DISCLAIMERS: I do not own any of these characters. They belong to Jerry Bruckheimer and the wonderful writers for CSI: NY. Any resemblance to scenes from the episodes is included for clarity and continuity and I do not claim any of those as my own work. However everything else is mine.
Sorry
Danny could not wait to get home to Lindsay. He was experiencing this gnawing need to be with her, to smell her intoxicating scent, to lose himself in those deep soulful eyes of hers, to hear her gentle laugh and to feel her soft touch on those rare occasions when she touched him. He took the stairs, in his building, two at a time and quickly unlocked the door. As he threw his badge and phone on the table by the door he called out, " Montana!"
"Hey, I'm in the kitchen," she called back.
Damn, something smells delicious, he thought, as he walked to the kitchen and leaned casually against the doorjamb. Actually he wasn't feeling casual at all. He was feeling downright predatorial. When he saw Lindsay in that little getup of sweat pants and t-shirt that bared the sensual curve of her waist and lower back, all he could think about was taking her right then and there on the counter.
So with some great measure of control, he asked, "Whatcha doin' Montana?" He watched her working, diligently with a knife, on something on the counter.
"Give me a minute! I'm making something for you," she returned, deep in concentration.
He waited patiently but in reality he wanted to walk right up behind her, slide his hands around her waist, to the tight stretch of her stomach, and pull her back against him so he could bury his face in her deliciously scented hair.
"There," she said triumphantly as she hopped around on one foot to face him. In her hands was a pie.
"Pie?" he raised an eyebrow.
"You like apple pie don't you?" she asked with a sweet smile on her face.
"Sure, I like apple pie," he said as he pushed himself off the door jamb and walked towards her holding her deep brown eyes with his intense blue ones. "But ya know what I like even better than pie?" he asked as he stopped in front of her, pressing his chest against the edge of the pie. It was as if he were invading her personal space, even though there was technically a pie plate width between them.
She licked her lips involuntarily and the "What?" died in her throat as she read the hungry look in his eyes.
He took the pie from her hands and placed it on the stove next to the counter where she had been working. Then he lightly placed his hands on her waist and lifted her up on the counter and closed the distance between them.
She was eye level with him now. As he slid his arms around her waist, she returned, in kind, by sliding her arms around his neck. She could feel her skin burn where his hands rested along her waist and back. His thumbs were rhythmically rubbing little circles on her waist causing her legs to weaken, while the feel of his spiky hair at her fingertips was causing the nerve endings in her fingers to tingle.
As he leaned in and brushed her lips with his, she forgot to exhale until he pulled back briefly. She barely had time to catch her breath before his lips came down on hers again, and this time, it was a full fledged kiss which took away any breath she had managed to gain in that brief interlude. He ran his tongue along her lips and as her lips parted to grant him access; she whimpered which only deepened the kiss. His hands ran under her shirt and up her back to press her closer to him. Only when she thought she was going to pass out from lack of oxygen, and the intense sensations prickling all along her nerve endings, did he pull back. He slid his hands back down to her waist.
His eyes were narrowed and in a husky voice he said, "That's what I like even better than apple pie!"
She recovered just enough to squeak out, "Um… so… you don't want the pie?"
He smiled at her with that slightly crooked grin and said, "No, I want the pie too, it just happens to be a distant second."
"Oh," she said as she pursed her lips into a perfect 'O' shape.
She looked so cute doing that pout thing with her lips, he had to warn her, "Careful Montana, or I'll have to kiss you again."
"Would that be such a bad thing, Messer?" she teased.
"No, but it would lead to other things which I think are better left alone, until you're completely healed. My brakes ain't reliable in that kind of situation," he intoned and she caught his drift loud and clear. Once he started, he wouldn't stop until they were both satiated. He wanted to make sure she could handle it first. She shivered in delightful anticipation and he smirked in clear understanding of her anticipation.
Suddenly he switched gears as he finally noticed all the signs of activity in the kitchen, "By the way have you been on your feet all day?"
"Um… no," she replied quickly.
"Liar," he said softly. He dropped one hand from her waist as he turned to the freezer behind him, opened the door and pulled out a bag of ice. He swiveled her around and placed her legs up on the counter. He gently pulled up her pants leg and arranged the bag of ice on her ankle.
"Danny, I have to finish dinner," she protested.
"I'll finish dinner, just tell me what to do," he ordered. "Besides, don't you want to get better?" he teased as he trailed his fingers tantalizingly along her stomach and brushed his lips across her cheek.
A little laugh escaped her lips. "That tickles and yes I do want to get better… most definitely. Now take the chicken out of the oven and put in the pie," she ordered.
Danny followed her instructions to a T. When dinner was on the coffee table, he put the bag of ice back in the freezer and carried her easily into the living room and placed her on the couch.
He poured a glass of white wine and handed it to her. Then he sat on the couch, opened a beer and silently saluted her, with an arch of his eyebrows, as he clinked the bottle against her wine glass.
"Could you do the honors?" she gestured to the baked chicken. "I can't gracefully cut up a chicken to save my life."
"Somehow that surprises me," he said with a smirk. "I was under the impression that you did everything well."
"Maybe I just give the impression that I do everything well," she countered with a smirk.
He grinned. She always seemed to have a clever comeback for his teasing. That was a definite turn on. But at this point, all she had to say was 'Boo' and he would be turned on.
He fixed a plate of food and passed it over to her. She noticed that he fixed a heaping plate for himself.
"Danny, didn't you eat today?" she asked worriedly.
"Yeah… I did… I think so… maybe somethin' from the vending machine," he said distractedly between mouthfuls of food.
He looked at her earnestly, "This is really delicious, Montana. Are you going to cook like this every night?"
She was taken aback at how much he seemed to be enjoying it and the fact that he said 'every night'. Because New York has the best food in the country, she was touched that he would find her simple meal of baked chicken, green beans and new potatoes so delicious. Even though 'every night' was just a phrase, it made her feel special that in some manner, he was thinking of her being around for the long term.
He finished his first serving and was going for seconds before she was halfway through her initial serving. She enjoyed watching him relish her cooking. When he'd polished off his second serving and chased it down with the rest of his beer she teased, "Finally coming up for air, Cowboy?"
"Ah man, that was so good Montana. I don't get a home cooked meal very often," he replied as he leaned over and brushed a quick kiss across her cheek. She blushed at the sentiment. He thought her face, tinged with pink, looked very attractive so he maintained his close position and casually twirled his finger into one of the curls resting near her cheek.
How am I supposed to carry on a coherent conversation when he's doing stuff like that?
"I cooked it for you to show how much I appreciate you being there for me, when in all rights you didn't have to be," she said simply.
He looked a little surprised, "I told you I'd be there for you… for whatever you needed. Why would you think otherwise?"
Don't you feel like a first class heel, Lindsay!
"Uh…well…because of this little message left on my phone by Mac on the day of our fight. I didn't hear it, until today, after I recharged my phone," she said sheepishly. "He said you weren't the one who told him about Laurel. He heard it from my old boss in Bozeman. So I'm really sorry I accused you of telling him and not believing you when you told me otherwise," she finished in a rush. Now she could feel her face burning.
"You don't gotta apologize for that," he said huskily, his thumb now stroking her cheek.
"Yeah, I do, Danny. I was horrible to you, especially in the hallway in front of everyone. I should have never assumed that it was you who told Mac. Even if you had, it would have only been because you were looking out for me."
"Lindsay, I knew where you were coming from. You were raw from the pain, and grief of being taking off your sister's murder case. I can relate to that. When it's your family, you want to do everything in your power to help and you weren't being allowed to do that. It's okay." Then he added, "Actually it worked out for the best."
Now it was her turn to look surprised. "How's that?"
"After our little fiasco in the hallway, I got hauled into Mac's office."
"Oh Danny, I'm really sorry about that."
"Nah, don't be. He read me the riot act about getting along with you in the lab. Said if we couldn't resolve it by the time you came back from Montana, he'd be transferring me," Danny said with a grin and a shrug.
When she saw he was treating it lightly, she giggled, "Ohhh! We did create a situation, didn't we?"
"Yeah, but I think we got it worked out don't you?" he asked as he shifted his weight closer to her, slid his hand from her cheek, around her shoulders pulling her close to him. He pressed his lips to her hair.
"Yeah, we did," she said as she snuggled into his chest.
And I wouldn't have found out that you hadn't gone to Montana and then it might have been too... he trailed off in his thoughts. He didn't really want to think about the 'what if's'.
But as if reading his thoughts, she looked up at him perplexed, "How did you know I didn't go to Montana?"
"Called your parents in Montana, of course they said you cancelled your trip."
"I'm glad you and Flack came looking for me that night."
"You would have made it out of there without me, Montana. You were already on your way out when I found you," he returned, rather tightly, with a touch of pride in his voice.
"I know, but I'm still glad you came looking for me," she said as she laid her hand along his cheek and kissed him lightly on the lips.
Me too Montana, me too!
The oven buzzer interrupted the light kiss that had begun to deepen. They pulled back, a little disoriented. Finally Lindsay croaked out, "That would be the pie."
"Yeah the pie…smells delicious," he commented distractedly, trying to figure how long it would be before he could totally lose himself in her. Being around her and not being with her was fast becoming an insurmountable challenge.
"Do you want some now?" she inquired a little breathlessly.
"Ab-so-lutely," he replied softly.
Somehow she got the feeling he wasn't talking about pie. She started to push herself off the couch but he put a hand on her upper arm. "I'll get it," he said.
"Thanks," she said gratefully. She was rather tired after all the activity of the day. Hopping around on one foot took a lot of energy.
"This way I can get the bigger piece," he joked as he went into the kitchen.
She smiled; he always knew how to ease the tension.
When he returned, he had indeed given himself the bigger piece.
"Danny that is almost half the pie," she exclaimed.
"What?" he said with his eyebrows raised and displaying that smirk of his. "Can't a man like pie?"
She smiled back appreciatively. He liked her pie!
They passed the time in easy conversation long after they had finished their pie. In the end there were only two slices left.
"I'll have those for breakfast," Danny declared as he picked up all the dishes and took them into the kitchen.
Lindsay's phone rang and Danny brought it to her from the kitchen counter.
She looked at the caller id and mentally braced herself.
"Hello," she said nonchalantly but her body language belied the tone in her voice.
After seeing the tenseness in her body as she answered, Danny decided to sit back down on the couch beside her. Just in case, he thought to himself.
"Hi Mom, how are you?"
"So Daddy told you. Yeah I'm doing fine. It was nothing really. No, really I'm okay. No, I had today off." She rolled her eyes slightly as she listened to her mother's end of the conversation.
"I haven't heard yet, but hold on, I'll ask Danny, he's right here." She put her hand over the receiver as she turned to him. "Did you get confirmation on the DNA results on the perp that attacked me?" He nodded to her and noticed that she hadn't flinched at all when she had asked that question.
"Yeah it's him," she paused for long time, as Danny heard sobbing from the other end of the phone.
"Mom, it's going to be okay. Mom…this is the best thing that could have happened. Now he can be prosecuted and put away for good." Lindsay tried to calm her mother.
"Mom, can you put Daddy on the phone… thanks." Lindsay waited.
"Hey Daddy, you heard… okay. I'll keep you posted. Take care of mom, okay. Yeah I'm fine. No I'm staying with someone. I promise and I love you. Bye."
Lindsay closed the phone, tossed it to the coffee table, leaned her head back against the couch and closed her eyes. Danny watched her for a very long time wondering what was going through her mind. She wasn't upset like she had been yesterday when she spoke to her parents, but she was definitely bothered.
"Ya alright?" he asked softly.
"Yeah," she said without moving a muscle.
He waited.
"It's always this way with my mother… she gets so hysterical." Lindsay finally admitted.
Danny didn't really want to play devil's advocate but, in this instance, he felt it might bring some perspective to the situation. "Her daughter's murderer was just taken into custody."
"Yeah, I know," she replied, "but if only that's all it was."
She didn't add anything else and he didn't press her. Family issues were always a touchy matter.
She looked at him and stated what was showing in her face. "I'm tired. I'm going to go ahead and go to bed. Okay?"
"Sure, sure," he nodded in understanding.
She put her hand on his cheek and stoked it softly with her thumb. "Thanks for being here and listening."
He kissed on lightly on the forehead. "Go on, I'll be along in a little bit."