a/n:no you're not dreaming, it is an update from me. exams are over and believe it or not, it got my muse to start writing again, not 2 hours after my last exam, i was beginning to write this chapter. anyway, enjoy! and thanks for the reviews, i've been trying to reply to them, so i hope i havent forgotten anyone.

Chapter 21

Lindsay was propped up on the exam table while Danny was by her right side holding her hand. As usual, their eyes were glued onto the screen that was about to reveal what was going on inside Lindsay's abdomen. Dr Walker was on the other side of Lindsay holding the stick, moving it so she could see better. She looked back at the young couple and smiled. A middle-aged woman, Danny and Lindsay were far from being the first couple she had welcome in her practice. Nevertheless, it never ceased to amaze her when she witnessed the love between her patients and their child. The birth of a first child almost seemed like a little wonder. Everything new and magical.

The image on the screen suddenly changed and there it was. They could see the head, the contours of the legs and the arms. If you asked Danny, he'd tell you their baby already looked like Lindsay, who would retort that he was just delirious.

"Alright, everything's looking good. So what have you decided? You want to know?" Dr Walker asked.

Danny tore his eyes away from the screen and glanced at Lindsay, waiting to hear her decision, hoping she was going to say yes. He wouldn't be mad at her, of course, if she said no, but he really wanted to know. It seemed to him it took her hours to answer.

"Yes, we want to know," she finally answered, squeezing Danny's hand tighter. Danny smiled from ear to ear, refraining the urge to jump up and down the room.

"Good, let's see what we have here then, shall we?" The doctor moved the stick just the right way and she was instantly able to tell whether it was a boy or a girl. For the untrained eyes of the two CSIs, it took a few more seconds but they also waited for the doctor to confirm what they had seen.

"It's a girl." Dr Walker announced causing Danny's smile to become even bigger and tears to form in Lindsay's eyes. Like she had done a few months ago, Dr Walker left the room to give them some privacy.

Danny turned his eyes from his daughter, just the thought of it scared the hell out of him and made his heart burst with pride. His daughter, their daughter. A little girl who would look up to them, a little girl who would have him wrapped around his fingers, just like Lindsay. A little girl who he had to protect from any harm. Even though he knew that wasn't possible, he'd still try, he always would.

He saw the silent tears now spilling out of Lindsay's eyes and, taking a seat beside her, he wiped them away.

"You alright?" he asked.

She nodded, not sure her voice could carry out any sound without breaking. She was convinced that her reaction would not have been any different if the doctor had said it was a boy. It was the knowing part that made everything a little more real. She had been feeling the baby more and more with each week, but it was still an 'it'. Until now, now it was a girl, it was a person. A real person, that she already loved more than anything. A little tiny piece of her and Danny. Danny gave her a moment to get a hold of her emotions but his hand never left hers.

"We're having a girl," she finally said whispering as if it was some kind of secret.

He smiled at her and leant forward to drop a sweet kiss on her lips. "Yes, we are," he whispered back.

"You happy?" she asked.

"Do I look unhappy?" he chuckled. "I'm more than happy Montana, I'm in heaven!" he exclaimed.

Lindsay grinned and answered shyly : "Me too."

Danny put his other hand on her stomach and gently stroke it.

"Hey baby girl," he whispered. "Yes you're a girl, did you know that?" Lindsay laughed at his childlike quality but she couldn't help finding him adorable. He had started talking to the baby a few weeks back. Most of the time, he was only saying goofy, silly stuff, like describing what the new room would look like or trying to convince the baby to be a Giants and Yankees fan. Sometimes though, he would get serious and tell the baby how him and Lindsay met and how they fell in love. And no matter how many times he'd say it or how he'd say it, he would inevitably bring her to tears.

Lindsay grazed her fingers through his hair, ruffling it lightly. "Do you really think she knows the difference between boy and girl?" she teased.

"I'll have you know my daughter's very smart, aren't you baby girl? Just like her mommy." He answered locking his eyes with hers.

"Alright, alright, you win," she chuckled.

"Good, now you realize there's no way I'm not shouting it to the world, right?" he joked still half-serious.

"You think you could contain the shouting to the lab and our families?" she asked back after rolling her eyes at him.

"I can make an effort."

"Good boy", she said patting his head with her free hand.

Lindsay then began to get up, zipping up her pants. So Danny followed her and they both got back into the doctor's office. They sat down in the chairs, facing Dr Walker, waiting for her to start the conversation.

"So, Lindsay, I just want to remind you that you have to be restricted to the lab from next month until your maternity leave."

"I know," Lindsay sighed. She wasn't looking forward to spending her days confined into the lab, especially since there was a lot that she couldn't do in the lab. So she knew she'd mostly do paperwork and that was a bit, scratch that, a lot frustrating. However, she'd try to resign herself because it was for her own good and their daughter's. Boy, was she gonna get a kick out of saying that. She was beginning to wonder if she could also refrain from shouting it to the world. "Anything else I need to be doing?"

"Just keep doing what you've been doing so far, you're in perfect condition and the baby's too."

That last sentence made the couple smile before they left the office. It was their day off but they couldn't wait to tell their friends about their news. They got into the subway again and arrived at the lab around 40 minutes later.

They found Stella in the break room having lunch.

"Hey Stell'. How you doing?" Danny greeted while entering the room with Lindsay.

"Hey guys. What are you doing here on your day off?" she wondered. "Didn't you have a doctor's appointment?"

"Yes, we did. We just got back. In fact…" Lindsay put her hand in her bag to fetch the sonogram picture.

"Ooh, did you bring me baby pictures!" Stella exclaimed excitedly, her face lighting up. She squirmed in her seat until Lindsay finally found the picture which she immediately grabbed from her.

"Awwww!" Stella gushed over the picture for a good minute without anyone saying anything else.

"So, isn't my daughter pretty?" Danny asked her waiting for her reaction.

"Yes, she… Wait a minute, did you say 'daughter'?" Her eyes widened in surprise while Danny and Lindsay were grinning. "Eeeeeeeee! I can't believe it, you're having a girl! That's fantastic!" she went over to them and hugged them both tightly.

"Linds' we have to go shopping for baby clothes!" she coaxed her friend, already having vision of little dresses and outfits for babies.

"Alright, alright Stell', do you ever think of anything besides shopping?" Danny joked laughing.

"Haha, you're hilarious. Anyway I've got to go back to work, I'll see you later." She left the room, smiling widely. That piece of news had really highlighted her day. She was really happy for them and she was going to welcome and spoil her surrogate niece.

Danny and Lindsay went in search of everyone else to pass the news onto them too. They found Adam and Hawkes in the trace lab while they later met Mac and Flack outside the elevator. All of their friends were obviously happy to hear the baby was gonna be a girl. Stella was, of course, the most excited one, being the only one planning trips to the mall.

a/n: i'm not sure i'll have another update for the weekend, bu i'll try, if not we'll go back to weekly updates. now review away!;)