A.N. We're officially to the chapters that I haven't finished yet. I have a couple very rough drafts and, obviously, the ultimate skeleton in my head, but no finished products. So, unfortunately, updates will be a little harder to do daily. :-(
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Unable to bring themselves to sit down, everyone stood frozen in the waiting room. The sight of an EMT straddling Lindsay's chest as they'd blazed up to the hospital hung over them in the small space. Her heart had started again soon after, but the shadow of death lingered, making them all feel claustrophobic.
The doctor had very briefly outlined the surgery he claimed was necessary to repair the damage, and Hawkes had nodded as if he understood the words. Mac even threw a few questions in, but everyone else remained silent.
And after the doctor disappeared to go cut Lindsay open, Hawkes had tried to explain more thoroughly. All Danny could concentrate on was the fact that she'd lost too much blood. That she'd been clinically dead on arrival to the hospital. His brain shut down after that and nothing else got through.
So, he'd stood staring out the window for five hours. He didn't notice when Stella and Hawkes left to process the scene, or that Angell was hugging herself in a corner. He distantly registered it when Flack pressed a hand to his shoulder briefly but Danny never turned to him, just stared blindly into the rapidly darkening city.
When the doctor walked back in, Danny noticed the movement in the reflection off the window. Whirling, he crossed the room to stand next to Mac, bracing his feet apart and crossing his arms over his chest.
"The surgery went well," the doctor assured them, crumpling his surgical cap in his hands. "Miraculously, none of her organs were touched. We removed the bullet and repaired the damage."
He paused and Danny tensed against the fear. "The variable is the blood loss she suffered. We aren't sure yet about the extent of the damage to her brain. When the anesthesia wears off in a couple hours we should know more."
"Could she—Will she wake up then?" Angell asked, her voice small.
The doctor looked at her. "We'll know more when the anesthesia wears off," he repeated gently.
Danny saw her wince then Mac was following the doctor from the room, and he was caving in on himself again. Numbly, he turned back to the window but the lights beyond the glass were just a bright pattern without coherent meaning and they couldn't distract him this time.
He collapsed into an orange plastic chair and buried his face in his hands, barely noticing when Flack eased into the one next to him. The other man didn't say anything, just leaned back and, after several minutes, Danny dropped his hands and did the same.
"Where'd Stella and Hawkes go?" Danny asked, his voice croaking from disuse.
"Processing the scene."
Finally, Danny felt something other than numbness: Anger. Stifling, burning anger. "How did it happen?" he asked tightly.
"Danny—"
"Flack," he said lowly, blazing eyes sweeping towards the other man. "What happened?"
Flack's face hardened a bit and he opened his mouth to speak, but the next voice didn't come from him.
"She pushed me out of the way."
Danny jerked at Angell's words, having forgotten she was even in the room. She looked horrible, like she hadn't slept in a week. Her hair hung limply around her shell-shocked face and down into her hollow eyes. He didn't want to look at her, but he couldn't look away.
"Whaddya mean?"
Mac was coming back in the room and Danny's eyes drifted towards him. "Angell, Flack already took your statement," Mac reminded her.
She swallowed and her arms tightened around her middle, as if she were afraid everything would spill out if she let go for even a second. "Danny needs to hear it."
No one said anything for a long while, and Danny felt his heart picking up in anger. He'd been too out of it earlier to hear anything anyone said, but now he was willing to listen and he desperately needed to know why Lindsay was lying in a bed with stitches and a morphine drip.
Mac didn't object again, so Angell licked her lips and started talking. "When we ran the prints Lindsay lifted at the murder this morning, she found a hit in the system. Vincent Romero. I knew him from when I worked on narco a few years ago. He'd never been charged, but he'd always been just one step away, you know?
"We went to pick him up. I was upset and wouldn't wait for Hawkes, so Lindsay followed me in without him. Romero was strung out, but we didn't realize he was hallucinating until he pulled the gun on me. I think Lindsay knew," Angell whispered. "She tried to get my attention, but he was already acting shifty and I…He started yelling nonsense…I don't know.
"I tried to calm him down, but he was crazy, shaking. And then he heard Hawkes's voice in the hallway and he completely lost control. Lindsay shoved me out of the way just before the gun went off. Then she was on the ground, and I had my gun out."
Danny closed his eyes and shook his head. Mac cleared his throat. "That's enough, Angell."
"Danny, I'm so sorry," she whispered, her arms still clutching her own body.
Standing abruptly, he pushed past everyone. "I have to go," he muttered.
He stopped when Mac took his arm in a tight grip. "You can't see her, Danny. She's still being prepped for a room."
The words made Danny's tense further and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the thoughts racing through his mind. Mac still held his arm and Danny was glad for the anchor to reality.
"Danny!"
Looking up as Mac's arm dropped, he saw Lindsay's mother hurrying towards him down the hall. For a moment, he couldn't figure out why she was in New York or why Lindsay's father and brother had appeared behind her.
Then she was clutching his arms and pulling him into a hug. Suddenly, painfully, he made the connection. Lindsay. Hospital. Parents.
He hugged Molly back, his mind surfacing enough to really take in his surroundings. Mac, Angell and Flack stared at them a few feet away. But all he could focus on was wondering how Lindsay's family had gotten a flight out so fast?
"Molly, I—" he started, stalling out when she pulled back to look at him.
"How is she?"
Her eyes were too much like Lindsay's; he couldn't find any words to answer her. Shaking his head helplessly, he was relieved when Brad spoke up from behind his parents.
"I'll find a doctor."
Sniffling, Molly pulled away to wipe her eyes. Strangely, Danny found himself unwilling to let her go. When she tried to slip out of his grip, he held on for a second too long. She patted his bicep as his hand finally unclenched from around hers.
"How are you?" Molly asked gently.
Guilt flooded him. "I shoulda been there. I'm so sorry. I wasn't there and now—"
"Oh, shh, shh," Molly said, pulling him back into her arms. "Not your fault, sweet boy."
Danny squeezed her then jerked away, his shame making the movements harsh. "Sorry. I didn't mean to—"
Reaching out, Gordon squeezed Danny's shoulder, cutting off the apology. Molly smiled tremulously up at Danny from her tiny stature. Brad returned, doctor in tow, and Molly and Gordon gathered together, bringing Danny with them.
"Mom, Dad, this is Dr. Weston. Lindsay's surgeon."
"How do you do?" Gordon said, offering a hand to the doctor. "Thank you for taking care of our daughter."
The doctor nodded politely and began explaining the situation. "The bullet caused little damage, really. Oddly enough, it hit her almost exactly where the last did, so it hit mostly scar tissue. It'll be a painful rehabilitation, but I see no reason she shouldn't have a full recovery in that sector."
"But?" Molly pressed, her voice no more than a whisper. Brad laid a hand on her shoulder.
"The blood loss was significant," Dr. Weston said slowly. "The trauma caused her heart to stop beating for several minutes, and her brain was deprived of oxygen because of it."
"What does that mean?" Brad asked when the silence dragged on.
Taking a deep breath, Dr. Weston brought his hands up in front of his stomach and gestured absently, like it was a nervous habit. "It's possible that she won't wake up. Or, if she does, that she'll be brain damaged."
Danny watched Molly's eyes slide closed, and she sagged against her husband. Brad turned away and ran a hand through his hair.
"We'll know more when the anesthesia wears off."
"When will that be?" Gordon asked.
"Any time now."
"Thank you, doctor," Molly whispered. "May we sit with her?"
The doctor smiled gently. "She's being moved into a private room. I'll have a nurse come get you in a few minutes."
After he'd disappeared down the hall, Molly and Gordon turned back to the room. Finally noticing the others, Molly mumbled, "Oh, hello."
Mac immediately stepped forward. "Mrs. Monroe, Mr. Monroe, I'm Mac Taylor—"
"Ah, yes. We spoke on the phone. Nice to officially meet you," Molly said with a wan smile.
"Pleasure's mine. Can I get you anything?"
"No, no. We're fine. Thank you, Detective."
Mac's phone began ringing and he pulled it out, apologizing. Molly shook her head, dismissing his concern, and he exited the waiting room.
As if on a cue, Flack rose from his chair and nodded to Lindsay's family. "I'm Detective Don Flack, ma'am, sir. And this is Detective Jennifer Angell. We work with your daughter."
Molly smiled. "I'm Molly, Lindsay's mother. This is her father, Gordon, and her brother, Brad."
"Good to meet you," Flack told them with another nod. Angell murmured something, but it was unintelligible and Danny didn't want to listen to her anyway.
He didn't think he blamed her for what happened; in truth, his mind wasn't quite able to process her part in everything right then. She was just a reminder that Lindsay hadn't walked away unscathed as Angell had.
Mac came back in the room and said something in a low voice to Angell, who shrugged. They were all silent for a while. Someone had a watch on, and it was so quiet in the room Danny could hear the ticking of the second hand. He'd never done well with quiet, and he rubbed his hands over his face.
"Mr. and Mrs. Monroe?"
Everyone spun to face the redheaded nurse standing at the entrance to the waiting room. She smiled gently—did all medical professionals have to go to a seminar on smiling gently?—and gestured into the hallway. "You daughter's in a room now. I can take you there."
Danny followed as they started to file out and the nurse bit her lip. "I'm sorry, sir. It's family only."
Molly reached back and tugged Danny closer so she could slip her arm through his. "He is family. He comes with us."
For a moment it looked like the nurse might protest then she began leading the way down the hall. It seemed like they were walking for a long time, like that hallway in The Shining that kept getting longer and longer. But, finally, they reached the right sliding glass door and the nurse pulled it open.
"I'm sorry, you can only stay a few minutes."
Without a word, they all pushed past her and moved into the room to crowd around the bed. Danny felt his face go blank as he took in the various tubes sticking out of her. For an instant, he saw Louie's image overlaid on hers, the same iv, morphine drip, tube to help him breathe, the sensor for the heart monitor fitted over one finger.
Gripping the railing of the bed, he forced himself to keep looking, afraid she would disappear completely if he shut his eyes. She looked so small lying there, smaller than she'd ever seemed awake.
Someone pushed him into a chair, but he refused to let go of the railing and so remained leaning forward, staring into Lindsay's face. A long while passed, or what felt like a long while, and then Molly was gently exerting pressure on his arm.
"Danny, the doctor needs to check on her."
He nodded vaguely and stood, his fingers finally unwrapping from the plastic. His knuckles were white from his grip, his hands ached, and his eyes looked over his shoulder at Lindsay as he was pushed from the room.
"When's Connor arriving?" Molly asked Brad.
"He called about an hour ago," Brad murmured to her. "He didn't have a car at the farm, so he had to borrow one of the ranch hands', but he's on his way now. I think the farm's only a couple hours north of here."
Danny wandered a bit down the hall so he wouldn't have to hear the conversation and leaned against the wall. After a minute, he was surprised when Gordon appeared, silently settling himself against the wall next to Danny. The older man didn't say anything and Danny returned the favor as they both let their heads fall against the wall behind them.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hospital chairs were not comfortable. After a night spent in one, Danny had become an expert in the myriad ways they were unpleasant. He wasn't surprised though; he'd made the same discovery at Louie's bedside the year before.
He stared down at Lindsay, trying to see past the tubes and the wires coming out of her. He could hear the flurry of movement in the hospital outside her room, a backdrop of white noise for the beep of her heart rate monitor. He clung to the sound, proof of life.
"Danny."
Starting in surprise, Danny looked up to find Mac standing across from him. Behind the other man, Stella smiled sweetly.
"Hey," he rasped, scrubbing a hand roughly over his face.
"Been here all night?" Stella asked, coming around the bed to stand next to him.
Danny's eyes involuntarily drifted back down to Lindsay's face. He searched vainly for any sort of change. "Yeah."
"Anything?"
"No."
Mac's eyes darted back to Lindsay. "The doctor says her injuries are starting to mend nicely."
"And they moved her out of ICU, that's good," Stella added.
Danny chuckled humorlessly. "Tentative hope, huh?"
He felt Stella wince behind him and wished he could bring himself to care. Mac was quiet then told him, "It's better than nothing, Danny."
He desperately wanted to reach out and take Lindsay's hand, feel her pulse beneath his fingertips, but stopped himself. She wouldn't want him to, not in front of Mac and Stella. Actually, he still wasn't all that certain she wanted him doing it period. He smiled bitterly and briefly entertained the thought of doing it anyway, but laced his fingers together instead.
Belatedly, he nodded in answer to Mac. Stella shifted behind him and then he felt her hand squeeze his shoulder momentarily. "I have to get back to the lab. I just wanted to see how she was doing." Danny didn't look up, unable to think of a response. "Tell her parents I stopped by?"
He nodded and muffled footsteps headed towards the door. Danny waited until she was gone before asking the question he'd been pondering half the night. "Open and shut, right?"
His voice was little more than a growl, but Mac didn't react. "Romero's already in jail, Danny."
Danny nodded and saw Mac's hand come down to squeeze Lindsay's arm gently. Mac seemed so calm that Danny felt resentment pump through his veins.
This was Lindsay. Why wasn't Mac more upset? Danny felt his fists clench and unclench as he tried to control the emotions roiling in his mind.
"Danny."
The command in Mac's voice made Danny's head jerk up. Considering the harsh quality of his tone, Danny was surprised to find his boss's face completely neutral.
"Yeah, Mac?" he asked warily.
"Go home."
"What?" His response was breathless, like the words had punched all the air out of his lungs.
"You look like hell. Go home. You may not want to sleep, but at least take a shower."
Danny was shaking his head vehemently before Mac finished speaking. "No way. I'm not leaving her here alone."
"Where are her parents? Her brother?"
"Brad and Gordon went to get food. Connor's booking hotel rooms. Molly's taking a shower in the bathroom," Danny listed tonelessly.
Sighing, Mac shoved his hands in the pockets of his trench coat and leaned forward slightly. "Danny, you need a break."
"I need her to wake up," Danny shot back, clenching his fists in the sheets next to her body. Realizing what he'd done, he hurriedly let go and hid the wrinkles he'd made by folding his hands over them. "And when she does, I'll be right here."
Mac searched his face and Danny gazed impassively back at him. Finally, Mac released the railing and stepped back.
"I'll figure out how to cover your shifts this week."
"Thanks," Danny said, sagging as his anger dissolved.
"But that's all I can give you, Danny."
"I won't need any longer than that. She's gonna wake up, Mac."
The older man nodded. "I'll stop by your place tonight, pick up a fresh set of clothes."
"Thanks."
"Try to get some rest."
Danny's lips twitched into a twisted imitation of his usual cocky smile. Mac took his leave, glancing back from the doorway. Ignoring him, Danny leaned back in the chair, his eyes fixed on Lindsay's monitors.
He felt Mac staring through the glass windows into Lindsay's room for what felt like an eternity. Then he was gone and Danny leaned forward again, reaching out with a finger to touch the back of Lindsay's hand.
The skin there felt like silk and he let out a shaky breath. Wrapping his fingers around hers, he lifted her hand to his face and pressed his lips against it.
"Come on, Montana."
In the background, the shower shut off and Danny gently laid Lindsay's hand back on the bed. A few minutes later, Molly opened the door of the bathroom and stepped out wearing a set of scrubs the nurse had given her.
She smiled wanly at him, her hair hanging in wet chunks around her face. Pulling a chair up across the bed from him, Molly sighed and spoke. "You'd think that, in ten years, they'd have made more comfortable hospital chairs."
It surprised a short laugh out of him and he swallowed it guiltily. "The doctor came back about ten minutes ago. No change, he said."
Molly nodded. "Just like last time," she murmured, brushing hair out of Lindsay's face.
"How long, last time?" he asked nervously.
"A couple of days." Her voice was calm as she trailed a finger down Lindsay's cheek.
Noise outside the door made them both glance towards the source as Brad, Gordon and Connor filed through the doorway. Connor had arrived late the night before, in a car borrowed from his oldest ranch hand. They hadn't said much to each other since then.
Danny's eyes caught his, and they nodded their acknowledgement. Connor was in love with Lindsay, a fact that might cause problems later, but, at that moment, Danny viewed it as a bonding point.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Louie and my dad took me to my first game before I could walk," he whispered, trying not to wake Molly across the bed or Gordon in the corner. "My dad caught a foul pop up and he gave it to me. Been hooked since."
He wasn't sure why he'd started talking after Molly fell asleep. He just knew that he wanted to stay awake. And he missed talking to her. She couldn't answer, but he was pretty sure these were things she'd want to know.
"My mother was never much of a baseball fan. Being a good Roman Catholic, she's more into church than anything else. Well, church and cooking. She's good at that. You'll have to come to Sunday dinner." He paused to laugh. "She'd blow a gasket if I actually brought a woman home."
He smiled softly down at her face. "I think you'll like her, Montana. She don't take my bullshit either."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Danny hurried down the hall, his hair almost dry from his shower. He was sure that he'd made it back to the hospital in under an hour, but he still felt as if he'd been gone too long. After spending three straight days in the hospital, leaving for even a few minutes felt monumental. What if something had changed while he was gone? What if Lindsay had needed him and he hadn't been there?
Of course, everything was fine. Stepping through the doorway, he saw Molly in a pool of light by the bed, knitting. When he rapped on the window, Molly looked up, startled.
"Oh, Danny, you're back already." Smiling, she started folding the knitting in her lap as he settled into the chair across the bed.
"Whatcha makin?" he asked, handing her a cup of coffee.
She looked down at the bright pink yarn with resigned bemusement. "Nothing actually. My fingers just itched for something to do. I saw this in the gift shop and bought it on a whim."
The lamp cast a shadow over Lindsay's face and he clenched his fingers into a fist. For some reason, the darkness seemed threatening when it covered her face like that, making Danny ache to turn the light on her and chase it all away.
"Where is everybody?" he asked instead, clutching his own coffee.
"Gordon and Brad are at the hotel. I think Connor just went for a walk."
Nodding, Danny eyed Lindsay. She looked pale, but the circles had disappeared from under her eyes. It gave him hope that she was peaceful rather than plagued by pain and memories.
"I saw Angell leaving earlier today," Danny murmured.
"Who? Oh, Jennifer. Yes, she came by earlier when you were getting coffee."
Danny shifted his shoulders restlessly. "I try not to be mad at her. It wasn't her fault. But Lindsay's stuck in this bed and Angell's back at work already," he spat out before controlling the rage and stuffing it back under the surface.
Molly cradled her coffee thoughtfully. "One thing Lindsay always regretted was that she'd frozen up."
It wasn't the answer he'd been expecting, though he'd already known this from talking to Lindsay. Frowning down at the blankets, he waited for Molly to continue.
"If it had happened twice…" Molly trailed off, struggling to find the words. "I'm not glad she's here, but I think she would be," she finally finished.
Immediately, she bit her lip and set her coffee on the side table. Wincing, Danny gulped at his own cup. "And Jennifer certainly isn't happy about it," Molly pointed out.
She was right. Angell had looked like hell warmed over; not much of an improvement from the last time he'd seen her, the day Lindsay had been admitted. But her turmoil didn't make him feel better.
Looking up, he was startled to find Molly staring at him. He furrowed his brow at her questioningly and she smiled.
"Are you in love with my daughter, Danny Messer?"
It shouldn't have been, considering how Molly had met him, but the question was out of left field. Molly had never touched the subject of his relationship with Lindsay. Not even when he'd shown up on her doorstep after following her daughter to Montana.
Clearing his throat, he laughed nervously. "We've never even been on a date, unless you count eating bugs together, which I personally don't." When her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, Danny shrugged. "Long story."
"I'd like to hear that story," Molly said, laughing.
So, grinning somewhat tiredly, he told her that one and a couple of others. He told her about the bugs and carrying Lindsay across a roof in the name of science, which naturally led to telling about Lindsay's little experiments with evidence. He even told her some of his own stories, stories that Lindsay hadn't been part of.
Molly listened, enraptured as he spoke, never interrupting. In fact, when he was finally cut off twenty minutes later, it was by Connor's unexpected laughter.
"Lindsay is a tough cookie," he said fondly, moving into the room. Apparently, he'd been listening awhile. "Always was."
"True," Molly agreed with a reminiscent gleam in her eye.
Taking hold of the chair Gordon had been sleeping in the night before, Connor pulled it up next to Molly's. He shot Danny a wry look as he sat. "She once pushed Brad off a fence for scaring her horse."
"Scaring her horse? She nearly broke her neck when she was thrown," Molly grumbled, huffing at the memory.
"She didn't care much about that part," Connor pointed out with an easy smile. "Just wanted to make sure the horse was okay."
Danny smirked. "Definitely sounds like Montana."
"Come again?" Connor said, his brow furrowing.
"That's what he calls her," Molly told him with a worldly air, gesturing at Lindsay's prone form.
Connor raised an eyebrow, studying Danny. "You call her Montana?"
Danny felt the flush creeping up his neck and was thankful he was on the dark side of the bed. "It was a rookie thing." That was as far as he was willing to explain.
Both Molly and Connor looked amused as they watched him sip his coffee. But Connor's eye had a darker expression in them, hidden under the amusement; one that Danny recognized from his mirror: resignation.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lauren: I know, I know, I'm evil. Sorry about the twist. Danny's past is going to play a major role in the continuation of this storyline, but not for a while. There are some other things on the agenda right now. : p
messermonroe: That's right, epic. Mwahahaha. Angell definitely freaked out in there, which is probably going to haunt her for the rest of her life. If Lindsay were channeling Marissa, we'd end up with some crazy stuff going down. I don't think I have the strength to go there.
Trixie7: Lindsay's a tough woman; she'll be fine. Groggy, probably, but fine. Jen and Lindsay still have miles to go friendship-wise, but are unbreakably bonded now, I'd say. I mean, if someone jumped in front of a bullet for me, I think I'd want to keep her around. : p
Muzzy-Olorea: I really liked writing the Jealous Lindsay scene (does that make me mean-spirited?) because she's put him through so much torment. Besides, it really pushed her to go after her man, right? Who is now, of course, going through even more torture. Sigh.
scoob2222: Sorry this update took so long! I was so excited to get the last one out, I forgot I only had this one half written. I'll try to put the next chapter up later tonight as penance. :p
danitwin: Thanks for reviewing! I love drama. And angst. Which you could probably tell, right? For some reason, angsty love stories make me really happy.
qt4good: I think it's sweet, too. Danny, on the other hand, not so much. I think he's a little pissed at poor Jen.
The Little Corinthian: Lindsay picked Big Trouble, because she figured Danny would like it. Besides, it's hilarious (and completely under appreciated as the only good Tim Allen movie in existence). Danny is freaking out; he and Mac seem to be on shaky terms, though I'm guessing Mac understands what Danny's going through better than anyone else. I think Flustered Danny is insanely sexy because he would be so unused to feeling that way; he's notoriously cool and collected when it comes to women. Seeing that lifetime's worth of confidence shaken up…awesome.
chili-peppers: She and Jen are going to be such good friends by the time I'm through with them. (cracks knuckles determinedly) I've decided that I love Danny with Lindsay's family. Writing those scenes was fun, though I don't like this chapter as much as some of the others I've written.
Devilla: I'm not sure yet how Danny will act around Angell. He hasn't really had to deal with her up close and personal so far. I think she's avoiding him.
berta101: Oh, I've always been crazy. I've just gotten really good at hiding it usually. I think Danny and Lindsay have a bit more to go through before anything concrete gets settled between them.
Tenley: If this kind of Angell appeared on the show, I would be so happy. Ironically enough, I think Jen has been a big part of the progress that's been made between Danny and Lindsay. More progress to come, but it shall still be slow considering Lindsay won't be able to move for a very long time. Kinda puts a damper on the hot hot lovin'. Or so I'm told.
oddie33325: Sorry this took so long to get up. I didn't have it written completely and it took a lot longer than I expected it to. I'm not as happy with this one as I have been with others, but the next chapter is more satisfying. Let me just set to rest any fears you might have had: I would never kill off Lindsay. I love her too much. :p
specialfrog: Oh, this fic is no where near done. I'd say we're maybe three quarters of the way through. Hehe. I hope you don't lose patience with me and my inexplicable need for angst!
RachelHeidi: If Romero wasn't already in jail, Danny would be after him like white on rice. Luckily, Mac has this covered. Though I could almost see Flack letting Danny get the guy in a room alone before he's transferred to prison. Almost. Flack has too much integrity, but it would so tempt him. And, yes, this really gets things moving, though since Lindsay can't move for a few months, it'll be a bit difficult to further their relationship. Just to warn you. (winces) Sorry in advance about the numbness.
Leena7: Danny is slowly losing his mind, I'm sure. Luckily, he's a strong guy, otherwise the pure angst of this relationship would kill him. Thanks for reviewing!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A.N. On topic: I'm going to try to get up another chapter by tonight since this one took so long. So, I'm off to write and edit like a fiend. Cross your fingers for me!
A.N. Off topic: I was having a discussion with someone about the show and I realized that at some point I subconsciously decided to become spoiler-free. I really, really wish that Danny appearing in that courtroom had been a surprise for me. I would have squealed long and hard. As it was, all I felt was intense relief that they hadn't cut the scenes…well…for the first minute or so. :-p Then the Almost Kiss happened…/rant.