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Danny moaned and reached his arm out for Lindsay's body. He pulled her close to him and squeezed her tightly. Danny's eyes shot open immediately as he felt Lindsay's body squash into softness in his arms, and let out a sigh of relief when he realised he had squashed a pillow, not Lindsay.
Danny rubbed his eyes and squinted around the room for his glasses. He found his shirt on the floor just under the bed and leant over, searching under the bed for his glasses.
"Lindsay! Danny Boy! Breakfast is ready!" Uncle Keith hollered from downstairs.
Danny jumped and fell flat out of bed. He cursed as his back connected with the hardwood floor.
Lindsay came in moments later, freshly showered and dressed. She stood over Danny's half naked body on the floor and frowned.
"Danny? Are you ok?"
"I miss carpet and normal alarm clocks," Danny mumbled.
Lindsay grinned and helped him up.
"You make it a habit of leaving in the morning, no goodbye, no thanks for the great night?" Danny asked, only half serious, as he found his glasses on Lindsay's desk.
Lindsay smiled and rolled her eyes. "As much as I would like to stay in bed with you all morning, our flight leaves in a few hours and we haven't even started packing."
Danny yawned and made his way to the bathroom. "We don't have to fly back today."
"Oh, Sure. Mac will be thrilled to hear that we took an additional day off work from the week he gave us just so we could lie in bed," Lindsay replied, smacking Danny's ass playfully as he went by. "Make tracks Cowboy."
Lindsay put her plate in the sink after her breakfast and sat back down at the table with her aunt and uncle.
"If that boy doesn't hurry up he'll miss his flight, let alone breakfast," Uncle Keith noted.
Lindsay grinned. "He's busy making himself look pretty."
"You're spirits are definitely up," Aunt Jane stated. "I take it the trip out yesterday helped?"
Lindsay nodded. "It definitely helped. I don't feel like I have to run away from her anymore. Danny was so supportive."
"We're happy for you Lindsay. You deserve someone like him," Uncle Keith replied.
Lindsay smiled and blushed. "I should go pack."
She ran upstairs and almost bumped into Danny in the process.
"Packing," She said quickly as she made her way past.
"Breakfast," Danny replied, equally as quickly. Lindsay smiled as she entered her room to pack.
About 15 minutes later her suitcases were packed and sitting at the end of her bed. She made her way downstairs and almost crashed into Danny a second time as he raced up the stairs.
"Packing?" She asked simply.
Danny nodded and flashed a grin before turning to leave, but Lindsay grabbed his hand.
"Wait." She pulled him into a kiss. "I've been waiting to do that all morning."
Danny smirked. "You don't have to wait, you can kiss me whenever. In fact, I hereby give you permission to jump me anytime, anywhere you're feeling frisky."
Lindsay shook her head and grinned as she descended down the stairs. When Danny smiled like that, he could get a girl to do anything.
Lindsay was intent on seeing the animals one last time and spending a bit of time outside before leaving. She went out the back door and headed for the horse sheds, smiling as the dogs followed her feet.
Lindsay gently stroked the horses, wishing she didn't have to leave so soon.
"Why do I get the feeling you're gonna try to smuggle Fee on the plane?" Said a voice behind her.
Lindsay smiled. "Don't tempt me Kay."
Kaylee stood beside her sister.
"So how was Ryan?" Lindsay asked.
Kaylee frowned. "How did you know I was with Ryan? I told Aunt Jane I was spending the night at Samantha's place."
Lindsay rolled her eyes. "I'm a detective, it's what I do."
"Ok, so I was out with Ryan last night, but I didn't sleep with him," Kaylee said quickly.
"I know, you're smarter than that."
"We just hung out across the wheat fields, watched he moon, fooled around a little…"
"Wait. You guys weren't… howling at the moon last night were you?" Lindsay asked suddenly. "Because Danny and I were down by the lake…"
Kaylee's eyes lit up. "I knew it! I knew that was you and Danny howling we heard. I swear I heard his accent in his howl."
Lindsay grinned. "Yeah well you scared the crap out of him. First crocs in the lake, then coyotes in the woods…"
Lindsay screwed up her face. "Crocs?"
"He freaked out because he thought a croc brushed against his foot," Lindsay explained.
Kaylee rolled her eyes playfully. "He actually thought a croc would fit in that tiny lake? City boys."
Lindsay smiled and walked with her sister across the farm.
"So," Kaylee spoke gently. "I uh, didn't get a chance to talk to you yesterday after you went out to the old house with Danny. How was it?"
"It was good to finally confront it. I got a lot off of my chest… but I never could have gone down to that basement without Danny," Lindsay explained.
"So you feel better about the whole thing?"
"The thing that's been bothering me the most all these years was what she said to me, but when I confronted her I let go of it all."
Kaylee nodded. "So you're never gonna tell me what she said?"
Lindsay smiled lightly. "Of course not."
"So… what are we gonna do with the house?"
"I don't know, I mean, I went back there… but I could never live in that house again. We could always sell," Lindsay suggested.
"Then you and Danny can buy a nice house near here… settle down… have a a couple of kids…" Kaylee teased.
Lindsay shoved her sister playfully and looked at her watch. "Speaking of Danny, we should start heading out to the airport."
Kaylee frowned and hugged her sister. "I'm gonna miss you. Montana's not really that far, you can stop by on weekends."
Lindsay grinned and walked back to the house with Kaylee. "I'll miss you too. Next time you're near New York, netball reasons or otherwise, call in ok? I'll show you around the city."
"Count on it."
When they got inside, all Lindsay and Danny's bags were packed into Uncle Keith's car and Danny was saying goodbye to Aunt Jane out the front.
Aunt Jane squeezed him tightly. "Don't be a stranger Danny. You're always welcome in this house."
"Thanks, I'll miss you."
Danny's words were limited by the lack of oxygen and squeezing of internal organs by Aunt Jane. She let him go and moved on to hug Lindsay.
"We're so proud of you Sweetie and we love you so much."
"I love you too Aunt Jane."
Kaylee gave Danny a quick hug. "Take care of Lindsay City Boy."
Danny smirked. "I'll miss you too."
Lindsay gave a final hug to Kaylee. "I love you Kay."
"Love you too Sis."
Aunt Jane and Kaylee watched as the three got in the car.
"Hey Danny" Kaylee called before he got in.
Danny turned around.
"I didn't know you were scared of crocs."
Danny and Lindsay arrived at the airport well before their plane was due to leave. Uncle Keith helped carry their bags in.
"Do you want me to wait with you until you board your plane?"
Lindsay shook her head. "No, we'll be fine. Thank you so much for everything Uncle Keith, it was great to see you again."
Lindsay lovingly hugged her uncle as Danny watched on with a smile.
"Take care of yourself Lindsay, don't forget you have a home back here."
When Uncle Keith moved on to Danny, Danny was expecting a friendly handshake, and therefore was a little surprised when Uncle Keith hugged him goodbye.
"Like it or not, you're part of the family now Danny Boy."
Danny grinned. "Thanks for welcoming me in."
Uncle Keith smiled warmly. "Have a safe trip back both of you."
After he left, Lindsay pulled Danny to a spare bench. She sat down and sighed.
"Back to New York."
Danny smirked. "Gee Linds, don't get too excited."
"I didn't mean it like that. I love living in New York, I love my job, it's just… a while ago, you were right when you told me I was a country girl pure at heart. It was just nice to have a break."
Danny smiled and wrapped his arm around Lindsay. "Yeah."
Lindsay leant into his body and sighed happily. She knew she was probably getting in over her head with this thing with Danny, but she didn't care. Anything that felt this good was worth taking risks for.
"Uh Linds, I think you're vibrating."
Lindsay smirked and got up to look at her pager. She frowned when she read the message.
911, need your help, I'm in trouble. Meet me at Valley Park ASAP. Don't tell anyone, KAY
The message wasn't from Kaylee's phone but all Lindsay could think about was getting to her sister.
"Bad news?" Danny asked, noticing her reaction to the pager.
"I-I have to go," Lindsay announced as she stood.
"What? Go where?"
"Valley Park, I have to go now."
"Lindsay, our plane is gonna board soon, you won't make it back in time."
Lindsay sighed. "I'll take a later flight and pick up my luggage at you're place. I'm so sorry Danny, I just I need to go."
Lindsay kissed him on the cheek swiftly and left while Danny stood watching dumbfounded.
Lindsay repeatedly tried to ring her sister as the cab drove her away from the airport. She'd contemplated calling her aunt or uncle but Kaylee told her not to tell anyone. Kaylee knew Lindsay was at the airport so she wouldn't tell her to come unless it was life-or-death important. Lindsay still couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that rose in her stomach for leaving Danny stranded at the airport.
Lindsay noticed she was around the corner of Valley Park and tried her sister again.
"Hello?"
"Kay! You turned your phone off!"
"Sorry-"
"I'm almost at Valley Park, what's the 911?"
"911? Why aren't you at the airport?"
"You paged me!"
"Linds what are you talking about?"
"You sent me a page and-"
Lindsay chocked on her words as the taxi pulled up to Valley Park and she saw who was waiting on the bench.
"Unbelievable," She hissed.
"Lindsay, what's going on?"
"I'll call you back Kay."
Lindsay hung up and told the cab driver to wait for her.
"I can't believe you would do this!" Lindsay spat.
Corey looked up. "I just wanted to talk."
"You made me miss my flight! You tricked me into thinking my sister was in trouble!"
"Look, I'm sorry for the things I said the other day. I was just…jealous of that other guy," Corey replied sincerely.
Lindsay didn't buy it. "That's bull! You don't care about anyone but yourself!"
"I care about you Lindsay, what we had…"
"What we had was fake Corey! We didn't love each other."
"Don't say it like that, we had good times."
"Yeah I'm sure, that's why you slept with my cousin."
"We all make mistakes Baby"
"Don't call me Baby! When Danny and I visited you, you bad-mouthed me, you acted like the son-of-a-bitch you really are, none of this fake sincerity bullshit! And now you want to get back together? The only reason you did this is because I was going back to New York with Danny and I was going to be happy. You just wanna ruin my life. Go back to Sarah," Lindsay said coldly before heading back to the cab.
"You'll be back," Corey called.
"Not for you I won't."
Danny sighed as he carried his and Lindsay's bags into his apartment. He had tried to call Lindsay about 12 times during his cab ride from the airport. Half were bad reception, half went through to voicemail.
Danny didn't leave any messages, he wanted to talk to her face to face. At the airport he checked when the latest direct flight was. It wasn't until 6pm that night.
He wasn't happy about Lindsay abandoning him just like that with no explanation.
Danny grunted as he flopped on the couch and turned on his tv. He figured it'd be best to leave it for the night and discuss it in the morning when she was back. If she was coming back.
Danny arrived at work early the next morning in a sour mood. Lindsay hadn't called him once last night. He was at least expecting a call from her saying she got in ok.
Danny dropped off his stuff in his office and made his way to Mac's office.
He knocked on the door. "Mac?"
"Danny, how was the trip?"
"Lindsay got all of her stuff worked out."
"I'm glad, but unfortunately it's time to get back to work. Stella and Veronica have been pulling doubles on their murder/suicide case so you can go relieve them."
Danny nodded and left.
After working a crime scene out at a hotel with Hawkes, Lindsay returned to the lab around lunch time. She stopped by the break room for coffee and winced at the exhausted woman leaning against the counter.
"Stel, have you had any sleep?"
"I'm about to leave now. How was Montana?"
"It was good."
"Doesn't look like Danny enjoyed himself."
Lindsay frowned. "Excuse me?"
"He's been in a grumpy mood all morning. Something happen out there?"
"N-no, he was fine," Lindsay answered, trying to hide her surprise.
Stella shrugged. "Maybe he just had a bad night. I'm off to get some sleep."
Lindsay smiled politely. "Bye Stella."
Stella attempted a weary smile before leaving. Lindsay was curious as to why Danny was in a bad mood. She walked down the hall and watched him through the glass walls, contemplating whether to go in and talk to him.
Lindsay put on a big smile and walked through the door. "Good morning Danny."
"Lindsay," he greeted uninvitingly, without looking up.
Lindsay's smile wavered slightly. He definitely wasn't in a good mood. "How was your flight back?"
"Lonely," Danny admitted. "How was yours?"
"Is that why you're in a bad mood? You're mad at me for leaving you at the airport?"
Danny sighed and looked up at her. "So where were you?"
Lindsay bit her lip reluctantly. "I had to meet Corey in-"
"No no no, don't tell me you cancelled your flight for that asshole please…"
"Danny, I thought it was my sister, he tricked me. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"
"What did he say?"
"Danny-"
"C'mon Linds, it must've been important if he went to all that trouble."
"H-he wanted me back but I told him I was with you ok? I care about you Danny."
Danny looked taken aback by the sudden raise in Lindsay's voice. He didn't say anything, just stared at her.
"Danny… what's going on? Why are you being like this?"
Hawkes knocked on the door and Lindsay and Danny turned quickly. "Evidence is ready for us Lindsay… when you're done here."
Lindsay looked at Danny briefly before turning back to Hawkes. "Yeah, let's go."
Danny had avoided Lindsay for the rest of the afternoon. He'd tried to be out in the field as much as possible and in his office as little as possible. He wasn't exactly sure why he was avoiding her, but knew that he had some stuff to think about.
When there was a knock at Danny's door later that night he didn't hesitate in guessing who it was. He opened the door and stood in the doorway.
"Lindsay."
"I came to get my bags."
Danny nodded and turned to go in his apartment but Lindsay grabbed his arm.
"Wait. Danny… can we go for a walk for a minute?"
Danny looked at Lindsay briefly. "Ok, hang on."
It was a chilly New York night, and despite Danny's reluctance to talk to Lindsay, he kept her body close, knowing the kind of lunatics that loomed the streets late at night.
Lindsay sighed as they strolled along. "Sometimes… I don't get you Danny Messer."
Danny hung his head. "Look, I'm sorry bout before. It's just… this thing between us, in the short time we've been together we've been together to Dallas, Montana…"
"Moving to fast?" Lindsay asked quickly.
"…it's just new to me Lindsay. I'm not used to having a relationship like this, not use to feeling like this. The way I feel about you Lindsay… well you could crush me in a heartbeat if you wanted to, and that scares the heck outta me."
"I let you in Danny. Don't you trust me not to hurt you?" Lindsay asked softly.
"I do, but-"
"Then don't worry about it. This may or may not work out between us, but we shouldn't worry about what will or will not happen. We just have to live in the moment Danny."
Danny let out a sigh and smiled. "Live in the moment?"
Lindsay grinned and closed the small gap between their bodies. "Live in the moment. You mean the world to me Danny."
Danny leant down and kissed her softly. "I'm glad."
Lindsay began pulling him back towards his apartment. "Let's get back to your apartment and 'Live in the moment'."
Danny grinned at her seductive tone. "You know, anyone could think you're trying to abduct me in the street Monroe."
"Well the great thing about New York, there's a million and one places to hide a body. What do you think Cowboy? Street abductions or coyotes and crocs?"
Danny smiled and pulled Lindsay towards him for a kiss.
"Manhattan or Montana? I say anywhere as long as I'm with you."
Thanks to everyone for your support on this story. LOVE YOU ALL!!!
