Moments
There are many different definitions of moments. A brief segment of time, a particular period of importance, an essential or constituent element of a complex idea, or the tendency to cause rotation about a turning point. Still, we all agree that every moment is an experience.
Lindsay was back at work less than a week later, and the words Danny had left her with never really disappeared with time. However, she was good at keeping personal things out of work, and was gladly doing so. As long as she was in the lab, whatever distracting thoughts of Danny were kept strictly at bay, she saved them for those late night moments when she couldn't fall asleep. Stella mischievously noted that Danny was not able to concentrate as well as Lindsay was, and made it her personal mission to play matchmaker.
She was working a case with Stella that afternoon in the suburbs of New York. When she got to the crime scene, there was a heavy odor of blood hanging in the air. Lindsay held back a choke; she was getting a bad sense of déjà vu, but couldn't quite place the feeling. She trailed behind Stella, surveying the house. It seemed like there was no obvious signs of struggle, everything was neat and in perfect order. She was wondering how the victim would look like when Stella opened a door and the putrid scent hit her like a wave.
Both women gasped involuntarily when they saw the dead body of a woman submerged in a bathtub filled with bloodied water. Their reactions, however, were different. Stella was disgusted and angry; Lindsay just froze and paled.
"Ugh, this is cold blooded murder. Let's process this scene fast. I don't think I can spend more than half an hour inhaling this awful smell." Stella muttered to Lindsay and opened her kit. Lindsay nodded and followed Stella's actions, pulling on her latex gloves.
Lindsay bent over the tub and checked the victim's wrists. There were no typical suicide gashes and she gave a small sigh. The blood though, distracted her. There was a brown crust forming around the inside of the tub, showing the original water level. The woman was dead for at least two days. Lindsay wondered darkly who had found the body aloud.
"Her four year old daughter," Stella answered softly, and observed as Lindsay's eyes clouded for two seconds. The smaller woman blinked deliberately and bent down again, getting back to work.
"Stabbed in the back," Stella murmured as she pushed the body up with Lindsay's help. She nodded silently and pushed the woman's hair out of her face, the marks on her neck evidence of asphyxiation. Lindsay pulled out the camera and snapped a few pictures. She was trying hard to act normally, but it not easy. Concentrate, she told herself. But in the end, all she came out with was a morbid mental picture, the dead woman laying still in the tub, pivoting delicately on her hips, her hair flowing behind her. As if she was sitting on the old swing Lindsay used to hear creaking in the Montana wind. Stella noticed the change in demeanor and sped up work, anything to get out of the house faster.
On the way back to the lab, Stella had tried initiating conversation, but Lindsay wasn't very receptive to the idea. Instead, she feigned that she had a humongous headache and it hurt to talk. As Lindsay purposely stared out of the window, Stella sighed inwardly. She never recalled a crime scene, no matter how gory and sick, affecting Lindsay.
Stella watched as Lindsay walked briskly out of the lab once shift was over. Shrugging, she turned back to the DNA sample she was working on. She was staring at the blue agarose dish when she caught sight of Danny walking by the glass windows. Might as well, she thought, if I am going to hook them up together.
Danny returned his final report to Mac's office and was on his way to the break room when Stella popped her head out of the DNA lab and called for him to stop.
"Hey, are you free now?"
Danny raised an eyebrow, dubious about Stella's intention, but nodded.
"Could you talk to Lindsay? You seem to be the closest person to her in the lab."
"Why? What happened?"
Stella couldn't help giving him a small smile, the concern was just so blatantly apparent. "I don't know. She shut down while we were processing the scene."
That was odd; Lindsay was always enthusiastic about her work. "Where is she?"
"I'm not sure, really. She went off in the direction of the stairs. I need to get back to the sample, Danny."
He nodded and went off in search of the brunette whom he was getting very fond of.
Lindsay stood at the corner of the roof and looked down at the city beneath her. The New York skyline was breathtaking, in a completely different way from the rustic beauty Montana was in the moonlight. She shivered slightly and wrapped her arms around herself. It hadn't been a good day at all. Processing the scene with Stella today in the hauntingly tragic setting brought back bad memories, ones she thought she had put behind her once she had packed her bags and left for New York. She had almost succeeded in distracting herself from all the memories when the door leading from the stairwell opened. She turned around to see who it was, and quickly turned back to the glittering city lights; annoyed that Danny even knew where she was.
"Montana." He hadn't called her that in a long time.
She refused to look at him; if she did, the tears were going to fall. Lindsay just nodded in acknowledgement and counted the number of cars driving across the highway.
Danny moved across to stand by her side, and when she didn't protest, spoke. "What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" She asked in return, and turned away from him slightly.
"I asked you first." Saying that he felt juvenile would be an understatement.
Lindsay sighed, "Shift's over. I wanted to think for a while."
He inched closer, "Stella said you weren't acting like yourself today."
She shrugged, "We all have our off days."
Danny placed a firm hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him. She looked at him defiantly, but the tears were still welling in her eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm fine." She grew angry with herself as a tear slid down her cheek. Danny reached to brush it away, but Lindsay stopped him by curling her fingers across his and used the back of her other hand to wipe the dampness away.
The sun had set long ago and the city was alive with lights blinking brightly. In the distance, a car honked. "You're not," he marveled at the smallness of her hand. She was even beautiful sad. "Trust me." He added after a few minutes of silent staring.
She shook her head and started to move away. Lindsay knew she always had a problem with showing her emotions; she was one who bottled it all up and threw the bottle away. And if she got emotional, Lindsay wanted to be alone. Right now she needed to get away from Danny.
Danny frowned and blocked her way, "Why not?"
"I want to be alone, Danny." She muttered, but part of her wanted to feel his arms around her again.
"Why don't you trust me?" He moved closer such that she was looking right into his eyes.
Knowing there was no escape, Lindsay sniffed, "It's not just you, I don't trust anyone with this." Even saying that felt too personal, she wanted to disappear.
He smiled gently and reached for her, "You are such an intensely private person, Lindsay."
"I know," she mumbled against his shoulder, the warmth of his body a good shelter from the cold. She wanted to protest when he pushed her back but before she could say anything, his lips were on hers.
It is difficult to know at what moment love begins; it is less difficult to know that it has begun. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A/N: Gotta clarify some stuff. The link to moments (in terms of physics) is very subtle, it's there, but not laid out on the surface. And I'm giving Lindsay more character, I don't care, and don't know what she's supposed to be like on the show. Hopefully, you can see after this chapter that my version of Lindsay in this story is not an open book. She is independent, and stubborn, and backs away when people (in this case, Danny) want her to share her feelings and thoughts about personal issues. And I really should not give her away now, she hates it when people know her too well... stay tuned for the next chapter. :)
ooh, and don't forget to review. Thanks.