I don't own these people.
I do own the plot.
Don't steal my plot.
I know where you hang out.
Joley Suicide
Chapter 4: Taking a Chance
Danny heaved a sigh of frustration/relief as he moved away from the door. There had been no doubt in his mind that he'd wanted her to stay… But, despite his reputation, he wasn't a total asshole. She'd opened up to him and he respected that and left their visit at strictly platonic… This time.
As he moved through his apartment picking up remnants of the evening, he turned the night's course of events over in his head. He hadn't expected such a revelation out of her, given their recent issues… But he was beginning to understand what was going on in her head and that, to him, was a start.
Lindsay felt relief course through her body as she made her way back to her apartment. That is, relief tinged with something else… Disappointment maybe? Why didn't he kiss me? Why did he make me leave? Am I that hard to resist…? Deep down inside, she hoped she was that hard to resist. The very thought of it brought a smile to her face. Today, with the help of Danny, she'd lowered one of her walls.
As the week went by, the walls around Lindsay slowly seemed to come down. Danny was still a bit unsure of how to proceed in light of the new developments. She'd very clearly told him to back off in the past. But now, she seemed to be allowing him closer, closer than he'd thought she would. So close, in fact, he was debating the concept of asking her out again.
He was turning that very idea over in his head on Friday morning. He was definitely ready for the weekened, and definitely ready to close out the Suicide Girls case. With a little luck and a solid hit with Lindsay's evidence, they could close it this afternoon.
4 hours later, Danny got his wish. They got Al, the wronged "almost boyfriend" and Danny had just said his goodbyes to the lovely women of the group. He glanced at his watch. "Done by 3. That's just beautiful." He muttered, a smile plastered on his face. He turned on his heel, heading off in the direction of his and Lindsay's office, hoping to find her there so he could move forward with the whole 'asking her out' concept.
Lindsay wasn't there. Lindsay was emerging from the bathroom connected to the hall where the Suicide Girls were exiting. Up until this point, Lindsay had flown under the radar, staying far away from the actual girls, holing up in the lab or in trace as much as possible. And now, all it took was one misplaced trip to the bathroom and she was face to face with two of her old sisters.
At first, neither girl recognized her and Lindsay prayed to God above to keep it that way. God, however, apparently had different plans. She'd gotten barely three steps past them and heard it… The name.
"Well well well... Joley Suicide… All cleaned up and legit now. You're a regular workin' girl now, eh?" Nixon observed, her tone laced with sarcasm.
Lindsay steeled herself against the words as the others girls whispered amongst themselves.
"This is the girl that quit?" One hissed.
"She's the one who ran home to mommy??" Another questioned.
Lindsay felt her resolve crumbling, each nasty comment puncturing a hole in her armor.
"She wasn't ever really one of us to begin with. She didn't have it in her… Nothin' more than a wannabe." Nixon said, her voice decidedly cold.
"Turn around… Show us your scars. We know you got em'. Sweet little thing like you, you didn't keep the tats." Nixon continued, goading her.
Lindsay refused to turn but she also couldn't seem to propel herself forward either. Move… LINDSAY MONROE MOVE NOW!!! Finally her neurons started firing and she hurried off, eyes blurred with tears of anger, sadness and regret.
She kept her pace all the up until she smacked into Stella. The older woman grabbed Lindsay by the shoulders to steady her.
Stella gazed down at the younger woman, immediately concerned with the expression marring her features.
"Linds, what's wrong?" She asked, drawing the younger detective into the corner.
Lindsay looked up into the eyes of the Greek woman. "Can… can you just get Mac?" She asked, unwilling to share more at the moment. Without a word, Stella nodded and ran off to find him, alarmed at Lindsay's sudden turn in emotions.
Danny saw Stella race by his office and into Mac's just down the hall. He came closer to the glass wall, blatantly staring at the two in his office. Seconds after Stella entered, both of them exited and headed in the direction Stella had come from.
As he strode by Danny, Mac's eyes briefly met the younger man's and Danny felt a wave of uneasiness wash over him. Something wasn't right.
Danny made his way back to his desk, unable to shake the unsettled feeling. Something was definitely wrong. He wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't help when Stella came back through minutes later, this time headed to the locker room. A moment after that, she came out, carrying Lindsay's belongings.
It's Montana… I knew something wasn't right… His first instinct was to run after Stella, find Lindsay and fix whatever was wrong. But he restrained himself. Going after her now would be a bad idea. The walls that he'd patiently waited out, the walls that were slowly starting to come down, would fly right back up. As much as it pained him, he needed to wait. Give her a little space.
He spent the rest of the day trying to force himself to concentrate on work, but his mind kept traveling back to Lindsay.
He was worried. I can't lose her again… Not when I've just gotten a foot hold.
He'd been watching the clock like a hawk for the past several hours, now just waiting to see it click over to 5.
Finally, at 4:43, he called it a day. He quickly filed away what he'd been working on, dropping a sizable stack of completed work into Mac's inbox, hoping the man would see just how busy he'd been. Mac nodded approvingly at the work, not speaking only because he was on the phone.
Danny took off to the locker room, grabbing his coat and messenger bag before heading off to collect his SUV.
He sat in the garage, debating his route home. One would invariably lead him past Lindsay's apartment. The other took him straight home. The latter was much safer than the former, the former was going out on a limb, to say the least. And he wasn't exactly crazy about limbs and going out on them.
All I can do is try. He reasoned with himself as he made the left out of the garage, headed towards Lindsay's apartment.
Twenty five minutes later, he was rocking on the balls of his feet, his mind once again locked in a heated debate. He was here, practically on the woman's front stoop, all he had to do was push a button and she'd answer. That's all.
Push the damn button. It's just a button. It's just Lindsay… Only, there's nothing "just" about her.
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up slightly in the process. He reached out blindly with the other hand, pushing the button that would alert her to his presence.
"Hello?" Her voice came over a moment later.
"It's me."
Review
