Disclaimer: The characters of CSI: NY do not belong to me however this story is of my own and should only be used after permission has been asked and given. No copyright infringement intended and no profit is being made.

Summary: Danny and Lindsay are going to learn that sometimes you must lose, in order to gain.

Notes: This one got pretty long because there was so much that I wanted to include. Without giving too much away, I should note that there are some sensitive, real life events mentioned in this one but it felt right to mention them as an indication that this is set in real time (well, real time six months ago) so please proceed with caution. I hope not to offend anyone. There's another note at the end in which I require so help. A huge thank you to MesserFamilyFan100, Miny23, Madison Bellows and Dantana15 for leaving reviews of the last chapter.

The Parent's Apple

Curled up on the couch, Lindsay muted the television that had been somewhat of a distraction during the phone conversation she was currently having. "…You don't need to get her anything," Lindsay continued with a chuckle, transferring the cell to her other ear. "She's going to be spoilt enough, trust me."

"I can't not get Lucy something!" Stella said, indignation rising in her voice. Lindsay smiled, wondering whether the insistence to get a Christmas present was really for Lucy or whether it was to further fulfil Stella's insatiable need to shop.

"Just get her something small," Lindsay told her.

"Yeah, right," Stella snorted. "C'mon Linds, you're not being helpful." A distinct note of panic rose in Stella's moan. "What do girls like?"

Lindsay sighed knowingly, an amused smile adorning her features as she sank back into the couch cushions. "You never usually have trouble buying presents," she commented lightly. "Has this, by any chance, got something to do with Southerly staying with Jackson for Christmas?"

Stella sighed through the phone. "He's asked me to stay too."

"Okay," Lindsay replied bracingly, nodding. "And you're worried that she won't like you?" Stella's silence told her that she'd guessed correctly. "Stel, spoiling Southerly rotten won't make her like you, I'm afraid. If anything, she might realise that you're trying to buy her affection."

"So you think I shouldn't get her anything?" Stella asked.

"Not necessarily – but maybe get her something small; that way it shows that you're being affectionate and you were thinking about her but that that you were trying to make her like you."

"But I am trying to make her like me!" the older woman implored.

Lindsay laughed. "I know, but you need to let her make up her own mind about you. If she doesn't fall instantly in love with you then don't worry, sometimes people – especially children – are weary of strangers and newcomers. But that doesn't mean her opinion can't change. Just relax and be yourself."

Stella sighed and Lindsay could guess that she was nodding in resolution. "Okay, I'll give this 'being myself' think a go."

"What else is up?" Lindsay asked.

Stella grinned despite herself. "How did you know?"

"Call it mother's intuition."

"I don't know how Southerly will react to me being there at Christmas," Stella admitted softly. "Jackson hasn't had many partners since splitting with his wife – and none of them were introduced to his daughter. I don't know whether his ex-wife had seen anyone serious over the years, either. I don't want Southerly to think I'm the reason her parents can't get back together."

"Stel, you can't think like that," Lindsay said reasonably. "You're not the 'other woman' or anything like that. You didn't split them up; they did that all by themselves three years ago. If Southerly blames you then it is misplaced anger and something you'll need to overcome."

"But what if it was Lucy? How comfortable would you be allowing Lucy to meet Danny's new girlfriend?" Stella asked.

Lindsay hesitated; even hypothetically this thought trail was painful to follow. "I…okay," she relented, "admittedly, yes, it would be hard. But that would be completely different circumstances – I honestly can't put myself into that position because with every relationship it's different. Right now Danny and me are in love with each other but the same can't be said for Jackson and his wife. You said yourself that you don't know if Southerly's mother has had, or even is currently in, a serious relationship therefore you just have to take this Christmas vacation one day at a time and see what happens. You know you can always call me though, right?"

Stella smiled into the phone. "Yeah, I know. Thanks for listening, Linds," Stella said, her self-assured confidence returning.

Lindsay chuckled. "It's about time I started doling out some advice – God knows you've done it for me enough times in the past."

"It's what friends do for each other," Stella replied easily. "So," she began her new conversation thread, and Lindsay could hear her shifting into a more comfortable position. "How're you doing? Your text the other week sounded frantic. Did you take the test?"

The anticipation in Stella's tone caused a knot to form in Lindsay's stomach and she regretted, not for the first time, her rash decision to text Stella to tell her that she thought she may have been pregnant. "Uh, no, I didn't – it was a false alarm."

"Oh Linds, I'm so sorry kiddo."

"Hey, no, don't be silly; it's fine, really, Danny and I have agreed that we're not ready yet," Lindsay reassured her friend. "It was a nice dream for a while but everything's still too fresh at the moment. We've only just finished rebuilding everything from the last miscarriage – it wouldn't be fair to bring a baby into this sort of environment. Besides," Lindsay's tone brightened, "I already have a baby of my own and it's about time she had a little one on one attention – especially after everything that she was put through during that time."

Stella smiled at the mention of her pseudo-niece. "How is Lucy?"

"She's good," Lindsay nodded with a smile. "She's finally at the age where she associates Christmas with presents so she's pretty excited about that. We made some decorations earlier so I'll send you one – although please bear in mind that she's three and her motor skills aren't quite refined yet so if it looks like someone sent you a glittery ball of mess then you know why," Lindsay chuckled. There was a pause before she added, "Actually, I haven't heard of her for a while, and let me tell you, that's never a good thing with a three year old. I'd better go, make sure she's keeping out of trouble."

Stella laughed. "Alright, I'll let you go. Give Lucy a big kiss and cuddle from me. If I have any more meltdowns then I'll ring you for another verbal ass kicking."

"I'll shine my boots especially," Lindsay teased. "But seriously Stel, if you have real concerns then talk to Jackson about them – I learnt the hard way that talking really does help and I'm still learning now. Just – don't make the same mistakes that Danny and me did."

"I'll try not to," Stella reassured her younger friend. They said their goodbyes before hanging up. A grinned Danny walked into the living room as Lindsay was pocketing her phone. He beckoned to her.

"Babe, come look at this."

Lindsay gave a puzzled frown before standing and following him to the family bathroom. A sense of foreboding settled over Lindsay and she hesitated, her frown deepening as Danny gestured for her to look into the bathroom. Peering around the doorway, she had to clap a hand to her mouth to stop from laughing aloud as she saw what had amused her husband. All of the white towels had been pulled out from the cupboard under the sink and laid across the floor to represent, Lindsay had to guess, snow. Lucy's toys had been lined up in pairs and knotted together with shoelaces whilst the little girl held on to the end and waved them about. Lucy herself was kitted out in willies, swimming goggles, mittens and what looked like three jumpers. She was swaying left and right on a cushion calling, "mush, doggie, mushy mush!"

The young mother pulled back before Lucy noticed her, fascinated once more by the imagination of children. She grinned at Danny. "Admit it; your little city kid is a country girl at heart."

"Yeah, yeah, just like her mama," he chuckled. Throwing an arm around her shoulders, Danny pressed a kiss to the crown of Lindsay's head.

She peeked around the doorway again and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, angling it around the doorframe to photograph the three year old. Lucy looked up at the flash, her lips puckering in an indignant pout.

"Hey!"

"I'm just taking one for Stella," Lindsay told her imploringly.

"Oh. Take a proper one then!" she demanded, grinning at the camera.

"Don't do the cheesy grin," Lindsay gently chastised her, laughing.

"I'm not!" Lucy furiously insisted before returning to her huge smile again. Lindsay rolled her eyes before taking a couple more photos of her daughter. Movement in her peripheral vision caused Lindsay to look down the hall and she nearly doubled over with laughter. Danny had quickly donned a balaclava, Lucy's sunflower sunglasses and draped a knitted afghan over his shoulders to resemble a toga. He stepped around Lindsay and into the bathroom where Lucy screamed with laughter.

"Daddy!" she whooped.

"Move over, Snow Explorer." Lucy shuffled forwards and Danny crouched down behind her, his knees cracking as he made his way to the floor. Lucy seated between his legs, he covered her hands with his own on the shoelaces and rocked her from side to side calling, "woah!"

Lindsay recovered enough to snap a few more photographs before sending the best ones to Stella with a quick message; I told you silence meant trouble!

"You got room for one more?" Lindsay asked, pocketing her phone again and moving further into the bathroom.

"Yup!" the three year old moved forwards again and Lindsay slipped into the space between her husband and daughter. Once settled, she pulled Lucy's warm little body closer into her lap and for a few hours the small family were lost inside the little girl's imagination.

Danny and Lindsay collapsed onto their bed later that night after tucking Lucy in. "Our kid sure knows how to play hard, huh?" Lindsay said.

"Hmm," Danny mumbled incoherently into the pillow. He was lying on his stomach and moved his head so his cheek rested against the soft material. "I've got a twinge in my lower back from sitting on the floor for so long."

"How bad is it?" Lindsay asked, concern laced through her tone.

"It's fine," he told her.

He heard Lindsay open and shut the drawer to her bedside table before scooting closer and perching on his backside. She pushed his t-shirt up and over his head, leaving his lean back and broad shoulders bare. Over the years Danny may have lost some of the defined contours of his stomach but his shoulders and arms were still well sculpted – something, she wasn't ashamed to admit, that she enjoyed. Squeezing a small amount of lotion into her palm, she rubbed her hands together before placing them on his back and working her hands into the muscles, with a practised technique from when he'd been shot in the back and temporarily paralyzed three years ago. She paid particular attention to his lower back, her thumbs pressing into the bunched muscles until they released. She could feel Danny's body relaxing as he succumbed to sleep.

Her finger traced over the scar that bore reminder to how he'd nearly been taken from her and she bent to press a kiss between his shoulder blades. Climbing off of him and over to her own side of the bed, she switched the lamp off and pulled the comforter over them both before curling into his side.

"I love you, Danny," she whispered as he snored lightly. She smiled before settling down to sleep herself.

Wordlessly, Mac switched the television set off with the remote before settling back in his chair. A horrified silence had settled in the packed conference room as CSI's and lab techs alike tried to process the news report they'd just watched which had outlined the events that were still unfolding in Connecticut. The terrified faces of the children as they were led out of their school was burned into the memory of many of those watching, whilst others had felt their stomach drop as they saw the anguished parents waiting outside the school grounds of Sandy Hook Elementary school, desperate to know if their children were safe or not.

Lindsay's mind wandered to the doll that was hidden away in an out of reach cupboard, waiting to be put beneath the Christmas tree for the enjoyment of an imaginative and creative little girl. She couldn't help but wonder about the carefully and lovingly bought Christmas presents that parents would never see their children open, joy lighting up their shining faces. Were they already wrapped and waiting beneath trees or hidden away? Did they say 'Love from Mommy and Daddy' or 'From Santa'?

"I should probably go and ring Tyler and Ellie," Jo murmured, excusing herself quietly.

Lindsay rose on shaky legs and numbly walked out of the conference room, people easily parting as she exited. Danny watched her go, his longing to follow clearly written across his face. He caught Mac's eyes who gave him a curt nod.

"Go," Mac told him.

Danny nodded his thanks before getting up and hurrying after his wife. Exiting the conference room, he looked left and right as he crossed the lab, searching corridors, offices and work stations. Eventually he found her halfway down a darkened corridor, her back to him and her head bowed with a hand pressed to her mouth. Walking towards her, Danny placed a hand between her shoulder blades.

"Linds?"

She immediately spun round and fell into his arms, her face shining with tears. He held her close as she buried her face into his chest and cried. The trauma of her own past, mingled with the terrible events happening in Connecticut, as well as her fear for Lucy broke the carefully constructed barrier that was usually erected between herself and the rest of the world. Danny realised all of this and so gathered her closer, allowing Lindsay to cling to him as she let him be her pillar of strength.

Her tears slowly eased as the buzz of the lab picked up again, indicating that Mac had finished talking to his employees and dismissed them from the conference room. Danny tucked Lindsay under one arm, shielding her from the lab, and led her to the locker room. Jo was sat on the bench between the rows of lockers, her voice overly bright but her face a cracked mask as she talked to one of her children on the phone. Danny proceeded to the men's restroom despite Lindsay's weak protestations and shut the door behind them. He indicated for her to jump up onto the counter beside the sinks and she did so.

"It smells in here," she muttered and he chuckled, glad to see that her spirits were bruised but unbroken.

He went to a cubicle and grabbed a wad of toilet paper which he ripped in half. The first half he wetted from the tap and used it to wipe at Lindsay's face, cooling her heated skin whilst also ridding her of tears and any smeared mascara from her crying jag. The second half he used to pat her face dry.

She sniffled and gave him a watery smile. With someone so attentive looking after her, it was difficult to focus on her troubled worries. "Thank you. I seem to be making a habit out of crying on you," she said lightly but sighed deeply.

"You're my wife, Linds; I wouldn't want you crying on anyone else."

His arms rested on the counter on either side of her and she jumped down, boxed in by him. She gave him a shy smile and he ducked down to give her a quick, chaste kiss before leading them both out of the men's restroom. A male lab tech gave them a confused look as he passed them and entered. Danny looked down at Lindsay and winked as she bit her lip amusedly.

"I've gotta get goin' but I'll catch you later, yeah?" he said.

"Yeah, sure." She nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. Danny left whilst Lindsay walked over to her locker, opening it and checking her reflection in the mirror stuck to the back of the door. Jo hung up her phone with a weary sigh and Lindsay looked over her shoulder at the older detective, giving her a tentative smile. "You look how I feel."

"Tell me about it," Jo sighed. "Those poor children…"

"I know," Lindsay mumbled.

"Y'alright?" the Southern detective asked as she pushed herself up to standing.

"It's… difficult," Lindsay admitted hesitantly. "Stuff like this just reminds me of… back home, y'know? I know how difficult it'll be for those parents to move on from this – even the ones whose children haven't been taken away from them. I think sometimes we forget that once we've closed a case that doesn't mean the heartache is completely gone."

Jo reached out and gave Lindsay's bicep a firm, reassuring squeeze. "Looks as though Danny knows how to take your mind off of things though," she commented.

Lindsay smiled. "He really does." She indicated to the phone in Jo's hand. "Did you manage to speak to Tyler and Ellie?"

"Yeah, they'd both heard from friends – I caught Tyler as he was going between lessons and Ellie asked if she could have a friend stay round on Friday night so it sounds as though they're both fine." Jo nodded; obviously reassured from the brief contact she'd had with each of her children.

"I used to say I'd never have children," Lindsay admittedly quietly. At Jo's raised eyebrow she continued, "Seeing the mom's after my friends were killed was probably the second hardest thing I've ever had to see… I never wanted to have to go through that. But then Danny happened – and subsequently Lucy happened – and now I can't imagine not wanting to be a mother. It's still hard at times but that little girl makes up for everything. She's just…" Lindsay broke off, a smile tugging in the corners of her mouth as she struggled to fully explain how much she loved her daughter.

"I know what you mean," Jo nodded. "Whenever I look at Ellie I wonder what her birth mom saw because it clearly wasn't what I saw. I fell in love with Ellie the moment I laid eyes on her, and maybe it wasn't entirely appropriate or professional, but I was going to do everything in my power to make sure she went to a good home – and maybe deep down I knew that home would be mine."

Lindsay smiled openly. "You did a good thing taking Ellie in, Jo. You probably just about saved her life – or at least saved her from growing up to make the wrong choices in life."

Jo was flattered by the compliment. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Lindsay replied easily. She checked her face once more in the mirror and Jo studied her for a moment; the Southern detective remembered the conversation with Stella that she'd had at Hawkes and Camille's reception party about how she was the 'mother' to Lindsay, offering family and marital advice. It was good to see that the younger woman was starting to open up more, even if it was at a slower pace than a glacier.

Lindsay found it difficult to concentrate during the remainder of her shift, the only thought getting her through was knowing that she'd be able to see her daughter once she was finished. There was a sobriety echoed throughout the lab as everyone's thoughts lingered on the tragedy that had befallen the many families in Connecticut. Lindsay herself had thought back many times to the last time she'd seen her daughter, wondering whether those last few seconds would have been adequate enough to be a lasting memory. Shift finally over, Lindsay wasted no time in gathering her belongings from the empty locker room and leaving the lab. Outside it had begun to lightly snow and so she pulled her coat tighter around herself, huddling into the warm folds of material as she headed towards the subway. As Danny's shift had ended before hers, Lindsay had insisted that he take the car so her husband could pick Lucy up from preschool with ease.

She walked briskly for half a block but the burst of a car horn caused her to pause, looking up. Danny and Lucy were parked across the street, the engine running and the headlamps flooding the grey street with light. Lucy waved from the backseat, an exuberant smile lighting up her face and Lindsay felt the knot of tension that had settled in her stomach ease for the first time since seeing the news report that morning.

Lindsay crossed the road and pulled open the passenger door. Climbing in, she leant across to kiss Danny's cheek. "Hey. What're you doing here?"

"Pickin' you up," he shrugged easily. "We're goin' for a drive."

Lindsay gave him a suspicious look but didn't say anything. She buckled in her seat belt and turned halfway around to face her daughter. Reaching behind her, Lindsay took Lucy's sneaker clad foot in her hand, instantly calmed by the contact with her daughter.

"Hey baby, did you have a good day in preschool?" Lindsay asked and Lucy retold stories of playground games, lessons, a boy who got into trouble for picking his nose and home work that she had been set.

"My teacher said we had to pick a colour and count how many cars we see drivin'!" Lucy exclaimed as though this was the best homework to be given in the world. "So I picked pink!"

Lindsay nodded, having already guessed that her daughter would have chosen that colour. "So have you been counting?"

"Yah-huh, we sawed one already – didn't we, Daddy?"

"We sure did, sweet pea," Danny responded. His eyes were still on the road but his ears were open to their conversation.

"That's good, keep it up and ask me if you get stuck." Lindsay knew that Lucy would begin to struggle if she got past the number fourteen – not that Lindsay expected to see that many pink cars in New York. She turned back to face the front, releasing Lucy's foot as Danny joined the traffic entering the Queens Midtown tunnel. The evening was lighter that it would have been if it wasn't snowing, the sky churning slowly overhead.

"Ooh!" Lucy squealed, gazing open mouthed at the lights in the tunnel as they flashed past.

"So where're we going?" Lindsay asked her husband. Danny didn't answer, instead tapping his nose in a superior sort of way. She smirked at him. "Yeah, real mature."

She knew that when he wanted to, Danny could be very secretive, and if he had a surprise then he liked to sit on it until the opportune moment and no amount of coaxing, cajoling or demanding would make him tell her his secret. She settled back in her seat, enjoying the ride as she inhaled and then exhaled slowly, letting all of her worries go.

"How was work?" Danny asked lightly.

"It was…" she hesitated, unable – or possible unwilling – to let the natural 'fine' pass through her lips. "Difficult," she admitted. "I couldn't stop thinking about Lucy all day."

"Yeah, me too," Danny confessed.

Lindsay smiled at him, grateful to learn that it wasn't just her doubts and fears that had made it difficult to focus on something other than her daughter throughout the day. Danny gave her hand a squeeze; no matter how much he encouraged his wife to talk about the diner, how much he researched, empathised or tried to think it all through from his professional point of view, Danny knew he'd never be privy to that section of Lindsay's life.

She pressed the button on the radio, music from an old rock station filling the car as they emerged on the Queens Midtown Expressway and continued driving across the borough. Lindsay glanced over her shoulder, smiling as she saw that Lucy had fallen asleep in her car seat, her head dropped to her chest. They continued to drive for another half an hour, Lindsay's suspicions rising, as they drove down the Long Island Expressway and then crossed on to the NY106. Danny eventually pulled off of the highway into a more residential area and then paused at a crossroads, idling despite there being no other traffic.

Lindsay frowned at him and he grinned back before pointing through the windshield at the street sign.

"Montana St.," she read. Lindsay looked back to his grinning face, her eyebrow raised. "You're kidding me, right? You dragged us all the way out here for this?"

He was pleased to see that her mouth was twitching despite her apparent annoyance. "Nah, this was just a coincidence – Montana St. in Hicksville."

She glared at him. "Very funny."

Danny pressed down on the accelerator and they continued down the street, taking a few more turns until they finally ended up where Danny wanted them to be. He parked up outside a white house on the corner with a chain link fence running around it. Lindsay looked around for something that stood out but nothing seemed to.

"You should wake Lucy up – she ain't gonna want to miss this," Danny told her and there was definite excitement in his tone.

Lindsay's suspicions had returned but she did as told, climbing out of the car and opening Lucy's door before gently waking her daughter up. Lucy blinked a few times before smiling sleepily at her mother and Lindsay felt her heart clench.

"Hi, mommy."

"Hey baby."

Lucy looked around, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. "Oh no – I didn't do my homework."

"It's okay, I counted for you," Lindsay lied. "Um, there were four pink cars. Now," she continued before Lucy could ask any questions about what the cars looked like, "how about we get out and see what Daddy's surprise is?"

"Ooh, yes!" the little girl exclaimed, sufficiently distracted at the prospect of a surprise.

Lindsay unbuckled Lucy from her car seat and then rather than setting the little girl on the ground, she rested Lucy on her hip. Danny locked the car up and led them towards the house they'd parked outside of. He opened the gate and they walked through before shutting it behind them and making their way to the front door. Danny knocked and then rocked on the balls of his feet, flashing Lindsay a grin as she frowned suspiciously at him.

A plump woman wearing a purple tie-dye t-shirt and holey jeans opened the front door, a pair of glasses on a chain hung around her neck. "You the Messer's? Thought you'd be here fifteen minutes ago," she said in greeting.

"Yeah, we hit traffic by the Queens Midtown tunnel," Danny explained apologetically.

"Well, c'mon in." She turned and retreated into her home, Lindsay frowning at her husband as he waved her in ahead of him. Lindsay followed the woman through her home to the conservatory where a pen had been set up and inside were–

"Doggies!" Lucy squealed. She scrambled down from her mom's arms and ran over to the pen, clinging to the cage and bobbing on the spot excitedly as she peered in. Two fawn Great Danes were inside the pen, surrounded by a litter of puppies, all wrestling and barking happily.

"You wanna get in?" the dog owner asked.

"Uh, sure." Lindsay climbed over the fence of the pen before lifting Lucy in after her. The puppies immediately swarmed towards them, all begging for attention as they nudged and licked them. Danny stood outside the pen, watching how Lucy coped with the dogs and how Lindsay's face lit up as she scratched behind their ears and played with them.

Lindsay looked up at Danny, a grin on her face as she waited for an explanation. He nodded to the dogs in the pen, his tongue darting out to wet his lower lip. "Pick one."

Lindsay frowned at him, looking at the woman and then back at her husband. "What?"

"Pick one," he repeated. "This is your Christmas present. I looked 'em up, they're American Kennel Club approved, three months old so ready to come home with us now and Great Danes are also excellent with children."

"I also haven't had their ears cropped because I think it's a pointless procedure," the woman added. Sure enough all of the dogs had floppy ears.

"But Danny," Lindsay breathed. "Look at them." She indicated the two full grown dogs. "I don't know if this is such a good idea – our apartment's pretty small, we don't have a backyard… we'd have to walk the dog daily otherwise it's just cruel."

"Look, we've already agreed that we're gonna look for a bigger place once the lease on our apartment is up, right? So maybe we'll also look for an apartment with a yard area. The dog's not gonna grow that big overnight, Linds."

One of the puppies kept nudging at her hand, licking and chewing her fingers until she scratched his back, causing his hind leg to spasm reflexively. She chuckled and continued scratching the 'saddle region' before eventually nodding.

"Alright," she agreed, breaking out in a brilliant smile. "Yeah, we'll get one. What time is it? We'll have to find a pet store that's still open and buy all of the–"

She broke off as Danny gave her a sheepish grin. "I might've already bought the stuff we're gonna need. It's all hidden in the spare bedroom."

"How…" she mouthed wordlessly for a moment. "What if I'd said no?"

"Let's just say I had a strong inclination that you'd eventually say yes if I had an answer for all of your doubts."

She smiled, shaking her head before turning back to the dogs. With a squeal, Lucy was tackled to the floor and her face was immediately licked by all of the puppies as they climbed over her. Worried that the little girl may feel overwhelmed, Lindsay strode over to where he daughter was and pulled her up, dusting Lucy off who turned to the puppies and pointed at them, her face stern.

"No doggies, no push Lucy over. Play nicely," she commanded authoritatively.

Lindsay crouched down in front of her daughter and asked, "Hey Luce, what d'you say about taking one of these puppies home with us?"

The little girl turned to her, face shining and her mouth popping open before she nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes! Please mommy, let's take one home right now. Which one, mommy, which one?" she asked in a rush.

"Well," Lindsay picked up the puppy that had been demanding her attention since she'd stepped into the pen whilst his siblings had clamoured over Lucy. "How about this guy here?"

Lucy rubbed the puppy's snout which was black and he snorted into her hand, licking her small palm. Lucy giggled. "I like this boy."

"Me too," Lindsay nodded. She turned to Danny. "What d'you say Daddy?"

"Fine by me," Danny agreed. Danny went with the dog breeder to sort out all of the paperwork and to pay for the puppy whilst Lindsay and Lucy continued to play with the dogs. Lindsay crouched down beside the mother of the litter and gave her a friendly pat.

"We'll take good care of him," she promised on a murmur.

Lucy had a fun time rolling the ball and watching as he dogs scrambled after it and Lindsay was glad to see that the one she'd picked out was just as fun, loving and playful as the rest. Eventually Danny returned and Lindsay gathered their new puppy up before climbing out of the pen. Danny gave her the leash he'd just bought off of the woman and Lindsay secured it around the puppy whilst Danny picked Lucy up from the pen where she waved goodbye to all of the dogs. Once outside, the puppy strained on his leash as he tried to explore everything from the fence to the grass to the tree.

Lucy giggled. "He goin' potty."

Glad to see that the puppy was only urinating as they didn't have any appliances on them for picking up mess, the new proud owners of the Great Dane returned to their car.

"Can puppy sit in the back with me?" Lucy asked Danny as he buckled her in.

"I don't see why not."

Now that reality had sunk in that he was with new people and away from the litter that he knew so well, the puppy had begun to tremble and Lindsay gathered him in her arms. "You know, I think I might stay with him," Lindsay said before sitting in the back seat with the puppy nestled on her lap.

Danny gave her a smile, realising that she was already smitten before shutting Lucy's door and getting in the driver's seat. He looked at his girls through the rear view mirror, both of them fussing over the puppy as they stroked and talked to him. He grinned, knowing that this had been a good idea. Lindsay had needed cheering up and this was the best way to do so; he hoped that with a daughter and puppy to dote upon she could forget about all of her worries and even put aside the anxiety about having another baby. Danny started the car and they set off back for home with their new addition.

"We should start thinkin' about names for him," Danny mentioned from the front. "What about Harley?"

"As in Harley Davidson?" Lindsay asked sceptically. She looked into the puppy's face. "How about Giant – 'cause that's how big he's gonna get," Lindsay teased.

"Boom!" Lucy inputted and Danny grinned.

"I think that's an excellent name," he said, waiting for Lindsay's reaction.

"Boom?!"

"Or Boomer," he shrugged.

Lindsay scratched behind the puppy's ears. "I think you look like a Montana."

"That's a girl's name," Danny shot back, "That's your name."

"Okay, Bozeman."

"No."

"Is this my puppy or what?" Lindsay demanded petulantly, her eyes twinkling with underlying amusement. "Ace."

"Chuck."

"Buddy."

"Rocky."

"Ringo."

"Bacon."

"Bruno."

"Bolt."

"Syrup."

"Scotch."

"Mac."

He caught her eye in the rear view mirror and they both grinned before he shook his head at her suggestion. "He'd kill us. Okay, so far we've had Harley, Giant, Boom, Boomer, Ace, Chuck, Buddy, Rocky, Ringo, Bacon, Bruno, Bolt, Syrup and Scotch," he listed on one breath.

"And Bozeman," she added.

"We're not calling our dog Bozeman; we'd be the joke of dog walkers everywhere."

"Alright, so pick five names from the list that you like," she instructed.

"Fine; Harley, Boomer, Rocky, Bolt and Scotch," he said. "What names d'you like?"

"Bruno… Buddy… Ringo, Ace and Bolt."

"Well we both like Bolt, why don't we name him that?"

Lindsay looked at the puppy. "I don't know if I like it enough."

Danny sighed, realising that they would go in circles with this until an inspirational name hit them. "Alright, Lucy, what d'you think we should name the puppy?"

"Doggie," she answered simply.

"Right… yeah, thanks Luce, that's real helpful."

Lucy beamed. "Thanks," she said, too young to pick up on her father's sarcasm.

"Maybe we should sleep on it before we commit to anything," Lindsay suggested.

"Yeah but we'll have to decide soon or else he'll think his name really is 'puppy' or 'doggie'," Danny said.

Lindsay looked into the puppy's face and sighed. "Welcome to the family."

AN/2: So, there you have it, the newest addition to the Messer family is a dog! (Yes, I'm a sucker for dogs and yes, I did watch Marley and Me around the time I was writing the plan for all of this.) What do people think the newest Messer should be called? I keep umm-ing and ahh-ing but nothing seems to fit, or it does fit for a couple of hours and then I change my mind. Suggestions welcome, either from the list or from your own imaginations!