Monday was the day. They had a meeting with Mac at 8:30. Personally, she had wanted to wait a little longer, but she couldn't hide it any more. She had been dressing in loose tops and was never seen without her lab coat or a jacket of some description. But yesterday had been the straw that broke the camel's back. She hadn't been able to do up her jeans. She should have expected it. She was 5 months pregnant, after all.
It had been nice while it had lasted. A secret that she and Danny alone had shared. Once word got around, there would be endless questions. How did it happen? Were they a couple now? Was it a boy or a girl?
So they had one final weekend left. And he was late for their planning session. They still had to decide how to tell Mac. But the way they told Mac would be different from the way they told Stella, which would be different from the way they told Sheldon and Flack. It was all so confusing.
"Hey, sorry I'm late. I overslept." She was broken out of her thoughts by Danny's arrival.
"It's OK. It gave Peanut and me some time to think." Lindsay told him as she placed her hand over the small, but noticeable bump that was their baby.
"Peanut?" He asked. He still couldn't believe that this was happening. When he looked at her, he couldn't believe that in a few short months they would have a living, breathing, perfect combination of themselves. He wanted to protect them both. He hated the fact that she lived by herself in the cramped little apartment on the other side of town. He was afraid that he would miss something, either now, when she was pregnant or later, when the baby had been born. He also hated the fact that she had no idea what she was doing to him.
"I hate calling the baby it, so I decided to call the baby Peanut instead." She looked at him with that innocent smile and he wanted to melt. He wanted to tell her right then and there that the idea of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Messer sounded pretty damn good to him. But he couldn't. She was the one that had said that they needed to stay focused for the job. Of course, that was before they had found out she was pregnant.
"And what were you and Peanut thinking about?" He asked her.
"We were thinking about how to tell the team that I'm pregnant." She told him.
"That part'll be easy. It's telling 'em that you're pregnant with Messer spawn that'll be the hard part." She nearly spit her juice out when he said that. She couldn't stop laughing.
"Messer spawn?" she managed to say. "We can't say that to Mac."
"No, no. That's for Flack."
After they had finished their breakfast and nailed down the specifics of their conversation with Mac, Lindsay got ready to leave.
"Where're you off to in such a hurry?" He asked her.
"If I don't go shopping this afternoon, I will have no clothes to wear on Monday morning. Nothing fits anymore." That sounded pretty damn good to him.
"You want me to come with?"
"You want to go shopping for maternity clothes?"
"Why not?"
"Because it's sorta girlie."
"Lots of guys do it."
"When they're married to or dating the mother of their child. You can't tell me you don't have better things to do with your Saturday afternoon."
"At this precise moment, nothing is better than spending time with you and Peanut." It made her feel warm and tingly inside. He probably wasn't saying it for the reasons that she hoped he was saying it, but it still made her feel good.
"Danny, go have fun. Nothing important is going to happen while I go clothes shopping."
"Alright, but don't say I didn't offer." They exited the restaurant together. Once they reached the curb, he hailed her a taxi. As she got in, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Before she could say anything, he closed the door and the cab sped away.
He started Monday the way he had started most days since she had told him she was pregnant. Danny would stop to pick up bagels and tea on his way to Lindsay's. Lindsay was a caffeine addict, and he had given up coffee to make her feel better. There were some mornings, like this morning, when he would've killed for a cup of coffee, but he was supporting her.
He would then arrive at Lindsay's in time for her panicked attempts at dressing to make sure that she didn't look pregnant. This was the last morning that she would be doing that.
When he finally arrived at her apartment, he found her already dressed and calmly reading the Entertainment section of the newspaper, with the Sports section laid out for him.
"Morning." She said cheerily, which was highly unusual at this time of the day.
"Well, you're certainly in a good mood this morning. And you're dressed."
"It's amazing how easy it is to get dressed in the morning, when you have options."
"Well, you look great." She really did. She was wearing a pair of black pants and a green flowing shirt that if you were looking for it, you could tell that she was pregnant, but wouldn't give it away as soon as they walked into the lab.
"Thanks. It cost me a fortune, but I have clothes again." She told him. "Speaking of which, I looked at some baby stuff this weekend." Off his look, she quickly said, "Don't worry, I didn't buy anything. I'm thinking that we're going to need two cribs, but I don't think we'll need two strollers or two baby carriers. Those things will go with Peanut. So when I have Peanut, I'll have the stroller and baby carrier, and you'll have them when you have Peanut." She looked up at him as she helped herself to a bagel.
It quickly brought to his mind the fact that when the baby was born; they were going to have to work out a childcare schedule. Until then, he hadn't really thought about it, but realized that he had seen Lindsay and the baby living with him. This was something they were going to have to discuss.
"Sounds great." He said, less than enthusiastically, she noted. "We should get going; we're supposed to meet Mac in 40 minutes."
When they arrived at the lab, they went straight to the locker room to hang up their coats. After checking the day's work assignments, they made their way to Mac's office.
He was sitting at his desk, filling out paper work when Lindsay knocked on the door. He signaled for them to come in, and quickly finished his thought before closing the folder on his desk. He looked up and saw that both Lindsay and Danny looked nervous. He had been waiting for this day. The day when one of them would ask for a transfer, because they had decided that they wanted to be together. He had noticed the chemistry the two seemed to have, both on the job and off. He had decided that when this day came, he would tell them that as long as they kept their personal lives separate from their lives at the lab; he would allow them to remain in the lab. They worked well together, and as long as that continued, he really couldn't justify transferring one the extremely talented CSIs. He certainly wasn't prepared for the announcement that was made.
"Mornin', Mac." Danny said.
"Danny, Lindsay. What can I do for you this morning?" Mac said. He figured he would make this as easy on them as possible.
"Well, we have some news that could potentially affect our working situation." Lindsay informed him.
"I'm listening." Mac told them.
"We're…" Lindsay started, and then paused, clearly searching for the right words.
"I got her pregnant." Danny blurted out. Lindsay turned to Danny, looking completely shocked.
"Danny." She hissed. Turning back to Mac, she continued. "That was not the way we wanted to tell you. Danny gets a little excited." She said pointedly.
Mac's expression had remained the same. Never one to give away what he was thinking, he slowly gathered his thoughts.
"I see."
"We just figured that you needed to know, because I'm going to be need to go on maternity leave, but also that you should know all the facts." Danny was still sitting there, waiting for Mac to ream him out. Oddly enough though, at the moment he felt that Mac wasn't the person he should be worried about. Lindsay looked ready to slaughter him.
"Well, I appreciate your openness with the situation. Come see me this afternoon, and I can give you the appropriate paperwork to send to Human Resources. I'm assuming you want to tell the rest of the team, so I'll let you go do that. Congratulations, Danny and Lindsay." The topic seemed to be closed. Mac wasn't mad at them. In fact, he seemed genuinely happy for them.
As soon as they had returned to the locker room, Lindsay started in on him.
"What the hell was that? We had it all planned out. I was going to tell him that I was pregnant and that you were the father and then we were going to wait for his reaction to see what kind of damage control we needed to do. You're so lucky that Mac doesn't freak out. What were you thinking?" She angrily asked him. She looked down at him sitting on the bench between the lockers, and instantly felt bad.
"I'm sorry. I just…Mac's always thought that I'm a guy with a shady past, trying to assuage my guilt by working for the law. I'm constantly trying to prove myself. I don't want him think that I'm some screw-up, who can't keep it in his pants, and ends up getting the office sweetheart pregnant." Lindsay felt even worse after his admission. She had always known that Danny felt badly about his past, but she had no idea that he thought that other people felt that way too.
"Mac doesn't think that. Mac thinks very highly of you. Everybody here thinks very highly of you. None of us think that you're a screw-up. Since, the minute I got here, I've been trying to live up to your reputation. You and Mac and Stella are the three most intimidating people in this office, but you're the most intimidating. We all know that you're trying to make up for the things your family has done, which makes you work harder than anybody else, because you feel that you have something to prove. But you don't have to prove anything; everyone knows that you're dedicated." She told him as she sat down next to him, and placed her hand on his back. "Now, as for not being able to keep it in your pants and getting the office sweetheart pregnant, well, there are so many things wrong with that statement. We were both there that night, we'd both had a little too much to drink, and we both made the decision to sleep together, so no one can fault you for that. And I'm hardly the office sweetheart. The girls in admin are going to think I'm some kind of hussy, who wanted to get her hooks into the office hunk." He had to laugh at this.
"Hussy?" He questioned as he looked up.
"I was on the phone with my mom last night." She replied.
"Huh. So, I'm the office hunk?" He asked.
"Well, the perceived office hunk. The word hunk will be replaced by teddy bear when they find out that you bring me breakfast and escort me to work every morning." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she stood up. "We should go find Stella and Hawkes. If you want to tell Flack about "Messer spawn," we have to tell them first."
He looked at her in awe. How had she done it? He had gone from feeling like the world's biggest schmuck to feeling like a decent guy.
Danny and Lindsay found Stella and Hawkes discussing their latest case in the break room. Lindsay grabbed two glasses of water, while Danny pulled two bananas out of the fridge. They then sat themselves next to each other at the table, while Stella and Hawkes eyed them suspiciously.
"Okay, what's going on?" Stella asked.
"Well, we didn't want you to hear it from anyone else…" Lindsay started, but was interrupted by Stella.
"You're dating, aren't you? I knew there was something going on with you two." Stella said.
"No, we're not dating. We're having a baby." Danny said.
"You're having a baby?" Hawkes questioned.
"Yep." Danny confirmed.
"Together?" Stella asked.
"That's right." Lindsay told her.
"But you're not dating?" Stella wanted to make sure that she had all her facts straight.
"Right." Danny told them.
"Congratulations." Hawkes gave his congratulations, while Stella processed the information. She broke into a wide smile and also gave her congratulations.
"Now, we need your help." Danny started and then filled the other two in on their plan for letting Flack know.
Flack got back from his latest scene late in the afternoon. As soon as he stepped off the elevator, Hawkes approached him.
"Hey, Flack. Lindsay and Danny are having a horrible fight, so you're going to want to avoid anyplace that they are." Hawkes told him as he got on the elevator.
"Great." Flack knew that if Danny and Lindsay were having a fight, it had to be bad. Lindsay was the sweetest person he had ever met, but when she was pissed you better watch out.
As he walked towards the break room for his cup of coffee, he saw Stella and decided to see if she knew what was going on with Lindsay and Danny.
"Hawkes ran outta here like a man on fire. What's up with Danny an' Lindsay?" He asked as he poured his coffee.
"They're having a fight. He told her she was looking a bit hefty, which was bad enough, but she thought he said heifer. That was around noon. It's escalated since then." She told him. "I tried to get them to see sense and I was told to 'Stay the hell out of other people's business, nosy cow.'"
"Ouch. That seems a little bitchy." He said.
"Well, if I thought someone had called me a heifer, I'd be bitchy. Look, I've gotta run. Danny and Lindsay are still on for another couple hours, so, good luck, Flack."
"Thanks, Stel. I appreciate that." Flack started on his way to the locker room.
As he approached the locker room, Danny stormed out.
"Women! They're all crazy." He muttered as he passed Flack.
As Flack was entering the locker room, the rest of the group was preparing for the final stage of Operation: Shock Flack. Danny, Stella, and Hawkes had all gathered in a meeting room on the other end of the department. It was all Lindsay for the next couple minutes.
When Flack got into the locker room, he looked around praying Lindsay wasn't in the room. He really didn't want to have to deal with an angry Lindsay. He had just finished putting his jacket in his locker when he heard it. A faint sob coming from behind the row of lockers. He popped his head around and saw Lindsay sitting on the bench crying. If there was one thing Flack was a sucker for, it was a crying woman. He hated it. He would do anything to make it stop. He approached Lindsay.
"Hey, Lindsay. What'sa matter?" He asked quietly.
"Danny. That pig-headed, insulting jerk."
"Yeah. I heard about that. I've known Danny a long time, and he sometimes says things without thinking about it first."
"He called me a heifer." She angrily told him.
"I heard he said hefty." With the death glare that Lindsay was giving him, he decided it was probably a good idea to say something else. "What he probably meant, was that you were so skinny before, too skinny really. He was probably just admiring your new curves." He desperately hoped that this wouldn't offend her. The smile that lit up her face let him know that he hadn't stuck his foot in it. She launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Oh, Don, you're so sweet." He awkwardly started to pat her back, just as the door to the locker room opened and Danny walked in looking pretty mad.
"Flack, what the hell d'ya think you're doin'? Get your hands offa her." He shouted. Oh, great. Flack thought. Just what I need, in the middle of their sexually fuelled fight, I get caught hugging her.
"Hey…" He was quickly cut off by an irate Lindsay.
"Don was just comforting me, you pig. He doesn't think I'm fat." She shouted right back at him.
"That doesn't mean he can have his hands all over you." He yelled.
"He was hugging me, you idiot. Just because you knocked me up with your Messer spawn, doesn't mean that you own me." At that precise moment, there was a choking sound from behind them.
The look on Flack's face was priceless. They just hoped that the video surveillance they had going had caught it all.
"You're pr…pr…pregnant." He managed to splutter to Lindsay. "And you…you called her hefty?" He spluttered in Danny's direction.
"Gotcha!" Danny laughed. He could no longer contain himself. He pointed to the location of the camera. "You should see your face, Flack."
"Wait. This whole thing was a set-up?"
"Yep." Lindsay giggled as a laughing Stella and Hawkes entered the room. "We got the whole thing on tape, too." She told him.
"So, you're not pregnant, and he didn't call you fat?" He questioned as he regained his composure.
"Oh, no. She's pregnant, but we wanted to find a good way to tell you. Finally, getting you back for the "date" with your sister." Danny laughed.
"That was pretty good, guys. So, who's the father?" Flack asked as he sat down.
"Danny." Lindsay told him.
"Yeah, you don't get me twice." He laughed.
"No, really. The baby's mine." Danny said, now completely serious.
"Oh. Congratulations."
"Danny, Lindsay, go home. The rest of you, back to work." Mac said as he passed the room. Flack, Stella, and Hawkes made their way back to their respective work stations, laughing the whole way.
"Well, they all know." Danny said.
"And nothing bad happened." Lindsay replied as they stepped into the elevator to head home.
"And nothing bad happened." He repeated.
"I'm starving. What're you making for dinner?" She asked.
"You're getting a little confident, aren't you?" He teased.
"You're a sucker, you can't deny us anything." She teased back. Little did she know that it was completely true, he couldn't deny her anything.
Author's Note: I've had a small case of writer's block, but totally got inspired again this week. Very exciting. My Mac is completely awful, but I find Gary Sinise so devoid of emotion, that it's hard to get into his mind. So I apologize. As always, please review. Thanks.