WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
Disclaimer: The characters in CSI: New York and CSI: Miami do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Summary: After her and Danny's difficult break-up, Lindsay Monroe is transferred to the Miami Crime Lab. Two years later and the past comes knocking on her door…
Notes: Hey all! You know I said last time that this would be the final part? Well, it's not quite. The story is essentially finished, but what was meant to be the last chapter turned out to be something of an epic because I got carried away and all the scenes ended up nearly twice as long as I intended! I've decided to split the last few off into a separate Epilogue therefore, which is basically what they were anyway. All being well, I should post it by next weekend so you shouldn't have to wait too long for the final conclusion.
Adult talk and scenes in this one again, folks, so watch the rating. Anyway, without any further ado, let's continue…
OOOOOO
Part 10 – Serendipity
When Lindsay awoke the following morning, it took her a couple of moments to figure out where she was. When she turned over to see Danny asleep in the bed next to her however, the events of the previous day – and night - came instantly flooding back. Lacing her fingers together above her head, she stretched out her pleasantly aching limbs and briefly considered waking her snoozing bed-mate up for another round of hot loving before reluctantly discarding the idea. He looked so peaceful in repose that she hadn't the heart - especially as she knew that he hadn't had nearly as much sleep as she'd had.
She'd woken up some time during the early hours to find him absent from the bed beside her, but had chosen not to go in search of him, knowing that she needed to give him the space to make an appropriately thought-out decision about their future together. Last night, she'd probably come across as pitifully needy, she realised - the fear that the night they'd shared in Miami a year ago may have been their last ever time together had made her uncharacteristically clingy towards him.
It didn't bode well for the two of them if he felt pushed into being with her however. Great sex was one thing, but there had to be more than that if their relationship was going to survive the long term. In order for this to work, Danny needed to make this decision of his own free will or they'd be starting off on entirely the wrong foot all over again. Repeating past mistakes was not an option as far as Lindsay was concerned, so she'd given him that precious time alone to properly consider where he felt their future lay.
Slipping from the bed beside him, she crossed to the closet and carefully opened the heavy wooden doors. After a moment of contemplation, she selected a mint-green shirt from a hanger and pulled it on over her naked body, deftly fastening up the buttons with quick, nimble fingers. Leaving the top two undone, she rolled up the cuffs until her hands and wrists were visible below the sleeve-line before looking around for her purse. Retrieving it from the chair near the dresser, she pulled out a clean pair of panties, slipped them on, and then padded bare-foot out of the bedroom and down the hall into the lounge.
She liked Danny's new apartment. It was larger and less of a bachelor pad than his previous place. The décor wasn't quite so strikingly masculine and was much more androgynous in style, making it somewhere she could happily see herself living without needing to change things up too much… although a few more cushions on the sofa wouldn't go amiss and perhaps a nice painting over there on the wall near the door too…
'Stop it!' She shook her head, trying to quash her runaway thoughts. 'Getting way ahead of yourself there, Linds,' she admonished herself.
Busying herself with domestic tasks seemed like the sensible thing to do, so she went through into the kitchen and set the coffee percolator to bubbling. After a brief rummage through Danny's meagre food supplies, she determined that breakfast would either be Lucky Charms, leftover Chinese takeout, or brunch at a nearby eatery. She eventually chose to satisfy her rumbling stomach with a bruised-looking banana, thinking that brunch would be her best option given the sugar and starch-laden alternatives. She knew that Danny would have ferreted out somewhere first-rate nearby within weeks of moving into his new place – he loved his all-American breakfasts with a passion and wasn't about to give them up anytime soon.
Ding… Dong…
She jumped as the doorbell chimed. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she noted the time was only just after 8AM. Who would be calling around so early on a Sunday morning? There were no sounds of movement from the master bedroom so she cautiously moved towards the door herself. She wasn't exactly dressed for company, but Danny's shirt was the length of a short dress on her so at least her body was mostly covered from view.
She stood on her tiptoes and peered through the spy-hole – a tall, attractive brunette stood in the hallway outside and Lindsay recognised her instantly – the woman in the picture with Danny – his ex, Maya. For a moment, she thought about not answering the door, but curiosity got the better of her. She wanted to meet this woman who had captured Danny's respect and affection. She was an unknown part of the equation and Lindsay felt the need to analyse the total sum of the parts before the two of them made an ultimate decision about their future together.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and was selfishly pleased to see the look of shock that crossed the other woman's face.
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise…" All of a flutter, Maya started to turn away, but Lindsay stopped her with a sharp "Wait!" and an outstretched hand.
"Maya – right?" she enquired when the brunette reluctantly turned back.
"Yes, I…" Maya broke off and nervously ran her hand through her cascade of long, chestnut hair. "Who…?"
"Lindsay… Lindsay Monroe."
Recognition flashed into Maya's eyes when Lindsay revealed her identity and her tense stance relaxed a little in response to the discovery.
"Better than some random woman, huh?" Lindsay quipped dryly and saw a hesitant smile cross the other woman's features in spite of the awkwardness of the encounter.
"Yes," Maya agreed and then looked at her enquiringly. "You know who I am?"
Lindsay nodded her affirmation. "And you me, obviously."
Maya nodded also. "Yes, I… umm…" She sighed. "I wanted to speak to Danny about something, but it can wait… I can come back."
Lindsay shook her head. "No, no, come in. He's still asleep, but I expect he'll be up soon. I just made coffee."
"And I've got donuts." Maya held up a pink-and-white striped box as she stepped over the threshold.
"Perfect!" Lindsay declared. "Danny's cupboards are seriously lacking in sustenance right now," she added with a sardonic roll of her eyes. "Typical man, huh?"
Maya smiled. "Why do you think I brought donuts with me?" she said. "So umm…"
"What am I doing in New York?" Lindsay interjected as the two of them went through into the off-shot kitchen.
Maya grimaced a little. "Am I that transparent?" she asked.
Lindsay shook her head. "No, it's just if I were in your shoes, I'd be wondering the same thing. There was a big NYPD function on Friday night," she explained.
"Oh, right, yeah - the award ceremony for Mac," Maya recalled. "I remember Danny saying something about that a couple of months ago."
"Yeah well, being a former member of Mac's team, I was on the guest list so I swapped the Sunshine State for the Big Apple for the weekend," Lindsay said as she poured two steaming cups of coffee from the pot. "Milk?" she asked. "Cream?"
"Milk thanks," Maya answered as she selected a sugar-coated donut from the box. "So - you and Danny – you're back together then?" she went on to inquire as they sat down at the kitchen table, the open box of donuts between them.
Savouring the rich fragrant smell of the coffee as well as the welcome hit of caffeine it gave her sluggish senses; Lindsay took a long sip of her drink before answering. "We're still trying to figure that out," she eventually replied.
"He loves you," Maya told her, her gaze direct. "I always knew that. At first that bothered me, I didn't want to be second best, you know? He never treated me like I was though, so I suppose, as time went on, I stopped worrying about it so much."
"And now?" Lindsay asked as she bit into a chocolate-covered donut.
Maya sighed. "Well, I'd be lying if I said it didn't get to me, but I know our relationship is over, that it's time to move on. What Danny does with his life is no business of mine." She shrugged, shot Lindsay a small smile. "And it's as you said: better you than some random woman, hey?"
Lindsay hesitated for a moment, but given Maya's graciousness, it seemed discourteous to be anything less than honest with her. It was decidedly annoying, but she felt herself warming to the woman in spite of the natural rivalry their situation engendered.
"He cares about you a lot," she said. "I've got to admit when I first realised just how much you'd come to mean to him, it threw me a bit. There's a part of his life now that's completely separate from what we were, are to each other and I'm not used to that. At the core, he's still the same person he's always been, but there are some subtle differences in his attitude towards life and relationships now. I would say you're partly responsible for that."
Maya nodded. "Thanks." Her lips curled up into a wry smile. "I think."
"Hey Linds, are you…"
Striding into the kitchen with no care for modesty, Danny broke off when he saw Maya sitting at the table with Lindsay. "Maya… hey! Umm…" He looked down at his unclothed state. "I should probably go put some clothes on, huh?"
Maya was quicker on the uptake than Lindsay, who had temporarily lost the ability to speak at his unexpected interruption of their little tête-à-tête. "Well honey, I don't think it's anything either of us hasn't seen before," the tall brunette drawled, "But yeah, I think that might be a good idea."
Swiftly recovering from her shock, Lindsay snickered gleefully at Maya's tongue-in-cheek comment and Danny threw her an acerbic look in response. "Whatcha laughing at, Montana?" he demanded with as much dignity as he could muster under the circumstances.
She treated him to her wide, sunny smile. "You're actually blushing!" she remarked, her brown eyes dancing with enjoyment. "I don't think I've ever seen you blush before."
"Yes, well… Okay, I'm going now." Rapidly running out of bravado, Danny beat a hasty retreat to spare himself any further embarrassment.
"Nice ass, Messer," Lindsay called out after him, unable to resist the opportunity to mock him further.
"Bite me, Monroe!" he shot back without hesitation.
The two women looked at each other and then broke into delighted laughter.
"Now that," Lindsay declared when her giggles eventually died down, "Was the best fun I've had in ages! Did you see the look on his face?" She glanced at Maya and her expression quickly sobered. "Sorry, that was kind of insensitive, wasn't it?"
"I…" Maya bit her lip, trying to keep her laughter at bay but failing miserably. "I'm sorry, I know I should be feeling completely wronged and all that, but that was just too funny." She smiled. "I guess that means I'm starting to get over him, huh?"
Lindsay shrugged. "I guess so. It's not something I know too much about to be honest."
"True love endures." Maya mused after a telling silence.
"What?" Lindsay frowned, perplexed by the other woman's response.
Maya shrugged. "My Grams told me that once," she explained. "When my first ever boyfriend dumped me for Carly Graves after she got picked for the cheerleading squad. She said 'true love endures, Maya, even when you don't want it to. You remember that and your time will come soon enough.'" She broke off and smiled. "She was full of little pearls of wisdom like that, most of them complete baloney of course, but there maybe some truth to that one."
"Maybe," Lindsay echoed thoughtfully.
Danny came back into the room then, this time appropriately dressed for company in a pair of grey sweats and a dark blue wife-beater. Sensing the slight tension that hung in the air, he instinctively reached out to stroke soothing fingers through Lindsay's hair, and then caught himself when he noticed Maya's watchful eyes upon him.
"Is that coffee?" he said, going to the counter and pouring himself a cup.
"I brought donuts too," Maya said, picking up the box and offering him one as he took a seat between her and Lindsay.
"Great, thanks." He took a cream-filled one and took a large bite. "So, umm… what are you doing here?"
Maya's expression darkened, her eyes shadowing with apprehension. "I… I needed to ask your advice about something. It's, umm… a legal thing and I thought… considering that you work for the NYPD that you might be able to help."
Danny nodded. "Shoot."
"I err… I've been having some trouble with my neighbour down the hall. He moved in around six weeks ago and he's kind of, umm… over friendly."
Danny's eyes narrowed. "He's been hassling you?"
"Yes, no, I don't know!" Tears sparkled in Maya's eyes as she bit her bottom lip in agitation.
Danny laid a calming hand over hers, squeezing her fingers lightly. "Just take a deep breath and tell me what happened," he urged.
Maya nodded and re-gathered her composure. "It started off innocently enough," she began. "He was just kind of flirty and I didn't think too much of it. Then it got a bit more full-on and I figured I should let him know that I wasn't interested."
"But he hasn't backed off?"
Maya shook her head. "No I… he hasn't actually done anything, that's the thing. He's just always there every time I turn around. It makes me uncomfortable and I just don't know what to do about it. Sarah said that the cops can't do anything unless he actually physically threatens me."
Danny exchanged a significant look with Lindsay and then sighed. "Unfortunately, that's not too far off the mark," he said, getting up and moving to the kitchen counter. "The laws on stalking are pretty lax. But look, write down his name and address." He came back to the table with a pad and pen and handed them to her. "And I'll have a word with Flack - get him to send someone from the precinct over to rattle the bastard's cage a little. Hopefully that'll be enough to get him to back off."
"And if it isn't?" Maya asked fearfully as she scribbled down the details on the pad.
"Then you need to start recording every time he harasses you and get yourself a restraining order," Danny advised. "And you've still got my cell phone number, right? All you have to do is call and I'll be there, okay?"
Maya nodded. "Thanks. I'm sorry to bother you with all of this; it's just that I didn't know who else to turn to."
"Don't worry about it," Danny reassured her.
"You could sign up for some self-defence classes too," Lindsay interjected then. "I'm not saying you should tackle him or anything, but they might make you feel a little less vulnerable."
Maya looked dubious, but nodded anyway. "Yeah, maybe I'll do that," she conceded, and then deliberately pushed her chair back from the table and rose to her feet. "Look, I should go," she said. "Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it, but I umm…" Breaking off, she turned and strode from the kitchen without finishing the sentence, her composure finally deserting her.
"Maya?" Danny caught up with her at the front door. "Are you ok?" he asked, placing a restraining hand on her forearm.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," she assured him. "Talking to you about it has made me feel a lot better. I don't feel so threatened anymore."
Danny shot her a pointed look. "I didn't mean about that."
"Oh." Maya threw a glance towards the kitchen where Lindsay had tactfully remained. She sighed. "We broke up weeks ago, Danny."
"I know, it's just…"
"She said you were still trying to figure things out…"
"Yeah, I guess…" Danny rubbed the back of his neck in uneasy agitation. "Look, listen, Maya…"
"I take it you have it figured out?" Maya cut in before he could continue.
Danny bit his bottom lip. "I'm probably crazy," he remarked with a tight smile.
Maya shrugged. "If it feels right."
Danny nodded. "It does. I wasn't sure it would, but it does."
There was a short, expectant pause which Maya thankfully broke before it became unbearably uncomfortable for them both.
"What do you want me to say, Danny?" she demanded. "That I'm happy for you?" She shook her head. "It doesn't work like that."
"I know, I know, I just didn't want you to think that I… that I didn't…"
"I know you loved me, Danny, but let's face it, she's always been the one, hasn't she? In the end, no matter how much you cared about me, I couldn't compete with that, that's why we had to end it between us."
There wasn't much he could say to that so he didn't. Dropping his gaze to his feet, he shifted uncomfortably. Her brittle attitude softening a little, Maya reached out and touched a gentle hand to his cheek. "If it's any consolation, I like her," she told him, "Just don't ask for my blessing right now, okay? It's still too soon for that. I'm moving on, but it'll be a while yet before I'm comfortable with this."
Danny nodded sombrely. "I know; I'm sorry."
"If it's right then nothing and no-one should stand in your way," Maya said as she twisted the latch on the door to open it.
He touched her shoulder. "You know you can still call, right? Don't think that you can't."
Maya leaned forward and lightly kissed his cheek. "I won't, and it's a comfort honestly. I have my pride but the guy freaks me out. I'm not going to be taking any chances with him."
"Good," Danny said. "Make sure that you don't. I'll see you around, yeah?"
"Yeah." Maya agreed with a nod. "Bye Danny," she added softly as she left.
Danny took a moment to gather his thoughts after closing the door behind her. He'd already pretty much made up his mind anyway, but seeing Maya had put things into full perspective for him. He still cared about her, but there was no real love there anymore. His heart was one hundred percent committed to the woman waiting for him in the kitchen. With an inward smile, he went to tell her that.
Lindsay looked up with a slightly forced smile as he entered the room. "Not how I intended to start this day off," she remarked lightly.
He shrugged. "No, me either."
"She still relies on you." It was a statement of fact, but there was a hint of a question behind it also.
Danny slid into the chair beside her and reached out to thread his fingers through hers. "She's not as strong as you, Lindsay," he explained, "Doesn't have as many street-smarts. When we split up, we agreed to be friends." He paused, his eyes intently studying her face. "Is that going to be a problem?"
To his horror, her eyes immediately filled with tears. "Hey, hey! Jesus! Don't cry. Look, if it is, I can tell her we can't see each other anymore. I'll help her with this because I've already promised I would, but after that, I can break all contact if that's what you need me to do."
That avowal only increased Lindsay's tears. Vainly trying to choke back the uncontrollable emotion, she reached over and tightly wound her arms about his neck, burying her face against his throat.
Not knowing what else to do, Danny pulled her into his lap and cradled her against him as her body shook with sobs. "Baby, don't cry. Tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing!" Lindsay hiccupped, swiping at her tears. "Nothing! Don't you see? Everything's finally right."
"Huh?" A line of consternation appeared between Danny's eyebrows.
Lindsay laughed, the rippling sound coming out somewhat wobbly around the edges. Cupping the sides of his neck in her hands, she kissed him full on the lips and then drew back to look down into his confused face.
"Don't you get it?" she said tearfully. "What you asking that question actually means?"
Realisation finally dawned and Danny's worried expression cleared into a smile. "Oh right, yeah. Did I forget to mention that?" he enquired in an off-hand tone.
She cuffed him lightly. "You know you did!"
Tangling the fingers of his left hand into her hair, he brought her mouth down to his for a slower and more thorough exploration. "Did you honestly think it'd be any different after last night?" he asked in low tones when he eventually released her, flushed and breathless.
"I was afraid to hope," she confessed. "After all, I was the dumb-ass idiot who chose to let fate decide my future for me."
Danny chuckled. "You made the right choice, Lindsay," he assured her. "We weren't ready for this a year ago, but I believe we are now. I know I am anyway."
"You're sure?" she pressed.
"As sure as I'll ever be," he responded.
"No guarantees, huh?"
"No guarantees," Danny confirmed with a nod. "But I'm going to give it my very best shot, I can promise you that."
Lindsay smiled and cuddled closer on his lap. "That's all I can ask."
"And it's enough?" His gaze was direct.
She leaned her forehead against his. "More than," she said softly, her warm breath teasing his lips and making him want to kiss her again.
Resisting that almost uncontrollable urge, Danny stroked his hand down the side of her face instead. "And is it going to be a problem?" he asked as he delicately traced the bow of her lips with his forefinger. "Maya, I mean."
Lindsay's first instinct was to say no, but she managed to pull back enough to think twice. "I… I don't think so," she said. "I trust you, Danny, but there are going to be some leftover insecurity issues that I'll have to work through. You can understand that, can't you?"
Danny nodded. "Yeah, I can understand that," he replied. "I'm not expecting a bed of roses, Linds. I know this is going to be hard work."
"Well then as long as you're honest with me about when you see or talk to her then I think I can handle it," Lindsay said. Her lips curled up into an uncertain smile. "Can I reserve the right to change my mind though?" she asked.
"Sure," Danny agreed easily. "Just keeping talking to me, okay?"
Tiring of the serious talk and feeling the urge to celebrate instead, Lindsay's brown eyes lit up with impish mischievousness. "What? Right now?" She trailed her lips seductively down the column of his throat, her hand sneaking under his wife-beater to smooth tantalising warmth over his bare flesh. "You want me to keep talking right now?"
Not willing to give her the upper hand, Danny wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her effortlessly onto the table-top as he rose to his feet. Caging her between his hands, he made a dot-to-dot of kisses from her forehead, to the tip of her nose, to her gorgeous, pouting lips and onwards. Her head dropped back on a soft sigh as he trailed his lips over her jaw-line and he grinned at her easy acquiescence. Stepping back, he considered the submissive pose she presented and then swiftly up-ended her over his shoulder in lightening quick manoeuvre, clamping a cheeky hand over her butt to hold her in place.
"Danny!"
Giggling in protest, Lindsay half-heartedly battered her fists against his back as he strode out of the kitchen and headed determinedly for the bedroom. He tossed her unceremoniously onto the bed when they reached their destination, and Lindsay barely had time to catch her breath before he had joined her and was kissing her like his life depended on it.
"Danny…" Lindsay's tone was tremulous as she caught hold of his wrists to halt his industrious unfastening of the shirt she was wearing.
Lifting his mouth from its contemplation of her neck, Danny stilled at the insistent note in her voice. "What?" he asked, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
There was a wealth of suppressed emotion in her gaze as she spoke. "I love you."
It was amazing the effect those three little words had on him. Tender warmth imbued every part of his being. She'd never said it to him before, he realised. At least not like this. Every other time she'd mentioned loving him it had been in retrospect, but this was real, this was present. This was now. His hungry passion ebbed away as a wave of contented bliss seeped into every pore and nerve-ending.
"I love you too, Lindsay."
It was so easy in the end. When they'd first gotten together, he'd spent the better part of eight months avoiding this. Now, four long and painful years later, they were at long last back on the right track. Their embrace heightened by the strong emotions finally expressed, they melted into each other and let those three magic words carry them towards sensual oblivion…
OOOOOO
Later that same day…
"Stop looking at me like that!"
Lindsay blushed, her cheeks growing hot at the intent way he was studying her as she packed her clothes into the open suitcase on the bed. She was checking out of her hotel a night early so that she could go straight to the airport from Danny's place the following morning. Neither of them wanted to be apart for longer than they had to be. A few weeks of separation was inevitable while Lindsay put her affairs in Miami in order, so they were making the most of the time they had now in order to sustain them through it.
Danny grinned. "Like what?"
"You know like what!"
He chuckled. Their lovemaking that morning had been a revelation to him – to both of them in fact. An encounter that had started out as passionate and fun-loving had turned intense and dreamlike following their twin declarations of love for each other. Danny could honestly say he had never experienced anything like it before. Things had moved onto another level for them and he hadn't been prepared for the emotional impact that would have. It was a good feeling though, even if it was a little scary.
Something else was niggling at him however, and he brought it up now, figuring it was a good a time as any to broach the difficult subject. "Are you sure you're okay about me keeping in contact with Maya?" he asked.
Lindsay stopped what she was doing and looked over at him. "I said so, didn't I?"
"Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're all right with it."
Lindsay sighed. "Look - I'm not going to be okay with you meeting her alone for drinks or anything like that. But speaking to her in the street, hanging out with her in a group, or helping her out with this stalker guy - that I think I can handle."
Danny nodded. "Understood," he said. "I just know how seeing you with Steven in Miami made me feel, that's all. All right so maybe this is a little different because you were still with him at the time, but… what's the matter?"
Lindsay's expression had darkened at the mention of Steven. She shook her head. "Nothing."
Danny was having none of that though. "Bull."
"Steven… he just… he didn't handle our break-up very well," she explained.
"What does that mean?"
"He thought he could change my mind. For weeks I couldn't turn around for all the gifts he sent me – flowers, chocolate, jewellery, you name it. There was nothing outwardly sinister in it, but it got to be too much after a while." She sighed. "He eventually backed off, but only on the pretext of giving me space to reconsider my decision. When he called me a couple of months later, I stupidly agreed to meet him for a drink and it started up again."
Danny frowned. "He's still pestering you now?"
Lindsay shook her head. "No, no, H' eventually had a word and he backed down. I guess he just didn't know how to let go. Steven's a man with so much drive, you see. When he decides he wants something he goes after it with a vengeance. It's what makes him so successful in business, I suppose. He doesn't like it when his plans are thwarted and I guess that's what happened here."
"So what? You were part of some kind of business deal he had in mind?"
"Yeah – the ultimate merger. I think he imagined me as the submissive little wife to his strong, dependable husband."
"Submissive?" Danny scoffed incredulously.
Lindsay laughed at that and then turned serious again. "I was emotionally vulnerable when we got together," she went on. "I let him take care of me because it's what I needed at the time. It wasn't me, but you could forgive him for believing it was. It's the way I acted around him. I let him have control because I was so afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing and being left alone again."
Danny shook his head. "Jesus Lindsay!"
"It's not your fault…"
"Who else's is it then?" he demanded guiltily. "I did that to you, Linds. I made you that scared of who you are."
"Yes, you did," she agreed, "But I've learnt a lot from it, we both have. I'm not saying it was a good thing, but in some ways we're stronger now because of it. Our biggest mistake would be to live in the past, Danny. It's over now, done with, we need to put it behind us and move on. Just know one thing okay?"
"What?"
"You ever hurt me like that again and I can guarantee you're not going to be fathering children anytime in the future." Her tone was calmly matter-of-fact but there was a hint of steel behind it all the same.
Danny laughed and then sighed. "I'm not sure I deserve such a clean slate."
"I think everyone deserves a second chance," Lindsay replied. "It's what they do with it that counts. I'm trusting you to make it worth my while."
Standing up, he moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "I'm going to give it my all," he vowed, nuzzling his face into her sweet-smelling hair.
Reaching up and backwards, she curled an arm around his neck and turned her face into his. "I know you will," she returned softly, and then stretched up to kiss him tenderly.
"I should go find H'" she said when they drew apart.
"You want me to come with you?" Danny asked.
Lindsay shook her head. "No, I need to do this alone." She smiled. "You can make yourself useful and pack the rest of my stuff while you wait."
"Cool! Do I get to go through your underwear drawer?" Danny quipped with a wicked grin.
Lindsay's response was a playful swipe at his butt as she headed for the door. "I won't be long," she promised before she left.
Walking down the corridor, she took a moment to compose herself before knocking on the door of the hotel room several doors down from her own. There was a rustling sound from within and then Horatio opened the door. He smiled when he saw who it was.
"Lindsay, come in," he invited.
"Thanks," she said as she entered the room. "I wasn't sure whether you'd be here."
"Just checking in with the Lab," he told her, nodding at the open laptop on the desk.
As she moved closer, Lindsay instantly recognised the conference room back in Miami on the screen, as well as the three individuals gathered around the table there. "Hey guys!" she said with a wave at the webcam. Calleigh, Ryan and Eric returned her greeting in triplicate.
"What's going on?" she asked, turning to Horatio.
"Further developments on the Sanderson case," he explained, referring to the high profile murder they'd been investigating over the past month. "But that's not why you're here though, is it?" he went on knowingly.
Lindsay dipped her gaze away from his penetrating stare. "No, I…," she faltered. Now it came down to it, it was harder to say goodbye than she thought. She was sure of her decision, but she would miss her colleagues in Miami even so. Over the past three years, they'd become as much like family to her as their New York counterparts had in the two and a half years previously.
She tried again. "Danny and I – we've decided to give things another go, and Mac…" she broke off again, suddenly unsure of the etiquette behind her former boss' job offer to her.
Horatio smiled. "Don't worry, he told me he'd offered you a position back here in New York. You've decided to take it then?"
Lindsay nodded. "Yes – Danny's a New Yorker through and through, whereas I'm much more adaptable so it seems like the best choice all round. And I love it here so…"
"You're abandoning us," Ryan put in over the video conference. "And after everything we've done for you too."
Even though she knew he was only teasing, Lindsay reddened. "Don't think I'm not grateful for everything you've done for me," she told Horatio earnestly. "I've loved working for you, I really have. If it was just a toss-up between the two jobs then I'd have a hard time making up my mind, but Danny tips the balance for me. I can't turn my back on what we have together. I love him; I've never really stopped. You can understand that, can't you?"
"Honey, of course we can," Calleigh chipped in before Horatio could reply in the same vein. "What matters is that you're happy. And that you take a vacation and visit every once in a while," she added with a smile.
Lindsay laughed. "I will, I promise." She looked back at Horatio. "You don't mind?"
"Of course I mind," he told her, "But I'm not going to hold it against you. When you get a chance at happiness you have to grab it with both hands and hold on tight. Life's too short for anything else." He smiled a little wistfully and she knew he was thinking of his lost wife and the all too brief time they had together.
She touched his hand in silent understanding. "Thank-you," she said softly. "And, just so you know, I'll be working out my notice this time. I always felt bad about upping and leaving New York without doing so. Mac said he understood why, but it felt kind of disrespectful to me. I was in such a bad state emotionally though, I couldn't handle sticking around any longer. It's different this time. Danny and I aren't rushing back into anything. We can handle a long distance relationship for a few weeks."
Horatio nodded. "It's not necessary, but if it's what you want to do."
"It is," Lindsay said decisively. "So no solving the Sanderson case without me," she told her colleagues with a grin. "So what's going on anyway?" she asked, unable to curtail her innate curiosity.
Eric laughed. "She just can't help herself, can she?" he quipped.
"Shut up, and spill, Delko," she shot back good-naturedly.
Drawn into the twist and turns of the investigation, it was well over an hour before she returned to her hotel room. Sliding her key-card into the electronic lock, she belatedly wondered why Danny hadn't come looking for her, or at least called her cell to find out where she was. When she entered the room though, she realised why. Her suitcase was zipped and locked and standing near the door, while her lover was fast asleep atop of the comforter.
Joining him on the bed, she kissed him awake. "Wore you out, did I?" she joked as he blinked drowsily at her.
"Where've you been?" he asked, glancing at his watch as he sat up.
"Helping out the guys with a case," she explained. "They were on the V.C. to H' from Miami.'"
He nodded. "We better get going," he said. "Or we'll be late and Stella'll likely explode from the anticipation!"
Lindsay giggled. Earlier that afternoon, they'd called and arranged to meet Mac and Stella for dinner that evening. They'd not told them why, but it hardly took a genius to work it out. They wanted to pass on their news face-to-face though, so had refrained from giving definite confirmation of their reconciliation over the phone, despite some distinctly unsubtle probing from a curious Stella.
When they made it to the restaurant an hour later, they discovered their booked table for four had expanded somewhat. "You knew about this this afternoon," Lindsay accused as she sat down next to Horatio.
He shrugged. "Might have."
"What if it hadn't been good news?" Danny asked Stella.
She wrinkled her nose at him as she handed him a menu. "If the news had been bad, then you wouldn't have been telling us it over dinner," she pointed out.
Danny looked across at Lindsay. "She has a point," he remarked.
"So what? We're giving her a medal?" Lindsay laughed.
Mac leaned around Horatio. "So I assume this means you're taking the job?" he enquired with a smile.
Lindsay paused as she felt all eyes swing towards her. An expectant hush descended. Danny slipped his hand into hers under the table and she smiled affectionately at him before turning back to Mac to give her answer. "If you'll have me," she said.
"Let's put it to the vote, shall we?" Mac decided. "Stella? For or against?"
"What do you think?"
"One vote for then. Sheldon?"
"That's a yes from me too."
"Flack?"
"Can I abstain?" the dark-haired detective asked with a grin, earning himself a punch on the arm from Stella in the process. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, rubbing his shoulder. "I was only kidding!"
"Adam?"
"It's all cool by me."
"Amy?" Mac queried.
"I…," his newest CSI stuttered, uncomfortable at being put on the spot. She studied Danny carefully for a moment, taking in his almost euphoric demeanour before slowly nodding her assent. "Anything that puts Messer in this good a mood is fine by me," she said, making everyone laugh.
Recalling her conversation with Hawkes on Friday evening, Lindsay was cheered by this wry acknowledgement. What she loved most about the team here in New York was their easy camaraderie with each other, and while relations between Danny and Amy didn't seem especially awkward, nor were they particularly friendly either. She didn't relish the idea of being in the middle of that, so if the barriers were finally starting to break down between them then so much the better.
"I don't need to ask Danny's opinion," Mac went on, "And I wouldn't have offered you the job if I wasn't for it… So… majority rules, I guess." He smiled and tipped his wine-glass at her.
"Majority rules!" everyone echoed, raising their glasses in a congratulatory toast. Touched and embarrassed, Lindsay flushed pink in both delight and discomfiture.
As the hum of general conversation resumed around them, Danny slid his arm around her waist and leaned in close to add his two cents worth. "Welcome home, baby," he murmured in her ear.
Her heart full, Lindsay turned towards him, palmed the side of his face in her hand and kissed him full on the lips in front of everyone. She may not know what fate had in store for them, but she was determined to make the most of every precious moment from now on. Sometimes the best thing you could do was place your faith in the power of serendipity and hold on for the ride.
To be continued…