Dollhouse

She watched, awestruck, as he wheeled in an enormously wrapped parcel, complete with a big red bow at its peak. She closed her eyes in mild disbelief as he stood before her – rocking on his toes, hands behind his back, like a naughty boy. He sported a mischievous yet anxious grin on his face.

"Oh, Danny…" she started softly, a hand attempting to cover the blush that was spreading all over her cheeks.

"Merry Christmas, Lindsay," he said with a small breath, using a hand to present his gift.

Lindsay gave a silent laugh despite herself, unable to prevent a smile from breaking out. Danny waited apprehensively for her reaction. When Lindsay had finally recovered from surprise, she turned to him with an embarrassed look.

"You said we weren't going to do presents, Daniel Messer," she playfully reprimanded him, pinching him where his 'love-handles' were – a habit that she had lately taken to. He stepped back with a shy, red-eared smile.

"I couldn't help myself, I'm sorry," he said with a grin.

"Please open it," he almost begged, unable to conceal his excitement.

She laughed. "Okay, okay. Keep your pants on, little boy."

"Are you sure you want me to?" he grinned again, resembling the Grinch.

"Be quiet, Messer, I'm concentrating," she scolded, with a hidden smile.

She bent down to unwrap the present, slowly peeling the layers off one by one, enjoying that she was torturing him cruelly as the seconds passed.

"One million years later…" Danny said sarcastically in a narrator voice.

Lindsay smirked and took the last bit off in one expert tear. What was underneath the Christmas wrapper almost brought tears to her eyes. It was exactly as she had described to him a few weeks back. Word for word, he had captured every detail – the blue shingled roof, the soft cream color of the walls, the front porch with the big swing that she used to put her dolls to sit on.

"Danny…" she breathed, tracing the house's contours with her fingers.

"How did you…?"

"You told me about it that night we had a blackout, remember?" he asked, looking down at his shoes.

"You seemed to love it so much, so I just decided to make you one…" he admitted shyly, showing her his bandaged and cut fingers.

"I'm sorry it might not be exactly like it, but the wood was really hard to handle, and you didn't describe the whole of it… I couldn't really remember some…"

She cut him off in mid-sentence by jumping into his arms with her hands around his neck and legs around his waist, kissing him fully on the lips. He was surprised at the intensity and vigor of her kiss, incessant for breath with her lips hungrily searching for more. He happily submitted to her fervency and allowed her hands to play freely with his hair and roam about his back. Carried by her passion, Danny pinned her up against the wall, refusing to stop the pleasure.

When she pulled away, his throat involuntarily moaned in protest. She panted mildly for air, the fluttering feeling in her stomach refusing to subside.

"Montana…" he drawled, eyes still shut. "Is this my punishment for not getting the dollhouse exactly right?" he asked weakly.

"What are you talking about?" she whispered in his ear. "It's perfect."

He smiled at her thankfully. "I'm glad you like it," he said, with only a low rumble of voice, peering at her lovingly through his glasses.

"Like it? Hmm, I love it…" she whispered, losing restraint and kissing him again.

Lindsay continued to kiss him again and again, stopping only to lay her forehead against his to regain breath.

"God, I love you," she said in resignation, closing her eyes with a serene smile.

"Shh. Be quiet, Monroe, I'm concentrating," Danny smiled, capturing her lips in his once more. "I'm trying to enjoy my Christmas present."

He didn't have to say it. One look at the dollhouse, and she knew that he loved her more than anything in this world. And sometimes, that was frightening.