Chapter Sixteen

Danny was sitting silently in the cafeteria nursing a strong cup of black coffee, the past 20 minutes had been a blur, had she really meant what she said?

All the thoughts and questions were tearing him up inside, he couldn't bare it and to make matters worse he gave her an ultimatum of sorts, how stupid could he be. He brought the cup up to his mouth and took another sip, afterwards placing it on his table and taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose, he sighed and hung his head in his hands. Was he going to lose Lindsay?

Flack was walking past the cafeteria, he had been interviewing a suspect that had been brought in, walking past the cafeteria was en-route to the exit, he looked in as he passed and had to back track when he saw Danny sitting alone looking as though if the world swallowed him up there and then he wouldn't have been phased.

He made his way into the cafeteria and sat down opposite Danny, Danny looked up to acknowledge his presence. They were silent for a few moments, Danny wasn't giving anything away, but Flack knew him better than that, something was wrong and the fact he wasn't with Lindsay, he had a pretty good idea that they had had a fight.

"What happened?"

Danny looked up again.

"Nothings happened, what makes you think something has?"

Flack shifted in his seat, he was getting comfortable, he knew this would take a while.

"Danny, your sat in the cafeteria alone, with a look of complete loss on your face, if that doesn't give the impression something has happened I dunno what does?"

Danny smiled and lent back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"You are observant Flack, I will give you that."

"So I would be right then, something has happened?"

Danny said nothing but simply nodded.

"Mate, what happened?"

Danny sat forward in his chair and took hold of his cup and fiddled with the handle.

"Me and Linds, we had a fight."

Flack sat back in his chair and studied his friend.

"No kidding Messer."

Danny looked up at Flack and smiled. The smile soon faded when he thought back to the argument with Lindsay.

"Things were said Don, and now, now I don't know where I stand, where we stand."

Flack sat up when Danny called him by his first name, Danny didn't do that very often, only when things were serious.

"What was said?"

Danny sighed, telling Flack meant having to actually believe Lindsay had said it in the first place.

"In short, Lindsay basically said she sometimes wished it never happened, she meant the pregnancy, but whether or not she just meant the pregnancy I don't know. Its all a big mess really."

Flack was dumbstruck, that didn't sound like the Lindsay they knew, something must have triggered it, Flacks first guess HORMONES.

"You know what women are like when they're pregnant, their hormones are through the roof, she probably didn't mean what she said."

"Yeah that's what I am thinking, but that's now sitting here, but in the room, I told her maybe she had to think about whether or not I was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with."

Flack was again speechless, he couldn't understand how something this special could make them act this way.

"You two need to sort this Danny, she loves you, and you love her, she wants that baby, even when we didn't know she was pregnant you could see the glow."

Danny had images of Lindsay and him celebrating her pregnancy, making preparations, sitting on their sofa talking to the bump. Never in those precious moments had she hinted that she was unhappy. Not once.

Danny hung his head so that his chin was pressing against his chest, he missed Lindsay, he missed the Lindsay that used to laugh and joke with him, he knew things were changing but he thought he and Lindsay were facing those changes together but here he was alone and with an uncertain future. Flack could sense that his friend was hurting, he also knew that he was useless in these situations, he hadn't been much comfort for Danny when everything happened with the Minhas shooting. Now, now was the time he could make up for that, he was going to be there.

Flack stood up from his seat and walked over and sat next to Danny and placed a comforting hand on his friends shoulder. Danny looked up, tears in his eyes. Flack smiled tentatively.

"Danny, Linds like most women during pregnancy is going to have these thoughts, it's a little known fact that the majority of women who are pregnant think at one point in their pregnancy that their life is over, they feel like they have wasted their time not doing the things they wanted. Travelling the world, having different partners and so on, but we both know that Lindsay, she isn't like most women at the best of times, but I think we need to allow her to have this last regret, this last apprehension…give her time Danny, she will come round."

Danny continued to look at Flack long after he had finished speaking. Deep inside Danny knew Flack had a point, Lindsay wasn't like most women, but he knew that having a baby and getting married within months of each other is going to be a big change in her life he knows that deep down the prospect of bringing up another living being and looking after them is a big responsibility and Lindsay she has taken it all in her stride, nothing phased her.

Danny breathed in deep and looked back down at his coffee.

"I have to admit, I hadn't thought of that, what have I done Flack? I might have pushed her away, GOD DAMNIT Flack what if she thinks that this is a last ditch attempt for me to avoid responsibility, I gotta find her and tell her I love her and I don't care that she is having last minute nerves!"

Flack looked at his friend.

"I don't think you have to find her man, I think she had the same idea."

Flack pointed to the direction of the door, Danny looked at Flack confused and followed his view path to the doorway, stood in the doorway was Lindsay and Stella, Lindsay was clutching Stella's arm for support. Danny could see Lindsay smiling nervously in his direction not knowing whether or not he wanted to see her.

10 minutes before, with Lindsay and Stella.

"Stella, I don't think he wants to see me, I mean after what I said to him, if I was him I wouldn't want to see me!"

"Well that's obviously where you and Danny are different, as I have said before, he loves you far to much to lose you now, he is going to fight for you both and you better know that."

Lindsay smiled.

"I do, and that's why I want to spend the rest of my life with him."

Lindsay and Stella made their way slowly but surely down the corridor, they were heading to the first stop on their search for Danny, the cafeteria. They had both come to learn over the past year, that when something is bothering Danny, to let of steam he would either play basketball or sit with a cup of coffee and stew on his problems, seeing that their wasn't a basketball net anywhere in the hospital complex they had a fairly good idea that he was in fact in the cafeteria.

Lindsay and Stella were walking in silence for a few moments, when Lindsay broke the silence.

"I have been meaning to ask you a couple of things Stella."

Stella laughed.

"Shoot."

"Well firstly, how are things with you and Flack, I have been so wrapped up in myself and Danny recently I haven't asked how things are with you?"

"Hey its understandable Linds, you are pregnant after all."

"Yeah I know, but I am only 3 months gone, and I hadn't even told you guys, for all I knew you lot thought I was being ignorant or moody. I just have to clarify, you are my friend Stella, the only one who I can have a sane conversation with when Flack and Danny and well even Hawkes and Mac get together, us girlies have to stick together!"

"Amen to that sister."

Lindsay and Stella laughed.

"So back to my question."

Stella sighed. Her face turning to confused and serious expression.

"Stella? What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing bad really, well Don, he kinda asked me to move in with him."

Lindsay smiled, but her smile soon faded.

"And what did you say?"

"I told him I would get back to him."

Lindsay nodded to herself.

"When did he ask you?"

"Last week."

Lindsay was wide mouthed. She and Stella were just rounding a corner in the corridor, just a few more corners till they reached the cafeteria.

"You have left him hanging this long, what's stopping you Stel?"

Stella sighed.

"I don't know, I mean he is what I want, I mean I love him so much but when he asked me, I felt, I felt vulnerable. I would be losing so much independence and that's all I've ever really had."

Lindsay nodded again.

"I know you are going to find the transaction hard at first Stel, but love is all about a little leap of faith, I mean nothing is going to be easy I am scared stupid about marrying Danny and bringing this child into the world, but I know I am going to have Danny with me…because I love him and trust him with every ounce of life I have."

"But after Frankie…"

"You have had a bad experience, but I don't think Flack is going to be like that Stel, I see the way he looks at you, like you keep telling me about Danny, he loves you Stel, and I know you love him to. Moving in together is a step forward, a good step forward."

Stella nodded.

"So you think I should go for it?"

"Yeah, I think you should go for it, Stel, just because you move in with him doesn't mean that you are going to lose independence, Flack knows that is one of the things that makes you, well you. He wont want you to lose that either."

Stella smiled as she and Lindsay made it down the homestretch towards the cafeteria.

"Then its settled, I am going to move in with him, if the offer still stands."

Lindsay let out an excited yelp.

"I am happy for you, but I think my world is about to crumble around me."

Stella and Lindsay approached the door and saw Flack and Danny talking, Stella smiled at Flack, she lent in close to Lindsay.

"Just tell him what you told me earlier, tell him about the leap of faith."

Lindsay looked at Stella and nodded. She turned to look back at Flack and Danny, she saw Danny looking straight at her, she smiled gingerly, not knowing what else to do.

Danny stood up from his chair and walked towards Lindsay and Stella. He stood in front of Lindsay and took a hold of her hands, he brought them up to his lips and kissed them gently.

He pulled her into a embrace and nuzzled his face into her free flowing hair.

"I'm so sorry Linds, I shouldn't have given you that ultimatum, I shouldn't have pressured you into anything."

Lindsay could feel the tears falling from her eyes gently.

"Danny, love is a leap of faith, and I trust you with every ounce of my life, and I don't want to be anywhere else…I don't want to fight like this again, it kills me."

Danny pulled himself from her hair, and looked deep in her eyes, he cradled her face in his hands and wiped away her tears with soft caresses of his thumbs.

"I promise, I don't want to lose you."

Danny and Lindsay hugged again and looked picture perfect. Stella had replaced Danny at the table she sat herself down next to Flack, he shifted somewhat, he looked at his watch and muttered something about being late, he stood up about to leave, when he felt Stella tug at the arm of his jacket.

"I have something you might want to hear Don so please…stay?"

Flack sat back down and looked into his hands. He had been dreading this moment for the past week.

"When you asked me to move in with you, I should've answered you there and then, but I didn't, don't ask me why, but I couldn't bring myself to say yes, for me to do that it meant I had to admit I was kind of dependant on you, on your love for me. That's something I have never had, I have always ha my own independence and I felt moving in with you meant I was losing the only thing I have ever really known."

Flack went to interupt her but she got there first.

"But, after a few words of wisdom from a certain someone, I came to realise that like anything to do with love, there is always a leap of faith, sometimes you have to go with your heart and not with your head. So here I am going with my heart for perhaps the first time ever, so ask me again Don."

Don looked as giddy as a school boy, he took hold of Stella's hands and looked deep into her eyes, she fell to mush as she got lost in the blue of his eyes.

"Stella, will you move in with me?"

"Yes. Yes I will."

Flack lent in to Stella and met her lips and kissed her passionately not caring that the majority of the room was staring at them including Danny and Lindsay.

"What happened there? Did he just propose to Stella in a hospital cafeteria?"

Danny earned a slap on the chest.

"Ow!"

"Don't be so silly, if Don was going to propose don't you think it would be a bit more classy, besides all he did was ask her to move in with him."

"All, that's a big deal Linds, Flack well he hasn't ever really lived with a woman. Not one he was sleeping with anyway."

Lindsay laughed and yawned.

"Ok I think we have had enough excitement for one night, lets get you to bed."

"Our bed or the smelly one back in my hospital room?"

"I think you know which one Linds."

"Hey, it cant hurt to be a little optimistic here."

"Yeah ok I will give you that, still doesn't change the fact that you are sleeping here the night."

"Don't rub it in Messer."

"Oh please let me, I was thinking some body oils?"

Lindsay could be heard laughing down the corridor, she and Danny were back to the way they were earlier that evening, they looked happy and perfect walking together down the corridor, Danny had his arm draped around Lindsay's shoulder, whereas she had her arms wrapped tightly around his middle.

TBC

A/N - I am pretty certain the next chapter is going to be the last, there was a little F/S in here I thought I would add a bit just to give it a little something else.