"We're almost to mommy, buddy," Danny said softly to his son as he made his way through the building. The eyes of co-workers still unaccustomed to seeing Detective Danny Messer, the hot-headed, never gonna settle down ladies-man turned Daddy Danny Messer, the devoted father and boyfriend. He smiled politely at the gawkers, running his hand over his son's back, trying to comfort himself more than Ethan.
"Daniel Messer!!"
He stopped at his name.
"I know you don't think you're sneaking in here, with my godson and not stopping by my office," Stella cocked her eyebrow at him.
"I just got …."
"Come here Ethan," Stella cooed at 6 month old Ethan Messer, as Stella walked to Danny and immediately began pulling a giggling Ethan from his kangaroo pouch.
Danny disentangled his little chubby legs, "You know where Montana is?"
"I think she is in the lab processing fingerprints," Stella replied, smiling widely at Ethan, "You two okay?"
Danny sighed, he had moved in with her and Ethan after his year lease had come up again. They worked separate shifts; it made it easier to have either one of them with Ethan and not have to find a sitter. But it also left very little time for them to spend any time together. Getting back to where they used to be, before he screwed it all up, was proving to be hard. Yes she had agreed to marry him, accepting his proposal, but she hadn't brought it up since, neither had he for that matter. He didn't want to push her, make her feel like he was trying to crowd her. Sometimes he even wondered if she had agreed just because it was a heat of the moment thing. Even if that's all it was he didn't plan on leaving them. They were his family. He belonged with them, and would always be there.
A year after she found out she was pregnant and had been shot, they still hadn't made love. He lived with her, slept in the same bed with her, well a few nights for a couple of hours a week anyway, but he understood, she was exhausted most of the time. Mostly stressing herself out, he doing what he has always done, being there when she needs him to be and taking as much of her stress away as he could.
But he was working on helping her relax, but she didn't know that yet, he still had some things to work out, people to call, reservations to make. "Yeah, we're okay, just parents to a infant," he smiled softly at her, "Can you..?" he gestured towards Ethan.
"I got him," she assured him, as Ethan's flailing hand caught a hold of a strand of ringlets.
"Thanks," he said, handing her the diaper bag draped over his shoulder, "Be good for Aunt Stella," he whispered, kissing his son's head.
He headed towards the lab and spotted her eyeing the details of the ridges of the print. Softly clearing his throat to get her attention, she smiled when she heard him. She looked up, and a flash of panic went across her face.
"Stella has Ethan," he explained before she even asked. "They called me in early," he gave her an apologetic smile before walking over to where she stood at the evidence table.
Since they started working opposite shifts to balance the newly hectic lifestyle their son had brought them, it seemed that she hardly saw Danny. She closed the distance between them, and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his strong chest inhaling the his familiar scent, a scent that had calmed her nerves, made her feel loved and cherished, "I've missed you," she sighed into his chest.
He happily wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight against him, inhaling the scent that helped make his world go round, "I've missed you too, baby," he kissed her head, his hands running up and down her small familiar back.
Yeah. He really needed to hurry up with those arrangements.
"Someone is wanting his parents," Stella interrupted them softly.
Lindsay let go of Danny and gathered her son in her arms, Danny smiled at his girl holding their son, again realizing how lucky he really was.
She smiled up at him, laid her free hand on his stubbled cheek and guided him down to her lips and pecked his lips lightly, "Come home safe," she whispered to him softly.