Disclaimer: Ain't mine… never have been, never will be. Oh, wait, Carmine belongs to me. That's right… I own him! Ok… no I don't. sigh
Ok, my first M&M's story! And it's so darn long and I'm having a hard time deciding whether to put it all in one chapter or split it into two… oh, well, we'll see if I get lazy at the end of this…
And no, I haven't abandoned Father and Daughter, just exams and my co-writer just gave the latest chapter to me and I'll get it up soon. Meanwhile, enjoy! (And leave a review!)
Spoilers for Heroes, (Hah… how about that, spoilers when I myself haven't seen the episode yet… lol…)
Beautiful Souls
One look at his face and Lindsay knew that Danny was having, in Daniel Powter's words, 'a bad day'. And it was only the start of the day. Mac hadn't even handed out their cases yet.
But then, Danny had been down in the dumps and had this aura of sadness practically radiating off him for the past couple of days already. Ever since he heard of the death of Lindsay's predecessor, Aiden Burn.
He hadn't cracked a single joke or witty line and the precious few smiles he gave were all painfully forced.
From this huge change, Lindsay knew that Danny probably cared about this Aiden a lot…
And Lindsay was having a hard time denying to herself that she cared about Danny a lot.
Hadn't she asked Stella how much Aiden had meant to him? Two days later, she still can't answer why that question escaped her mouth. Was she just concerned about Danny? Was she curious?
Much as Lindsay didn't want to admit it, she probably did have the answer. She was… jealous.
Sure, she could have easily and willingly thrown a dagger at Danny the first day she met him, when he played that stupid 'always call him sir' trick on her, that caused her great embarrassment with her new boss. And how about all the times he kept on calling her that silly nickname, Montana?
But as each day passed, Lindsay found Danny to be a compassionate, good humored, and caring guy. And she was beginning to like the name Montana, and how no one else calls her that except for him… There were so many times that when they were alone, Lindsay wanted something to happen between them.
And now, out of nowhere, this Aiden Burn came into the picture, showing Lindsay that Danny already had someone he cared for in his life.
But she's dead now, isn't she? So what's stopping Lindsay from-
But Lindsay could never wish a tragedy on anyone, let alone her colleagues, who are all extremely ripped up over Aiden's death, especially Danny.
Needless to say, she really wanted the old Danny back, the one that will make all kinds of jokes and talk with everyone else instead of the Danny Messer now, who just broods in a corner, doing his work, not saying a word to anyone. So the question is, now what?
Realizing her thoughts were merely going in circles, Lindsay snapped out of it and looked around the break room, where she was standing, drinking her coffee.
Stella and Hawkes were seated at the table, going through the day's newspapers in silence.
Danny had just entered, eyes downcast and lips in a tight line. He headed towards the coffee machine, where Lindsay was standing.
She immediately picked up a fresh cup of coffee beside her and held it out towards Danny. She had made this extra cup, just the way he liked it; two sugars, no cream.
Danny stopped short and stared at the cup with an unreadable expression on his face.
What was maybe 5 seconds felt like 5 minutes as Danny continued staring at the cup in Lindsay's hand.
Then, he winced a little and walked pass her, "Why don't you take that?" He proceeded to taking a separate cup and filled that instead.
Lindsay drew the cup back, feeling hurt. Why didn't he want it? She watched discreetly and saw him dump 2 sugar cubes into his coffee, no different from the one she had made for him.
She turned away, surprised at how hurt she felt. What was the big deal? Maybe he just preferred making his own coffee…
The, she saw Stella and Hawkes looking at Danny in a weird way, was it irritation?
Hawkes suddenly called out, "I'll take it if you don't want it,"
Stella chimed in, "Aw, I could use another cup. I like the way Linds makes her coffee, very tasty…"
Hawkes smirked, "Too late! Me first," He took the cup from Lindsay, who found this exchange very weird.
Then she suddenly realized that this was their way for apologizing for Danny's rejection. Like she wasn't gonna be able to see through that…
There was an uncomfortable silence where Danny continued looking every where but his colleagues' eyes, then thankfully, Mac came in, "Ok, gang, Stella and Danny, homicide. Hawkes, Lindsay with me, possible arson. Let's go."
Less than stoked, they headed out the door. Lindsay was now feeling the pits.
And the fact that she saw Hawkes handing over the cup of coffee he took from her to Mac out of the corner of her eye, did not make her feel any better.
Turns out that the apparent arson wasn't an arson at all. More of human's careless nature. The owner had overloaded the circuits with all his electronic gadgets and caused a mini explosion.
Still, they had to process the scene and by the time that was done and they got back to the lab, shift had ended.
Mac, as usual, headed back to his office to get more work done. Lindsay, however, followed Hawkes back to the locker room to get their stuff and call it al day.
They met Stella there, slipping on her jacket, "Oh, hi, guys. How was your case?"
Hawkes replied, "No real crime, although I ought to check out that guy's financial records. He owns way too much cool stuff to me legitimate… Why not hand that absolutely cool Macbook to people who really need it?"
Lindsay grinned, "Like you, Sheldon?"
Hawkes replied, "Exactly." He went over to his locker and starting throwing out the stuff he was taking home with him, "Hey, wanna go grab a beer?"
Stella grinned, "Sure, why not? Always nice to wind down after work with the sight of Hawkes trying to juggle beer bottles… and end up splashing beer all over Danny…"
Hawkes protested, "Hey… that was an accident. Not my fault that Danny chose to stand up at that very second…"
Stella laughed, "He did now stand up! You dropped in on his head!"
Hawkes shrugged, "Accident…"
Lindsay had to laugh as well. Those were happy times. Still is…
Then, a thought occurred to her, "Where's Danny?"
Stella's face fell a little, "He went home already. Said he wasn't feeling well."
Lindsay nodded and turned to her own locker, questions popping into her head again, not to mention, the little twinge of worry for Danny.
Then, Stella said, "Hey, Lindsay… I know Danny hasn't been at his best these past couple of days… and…"
Lindsay said, "No, no, it's fine, Stella. I understand. He just lost a dear friend… you all have… and I'm really sorry about that and I understand completely…"
Hawkes said, "About this morning…"
Lindsay cut in before he could go any further, "Y'know what, guys? I think I'm gonna take a rain check today." She grabbed her bag and shut her locker.
Looking concerned, Stella asked, "Are you sure?"
Lindsay plastered a huge smile on her face, which she hoped was convincing enough, "Yeah, you know, things to do… errands to run…"
Stella nodded, "Oh-kaay… if you're sure. See you tomorrow."
Hawkes added as well, "Have a good night."
"You guys too, okay? And Hawkes? Don't juggle anymore… I think Danny's hair still smells of beer…" Lindsay said with a grin.
Hawkes smirked and said, "Y'know, I might try juggling beer mugs this time!"
Stella exclaimed, "No way Hawkes! Not even a beer bottle cork!"
With that, Lindsay left them to argue the finer arts of juggling and walked onto the street. She always enjoyed walking down the New York streets, everything is just bustling with activity. It was quite and entirely different atmosphere from back home.
Since it was already late evening, the streets were filled with colourful lights and the smell of different foods as the restaurants started concocting delicious meals for New York's hungry citizens.
Lindsay suddenly caught the smell of Luigi's famous pizzas and her stomach rumbled, and she remembered that she had nothing to eat all day except for a lone hot dog during lunch.
She walked up to his store and saw Danny's favorite pizza flavor was on a promotion offer today and she had a sudden idea.
Without thinking any further, she ordered the special (Hawaiian Chicken, this one, with 50 more pineapples, Danny absolutely loves pineapples, a mystery Lindsay never understood…), hailed a cab, and told him Danny Messer's address.
As the cab eased into the traffic, Lindsay settled into her seat and a little apprehension crept over her. Was this idea good or bad?
TBC
Ok, I'm getting lazy and I've got a huge sore throat right now… not the best conditions for typing… I'll finish the rest later.
Review and let me know what you think! Muchas gracias!
