Mac stared at Lindsay over his steepled fingers. She fidgeted nervously in her seat, but she met his stare and didn't back down.
"You're sure?" he asked in that low, serious voice of his.
"I'm sure," she answered with the barest of tremors in hers.
"And Dr. Anderson…?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Has given me permission to resume my duties, yes." She held her chin up a bit higher, as if daring him to question her.
Mac stood up, allowing the ghost of a smile to touch his features and holding his hand outstretched. "Then welcome back."
Lindsay returned his smile with one of her own and shook his hand. "It's good to be back… sir."
Their smiles widened briefly as they recalled their first meeting, and then it was all back to business.
"We've got a dead chef…"
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"I still can't believe the improvement you've made since the verdict, Lindsay. It's really rather remarkable."
Lindsay blushed and looked down at her hands as her fingers twisted in her lap. "Ac…" she cleared her throat. "Actually, it's not the verdict so much as…" she paused as she tried to find the right way to phrase it. "… something else." Well, that was nice and clear. Not vague at all. Nope. Completely comprehensible, really. She sighed and put a hand over her eyes.
Dr. Anderson chuckled mildly. "Well yes, I'd have to say that if it weren't the verdict it would almost have to be something else." She lifted her cup and took a sip of tea. "Would you care to share with me just what that 'something else'" she lifted her fingers in air quotes as she said the words, "might be?"
Lindsay couldn't help but smile. Her psychologist really had a way of making her feel comfortable and able to talk about anything. She guessed that's what made her so good. She'd started coming to see the older woman back in the fall when she'd first heard about the trial date, and sometimes she wondered if she'd have managed all winter without her.
Looking slightly sheepish, Lindsay whispered, "… Danny?" Her eyebrows lifted and she bit her lower lip and shrugged her shoulders slightly. She knew what was coming.
"Danny?" the older woman blinked. "Your partner from work? That Danny?"
"… yes?"
"Well, that's…" Dr. Anderson took a moment to let that news sink in. "Really." She was now biting the end of her pen and staring off into space. "Interesting." Bending over her clipboard she started to take notes.
"What are you…?"
"Just a moment, dear. Won't be a minute."
"But…"
"Tut-tut."
Lindsay sighed mildly and leaned back more comfortably in her chair. She was used to this. It was part of the reason why she liked Dr. Anderson so much. They both had a habit of writing things down when they needed to think. Seeing her psychologist making notes like this just made her think of herself trying to figure out what had happened at a crime scene. She guessed she was at least as much of a puzzle as that jeweled cockroach.
"Alright, now…" she straightened up in her chair, pulled down her blazer in a businesslike way and checked her bun to make sure that her hair was still in place. "What is it about Danny that has caused such a measured improvement?"
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Danny drummed his fingers against the arms of the chair as he waited outside of the office. It freaked him out a bit that Montana was in there talking to some shrink about who knew what. He remembered having to do that after that shit with his brother. It made him jumpy just thinking about some stranger wanting to know about his… feelings. He looked at his watch. Hadn't it been an hour, yet? C'mon.
He stood up suddenly as the door opened and Lindsay came out with a studious-looking woman with grey hair and glasses. He gave a jerky head bow to her in acknowledgement. "Hey Mon… Lindsay. You ready to go?"
Lindsay smiled at him and the entire room lit up. "Yup. All done for today." She turned around so he could help her with her jacket. "Danny… this is Dr. Anderson. Dr. Anderson, this is Danny."
He held out a hand in greeting and felt a bit sick when the woman replied, "I've heard so much about you," and smiled at him.
"Uh…" he froze.
"I'll see you again next Tuesday, right Lindsay?"
"Right."
Shit. Now all he could think about is what Montana was saying about him in there. That was gonna bug him all day.
"Don't worry," she whispered in his ear as he held the door open for her. "It was all good stuff."
Good stuff, eh? He was grinning like an idiot, and he wasn't even going to try to stop.
Author's Note: I think I'm going to call this the end of this installment. Lindsay's back in New York and back on the job. She and Danny are starting to actually date (and get a bit more physical). I've established a relationship with a health-care professional, and I'm going to keep that going in part three… wherein we will FINALLY get to "teh secks." Thanks for reading and putting up with the pauses in this story. The next one should happen much faster (fingers crossed).
See you in the sequel!