Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

Author's Note: Okay guys, here's the last chapter.Hope this one pleases you.

Chapter 25

Danny Messer stared pensively out his office window at the gray New York skyline. My last day on the job and it has to rain, he thought. His hair had softened to a light gray, and his forehead was a bit lined, but the years had been kind. And now, 20 years after taking over for Mac Taylor, Danny was ready to retire.

Well, maybe ready wasn't the best word. But he knew when it was time to hang it up - he'd had enough death and felt he'd done his time for the greater good. He was lost in his thoughts when he heard a gentle knock at the door. Sheldon Hawkes leaned against the door frame. "You ready, Danny? They're waiting for you in the conference room."

He sighed. His retirement party. He appreciated everyone wanting to honor him, but he knew that by walking into that room, he was saying good-bye to a big part of his life. In the crime lab he had become a man, a better person. He had found his calling, his salvation from his past life. He had found Lindsay.

Danny's thoughts were still on her when he entered the room. A cheer rose from the group gathered. They were all there: Andy Jablonski, the rookie from Philly, Pino, the techs from the DNA lab, Flack and Beth with their two sons. Mac Taylor, leaning lightly on a cane but still spry at 82, stood next to his wife, Stella, her black hair only gently laced with gray. Hammerbeck had passed away peacefully in his sleep a couple of years ago, but Danny knew he was here in spirit.

But the most important person, the one who truly changed his life, was not there.

"Hey Dad. Sorry, I know you hate this." Giovanni "Jonny" Messer walked up and gave his father a warm hug. In height he had surpassed both his parents, topping out at well over 6 feet. He had his mother's all-knowing brown eyes and dark hair, his dad's athletic build and more wisdom than the lot of them put together. All would serve him well as he pursued a career in medicine.

"Nah, it's okay." Danny moved around the room, accepting warm hugs and congratulations, all along his mind on who wasn't there.

After a few minutes, he stepped away from the jovial mood of the party into the hallway, gazing once again out the window. He remembered the first time he walked these hallways as a CSI, dogged by a shady past and pressure to succeed. Step by step, he overcame the walls of low expectations built around him by others as well as himself.

In time, he had grown in maturity, aided by the stern but steady hand of Mac Taylor and the support of his coworkers. The rest of his growth came in the form of a diminutive brunette that would become his wife. And now, it was her presence that he missed more than the job he would be leaving that day.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Danny instantly smiled at the familiar voice behind him, his happiness tinged with a hint of relief.

"Do they even make pennies anymore?" He turned and smiled, then gathered Lindsay in his arms. Even though it had been decades since her accident, Danny was always on edge without his wife by his side.

"You're late," he said, his words muffled as he spoke into her hair.

"We had to get the cake, Dad," said Anna Maria Messer, named for her late great-grandmother and blessed the sandy-haired, blue-eyed good looks of her father. She was juggling a large box.

"You know you wouldn't eat a bit unless it came from Nucio's," Lindsay touched his cheek gently. "Snob."

At 58, Lindsay had her hair cropped in a bob, and kept it colored the same brown it had always been . The lines around her eyes and face only added to her soft beauty, and her slight limp was the only reminder of the day she almost died.

But she lived, and therefore, so have I, Danny thought, and sighed. Damn, this day's makin' me a sap. He leaned down and kissed his wife, enjoying her instant response.

"Oh, gross," Anna teased. Now 22, she was in her final year of college and had already been offered a job at the school in New Jersey where she was a student teacher. She had the Messer charm, and when she left, she would leave a trail of broken hearts behind her. "I'm going to get this cake inside. You guys coming?"

"In a minute," Danny murmured, still gazing at his wife. Anna good-naturedly rolled her eyes and went in to join the party.

"Second thoughts?" Lindsay asked, leaning against his chest, holding his hands in her own. After more than 25 years of marriage, they were still a perfect fit.

"Not really, just closin' a chapter, ya know?"

"Yeah, a lot's happened here. But we have a lot ahead of us, Danny. New chapters to write."

"Together, right? Cuz now that I've got some time on my hands, I'm not lettin' you outta my sight."

Lindsay snuggled deeper into his embrace.

"Always, Danny, always."

THE END

Thank you to everyone for reading my first D/L fic, and all your wonderful comments. You make this girl very happy.