CH 3 – Start your engines


Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. The story idea is mine, and the dialogues are my creation.
I have done extensive research myself with maps, travel brochures, etc. So I have tried to be accurate as far as time zones, geography, and distance. But please grant me some creative license in the event of errors.
A/N: This chapter is pretty brisk-moving. I am going to slow it down, but I wanted to get them started on their lil' journey. ) This is not a deep fic, and not meant to be. My recipe is 3 parts fluff + 2 parts humor + 1 part drama. The sappiness factor is unrealistic, sure. But I enjoy it that way! LOL This is purely about fun.
Thank you for your reviews – every single one. I continue to be amazed by your kindness. We all write our fics with different ideas of what D/L would be like together, and I think it's great we can still respect (and enjoy) each other's pieces.

Later that evening, Lindsay and Danny lay on her living room floor on their stomachs, maps unfolded between them. Highlighters, notepads, and pens lay scattered. They had spent the past hour jotting down notes, figuring out which highways to take, and what cities to stop in.

"Okay," Lindsay said, biting her lip in concentration. "We'll be going straight across Jersey, right through Pennsylvania on route 80, then on to Cleveland. According to the Driving Times chart, that should take us about… seven hours."

Danny nodded, his finger tracing the route. "From there we head to Chicago, then Minneapolis, then Bismarck…"

"Then Bozeman!" they said in unison, grinning at each other.

Lindsay had to laugh at their appearance. Sprawled on the carpet surrounded by papers, they looked like two preschoolers sharing a coloring book. She wriggled across the map and flipped over onto her back next to him. Danny laid his head on her chest. As she ran her fingers through his hair, she stared at the ceiling and thought of how fast their relationship had progressed. It seemed like just yesterday when he had shown up on her doorstep to confess his feelings. Although the physical chemistry was undeniable from the first night, they had formed a solid friendship, too. They felt comfortable together, like they never had with anyone else before. Not only did they know the curves and angles of each other's bodies, but they knew the rises and valleys of each other's hearts.

"You know," Lindsay murmured thoughtfully. "I'm actually excited about this field trip of ours. And I wouldn't be if you weren't coming along. How can I ever thank you?"

Danny shook his head. "You don't gotta thank me, Babe. I just wanna be where you are." He rolled over on top of her and propped himself up on his elbows to look in her eyes.

Lindsay sighed, thinking she might just in fact be the luckiest girl in the world.

"Oh, Danny. Why couldn't I have found you ten years ago? Where have you been?"

"Right here, waiting for you. It sure took you long enough." Danny smiled. "But if I met you when I was 85, and I died the next day, you still would have been worth the wait". He bathed her face in kisses, and his hands began to roam.

A highlighter dug into Lindsay's back, but she hardly noticed.

Lindsay gaped at the copious amount of luggage Danny was stuffing into her SUV. It was 4:50 am, still dark, and their breaths came out in puffs in the frigid air.

"Danny! How many bags did you bring? You're such a… such a…." she stammered. "You're such a WOMAN!" She doubled over with laughter.

"Hey, hey, hey!" He pointed at her accusingly. "This little Lewis & Clark expedition was your idea, not mine." But he was grinning.

"It's not as if we'll be running the Iditarod with a dog sled, here. I'm from a fairly civilized town, you know." Lindsay approached him, and gave him a soft peck on the lips. He looked tired. As she wrapped her arms around him, she felt a familiar hard object bump into her hip. She jerked back.

"Is that your gun?" Seeing the glint in his eyes, she continued before he could make the comment she knew was coming. "I mean that literally."

She felt under his coat. The badge was there, too. "Why did you bring those?"

Danny winked at her, a bit sheepish. "No one will mess with my girl if she has an NYPD cop at her side."

He tossed his last bag in the back and closed the tailgate.

He likes people to think he's so tough, she thought, touched. I'm glad he let me in and showed me the other side.

Climbing through the passenger door with their steaming travel mugs, Lindsay noticed the first signs of drizzle on the windshield. She cranked up the heater and settled back in the roomy seat. When she heard Danny open the car door, she said, "Don't worry, I won't make you eat any Rocky Mountain Oysters."

"Good. 'Cause I don't like fish," he replied, wrinkling his nose as he hopped in the driver's seat.

Lindsay chuckled, deciding not to explain to Danny exactly what Rocky Mountain Oysters were. She could picture him screaming and running back to the apartment, hiding under her bed.

"Alright, let's do this." Danny paused to look at her before putting the car in reverse. She met his eyes, and felt the same tremor she always felt when she gazed into that exquisite blue. Lindsay knew that he could read the anxiety written on her face. He reached over to stroke her cheek with his hand. "Here we go".

She nodded, relishing the heat of his fingers that could so easily brush away the tension like a broom.

"Here we go," she echoed.

"So, we should be in Cleveland by noon, roughly." She studied the map as Danny drove them out of the parking lot. It was creased and slightly torn from their 'activities' on top of it the night before. The reminder made her blush. Lindsay watched the dark and empty New York streets pass by through the window. The stillness reminded her of the first morning she had woken up next to him, their limbs entangled.

She savored the coziness inside the car; it smelled of coffee, Danny, and rain. Ten minutes passed in silence. Lindsay wasn't chatty, a fact Danny was grateful for. They could just be together. That was one of the million things that made her so different from anyone he had ever met.

"Do you think they'll talk about us?" Lindsay finally spoke up.

"Who? The lab?"

"Yeah… I mean, I know they will. They're a gossipy crowd. I was inundated with gossip after my first week there."

Danny, curious now, raised an eyebrow as he waited for a pedestrian to cross. "Really? What kinda gossip?"

"That Mac's wife died on September 11th. That Stella is dating an artist, and that Hawkes used to be the ME." Then she added softly; "That you were a player."

Danny shook his head slightly. "I was," he said, reaching over and squeezing her hand. "Was".

Lindsay felt a lump form in her throat as she gripped his hand back.

"And for the record, I've never driven across the country with a woman".

The lump in her throat disappeared, and a smug smile of satisfaction crossed her face.

New Jersey went by in a flash. Lindsay and Danny fought over the radio stations, talked about their cases from the past week, and just generally enjoyed being together in such close proximity. In Pennsylvania, they switched places and Lindsay drove. It was a blur of rolling hills, dense forests, crooked rivers, and mountains. The sight made her excited to return to the place she grew up. She still occasionally missed the scenery and privacy of rural life.

During the morning, they stopped twice to stretch their cramped bodies, snuggle with each other, and get more coffee. The day was still dreary, and the traffic was fairly light. Most of the other vehicles were tractor trailers. The driver of one particular rig tailgated their car for miles, then cut them off at an exit.

Danny gawked as Lindsay flashed her middle finger out the window towards the burly bearded man. "What?" she asked innocently, feeling his stare.

Danny laughed and shook his head. She amazed him every day. "Nothin'. Just remind me never to mess with a Montana girl who's got road rage."

Just outside Cleveland, they stopped for gas and lunch. The rain pattering on the restaurant windows had a strange romantic feel. Lindsay thought it was funny how no matter where she was, or what she was doing, Danny made it special. Here she was, in the middle of nowhere, but she felt perfectly content and at home. She sat on the same side of the booth with him, her head resting on his shoulder. One of Danny's hands was wrapped around his coffee mug, the other was resting on her knee, which he lightly squeezed.

"Five hours to Chicago, eh?" he asked.

"We have to remember to set our watches back an hour for Central time." Lindsay reminded him. Then she added with a yawn, "Our hotel room will be waiting, and I can't wait! Let's hit the road."

Danny took over the wheel as they traveled across northern Ohio. The mountains of western Pennsylvania had given way into flat, open fields. Mid-afternoon, after they passed through Toledo, Lindsay noticed a large sign on the roadside:

WELCOME TO MICHIGAN!

"Wait, Michigan? We're not supposed to go through Michigan." Lindsay whipped out the map.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Danny exclaimed. "Didn't you follow the map?"

"I couldn't read it! I tried, but it's all creased." Her brow was furrowed as she tried to smooth out the lines in the wrinkled paper.

"Whaddya mean you can't read it? You're supposed to be in charge of navigation!" Danny cried, exasperated.

"It's not my fault you decided to take advantage of me right on top of Lake Erie!" she spat.
"Anyway, we were supposed to take route 90. We have to backtrack about ten miles."

"Fantastic," Danny groaned.

Lindsay suddenly started to laugh, and then laughed harder until tears came out her eyes. The two of them could bicker like cats and dogs, but there was always an undercurrent of humor and teasing. Her sides hurt from laughing. A grin started to replace the childish pout on Danny's face.

"Damn, Baby. What's the matter?"

Lindsay waved her hand helplessly. "Nothing's the matter" she choked out. "It's just that this whole thing is crazy. Nuts!"

Danny started laughing too – "You're telling me."

Once on the correct interstate, they were soon cruising through Indiana. Lindsay was quiet, even more so than usual. Danny knew what she was likely thinking of, and his curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to know what was waiting for them in Montana.

"Linds, Why is your family contesting the will? On what grounds?"

She sighed. She wanted to tell him everything, but it was hard to know where to start. "They're claiming I took advantage of my grandparents' finances while they were alive. They did pay for just about everything, like my first car, expenses. They even put me through college. Of course I was grateful and even felt guilty. But my father had died. Then I was on my own at 16. What else was I supposed to do?"

Danny's heart ached from hearing the pain in her voice. He hesitated before asking the next question.

"What about your mother? Where is she?"

"I don't know." Lindsay's words were clipped, and Danny knew not to press further. In his own life, there were some truths best left uncovered. At least some of the puzzle pieces were falling into place.

Night had settled as they entered Illinois. Their plan was to stop in Chicago for the night. To both of them, the idea of a shower, dinner, and a soft bed to share was so very appealing.

Snow flurries had begun to fall, lightly coating the grass and trees like a sprinkling of confectioner's sugar. The scene looked straight out of a snow globe.

"It's like Robert Frost" Lindsay spoke up suddenly.

"Who?" asked Danny. "You mean Jack Frost?"

"No!" she laughed. "I mean the poet, Robert Frost. He wrote 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening'. That's what this reminds me of."

"Gee, I musta missed that in Prep School Poetry 101," he teased her.

"But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep," Lindsay recited.

The glowing lights of Chicago lay up ahead, inviting.

And miles to go before I sleep.

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A/N: If you don't know what Rocky Mountain Oysters are, Google it. Don't say I didn't warn you.