Author's Note: If you didn't read the rest of the story, you'd almost think this was DL fluff. I did realize at this point that I had to give Danny a little credit for being observant. He is a detective, after all.

Disclaimer: Still don't own them. Still enjoy them greatly.

Chapter 6: A Little Information

Lindsay stepped out of her cab in front of a small Italian restaurant. She had changed into a blue dress with a halter top and full skirt. She paired the dress with a set of strappy silver sandals and left her hair down. She looked around as she stepped into the restaurant and spied Danny sitting on a bench in the lobby. He checked his watch as she walked up to him.

"Am I late?" Lindsay asked, smiling down at Danny. Her smile widened as his eyes lit up with appreciation at the sight of her. He stood up to greet her.

"No, I got here pretty early. I wanted to beat you here."

Danny had put some thought into his wardrobe for the evening, as well. He wore a well-cut pair of black dress slacks and a red button-down shirt, open at the neck.

"As competitive off the job as he is on the job. Nice, Messer."

"Not competitive, just a gentleman. My mother always told me never to keep a lady waiting."

At this juncture, the hostess led them to their table. Lindsay observed the tasteful furnishings, well-dressed clientele, and low lighting.

"Nice place, Messer. Although I'm a little surprised you picked Italian."

"Why is that, Montana? Don't you know an Italian man when you see one?"

"That's why I'm surprised. Doesn't your mother's home cooking satisfy you?"

The waiter handed out menus and water. Danny thanked him and turned his attention back to Lindsay.

"The only problem with my mother's cooking is that I don't get enough of it."

"Did you get any of it today?"

"Nah, she wasn't feeling that great today, so I did the cooking."

"And did she pass her culinary skills on to her son?"

"Let's just say it's a good thing she keeps PB&J on hand."

Danny smiled and caught Lindsay's eye across the table. She absently smiled back, but inside, the wheels were turning. The last time she was with Danny, he seemed quite reluctant to talk about his family. Now he seemed more relaxed, but Lindsay had to be careful. After all, who but a detective would know what it feels like to be interrogated?

"I'll have the chicken parmesan. Lindsay? Lindsay?"

Lindsay looked up with a start and realized that the waiter was patiently standing next to her.

"Oh, I'll have the linguine with clam sauce."

Danny peered at her curiously.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Lindsay did some fast fabricating. "You said that you were going to spend the weekend with your family, and yet, here you are with me. I would think with your brother still in the hospital that your parents would be anxious to keep you around the house. I guess I'm wondering why you are here instead of there when they need you."

Danny shook his head a picked up a piece of garlic bread.

"I appreciate your concern, especially since you did so much to help me and my brother, but my folks don't need me the way you think they do."

"What does that mean?"

"Geez, Montana, we haven't even started eating yet and you want to start the heavy discussions."

Danny shifted in his chair, leaned back, and looked at Lindsay steadily. Lindsay knew that if she looked away, Danny would know she was up to something. His skills in the interrogation room were among the best she had ever seen. Surely he would recognize his own techniques if she pushed too hard. With this in mind, she gazed back into his blue eyes and frowned a little.

"Like you said, Danny, I helped you out on that Tanglewood case. I saw firsthand how upset your whole family was when that all went down. If we're gong to have something here, I need to know that there's no extra drama attached."

At that moment, their waiter appeared and handed out the various dishes of aromatic food. Throughout this entire process, Danny kept his eyes on Lindsay. She realized that he was trying to come to a decision. The waiter left and Danny picked up his wine glass and took a swig, never breaking his gaze. He put his glass down and finally spoke.

"Are we going to have something here?"

Well, that's not what I was expecting, Lindsay thought.

"I certainly hope so."

Again, an endless moment passed. Lindsay was starting to feel quite nervous when Danny spoke again.

"I'm here with you because my father had some business to deal with tonight. He called me last night because he wanted me to help him out. I asked him to put it off for the weekend so that I could just spend time with them, but he wouldn't do it. I was hoping I could convince him this morning when I went over there, but he insisted on taking care of it today. We actually had kind of a fight about it. Like I said, he doesn't need me like you think he does. It's hard to explain, but with my father, it's all about business, especially since my brother got hurt."

Lindsay sat back and absorbed this. She was surprised that Danny had volunteered this much information. Just a little more for tonight, she thought. Then I'll have to do the blushing romantic act again. Give a little, get a little.

"So your father wants your help with the family business. Why not give him a hand?"

She had deliberately worded her question that way so she could gauge his reaction.

Danny blew a breath out of his mouth and stared at the ceiling.

"The family business…..damn, Montana. You been watching The Sopranos?" His voice sounded light-hearted, but he didn't look at her.

Lindsay laughed teasingly.

"You didn't answer my question. Why not just help out he old man?"

"Ah…..conflict of interest, I guess you could say. I'm going out for a smoke. Save me some garlic bread."

Lindsay nodded and smiled.

"Remember what your mother said."

"What's that?"

"Never keep a lady waiting."

Danny grinned and left the dining room area. After he came back, the couple finished their dinner and shared a piece of cheesecake for dessert. They shared a cab to Lindsay's apartment. Danny asked the cabbie to wait and walked Lindsay into her apartment building's lobby, which was deserted.

"Thanks for a lovely evening, Danny."

"You're welcome, Miss Monroe."

Danny leaned closer to Lindsay. Realizing that he wanted to kiss her, Lindsay steeled herself and closed her eyes. At the last second, Danny hesitated and pecked her on the cheek.

"I'll call you tomorrow. Sleep tight." He walked out the door and got into the cab.

Lindsay stood in her lobby for a moment, startled that Danny had gone cold on her so suddenly. She shrugged, walked out her front door, and hailed another cab. She was on her way to the lab to look up Anthony Messer's known associates and compare them to the photos she had taken earlier that day. Maybe on their next date, Danny would work out his nerves.

Across town, Danny looked out the window of his cab. What's the matter with me, he wondered. And why the hell didn't I kiss her?