Been a while since I've written anything in this fandom. My old D/L stories are so bad, I highly recommend you do not read them. I'm still obsessed with my zoo babies. I'm pushing it with the rating, but I don't think it's full M.
Just a oneshot, set some time after S9. Danny & Lindsay attempt to play the name game. If anyone's reading, enjoy.
The Name Game
Lindsay Messer peeled an eye open as she heard the front door to the apartment close softly. A glance at the alarm clock told her it was just after 1am and she'd fallen asleep two hours ago as she'd tried to stay up and wait for her husband to come home. The one evening she wanted to talk to him about something important and he'd gotten caught up in an interrogation that went long on the wrong side of midnight.
She lay there in the dark, wrapped in his t-shirt, the only thing she was comfortable in and listening as he went through his familiar routine in the apartment. The locks on the door were checked, his coat and shoes were dumped by the sofa and his gun was stowed away right next to hers in the safe. Then the reassuring sound of him padding down the hallway travelled through to the room, pausing as he checked in on Lucy before he finally appeared in front of her.
She'd almost fallen asleep again, but the sliver of light that ended up being cast over her face made her find her last bit of energy reserves. His scent washed over her, comforting her like her parents' open fire back in Montana as the subconscious anxiety over his delayed return home finally disappeared. She always worried about him, but it was worse when she knew he was on a case that wasn't going smoothly.
"Hey," She whispered, a smile gracing her face as she reached a tired hand out to him.
"Hey," Danny hushed, much like he did to their daughter. "It's late. Go back ta sleep." But he moved over to her nonetheless, taking her outstretched hand in his own. He squeezed her fingers tenderly and dropped a kiss to her forehead as his free hand sought out her swollen belly to give it a tender stroke.
It was all she got before he disappeared into their bathroom to strip down to his boxers and brush his teeth. Not now, Lindsay looked up at the ceiling and shook her head as she rued her body's instinctive reaction to his naked back. The sudden throbbing in her low stomach told her she wasn't sure if she'd have a choice in whether or not she could fall back asleep in that moment.
The heightened sex drive she'd had over the past few weeks was doing nothing for her attention to detail at work. And it was all Danny's fault. Why did he have to stand there in those damn ratty green boxers, flexing his back muscles as he moved the toothbrush back and forth… back and forth.
"Mmhng," She turned her face and groaned into the pillow. She was on the early shift and confined to lab work and her desk. As if it wasn't boring enough, she'd no doubt be falling asleep into a report at this rate. "Why do you have to do that?" She muttered under her breath, throwing an arm across her face as she willed her hormones to calm down.
"Do what?"
Suddenly Danny was next to her, slipping into bed and pulling her back against his chest as he wrapped his arm around her.
"Nothing," She whispered, feigning ignorance as he wriggled around to get comfy against her back. His lips found her neck and his hand slid up underneath the baggy t-shirt to caress the current home of their sweet baby boy. It was his nightly routine - whether Lindsay knew it or not - to come in and greet his unborn child; to let him know that he was there and waiting for him, already loving him.
"That's nice," She murmured, lacing her fingers over the top of his. He almost thought she'd fallen back asleep and was content to do the same when she guided his hand up her stomach, encouraging him to cup her breast.
His fingers massaged her tenderly and she left him to his own devices, turning her head to try and capture his lips as she tried to hook her arm around his neck to encourage his head down to hers. He moaned into her mouth, biting down on her bottom lip as she released a small gasp when his hand travelled south. He hadn't been expecting this greeting when he'd walked through the door; maybe a stolen tired kiss if she'd still been awake but he'd missed his wife and had no regrets about taking full advantage.
His mouth found her neck again, teeth nipping and scraping along her skin as his hand pushed her legs apart and cupped her over her panties. The sound of her roughened breath almost knocked him out, encouraging him to push the scrappy material his digits were fighting with to the side so that he could find her hot and wet for him.
"Already?" He growled quietly, his mouth against her ear as she moved against him.
"I need you," She swallowed into the darkness, feeling another kiss against her skin as he paused his ministrations to roughly shove his boxers down. Then he was lifting her leg momentarily and holding her tight as he slid into her, groaning as they found their natural pace and tenderness took over. She knew it wasn't going to take long and twisted her body as much as was possible to try and find his mouth with her own. But she gave up, dropping her head and breathing into her pillow as he moved in and out of her.
Why did he feel so good? It was almost too much. They were in their own world, the sounds of the city drowned out by their light ragged breath. It was the only noise until Danny groaned against her neck, "Lins," He managed to get out, his hand cupping her breast again before it snaked down to the familiar place between her legs. Her fingers clenched the sheets and she whimpered as he took her over the edge, her breath pausing as he sunk into her one final time and spilled himself with another moan against her skin.
He held her close, their hearts beating rapidly as they fought to regain their breath. "Mm," She moaned as he pulled back and rolled onto his back, drawing her into his chest before covering them with the comforter.
"Ya got work tomorrow," He eventually uttered as her fingers circled his chest hair. He was trying his damned hardest to look after her, keep her from running herself ragged and then this would happen. She'd lure him in and he'd forget it was the middle of the night and she needed to sleep to keep growing their baby big and strong.
"I know," She whispered, feeling his fingers run through her damp tendrils of hair as her eyes fluttered shut. "Was your fault."
"Right," He snorted, a grin gracing his face in the dark, "And the Pope ain't a Catholic."
"You were stood there," She told him, smiling as well.
"Yeah, well, next time I'm jus' standing there, make sure you don't have ta be up in 5 hours."
She let out a small laugh, throwing her arm over his chest as her leg settled in between his. "Wouldn't have been able to focus anyway."
His hand dropped down to her back, gently stroking back and forth across the t-shirt she'd never been ridden of. "Oh yeah?"
"Can't stop thinking about names," She tilted her head and looked up at him, trying to make out his reaction as best as she could.
"Thought we were namin' him after your Dad?" He posed quietly, trying to cast his mind back to the last conversation they'd had on the topic. Things had been so hectic lately, it was hard to remember where they were with everything.
"You suggested it," She agreed, resting her head on his shoulder. It was quiet for a moment and he felt her breathing even out, making him think she'd gone back to sleep. That was until she spoke again, "I was thinking… "
"About?"
She pressed a gentle kiss against his chest. "What about Louie?"
She felt him tense immediately, almost too quick to notice if she wasn't splayed all over him, until he tried to distract her by rearranging their entangled bodies. "Hadn't really thought about it."
"Well, what do you think about it now?"
It was a taboo topic, there was no doubt about it. Ever since Louie slipped into his final sleep, it sometimes felt like Danny's family never spoke about it again. She'd seen Theresa Messer cry about it once, and even then, she'd changed the subject to her little granddaughter pretty quickly.
"I think it's late an' ya already got me to keep ya up long enough."
"Dan," She sat up, her voice telling him everything he needed to know. There was no way he was getting out of this, even if it was heading for two in the morning.
"Babe," He sighed, rubbing his palms into his eyes, "I don't know a'right. I've never even considered it. Where's all'a this comin' from?"
He reached for the beside lamp and turned it on, casting a warm glow across the room before he pulled his boxers back on and sat up against the headboard. "I just…" She started, "I've been thinking about it this week and we haven't sorted anything. He's gonna be here soon and I feel like we have nothing ready."
"I know. I know we've gotta sort stuff," He reached out his hand to stroke her small bump again, "But we're both tired babe. Can we talk about this in tha mornin'? You've gotta be up early and Luce will no doubt be goin' crazy before the sun's up."
"That's why we need to talk about it now. If not, it'll end up as some conversation over instant noodles in the break room with Adam going through his list of Star Wars characters for inspiration."
He sighed, running a hand over his face. Why did she have to look at him like that? "We've still got three months to decide all'a this," He tried to reason. "An' I thought we agreed you'd make sure you had a proper lunch every day, not this microwave crap."
"What if he's early?" She ignored his last comment, choosing not to make a snarky response about them also agreeing they needed to try and spend more time together in the evenings. "He could come any time now."
"He damn well won't," Danny growled protectively, pulling her into his lap so that she was straddling him. She dropped her head to his shoulder and couldn't help but smile as his arms encircled her, holding her in place as if she'd protect him from any dark thoughts.
He sighed again and she pressed a delicate kiss to the juncture up to his neck and ran her hands through his hair soothingly. "Why don't you want Louie?" She eventually pressed, her voice full of the tenderness that told him he had no choice but to be honest.
"Because," He started, leaning his head back, "I don't want my kid ta be carryin' around the weight of a name that almost cost my family everythin'. Mommy was a wreck for years, not knowin' if she was seein' him for the last time. How's she gonna feel when she says his name every time to her grandson?"
Lindsay was quiet as her fingers traced the pattern of his tattoo.
"And what about tha fact that he was Tanglewood, Montana? You want our son to have tha same name as a guy that did stuff I don't even wanna think about?"
"No," She said gently, moving to rest her hand over his heart, "But I do want him to be named after someone who gave everything for you."
"Yeah, well."
She expected him to continue his sentence and rolled her eyes when he didn't. He could be so stubborn sometimes. "Well what?"
"He took a damn lot too."
She sighed and rolled off him, shuffling down under the covers.
"Oh, now you're going to sleep huh?"
"Baby's got to be up early," She mumbled as he turned the light off and settled down with her too.
"Wow," It was his turn to roll his eyes as he pulled her close again. Not like he'd been telling her to go back to sleep since he'd walked in. "That is somethin' special babe."
"Don't be mean," She pouted, letting him steal a kiss that told her everything was fine. "Will you think about it?" She murmured, the lure of sleep too much to fight off as his five o'clock shadow brushed against her skin.
"I'll think about it," He agreed, stroking her side. "Now please go ta sleep."
"Okay…" She finally drifted off, leaving his mind whirring in the silence. As he felt his own eyes close, he had one final conscious thought; he needed to talk to his mother.
Danny woke to the sound of Lindsay hushing their daughter as she jumped around in their bedroom, eager to head off to pre-k for the day. "Mommy, hurry," Lucy whispered and when Danny opened his eyes, he could see his wife sat down putting on her shoes as Lucy tugged on her arm impatiently.
"Lucy," He scolded lightly, grunting as she abandoned Lindsay and ran over to jump on him, "Why are you harassin' Mommy so early in the morning?"
"Cos she's taking forever," She shrieked as he prodded her belly.
"I thought we had an agreement that we'd both be looking after her," He grumbled quietly, sending her a pointed look. "That doesn't include pullin' on her arm cos she's taking longer to put her shoes on."
Lucy huffed.
"Where are ya off to in such a rush anyway? Ya got a hot date I don't know about?"
"Danny," Lindsay muttered, unable to hide her smile as she shook her head at him.
"What?" He grinned, "She's five. Where's she gotta be?"
"We're paintin' today and I'm so excited!" The little girl could hardly contain herself, scrambling down to jump up and down as Lindsay finally stood up again, ready to go.
"Ok Luce, let's go get you to your paints," Lindsay sighed, resting a hand on her side as she felt the baby move. Lucy cheered and then raced out of the bedroom to go and grab her backpack, giving them a moment of respite.
"Are we definitely her parents?" Danny hauled himself out of bed and padded over to his wife, "We're science nerds and she's obsessed with paint?"
She smiled, letting him steal his morning kiss. "Pretty much," She said, flipping her hair out of her coat. "We gotta go."
"Already? Ya should'a woken me up," He pulled her into his arms, taking the only moment he might get that day with her.
"We were up late," She said as her hands found his shoulders, always firm and strong underneath her calloused fingers.
His gaze narrowed slightly as he took her in, trying to assess her face. "Are ya tired? Ya look tired," He cupped the back of her head, "Will you please take it easy today?"
"Don't worry, we're good." She sent him a reassuring smile before stepping back from his embrace. "There's eggs and bacon on the side." She added as he followed her out into the kitchen area. Lucy reappeared, eager to get to school as she hovered near the door. "We'll see you later." Lindsay called, grabbing her bag from the side.
"Hey," Danny stopped them both, "Where's my lovin'?" He held his arms out to their daughter.
"Go," Lindsay encouraged her, a smile on her face.
Lucy sprinted over to Danny, straight into his waiting arms to plant a smacker on his lips, "Bye Daddy." And then she was rushing back over to Lindsay and grabbing her hand, tugging impatiently as they finally made their way out of the door.
"Bye. I love you," Danny called, watching their disappearing forms. They were a whirlwind and he had to take a moment to remember where he was and what his plans were for the day; morning off, head into the lab for midday. On top of that, the conversation him and Lindsay had indulged in after their private interlude was still at the forefront of his mind. And she hadn't even brought it up this morning.
Damn, she knew him too well. By not saying anything, she was going to make him stew about it even more. "You're too good Montana," He said to himself, riffling through the pocket of the jacket he'd thrown onto the sofa the previous night to find his phone.
Ignoring a text from Flack, he dialled a familiar number and waited for them to pick up.
"Hi Ma."
"Ciao figlio. Why ya callin' me this early? What's happened?"
"No Mommy," He reassured her, "Nothing's happened. I jus' need to talk to you about somethin'. You got any breakfast left over?" He eyed the eggs and bacon on the side, knowing only his mother's fresh pastries could come close to the way Lindsay cooked her eggs – he swore she put crack in them. This morning, it was a sacrifice that was going to have to be made.
"Si, your father hasn't eaten all'a tha Strata yet."
"You need me to grab ya' anythin' on my way over?"
"No, trottolino. Be safe."
And with that, he hung up and headed straight for the shower. It was almost an hour later that Danny strolled through the doorway of his childhood home. He'd grabbed everything for the day before he left, hoping that if he got to work early enough he could take Lindsay out to grab some lunch together. She may have joked about the instant noodles, but he knew that if she got too wrapped up in work, it wasn't uncommon for her to skip lunch all together. He hated pestering her about it, but if she was going to keep their baby boy growing nice and healthy then he'd be taking her out for food every damn day if he had to.
"Hi Ma," He called, heading straight for the kitchen where he found Theresa Messer serving up a plate of hot breakfast for him. "You are tha best," He kissed her cheek, before taking a seat at the kitchen table. He glanced around, checking for his father, but he knew he was probably out getting his fresh morning coffee at the local Italian bar.
"Why are ya here?" Her eyes narrowed as she brought his food over to him. "You takin' care of ya wife properly?"
"Course," He grinned up at her.
"An' my angioletto?" She thought of Lucy as she rested her hands on her hips and tried to figure out why her son had suddenly graced her with his presence. Usually it was reserved for their Sunday meals or if she'd had to look after Lucy after school.
"Trust me, she ain't no angel all the time. She almost tugged Linds off the bed this mornin'. Woulda' told her off more if it wasn't the only time I got with her."
Theresa tutted, grabbing the espresso she'd made, "Ya look tired." She placed it down in front of him and then took a seat. Danny shirked and for a moment wondered if this was how Lindsay felt every time he vocalised his worry for her.
"Thanks Ma."
"That wasn't a compliment."
He shot her a look as he tucked into his food, "For the coffee."
"Ya welcome," Her gaze stayed on him as she tucked a strand of brunette hair that had escaped, behind her ear. Her colouring was exactly the same as Louie's had been, but everything else left no questions about where Danny came from. "Now my boy," She sensed he was carrying a small burden, "Tell me why you're here."
Danny stopped eating and placed his knife and fork down. Looking her in the eye, he eventually spoke, "Linds suggested we name the baby Louie."
There was a silence for a moment.
"It's a boy?"
He swallowed under her gaze, knowing his wife was going to murder him in his sleep. They'd only found out the gender a few weeks ago and had agreed to keep it as their secret for now.
"Yeah, Mommy. It's a boy."
Theresa's eyes welled up as she brought a hand to her chest and Danny wondered if he'd done the right thing going over to see her. "Oh." She sniffled, "Does Lindsay know how much of a patato you were?"
He rolled his eyes, reaching for his coffee, "I was not a chubby baby."
"Yes you were. Ya ate like it was your last meal every three hours."
"Yeah, well, she's gonna have to start eatin' more than noodles for lunch if you're expectin' the same thing this time."
Theresa's frown lines emerged, "Is she not eatin' properly?" It was a sin to her Italian roots that someone in the family wasn't being nourished with food.
Danny had regretted saying it the moment he'd opened his mouth, "She is, she is," He reassured her, "We both jus' need to try and have lunch togetha' more. Doc says tha baby's all healthy."
"Well before ya' go, I'm gonna get some lasagne out the freezer and you can have it for dinner." She was already up and out of the chair before Danny had a chance to say anything. "An' I'll make ya some fresh pasta sauce as well."
"Ma," He tried.
"Honestly Daniel, it won't take a minute. Eat your food."
Suddenly he felt like he was six-years-old again. He sighed, taking a moment to down the rest of his coffee before he turned to her. "Ma, please don't avoid it. I need to know what ya think about it. I already told Linds that I…"
He faltered, not knowing what to say.
"That you what?"
He was grateful when she came to sit back down with him, "That I don't know if I want my son carryin' around the weight of that name."
She reached for his hand and squeezed it, "It was a heavy name for a long time," She agreed. "But I know he unburdened himself. Your brother's with God now, mio figlio. With no weight to bear him down."
Whilst his religious practice went no further than the occasional Mass with his parents, Danny's mother's anchored belief in God never failed to amaze him.
"Cara," Theresa tried to soothe her son's obvious anguish. "Your son will be his own person, no matter what his name is." He pondered her works for a moment until she spoke again, "An' he will always be my patato."
"Ma," Danny groaned, pulling a face, "Can ya' please wait 'til he's here before ya give him a nickname."
"Hush Daniel," She stood again and headed towards the fridge to start preparing the sauce she was going to make for him, "I'm his Nonna an' that usually means somethin' these days."
"You know it does Mommy. But no one's even supposed to know it's a boy, so please don't say anythin' the next time you see Linds."
"Aye, I know how this works." She brushed him off, their serious moment disappearing into thin air, "Now come help me with this food for that precious woman who puts up with God knows what."
Lindsay looked up from her desk as a tub of what she assumed was food was placed down in front of her. "Hey," Danny brushed a kiss against the side of her face, his hand snaking down to territorially cup her belly. "A gift from my Mom."
"Your Mom?"
"You keepin' that baby safe in there, Montana?" He ignored her question, pressing his lips against the side of her mouth.
"You know I am," She held him close for a moment, her fingers splaying over his forearm as she tried to turn back to the document she'd been reading on the screen. She expected him to move and let go of her so she could carry on, but was slightly perturbed when he wrapped his arm around her tighter.
"Danny," She smiled as she pushed him away, not expecting him to come in and almost suffocate her, "What is up with you?"
"What?" He drawled, heading to his own desk to ditch his things, "Nothin's up with me."
Her eyes followed him as she spun her chair to face him, "You're being weird."
"Weird?" He shot her a look as he logged onto his computer to quickly glance at his emails. "Checkin' on my wife and son is weird?"
"Shh," She looked around to make sure no one was within earshot near the door, and he instantly felt guilty about letting slip to his Ma. "Can you not blab this as well please?" If only she knew. "Danny?" She pushed again when he didn't say anything.
"Sorry," He shook his head to clear his mind as he locked his computer again. There was nothing that couldn't wait until after he'd taken Lindsay out for some food.
"Dan?" Her voice held so much tenderness it made his heart clench, "What's going on? You're freaking me out."
"I'm sorry," He stood up and walked over to her again, "Wanna grab some lunch?"
She raised an eyebrow and gestured to the mass of pasta she'd deduced was in the Tupperware box from his mother. "Isn't that what this is for?"
"That is for tomorrow. I thought we could go out and get some lunch instead."
"Seriously," She dropped a hand to her stomach as the baby moved uncomfortably against her ribs, "Where did this come from?"
"I told you, my Ma."
"What?" She asked as he perched on the side of her desk, reaching out to replace her hand with his own, "She just magically appeared in front of the lab with food for us?"
"No," He rolled his eyes, silently willing the baby to settle down under his touch, "I went ta see her this mornin' and she's worried the baby's not gonna be as chubby as he should be."
"She's not the one that's got to push him out," Lindsay muttered, moving the box to the side so that she could focus on her screen properly.
Danny was about to make a snarky comment, but chose better of it. "Linds, come on," He reached for her hand that was moving the computer mouse and stopped her, "I came in early so I could take ya to get some food. What d'ya fancy? Ya got any cravings we can fix?"
She sighed, knowing she couldn't be annoyed with him when he said sweet things like that. "I really want a ham and cheese sandwich."
"We can do that," He nodded and folded his arms across his chest as she stood, reaching for her purse.
"I want the best one in the city." She wasn't going to make this easy for him.
"I know jus' the place."
He felt victory imminent as she stood and moved to lock her computer. That was, at least, until Adam came steaming into their office, a file in one hand and a pen in the other that he clicked on and off repeatedly. "Oh, uh, hey Danny."
"Hey."
"Lindsay, I uh… I need to talk to you about this blood splatter," He stuttered, his forehead creasing in confusion, "It just doesn't make sense, like why would there be a—"
"Uh buddy," Danny interrupted, standing up as well. "We were just gonna grab a bite."
"Danny," Lindsay uttered and reached across to smack his torso, "Is this part of a case?" She reached for the folder and took it from Adam.
"No… Uh.. no, it's for my exam."
"It can wait half-an-hour then," Danny grabbed the folder from Lindsay and handed it back to the soon-to-be fully qualified CSI. "This is important," He murmured to her as she glared up at him.
"Yeah, no, of course," Adam shook his head, "It can wait. I was just doing some revision."
Lindsay sighed, before turning to Adam with a warm smile, "When I get back, we'll sit down and look over it, okay?"
"Yeah, great, that's… great," He nodded, "You are eating for two now so, it's uh, important that you put weight on and uh…"
"Adam," She tilted her head and grinned at him, "Go, before you say something you regret."
"Got it," He called as he scooted out of their office.
Danny sighed quietly to himself, reaching out to place an encouraging hand on Lindsay's lower back. "Let's go get ya that sandwich."
"This better be the best sandwich I've ever tasted," She remarked as he helped her pull her coat on. "I've got a million reports to get through and you're distracting me."
"Yeah, well, Adam's right babe. You're eatin' for two now," He grabbed her hand as he led her down to the elevators. "An' you know lunch is always more important than paperwork."
The streets were busy as usual when they finally made it out of the building and Danny made sure to keep her petite frame close as they mingled with all the workers out searching for their own sustenance. He knew just where they could get her damn cheese and ham sandwich, heading to a small little market a few blocks away. He settled her at the bar in the window once they'd made their way inside, ordered for both of them from the counter and then headed back over once he'd grabbed their food.
"Here ya go. The best sandwich in all'a Manhattan."
"Thanks," She grinned over at him, wasting no time unwrapping it before taking a bite.
"Well?"
She nodded her head as she swallowed, "Baby approves."
"Good," He breathed, before finally tucking into his own. "Luce get off to school a'right?"
"Yep," She licked a dollop of mustard that had escaped off her finger, "She was busting to get in."
"Can't believe she loves it that much," Danny muttered, still surprised at just how much their daughter had taken to pre-k. Lindsay always thought he was just put out that Lucy was growing up so quickly.
"Hey, I loved school at that age. I bet you were just the same."
"Nope," He shook his head, "Didn't start ta see the appeal until I went to junior high."
"What?" She shot him a look, "Girls suddenly started having boobs and school was that much better?"
"Pretty much," He grinned, making her laugh.
"You are ridiculous," She shook her head, still smiling at him. She made him feel like he was the only one who could light up her face like that.
He placed his half-eaten sandwich down, reaching out to brush her hair behind her ear. "So I, uh, spoke to my Mom… about last night."
The mood suddenly changed and she stopped eating, quirking an eyebrow. "About us having sex?"
"No wiseass," He rolled his eyes, "About the name thing," He said awkwardly, his leg starting to fidget.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Well did she help you?" She asked, reaching for his fingers. It was something else Danny loved about her; she never pushed too hard, never probed into a conversation she knew he wanted to keep between him and his mother. She just cared about him and how he felt.
"Yeah, she did."
"And?"
He sighed, squeezing her hand, "An' I still don't know babe. I want to think about it more before we agree anythin'."
"That's okay," She smiled reassuringly before reaching for her sandwich again, "I'm just glad we're talking about it now. I was beginning to think he'd arrive and we'd end up just calling him Sheldon or something."
He instantly felt guilty about the separate shifts they'd been working for the past week. And even when they had been on the same shift, they were so focused on a case or rushing around after Lucy that they'd hardly had any time to sit down and properly talk about getting ready for the baby to arrive.
"Sheldon?" He guffawed, "At least go for a nice, strong, Italian name babe."
"Romeo it is then."
"No way," He shook his head, "I'm thinkin' maybe…" He tilted his head to the side as he weighed up his options, "Maybe somethin' like Giovanni."
She pulled out her phone, "I like that," She grinned, adding it to the list she'd started curating in her notes. "Giovanni," She tested out, "Gio."
"Let me see what else ya' got on there," He scooted his chair closer, resting his arm along the back of her chair as he plucked the phone from her with his free hand. She went back to her lunch as he scanned the list, split into names she liked, names she'd heard Danny mention and names they both liked. Which currently consisted of… one… that they'd just spoken about.
Lindsay grunted quietly, bringing him back to reality as she readjusted her body. "Ya a'right?" He quickly placed her phone down.
"Yeah," She sighed, "It just feels like he's right up in my ribs," She brought her hands to the top of her bump, "Need him to move down."
"I'm sorry," He murmured, burying his nose in her hair as his hand joined hers.
"Not your fault," She breathed as she felt the baby kick underneath Danny's palm.
"I mean about how it feels like everythin' has been a priority before our little guy."
She smiled a little, leaning into him, "Not everything."
"Too much," He confirmed, hooking his arm around her neck as he dropped his lips to her brow. "We'll get my Ma to take Lucy for a sleepova' this weekend and then we can have a few hours, jus' us and him," His hand splayed over her belly, moving soothingly.
"That sounds nice."
"Nice?" He kissed her fully, before she pulled back, laughing slightly. "It'll be more than nice Montana."
"You're right, I can't wait," She appeased him as he reached for his food again.
"Now eat up," He encouraged her, nodding towards her half-eaten sandwich. "Ya got a Messer growin' in there an' we know how to eat properly."
She took a bite just to please him, grateful he'd dragged her out for some food so that they could have a proper conversation. "Don't I know it cowboy, don't I know it."
Fin.
