Chapter 4 – Chicago Nights

DISC: the usual.
A/N: Caution: Increased Fluff Level Ahead! Not a lot of plot development going on here, this is more of a foller chapter.. I want Fluff! I've been in a sappy place since "Stuck on You". (Can you blame me? LOL ) I tried to keep it semi-realistic, but if you don't like fluff, just skim this one. If you like fluff, well – right on! And enjoy!

It was slightly after 6 o clock when Lindsay and Danny walked into the hotel lobby. Lindsay approached the front desk, where a blond girl about seventeen sat, filing her purple nails and snapping her gum. At their approach, she looked right past Lindsay and beamed at Danny. "Can I help you, sir?"

Lindsay cleared her throat softly. "We have reservations."

"Last name?" The girl's eyes, rimmed in heavy black liner, were still glued to Danny. Crack, pop, went the gum.

He stepped up and slid his driver's license across the counter. "Messer".

"Wow, all the way from New York!" She tossed her golden hair over one shoulder as she surveyed his photo approvingly. Lindsay wanted to slap her.

The clerk, whose nametag read "Nikki", tapped some information into a computer. "Okey-dokey.

And was there a separate reservation for your sister?" She chirped as she nodded in Lindsay's direction.

At that moment, as Lindsay contemplated climbing the desk to strangle the little bimbo, her cell phone rang. She slipped her arm around Danny's waist, and said pointedly, "Honey, you get our room. I'll be right back; I have to take this call." She added under her breath so only he could hear, "Now I can understand how some people are driven to murder."

She smiled sweetly at the clerk. "Excuse me."

Lindsay ducked into a hallway to answer her phone. "Hello?"

"Lindsay? Hi, it's Allison. Sorry to call you so late." Allison was her attorney. Lindsay's heart skipped a beat.

"No, that's okay - we just got to Chicago and are staying the night. What's up?"

"Well, I don't want to freak you out," Allison said. "But don't talk to the press when you get here."

"The PRESS!" Lindsay asked, startled. "How is the press involved?"

"They're all over this story. You know as well as I do that your grandparents were like local celebrities. Now your cousin and uncle are really milking it. They gave an interview to the Bozeman Sun yesterday, and WHLN TV is set to do a story on the 6 o clock news. They're ranting about 'preserving the Monroe family fortune'."

Lindsay groaned. "This just keeps getting worse and worse."

"Ignore it. I'm serious." Allison warned. "That's why I called you – you don't want to fall into their trap. Let me handle making a statement to the press. If anyone approaches you when you arrive, tell them 'no comment'".

"Are people actually buying this garbage?"

"Despite your relatives having friends in high places, I don't think so. They're digging their own grave, Lindsay. People will see them for what they really are – gold diggers, that is."

"Thanks for the warning, Allison. I'll see you in a few days." Lindsay clicked her cell phone shut. She massaged her temples and tried to squelch the rising panic and dread within her.

Suddenly, she felt a warm breath on her ear, " 'Honey'? I like the sound of that. And you know it's every guy's fantasy to have two women fight over him."

She forced a smile, deciding not to tell Danny about the latest bombshell. Her burdens shouldn't be his. Instead, she hooked her arm around his and said "Let's go to our room. I'm exhausted."

They walked back through the lobby towards the elevators, and Lindsay was mindful of the clerk's jealous gaze. In return, she flashed the girl an enormous, haughty smile. Take that, you little twit, she thought.

As they stepped onto the elevator, Danny's finger reached out towards the 3rd floor button. Lindsay stopped him.

"Oh no, let me press the buttons. We all know what happed last time you hit the wrong one!" They both laughed, remembering the panic room incident.

"I told you a million times, I thought it was the light switch." Danny winked at her. "But I wouldn't mind being trapped for thirteen hours again, if I was with you."

"No way! I hate elevators." Lindsay said, taking a gulp of air as the doors buzzed shut.

"The Great Lindsay Monroe is claustrophobic?" Danny responded, honestly surprised.

Lindsay nodded, a bit embarrassed. She gripped the rail as the elevator lurched upward. "Yup. I hate airplanes too. And snakes. And thunderstorms."

The doors opened to floor 3, revealing a hallway warmly decorated in tones of gold and hunter green. Lindsay dashed out of the confines of the elevator, exhaling sharply with relief.
They checked door numbers out loud. "315, 318, 320… ahh, here we go. Room 324."

Lindsay noticed Danny's hand tremble slightly as he tried to swipe the keycard. Probably from all the driving, she thought.

"Here, I got it." She took the card from him and slid it through the slot. With a beep, the door unlocked. Lindsay pushed it open, and then gasped.

"Oh my gosh."

The room was dark, but taper candles spread throughout the room cast a dreamy glow. The king-size bed was draped in crimson satin, and covered with pink and ivory rose petals.

She whirled to look at Danny, who was looking extremely pleased with himself. "You! How did you arrange this?"

"I'm a resourceful guy." He shrugged nonchalantly. "All it took was a phone call and some planning."

She threw her arms around his neck, squashing him with a hug. "All this, just for me? Why?"

"I know you've been going through a lot lately. We had a long day, and I wanted tonight to be just for us." He paused, licked his lips, and looked at the floor. When he got that expression, he reminded her of a Basset Hound puppy.
"Look, I'm not the kinda guy to write love songs or talk mushy about my feelings. But I wanted you to know how much I care about you."

Lindsay felt delirious warmth spread from her heart outward. She wondered if she would melt into a puddle. "You don't have to say it, Danny. You show me every day."

He smirked at her. "I can think of another way I'd like to show you." His lips met hers and several minutes passed. They still stood in the doorway, their overnight bags at their feet.

She stopped him by gently pushing on his chest. "What about dinner?"

"Room Service is taking care of that, too. But not for another hour." He nibbled her earlobe, and pulled her inside the room. The door clicked shut behind them.

They collapsed side-by-side on the bed, their taut limbs grateful for the cozy softness. Danny took off his shirt, revealing the white tank top underneath. Lindsay rubbed two rose petals between her palms, releasing their heady fragrance. "We drove twelve hours today. Wow."

Danny closed his eyes, fatigued. "You don't gotta remind me of that."

She rolled over and lay on top of him. Pretending his chest was a map, she traced her pinky across it. "We started here, then went this way," she said, swirling her nails over his torso. "Then we went this way, but had to turn around," she looped her finger in a circle on his stomach. From there she moved her fingers dangerously lower. Danny's breath caught and a noise close to a whimper escaped his lips.

"You are one naughty, naughty girl," he said thickly.

"Let me show you just how naughty I can be," she responded.

They were both flushed, sweaty, and winded when a knock sounded at the door.

"Room Service!"

Danny cursed. Lindsay, giggling, wrapped herself in the satin sheet and tried to stand up. "Just leave it!" she called to the doorman. Danny's arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back down to the bed.

"It's going to get cold," she argued, feigning annoyance at his groping.

"Do you care?" He grinned.

"Not really." She grinned back.

Later, they shared their cold dinner at a table by the window. The candles had almost burnt themselves out, and rose petals were now everywhere. Looking out onto the ice-encrusted Lake Michigan, Lindsay remarked, "It's too bad we don't have time to really explore these places. We should do this again, you know. Maybe in the summer?"

Danny regarded her thoughtfully. "That's not a bad idea." He was a New Yorker to the core, but he would have followed Lindsay to the ends of the earth.

Shortly thereafter, they both crawled into bed. Tomorrow was going to be another grueling, long day.

"Good night," she whispered into the darkness.

"Good night." He had already started to drift off, and his response was so soft, she could barely hear him.

But twenty minutes later, Lindsay was still awake.

"Are you awake?" she hissed loudly. Danny only grunted, so she poked his back.

"Danny?"

Nothing. She poked again.

He flipped over to face her. "What?" he grumbled.

She liked studying his face when he wasn't wearing glasses. His eyelashes were so long, and his cheekbones looked more defined. Strangely, he almost seemed like a different person.

Thinking back to the desk clerk, she said to Danny, "What am I to you?"

He frowned. "Do you really gotta ask that?"

She toyed with his dog tags, twisting the chain and winding it around her finger.

"No, I just mean that girl down there got me thinking. "Girlfriend" just doesn't seem like it encompasses enough. What am I?"

He drew her to him so their noses were touching. Of all the women he had been with physically, he had only been truly intimate with Lindsay.

"What are you to me? Sunshine," he whispered in her ear. "Springtime. Heaven. Magic. Flowers in winter. Heat. Christmas Eve every day. Fireworks."

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His voice was music, the sweetest lullaby, and soon Lindsay was fast asleep.

Lindsay was sorry that she had requested a 6am wakeup call. It was a courtesy offered by the hotel, but little did she know that Nikki, the irritating girl from the night before, would be back on shift.

"Good morning! This is Nikki at the front desk with your Thursday morning WAKE UP CALL!" she bellowed into the phone. Lindsay didn't bother to mutter a thanks before slamming the phone back into the cradle.

She pressed her ice-cold foot against Danny's calf, shocking him awake.

"Your jailbait girlfriend called".

"Nah," he reached over and embraced her. "She's not really my type." He wrapped her in his arms and nestled his face against her neck. "Let's just stay like this, all day."

"I thought you don't cuddle," she laughed, remembering the story of his case with Stella from last fall.

"What can I say, you've reformed me. I'm a born-again cuddler".

Lindsay laughed. "Mmm, that's tempting, but we can't." She squirmed out of his grasp. "Wisconsin is waiting. Now, don't make me get out the electric cattle prod."

"Cattle prod? Man! You can take the girl outta Montana…" Danny's complaint was instantly muffled by the pillow Lindsay threw at his face.

A/N: Ok, sorry, I had to get all that sugar out of my system before I went into diabetic shock! LOL Hope I didn't make anyone nauseous, hehe. Next chapters will return to more adventure and (slightly) less sap.
Sneak Peak of what's ahead in coming chapters:
A third "traveler" joins Lindsay and Danny.
Lindsay reveals something big about her past.

Changing a tire in the snow.

Four words: Danny rides a horse. Enough said.