A/N: I know it's been a while since I last updated. I was busy with school, so here it is now. It was a little rushed, and long, so I might take this chapter down to edit later. I need comments though, so you know what I'm asking for. :) Enjoy, I hope.

Waves

Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end.
-William Shakespeare

It was gloriously slow with gentleness Lindsay never anticipated from Danny. By the time the kiss ended, she found her hands in his hair and her body arched against his.

"Oh my God," she gasped breathlessly. Never had she let her body react so impulsively before. "What am I doing?" Lindsay disentangled her fingers from his hair and wondered in a whisper.

Danny pulled her closer, "I'm not going to apologize this time." He looked at her. Pieces of hair falling from a messy bun, cheeks flushed and lips swollen. "FYI, you look gorgeous right now."

"Messer..." she warned without a threat, letting her voice slide into its normal volume. Honestly, she was flattered.

He sighed in relief when she didn't make any move to slap him, "Montana," he mimicked, a grin growing on his face. Damn, she was a good kisser.

"My name is Lindsay," she muttered, her mind going back to her first few days in the lab. Feeling his hands on the small of her back, Lindsay removed his arms from around her gingerly with her fingers. She took a step back. "You know, just because I kinda saved your life doesn't mean you have to kiss me whenever I need comforting."

Danny shrugged nonchalantly, "Who says I'm kissing you because you took a bullet for me?" He watched as Lindsay blushed and roll her eyes. When she turned around to walk away, he spoke, "Where are you going?"

"To parasail down the building and jump into traffic," she laughed, "Back to the lab, duh."

It was an act, and he saw through it.

"By the way, Einstein said gravity cannot be responsible for people falling in love." Lindsay added as an afterthought.

How he knew her well enough to tell was another matter he could ponder on forever. "Well, if you're sure you're feeling better." Danny smiled and followed her through the door and down the stairs.

The next morning was a beautiful day. The sun was out and shining, the air temperature was just right. Lindsay inhaled a large breath of air, savoring the scent of winter melting into spring before entering the lab. She made her way to the holding room where Stella was waiting and found the older woman flipping through the case file.

"Hey, is your headache gone?" Stella asked pointedly, casting a concerned eye on her.

"Yeah," Lindsay gulped, but her guilt was forgotten once Flack pushed a little girl in and just stopped short of slamming the door behind him.

Stella and Lindsay stared at the child before them. She had long dark hair that hung down to her back, flyaway strands sticking to her face. The child stared back at the two women, eyes wide in confusion, and then she sniffled.

"Hi." Lindsay crouched down, "I'm Lindsay, what's your name?"

Mouth forming in a pout, the child answered in a tiny voice, "Hope."

"Okay, Hope…"

The child interrupted her, "Hopie, please. It's only ever Hope when I've done something wrong."

Stella bit back a chuckle, "Hopie, take a seat."

"Did any one come to your home two days ago, Hopie?" Lindsay asked once the girl was seated on a chair too high for her.

Hopie dangled her legs and frowned, "Some bad man."

"Bad man?"

"He was thiiiisss big and had funny eyes and he made mommy scream." She looked at Lindsay, who nodded, urging her to go on. "Then mommy asked me to stay in my room while they talked. Then I fell asleep." There was a moment of silence as Hopie stared straight into Lindsay's eyes. "They were noisy and I was tired and I slept. When I woke up, I needed to pee and I saw mommy sleeping in the bathtub. Miss Lindsay?"

She nodded encouragingly and plastered a smile on her face, unsure of what the child was going to say next.

"Why was mommy sleeping in the bathtub?" Hopie tilted her head to one side and widened her eyes, batting her lashes innocently.

Instantly, her smile froze and Lindsay chewed on her bottom lip, turning her gaze from Hopie to Stella, who was standing behind the chair. From the look on her face, Stella had no idea how to break the news to the child too. Her mouth forming in a pout, Hopie swung her legs violently to get some attention. Getting up, Lindsay tucked an errant strand of hair behind Hopie's ear, "Uh, I need to talk to Stella," she gestured hesitantly; the child turned around to glance at Stella, "hold on, 'kay?" As Hopie nodded reluctantly and folded her arms across her chest, Lindsay grimaced at the awkwardness of the situation.

They made their way to a corner of the room, far away from where Hopie was seated, staring at them earnestly. "What do I say?" she sought the older woman's help.

"The truth?" Stella scratched her head and made a face.

"Your mommy was murdered and she wasn't really sleeping. The water was red; that was her blood." Lindsay whispered fiercely and rolled her eyes.

Stella frowned, "Y'know? That might actually work."

Groaning, Lindsay made her way back to Hopie. "Hopie, I need you to tell me everything you saw, okay?" She watched nervously as Hopie's eyes narrowed.

"A bad man came and they were using their outdoor voice. Then mommy was sleeping in the bathtub!" Her voice pitched higher into a whine, "The water was red. Then I tried waking mommy up but she wouldn't. I went to Mrs Henessy's house and then she came in and brought me away. She took me to have ice cream but I wanna see mommy."

Lindsay winced before speaking. "You can't see mommy now, Hopie." Or anytime soon.

Before she could explain, the child let out a tiny gasp before bawling, "Why?"

She caught sight of Stella slapping her own forehead and glared before turning her attention to Hopie. "Because she's…she's not here anymore." It was such a difficult task and the tears were really getting to her.

"Why?"

Is that the only question she can ask? Lindsay groaned inwardly before grabbing hold of Hopie's shoulders. "The bad man killed her."

The child broke into a series of wails and both women caught each other's eye above her head. Closing her eyes tiredly, Lindsay sighed. Trying to look for a silver lining around the dark cloud, she mused that at least Hopie could throw a temper tantrum and the traumatic event hadn't cost her will to live.

Pulling a tissue out of her back pocket, Stella passed it to Lindsay, who offered it to the girl. Hopie snatched the tissue and sobbed into it. Lindsay blinked. This was going to be a very long day.

It was half an hour later when the tears stopped falling and Hopie opened her arms for Lindsay to pick her up. She was hesitant at first but when Stella practically shoved Hopie into her arms, she really had no choice. As she felt Hopie snuggle against her, Lindsay briefly entertained the thought of strangling Stella. "I'm hungry." She had to smile when a tiny girlish voice whispered into her ear though.

"Talk to the kid, I'm going to process evidence." Stella smirked and ruffled Hopie's hair.

Lindsay heaved a big sigh, "Fine. I'll take her out for lunch." She was beginning to hate this case a lot. She left the room and, balancing a groggy Hopie on her hips, headed towards the locker room. She was convinced she was a very unlucky person when Danny bumped into her.

"Montana?" He sounded surprised.

"Hi, Danny, meet Hopie. Hopie, meet Danny." She introduced them hurriedly, not caring that Hopie's face was still buried in her shoulder and her arms will still wrapped around her neck. "Hopie's really hungry, so we gotta go." As a smirk grew on Danny's face, Lindsay glared at him before turning back.

She reddened as he laughed. This was so not funny! Lindsay fought back the desire to kick him in the shin and hurried down the corridor.

They were seated in a McDonald's outlet one street away from the lab. Hopie had asked solemnly for a Happy Meal and Lindsay complied. If she was going to get anything useful out of the child who just found out her mother was murdered, the least she could do was be nice. The meal was eaten mostly in silence, and Lindsay observed as Hopie swirled a fry in the ice cream slowly.

"Sweetie, what are you thinking about?" Lindsay tried breaking the silence.

Hopie never looked up from the mess she had created on the table. "Mommy," She answered simply and popped the fry into her mouth.

"Where's your daddy?"

"I don't know. Mommy said he didn't love us anymore and left."

Lindsay cursed herself for choosing such cheerful topics of conversation. "Did you ever see the bad man before?"

"Sometimes. But it's always real late and Mommy makes sure I go to bed before they go out."

So that was probably a new boyfriend, at least she was going somewhere with this. "What time did he come on Tuesday?"

"The moon was out." Hopie held up her sticky hands and inspected them.

"Was it your bedtime?"

She replied sweetly, "Almost."

As Hopie pushed the half eaten tray of food away and reached for the toy, Lindsay sighed for the umpteenth time in the day. "Is there anyone you like who lives near you?"

"Mrs Hennessy was real nice yesterday. I like Peter, we play hide and seek whenever Mommy's not home."

"How old is Peter?"

"Seven." Her sugar coated fingers were struggling to tear the plastic bag up.

Lindsay took the bag out of Hopie's hand and ripped the plastic up, passing the stuffed toy inside to her. "Are you done eating, Hopie?"

Hopie nodded and hopped out of the red colored plastic chair. Wondering when she had become a mother, Lindsay extended one hand to Hopie and sighed as an oily mixture of sugar, salt, milk and drool ran over her fingers. "Come, let's get you washed up." Shifting her weight restlessly from one leg to the other, Hopie flashed a sad smile. She was missing Mommy very much, and hoped to see her later that night. The four year old hadn't quite grasped the concept of death.

Like a wave, things had changed. As Lindsay walked down the street with Hopie's hand in hers, she felt sorry for the girl. Hopie, who looked most definitely like a wheedler, was now an orphan. It was hard to explain to a stranger's child that her mother was dead, but Lindsay understood it was even harder for the child to understand that her mother was never coming back. Ever. No matter how many definitions of death Lindsay or anyone else could come up with; that her mother was in a better place with unicorns and old pets, or that she was in a beautiful garden where it never got cold and ugly, Hopie was going to have to deal with the passing of a parent on her own, and probably a few years later, when she was old enough to understand.

Lindsay thought back to the night before. It had been like a crest of a wave, where particles hold still for an extra moment before falling back down. If not for the undeniable tension between Danny and her, it would've been romantic. Lindsay found it hard to erase the vision embedded in her thoughts. Looking down at Hopie, who was clutching the toy tightly in her right fist, Lindsay smiled back when Hopie beamed at her. As Hopie swung her arm in a true childlike manner, Lindsay decided that she would make arrangements that would protect the child from a life without love and security.

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