A/N: Thanks to all who read and reviewed! We've gone pass the 100 review mark!
Despite the fact that this chapter was SUPPOSED to be posted tomorrow - a certain someone has convinced me to change my mind.
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Danny stirred as the morning light filtered through the blinds. Shifting slightly, he winced as the familiar throbbing pain ran through his abdomen once again. As usual with injuries, the pain seemed worse a few days after the initial incident than what was originally felt. He was still high on adrenalin in the warehouse, managing to move his battered body purely on impulse. It was now that his body had the chance to protest against the beating he received. It was times like these that Danny Messer was glad for the invention of pain killers, pain killers which happened to be located on the bedside table – on Lindsay's side.
Danny moved to get up; clenching his teeth through pain, but it was too much. He had enough trouble getting up when Lindsay was helping him that doing it on his own seemed near impossible. Turning his head slightly, Danny frowned. He didn't want to wake her up, he hated waking her up, but he couldn't stand the pain much longer.
Nudging her slightly with his elbow, he called out. "Montana." Seeing no response, he tried again. "Come on Montana, wake up."
Feeling the slight nudge, Lindsay became instantly alert, checking to see if Danny was alright. "What is it baby? You okay?" asked Lindsay with worry.
Chuckling softly, Danny laughed at the worried expression on his girlfriend's face. Lindsay was normally even tempered, thinking situations through rather than acting on impulse, unlike him. But with him, all that was thrown out the window as she was quick to over react. Taking one of her hands in his, he stroked her skin with his thumb in an attempt to calm her down a little. "I'm fine Montana, though I could do with a vicodin right now," he replied.
Sitting up, Lindsay helped Danny do the same, slipping in a cushion behind his back to make him more comfortable. Turning back, she poured a glass of water from the jug on the bedside table and handed it to him before grabbing the pill bottle.
"Here," said Lindsay, placing 2 pills in his hand as she took the glass from him. She handed it back as he popped the pills into his mouth. Getting up, she tied her hair into a loose ponytail before moving to his side of the bed and perching on the side. "Morning," she said playfully, giving him a peck on the lips.
"Mornin'," Danny replied, with a grin.
"You want to go back to sleep or you sick of that yet?" asked Lindsay, smiling.
Danny shook his head. "Nah, these pills will knock me out in a little while. Might as well see a little daylight whilst I can," he replied before blushing as his stomach protested against the lack of food.
"I think your stomach agrees with you there honey," replied Lindsay, laughing slightly at Danny's red cheeks. "Anything you want in particular?"
Throwing her his grin, Danny replied. "What I want never seems to be on the menu."
"Well, then maybe it's time for you to get a better menu," replied Lindsay mirroring his grin.
Unfortunately for Danny, being pumped full of meds for the past 48 hours had left his brain a little slow on the uptake. "Is that your way of telling me to get better faster or get a new girlfriend?" asked Danny, confusion evident on his face. "If it's the latter, I have to say the current slip says no refund, and I'm a little low on cash," he replied with a smirk.
Laughing, Lindsay bent down to kiss the smirk off his face. "Then I guess it's the former then cowboy," she replied before getting up and leaving for the kitchen.
Danny groaned in frustration, glad that the guys who did this to him were in custody, or he would have shot them himself. He had the best night in his life not two days ago and now here he was lying on his bed, hand in a cast, bruised and colourful enough to be called a pretty work of art. 'At least Montana's still here,' he thought with a smile. "And I ain't goin' no where either."
XXXXX
Stepping out of the elevator, Flack craned his neck around in search of a familiar face. 2 days after the incident, Flack marvelled at how fast the cleaning crew had worked to clear the floor of broken glass. Spotting Stella, he motioned Rebecca to follow as he called out to her.
"Stella!"
Finishing her conversation with a few lab techs, Stella turned at the voice. "Hey Flack," she replied. Noticing Rebecca standing next to him, Stella asked, "Who's this?" pointing in Rebecca's direction.
"This is Rebecca Lily Pierce, my new partner," supplied Flack. "Say hello Rebecca," he teased.
"Is that some sad way of repaying me for my teasing Don? Cos it needs work," Rebecca quipped before turning to Stella and offering her hand. "It's nice to meet you."
Laughing at Rebecca's earlier statement, Stella shook her hand. "Likewise, it's about time someone put him in his place. Lisa doesn't do a very good job and frankly, I'm just plain tired of doing it."
"Lisa?" asked Rebecca.
"Never mind," replied Flack. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to Stella. "So how's the lab?"
"When Mac told the guy that the bomb was enough to make the cleaning crew very unhappy, he wasn't kidding," replied Stella with a laugh. "The damage looks worse than it actually is. Aside from our little bomb stunt, most of the equipment were unharmed. Luckily for us, the shipment for the new stuff arrives in a few days."
"Hopefully we get a crime-free holiday," said Rebecca, looking around.
"I second that," replied Stella. As though realising something, she turned to Flack. "Have you heard from Danny at all?" she asked.
Smiling slightly, Flack nodded. "He's fine; we went to go see him yesterday."
"We?" asked Stella.
"Well, I got stuck with her," started Flack, pointing at Rebecca, "yesterday. I was going to go see Danny after shift anyway, and asked if she wanted to tag along."
"You make me sound like a stray dog, such a gentleman you are Don," said Rebecca with a glare.
"Hey, you won 100 bucks. Lay off," replied Flack.
"Fine, fine," replied Rebecca with a wave.
"I don't think I want to know," admitted Stella with a laugh.
Regaining her composure, Stella motioned around her. "So you here sightseeing or you need something?" she asked.
"Sightseeing," they both replied before bursting into another fit of laughter.
"Meet 'n' greet?" asked Stella.
"Yup,"
"Alright then, how bout you guys go hang out in what's left of the break room and I'll round up the guys?"
Nodding, Flack led Rebecca down the hall to the break-room, or at least what's left of it. They barely had time to sit down when the rest of the team filed in.
"Guys, this is Rebecca, my new partner," Flack announced.
Smiling, Rebecca turned to face the team.
Her jaw dropped.
A/N: Thoughts? Suggestions? Please review and tell me what you thought! No hate mail please. I know it's a cliffhanger - again - but you get why tomorrow! (Hopefully)
Thanks a bunch,
Messermonroe
