A/N: I'm so sorry. I really am. I am a terrible writer sometimes and I am so sorry to anyone who was reading this. I'll do better, at least I promise to try.

"I want you to be a good girl tonight okay?"

"I know, mama," Levi sighed, sliding gloves onto her hands.

"I need you to stick close to grandma and grandpa."

"I know," she sighed, taking Lindsay's face in her hands. "It will be alright. We are just going to ring in the New Year, you know."

"I know. It makes me nervous."

"I'll be safe, I promise. When is Adam coming to get you?"

"He should be here any minute."

"Mama, is something the matter?"

"No, nothing's the matter."

Levi clucked her tongue and shook her head, kneeling down on the floor like Lindsay was.

"I can tell, mama. I can tell something is bothering you. Will you please tell me what it is? We're a team, you and me. Teams don't keep secrets."

Lindsay smiled and sat down on the floor, pulling Levi into her lap.

"I'm just thinking about a lot of things. About what this new year is going to bring to us, and what's going to change. I'm thinking about how much I love watching you grow up and how fast it's going. And I'm thinking that this last year was really hard and I hope the next one is better."

Levi nodded and ran her fingers over the lines on Lindsay's hand, thoughtful.

"I have a question."

"What's that?"

"Is it bothering you and Josh has not called me in a while?"

"Yeah, it's bothering me a lot. Is it bothering you?"

"No. I think he is just busy. It happens sometimes to people, getting busy and forgetting things. But I think that if he loved me, he would remember. Because he would be excited about talking to me, you know?"

"I think he loves you, sweetie. I think being a dad is just a really hard job for him and he's still trying to figure it out. I think it's hard because he doesn't get to see you and just talking on the phone isn't all that great."

"Maybe tomorrow, I could call him."

"If you want to, then you may."

"I just hope he didn't forget me. Maybe he just got busy."

"Maybe so."

Lindsay was hoping that something horrible had happened that was keeping Josh from making his weekly phone calls, rather than just a case of laziness or second thoughts. She was doing her best to bank on a legitimate excuse, but she wasn't sure if she really believed that, or if she just didn't want her daughter's heart to break.

"Hey granddaughter, are you ready to go?"

Levi giggled at her grandpa and wiggled out of Lindsay's arms. She was loving having some family in town for a couple days, and it was evident that she was much more centered and calm when she had a little bit of home here with her. They would be leaving in the morning and had asked to take her for the night and Lindsay, despite her misgivings about sending her daughter to Times Square on New Years Eve, hadn't been able to say no.

"I'm ready but can we wait a few minutes until Adam gets here? I want to see him real quick."

"Yeah, that's fine. What's he doin', takin' your mama on a date tonight?"

"It's not a date, dad."

"Sounds like a date to me, Linds."

"It's a work party. With no alcohol except what we actually use in the lab."

"So what, he's your escort?"

"Dad."

"Grandpa, Adam is mama's boyfriend but not really. See, he does all the boyfriend stuff, except for kissing and saying he is her boyfriend. But all the other boyfriend stuff, he does all that. So what do you think?"

"I think that someone's got it bad."

"Got what?"

"It, little girl. You'll find out someday."

Levi wrinkled her forehead and nodded while Lindsay rolled her eyes. As much talking as she and Adam had done on the subject, they still weren't sure where they stood. It was alright for now, but it was starting to wear on both of them.

"He's here, he's here!" Levi hollered, recognizing the familiar knock. She ran to the door and threw it open, squealing as she was hoisted up into his arms and kisses were planted over her cheeks.

"Hey Doodle."

"Hi Adam! I've been waiting for you all day. I've been saving up a hug since this morning."

"Wow, that's a long time."

"I almost gave it to mama, but I found another one to give her. Are you going to treat her like a lady tonight?"

"Do I ever not?"

"Huh?"

He laughed and settled her back on the ground, taking a second to kiss the top of her head before standing up.

"Linds. You look…"

"She looks gorgeous, right?" Levi supplied, taking his hand.

"As always," he managed to answer. He couldn't put his finger on what was different about her tonight but it was intriguing and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Well kid, we'd better get going."

Levi nodded at her grandpa and kissed Lindsay goodbye, promising to be on her best behavior. It wasn't until she and her grandparents were out the door that Adam finally spoke.

"You're beautiful."

"Adam."

"I really want to kiss you right now. For a long time."

She smiled shyly and ducked her head, letting her hair fall in front of her face.

"We should go."

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she answered, finally meeting his eyes. "I don't take compliments well."

"Think of it as a statement of fact rather than a compliment then."

"Okay. Ready to go?"

"If you are."

"C'mere."

She obeyed hesitantly, finding herself swept into his arms before she had a chance to register what was going on. Stumbling a little, she giggled and rested against his chest, finding that special place where she felt so safe and sheltered.

"Wanna skip the party?"

"Let's be late."

"They'll talk."

"They already do."

"Can I kiss you now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because this is perfect like it is right now."

"That wouldn't make it better?"

"It would. But let me enjoy this how it is, hmm?"

"You're a strange woman, did you know?"

"It's really too bad that we're not allowed to drink in the lab, because I would love to see Mac under the influence," Danny said, nursing his ginger ale while the New Years festivities played over the TV in the corner.

"It would be a great way to start the year," Austin agreed. "Especially if drunk Stella was included in that. It's a sight to behold."

"I vote next year we go to a bar."

"I'm not sure why I'm eatin' peanuts without drinkin'."

"Because Lindsay keeps peeling them."

Lindsay looked down at the pile of peanuts she'd absentmindedly been cracking open and paused her movements for a moment, then shrugged and went back to what she was doing.

"Mac, give me that popper back!" Stella laughed, lunging across the table to try and retrieve the hostage novelty. He just gave her a look and held it out of her reach, smiling when she glared at him.

"What's going on?" Adam asked, bringing some kind of mixed punch for the table.

"Mother and father are locked in the age-old dispute of how much noise to make at midnight."

"Ah, so party and a show."

"Yeah. Oh wow, what's in this punch?" Lindsay asked, sniffing the pink liquid.

"Just a little celebratory contribution from Sid."

"What?"

Adam grinned and nodded in the direction of Sid, who was stealthily putting a flask back into his pocket.

"We're going to be in so much trouble," Lindsay giggled, letting Austin drink her cup of punch. "How long until midnight?"

"Half an hour," Danny answered. "Time enough for a game of cards."

He pulled the pack out of his pocket as if he'd been waiting for the moment, and began to deal to everyone at the table, speaking quickly about what kind of poker they were going to play.

"Wait, what are we betting?"

"Nickels," Austin explained, placing a ziplock bag of change on the table.

"You guys really come prepared," Adam chuckled as Lindsay's phone rang. She gave the screen a quizzical look and answered with a hesitant greeting. Adam watched her closely, noticing that her voice was lowered and her brow was furrowed in frustration. At first he thought it might be Josh, but she never would have let the conversation go on this long. Her voice was so quiet and the room was so loud that he couldn't hear what she was saying, and the only indication that anything was wrong was the pink tinge to her eyes when she hung up.

"Alright, let's play," she said with a high-effort grin.

"Everything okay?"

"Uh, my old boss wanted me to go back to Montana for a sentencing hearing, but they don't really need me so I'm not going."

There was more there than she was saying but Adam didn't want to press her in front of everyone, so he kept quiet, letting the questions roll over in his mind, trying to think of what it could be that would upset her this way.

"Danny, quit trying to look at my cards!" Austin sighed, pushing him away. "Now I have to fold even though I know your hand has to be terrible."

"Could be my tell and could be strategy. You never know."

"Why in the world do I put up with you?"

"Because I'm the only one that will put up with you."

"Oh, that."

"Geez guys, I can feel the love all the way over here," Mac said, raising his eyebrows. "Are you gambling in my lab?"

"Yes," all four of them answered together.

"Okay. Deal me in."

Soon the table was full and Mac was sweeping the floor with all of them, which wasn't a surprise at all. Stella was the only one who was giving him a run for his nickels, but the gap was still large and he didn't seem to be in danger of handing her any change.

"Looks like I'm going to start the new year a few bucks richer," he commented, laying down his winning hand and pulling all the coins closer.

"And you'll never let any of us forget it."

They cleaned up the table and turned the TV up to watch the ball drop while Adam gently rested his arm across Lindsay's shoulders and pulled her close enough that he could whisper.

"So what was that call really about?"

She sighed and shook her head a little, not necessarily refusing to tell him, more in confusion about what to say.

"Remember when I told you about… what happened?"

He nodded. It was something he'd actually thought a lot about in the last year, wondering what it had been like afterwards, how she'd recovered. She had barely breathed a word about it since telling him, and he wasn't sure how to ask, so most of what he knew had been gleaned from an old article about the trial.

"After he was convicted, he was sent to North Dakota to stand trial for aggravated robbery there, and then to Kansas for something else. Because of the way things happened, he was never available for a sentencing hearing, and he waived his right to a speedy trial. He's just been sitting in jail until now. They want me to go back and make a survivor's statement. They're hoping to secure the death penalty."

"You don't want to go back?"

"No. I testified and it was the hardest thing I ever had to do. He doesn't deserve that power over me."

"No."

"Rowley wouldn't take no for an answer, he said he wants me to think about it more. I promised I would but I already know what I'm going to say."

"You need to do what's best for you, but taking time to think might not be a bad idea either."

She bit her lip and looked at him, vaguely aware of the ball dropping on the TV screen on the other side of the room. She didn't want to start the year thinking about this.

"Maybe not. But I don't want to bother with it tonight."

"Alright."

She liked that he didn't press the issue but she was also aware that it wasn't entirely ridiculous that she might need to be pushed. It didn't seem fair though, that it always fell to Adam to take care of her. She knew they were rapidly moving towards a relationship and it was nice to be taken care of by someone who was so willing, but she didn't want everything to be weighted in her favor. She was going to have to figure out how to match things up a little more.

She giggled as they stepped off the elevator squeezing his gloved hand in hers while she searched for her keys.

"Where did I put them?"

"I don't know."

"I thought I had them in my pocket."

"Coat pocket?" he questioned, sliding his free hand into the pocket. "Found 'em."

"Thanks."

He gave her a grin and held the keys just above her head while she sighed.

"Adam."

"What?"

"Can we go inside?"

"I can't give up the keys without something in return."

"Oh really?"

"I'm going to kiss you."

"I'm going to let you."

"Oh really? Because I was under the impression-"

"Seriously you're going to try and talk me out of it?"

He laughed and leaned down a little, letting her be the one to close the distance and set the intensity of the kiss. It was their first kiss since the chaste one they'd shared on the hood of his car so many months ago and while he'd wanted to kiss her so many times since then, he was glad they'd waited.

Her hand slid up his chest and over his shoulder, snaking around his neck to bring him a little closer and he went with it, his hand clutching at her waist. She broke the kiss after a moment to catch her breath, then went back for more, standing on her toes and keeping her eyes closed while he lifted his hand to run through her hair.

The second kiss lasted a little longer and when they finally, reluctantly broke apart, he rested his forehead against hers, keeping her close until she moved to look him in the eye.

"I'd definitely like to repeat that."

"Frequently?"

"Yes."

He smiled and pushed her hair back from her face, going in for one more short kiss before handing her the keys.

"Oh, I've earned them huh?"

"More than."

"Are you coming in?"

"I… am I?"

"If you want to. It's late and there's drunks out on the road."

"Okay."

They went inside and hung their coats by the door, standing there awkwardly for a moment.

"There's a lot to talk about," he said quietly, reaching out for her hand.

"There is. And I think it would be good to talk about that soon, but right now I'm too tired and it's late and I have to be up early."

"You wanted me to come in and now you're going to make me leave?"

"No, stay. We'll have a G-rated sleep-over."

"Yeah?"

"Please?"

He nodded and she smiled widely, squeezing his hand.

"I just want you to know one thing, okay?"

"What's that?"

"I need to take this really slow, but it's not because I'm unsure."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her once more, framing her face with his hands.

"I think slow would be good for both of us."

"Good. C'mon, let's go to bed. You can have the better pillow."

"I get you and the better pillow? You're so good to me."

They made their way into the bedroom and discreetly changed clothes, sliding into the bed together as if they did this every night.

"So you have to get up early?"

"I've got to retrieve the girl-child from my parents before they fly out."

"And then what?"

"Not sure. I'll have to see how tired she is from staying up late."

"Maybe later in the day the three of us could find something fun to do."

"Firstly, you spoil us. Secondly, that sounds like a good idea, but I don't know if we should tell her about this just yet. She's going to ask questions and I want to have some answers."

"Sounds fair."

"Her existence makes things a little… different."

"Maybe so. But I wouldn't trade her for anything. You know that right? Even if you and I never get to where we want to be, I'll always be there for her."

"I know."

"Good."

She smiled and rolled towards him resting her head on his chest and playing with his fingers.

"I think this is going to be an interesting year."

"I can't wait to find out."