Disclaimer: If I wish hard enough, will they become mine?

Spoilers: Season Two.

Author's Note: Thanks so much to all my reviewers, you guys rock! Special thanks to zora, whose review I could not reply to offline. And no, you're not a freak.

On with the chapter...

Danny was confident that Lindsay was interested in pursuing things between them. At least he had been while he was at the hospital with her…and she was on drugs.

Hmmm. Perhaps it would be wise to test the waters now that she was out of mortal danger and off the IV?

"I can't believe he was still there when you guys made it over," Lindsay told Sheldon as they rode in the elevator to her floor. Hawkes shrugged.

"I'm just glad we caught him. God knows I wish they were all so stupid. At least you can sleep knowing he's behind bars."

Lindsay nodded and yawned as she let Hawkes in and closed the door behind her. He stayed with her for a while chatting and eating dinner before he was paged to go back to the lab. As he left he smiled at Lindsay and her guard was up in an instant.

"Can you do me a favor and assure Danny that you're fine?" he teased and Lindsay blushed and ducked her head. "And remind him that we did catch the guy who took you, so he doesn't need to become a one-man vigilante force?"

Lindsay rolled her eyes and shook her head at Hawkes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, you know," she informed him though it was clear she was fighting a grin.

"Sure you don't. Well, I'll see you soon, right?"

She nodded and locked the door behind him, and thought about Danny. The fact he was so protective of her was sweet, really, as was the fact he either wasn't able to or didn't bother to conceal it from the team. It warmed her up in a way she could definitely get used to.

Danny garnered up the courage to call Lindsay and see if he could pick up on whether or not the drugs made her send out signals she now regretted. But it wasn't easy. Of course, given the nature of their jobs and their personalities it really shouldn't have come as a surprise when Danny called her after Hawkes had settled her back into her apartment that the conversation floundered.

Neither one seemed to know how to bring the subject up they both wanted to discuss and so they fell back into neutral topics, occasionally letting loose with a slightly risqué joke or comment that served not only to lighten the mood but also to assure each other the sexual tension was still alive and kicking.

They came to the same conclusion…they needed to see each other before they decided how to pursue whatever it was they were going to pursue. Danny asked her if she wanted a ride in the morning for her first day back and Lindsay was grateful and nervous at the thought that she'd get to see him alone.

"So I'll pick ya up around nine? Sound good?" he asked.

"I'll be waiting," Lindsay answered with a smile he could hear in her voice.

When the phone rang the next morning she was surprised at the voice at the other end of the line.

"Good morning, Lindsay," Stella said, "Excited about coming back to work?"

"Hey, Stella. Yeah, I am."

"Good. That's sort of why I'm calling. I'm going to be coming past your place in about 25 minutes and I thought you'd like a lift."

"Oh, well—" Lindsay began.

"Danny called me," Stella interrupted, "he got called into work early and said he had planned on picking you up this morning. So I told him I'd call and see if you'd let me do the honors."

Lindsay could hardly say no, and so a little over half an hour later after receiving a warm welcome back hug she found herself buckled into the passenger seat of Stella's car. They'd only driven a little ways when Stella spoke up.

"You know, Danny was pretty pissed he wasn't going to be the one to pick you up," Stella commented, sneaking a sideways glance at Lindsay and inwardly smiling when she saw the younger woman's cheeks blush, "And he would have called you himself but it was pretty early and he was afraid you'd still be sleeping."

"Yeah, I probably was," Lindsay admitted, although she could hardly think of a better way to be woken up than to the sound of Danny Messer's voice.

The conversation drifted to more neutral topics, with Stella giving Lindsay the heads up on the newest cases their team was tackling. When they walked off the elevator Lindsay was nearly bowled over by the enthusiastic greetings and well wishes she received. Even Mac put a hand on her shoulder and asked about her, minutes before piling on the paperwork. She didn't grumble about being put on light duty for a week, although the weight of the stack of paperwork certainly made that term an oxymoron.

After a couple hours when she still hadn't seen Danny she resigned herself to the fact that the case was probably going to keep him away, and it was undoubtedly a good thing, since she needed time to digest what had happened between them.

After another two hours had passed she was so absorbed in reading over the details of a case she was filing that it took her a moment to recognize the feeling of eyes on her. Looking up she was surprised and also delighted to see Danny lounging against the door jamb. Boy oh boy was he good-looking.

"Hey there, Montana," he drawled with a smirk. I could stare at her for hours.

"Hey yourself."

He looked around the room for a moment before allowing his eyes to return to hers.

"I can see that many flowers have already died to make your day, and thus I feel all right that I chose something else."

He held up a large white bag.

"Hungry yet?"

She nodded and stood up to join him, smiling at him as she walked past.

"Wonton eggdrop, my favorite," she enthused as he handed her a container and a spoon, "How'd you know?"

He shrugged but if she'd looked Lindsay would have seen the tips of his ears burning. For his part he was just happy they had the break room to themselves.

"I remember you sayin' somethin' about it. Anyway, when I got out of the panic room all I wanted was cold food for about a week. So I took a gamble it might be the same for you with the hot stuff."

"You were right. I can't seem to get warm enough since getting out of the hospital, but the doctor said it was just a phase. Plus the weather being pretty crappy isn't helping."

They chatted and ate until Danny's pager went off. He got up and chucked his containers into the garbage, cheering when he made both the shots he'd taken.

"What time are you done today?" he asked as he grabbed his lab coat. She shrugged.

"I have enough paperwork to keep me here until the next millennium, but I think I'll knock off around six or seven."

He nodded and moved to the door.

"I'll try to come back and see you around then."

She bobbed her head in agreement and he was gone with a quick salute before she realized she should have just told him she'd see him tomorrow. He didn't need to check up on her, which is surely what he'd meant.

Making her way back to her desk she plopped herself down and reached for another file. The afternoon crawled by, and she caught herself glancing at the clock all too often. People continued to come in and see how she was doing, and she was surprised at the effort it took to convince everyone she was okay. It was exhausting to have to plaster a smile on her face every couple of minutes, even more taxing to hold up her end of a conversation.

The pages in front of her began to blur, and she found herself suddenly snapping awake after nearly hitting her head on the desk. She glanced at the clock and saw it was after six, but she couldn't wait for Danny to come anymore, and she acknowledged he was the only reason she'd stayed. Right now she needed to get home and go to sleep.

She turned off the lights and grabbed her coat before shutting the door behind her. As she waited for the elevator to arrive she struggled with the arms of her jacket and had just finished zipping it up when she noticed that the car was stopped. When it didn't move after a minute she crossed the hallway to the bench opposite the elevator and leaned her head against the wall, feeling the strain of the day attack her body.

The elevator pinged and the doors opened. Lindsay reluctantly pushed herself up but the figure inside the elevator caused her to stop and stare. Danny was settled into a corner of the car watching her. He catalogued her appearance and took in all the tension she was feeling.

"You done?" he asked. She nodded.

"Come here," he beckoned, using the same sort of hand motion she had at the hospital. A bit wary she nonetheless made her way over and stopped just inside the doors. His right hand hit the button for the parking garage as he reached his left hand out to her. She furrowed her brows at him but put her hand in his.

He tugged on it until she moved closer and just when she was about to put her other hand up to stop herself from crashing into him he moved his right hand to her left shoulder. Before she knew what had happened he'd spun her around and pulled her back against his chest, one arm across her waist, the other across the front of her shoulders.

He was holding her, hugging her, really.

It was the first time she'd ever been in his arms.

She tensed for a millisecond and then practically melted into him, tipping her head back and closing her eyes. His breath fanned her temple and she could fell the stress drain away, to be replaced with delicious languid warmth.

"Long day today," he murmured into her hair, and she simply nodded, too tired to do much else.

The elevator continued its descent and Lindsay became drowsier with every floor. When the doors opened again she sighed but didn't open her eyes. Behind her Danny didn't make an effort to move either at first, content to lean against the wall with Lindsay in his arms. But then he decided it was best they get moving before the elevator got called again.

"Monroe, we gotta get a move on outta here and get you home."

"Can't I just sleep here?"

He laughed and she could feel the vibrations in his chest. Opening her eyes she groaned and moved out of the circle of his arms, pushing the button to open the door and trudging out with Danny close behind.

She stuck her hands in her pockets and hunched down in her coat and began to walk towards the sidewalk. Realizing she wasn't following him Danny called out.

"Montana? Where are you goin'? My car's over here."

She stopped and turned around, looking so adorably confused he almost laughed.

"What? You thought I was gonna let you take the subway? No way…I didn't get to bring you in today, so at least I get to bring you home."

She smiled and shook her head.

"You don't have to do that, Danny. I can take the subway."

"I know you are capable of takin' the subway, but I'm not arguin' with you about this so will you please get your cute little keister in here so we can get the heat on?"

Lifting her hands in a gesture of surrender she crossed the parking lot to him and got in the door he was holding open for her. Settling herself in she buckled her seat belt and turned to him.

"Do you remember how to get to my place?"

He nodded as he turned on the heat full blast and pulled out of the garage. The drive to Lindsay's apartment was quiet, and she had almost fallen asleep again when he pulled up in front of her building. He turned to her.

"Before you start in with me I'm comin' up with you to get you settled."

She smiled at him.

"Do you often invite yourself up to women's apartments?"

He smirked.

"I usually don't have to…" he seemed to consider what he'd said, because he added "and I promise I won't try any funny stuff."

She rolled her eyes and unbuckled her seatbelt, then got out of the car and dug in her bag for her keys. She told herself she was glad to hear him say that…really, she was. She was in no condition to get hit on.

She decided the whole elevator thing was just a friend comforting a friend, nothing more. Well, she'd wanted a signal and she supposed she got one. He wasn't into her.

Danny held the door open for her and waited for her to precede him into the lobby. They silently made their way to the elevator. As the doors sealed shut behind them Danny turned to Lindsay and backed her into the wall. Too surprised to do anything but react, her hands came up to rest on his chest while his came up to rest on her hips. He leaned down until their noses were almost touching.

"Oh…just so you know, I don't think kissin' is funny."