Chapter Two: Seasons of Love

A/N: I don't own, and/or profit from any of this. None of the characters belong to me, they are property of CBS. The lyrics in this song are all written by Jonathan Larson.

How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylight, in sunset, in midnights, in cups of coffee?

In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife?

When he had heard that Aiden Burns, his partner, one of his closest friends had done something as awful as tamper with evidence, he didn't believe it. He wouldn't. But there was nothing to prove otherwise, and he lost a good, well respected colleague. To twist the knife even further, she was replaced immediately.

The day Danny Messer had learned that Aiden was being replaced by another woman, a woman from Montana none the less, he wasn't thrilled, to say the least. He had expected the worse. Danny had it all pictured in his head. She'd be really beastly, he chuckled to himself the morning of her arrival. She would probably be wearing tattered jeans and shirt. But when he had seen her talking to Mac, his perception of her had changed.

She was anything but hick. She was very professional, very strong, and he noticed, very pretty. She had rolled up her sleeves and, literally, got down and dirty. She wasn't afraid to do the hard things and Danny secretly admired her for it. He never told her how much he thought her work ethic impressed him. Maybe because he thought that if he did, it would somehow seem that he wasn't respecting Aiden and all the things she had done for the lab.

Danny taunted her by dubbing her 'Montana'. She hated the nickname and continually voiced her dislike. He knew that she didn't like it, not only because it wasn't her name, but because she was now a part of the CSI: NY team and Danny didn't exactly welcome her with warm, open arms.

As days turned into weeks and things started to fall back into normal pattern, Lindsay was starting to become part of the lab. Except whenever she worked a case with Danny, they continued to butt heads. Danny had seniority over her, so naturally, if the case called for it, she got the dirty job, while he took pictures and took evidence bags back to the lab. Things were never anything but business for them. Their conversations were dominated by cases, evidence files, suspects and nothing else.

It's time now, to sing out,
Though the story never ends.
Let's celebrate
Remember a year in the life of friends.

She didn't know when things had started to change between the two of them. Lindsay had been at the lab for a few months now and she still felt like the new girl. Everybody had been working with each other for years and they all had private jokes with one another, or old cases to relive when it got too quiet in the lab. She listened with interest as they laughed and shared together, privately wanting to have her own stories to tell.

When she moved from her small town in Montana to Manhattan, she had all these pre conceived notions of what it would be like. Fast paced, action non-stop and close friends that she could make at her new lab. It wasn't like that though. When Mac had gotten in contact with her and told her that he had a position available, Lindsay was thrilled. Yet she never stopped to think about the person who she was stepping in for. From what little she learned from different lab tech, she had big shoes to fill. Obviously the woman, Aiden Burns, was fired for tampering with evidence. She was from Brooklyn and her and Danny were close. Maybe that's why he gave her unwanted nicknames.

It was different now. A whole lot different. They were working a case, and he asked her if she was hungry and she said yes. So he took her to some deli where they got lunch, although she had something to eat waiting for her in the break room. I guess, if she really thought about it, that's where things had started to change between them.

At first, they'd only stick to neutral topics. Like cases, the weather, other co-workers. But as going to the same deli everyday started to become a ritual, they started to open up more and the less and less did cases come up between them. "Why did you want to move to New York?" he asked one day as she looked up at him from across the table.

"Well," she began with a small sigh as she pulled at a piece of hair and tucked it behind her ear. "I needed a change." she shrugged sheepishly, knowing what a terrible answer it was, but it was the truth. "Besides, being a CSI in Montana wasn't all it was cracked up to be." she rolled her eyes. He laughed, making Lindsay smile.

"I bet." he muttered as he took a drink of water. He had begrudgingly mentioned a few times that he wished that having a few beers on the job wouldn't result in him getting fired. Lindsay had mentioned that she didn't drink and he told her he somehow already knew. She didn't know if she wanted to take that as a polite insult or just an observation.

As the time passed, Danny had called her cell phone on a Saturday and asked if she wanted to go out to lunch. It took every muscle in her face to keep from smiling as she glanced down at her clothing. "Sure." she agreed nonchalantly as her insides did somersaults. "Let me just change. Where do you want me to meet you?" she asked, as she cradled the tiny device between her ear and shoulder blade as she fingered the clothing in her closet.

"I'll come pick you up." he answered briskly. "Where do you live?"

She had given him her address and told him what apartment she was in and the call ended. She snapped the phone shut and finally, she broke out into a large grin. She carefully pieced an outfit together, without trying to look too obvious.

When they had gone out, he didn't take her to their usual eatery, instead he took her someplace else. It wasn't anywhere she heard of, just a little restaurant that served Mexican food. Lindsay was enthralled by the place as she and Danny ate lunch. "Why don't you get out more?" he asked over a plate of food.

Lindsay shrugged. She was usually honest with Danny, but she didn't want him to know why she never went out more. It made her feel like a hermit. "I'm working most of the time." she answered, blushing.

"You don't have to pick up extra hours." he replied seriously. When she looked up at him, he was smirking. "I know you pick up extra hours. You're always working even when your shift is over."

Lindsay ran a tongue over her lips nervously. She hated being in the hot seat. She was always the observer, nothing else and at the moment, she was extremely uncomfortable. "I don't know anyone else in New York." she answered as she took a fork and picked at her food. She looked at everything except Danny. The table, the walls, the food, everything but him and prying eyes. "Except my Uncle and I really wouldn't want to hang out with him. I mean, this is such a stupid conversation, can we just drop it?"

"Sure." he responded, seeing her reluctance.

After that, things didn't go so smoothly and Lindsay could've kicked herself for making such a big deal out of the conversation back in the diner. They finished lunch rather quickly and left the place after he paid the bill."I'll help pay." she reached into the pockets of her jeans to grab some money until Danny stopped her. He told her that he would get it, and reminded her that she paid for the last time they went out to lunch.

He took her back to her apartment building as the two made light conversation. "Listen," he turned to her when they parked on the curb in front of her building. "You know you can talk to me, right?"

Lindsay turned to look at him and felt herself beginning to smile. "So serious." she muttered as he broke out into a toothy grin. He had a great smile, she noted. "Listen," she started, not wanting him to worry about her, or worse, pity her. "I'm fine. I like living here. Nothing is wrong. I promise." she lied. The truth was, sometimes she missed Montana. She missed her friends and family. Here in New York, she was alone and had nothing but her work to fall back on.

She thanked him for lunch and began making her way out of the car. "Hey." he called out to her, halting her movements. She turned to glance over at him, wondering what else he wanted to talk about. She didn't get a chance to ask, when his lips softly brushed over hers. She sat extremely still as he moved his lips over hers. Danny moved away when she didn't respond.

"I'm sorry." he muttered, glancing down at the car fabric and picked at a loose piece of string for a moment. "That was really uncalled for and I apologize."

Lindsay looked at him for a moment, trying to catch her breath and put together what just what happened. He had kissed her. And she didn't do anything? What the hell was wrong with her? The first guy that bothers to pay any attention to her since she moved to Manhattan kissed her and she just sat there like an half-wit. Lindsay leaned up and pressed her lips to his. His hand went to the back of her head, holding it in place as he opened his mouth to hers, deepening the kiss.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure the life
Of a woman or a man?

"Hey." she greeted him softly as he leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the lips. She chuckled as he began kissing the bridge of her nose, as he moved to her cheek. He kissed her eyes shut and ended his trek with a soft kiss on her forehead. "I love waking up this way." she mumbled against his neck.

"Me too." he smiled as he wrapped his arms around her shoulder and brought her closer to him. He pressed his lips on to her temple as he heard her sigh in content. "Do you have to work today?" he asked softly and she shook her head.

Danny loved it when she stayed with him. They took turns staying at one another's apartments. At first, it was always about sex. They would sleep together and act as if nothing happened at work. Until it happened again. When Lindsay didn't show up to work, it surprised him how much it concerned him. Until Stella informed him Lindsay got a bad flu and she was at home. Danny had stopped and got her some over the counter pills, as well as Chinese noodles. He knew how much she liked those. He stayed with her over lunch and gave her the medicine. Of course, it took a while for her to even open the door.

They started talking, considering the fact that she really wasn't in the mood for sex. Their relationship, even they even had one at the time, deepened. He had learned a lot about the brilliant CSI, and he had told her things he had never told anyone before. He felt like someone else when he was with her. He didn't constantly worry about cases, or family. It was just them, and he liked it that way.

He heard her soft breathing and realized she was sleeping again. Danny brushed the hair away from her face and stared down at her. God, she was beautiful. She was extremely smart, attractive, sweet, and Danny knew that he didn't deserve her. He didn't treat her well when she first came and any other woman would have never forgave him for that. But, luckily for him, Lindsay wasn't like any of those woman. No, she was unique. She was his.

Oh you got to got to Remember the love! Remember the love.
You Measure in love know that love is a gift from up above.

Seasons of Love

So, I don't really like this chapter. I flicked school today and decided to write it then. I might re-write it. I'm not sure. Anyways, please R&R. Any and all reviews are welcomed!