"I'm going to start working night shifts a coupla times a week," Danny announced out of the blue as he helped his wife clean up the dinner dishes.

Lindsay whirled around to face him, brandishing a spatula in her hand. "What? Why? Do we really need the money that badly?" If they were having financial issues, this would be the first time she'd heard of it. Danny balanced the checkbook and paid all the bills, so she was oblivious to any money matters he didn't inform her of.

"No, not necessarily," Danny began.

"Then why would you want to be away from your family more often if you don't need to?" Lindsay said accusingly.

Danny approached her and removed the spatula from her hands. He placed his hands gently on his shoulders before continuing. "Calm down, Montana. We're not in debt and I'm not tryin' to avoid you. But, in case you haven't noticed, we have a teenage girl, an eighteen month old and another one on the way. Baby's aren't cheap, y'know, and I just think the extra money will come in handy."

Lindsay scowled. "But I like having you home at night," she whined.

Danny kissed her reassuringly on the forehead. "It'll only be a few times a week. I'll be home most nights."

'A few times a week' translated to four nights in a row in all reality. It wasn't what Danny had in mind when he made this decision, but it was all he was offered, so he took it without complaint.

The first night without Danny was tolerable. Lindsay was fairly used to sleeping alone every now and then due to the hectic and unpredictable schedules their profession offered. She managed to get nearly eight solid hours on the second night, as well. The third night, however, wasn't quite so forgiving.

He was there. She could sense him. He was there and he was going to kill her. She could smell his foul odor and putrid breath. She heard the footsteps as he paced up and down the hallway relentlessly. Her senses were in overdrive, every scent, sight or smell sending a prickle of fear up her spine and numbing her body. And the screaming! Who was that screaming? He was going for Sophie, for Cori and there was nothing she could do about it. The screaming wouldn't stop! Cries of anguish and fear pierced her ears, reverberating until she wasn't sure what was real and what she was imagining.

"Stop!" she cried, "Leave them alone! They didn't do anything to you!"

The pacing stopped. He walked into the room where he'd bound her to a chair. He put his mouth right next to her ear. "Shh, darling, don't make a fuss!"

"Danny!" she screamed, "Danny, where are you? I need you!"

He chuckled. "Danny can't save you now," he whispered menacingly. "You're all on your own."

The words rang in her ears: "Danny can't save you now…Danny can't save you now…Danny can't save you now…"

Lindsay woke with a start, a cold sweat chilling her body. That screaming! It was still there. She panicked for a moment until she realized it was just Sophie. Trying to pull herself together, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and padded down the hall to her youngest daughter's bedroom.

Sophia's cries stopped almost immediately when she saw her mother enter the room. She held her arms over her head, signaling that she wanted to get out of her crib. Usually Lindsay didn't allow this, thinking that it would teach the baby bad sleeping habits, but tonight Lindsay needed comfort as much as her daughter did. She lifted Sophia out of her crib and settled down in the rocking chair with her child snuggled against her chest.

"Did you have a bad dream, too?" she asked her daughter softly, kissing the downy head resting on her chest.

Within minutes Sophia had been lulled back to sleep by the gently motion of the rocking chair and the soft croons coming from her mother. Lindsay didn't want to part with her baby yet, so she sat there for nearly half an hour, rocking gently back and forth, cradling the small piece of life she and Danny had made.

"Mornin' Montana," Danny greeted her cheerfully with a kiss.

Lindsay glanced at the clock. "It's noon," she said.

"Good afternoon, Montana," Danny corrected kissing her again.

"Rough shift last night?"

"Yeah, I didn't get in until after five," he told her.

"I'm sorry." She turned away from him and began loading her and Sophie's lunch dishes.

"You alright?" Danny asked, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

"Yeah," she said distractedly, "I just didn't sleep too well last night. Sophie woke me up. I think she had a nightmare or something." It wasn't a lie, she decided, just not the whole truth. There was nothing wrong with that. Danny didn't need to know that Sophia had only been awake for less than ten minutes.

"Do you wanna take a nap or somethin'? I could clean Fee up and put her down for her nap."

"No," Lindsay said a little too quickly. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Danny said with concern.

"Thanks, Danny, that means a lot," she said sarcastically. She pulled away from him and lifted her daughter out of her high chair. Fetching a clean dishrag, she began to wipe off the smears of peanut butter off of Sophia's face.

Danny allowed Lindsay to cool off by not persisting until after she'd put Sophia in her bedroom for a nap. After she'd quietly closed the door and tiptoed down the hall, Danny approached her and pulled her into his arms. "That's not what I meant," he said. He didn't have to explain what he was referring to.

Lindsay buried her face in his strong chest. "I know. I'm sorry. I guess I am just tired. And hormonal." She added as an afterthought, causing Danny to chuckle.

"You have every right to be," he informed her. "Why don't you just lie down for a few minutes while Fee is sleeping?"

Lindsay sighed. She was really tired. She hadn't been able to get back to sleep after her nightmare. When she heard Danny come home, she quickly scampered into bed and pretended to be sleeping until she was sure he'd dozed off himself. "Only if you'll come with me."

"Deal." Danny didn't mention the fact that he'd just woken up. He could sense that something wasn't right, but didn't want to push it in her fragile state. So, he decided to do as she requested and retired to their bedroom with her.

"Thanks, Danny." Lindsay fell asleep almost instantly in the circle of her husband's arms.

A/N Sorry about the really long wait. I forgot about this story and then just couldn't come up with anything. But, I've got ideas to last me a couple of chapters:) haha. As always, any ideas are greatly appreciated.

xoxo

Lia