"I want to meet Damian."

"What?" Danny looked up from the pot of spaghetti sauce he was stirring.

"You heard me. I want to meet Damian."

"Linds, I don't think you understand. Carla – that's Damian's mother – wasn't anything special to me. She was just a one-night stand and she just happened to get pregnant. I'm not exactly in Damian's life. I send the check every month, but that's about it. I actually haven't seen him since he turned 4."

"Well, Danny, I think that should change."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. The boy needs a father."

"But wouldn't that bug you?"

"Not really. I mean, it might a little at first, but Danny; he's your son, ok. I understand that I'm not the only girl you've ever been with, and it's not like you're the only guy I've ever been with."

"But you don't have a kid," he paused, "Do you?"

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "No, Danny, I don't have a kid."

"Ok. Just making sure. So you seriously want me to be a part of Damian's life?"

"Yes. He needs a daddy." She repeated.

"And you're sure you're ok with this."

"Danny, it was my idea."

"Right. Ok…well I'll find Carla's number and call her."

"Thank you." Lindsay hugged him from behind. She rested her chin on his shoulder. "I love you."

"Love you too, babe."

Lindsay fretted as she tore threw her closet. What are you supposed to wear to meet your boyfriend's son and the mother of his child? Ok, so she wouldn't admit it out loud, but this was starting to bug her a little bit. "Why'd I have to go and open my mouth?" She scolded herself quietly.

"I happen to like your mouth," Danny said, coming up behind her and placing a kiss on her bare shoulder. Lindsay flushed slightly. "It doesn't matter what you wear, Linds. You look gorgeous in anything."

"Well, that isn't true, but thank you."

"No, it's true," he assured her. "Remember what I told you? I don't say anything that I don't mean."

"Ok, fine, you win, but what do I wear?"

"Linds, we're not going to the Oscars or anything. We're going to the park to meet a 5 year old."

"I know, I just want to make a good impression."

"On a 5 year old?"

"On Carla."

"Why does it matter what she thinks?"

"I don't know…she's the mother of your child. I don't want her to think that I'm…." she trailed off.

"That you're what?" he prompted.

"Unworthy?" she suggested.

"Lindsay." Danny spun her around so that he could look her in the eyes. "I told you. She was a one-night stand. You're the only one for me. End of story. "

"That's an ending that I like," she kissed him softly. "Now I really have to get dressed."

"Really? Do you have to?" Danny whined.

"Yep." She kissed him once more and settled on jeans and a pink t-shirt. She pulled her hair into a messy, loose bun on top of her head. "Ready."

"That was quick."

"Seriously, Danny, it's not like we're going to the Oscars or anything. We're going to the park to meet a 5 year old." She teased.

"Yeah. Cute." He rolled his eyes. "Come on."

"Daddy!" Damian screeched when he saw Danny. Danny lifted the boy into his arms and spun him around like an airplane.

"Hey, buddy!" a genuine smile lit up his handsome features. He had forgotten how much he loved the kid.

Lindsay eyes Carla – a pretty, slender girl with long dark hair and glinting green eyes – stand off in the distance a bit. Danny, who was still holding Damian, led Lindsay over to where Carla was standing.

"Carla, this is my girlfriend, Lindsay. Lindsay, this is Damian's mom, Carla."

"Oh, so it that all I am? Damian's mom?" Carla snapped.

"Carla," Danny looked slightly confused. "I picked you up at a bar. It was a one-night thing, you knew that."

"Yeah, it was one night until I got pregnant."

Danny chose to ignore her angry tone. "Look, I came here to play with my kid and to introduce him to the most important woman in my life, all right? If I'm gonna hafta deal with this snippy attitude of yours, then me and Linds will go home alright?"

Carla took a deep breath and calmed down a bit. "Ok. I'm sorry," she said through clenched teeth.

"Ok, Damian, you wanna go swing?" Danny asked his son.

"Yeah!" Damian replied happily.

"You comin' Linds? Carla?"

"No, I think I'm gonna stay here for now, Danny. I want to talk to Carla," Lindsay replied.

Danny gave her a quizzical look, but said, "Alright. Whatever floats your boat."

Lindsay watched as Danny took Damian's hand and led him over to the swings. "He loves him, y'know." She told Carla.

"Yep, that's why he's visited so much," Carla replied sarcastically.

"Look," Lindsay fought to regain control, "Danny's really busy, all right? Our job isn't the easiest one, and we don't have a lot of time off. He really wants to be a part of Damian's life, so can you just give him a chance?"

"Why should I?" Carla shot back, "I've sat here, for 5 years, hoping that someday he'd wake up and say to himself 'Oh! I should be with Carla! She is, after all, the mother of my child!' How stupid am I? He's IDM! Sorry, honey, but it's not long before he dumps you and moves on."

Lindsay let everything that Carla said just pass right over the top of her head. "Danny loves me," she said simply, "and I love him. Nothing will change that. Nothing you say or do and nothing that anybody else says or does, ok?"

Carla looked slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected this little country girl to have such a big attitude. "Where'd you get that feisty little attitude of yours?" she asked sarcastically, "Oklahoma City?"

"You don't have to be from a big city to have an attitude," Lindsay smirked. "And I'm from Bozeman, Montana. Oklahoma is for hicks."

Carla snorted. "Yeah. Right. Sorry."

"She hates me." Lindsay told Danny that night as they crawled into bed.

"She's gonna hate you. She wants to be the girl in my life, and so she's jealous."

"I guess. I had a good time today. Damian's a sweet kid."

"Yeah, he is. I'm glad you talked me into this. I wanna be there for him, y'know?"

"Well, you've always been here for me, so I'm sure you can be there for him."

Danny smiled and kissed her sweetly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Danny."

He pulled her up against his chest, and they both fell into the confines of sleep.

A/N Whew. That was long, compares to the rest of my recent chapters. Like over a thousand words. Go me. Lol. Ok…that's it. Oh. I lied. I told you that it was almost over, but it's not. This beautiful little idea just popped into my head as I was writing this chapter, so it's gonna be a while before it's over.

xoxo

Lia