So hey guys. hope you're all doing good. This chapter really took a life of it's own and I think I really like the direction it took itself. I don't really want to give much away so I'm going to stop it here.

But before you go off and read the update, I just want to say a huge, huge, huge thank you to all of you who keep checking in and reading this story. It's keeping it in the forefront of my mind (along with the tonne of things I need to do for my new job... yes guys, new job. official class teacher.. well for a month. but yeah. I have my own Reception/Kindergarten class. They're wonderful. but ugh it's hard work. Anyway, I digress) Even with all the things I'm doing recently, I keep adding bits to this story all because of the kind things you've been sending my way. It keeps me so motivated to write so thank you!

On my own I'm only half of what I could be; I can't do without you. We are stitched together and what love has tethered... I pray we never undo.

- Blake Shelton, God Gave Me You.

"Just shove it in!"

"Seriously babe, stop," Danny smirked, turning away from what he was doing. "All this dirty talk is turning me on,"

"Put the fucking key in the lock, Danny and turn the damn thing. Stop being a smartass." Lindsay whispered in his ear as the expletive sent shivers down his spine. Lindsay didn't often swear, but when she cursed in situations like the one they were currently in, he found himself nearly unable to contain himself.

He promptly turned the key within the lock and the door clicked open; Lindsay wasted no time in shoving Danny inside the door, following him inside before slamming the door shut behind them. She eagerly stumbled through the log cabin with him as they made their way into a more accessible place than the narrow entrance hallway. The narrowness of the hallway really wasn't the best place to remove their clothes in.

"Take your god damn pants off, Messer." Lindsay demanded against his lips as he carefully stepped backwards, leading them into the vast living room. "Take them off."

Shedding his scarf, coat and shirt on the floor in a trail by the side of their path, leaving him in his wifebeater and jeans. Danny smirked as he slowly undid the button of his jeans as Lindsay launched the clothes from her body.

"Jesus Linds, where's the fire?"

"You don't want me to answer that," she replied as she pushed his jeans down his legs. "You need to hurry up."

"Why?" he smirked.

"Because otherwise I'm dealing with this myself." She informed him, her hand beginning to tease the hem of her panties. "And I'm sure you wouldn't want that now, would you?" She implored, now stood in the middle of the living room.

"That's up for debate," he began before taking her hand and moving it away from the hem of her panties. "Perhaps we'll add that to the list for later. For now, I think it's about time I showed you some of that honeymoon lovin' I've been savin' up all these years."

Danny lifted her effortlessly and she wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing her most intimate area against his crotch. He instantly felt his stomach tighten at the heat he could feel from her core and he knew he had to get them to the bedroom pronto, otherwise they may very well be finishing what they hadn't even started yet against the wall.

"I need you," Lindsay whispered against his neck as he fumbled down the hall leading to their bedroom for the weekend, holding her tight in his arms.

"I'm doin' my best, you won't even know what's hit you once I get my hands on you properly, Montana." he breathed as he kicked open the bedroom door before slamming it shut behind them. "You better prepare yourself." He licked his lips as he dropped her unceremoniously onto the bed.

"Is that a challenge you're willing to accept?" she asked, eyebrows arched as she positioned herself on the cushions at the headboard.

"It's a damn promise." Danny said, kneeling on the bed. "Lose the panties," he demanded as he began etching closer to her. "And lie down."

Danny practically ripped the wifebeater from his body and flung it behind him as he lowered himself onto a very eager and impatient Lindsay.

"And for the record…" He began, "we don't have neighbours for about half a mile."

"I won't be needing this then," she said, launching one of the nearby cushions away from the bed.

"Oh," Danny licked his lips, "You most definitely won't be needing that; the louder the better," he said, whispering in her ear.

"Challenge accepted." She breathed as his fingers started teasing her, driving her wild. Boy, were they in for a hell of a night.

"Shut up!" she cried, smacking his chest playfully before laying her head back down on his warm skin.

"Come on Linds, you can't deny it."

"You were just as bad as I was." She insisted. "And anyway, I resent you calling me a wild animal. It makes me seem so... I don't know, desperate?"

"Linds, baby… being desperate for your husband isn't a bad thing. Hell, it's a good thing. Means we must be doin' somethin' right, huh? And anyway, when I say wild animal, I mean it in the nicest way possible; you know that… but baby… you were kinky then." He smirks, biting his lip. "Come on, at least meet me half way."

"Okay so maybe I was a little more… playful and vocal than usual."

"No shit," he smirked. "I was convinced the windows were going to shatter with some of those screams you let out."

"Well, it's not often I get to really let go, is it?"

"I don't think you've ever let go like that before." He licked his lips. "In fact, it was pretty hot." He paused as he pressed a series of kisses to her temple before making his way down to her neck. "I think I'm going to have to hear those kinda screams at least ten more times before we leave, okay?"

"I think we might be able to manage that," she fluttered her eyelashes as the rosy tint to her cheeks increased ever so slightly at the thought of the things he'd just done to her. He'd always been the best lover she'd ever had, but he'd even topped himself this time. If only she had known that he had been saving up that kind of loving, she would have definitely arranged their honeymoon years sooner. "And just think," she said; her voice low and sultry, "You were the only one that heard the screams and cries of pleasure…"

"And to think I caused them," he beamed. "So, I think after that brief conversation I'm good to go again," he began, motioning playfully as he positioned himself on top of her.

"Get off me, you goofball." She sighed dramatically before he rolled off of her and settled next to her again. "We've got hours to kill… surely you need down time."

"I don't know Linds," he smirked, gesturing to his crotch, still covered by the thin linen sheet they were both snuggled under. "I think we could maybe go again."

"Well I don't want maybe." She wiggled her eyebrows. "I want assertive. I wanna know you're gonna be able to perform properly."

"Has there ever been any doubt of my abilities in that department, Mrs. Messer?"

"Not yet," she licked her lips. She laid her head on his chest and exhaled contently.

"Can I ask you a question?" Danny's voice sounded.

Rather than answering, she nodded against him.

"You remember when I got shot and was in the hospital-" he paused as he gauged her reaction.

"I won't forget that anytime soon," She said curtly, "But yeah,"

"What were you thinkin'?"

"Danny, what the hell kind of a question is that?" she implored.

"I…" he sighed heavily. "I've just been thinking about it recently. What were you thinking?"

"Danny, to be honest I'd really rather not talk about this."

"I know, I know," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I just… that's all we did, baby. We pushed it to the side and we never talked about it. We pretended it didn't and wasn't happening and it's on my mind." He paused. "Please Linds."

"Why?" she asked with her brow furrowed. "Is your back hurting? I didn't hurt you did I?" she asked, panic rising in her voice slightly.

"No, no," he assured her shaking his head, "It hurts now and then at work or after I've lifted Lucy for a while but nothing particularly regular or bad. I just… I – humour me, Lindsay."

Lindsay sighed. "You used my full name." she observed.

"I did."

"You must mean it then." She paused. "and this is important to you?" she asked, coming around to the idea of opening up and talking about what had happened.

"It is." He nodded.

"What is it that you want to know? How I was feeling?"

He nodded.

"Well, I was scared." She began, "I couldn't help but think of how much I loved you and how I wasn't ready not to have you. I felt like I had only just got you to myself and I was scared. I thought I had lost you and I felt like I was watching you slip through my fingertips with every damn beat of that heart monitor they had you hooked up to."

Danny nodded thoughtfully as he let that initial part of her admission digest.

"After everyone had gone home, I'd looked down to what I was wearing and it was covered in your blood, and I remember losing it. I think I hadn't really understood what was happening until I saw your blood all over me. It was the amount of blood that you had lost that scared me. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see what your hand covered in blood and I ended up having to leave your room for a while to get it together again. I went for some fresh air and ended up on a bench just outside watching ER patients get wheeled in. I was there for probably about thirty minutes. Some were okay, others were a lot worse than you were. I watched three people coding as they came out of the ambulance. And that was all in a half an hour. It made me realise that I had to be strong for you. I also knew that things could be okay. I didn't know for sure that they would be, but I hoped and prayed that they would be okay. You'd been awake the entire ambulance ride which made me think you were fighting it."

"I was," he whispered. "For you,"

A small smile tugged at her lips. "So after the third code I saw, I went back inside and before going back to your room, I went to the bathroom... cleaned my hands good and proper with about a gallon of soap and I headed back to your room and stayed there until you woke up the next afternoon. It was really hard though; there was a few times before you woke up that I struggled to get a deep enough breath."

"You panicked?" he frowned, his eyes full of concern, and a little regret for making her talk about something she had so obviously struggled with.

Lindsay nodded. "The severity of it all hit me. And then of course I started replaying what had happened over and over again in my head and then I realised what it was you'd done and then the tears started all over again."

"What do you mean?"

Lindsay blinked at her husband in disbelief. As she saw the genuine confusion on his face, her features softened as she looked at him. "Danny…" her voice was merely a whisper.

Danny however, who was now extremely confused simply blinked in response. It was like he had done something right, he thought, but he had no idea what it was he'd done to warrant such a reaction.

"You seriously have no idea what I mean?" she implored.

He merely shook his head.

"You landed on me," she said softly. "You took the bullet that would have hit me. You threw yourself over me to protect me and I realised that was the ultimate act of love. You put your life on the line to keep me safe and to this day-" she trailed off as she sniffled and reached for a tissue on the bedside table to dab at her tearful eyes. "it still makes me emotional and it's something that I've really, really struggled with over the years." She admitted. "It's hard to think that I could have lost you because you love me so much you were willing to do whatever it took to protect me and keep me safe. You literally took a bullet for me. Not many people can say they've actually taken a bullet for the person they love."

Danny sighed heavily and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"I honestly don't know what I would have done if I lost you that day," she whispered. "I would have missed out on so much with you."

"I'm fine though," he whispered as he pressed a lingering kiss to her temple. "I'm here."

"I know," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Just like you always promised you would be." He paused for a moment as her eyes absorbed him laying next to her. "God I love you."

"I love you too." he whispered as he pressed a kiss to her temple. His lips lingered there for a few seconds and she squeezed him a little tighter in her embrace. Meanwhile, Danny was taking a deep breath before sighing heavily. "Me asking you that then," he began, "was slightly selfish. Don't get me wrong now, but I wanted to see if what I feel about when you were hurt was similar to how you felt when I got hurt."

Lindsay's eyes narrowed. "Oh?"

"I remember," Danny began, not really taking notice of Lindsay's reaction. "When they handed me your wedding rings as precautionary I was glad that Mac hadn't made it yet and that Jo had Lucy. I ducked into a disabled toilet and I remember locking the door before sliding down it into a heap on the floor and I literally just cried. I don't think I've ever cried like that before in my life. I couldn't believe both Lucy and I had just watched your head be smashed in by a huge, metal cart. It scared me to death, let alone how it must have been for Lucy who was right there when it happened. I had your rings on my pinky finger and it just felt so wrong. I desperately wanted to put them back on your finger so badly that it hurt. It just felt so, so wrong. It was like I had lost you… and you were more or less fine. I can't even imagine how painful it was for you. I was in the hospital for days and days. You were there for one night… I've been thinking about it recently," he said, stroking her bangs away from her forehead so that he could see the scar the cart had left. "You're so brave, Linds. You're braver than I'll ever be. Not having you for a day made me realise that there's no way I could even function without you. I need you to know that. I don't always tell you how much you mean to me, but you really do Linds. You mean so much to me and I love you."

With all the things Lindsay could have said in response to Danny, she said nothing. Instead, she threw the linen sheet from their bodies as she edged towards him before swinging her leg over his body so that she was essentially laid on his chest. She then presented him with an onslaught of kisses that told him everything he needed to know.

She loved him too.

And she was ready for a round two.

Okay so I won't lie, I literally just added the last line about 2 seconds ago and I had no intentions of spelling out an M rated scene in this story. But, an idea just struck so maybe, if you guys were willing to go through the pain, maybe I could move things around a little bit and maybe give you a bit of M rated action? Maybe? Let me know! Hope you guys liked this one. Thanks for reading!