"Mac?" Lindsay said slowly as her boss looked at her and nodded. Looking around silently, Mac noticed the weapon in her right hand and her curious gaze. He smiled at her slightly and raised both hands in surrender.
"Don't shoot," he said jokingly, "I'm not here to hurt you." Lindsay nodded, reset the safety, and raised an eyebrow at her normally very solemn boss.
"Why are you here?" Mac smiled more and, while keeping his hands in the same position, pointed with his right index finger over to his left.
"She told me too."
"MAC!!!" came Stella's screech and Mac chuckled amusedly. Lindsay must have looked as confused as she felt, because when Stella looked around the doorframe she started to giggle.
"Ssshh, Stella keep your voice down," came Hawks' hurried whisper, and then he too appeared on Mac's left, "some people are trying to sleep."
"And some people just want to start this party," came Flack's voice in a loud whisper. He appeared on Mac's right and behind the two of them, Danny emerged.
"Surprise! How ya' doin', Montana?" the Staten Island native asked with a forced smile. Lindsay couldn't return it because she was still in shock. The team was still outside her door and she was still very confused. Stella spoke up.
"Well, since we've obviously shocked you into silence," she moved all the way around to stand beside Mac (who still had his hands up), "How about you give up the gun, so Mac can put his hands down, and let us in – because we're starting to look like crazy people standing outside your door with food and drink…"
"Starting to look like crazy people, Stel?" the shocked woman interrupted, absent-mindedly while moving backwards and leaving the door open. She returned the gun to its proper off-duty place and turned to watch as her co-workers started to file in after Stella.
They each carried a bag of some food type, Lindsay figured: Stella head straight to coffee table and set down carries from one of Lindsay's favorite Thai places, Hawks followed suite and set down three pizza boxes. Both were smiling at her. Flack had brought four different types of soda, two six packs, and hugely, cheesy grin. Mac relieved Danny of a cake box and entered throwing her a soft smile. Danny was last and closed the door behind him. He carried three plastic bags from a little Italian place he had once shown her.
Their eyes locked and she gave him a tentative smile, which he returned. Hawks walked up to the couch and reached over to Danny for the food he carried. When Hawks had a hold of it, Danny spun back to face Lindsay and kissed her gently on the cheek.
Lindsay inhaled quickly, but shut her eyes slowly at the touch. In that moment, in front of their colleagues, despite her own history's drama, and ignoring everything that had been said or did – Danny made Lindsay the most content woman on the planet and he the only man for her. There was no else, just them and this little kiss.
Danny pulled away slightly and breathed deeply, allowing the moving air to travel past Lindsay's sensitive ear lobe. He glanced quickly over his shoulder at the group in the living area, before looking back to the woman next to him. She was the important one – no else mattered. And in his mind, no one else ever would.
"Sorry about the intrusion, Montana," he whispered, "but you escaped that lab too quickly for anyone to properly take you out."
"Out for what?" she whispered, opening her eyes and searching his blue orbs.
"For what? Are you kidding me?" the New York native said a little louder, wrapping an arm around the small of her back – the moment weakened but not lost.
"Lindsay," Stella said with a sigh, mock exasperation, "it's your Birthday and Anniversary!! We must celebrate!!" She gestured to all the people in the room and the food on her over laden coffee table. She then inquired about the location of plates and silverware in the kitchen. Lindsay told her and Stella pulled Mac along to assist here. Lindsay, still wrapped in Danny's arm, asked about the reason behind this impromptu event.
"You arrived after your birthday last year, so there was no celebration," Hawks stated while he started setting out the various entrées and side dishes, "and you've been in the city for a year, so Stella, and all her infant wisdom, arranged all this." He had gestured to Stella as she reappeared, with Mac, at her name and then around the room at the end.
"We had planned to take you out," Flack said while sitting on the couch and dumping a small bag of ice, that had been hiding in one of his bags, into a bowl that Stella had recovered from Lindsay's kitchen, "but you escaped so quickly after your sift ended, that we had to rethink our tactics."
"Oh, thanks guys," Lindsay said as she let Danny lead her to her couch and seat her between Flack and himself, "but I don't deserve this…" Danny pressed three fingers to her lips to silence her.
"You do deserve this, Montana," Danny said truthfully, "you'd only been here a few months and you were helping us through everything that happen to us in that short amount of time… the DNA and Tanglewood mess, and Louie…"
"…and my whole ordeal with Frankie, you were a great friend through that," Stella added.
"… and Aiden's death, you were a great asset through that," Mac continued.
"… And during my recovery in the hospital," Flack finished, "you were a big ray of sunshine through all that, and you didn't even really know us that much."
"See to us," Hawks said wrapping up the list of accomplishments, and handing Lindsay a tissue for her tears, "that is reason to celebrate not only an anniversary of a alright year, but also a great life," he ended a smile. Stella clapped her hands and pointed to Flack, who proceeded to pass out a beer to everyone. When handing Lindsay hers, he gave an overly exaggerated and dramatic sigh.
"Mac only allowed one case," Flack said rolling his eyes and giving a glare to the aforementioned CSI leader. Mac rolled his eyes right back, before raising his bottle.
"Without further complaint: To Lindsay Monroe, Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary! We're really glad your here," he toasted.
"To Lindsay Monroe!" everyone repeated bringing their bottles to the center of the table and clinking them together. They all smiled at her and one another – all of which she returned. Danny reached around her shoulder and added an extra tap to his bottle and hers. They shared a more private smile and drank along with their friends.
An hour and a half later, the food was basically gone and the sodas were almost dry and despite the very early morning hours, the team was still there together – and Danny was still sitting beside Lindsay with his arm around her. No one had mentioned it, and probably wouldn't. Stella had replaced Flack on the couch, as he and Hawks had gotten up to wander around Lindsay's living room and looking (snooping) through her hanging photos and various knick-knacks. Danny was conversing with Mac about some new regulation to the force members and the ladies were discussing plans for an upcoming "Women's Weekend" for the two of them.
"Excuse me, Lindsay," Flack said standing next to the wall. When she looked up at him from talking to Stella, he removed a framed picture from the wall and brought it over to her. By now everyone was paying attention to exchange.
"I'm sorry to interrupt…"
"No your not," Stella teased.
"Your right, because we all know who much the differences between pumps and stilettos are," Flack retorted back at her, an exaggerated eye roll attached with the tease, causing all members in the room to chuckle at the exchange.
"We weren't discussing that," Stella continued the game, "We were having a much more vital conversation then that… Please, Don! Pumps vs. Stilettos was so five minuets ago!" The chuckling turned to all out laughing and after a few minuets; Flack heaved a heavy sigh and looked right into Stella's laughing eyes.
"My apologies, Miss Bonasera," Flack dragged out, "what was this overly important conversation, which I most unintentionally interrupted? Huh, care to share with the rest of the class?"
"I'd rather not say..," Stella stated smugly.
"You'd rather not say? You're just going to let us hang then?" the dark haired detective questioned.
"Yep," the curly haired woman nodded, "it's for your own mental health…"
"Really?" Hawks joined the fray.
"Yep, really," Stella said to the dark skinned man, before turning to her female companion, "Isn't that right Lindsay?"
"That's right Stella."
"You sure you don't want to tell us, Montana," the blonde man beside her asked with raised eyebrows. Lindsay looked at him and the other three younger men in the room, before focusing on her boss.
"Don't you want to join in with the fun Mac? You're not curious?" she questioned his silence. His answer was a shrug – a manly, non-verbal "I don't care."
"Stop avoiding the questions, Det. Monroe," Flack ordered with humor seeping into every decibel of his voice and every syllable of his speech. Lindsay smiled and shook her head.
"We're two women," she started, indicating Stella and herself wit her lift index finger moving between the two of them, "in a very male dominated occupation, and more specifically on a team were we are outnumber two to one," she indicated the four of them, "Now," she stopped her hands all together and placed both into her lap and leaned toward Flack, who was now seated on the coffee table, "taking those little tidbits into account, what do you think we were talking about?"
Flack sat there a moment and just blinked at Lindsay. Then he shifted a little and cleared his throat, causing Lindsay to smile, nod again, and tap his knee lightly.
"I'll never ask again," he mumbled, but everyone and it sent the lot of them into some more laughs and almost caused Stella to faint, she was laughing so hard.
"Breathe, Stella, breathe," Lindsay coached, giggling the entire time, "You were asking, Don?"
"I don't remember now!" he exclaimed, causing more laughter to erupt.
"Something about the photo in your hand, maybe," Lindsay provided, indicating the framed image still in his grasp.
"Oh, yeah!" he said, suddenly remembering, "why are you all dressed up and sitting on a fence post," he questioned and handing the framed image over. Lindsay looked at the photo framed in old wood and matted with royal blue and gold. The image was of eight people, all dressed in formal wear, sitting or standing in front of an old tree surrounded by fencing, and they were all smiling.
"Those who sit on the fence," Lindsay reminisced, softly.
"Sounds like some country song, Montana," Danny quipped. Lindsay rolled her eyes and gave a half-hearted shove with her shoulder and back into his chest.
"Shut-up," she said smiling at him over her shoulder. He made her innards melt when he returned it. Breaking the eye contact and clearing her throat, she indicated the picture again with her right pointer.
"That's us," she clarified, "'Those who sit on the fence' is the group of us who had neighboring farms and ranches in Montana. All the ranches met at the tree and the fencing separated the different family ranches," she explained while passing the picture to Stella for her observation.
"Looks like a wedding party," Stella said before passing the portrait along. Lindsay nodded.
"Aaron Meyers and Rebecca Rendell," she explained, "that's the two of them in the middle, obviously. He and his brother lived next door to my family's ranch. He's two years older and the official male leader of our little group. As you can see he was a Marine, still is… he's the local recruiter for the area. His brother, Mike, is a year younger then me, and is the first guy on Aaron's side."
"And Rebecca the female leader," Hawks guessed, taking the image from Flack for a better look. Lindsay shook her head.
"No actually, the woman on Aaron's side in the black suit is Lydia Masterson," she explained, "Rebecca arrived during Lydia's and Aaron's junior, my sophomore, year at high school. Aaron was star-struck and Lydia was his best friend – always has been. Lydia is the female leader and was Aaron's best "lady," which is why she is wearing the black suite and not the fluffy, blue things that the twins and myself are wearing."
"The twins," Hawks asked Lindsay, his curiosity peaked at the sight of the two black women in the picture.
"Yes, the twins," she said smiling, "Drs. Bridget and Beth O'Conner. Beth is an OB/GYN in Bozeman with a healthy practice and Bridget is the chief Medical Examiner for the Bozeman PD. You can only tell them apart because of their hair: Beth is curly haired, while Bridget is straight haired. Bridget is a bit more of a tomboy, then Beth – but other then that… identical."
"Who's the last young man, Lindsay?" Mac asked, he now held the photo.
"Mike Clarion, the second Mike, the same age as the first Mike, whom we have to call "Scout" to keep from being overly confused," she said with a laugh at the memories, "and the two of them were – are always together. They now work for Warner Bros. in L.A."
"So we got," Danny said, pointing first to Aaron's image, "Aaron, the guy leader, Rebecca, his wife, Lydia, his partner and the female leader, the Twins, Bridget and Beth, and the Mikes, Mike C. and Mike "Scout,"" his finger had moved to each person in the image and finally rested on the image of a younger Lindsay, "and the all important Lindsay Monroe completing the group of "those who sit on the fence" – am I right? Miss any one?" He looked at her, she smiled and took the picture from him and traced each person in it lovingly.
"The only ones not in this image are Lily, and that's because she wasn't born yet," Lindsay said with a smile.
"And the other," Danny prompted.
"Duke, my dog," she said looking at him and smiling sadly, "he had died long, long before this time, though."
"Duke, the dog," he asked, being sure that he had heard her right.
"He was our unofficial mascot," she defended with a bright smile that faltered a little, "my biggest hero…" As her voice trailed off, she caught the looks that her team mates gave each other and heaved a huge sigh before turning to look at them all.
"What do you know?" she questioned them.
"Lindsay," Mac said sitting forward, "I received a call from a woman claiming to be your mother and saying that she…"
"… She couldn't get a hold of me to be sure about the final wedding arrangements and wanted to know if I had finished whatever seemingly important work that is keeping in New York and away from my family and fiancée?" she interrupted and finished for him. With a sigh, Mac nodded and with a tight smile, Lindsay returned it.
"I wondered when she'd think of that," she said quietly and with a sigh continued, "Unfortunately, Mac that was my mother and the main reason I didn't take your offer to take a few weeks and go home over the summer and a big reason why I don't go back." Her tone was sarcastic and condescending.
"Why, Lindsay?" Stella asked, drawing the younger woman's attention, "What did your mother do that was so horrible?" Lindsay heaved a sigh and closed her eyes, before looking down at her clasped hands in her lap.
"My mother is an addict," Lindsay said finally after a few minuets of silence, but continued quickly, "her drugs of choice are money and sex. She married my father for his money and sex, and continued to take his money and any man she could get her hands on for all of the four years they were married. My father was the local sheriff at the time and away from home a lot – he caught her one night with a wanted felon in their bed when he came home early. He arrested the guy and kicked my mom out of the house. I was five. He filed for divorce and she didn't get anything, but visitation rights for me that she didn't use because she left town – which was okay with me.
"Daddy came home and worked the ranch full time and life was great. But when I was fourteen, he died after being thrown from a bronco he was trying to break in. I inherited everything and lived with my grandparents at the ranch," she stopped and sniffed and shook her head, "then one day, I came home from school, there she was in my living room sitting with my grandfather being served tea by my grandmother. Said she wanted to get to know me, that she had changed and wanted to do things right – it was a lie."
"She wanted some cash or something," Flack hypothesized, confusion clearly evident.
"No," Lindsay said, unwilling to go, "that's not what she wanted… actually she never ever asked for any money…"
"Then why the drama," Stella asked. Hawks and Mac nodded their agreement, but Danny just watched Lindsay and realized that she was hiding something – something more.
"What did she want, Montana?" he finally asked aloud, causing the woman next to him to look over and search his eyes. He hoped he was showing her compassion, curiosity, and trust – he hopped even more that she saw it. Whatever she saw caused her to nod, clear her throat, and nod again, before turning once more to look straight ahead.
"She wanted me to visit her, and when I did she was always with a man or two that she introduced me to," she continued, "I thought she was just trying to find a new husband or was turning tricks or something, but…" she couldn't finish past the sob that was in her throat. She felt two tears slide down her cheeks and Danny reach out and grip her right hand while tightening his arm around her back.
Seeing her distress, Mac moved from his seat to the couch on the other side of Stella who had gripped Lindsay's left arm and hand. Hawks came around the coffee table and kneeled before her beside Flack, the two of them rubbing her knees. Every movement showing comfort, every person silently telling her to "get it out" – all of it appreciated.
Heaving a sigh, Lindsay chocked out the sob she had been building and holding in with a forced laughed and forced a smile at them all. Mac reached around Stella a rubbed Lindsay's left thigh in a fatherly gesture.
"But what, Lindsay? What did she do that was so terrible?" he asked what everyone was thinking, "What did she want with these men…"
"She sold me to them," she whispered.