I am amazed at the outpouring of great comments. Thank you and keep them coming.

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It was game night with Lindsay and the kids and Danny was running late. Danny called her asking that she leave his ticket at the box office. He'd meet her inside as soon as he could, but every step he took towards leaving the lab sent him back two.

Kick off took place as he arrived at the stadium and he hated that. But when he got to the section where the kids were sitting all that mattered to them was that he showed up.

"Detective Messer." The first student noticed and then it was chaos. Each student gave him a high five or hug. He finally made it to Lindsay and not knowing how to greet her, he just leaned in for a hug, and was calmed by the contact after the long day he's had.

"I think they're happy to see you." She pointed at her students as they all settled back into their seats.

"No kidding, ya think?" He quipped. Lindsay pulled out her phone, punched some number and put it back into her pocket. His phone went off moments later.

Checking the text he read "Wiseass."

He watched her in teacher mode, explaining things to the kids when they asked about the game: angles of throws and kicks, the reason the ball spirals when they throw it, the laws of motion when a player tackles another. When the first quarter ended, she told the kids it was time to just watch and enjoy the game. It's amazing how much someone can teach while watching a football game. The adults were even learning a few things.

It got colder and she sat closer. Families said their good byes and left. Only die hard students and their families remained with Danny and Lindsay until the end of the game. They didn't talk much, too busy with the game and trying to stay warm.

"So which was colder, the parade or this?" He asked walking to the exit.

"Parade." Inching closer, as if it were possible, trying to warm up.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride home."

**

"You're great with the kids, how did you get into teaching?" They walked arm and arm down the street from where he parked his bike.

"Um…I worked as a scientist in a lab for awhile, but got tired of it. I had most of my education degree finished. Thinking that I might need a change, I moved to New York, did a few interviews and got my job teaching."

"No way this is your first year." He was shocked at the idea. "And you already have it in with the Yankees and maybe now the Giants. You network quickly."

She ignored him and carried on with her train of thought. "I'm finishing my degree at the end of this school year. Until then I am teaching on a waiver." She filled in.

"This is your first year. You made it seem like you've been doing this a while. What made you think you needed a change?"

I needed to move on and away from where I grew up. I didn't want to be there my whole life. It's the kind of town where everybody knows everybody. I was ready to get away from that." Among other things that she wasn't ready to talk about. There would be a time for all that, but not tonight.

"New York is the best place to get lost in."

"Or found." She took his hand in hers.

**

December became a very busy very quickly. Lindsay used every minute to close out the semester both at her school and in her studies. She met Danny for a bite to eat every so often, but then had to leave to finish school work.

He pulled case after case. His hours were long and the work tedious.

**

She was in the back of the classroom observing a test when she heard the sound of a phone beep. Looking around, she did not notice any of the kids looking at a phone or hiding one. As she passed through the rows she heard it again and realized it was her phone buried in the bottom of her bag. She dug through pens, pencils, M&Ms, coins, and just about anything else before she found her phone.

The two messages were from Danny and that concerned her. He knew her hours and usually never bothered her at her job.

"Hey." Was the first message. "You got a minute?" was the second. Going to the back of the room she leaned again a book case where she could keep an eye on the kids.

"What's up?" She sent to him curious as to why he would contact her, but nothing came back for a few minutes.

"I'm stuck." Was his reply.

"Call Flack." She told him. "I'm teaching."

"He's here with me."

"That's cozy."

"Ha ha. I'm stuck in a windowless room, the door just shut and locked. Flack and Stella are on the outside trying to get me out. I'm in here with a dead guy."

"You kill him?"

"No."

"Okay, what's going on?"

"Panic room closed w/me and dead guy in it. 13 hours to cut a new door. Power supplied by auxiliary generator. Will go out soon. No fresh air after it goes out."

"What can I do?" She asked him.

"Keep your phone close and talk to me every once in a while." She looked around the room. The group of kids Danny knew would be in after lunch. She started formulating a plan.

"Can do, hang in there."

**

Lindsay thought during her lunch. Danny called to fill her in on what was going on: Mr. Hudson, processing without a kit, cutting new door, Louie, his brother kept calling. He sounded stressed. He sounded tired. The bell rang and her students started coming in.

**

Danny opened a drawer next to the bed and found laminated newspaper articles about Mr. Hudson's past. Falling back on the bed, he thought about his relationship with his own brother.

"I gotta get out of here." He mumbled to the empty room. Then his phone rang. "Hello?"

"Why did the computer need glasses?" Danny checked the caller ID again and it ready Lindsay but it was a kid's voice. "To fix his web site." He laughed and the party of the other end hung up.

He texted Lindsay. "Keep 'em coming. If I don't answer, I'm very busy."

Every five minutes a different voice came over the line. He did the job while listening to kid jokes. If he was in the middle of something, he hit the speaker button.

"What do you get when you cross a vampire with a snowman—frostbite."

"What has six wheels and flies—a garbage truck."

"What does a martial arts fan eat—Kung Food."

"How do you talk to a fish—Drop it a line."

"Why did the tiger at the circus eat the tightrope walker—He wanted a well balanced meal."

**

"Who keeps calling him?" Stella asked Flack after hearing a few of the jokes.

"Lindsay and her kids at school. They have been calling about every five minutes or so. They've been making him laugh. And sometimes we can listen in when he puts them on speaker. I've learned a few good ones to share with my nephews."

**

The phone rang again and he hit speaker, Lindsay's voice came through. "What did one magnet say to the other—I find you very attractive." It would have been much better to Danny if that call hadn't been on speaker phone. Flack heard it and gave him a hard time about it.

"What's big, grey and goes round and round—An elephant stuck in a revolving door."

"What's green and sings—Elvis Parsley"

"Where do kids learn their ABCs?—at LMN-tary school."

The jokes continued until 3:00 on the nose. And then Lindsay called. "Hey, how you holding up?"

"Better, thanks to you and the kids. Keep your phone close, I may call later tonight and have you keep me company. Jerry has a hole cut, he says a few more and he'll start cutting the door."

"I'll be here."

**

Then she got it. She called a few times to check on him and got the message. "The customer you are trying to reach cannot be located. She waited 30 minutes and tried him again and got the same message. She didn't want to bother him, but she dug Flack's card out of her bag and gave him a call.

"Detective Flack."

"Hey Flack, its Lindsay. How are things with Danny? I cant reach him."

"I'm gonna kill him." Don mumbled under his breath, but not quiet enough. "Linds, he's out. I'll let him fill you in later, but his phone died. Battery ran out. Someone kept him busy with jokes all afternoon. But he was going out with his brother for a beer."

"Thanks, that all I needed to hear."

**

"What happened today little brother? I called and called, left messages. Then you call me back tellin' me you'll grab me in an hour." Louie and Danny sat hunched over a table in the corner of a bar.

"Tough case. Confining space. Dead Body. Brothers. It was just bad."

"What happened to your phone? I didn't know the number you called me from earlier."

"My was phone was used all day talking to Stella and Flack about the case and then Lindsay and her students called every five minutes for two hours with jokes and kept me company." He laughed. "Some of their jokes were really bad."

Who's Lindsay?" He knew the names 'Flack' and 'Stella' from talking to him years ago. But 'Lindsay' was not a name that he recognized.

"Girlfriend." It came out so easily.

This peaked Louie's attention. "How long?"

"I've known her for a few months."

"She has students?"

"She's a teacher. Just moved to the city from Montana.

"Small town girl in the big city, where'd you meet her?"

"Her classroom. Mac sent me to visit the kids and see what they were doin.'"

"Ma met her yet?"

"No."

"She gonna?"

"Probably."

"Wow." Louie knew how big this was. He could count on one hand the number of times Danny had brought a girl home to meet the parents.

"Yeah, wow." At that moment it dawned on Danny Messer how far his relationship with Lindsay could go.

They shared a few more drinks and storied before calling it a night.

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