Author's Notes: This is my first time writing for this pairing, which I have always liked. They're just so cute! Enjoy!
The Fate of Daisies
by Kristen Elizabeth
Daisy, daisy, give me your answer true
I'm half crazy all for the love of you.
"Only you, Montana."
Lindsay opened her eyes. The man standing at the foot of her hospital bed was shaking his head back and forth, an amused smile on his face. But he was also carrying a bouquet of flowers.
"What are you doing here?"
Danny ignored her question. "How does a country girl come to the big city…and end up getting bitten by a snake?"
"Just lucky, I guess." The anti-venom that had been pumped into her system left her weak and unable to defend herself from his teasing. "You didn't have to come all the way down here. I know you're on a case."
"Even Mac takes a break every now and then." He held the flowers out. "For you."
She took them hesitantly. "Daisies."
Danny lifted one shoulder. "You're the daisy type."
"The daisy type," she repeated. "Let me guess? Innocent and simple. Country."
"You forgot 'pretty'." He located a rolling stool, pulled it over and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees. "You know, daisies might look all fluffy and white, but they're held together with a really tough center."
Lindsay rolled her eyes. "I get it." She paused, reconsidering the sweetness of not only the gesture, but of his words. "Thanks."
In true form, he shrugged off her gratitude. "Wasn't a big deal. You get bit by a cobra, you get flowers. That's just how it works."
"It really wasn't that dramatic."
"You got air-lifted here, Montana." Danny's jaw shifted, like he was straining to hold something back.
Lindsay looked down at her hand; the puncture wounds weren't visible under several layers of gauze, but her whole arm still throbbed with the memory of the snake's fangs sinking into her flesh. "Okay, it was something to write home about."
Danny stared at her for a moment before he laughed shortly and loudly. "You drive me fucking nuts, you know that? Can't you worry about yourself just a little bit every now and then?"
"Come on. Everyone gets injured on the job occasionally. Even you."
"I super-glued my fingers together once." He pressed his thumb and index finger together to demonstrate. "Spent the whole day with my hand in my pocket. Hardly the same thing."
Fighting amusement, Lindsay sighed. "I don't know what you want me to do. Break down and cry because…"
"You could have died, Lindsay."
He very rarely used her real name, so when he did, she had to pay attention. "I had Sheldon right there with me. I was never in real danger, Danny."
"With your tiny little body, how much more venom would have been fatal? A drop? Maybe two?" He shook his head, this time furiously. Not at her, she realized. He was only mad at the things in life that he couldn't control. "We lucked out."
Lindsay tried to swallow, but her throat was bone dry. "We?"
"You because you're not dead. And me because I didn't have to buy those daisies for your funeral."
"You didn't have to buy them at all. In fact…maybe you shouldn't have." She looked away so she wouldn't have to see whatever expression came over his face. "I told you. Nothing can happen between us. A potentially life-threatening situation doesn't change things."
Danny was quiet for a minute. "I guess I still don't get why it can't happen. When we both pretty much want it."
"You don't know what I want," Lindsay shot back.
"You're right. I don't." His accent got thicker when he was upset. It was just one of a hundred things she knew about him that she wished she could have stopped herself from noticing. "But if you ain't interested, then what's this thing we got here?"
"What thing?" she challenged him.
"The thing," Danny repeated. "The thing that makes me really wanna kiss you." He steepled his fingers in front of his mouth. "Tell me you're not feelin' it…that you wouldn't let me…and we'll forget about it. But you gotta tell me, Montana. Right now."
She shivered, but she wasn't sure if it was from cold, hospital air or the fact that he'd inadvertently drawn her attention to his lips. They were nice lips. Slightly chapped, but full enough to make a girl wonder what they'd feel like gliding over her skin.
"Danny," Lindsay started. "It's a lot more complicated than…"
He cut her off by pulling a single daisy out of the bouquet that now lay across her lap. "Let's settle this the old-fashioned way." One by one, he began plucking petals. "She loves me…she loves me not…she loves me…she loves me not…"
"Danny, stop," she quietly pleaded with him. "Please don't make this harder."
"Hey, it's not me," he defended himself. "It's just plant fate. She loves me…she loves me not…"
Lindsay looked up at the ceiling. "I wish you'd just trust me about this. Don't you think that if I could, I would?"
Danny stopped pulling off petals. "You can, Montana. I'm right here. I ain't goin' anywhere."
Just then, his cell phone rang.
He cursed under his breath, and she had to smile. New Yorkers might not have invented the F-bomb, but they dropped it better than anyone else. "Messer," he answered. After listening for a second, he sighed. "Yeah…all right. I'll be there."
"Mac?" she guessed when he closed the phone up.
Without answering, Danny picked the flower back up. There were three petals to go. "She loves me…she loves me not…." With one petal left, he stopped and held the stem out to her, expectantly. "Plant fate."
Her fingers trembled as she took it from him. "Danny…she can't."
"She might change her mind." He stood up, but instead of turning to leave, he leaned forward and brushed those imperfectly perfect lips across hers. Her lashes fluttered; her breath left her. "Maybe that'll help."
When Lindsay opened her eyes again, he was gone. She looked down at the lone petal clinging to the yellow center. "She loves him." As soon as the words left her mouth, she groaned. "And it's too late to do anything about it."
To Be Continued?