A/N: Hi all, back again! And can I say quickly a huge thank you to the response this has had so far. I do really appreciate the reviews and the alerts you've given me for this one. I know that S4 stories aren't exactly loved and aren't all too popular, so I really appreciate you guys giving this one a chance! :)And I can promise (without giving too much away) that in the coming chapters you won't be disappointed. It's probably going to take a while to get there, but it'll be worth it, I promise! What is it that they say, it has to get ugly before it gets pretty... well, it's going to get pretty ugly. But it's all good, it's me and we know this is going to end well. And let's face it, it's labeled angst/romance and Danny/Lindsay.

Now, with this chapter, I promise you I haven't lost my mind. I haven't. I swear. And I have had a talk with Danny and I've explained to him why I did it, and he understands. He does. He doesn't like it, but he sees where I'm coming from... so please don't be too mad with me. hahaha.

... Okay, I realise that last line didn't do much in convincing you all of my sanity, but I swear it's still here.

Huge thank you to the reviewers from last chapter, your guys' love was muchly appreciated and a real boost of confidence with this one. KTmac09, Lady-Buster, kdzl, cklovesm-m, madhatterette, afrozenheart412, brendanakai, Juliab, danny-lindsay4e & 18lzytwner.

Best Thing I Never Had – Beyonce.

There was a time I thought that you did everything right. No lies, no wrong. Boy I, must have been out of my mind. When I think of the time that I almost loved you, you should yourself and I, I saw the real you. Thank God you blew it, thank God I dodged the bullet, I'm so over you.

It wasn't an uncommon occurrence to witness a lone New Yorker sat in a diner consuming a late dinner. In fact, for New York, there seemed to be the general consensus that anything went really. From Naked Jesus in Times Square to the almost foot long rats that skittered around in movie theatres. People were too busy to notice, to care, whether someone was sat in a diner eating alone. It was however an uncommon occurrence for Lindsay Monroe. It had been a long time since she'd consumed dinner by herself. She was far from dependent; more she'd become accustomed to sharing her time with someone whom had been quite special to her for one hell of a long time.

She was getting used to it, being alone that was. Slowly but surely. It'd been a hard month and a half, but she'd survived it. Somehow. There had been times that she'd picked up her cell phone and dialled Danny's number from memory, wanting to tell him that she'd maybe made a mistake and that she was sorry for being so hasty in breaking up with him. But then her better sense would kick in and remind her that he'd done nothing in trying to win her back. Plus she'd changed her number and purposefully not given the new on to him. Calling him from said number wouldn't exactly be the smartest idea, would it? But it was hard and she missed him. She missed him a lot.

The first time that they'd parted ways, even if it had been temporarily, the team had tried hard not to acknowledge the tough time in which the couple had been going through. They'd overlooked the small disputes in the hallway, ignored the heated conversations going on in their office and pretended like there was nothing going on.

This time though, everything was different. They were tip-toeing around Danny, watching him as if he was a ticking time bomb and consoling Lindsay with every chance that they got; which made things ten times harder. While she appreciated the support and comfort from her friends, every time someone pulled her into a guilty hug, she felt all the emotions that she was struggling to keep at bay rushing back to her. It was like they knew that there was it over for good. And while Lindsay knew and understood that there probably was no hope for them; it was hard for other people to be silently admitting their defeat too.

The amount of hours that she'd spent crying over their break up were uncountable, and honestly, she was a little embarrassed of how she'd been acting. She broke up with him and anyone would think that he'd shattered her heart brutally. She'd finished it with him; not the other way round. But it didn't hurt any less not being on the receiving end. In fact, she thought that it hurt more because she had been the one to bring them to an end. Yes he'd blown it, but she'd ended it. And she'd spent every day questioning herself and what she thought was her better judgement. Was it the right decision if she was this miserable and upset?

She knew that break ups and wallowing in one's own self pity didn't have a suggested recovery time frame and she wasn't silly enough to believe that she'd be over Danny with a snap of her fingers. It didn't work like that – she knew from the past that letting go of her love for him wasn't as easy as it sounded. But she desperately wanted to feel better. She didn't want to burst into tears anymore. She wanted to listen to the radio without assigning a memory to every song that was played. She didn't want to hurt anymore. She didn't want the betrayal to hurt her like it still did.

But wanting it not to hurt, and it getting over it were two entirely different things.

"I couldn't help but notice that you're alone."

Blinking away her unshed tears and glancing up from her dinner, Lindsay looked up at the man stood a comfortable distance away from her table but close enough for her to be absolutely positive that he'd been talking to her. "You'd have noticed correctly," she replied politely, trying to hide the lump in her throat.

"I may be going out on a whim here, but you wouldn't like some company would you?"

She considered it for a moment or two. She looked at the smile on his face, his clothes, the way he presented himself; inwardly trying to figure out whether or not he was a psycho, pimp, serial killer, rapist, or one of the other many potential criminal tendencies that were bombarding her brain.

"I get it, family back home told you not to speak to strangers?" he smiled, placing a card down on the table. "I'm Patrick. Would you like some ID with that?"

She laughed and shook her head as her eyes scanned over his business card. He was in fact called Patrick and was in construction from what she could figure out. "Lindsay." She returned with a smile.

"With an A or an E?"

Lindsay couldn't help the giggle that bubbled out of her. "With an A." She answered cautiously. "Why?"

"Phew," Her new companion wiped his brow. "Thought I was going to have to walk away then," He winked playfully at her.

"Yeah, but how do you know I don't spell it with a Y or an I?" she attempted serious, but the smile on her face took away from her tone.

"I've already decided that you don't look like a Y kind of girl," he shook his head. "You definitely spell it with an I."

"Impressive," Lindsay nodded. "You get an eight and a half."

"I get a what?"

"An eight and a half," Lindsay smirked. "Your pick up line, it's inventive; cute actually. I'm sorry, but I'm not looking for anyone right now."

A tint of red washed over Patrick's cheeks. "Can't blame a guy for trying," he shrugged. "I'm sorry I bothered you, Lindsay."

As quickly as he'd popped up, he was gone, with the door of the diner ringing as he exited the building. She let out a sigh, annoyed with herself for brushing off a perfectly kind guy just because she felt like she was betraying Danny. He'd had his chance. He'd blown it and had done nothing since to make things better between them. If she didn't want to hurt anymore then this could be her chance.

She got ready to stand and but instantly sat back down. Who was she kidding? She sighed as she resigned to the fact that she'd be spending another night alone and lonely in her apartment, waiting for her cell phone to ring; ordering her into work to face him yet again.

She cleared her throat and called out: "Can I get the bill please?" once she'd attracted the attention of her waitress. She'd said it with a smile, something she'd never been able to shake even in New York, where it was a rarity to receive a smile.

"Bill?" Patsy, the waitress implored. "What bill?"

Lindsay narrowed her eyebrows and fought her giggle. "Well, usually when you order food there tends to be a bill when you finish... Or have I been going to all the wrong places?"

"Honey, your check's taken care of. That nice gentleman you were just talking to paid your bill about fifteen minutes ago."

"Which gentleman?" Lindsay asked, genuinely confused.

"That one, right out there," Patsy pointed out of the window to the tall guy that had been questioning Lindsay about her parents' ability to spell. "The one you were just talking to."

"Oh," Lindsay blinked as she turned and glanced at Patrick whom was still stood outside the diner, fastening his coat from what she could see. "Well, in that case... here." she handed Patsy the ten dollars she'd expected to pay for her meal. "Thanks."

Without a second thought, or a chance to even let Patsy thank her for the generous tip, Lindsay was following the stranger out of the diner's exit. She managed to catch him just before he took off down the street. "Excuse me! Patrick!"

He turned and offered her a smile, "Oh Lindsay: hey, what's up?"

"Did you really just get my bill for me?"

He shrugged, "That's gotta give me at least another half a point."

Lindsay shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips. "It could get you a small slap across the cheek and an extra business card."

"Yours?" He asked hopefully.

"No, yours!" she implored. "Do you do that a lot? Pay pretty girl's checks? Because that could get expensive you know... I hope you're on big bucks at-" she cast her eyes down to the business card she still held in her hands and let out a sigh as she read the name of the company. "Smithson and Sons... Sustainable construction and property development; come on, give me a break! Sustainable construction?"

Patrick laughed out loud at her attempt to find something against him. "No, just the ones that look like they need a little help in realising that everything might just be okay."

Lindsay narrowed her eyes and looked at Patrick. "How do you know that I..."

"I go there a lot." Patrick began. "The diner. I've seen you a few times and thought you were beautiful, but you were always with a guy and you looked pretty happy with him. Plus, his arms were huge and I didn't feel like moving in on his girlfriend and leaving with two black eyes. So, the first time I saw you without him I figured you were just hungry and he was busy, but the second and third time you came without him I figured it was a sign for me to make a move. Not to mention I'm pretty sure you were crying in there," He paused as he observed the look on Lindsay's face. "If I overstepped the mark I'm sorry; I just thought-"

"Thanks," Lindsay smiled, cutting his apology short. "For dinner."

Patrick cast his eyes down as he blushed at her thanks. He kicked a stone by his shoe before turning to face her. "Look, contrary to what I'm sure you're thinking right now, I don't usually do this, but would you like to go for a drink or something?"

"Come again?" Lindsay blinked.

"Do you want to go for a drink?" he asked again.

"Really?" she asked him

"Yeah," he nodded. "Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you don't want to," Patrick shrugged. "Which is fine, by the way, if you don't."

"Well, it's not usually something I'd do..." she pursed her lips as she inwardly fought with the urge she felt to take him up on his offer. What about Danny? Her heart reminded her that she'd only broken up with him a month ago. It was too soon. But she took a deep breath and shoved that thought to the back of her mind. No more hurting. "But then again I don't usually have strangers buying me dinner without my knowing, so maybe it's a night of things Lindsay with an A doesn't usually do."

"So you're saying yes?"

She shrugged and took a deep breath. He looked like the kind of guy that carried around superglue that she could borrow."Sure, why not; where did you have in mind?"

"Depends," Patrick smiled. "Who's buying?"

"Well, I can. Pay you back for dinner?"

"In that case, sorry, I'm busy." Patrick turned and began to walk away, leaving Lindsay stood with her mouth in the shape of a perfect 'O'.

He got about five steps ahead of her before turning and laughing at her. "Kidding. Just kidding... my sense of humour is a little out of whack. How about my treat? One drink and it doesn't even have to be alcoholic. You can order it and take it from the bartender."

"Have something to hide, Patrick?"

"No, but I just spied that badge on your hip and I'm pretty sure you're thinking of all the possible entries my rap sheet may have, which doesn't exist if I could just add here... So, I'm just taking the necessary precautions until you trust me well enough to go to the bar and order you drinks."

Lindsay glanced down her body and saw her badge just showing underneath her coat. "If it's any conciliation I only had you down as a serial killer?"

"I'll take it," he laughed. "I'll give you my driver's licence so you can run into the precinct down here and run a search?"

She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips as she took in his appearance. She scanned him up and down before looking him in the eyes. His eyes looked honest, playful. He looked like he could genuinely like her.

And maybe he was exactly what she needed.

It turned out that taking that leap with a complete stranger had turned out to be one of her better decisions. They'd spent the entire night sat in the corner of a bar - her drinking Orange Juice and him Pepsi - simply talking, laughing and getting to know one another. He'd asked her about her boyfriend or ex-boyfriend as he boldly assumed. And she'd dodged the subject successfully, and he hadn't pushed it any further.

They'd left the bar when it closed at four, to which Patrick had declared that he was hungry. In keeping to the evening, Lindsay shrugged and ignored her overriding urge to excuse herself, go home and crawl into bed to sleep for a hundred years. Instead of sleep though, she'd agreed and he took her to his favourite place for breakfast. He'd ordered for her, which sparked her insisting that she ordered for him... and then they swapped when their orders came.

"Who the hell gets grits?" Patrick grimaced. "I mean, grits? Ugh."

"You tried them?" Lindsay inquired as she licked her lips, diving her spoon into the said grits for another hearty spoonful.

"Hell no!" Patrick physically shook at the thought of them.

"Well then, no opinion." She chuckled. "Danny used to-" she stopped herself and shoved her spoon into her mouth, praying that the person opposite her hadn't heard what she'd said.

"Danny huh?" Patrick offered her a sad smile. "The guy I used to see you with, that's Danny, right?"

Lindsay nodded her head sadly, cursing herself for getting too wrapped up in the banter that had been going back and forth between herself and Patrick. Talking about her ex wasn't exactly going to bode well with the guy sat opposite her.

"Why don't you want to talk about him?" Patrick asked her softly, setting his knife and fork down.

"I don't think that me talkin' about Danny would be anything you'd want to listen to, trust me."

"I might surprise you," he said, continuing on in his soft tone. "It looks to me like you could really do with getting a few things off your chest. And I get the distinct impression you've been keeping a lot of feelings under wraps."

"Sorry, I'm just reminding myself that I met you six hours ago." She teased. "I don't think that qualifies you for this conversation just yet."

"Alright, have dinner with me."

"I'm working tonight."

"Have dinner with me tomorrow."

"I'm working tomorrow."

"Lunch?"

"Working."

"Breakfast?"

"Working."

"You work twenty four hours a day?" Patrick asked with raised eyebrows. "Seven days a week?"

She blushed and shook her head. "Well no, not exactly but my hours are less than sociable. You're lucky I haven't been called in tonight."

"Well, if you can't escape work can I come to you?"

Lindsay scrunched her face in thought as she tried to assess whether that would be a good idea. "Maybe I could escape for a quick dinner. Nothing fancy though."

"I'll take it," Patrick smiled. "Tonight?"

"Tonight?" Lindsay asked with raised eyebrows. "Breakfast and dinner, that's certainly eager, Mr. Donovan."

"Well Lindsay with an A, I've got to find some way of staying on your mind."

"I think you'll manage that just fine." She blushed.

Weeks passed and Patrick had yet to kill her or show any psychotic tendencies, which was a good sign – and boded well for the slowly budding relationship.

It had taken her a few dinner dates but she eventually opened up to Patrick about what happened with Danny. She sensed that Patrick had really thought about the best place to approach the topic, and when he'd asked her round to dinner at his apartment two things came to her mind. He wanted to get lucky, or he wanted to know what it was exactly he was getting himself into.

He'd carefully approached the topic over his mother's casserole and a bottle of wine. Initially, Lindsay had pushed her food around her plate, avoiding all eye contact with him and desperately trying to stall enough time that Patrick decided against pushing the subject... again.

But he didn't. He'd simply sat there, quietly eating his dinner and helping himself to more wine. After five minutes of the same piece of beef rolling from one side of the plate to another, Lindsay slammed her fork down and looked up. "He broke my heart."

Patrick nodded and carefully placed his knife and fork on his plate, understanding Lindsay's hint that if he didn't listen now then tough luck; she wasn't going to tell him again.

Without going into too much detail, Lindsay relayed everything that had happened. How Ruben died and how Danny had taken it upon himself to accept full responsibility for his death. She explained that their romantic relationship was still new to them and she hadn't been sure how to approach him, and when he told her to back off, she had. He changed and it hurt her as she watched him fall to pieces, while she stood on the sidelines unable to do anything to help him. He'd pushed and pushed and pushed until he'd pushed her over the edge and she'd unknowingly gave him an ultimatum. She hadn't meant it as one at the time, but that's how he'd taken it. She'd been so desperate for the person that she'd fallen in love with back, so she'd stupidly overlooked the way that he'd been with her. She'd wanted Danny back and he'd given her that and she hadn't wanted to push too far. So she'd brushed everything that had happened under the carpet and just accepted what had happened was in the past.

But then, Danny's harbouring guilt resurfaced, making him close off from her again. She'd fought him though that time, begging him to let her help him the way that he hadn't let her the first time, but he'd refused. She'd asked him to let her in but he just couldn't do it. And if he couldn't do it, then she couldn't do it either. She'd tried to be supportive but she was at the stage of having to support two people and enough had been enough.

When she looked up from the spot that she'd found on the table, she braced herself for a Patrick shaped hole around the front door. But instead, he stood from his seat, rounded the table and took her hand. He pulled her out of her chair before wrapping his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her temple. He didn't say anything. He didn't bad-mouth Danny. He didn't offer to rough him up for treating her like he had. He didn't offer her words of sympathy. He didn't bat an eyelid when she started sniffling against him and he didn't back away when she started crying. In fact, he took her hand and led her to his couch where he sat as she snuggled into his side, crying the tears she didn't even realise she still had. When she finished, he handed her a tissue and asked her if she wanted dessert.

Dessert: that had been his response to all of her heartbreak. Dessert.

"Isn't there anything you want to say?" She implored. "Anything you want to ask?"

Patrick thought about it for a moment but shook his head. "Why, is there something you want me to say?"

"Well no," she shrugged. "I just thought that you'd have something to say."

"I could say a lot of things but I doubt they'll make you feel any better. And while I could say a hundred and one things about Danny, I don't know him and it's not my place to say anything anyway. Yeah he hurt you, but a part of me is glad that he screwed it up, because that means I get my chance with you."

After that night, Lindsay found herself being drawn to Patrick. She missed him when she wasn't with him and it felt like time disappeared when she was with him. It was fun being in a new relationship; there was a novelty that she hadn't felt for a long time. She was enjoying learning everything about Patrick. She loved the feeling she got when she received a text from him. She loved not having the weight of a past weighing down heavily on her. She loved not feeling like she was being pushed away. She was taking great pleasure in the man that she was quickly falling in love with. Her heart was healing and the things that she had cried over, not so long ago didn't seem like such big things anymore.

Granted, they had their fair share of disputes. He often found it difficult when they were on a date and Lindsay had to leave to go to work, and she got annoyed when he brought masses of work home from the office... but those things weren't things that would make or break them. They were adjustment issues. Both of their jobs demanded a lot and it would take a little give and take. But other than that, things were good.

They had both agreed to take it steady; Lindsay was, after all, still a little shaky and wary from her relationship with Danny and he didn't want to push her away. There was a part of Patrick that was slightly unnerved with her spending a prolonged period of time everyday with Danny but despite his concerns, he'd never voice them to Lindsay. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable with him, or at work. And really, when he'd met Danny he didn't seem like the type of guy to maliciously try and 'steal' Lindsay from him. He realised his mistakes and had accepted that she was his loss.

Patrick never went out of his way to make conversation with Danny, but he didn't avoid him either. It was unspoken between them that topics strictly stuck to sport and food. Safe areas. If either felt like they were getting too close to Lindsay territory, they'd strategically change the subject, keeping the atmosphere harmonious for everyone else involved in their little triangle they had going on.

Eventually though, steady wasn't good enough for them anymore. Lindsay was happy with a perfectly healed heart and Patrick was going up in his company, slowly being promoted through the ranks. They'd toyed with the idea of maybe moving in together, but Patrick had always sensed a little fear in Lindsay, so he hadn't pushed it any further.

But, enough was enough.

Taking a deep breath, Patrick looked up to his girlfriend as she let herself into his apartment and dropped her coat over the back of the arm chair in the living room. "Hey honey." She smiled. "sorry I'm a little late. We can still catch the movie right? I had to run home first and get my laptop."

"Lindsay, sit down for me."

She swallowed, as she set her bag down on the chair she'd just draped her coat over and nervously sat down next to him on the couch. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Patrick nodded.

"Okay, are you sure 'cause you've got me a little nervous. What's up?"

"I have a question to ask you."

Dun dun dun, another cliffhanger? What? I know, I'm sorry guys. Fred is not playing fair I guess. He's trying to keep the stakes high, although I'm sure some of you may be able to warrant a guess about the question Patrick is about to ask her. It shall be interesting to see. Muhahahah!

I'd like to state for the record that I still adore Danny with my whole little shipper heart and like I said before we've had a talk and for the purpose of the story this chapter needed to happen in order for other, better things to happen... so please don't hate me (or Patrick, bless him - he's trying to be a good heart healer for Lindsay! haha)

So yeah, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I know it's different, but yeah. Thanks for reading guys, and I appreciate any feedback that you may have... but go easy on me, please! hahah :)