Disclaimer: I am not connected in any way with the creators of any of the CSI shows. (I wish I was though, so Danny and Lindsay would get together already.) These are just my mind's version of the events that transpire on the show.
After Danny left for work, Lindsay tried to fall back asleep, hoping that she could sleep the day away and wake up just in time for Danny to get home.
No such luck.
She managed to fall back asleep for an hour, until her body demanded that she wake up. She suppressed a groan as she rolled over and gingerly checked her bandage. It's not bleeding. That's good.
She sighed. Being a natural early riser, she couldn't fall back asleep anymore if her life depended on it. She resigned herself to the fact that she would have to keep herself occupied until Danny came home.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed, carefully making her way to the bathroom. To her immense relief, the surgeon who stitched her wounds had thoughtfully covered the bandage with waterproof tape, which would allow her to take a shower.
She stripped off her clothes and stepped into the tub, pulling the shower curtain shut behind her. She gave a luxurious sigh as the warm water sluiced over her body. She stood there for a moment, letting the water wash away the residual aches and pains of getting stabbed.
As she rubbed shampoo in her hair, she contemplated about what to do for the rest of the day. She considered her options. Watch TV, read, sleep, eat, or clean up. Wonderful.
She turned the water off and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her body. She grabbed a pair of clean sweats and one of Danny's shirts and crawled back into bed, reaching out to grab his pillow. She buried her face in it and inhaled deeply. It still smelled like him. She looked at the clock and almost groaned in frustration. It was only 10:30. She still had seven and a half hours until Danny would get home.
Lindsay let out another resigned sigh and reached into the nightstand on her side of the bed and pulled out a paperback novel she had stashed there. As always, reading worked as a distraction and she was soon lost in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons.
Halfway through the story, her stomach started rumbling and she got up from the bed to make herself a sandwich. With her nose still buried in the book, Lindsay grabbed her celphone and padded to the kitchen, where she placed the book face down on the counter, open to the page where she had left off and rummaged in the refrigerator for the fixings to make a sandwich.
She made a grilled ham and egg sandwich, liberally laced with her favorite honey mustard. She set the plate down on the counter and turned to grab her book once more when the house phone rang.
Lindsay ignored it and let the machine pick up. Hi, you've reached Danny and Lindsay's place. Leave your name and number and we'll call you back if we have time. Beep. Then, Danny's voice came through.
"Montana? The machine better be picking up cause you're asleep cause if you went out, I swear to God…"
Lindsay picked up the phone just as Danny was about to threaten to tie her up. "Or you'll what, Messer?"
Danny's sigh of relief was audible through the line and he said, "How are you feeling, Montana?"
Lindsay answered, "Better now. I couldn't fall back asleep so I started reading."
Danny asked, "Whatcha reading?"
"Angels and Demons."
"Yeah, I liked that one. Does your wound still hurt?"
"It twinges when I move too quickly," Lindsay replied, taking a seat on the couch and cradling the phone between her ear and her shoulder. "How's work?"
"Pretty slow for today," Danny said. "Stella and Hawkes are looking into a case at a club in Manhattan, but from what I hear, it looks like a straight up OD. I'm just finishing up on paperwork."
Lindsay was glad that there were no new cases. It meant that Danny would get home early.
Danny continued, "How about you? How's your day going so far?"
Lindsay started complaining. "I'm bored, Danny. I'm bored out of my skull. When I finish this book, I have nothing left to do."
Danny chuckled and reminded her, "Linds, you have to take it easy." He changed tactics when he heard her grind her teeth in frustration. "Look, it's only for a few days and the faster you heal, the sooner you can get back to work, right?"
Lindsay said grudgingly, "Fine."
Danny had to bite back a smile at the petulant tone in her voice. He knew better than anybody how much Lindsay hated to be cooped up at home by herself doing nothing. Now if he were at home with her, that's a whole different story.
He had to rein in his thoughts before they completely distracted him. This was not the time to think about getting locked in with Lindsay at their apartment doing "nothing" for the entire day. He turned his thoughts back to the conversation.
"Anyways, I called to see if you made yourself lunch," Danny continued.
Lindsay was interrupted from answering by a knock on the door. "Hold on, Danny, someone's knocking."
She took the wireless phone with her as she went to the door, checking the peephole before she opened it.
Through the hole, she saw Danny standing outside their door, a grin on his face, a big take-out bag in his hand.
She quickly threw the door open with a wide smile. "Hey, I think I know you," she teased, pressing a button that disconnected the call.
Danny laughed and clipped his phone back to his waist and stepped forward to wrap his arms around her.
Lindsay immediately tilted her head back to give him a long kiss. "Mm. Just what I needed," Lindsay murmured in satisfaction.
Danny felt a rush of pleasure at the warm tone in her voice. Up until now, he still couldn't believe that he and Lindsay were finally together.
He kept his arm around her as he set the back of Chinese take-out on their kitchen counter, where he saw a sandwich on a plate and the novel she had been reading.
"I think I'll just take this sandwich back to the lab with me later," he said as he pushed Lindsay down gently on one of the bar stools. He started taking out containers from the back and spreading them out on the counter.
She noted hungrily that Danny had ordered practically all her favorites. He pushed a container of roast pork rice and shrimp dumplings in front of her, which she dug into eagerly. He walked over to a cupboard and pulled out a deep bowl, into which he emptied a bag of still hot corn and egg drop soup.
After making sure that Lindsay was eating, Danny started in on his own lunch. Once again, Mac had given him permission to go home for lunch and check on Lindsay. As they ate, he told her about his morning at the lab and about the people who asked about her.
When they finished, Danny ignored Lindsay's protests and told her to stay at the counter while he cleaned up. She relented and contented herself with watching him move around their kitchen with ease.
After he cleaned up the remains of their lunch, Danny walked back to the counter to stand between Lindsay's legs. He gave her a hug and asked, "Feel better?"
Lindsay grinned at him and snuggled into his embrace, "Much. Thanks for coming home to have lunch with me. Tell Mac I said thanks, too."
He grinned back and said, "No problem, Montana." He leaned forward to give her a long, thorough kiss, which had them both breathing heavily when they pulled away from each other.
Danny rested his forehead against hers, trying to regain his breath. He reluctantly disengaged himself from Lindsay's arms and checked his watch.
"I better get going, Montana," he said, not really willing to leave the apartment, but knowing that he had to. "I'll be home as early as I can, okay? Try to rest up and not do too much. Stay in bed."
Lindsay nodded, and kissed him again. "No problem, Dr. Messer."
Danny grinned at her teasing and said, "We'll play doctor when you're ready."
Lindsay had to laugh at the devilish expression on his face and she replied, "I'll hold you to that, Messer."
Hand in hand, they walked to the door, where Danny shrugged on his coat and left last minute instructions for Lindsay. "Try to stay in bed and read, okay? Call me if you want me to pick up another book for you to read tomorrow, just in case you finish this one. Don't do anything too heavy okay? You might pull your stitched open by accident. Try and go back to sleep or watch TV if you get bored…"
Lindsay cut him off with a laugh, "Alright, alright. I get it, Detective Overprotective. Don't worry. I'll be fine," she assured him with a kiss as she opened the front door.
Danny laughed and called out as she shut the door in his face, "I'll be home early, Montana. I love you." Still chuckling, he turned to make his way down the hall to the elevators.
As he was leaving their building, Danny's phone beeped. Message from Montana. Read now?
Danny opened the message and felt a smile break out across his face. Stay safe, Danny. I love you.
Danny typed a quick reply and hit send as he started walking to the lab. I love you, Lindsay. Get some rest. I'll see you later when I get home.
That's it for this chapter. I'll try to work on another one before the end of the day, with the rest of the team at Danny and Lindsay's. Merry Christmas to all:D
Please don't forget to review:D Thanks again to those who took the time to review:D