Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reading and support. One more to go.
Chapter 24
"Ooomph." Lindsay Monroe sat down tiredly at the table. Danny smiled and immediately lifted a swollen foot onto his lap and began rubbing.
"I know the doc says exercise is okay while you're pregnant, but you really should slow it down, Montana."
"My baby sister just got married, and the DJ rocks. How can I not dance? Ooohhhh … right there. That feels good."
Danny smiled at his wife. She was eight months pregnant and still looked as beautiful. It had been a good day. A little over a year after their own wedding, Don Flack and Lindsay's sister Beth had gotten married in the same church, Danny and Lindsay switching places to serve as best man and matron of honor. She had originally tried to back out when she found out she was pregnant, but Beth wouldn't hear of it.
"C'mon Messer! Give me some support out here." Flack, handsome in his wedding tuxedo, was in a circle of mainly women with the DJ cranking up the chicken dance.
Danny laughed. "Nope, sorry buddy, you're on your own."
"Now that's mean, leaving your best friend out there to fend for himself." Mac Taylor joined them, followed by Stella Bonasera.
"I can't do the chicken dance. I may be married, but I still have a reputation to uphold. And I don't see you out there, Mac. Oh, wait - there goes Hawkes and Hammerbeck. This should be interesting."
The men snickered at their less fortunate friends, and Stella slid over to chat with Lindsay. "How's the little one?"
"Everything's fine, according to the doctor. Oh! Here." Lindsay pulled one of Stella's hands over to her swollen belly. Just then, little baby Messer - they elected not to find out the gender - gave Stella a firm kick.
"Hey sweetie!" she cooed. "This baby's a strong one Lindsay."
"The baby's movin'? Hey Mac, c'mere." Mac tried to beg off, a little embarrassed, but Danny - in all his pre-fatherhood glory - grabbed his arm and pulled him over. Soon, Stella, Mac and Danny all had their hands on Lindsay's stomach, and baby Messer performed, seemingly doing the chicken dance with the rest of the crowd.
"Hey, it's my wedding, kid, no upstaging the bride." The new Mrs. Flack gave her sister a good-natured hug from behind, looking lovely in her snow white beaded gown. Stella moved so Beth could sit by Lindsay, and the men soon moved off to the bar. "How are you doing, Linds? I hope today wasn't too much."
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world. You look so happy, Beth."
She smiled. "This time, looks aren't deceiving. I really love him, Linds. I can't wait to hit Bermuda." The two were leaving for their honeymoon the next day. "Who would have thought the Monroe sisters, children of death and destruction, would be happily married?"
"I didn't think it would ever happen, but I have Danny and he made all the difference. I'm so glad you have Don, he's a great guy."
"And you! What about you? You've got that beautiful baby coming,"
"I know," Lindsay said, looking a little pensive. "Things are going so well Beth. It almost seems too good to be true."
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Three weeks later, Lindsay lumbered down the aisle of the grocery story a few blocks away from the apartment she and Danny shared. It was much larger now: They had purchased the smaller unit next store and knocked down the wall between them, creating a much bigger space that was more appropriate for their growing family.
"Geez Danny, who would have thought something so small would need so much stuff?"
Her husband chuckled on the other end of the cell phone. "Just remember to get plenty of diapers. My cousin in Philly said his kid - Andy's three months old - is like a Play Dough fun factory."
"Yeah, I'm getting some more. I'll see you at home. I love you."
"I love you back."
Lindsay disconnected and continued loading up her cart. Stifling a yawn, she picked up one last box of baby wipes and headed for the checkout. It was getting late, and it took all her energy just to put one foot in front of the other.
She drove toward home, further exhausted by the thick New York traffic. That was one thing she missed about Montana - a traffic tie up usually consisted of waiting for one car in front of you to make a left turn. Tapping her fingers impatiently on the wheel, she willed the light in front of her to turn green.
"C'mon! I've got to go! Don't you know how sensitive a pregnant woman's bladder is!" Lindsay shouted uselessly at the light. Danny would be laughing at me right now. Thinking of her husband brought the usual smile to her lips and, just then, the light turned green. "Yes!"
Pressing her foot to the gas, she began to move through the light. In her excitement to get to her home and the bathroom, she didn't notice the delivery truck barreling toward her until she heard the screeching of the brakes. Then it was too late.
The truck crashed into Lindsay's car and several others around her. She was crushed inside the metal, broken inside in the aftermath. As her vision began to blur, she cried out. "Oh God! The baby! Danny …. I need you, Danny."
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Danny was knee deep in completing the report for his latest case when he was struck by a sudden blinding pain."Jesus." He rubbed the heel of his palm in the middle of his forehead.
"What's up, Messer?" Flack was walking by.
"I dunno, just got this bad headache, not sure …" Suddenly all color drained from his face. "Shit. I've gotta call Lindsay." Danny scrambled for his cell phone.
"Why? Something wrong?"
"I'm not sure, but somethin's not right." Deep in his heart, Danny knew something was very wrong. "C'mon Montana, pick up."
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An hour later, Danny's head was bowed in the hospital waiting room, where he was surrounded by his family - from work and home. His mother kept a gentle hand on his knee, his Dad paced, and his grandmother hugged him from the other side. Flack was nearby holding a still-sobbing Beth in his arms. Mac and Stella were there as well, and Hawkes was checking with the doctors on Lindsay's condition. Hammerbeck was stuck in the lab, although he called regularly for updates.
"Danny, my sweet boy, I've lived a long time and I know things. You're girl's going to be okay." Anna Maria soothed her grandson, whose body radiated tension and pain.
"She's gotta be, Grandma, she's gotta be." Danny couldn't conceive of losing Lindsay, who had brought light and love to his life. And their child … their child. He remembered the joy in her eyes when she shared the baby's movements with him for the first time.
"Danny! Give me your hand! Now!" She had grabbed his hand and placed the palm on the side of her gently swollen belly. After a few moments, he started to pull his hand away.
"It's okay, Linds, I'll --"
"Wait! Right there!"
And indeed, Danny felt a slight movement - nothing more than a flutter, almost the physical movement of a sigh underneath her skin. "Was that it? Oh! There it is again. Aw, man, it's incredible. You're incredible."
Danny's eyes pricked with tears at the memory. Lindsay teased him that he should have his hand surgically stitched to her stomach, he became so obsessed with feeling signs of life from the child in her womb. More than just a little person, this baby represented life, the happiness he found with Lindsay and the love they shared.
And now I could lose it all.
His thoughts were broken by the appearance of a weary obstetrician, Dr. Williamson. Hawkes was at his elbow. "Det Messer? Congratulations. You have a son - 6 pounds, 2 ounces. He's doing well."
Danny's heart swelled briefly. Then: "And Lindsay?"
Williamson paused. "They're still working on her. We have to see."
"Screw that, Doc. What're her chances?"
The physician looked at Hawkes, who nodded at him. "I'll take it, Josh. Thanks." Sheldon Hawkes' face was lined with tension. And sadness as he placed him arms on Danny's shoulders.
"They're doing everything they can, Danny, but she's lost a lot of blood and there's some internal bleeding. You have to prepare yourself."
"Prepare myself? Sheldon … I can't. She's Lindsay … she's … I can't." He started shaking, and Mac came up, taking over and pulling Danny to him, much as he had a few years ago when Louie Messer lay in a coma at the same hospital. The younger man's shoulders shook.
"Let it out, Danny," he said gently. The devestated man's father watched from the sidelines, letting Det. Taylor hold his sobbing son. He was close to him, but Danny had a bond with Mac that even his own father couldn't reach.
"But Mac …. She's everything."
"Listen to me, Danny. You have to be strong, not just for Lindsay, but for your child, too."
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Later, Danny held that child in his arms in a private room off the nursery. Giovanni Louis Messer's brown eyes gazed at his blue ones intently, as if trying to figure out the sadness he saw there. "You're already your mother's son, ya know that."
He was exhausted, but nothing could keep him from his son. Lindsay was still in surgery, and their child was the one living thing he could touch that was part of her. His coworkers had left, other than Flack, who had finally persuaded Beth to get a bit to eat in the cafeteria. He sent his family home as well, needing some time alone with his son.
"See, you and me, little Jon -" as with the baby's great-grandfather and namesake, this would be his nickname - "We have some serious business here. Your mama is in trouble, and as I see it, we need some help. There's only one person that can bring her safely home and that's the man upstairs, see?
"Now your Daddy has done some stupid stuff in this life, but I figure with you in my arms, he's gotta listen. You've done nothin' wrong, you're innocent, ya know? So let's pray together sweet boy. Pray to God to save your mama, my Lindsay, cuz I don't think I can do it -"
His voice broke as he cradled their son. "Please, Lord, please. Don't take her, don't take my Montana."
TBC
