Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. Seriously.
WARNING: THESE SCENES ARE NOT CHRONOLOGICAL.
A/N: This is again unbeta-ed. I've tried to catch the mistakes to the best of my ability, but if you feel that you want to beta some of these "drabbles", please drop me a line. Thank you to those who have given me such wonderful and kind words, as well as those people who did not leave a review but continues to read these scenes of mine. This batch has a longer "scene", which I contemplate on publishing it on its own. However, it's still rather "drabbl-y" in my opinion, so I stuck it in here. Maybe I'll tweak and post it separately later on in time, but for now, please enjoy.
A/N part two: Ooo, there's a reference to something that was said in an episode of the TV series Bones. See if you can find it.
Love is only what you give up
Life isn't what you get
Love won't always fill your cup
But life's when you start to live
Life's when you learn to give
("In A Way", Hanson)
After the chaos, all she could feel was the silence.
After the verdict, she held on tightly to his hand, needing something to tether her to the present.
After everything, time remains pushing forward; an invisible force that she longed to be a part of.
He found her in her old room, sitting by the window seat; the backdrop was inky country night and soft streaks of falling snow. She turned her head, gave him a small smile and nodded towards the nightstand, where a bottle of wine and a glass sat.
The wine felt heavy on his tongue, or maybe that's just his skin being oppressed by the air with its unsaid thoughts.
" Have a seat," she invited him; drawing up her legs, her own glass of wine nestled between her folded legs and hands. He sat opposite her; the alcove and soft quilt reminding him that next to his Ma's kitchen, this reminded him of home. He raised his glass, meeting hers halfway, the sound of clinking glass hovers over what they're saluting.
To justice?
To lost friends?
To new beginning?
" My mom likes you," she began, her lips curved behind the rim of her wine glass.
He chuckled. "Yea… Well I love her gravy," he smiled. " I think I want to be alone with it. That's how much I love it."
The comment drew a grin from her. "Well my dad likes you too," she commented. " Congratulations," she saluted him.
He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "He showed me his collection of hunting riffles, 'course he likes me," he said in a mock serious tone.
This riddled Lindsay in a fit of giggles. Giggles! Heaven, she hadn't done that since hearing a drunken Flack singing some Britney Spears song and attempting to strip in the middle of a bar. The reminder of the people back in New York City squelched her giggles and replaced it with a ghost of a smile.
" I…" she started. She twirled the stem of her glass, and looked for a sentence to bridge the gap that they've, no she, had put.
In the end, she's a scientist, English was never her forte, and she touched his knee and said, "Thank you."
Covering her hand with his own, he gave it a light squeeze, "Anytime Montana."
He didn't remove his hand. She didn't draw back. They both took a sip of their wine, the liquid still heavy with rich berry flavors, words still laden with heavy confessions.
" When's your flight back?"
" Midnight."
She turned her hand around; her palm catching his hand. She's letting go, and she needed something to hold her to the present.
" I think you might've like them," she began.
"Yea..?"
She nodded, a bittersweet smile on her face. "Kelly would probably have had a crush on you."
"All the ladies do…" his New York accent stated.
She unclasped his hand and slapped his thigh lightly, which prompt them to fill the quiet house with soft laughter.
She leaned deeper into the padded sidewall, getting comfortable. For the first time in a long while, she reminisced her friends the way they should be remembered as—three teenage girls who loved and was loved by her.
And so they sat. Lindsay telling Danny about her best friends; Danny basking in what she's giving.
"Danny, NO!"
"Awww c'mon… it'll be so good."
" Stella nearly caught us last time, and I seriously want to keep my job!"
" It's none of her business what we do in our off hours."
" But Danny… we're still in the lab…."
" So?"
" So?! So we can't do this… it's inappropriate!"
" What I'm proposing is inappropriate? This coming from the girl who wanted to do a certain something in Adam's office earlier…"
" Hey! We agreed not to talk about these activities. It's when we talk that,"
"… that we get caught. Yea, yea, I kno'"
" And doing things in Mac's office will definitely get us caught. Or worse, fired."
" Look, I value my job as much as yours, but Montana. It'll be so good. I'll make it worth your while."
" Worth my while eh?"
" Oh definitely."
"Hypothetically speaking, if I agreed to this, what do you have in mind?"
" I thought the ol' position would work best, given our surrounding, and as you mentioned, we don't want to get caught. Just simple in and out."
"I suppose it is tempting…"
" Mac won't suspect anything."
The next morning, Mac opened his office door and was greeted by a gush of water falling from a bucket precariously tilted above his head. On his desk sat a note.
April Fools! Clean suit is in your closet.
Mac could only shake his head.
Danny Messer learned early in his years that grand gestures and grand occasions don't necessarily mean grand at all. A grand gesture, he noted, is enjoyable but often time lacked a meaning when the effort was emphasized more in the grand rather than the gesture. Being accepted into another restless group of teenagers in New York alleys is as big as a grand occasion as being accepted into the Police Academy. Different type of restless young men and institute, but a grand occasion nonetheless in a New York boy's eyes.
So when asked if he want the night off on his thirty-first birthday, he politely declined, citing that work is more important than any silly grand celebration. Mac only nodded in acceptance and gave Danny a fatherly pat on the shoulder.
He swiveled his chair slightly from left to right as his computer searched the database for a lead he was working on. The last of the day technicians had waved him goodbye and wished him a happy birthday an hour ago. The 35th floor had dimmed and Mac's office hummed a quiet glow as he saw his mentor scribbling away paperwork. Danny glanced at his own stack, and gave a weary sigh.
"Already feeling old Messer?"
He glanced up at the figure by the door, surprised etched on his face. "You like older guys Montana?" He retorted.
Lindsay shrugged and went to her desk, dropping a paper bag on top of her purse. "Depends…"
Her open-ended response caught his attention. " Depends how?"
She shrugged nonchalantly again. " Oh you know… there are just those men that gets sexier with time."
" Am I one of those men?" he asked, enjoying the familiar banter. He quirk his eyebrow, placed a smirk on his lips, and held her gaze. They both saw the underlying flirtatious tension; they're not as oblivious as some of their coworkers' thought they were. But both have been careful in keeping the tension light, never letting their pupils to dilate further than necessary. Lindsay threw him a small smile and drop her eyes, deciding that they've acknowledge their sexual tension enough for the night.
" What are you doin' here? I thought you had the night off," Danny said, as he attempt to fan the charged air away from the room and steer the conversation to a less dangerous territory.
"Yea, I do…."
Even though his eyes had returned back to his computer screen, he could sense a second clause to her answer. " But…." He prompted.
"Well… I know it's your birthday," she smiled, coming over to sit in front of his desk.
" Yes it is," he confirmed with a nod.
" And I know Flack's not up to shape to do any bar hoping with you anytime soon," she paused to silently appreciate the adorable chuckle he often emitted and was currently doing, "and since you're pulling a double shift on your birthday, I thought I could give you something."
He glanced away from his computer screen and saw her bit the corner of her bottom lip in slight nervousness, drawing some of his blood a little bit south than necessary. Clearing his throat, he tried to keep his mind straight. " I'm on the clock Linds… I can't exactly go on a drinking binge with you. Unless, you're bringing me a little somethin' somethin' that Flack's choice of bar often offers…"
Damn, there goes another image.
Lindsay shook her head and rolled her eyes good naturally. "Nothing scandalous Danny," she assured him. A hint of disappointment fled across his eyes, but before Lindsay could scrutinize further, it disappeared behind his curiosity.
" What are you talking about here Montana?"
Lindsay answered by pulling out a healthy slice of his favorite oreo cheesecake from the bag she brought earlier and placed a single birthday candle on top. She stood and leaned towards him, his eyes following her hands and didn't dare to look at the view that she had presented him with. She pushed his keyboard aside and placed the plastic plate in front of him. Flourishing a lighter, she lit the single candle and whispered, " Make a wish."
He thought grand gestures waned in comparison to this simple act.
A/N part tres: A reviewer wanted something a bit funny-- I have no idea if I even scratched humor. Thank you for reading though, and review please!