Chapter 16 – December 16, 2006

Danny Messer had developed a theory in the last year about his life: nothing ever went in his favour. With what had happened to Louie and Aiden, plus dealing with Lindsay going undercover and her rejection, he had developed quite the pessimistic outlook on life. It explained his surprise when nothing came up before nine and he actually found himself waiting in the break room, two cups of perfectly made coffee. Now all he needed was his breakfast companion.

She breezed into the room ten minutes later with a bag in her hand. "I would have gotten more creative," she said, pulling bagels out of the bag, "but the lines to most of the higher end places were a mile long. I settled on something simple."

"Doesn't matter," he told her, handing her one of the cups.

She thanked him with her eyes as she took a sip. "You're a hero."

"Because I can remember how you take your coffee? I'm paid to be observant."

She laughed. "That's such a clichéd line," she said.

Danny shrugged, taking a seat beside her on the break room couch and snatching half of the bagel she had spread out on her lap. "It's true."

"Danny! That's mine. You have your own," she admonished with a smile.

"Food tastes better when it's someone else's," he responded solemnly, taking a bite. "And even better when you've stolen it from someone else."

She laughed, going for part of his and let out a surprised yelp when he slapped her hand away. "Not fair," she whined.

"You've gotta be quicker than that to get me, Montana." He almost hated himself for saying that when a mischievous smile blossomed over her face.

"Faster?" she asked, twisting her index finger in one of her curls.

He knew the action was meant to distract him, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. "Smarter too."

Her bottom lip jutted out in a seldom-practiced pout – though Danny didn't need to know that tidbit of information – her eyes opening wide. She crowed inside as she watched his eyes focus on her lower lip and went in for the proverbial kill.

By the time he'd realized that she'd moved, she was already settled comfortably back in her seat, munching on his bagel. "That was not fair," he told her.

"And yours was? You stole my food when you have a perfectly good bagel there," she laughed. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Lindsay spoke again. "So I was thinking…"

"You're good at that," he interrupted, effectively shutting her up for a few seconds.

"Thank you, but that's not the point. When was the last time you went skating?"

"As in ice skatin'?"

"Yeah."

Danny furrowed his brows in concentration. "You know, I can't remember."

"Do you have skates that fit?" she asked, licking some of the cream cheese from her fingers.

"Probably buried in the depths of my closet," he answered. "Where are you goin' with this?"

"Want to go skating after shift?" she asked bluntly, well aware he preferred the straight forward to the round about subtle.

"You serious?"

She shrugged, trying to hide her nerves. She figured he probably did some skating when he was a kid and with his change in lifestyle, from the dark to a cop, he may have gone skating with some of his nieces and nephews. At least, that's what she was counting on. "Yeah."

He thought about it while he chewed and swallowed the last bite of his breakfast. "You're on, Monroe."

She smiled widely. "Great. This'll be my first time skating again in five years," she revealed.

"Why?"

Lindsay blushed. "I fell through the ice back in Montana."

He looked at her, slightly startled. "Fell through the ice?"

"We used a lake for the local skating. I was there for the lab Christmas party and ended up falling through the ice. I spent a week at home at the insistence of my boss so I could get over the cold it brought. I figure New York can do better than a lake, so I'm pretty safe."

"I'll grab you after shift, kay?"

She smiled. "Sounds good."

Lindsay looked out at the public rink and couldn't stop the smile blossoming over her face. She'd missed skating, but had never found the courage to actually get back on the ice while she was in Montana. She didn't want to go skating by herself either.

"You gonna put your skates on, Montana?" Danny asked from behind her, already bent over a bench and removing his shoes.

She turned back to him, the grin still on her face. "I'm excited," she said.

"I can tell. You think you'll be able to tie your own skates?"

She laughed. "I'm pretty sure I can handle that much, Messer."

Danny handed Lindsay a Styrofoam cup of apple cider and took a seat on the bench, his thigh brushing hers. "So?"

"Thank you so much for coming with me to do this," she said, after taking a sip of the warm cup. She'd cradled it between both of her hands.

"Montana, its skatin'. There's nothin' to it."

"That's not the point, Dan. You came with me so I didn't have to go by myself."

Holding his cider in one hand, he wrapped the other around her far hip. "I get a bonus."

She moved marginally closer, cuddling into his side. "Oh?"

"I get to spend time with you," he answered, foregoing a snarky come back and pressing a kiss to her head.

"It's been crazy," she agreed. Sure, they'd had breakfast that morning, but other than that, they'd barely passed each other in the halls. Since deciding that spending time, just her and Danny, wasn't as bad as she suspected, she'd increasingly enjoyed their evenings together. She was almost surprised with how they'd just fit into each other's lives, unconsciously – and probably consciously if she ever decided to tell herself the truth – making room and time for each other.

"Yeah, but we've made it work."

It made her heart swell to hear him say that. "We did. Thank you."

"No need, Lindsay."

Her real name made her shiver. "You know," she started, her tone thoughtful. "It sounds odd when you say 'Lindsay'."

"Odd?" he asked.

"You call me 'Montana' so often, and 'Monroe' in the lab, but rarely Lindsay."

"This a good thing or a bad thing?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea," she promised. "It's just odd."

Danny absorbed and processed that for a few minutes, his hand moving absently on her hip. "You never cease to surprise me, Montana."

She laughed, subconsciously snuggling closer in the cool air of the arena. "Stick around, Messer. There's more surprises in me."

He looked down at her profile. "I plan on it."

Don't ask. It was a rough go, go, go kind of day. I wasn't home with my computer to finish this up. The same is true for tomorrow's chapter, my day is pretty full so I wouldn't expect it until after 11 EST. I'll get it up as soon as I can, but I can only do so much. Now that I think about it, the same might be true about Monday's chapter too. It really depends on how much time it takes me to study for my sociology exam on Tuesday, but that's my last exam so after that, it should be clear sailing until Christmas!