"He's dead, Danny." Allie's voice was thick with tears as she sat on the floor, curled into a protective ball. "He's dead, and THEY shot him. His friends." Her sarcasm and anger came through thick, despite the sadness in her eyes. "Louie Messer, Sonny Sassone, and Sal Zabo shot him in the back, pretending that it was a Pelham Boy. They used his death as an excuse to start a territory war!"

Danny shook his head slowly, not wanting to believe a word of it. "You're wrong," he said flatly, voice low with anger. "Louie wouldn't do something like that. My brother, while an idiot for his affiliation with Tanglewood, is not a murder."

"Oh, would you listen to yourself?" Allie stood quickly, her lips trembling as she attempted to hold back the biting words racing through her brain. "You're just as bad as he is. Pretending nothing's happened, when my brother—my brother… Oh, my, god." She sank onto the bed, holding her head in her hands. Danny stood with his hands in his pockets, biting his lip.

"Allie, I—"

"Get out." The words were clearer than anything she had spoken since he had gotten there, and she raised her tearstained face slowly. There was a determination burning in her eyes he had never seen before, and Danny stepped back, stunned. "What?"

Allie nodded her head, tears starting to fall again. "You can't be here, not now. And I can't look you in the eyes, knowing you're defending Louie in all of this."

"He's my brother, Al! What do you want me to do? Pretend that family doesn't matter? I can't do that! I hate to say it, but it's kinda Mikey's fault that this mess happened at all." He was digging a hole, deeper than one he would be able to escape. Danny knew that when Allie looked at him like she was doing right now, with rage and disbelief in her eyes, he was going to far. But his stubborn pride wouldn't let him stop. "Thanks to your brother, you feel this way. It was his choice to go tonight." Danny's voice was husky, as though he couldn't quite breathe. Allie flinched at his words before raising her eyes to look at him again. "Yeah, well, thanks to your brother, my brother's dead."

"NO!" Danny's head shot up from the table, his eyes wild. He saw Lindsay staring at him, startled, and realized that he had just come up screaming from a dream: about the dead. Lindsay jumped and put her arms up to defend her self as Danny stood up from his place at his table and sprinted for the door to his apartment. Scrambling to catch up with him, Lindsay ran after him, catching up as he attempted to fling open the door. She slammed into him, causing him to lurch forward and smack his head on the doorpost.

"SHIT!" Danny's curse was loud enough to get some bangs from the ceiling indicating unhappy neighbors, and Lindsay covered his mouth reflexively. "Messer, do I need to handcuff you and drag you downtown, or are you going to cooperate?" She hissed into his ear. Her arm that wasn't wrapped around his neck found its way around his arms, holding him. He looked at her sarcastically. She felt something wet against her palm and her face twisted in disgust as she realized he had licked her hand. "Oh, that's mature," she muttered as she quickly released his mouth, but kept her arm wound tightly around his neck. He smirked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Right, and body-checkin' me into a door was the perfect adult thing to do. Good one, Montana." He shifted slightly, so her back was pressed against the hall wall. "Now," Danny's eyes were darker than usual, and his voice was low and gravelly, "Would you mind releasin' me so that I can move normally?"

Lindsay met his gaze straight on, not intimidated in the slightest. "Only if you promise not to run again. I just want to know why you're so scared to tell me about this girl," she ended in a hiss of breath as Danny shoved her roughly against the wall.

"Yeah, well, I wanna know why you seem to think you have the right to know everythin' about me when I know nothin' about you. Nothin'. Linds, you told me that if you show a little respect, you might get some in return. I get nothin' from you. Don't expect me to give anythin' back." He saw the light go out of her eyes and knew he had struck a nerve. One she had already thought about. "But you already know that." His face went from disbelief to anger in two seconds flat as it dawned on him. "You knew that's what you were doin' when you showed up here. You were gonna make me talk without givin' up anythin' in return." He pulled away from her arms forcefully, blood boiling. "Fuck," he whispered, running fingers through short brown hair. Lindsay stayed pressed against the wall like he was still holding her there. She watched him shake his head in skepticism and felt tears come to her eyes.

"I-I just thought that you'd be ready to talk about it. I mean, she's been dead for sixteen years." Lindsay's voice was small and Danny looked up in shock. Oh, now I've really thrown the fat in the fire. She closed her eyes and licked her lips, pressing on. "Danny, I know I haven't been able to tell you anything. But that's not because I don't want to, I just can't bear to think about it. You were at her grave, you have pictures. You've kept her in your life and I've tried to eliminate th—" she caught herself, breath hitching, "My memories."

The soft brushes of fingers on her cheek made her open her eyes in surprise. He was scant inches from her now, his blue eyes shining, not with tears, but understanding. They stood there for minutes, watching each other's eyes warily. He finally smiled, albeit weakly, and laid his forehead against hers. "God, you remind me so much of Allie. She hated lettin' me see her cry, but she couldn't help it." He looked into chocolate brown eyes and twisted a lock of light brown hair around his finger. "You two look so alike and are so different at the same time. It's amazin'." His eyes never left Lindsay's as he wet his lips and moved closer. "She never would have let me do this," and he pressed his lips against hers in a slow gesture, tasting hints of coffee and mint. Lindsay whimpered softly and brought her arms to his waist. The kiss was simple and soft, full of questions and not so many answers.

"She didn't let you kiss her?" Lindsay asked, as they pulled apart slowly. Every nerve in her body tingled from contact.

Danny shook his head. "Not after a fight, she didn't. If it was romantic or an apology, she hated it. Allie wasn't a sucker for romance." He grinned crookedly. "I guess that's why we fought so much." He chuckled lightly. "I remember one time, she came up to my room and kissed me, just to get my mind off of somethin'. That's how she was."

Lindsay snorted under her breath, hands still firmly in place on his hips. "So you are a romantic."

"All Italians are," came the whispered reply and his lips took over once again. Lindsay let herself be swept away momentarily until she couldn't take it any more. It was either sex or answers, and she wasn't completely sure she was ready for either.

"Mmm, Danny," her tongue wrapped itself around his name and she shivered as a low "Yeah," answered. "I need…something," she couldn't quite remember which ultimatum she was giving him, and the way his eyes looked at her made her not want to remember.

Without a further word, he pulled her in the direction of his bedroom, leading her gently through a path she had already ventured on that day. Lindsay gulped as they reached his room and he killed the closet light. Completely immersed in darkness, he began kissing her again, this time covering every bit of exposed skin he could find. Lindsay rested her head against his bedroom door, enjoying the experience.

I bet he learned to kiss this good with her.

The little voice was muttering in her mind, and nothing Lindsay focused on could make it go away. She grabbed Danny's chin and forced him to stop what he was doing and look at her. His eyes immediately spotted her insecurity. "Ti amo, non un fantasma," he breathed into her ear and Lindsay melted.

Danny saw her eyes roll back into her head and he knew the Italian had worked its magic. Normally a way to get girls into bed for him, this time the language of his ancestors had a deeper meaning. She was jealous and fearful about his attachment to Allie. Sure, he had loved Allie, and missed her, some days more than most. But she was dead and Lindsay was here, begging him with every breath to take her.

And that's exactly what he was planning to do.

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A/N: Bwahahaha, CLIFFHANGER!! (ducks for cover)

Okay, so props to anyone who knows what Danny said. Reviews are loved and brownie points to those of you who have given me feedback already:D