Thanks to Bulletgirl1723, Aly, and lily moonlight for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the last chapter!
Chapter Thirty Three: The Beginning Of The End
Lindsay Monroe's House, Bozeman, Montana
The four of them sat there, on the kitchen floor. Two weeks had passed by since the last time they had talked to the CSI investigators in Las Vegas and a week had passed by since she had fallen on the floor, crying anyway the pain. Now that the storm had hit them hard, there was absolutely no power and thankfully, there was a fireplace in the house. But as they sat there on the cold kitchen floor, eating a bowl of chips in complete silence, they all began to wonder if the storm would ever begin to disperse.
Danny Messer sat next to Lindsay, resting his head against a couch that was nearby. He didn't think of the storm, only gazed at Lindsay, taking in her beauty. She may have not been able to have access to a nice warm shower for days, but no matter what, she would always be beautiful to him. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but he knew she would tell him to forget the idea, saying that something in her life would make it too hard for them to be together. He thought of Adisa and Paige, and wondered if that was part of the reason why she wouldn't love him.
Calleigh Duquesne opened her eyes, leaving the sunny skies and beaches to be only a dream of memory. She missed Florida and the nice, warm temperatures that claimed the state of Florida. Now, she knew she would never see the state again, not if the weather ever cleared up. And more than anything did she miss working as a CSI, with Horatio and the team by her side.
Horatio Caine tried to think of nothing. He stared at the ground, twirling the sunglasses he knew he would never wear again in his hands. He shivered, knowing that too the weather would never be as warm as it had been back in Florida, or as it once had been. But for now, he would not let that thought bother him, for he wanted to think of nothing.
Lindsay Monroe, or secretly also Paige Hobson, was taking the last bite of her potato chip, wishing for better food. They could have had a great meal, they had enough food, but with the power off, there would be no way of cooking anything. For the last two weeks, they had been eating canned foods and junk food. She decided to take a drink of water, to get the salty taste out of her mouth. As she finished the bottle of water, she looked around. "No coffee," she announced, more of a joke to Danny than the others.
"Good," said Danny. He examined her face for a moment. "I think you may have gained an inch."
Lindsay lightly slapped Danny on the shoulder. "Danny!"
"What, I thought that would be a good thing to know," said Danny.
Lindsay laughed, but soon she quieted again, as she got a warning glance from the others. No one shared humor anymore and she had shared the same attitude for too long. She smiled, and then laughed again. "You know, it's kind of weird just sitting on the cold floor, when we could be by the warm fireplace. I feel as if we're at a slumber party."
Calleigh laughed at that. "You know, it kind of does seem like we're at a slumber party. Truth or Dare, anyone?"
"Truth or Dare?" questioned Danny. "Um, that's for teenage girls who talk about their favorite crushes."
"So you don't want to admit your favorite crush?" retorted Lindsay.
Danny slightly blushed. "Well, it's already obvious who it is…" He paused, to look away from her. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "To bad she doesn't love me back…"
Again, the room fell silent, like nothing had been said. Calleigh began to laugh, and then said, "You know, we've been trapped in this house, for such a long time, and this weather, it just doesn't seem to be clearing. But, I'll admit something; doesn't everyone spill their secrets in the time of desperation?" She looked down at the ground and then back up again. "I love him," she said plainly. "Eric Delko, I love him."
Horatio turned to look at her and then slowly nodded his head. "That's good news to hear, Duquesne. He loves you back, I'm sure of it."
"I just wish he was here," whispered Calleigh. "You think he's okay, Horatio?"
"Yes," he replied. "We're all going to be okay."
Danny turned to look at Lindsay again. "Secrets, huh?" He seemed to be trying to make her confess who Adisa and Paige were. But thankfully, he said something else. "Well, the only reason why I don't like horses is because…when I was five years old, my brother and I tried riding horses. Yeah, my horse didn't like anyone, and while I was riding the horse, he lost control and I ended up falling off the saddle…"
"Were you okay?" asked Lindsay with concern.
"Yeah, I just experienced minor injuries," replied Danny.
"Well, I wasn't going to make you ride a horse," said Lindsay. "I understand why you are afraid of horses. It's nothing to be ashamed about. But not all horses are like that, you know."
Danny nodded, but didn't look up to meet her gaze. He was obviously embarrassed at what he had just confessed, more than Calleigh had been when she said she loved another CSI. Now, it was Horatio's turn to talk. "This isn't much of a secret," he said. "But I'm going to miss working in Miami, the beautiful sunsets, the warm temperatures…and working with all of the CSI investigators. It seems like only yesterday when we were evacuating to Montana."
"Yeah," Calleigh whispered.
"It only seems like yesterday when we were in New York, preparing for the upcoming hurricane," said Lindsay. She put her hand on Danny's chin and raised his head so she could see his face. "Danny, I've been lying to you for all of this time."
Danny removed her hand from his chin. He then took her hand in his. "What have you been lying about?"
Her eyes started to water, and she could feel tears soon running down her face. "I do love you Danny," she sobbed. "I've been the jerk, not accepting the fact that I love you."
He pushed the hair out of her face. "Shh, don't cry. It's okay that you love me, I'm glad to hear that you do because Lindsay, I love you too." He took her in his arms and she silently cried into his shoulder. Calleigh and Horatio looked at each other, smiling, glad to hear news that brought joy, not pain. Then, almost suddenly, Lindsay's laptop began to beep. She had turned it on earlier that day, after not using it for two weeks, hoping that there may be some new news about the weather. They all turned to look at it.
"What…?" Lindsay got up from the kitchen floor and looked at the screen. She almost fell over when she saw the screen. "Oh my God," she whispered. "Guys, come over here and check this out!"
Calleigh, Danny, and Horatio crowded around the laptop. She pointed to the screen. "See that?" she asked.
"Yes," Danny replied, yet he knew she didn't mean for anyone to answer.
"Is it really true?" asked Horatio.
Lindsay nodded. "The storm…" She gazed at the laptop. The massive clouds that had engulfed the Northern Hemisphere were now dissipating, and for the first time in the two weeks she had been in Montana, she felt hope. "…it's clearing up. It's true. The storm's finally over."
A relieved sigh came from all of them, and immediately, Lindsay made a break for the door. She heard Danny call her name, but she ignored him, and ran outside. She stared at the sight in front of her, a beautiful sight she hadn't seen for a long time.
Snows covered the landscape, stretching far into the horizon. There was a slight breeze, blowing through the now visible trees. But the most beautiful thing that surrounded her was the sight of the sun, shining brightly down from the heavens. The storm was truly indeed over. It was settled. Everything was going to be all right.
"It's just as beautiful as the sunsets in Florida," Horatio's voice sounded behind her.
Lindsay smiled. As Danny walked over to her, she hugged him. "Montana," he whispered into her ear. "I finally get to see Montana, just the way it was before the snows."
She turned back to gaze at the sky. "Does anyone know what time it is?" she asked.
"Judging by the fact that the sun is beginning to set, it's probably almost five, five thirty," replied Calleigh.
"I've lost so much track of time," said Lindsay. "It is November, isn't it?"
"Yeah," replied Danny. "Unfortunately, we'll still be seeing snow for a while. But, at least not as bad as this storm."
Lindsay nodded. "Montana's beautiful with snow. Of course, that's when there are only a few inches of it on the ground." She paused and then laughed. "And you know what other good news there is?"
"What?" Danny asked curiously.
"No more eating junk food or gross canned food!" exclaimed Lindsay. "Danny, you wanted steaks; now we can have them."
Danny smiled, glad to hear the good news.
Lindsay turned to look at Horatio, who was gazing off into the horizon. He held his sunglasses in his hand, and when he turned to look away from the sky, he put them on. His gentle voice sounded as he spoke again. "The sun is beautiful, and the temperature is slightly warming up, but if we stay outside too long, we could still get frost bite."
The others nodded and hurried to follow Horatio inside. As they settled in the living room, warming up from the fire in the fireplace, Lindsay's gaze rested upon Horatio. He still wore his sunglasses, even though they were in the darkness of her home. It made her want to laugh, seeing him wear sunglasses inside, but she knew why he had done that. His sunglasses were his prized possession, and with them on, he felt like he was closer to returning back home to Miami.
Chapter 34- The news of the storm clearing up has made it to Montana, now it is time for the others sheltering in Chicago to know. And Stella may find out more about Lindsay's secret... A little mention of CSI will be in this chapter too, but it won't be very long.
A/N: I apologize that it took so long to get this chapter up! It's been pretty busy here, with school and now Christmas being here in three days. Hope you're having a great holiday!