A/N: Many thanks to those of you who have read and reviewed. Your thoughts and comments are more than greatly appreciated. Once again, apologies for the lateness, but procrastination does have its perks doesn't it? How else are you still going to get Christmas fics through January?

This is the last installment so I hope it's worth the wait. All mistakes are mine.


The clutter seemed to have invaded over time as her once well kept desk now drowned under a crust of clutter. Eyeing the disarray with annoyance, Lindsay sighed and sat back in her chair, resting her arm atop the armrest as she clutched her forehead and shook her head. She closed her eyes and imagined the once clean desk top which was in sight a few weeks ago but has since fallen pray to the likes of Christmas wrapping, rogue files and a flurry of flower petals. The wrapping she could blame on her team mates, the files, herself and the flowers, Danny.

On the right, her computer stood deafly, seemingly the only item on her desk which had its place. A messy stack of files laid untouched on the left, sitting above the commotion of unorganised papers which was of use but had yet to find their proper residence. The small working space in front of her was now occupied by a recent case file and on top of that laid the remnants of her last few chocolate kisses. The calendar that sat atop the rubble had December 25th clearly marked by a small red and green Christmas tree drawing; another one of Danny's little quirks that she found amusing amidst the underlying sweetness.

The chocolate kisses were Danny's fault too. She'd find a couple hidden here and there; inside her drawers, stuffed in her locker, hidden amidst the many roses he'd given her and the last was hand delivered by a clearly annoyed lab technician who found chocolate kisses in the beakers she needed to use less that sweet and more than irritating. Lindsay couldn't help but laugh at his antics and silently thanked him for the entertainment despite her desperate need to make a dent into the backlog of paperwork she had accumulated over the past few days. Smiling to herself, she leant forward and picked up a wrapper that glittered in stripes of red and green, admiring the shine of the foil against the light against the darkening sky outside. Now that she thought about, Danny had been out for hours now trying to locate a fleeing suspect with Angell. Turning the foil between her fingers, she took one last look and dropped it into small metal bin beside her along with the rest. One kiss laid comfortably unopened, held snug and upside down in the recesses of her keyboard. Picking it up, she was about to open it before thinking otherwise and putting it aside. She looked up and grinned at the sight of Danny leaning against the door frame.

"You're not getting anywhere are you?" Danny asked, smirking as he crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. "It's becoming a bad habit you know."

Lindsay smiled and asked, "Did you find your guy?" She watched in sudden confusion as he visibly sagged – like a day's worth of sleep was suddenly taken away.

"Yeah," Danny replied solemnly as he straightened and shoved his hands in his pockets. His shoulders dropped, echoing his voice. "He killed himself."

Lindsay didn't say anything but motioned for him to come closer, and he did; walking to her side and perching himself on the edge of her desk. With an apologetic smile, she held up the last kiss which he accepted with a grateful smile. "Feel better?" she asked and placed her hand on his thigh and squeezing gently.

Danny nodded. "Those things are great but the real thing's better," he replied before bending down to press his lips against hers in a gentle, caressing kiss. He smiled when they parted and his hand sought hers, entwining their fingers together as their love now stood.

Lindsay traced her lips with her fingers and smiled at him, her cheeks slowly burning to a warm pink as her insides began to melt slightly. "Mac's not going to be happy when he sees you canoodling instead of working," she said coyly. Grinning, she sat back and wagged her eyebrows.

Danny raised his eyebrows in amusement as his lips twitched into a full grin. Holding up both his hands in surrender, his eyes turned innocent and he announced, "I plead seduction by a second party."

"Like anyone's going to believe that, detective," Lindsay replied with a smirk. Turning back to the task at hand, she sighed, picked up the case file sitting in front of her, sighed again and dropped it back onto the table. She covered her face with her hands and groaned loudly. "I can't do this!" she said, "It's Christmas Eve and I'm stuck here behind a desk buried under a mountain of paperwork which I don't even have an ounce of urge to finish." She groaned and let her head hang loosely for a moment before looking up to meet a very amused Danny.

"You forgot you're with your very charming boyfriend," he teased. Grinning, he bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead, holding in the urge to kiss that delectable pout off her lips. "Maybe I should go; I think you're getting a little distracted."

Lindsay scoffed and glared at him, wishing that he was stuck in the same predicament that she was in with no will power to dig herself out. She checked her watch, an act she regretted immediately as all it did was to remind her of Christmas once again. Now she was beginning to dislike that oh-so-charming man perched on her table – it was because of him she was here in the first place. Opting to spend Christmas in New York with him instead of going back to Montana, she was starting to think of the eggnog she could have been drinking, sitting near the fireplace with her father on his rocking chair and her mom fussing over one of the younger children running around the house. She sighed as the wind of nostalgia began to blow – yet again. She looked up and met Danny's smile and the thought of regretting the decision to spend Christmas with him became more than preposterous.

"I think the word distracted is an understatement," she mumbled, eliciting a grin from Danny.

Still grinning, Danny stood up moved behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and giving them a little massage. He bent down and placed a kiss to the top of her head before whispering, "I love you."

Lindsay smiled and tilted her head back to look at him. "I love you too," she replied and watched in anticipation as he leaned in for another kiss.

Interrupted by the ring of his phone, Danny smiled apologetically as he fished it out of his front pocket and answered. It was Adam – his results were in. Flipping the phone shut, he straightened up, gave her a melting grin and said, "My trace results are in. Adam sounded a little impatient."

Lindsay nodded and said with a grin, "I'll see you later, dear."

Shaking his head, Danny chuckled as he leant forward for one last kiss. Bringing his lips to her ear, he replied huskily, "I'll definitely see you later, dear." Throwing out a "see you later", he grinned and gave her a wink before disappearing out the door – figuratively since the walls were all made of glass.

Stepping into the trace lab, Danny raised an eyebrow as he met the back of an obviously pissed off Adam; hands on his waist, head shaking, standing beside the mass-spectrometer. He radiating irritation coming off the lab technician was enough to guarantee that the thought of kicking the crap out of the machine had gone through Adam's mind more than once. Clearing his throat, Danny walked up to him and clapped a hand to the younger man's back.

"What've you got for me, Adam?" he asked with a hopefully calming smile.

Adam turned around and held back the urge to glare at the CSI, knowing that it was misplaced anger and that it wasn't his fault that the mass-spec had decided to take a Christmas vacation. He sighed and hung his head. "A broken machine – that's what I've got for you."

"How long's the backlog?" Danny asked. Stepping aside, he bent down and took a look at the machine. He didn't know what he was looking for but it beat standing there staring at it like an idiot.

"Two miles long," Adam replied dejectedly.

Danny visibly winced. Turning back to Adam, who now looked utterly defeated, Danny grinned and gave the man's back another clap. "Cheer up, Man," he said enthusiastically. "Now we've got a reason to get new toys to play with."

The idea of getting new toys went well with Adam as he grinned at the thought. "How old is this thing anyway?" he asked, checking around the box for some kind of information panel.

"No idea," Danny replied. "But have you got my results or not?"

Still searching along the sides, Adam waved a hand and said, "On the table. It's a mix of red and yellow synthetic fibres."

"Good thing I remember my colour wheel," Danny replied as he picked up the report and glanced through it. "Thanks, Adam," he said before leaving.

Heading for Mac's office, Danny stopped as Stella called him into her office. "You need something?" he asked, poking his head in through the glass door.

Visibly in a rush, Stella held up a video tape in one hand and an evidence bag in the other. "Yeah, Danny, do you mind getting these to trace for me? I really need to get to this tape." Handing the bag over to him, Stella turned and picked up the case file.

"The mass-spec's down," Danny told her. "This is going into backlog."

Stella groaned with irritation. "Great!" she said loudly. Tossing her hands up in the air, she dropped onto her couch and clutched her head. The beginning of a headache was now starting to get to her.

Making his exit, Danny paused at the door and turned around. "Have you seen Mac?" he asked. "I can't get a hold of him."

"He's with Reed," Stella replied tiredly. "He left about an hour ago. Why?"

Danny shook his head. "Nah, just givin' him an update," he replied. He gave her a charming grin and left the room, whistling a Christmas tune as he headed downstairs to the lockers. As he reached the elevator, an idea popped into his head and he smiled. He took out his phone, typed a quick message and clicked 'send' just as the elevator door dinged open. Now whistling a song his mother used to sing to him as a child, his smile seemed ever permanent and his step was never without a certain bounce.

Signing off one more report, Lindsay banged her head uncomfortably on the desk and moaned. It was torture to be working when all she was in the mood for was making snowmen outside or shoving a handful of snow down Danny's back. She simply wished criminals and the likes of idiots with murderous thoughts in their heads would simply hold back for the holidays. Wishing they didn't exist would simply be pointless.

With a deep breath, she sat up and lazily pulled off another report from the messy pile. In truth, there weren't that many, but the thought and process of reliving every single case she'd worked during the last few days wasn't in the slightest way appealing. One jealous lover, a spiteful ex-wife and a robbery casualty – 3 cases and neither of them had left her with a happy smile at the end of the day. She shook her head – mentally and physically – then looked at the time. Christmas was now only 5 hours away and the dark sky outside made her wish she was at home, tucked under Danny's arm, sipping a mug of hot chocolate. The beep of her phone startled her out of her daydream and she flipped it open to read the message.

It read: 'Stop daydreaming. Love you.D

Lindsay chuckled and shook her head. She looked around for an item befitting her reply and found. Typing in her message, she giggled and clicked 'send'. Reading Danny's message again, she sighed happily and melted slightly in her chair. She sat back up a second later, shaking her head and berating herself. She was at work. She was a professional – and Danny was going to get hell for turning her all lovey-dovey at a time she wasn't supposed to be. Inside however, she knew it was all her fault.

Three years ago she would have choked at the sight of sighing girls in the presence of a gorgeous man. She didn't get it. It irritated her. How could a simple smile make a person swoon? She knew one day those thoughts would bite her in the ass – that was now. Fortunately, she found the bite to be one of the best things life had thrown at her. His name was Danny Messer. He made her knees weak, he annoyed her, he made her laugh, he made her smile – he loved her. She loved him back. The great thing was that she could do the same to him – she could make his heart skip more than just a beat.

Shaken from her reverie by the sound of shattering glass from somewhere in the lab, Lindsay realised she needed to get back to work. She groaned again.

Danny's phone beeped again as he entered the locker room signalling a new received message. He headed over to his locker and took out his phone before sitting down on the bench. Reading Lindsay's reply, he grinned and shook his head before replacing it in his pocket. With a chuckle, he stood up and opened his locker to take out a dry, baby blue, shirt to replace his snow-damp maroon one.

"You look happy."

Danny looked up from buttoning his shirt to meet a grinning Adam. Danny smiled and shrugged. "It's Christmas, man," said Danny as he straightened his collar. "Can't a guy be happy?"

"Woah," said Adam, his hands raised in surrender. "I'm just pointin' it out. It's great to see everyone in the Christmas spirit, you know?"

Danny chuckled and shook his head.

Opening his own locker, Adam took out a bottle of water and took a sip. "Lindsay doesn't look too happy though," he said. "She looks a little…I don't know, restless."

"You'd look the same way if you were stuck staring at a pile of paperwork," Danny countered.

Adam thought about it and nodded. "Point taken," he replied with a shrug.

Danny closed his locker and walked over to the mirror, checking his appearance before turning to Adam. "If you'll excuse me, I've got more evidence to process," he said to Adam.

"You'll have to put anything that needs to go under the mass-spec in backlog," Adam told him.

Danny nodded and walked out.

XXXXXX

As always, it only took Lindsay time to get her head down to work despite however deep her reluctance was. After a few more rounds of unhappy sighs, the work began to finally seem less repulsive and more of a hurdle that she was determined to leap across before the clock struck twelve. It was three hours later that she finally came up for air, the figure standing in the corner of her eyes capturing her attention.

Lindsay looked up and smiled as Danny crossed his arms and smirked at her. He moved away from the door and walked up to her, not pausing for a word as he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Merry Christmas, Montana," he whispered as their noses brushed against each other.

Turning to the clock, Lindsay's eyes widened as she realised it was already a quarter past twelve – it was already Christmas. She turned back to Danny and smiled brightly before whispering her reply, "Merry Christmas to you too, Cowboy."

Danny grinned and offered his hand, which she gladly took, and led her to the large window. Outside, the lights countered the sky's darkness as the sea held the city's shimmering reflection at its surface. Moving behind Lindsay, Danny smiled as he simply held her – content and happy with the way their bodies fit perfectly together every time. The minutes they stood there felt like hours as not a care in the world could disturb their moment of peace and solitude, and it was a little while later that Danny finally pulled away.

Lindsay held back a moan at the loss of contact between them and turned around to see Danny grinning boyishly back at her with a twinkle in his eyes. She watched him, with curiosity when he slipped his hand into his jacket and pulled out a rectangular box from within and handed it to her. Her eyes shifted from the box and his face a she took the box. It was covered in black leather and on the top was the word 'Montana' expertly stitched on with silver thread. With silent anticipation, she slowly opened the lid to reveal a beautiful white gold locket.

"It's beautiful," said Lindsay as she took it out of the box and held it up by its chain. Then she turned to Danny and smiled. "You didn't have to…"

"Open it," he instructed and watched with glee as her smile blossomed at the sight of the picture inside.

Sitting comfortably within the safety of the diamond shaped locket, the picture was a digitally aged print of the two of them nestled together. Lindsay turned to Danny with a questioning glance. It was the first time she'd ever seen the picture before.

"Stella took it," Danny replied, answering her verbally unasked question. Lindsay gave him another look and he smiled, pulling her into his embrace and kissing her lightly. "Remember the triple murder we worked 2 weeks ago?"

Lindsay nodded slowly.

"Remember the little get together we had after that at my apartment?"

Again, she nodded slowly.

"Turns out we fell asleep on the couch," said Danny. "Stella took the picture and gave it to me a few days later."

Lindsay took a closer look at the picture of them and smiled. "It's perfect…"

"You're perfect," Danny whispered.

Grinning, Lindsay shook her head before leaning in for another kiss. "I don't have your present with me," she said shyly. "You're too nosy; so I had to hide it."

"You're present enough, Montana," Danny replied with a grin.

Looking up, Lindsay grinned. "Couldn't you have told me that before I bought it?"

"You never asked what I wanted," Danny countered with a wink.

Lindsay raised her eyebrows and asked, "What exactly do you want?"

"You," Danny whispered before bending down to kiss her.

- The End-

A/N: Thoughts? Suggestions? Please review and share them.