A.N. Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing. I really appreciate the encouragement. And I'm glad I'm getting this up before next week's ep with all its potential to blow my imaginings out of the water. : p
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The next several days went by in a blur of activity for Lindsay. Greg called her and told her that he believed the case to be fairly open and shut now that they'd established Tom Gunter's presence in Bozeman at the time of the shootings. Several witnesses had stepped forward who remembered Gunter getting into an altercation with the foreman of his construction job just a day before the attack. The incident had resulted in Gunter being fired from the crew and several of the men present remembered him as being very disgruntled.
Lindsay nodded, though Greg couldn't see her, and said the right things to make him think she was fine with all of this. No, going on the stand one more time wouldn't be a problem. Yes, of course she was going to be there for the duration of the trial. Yes, of course she would sit closer to the front tomorrow. Yes, she understood this kept her in the jury's line of sight.
Danny could only stay a few more days. Through clever manipulation of the scheduling system, Mac had managed to find him a week of vacation time in addition to the usual days he was on call. But all in all, it was only 11 days and the trial was slated for at least another couple of weeks.
The idea of sitting in the front row of the courtroom without Danny's hand to grip made goosebumps break out over the flesh of her arms and her stomach roll. But she didn't tell him that when he mentioned his ticket was for the following Thursday.
All she said was, "I hope you didn't get the red-eye."
To keep her mind off his impending departure, Lindsay began to show him Bozeman. She brought him to the only pizza place in town, but couldn't figure out a way to make him eat it. She took him to the river, the old barn, drove him to the mountains and out to a real live wheat field.
He insisted the New York skyline was more beautiful, but mollified her by saying that wheat was nice, too. She didn't tell him how much she missed the tall buildings and city lights at night. Instead, she turned up her nose and headed back to the car leaving him to trail her, chuckling.
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Danny rolled over and grimaced behind his closed eyelids as the sun streaming through his open curtains settled on his face like an electric blanket. Sighing, he reached over to fumble for his glasses and slipped them on as he left the bed. After a quick shower, he pulled on jeans and a tshirt, which he was pretty sure were acceptable in Montana on the weekends.
Wandering down to the kitchen, he found it empty and wondered if he was awake before Lindsay. Molly had obviously been there, though, if the full pot of coffee was any indication. He helped himself and moved back through the house to step out on the front porch.
All of the Monroe ranch spread out in front of and behind him, the grass seeming to glow in the morning sun. Voices were coming from the side of the house, so Danny stepped off the porch, the screen door slamming shut behind him, and followed the brick path.
He spotted Brad leaning his forearms on the top rung of a wooden fence around a small dirt enclosure. Gordon was inside—what did they call it?—leading a horse in a circle by a long rope. Danny stepped up next to Lindsay's brother, who merely nodded at him.
"Morning," Danny muttered, mirroring Brad's pose and lifting a foot to rest on the lowest rung. They watched Gordon without speaking few minutes. "What's he doing?"
"You've never seen anyone break a horse?" Brad asked mildly.
"Don't get many horses in the crime lab."
Brad smirked a bit. "Training. He needs to get used to humans leading him around, basically."
"Wasn't he born here?" Danny stifled a yawn as the sun beat down on the side of his face.
Tipping his hat farther back on his head, Brad seemed to be considering his answer. "You think being born in captivity makes them forget freedom?"
It was completely corny, but Brad said it so seriously that Danny restrained his chuckle and shrugged instead. "Like I said, don't know many horses."
"You should meet one. They might teach you a thing or two."
Raising his eyebrow, Danny took a sip of coffee and ignored the advice. "Lindsay rides a lot, huh?"
Brad shrugged. "No more than any other rancher's daughter I'd guess. She never competed or anything."
"Competed?"
"Barrel racing, city boy. Big sport around here."
"I'll have to check that out," Danny said wryly.
Brad chuckled, not offended in the least. "You're saved by the season. Barrel races won't start for a few months."
"Damn." Danny smirked, and they lapsed back into silence.
After awhile, Brad said without glancing over, "Lindsay'll be getting up about now."
Nodding, Danny stepped back from the fence and began to retrace his steps, thinking forward to the next cup of coffee.
"Hey."
Glancing back, Danny found Brad looking straight at him for the first time all morning. "How's she doing at the trial?"
Danny looked away then met Brad's eyes again. "She's doing great."
Brad nodded and turned back to his father. Danny found he couldn't refrain from asking anymore. "How come no one comes to the trial?"
He watched as Brad dropped his head down to look at his own shoe kicking the dirt. When he raised his head again, it was a moment before he turned to face Danny. "She asked us not to."
"And you listened?" Danny asked incredulously. After a week of being the only one there for Lindsay, he couldn't keep the anger out of his voice.
Looking uncomfortable, Brad sighed. "You don't know Lindsay—"
"Yeah," Danny interrupted stonily. "I do."
Brad tensed and a long while passed before he nodded again. "You staying long, city boy?"
"End of the week."
"Will the trial be over then?"
"No." When Brad didn't respond, Danny turned disgustedly and walked back to the house.
In the kitchen, he found Lindsay seated at the table. She smiled at him as she sipped her coffee and he dropped into the chair across from her.
"So, you and Brad are bonding now?"
"Oh yeah," Danny said sarcastically, but kept his face calm. "You know our mutual love of horses and all."
Molly stepped into the room, trying an apron around her waist. "What's so funny?" she asked, seeing Lindsay's smirk.
"Danny's turning into a cowboy," Lindsay told her, smiling at Danny who tried to appear all suffering.
He muttered something in Italian, and Lindsay let out a throaty chuckle. Molly shook her head indulgently as she set two glasses of fresh orange juice in front of them. "We'll have to get him a Stetson, then, won't we?"
Danny felt warmth starting under his collar and suddenly wished to be back out in the chilliness of the morning. But Molly and Lindsay let the teasing drop and he took a deep breath.
"What are you two up to today?" Molly asked, lighting the range under a large skillet.
Lindsay shrugged, ducking her head to hide a smile. "I've got a few things planned."
"I really don't like the sound of that," Danny muttered, but Lindsay just shook her head as Molly looked on with a warm smile.
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"Okay," she said, pulling the truck back on the highway. "We have one more stop to make today."
Danny shifted so he was leaning back against the door slightly facing her. "How are you going to top cattle wrangling?"
"Believe me, the place we're going is way better than hustling."
"Oh yeah? Where's that?"
"You ever have fresh ice cream, city boy?" she asked pertly.
Smirking at her use of the nickname Brad had given him, he shrugged. "Probably at some point."
Lindsay's snort surprised him. "Oh, you'd remember."
The trip back to town only took a few minutes, and Danny watched her as she shifted the old truck easily. "Your dad teach you stick?" he asked.
Lindsay glanced at him. "Yeah. In this truck, actually. I think I was about fourteen, why?"
Danny shrugged. "Just curious." When Lindsay raised an eyebrow, he cleared his throat. "City's not really a place to learn so my dad—"
"Wait. Are you telling me you can't drive a stick shift?" she interrupted him, astonished. "But…you drive a motorcycle." Danny shrugged again, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "Do you want to learn?"
He stared out his window resolutely. "Not right now."
"Okay," she said calmly. "Ice cream first, then lesson."
"Montana—"
"Here we are," she chirped, pulling into a space in front of a tiny building sandwiched between an accounting office and a bookstore.
Danny eyed the shack-like structure distrustfully. "Uh, Montana?"
But she was already out of the car and holding the shop door open, smiling at him over her shoulder. Sighing, he closed his door—still wondering over the idea of not locking your car—and followed her inside. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, the small bell above the door tinkling quietly, the scent of warm cream and sugar assailed him. Breathing deeply, he wanted to moan in pleasure.
"Lindsay Monroe," a voice said from behind the counter. Danny blinked in surprise at the little old man wiping his hands on an apron with a huge smile creasing his heavily lined face.
"Hi, Mr. Parsons. How are you?" Lindsay stepped up to the counter with a shy smile, her hands stuffed in her pockets.
"Doing fine, just fine. But the question is, how are you?" he asked seriously, holding Lindsay's gaze.
Lindsay shrugged and forced her smile to stay fixed in place. "As well as can be expected, I've been told."
"I'm sure you're doing fine," he assured her with a light pat on the hand Lindsay had resting on the counter. The twinkle was back in the man's eye as he spotted Danny over Lindsay's shoulder. "Always was a tough cookie," Mr. Parsons told Danny.
"Still is." Lindsay felt a wave of embarrassment when Danny winked at her.
"So who's your fella?" Mr. Parsons asked, pulling out a large cone and moving behind the glass case full of ice cream barrels.
"Oh, this is Danny. Messer," Lindsay stammered, unsure whether she should explain that Danny wasn't really hers to begin with. "Danny, this is Mr. Parsons."
"Nice to meet you, son."
"Likewise."
"Abby!" the old man suddenly yelled.
"What?" came a brittle reply from the back room.
"You'll never guess whose standing in the middle of our shop."
"Who?"
"What kind of guess is that?" Mr. Parsons muttered, still scooping ice cream into the cone.
"Harold, who in the world—" The woman stopped in the doorway, wiping her hands on a towel. "Well, as I live and breathe."
Lindsay grinned as the older woman came around the counter to pull her into a tight hug. "Hi Mrs. Parsons."
"Would you hear that, Harold? Mrs. Parsons. You're not a child anymore, dearie. Call me Abby."
The woman's green eyes twinkled with the same carefree mirth as her husband's, a trait that had endeared the elderly couple to several generations of the children of Bozeman. (All of who had been convinced at one time or another that the Parsons were really Mr. and Mrs. Clause in disguise.)
"We heard you were in back in town for that awful trial," Abby murmured, patting Lindsay's cheek sympathetically. "How are you?"
"She said she's fine," Harold said loudly making Abby glare at him.
She turned back to Lindsay and started to speak then spotted Danny. "And who is this?" Abby asked, turning towards him with a warm smile.
"That's Danny," Harold said from behind the counter. "That's her fella."
At the second mistake, Lindsay felt the need to intervene. "Oh, he's not my—"
"Danny, eh? Short for Daniel? Good strong name," Abby decided, not waiting for an answer. "You look like a chocolate man."
"Excuse me?" Danny asked, leaning forward as if he hadn't heard correctly.
"Ice cream, dear. Chocolate?" she asked, moving to join her husband behind the counter. Lindsay stifled a laugh at the expression on Danny's face, only to choke on it when Mrs. Parsons turned back to her. "Lindsay's more of a praline girl."
"Strawberry," Harold corrected, holding out a cone to Lindsay.
Reaching out to take it, Lindsay started to thank him when Abby snatched it back. "Praline, you silly man."
Harold sighed. "Put a scoop on top, then."
Grumbling to herself, Abby did just that then handed the cone to Lindsay with a large smile. "Here you go. Put a double scoop on for Daniel, Harold. Chocolate and praline."
"Chocolate? Praline? No, no. He's a fudge brownie sort, aren't you, Daniel?"
"Both sound great," he answered with a charming smile. Lindsay marveled at his unruffled calm, but concentrated on not letting the Parsons see her fumbling for her money.
"You put that right back, missy."
Caught red handed, Lindsay bit her lip and stuffed the ten in her pocket again. Abby topped the fudge brownie with a scoop of sweet cream and held it out to Danny. "Your money's no good here, young lady. Neither's yours," she added warningly and Danny's hand slid away from his back pocket and wallet.
"Thank you," they chorused respectfully.
"Has she taken you out to the river, yet, Daniel?" Abby asked, setting napkins down on the counter for them.
Danny picked up his and Lindsay's, handing one to her before answering. "Yes, ma'am."
"Beautiful, isn't it? All those trees." Abby sighed, a faraway look in her eyes.
"It is," Danny agreed.
Lindsay barely refrained from raising an eyebrow. When she'd brought him out there, he'd asked her whether or not she preferred Times Square.
"All right, let them go about their business, Abby," Harold urged, waving a little at them both. "Enjoy your ice cream."
"Always do," Lindsay said. "They don't make it like this in New York."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Danny's head jerk towards her, but he didn't say anything except a polite goodbye to the Parsons. When she started towards the door, Danny followed.
The old couple stepped closer together and Harold's hand automatically went to the small of his wife's back. "You bring him back before you leave, you hear?" Abby called as the door swung shut behind them and Lindsay waved as she and Danny started down the street.
"Aren't they fantastic?" Lindsay asked happily as they walked down the street.
Danny nodded and licked at his ice cream. His silence was making her a little nervous, but she spoke through it. "Were you overwhelmed? Most people are overwhelmed by them at first," she explained.
Shaking his head, Danny eyed his double scoop. "Nah. They remind me of my grandparents."
"Really?"
"My aunts, too. Those two must be Italian," he joked, finally glancing at her.
Lindsay smiled and licked at her strawberry. "Nope, Irish."
Chuckling to himself, Danny returned to his ice cream. "This is good," he said after a minute. When she didn't reply, she saw him glance over at her out of the corner of her eye. "Montana?"
She felt the blood drain from her face, and she slowed to a stop right in the middle of the sidewalk. Following her gaze with a frown, Danny spotted a woman about halfway down the block, looking in a window.
Danny scrutinized the woman more closely. She looked familiar, but he knew he hadn't met her. The only people he'd met in Bozeman were Lindsay's family, the Parsons and the teenage boy who'd been working at the pizza parlor—if one could call it that. So, the only place he would have seen this woman was the courthouse.
And it clicked. This woman was one of the people who'd glared at Lindsay. One of the parents, he guessed. The woman started to turn towards them and he heard Lindsay suck in a breath.
Acting quickly, he grabbed Lindsay's elbow and forcefully turned her back in the direction of the truck. "You don't have to face her," he murmured quietly as they strode quickly in the direction they'd come.
Lindsay's breathing was slightly labored, but Danny wasn't dragging her behind him; her feet moved as quickly as his own. He supposed he should be grateful for small miracles.
They reached the car, and Danny paused to assess the situation. He couldn't drive a stick, and Lindsay didn't seem capable at the moment. Apparently, he paused too long because suddenly he heard a voice behind them.
"Lindsay?"
His eyes slid past her frozen expression to the woman standing behind her. Lindsay's eyes slid closed for a second, and then she turned to face the woman, her face carefully neutral.
"Hello, Mrs. Finch."
The woman visibly swallowed and nodded. "I just—I wanted to say thank you."
Lindsay jerked slightly and unconsciously leaned back a bit. "For what?" she whispered, only able to find her voice after she felt Danny's arm brush against hers for an instant.
"For what you're doing." Mrs. Finch's voice was thick and she turned to the side to clear her throat. Lindsay noted the way Gwen's mother had her fingers clenched around the strap of her purse and felt another wave of the all familiar empathy slide through her.
"I know what I said to you in that hospital was unforgivable," Mrs. Finch said. Lindsay stared at her, a lump beginning in her throat. "And I hope you never have to experience what I did, never be able to understand what drove me to say it."
Shaking her head, Lindsay tried to stop the other woman's words, but Mrs. Finch wasn't finished. "But I hope you do know that I never blamed you. Not really. And that none of this was your fault."
When Lindsay felt Danny's hand settle into the small of her back, she swallowed. "Thank you," she finally responded, letting her eyes find Gwen's mother's for the first time in ten years.
"Thank you," Mrs. Finch stressed. "For putting that monster where he belongs." Tears started running down the other woman's face and she looked away to hide them. "Excuse me."
Lindsay watched as Mrs. Finch hurried down the street, still clutching her handbag like a lifeline. She felt the cone tugged from her hand and cold air around her for a long minute, then she was being gathered against something warm and she realized that Danny was cradling her against his chest.
His fingers tunneled through her hair as she buried her face against his neck and he murmured something in her ear, too quietly for her to understand. She couldn't even tell if it was English or Italian, but it did the trick and she felt herself relax in his arms as something deep inside her finally eased.
When she sniffled and stirred in his arms, Danny immediately stepped away and opened the door to the truck. She wiped surreptitiously at her eyes and climbed into the seat.
"Be right back," Danny said, closing the door and hurrying back into the ice cream shop.
Lindsay didn't have the energy to wonder at it and went back to buckling her seatbelt, which suddenly took all the concentration she had. Leaning her head against the seat, she focused on taking deep breaths, time moving at a seemingly impossibly slow pace.
The sound of the passenger side door screeching open made her jump and her eyes open sluggishly. Rolling her head to the side, she saw Danny climbing inside with a large bag, which he laid on the floor between his feet. He raised his eyes to meet hers and held them for a long moment.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
Facing the wheel, she nodded and reached down to start the engine. They drove back to the house in silence. But it was easy and a few of the demons that had been in the car with them earlier were gone.
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notesofwimsey: I'm glad things don't feel too fast. I felt as though I was jumping around a bit in time, maybe cuz I wrote the chapter out of order; I don't know. I've never written anything above a PG-13 rating before, so the wild sex might be out for now. :-p But we'll see about the sequel. It might fit in better with the overall feel and meaning of that story. And I always say, one should try new things…
Tenley: I do feel rather partial to Connor. He's quite a hottie in my mind. I'm glad you're liking the story and that it's not going too fast. I hope this chapter was as good as the last!
mel60: It has to be said again—Danny is awesome. And I really love him in this chapter. I really, really do. Which is bad considering he's a fictional character. (looks uncomfortable) Anywho. The Monroe clan is extremely dysfunctional, especially with the close-ties with Connor, but Molly and Brad are pretty cool. Gordon is still on my shit list, though. (shakes fist)
mercy4vr: Thanks for reviewing! Dialogue is definitely my favorite part to write, so I'm glad it's coming across well. I hope you liked this angsty chapter as well: )
qt4good: Aw, geez. Sorry about your name. I feel particularly lame because I kept trying to figure out what "G" "T" might stand for and couldn't come up with anything that made sense. : p Anyway, Jealous Danny is an interesting side to him. I thought he'd be much less calm about the whole thing, but that's not how it played out at all. Strange, eh?
YaNkEeSbAbE: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you're liking the story. I hope this chapter turned out as well as the last!
prplerayne: I'm still kind of feeling out Connor's character, so we'll see where that goes. But I kinda like him. : p I wasn't planning on the whole engagement thing, it just popped out during a scene I actually didn't include between Lindsay and Brad. And I decided to run with it. (shrugs) Could be cool.
CrazyGabs: I hope the heating's back on! I'm not sure this chapter was shiver worthy, but I hope you liked it as much as the last one.
chili-peppers: I love Danny, too, which probably comes across quite clearly in here, huh? I'm seriously glad about the pace of the story. I really was worried about it jumping around too much. Maybe just because, like I told notesofwimsey, I have a tendency to write things out of order. So it never feels linear to me. But I'm glad I was mistaken!!
berta101: The delayed update is no reflection on how much I love you guys. I hope you know that. Because I would be less enthusiastic about updating if it weren't for all my rocking reviewers.
The Little Corinthian: I think Danny's subconsciously relishing the fact that Lindsay is relying on him so much. In some ways, it's a complete turn around from the buildup on the show, but I just didn't see Lindsay holding back from Danny after he flew across country to support her, you know? Pssh, of course they're soulmates.
Leanne: Hi and thanks for reviewing! Flirty banter is my favorite form of communication. I don't think there's been enough of it this season, and it's one reason NY became my fave of the CSIs. You hear that, Powers that Be? More flirty banter! But I do love the deeper level the show seems to be implying for Lindsay and Danny this season. So…I guess I can't complain too much.
Quigon: Thanks for your review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I hope you liked this chapter as much as the others!
DL4EVER: Hi and thanks for the review! Aw, the best? That's so nice. I hope this chapter was as good as the others. And please keep reviewing!
catey123: Welcome to the story and thanks for reviewing! Sorry this chapter took longer to get up than the others have. The next (and final) chapter should be up tomorrow.
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A.N. Last chapter is due up tomorrow, depending on whether or not I can finish the first chapter of the sequel. I'm trying to get that story at least halfway finished so I can keep up my posting rhythm. : p
