nodded adamantly. She hovered at the top of the stairs and watched as Danny stood and helped Lindsay to her feet. Their hands stayed linked for longer than necessary; sharing a last, longing look at one another before they stepped back into reality. Danny held his hand out for Lindsay to pass him once they'd let go of one another and she offered him a soft smile as she started down the stairs, smiling at Ella, who was still hovering at the top.
Danny couldn't help but smile at the little girl and he scooped her up in his arms as he carefully made his way down the stairs after Lindsay, with Ella tight in his arms. "Have you had a good Christmas, kiddo?" He asked.
"The best!" Ella nodded. "Danny?"
"Yeah?" he asked as he hit the bottom of the stairs. Ella squeezed his arm slightly and he stopped automatically; confused with her odd behaviour.
"Are you and Lindsay boyfriend and girlfriend?" She whispered.
Danny smiled, and looked up quickly to see whether Lindsay was still in earshot. He watched as she walked past Ethan, who was dancing to the Christmas carols filtering through the living room stereo, and grabbed hold of his hand. She twirled him carefully and giggled when he carried on twirling in a circle while she took a seat next to his mother.
"Is she my girlfriend?" Danny repeated. "No, not quite, kiddo." He said softly.
"Do you want her to be your girlfriend?" Ella asked.
"Yeah," Danny smiled. "I'd like her to be..."
"Why don't you ask her?"
"Do you think I should?" He asked with a smile on his face.
Ella nodded adamantly. "I like her lots; she'd be a good girlfriend."
"You think so?" he asked.
"Definitely." The little girl nodded adamantly. "She's really pretty."
"You think she's pretty?" Danny smiled. "That's good, because I think she's beautiful."
"Lots more beautiful than that other lady." Ella said, "You know the one that kept kissing you?" Ella shuddered. "It was like she was searching for all the food that Nana made. Yuk!"
"What if I kissed Lindsay?" He smirked. "Would that be yucky?"
"Duh, you kissing anybody would be yucky, Danny." Ella giggled. "Can I go play now? I need to finish my puzzle with Lindsay."
Setting the little girl on the floor, Danny smiled as she ran through the hall to the living room and used the linoleum flooring to skid on her tights and knocked into her brother. Lindsay leant forward quickly and caught Ethan before he fell. She set him back on his feet before getting back down on the floor and resumed her puzzle activity with an excited Ella.
Obviously aware of her surroundings, Lindsay glanced up and caught Danny staring at her. She smiled softly and winked at him playfully before turning her attention back to Ella. Although her behaviour suggested she wasn't phased by the knowledge of Danny staring; he could see her cheeks turning pink.
He smiled to himself, finding her blushing endearing. He made his way into the living room and smiled at his family as he took a seat on the floor next to Lindsay and began looking at the variety of puzzle pieces that Ella and Lindsay had yet to connect to one another. Lindsay glanced up and smiled at him, and in response he stretched out slightly and placed his hand behind her back. Ignoring the gasps of excitement from his mother, Danny found himself completely at ease with the action and couldn't help but wonder why he'd suppressed his growing affections for Lindsay for as long as he had.
Seemingly perceptive to his thought process, Lindsay turned slightly and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek; once she'd gained his attention, she smiled brightly, and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Danny," in his ear. To which he could only smile. And hope that this was only the beginning of a long, successful journey together for the both of them.
So guys, here we have it - chapter 3. Like I said before, I have a sustainable amount of ideas to turn this into a little something (in the time since writing the first A/N, I've written my plan... it's taken me that long to read through and correct it) so, if you're up for yet enough epic journey with myself, Fred and of course Danny and Lindsay - let me know.
Oh god, that was really cheesy. I'm sorry.
Thanks for reading guys; hope you enjoyed it :)