As always, super HUGE thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed so far! Reviews made me muey happy.
And of course, thanky thanky to Boleyn, Elainhe, and Audrina. Wubbles!

Chapter 5

Lindsay hung up Danny's coat while he settled into her couch.

"Nice place you got here," he said, taking in his surroundings.

"Hardly," she laughed, handing him a beer. "I've been here a year and I feel like I still haven't moved in completely." She sunk down on the couch next to him and twisted the cap off her own bottle. "Anything particular you want to watch?" she asked, flipping through the channels.

"Meh, whatever," he answered, but smiled when she stopped on the Yankees game. "Football and baseball? Seriously, something you want to share with the class there, Linds?"

Lindsay laughed and threw a pillow at him. "So what, because I'm a girl I can't know about sports?"

"I never said that," retorted Danny. Lindsay glared. "Okay fine, maybe I did. It's just… unconventional. Not that that's a bad thing," he added quickly, before she could respond.

They allowed themselves to get completely caught up in the game, yelling profanities at the umpire every time he made an unfavourable call.

"Thanks for doing this, Danny," said Lindsay as she set a fresh beer down in front of him and reclaimed her seat on the couch.

"For doing what?" he asked, taking a swig from the bottle.

"For just keeping me company."

"You mean for being your friend?"

Lindsay chuckled. "Sure, that." She paused and took a sip of her bottle, debating if she should say what was on her mind. But the slight buzz in her head helped make that decision for her. "You know, I was worried that after that talk awhile ago that things were going to be awkward between us."

Danny said nothing; he had instead become very interested in the label on his beer bottle.

"I'm serious," she said, looking back at the television. "I was worried that I had ruined our friendship when I told you… those things."

"You don't have to worry about ruining anything, Lindsay," Danny said, peeling the corners of the label. "I'm not going anywhere – sure, it may have been nice to go down that road, but honestly, I'm happy to just be your friend. You're an amazing person, and a wicked CSI… even though you're secretly male." He dodged the pillow Lindsay threw his way again. "Though if you keep that up, I might reconsider," he quipped.

Lindsay smiled widely, happy to be in his company, to have a small piece of the friendship they used to have. She never realized how much she missed him, until he was gone.

Danny watched her as she bounced and laughed. It dawned on him how long this Lindsay had actually been absent, and how glad he was that she was back. He kept his eyes glued on her as she tossed the pillow his way. He saw her expression change, just a bit, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Mind if I lie down?" she asked, and before he could answer, Lindsay's head was resting against his ribs. She wasn't quite lying on top of him, more against him, as if he were her own life-sized pillow.

Danny paused for a moment, unsure of what he was supposed to do next. He did what felt natural – he let an arm drape over her, and settled against the couch comfortably. Now not an ounce of his attention was focused on the television – he could feel Lindsay's breathing against his ribs, the sweet smell of her shampoo ever-so-slightly wafting up, invading his head.

Yeah. Shit.

Lindsay stirred and looked around, not entirely sure of where she was. As her vision came into focus, she recognized her own living room… and the familiar scent beneath her. She sat up suddenly, her jerky movement waking Danny.

"Mrmgsh," he mumbled, straightening his glasses on his nose as he stretched an arm out.

Lindsay rubbed her eyes. "I think we fell asleep."

"Srghmshhhh," groaned Danny as he settled back into the corner of the couch, his eyes remaining closed.

Lindsay laughed to herself as she watched him drift back to sleep. Lazyass. Still, she wanted him to be comfortable. She leaned towards him and lightly shook his shoulder. The firmness of it under her fingers startled her; she grinned wider, resisting the temptation to run her hand down his arm and feel the rest of his crevices. "Danny," she said softly, giving him another light shake.

"Sleep, woman," he grumbled, swatting at her, his eyes still closed.

"Danny, you don't have to leave! The couch is a pull-out bed; it'll be more comfortable for you." She tugged on his arm again.

"Lind-sayyy," he whined, trying to squirm away from her, but she could see a grin forming on his face. She wasn't sure why she was being so persistent – she could just leave him sleeping on the couch, but she knew he'd be far more comfortable, and would sleep far better, if he'd just let her turn it into a bed.

"Oh, you big baby," she laughed. "Look, the faster you get up and stop being a pain in my ass, the faster you can go back to sleep."

Danny slowly rolled over and looked at her through one eye. He stuck out his tongue.

"Mature, Messer."

Danny forced himself off the couch and helped Lindsay pull the mattress out of the couch. She could feel his eyes on her as she quickly retrieved bedding and a more comfortable pillow from the linen closet.

"Here we go," said Lindsay as she unfolded one of the sheets. She stifled a grin as she watched Danny stand awkwardly. Best not to let your mind wander there, Lindsay said to herself.

"Thanks," he said softly.

They stood for a moment, staring at each other on either side of the bed. The air between them was palpable.

"Well, um," began Lindsay awkwardly, "I'm going to get to bed…"

"Yeah, yeah," said Danny, pulling back the covers and settling into the mattress. "Thanks for setting this up."

"Anytime, Messer," smiled Lindsay, and with that, she turned and retreated into her bedroom.

She softly clicked her door shut behind her, and leaned against it. God, Lindsay, this is really, really not good. You're getting into dangerous territory here…

She shut her eyes tightly and ran her fingers through her hair, grunting quietly. She tried to force the thought of Danny only meters away out of her mind as she changed into shorts and a tank and crawled into her own bed.

But every time Danny adjusted himself in the next room, she could hear the slight squeaking of the mattress… it was a constant cruel reminder of the man in the room next to her.

She lay in her bed and stared at the ceiling, forcing thoughts and images of Danny out of her mind. In return, she was rewarded with thoughts about the case, about those women who were left dead for days, alone in their apartments. Lindsay closed her eyes, and was instead met with visions of those women when she walked into their bedrooms.

And after a half-hour of tossing and turning, Lindsay still couldn't settle her mind enough to fall asleep.

Danny watched as Lindsay clicked her bedroom door shut and collapsed onto the pillow behind him, causing the mattress springs to squeal. He stripped himself of his jeans and shirt, leaving himself in only his boxers. He pulled the blanket up to his waist and tried to fall back asleep.

Except the only thought in his mind was Lindsay. Pictures of her smiling, swaying, sleeping… the scent of her overtaking his senses and controlling his thoughts. The sound of her laugh, the twinkle in her eye when she smiled, the concentrated look she'd get when focusing so intently on a case. Everything about her… he was completely nuts about her, absolutely head over heels.

He rubbed his face with his hands. He tried to focus on the sounds of the street, just barely audible through the window. But focusing so hard on the sounds just reminded him why he was straining himself in the first place.

A soft click of a door opening, though, jerked him from his thoughts. Not knowing what else to do, he shut his eyes and feigned sleep.

Lindsay hit a breaking point – her thoughts of Emma and Michelle had chased away any chance sleep had of finding her. What it came down to was she was alone.

Against her better judgment, she slowly rose from her bed and, as quietly as possible, turned her door handle and opened the door. She peeked around the corner and held her breath as she took in the sight before her – Danny, without his shirt on, lying on his back and his covers only covering his lower half.

Lindsay slowly crept over to the spare side of the bed, and climbed in beside him. She was very careful not to touch his body, as tempting as it was right now – how awkward it would be to explain why she was randomly sharing a bed with him.

But the reality was that she couldn't take being alone anymore, trying to fight a solitude that would just not go away. And even if it was just one night, being in the same bed as someone else offered her just a little bit of solace… and given that it was Danny in the same bed, she would be getting a lot of solace.

She let her eyes run over Danny's body – she examined every curve and crevice of his features, memorizing each beauty mark, every strand of hair. The logical part of her screamed to get away from him, to run away as fast as she possibly could… but how could she possibly do that? It was Danny…

It's your own fault it's this way, she chastised herself.

Allowing her eyes one more guilty journey over Danny's body, she finally fell into a calm sleep.

But Danny wasn't sleeping. His heart nearly stopped beating when he felt the mattress beside him sink slightly as she climbed in and pulled the covers up. Part of him desperately wanted to turn his head so he'd be facing her, but what would he do if her eyes were open? There was an awkwardness he didn't want to face – he had no idea whatsoever if she wanted for him to know she was there or not.

Can you really share someone's bed, and not have them notice? he thought to himself. Maybe if they thought you were sleeping... He remained perfectly still, resisting the urge to move even a single muscle.

He could feel the heat coming off her body, her steady breathing through the mattress. God, he just wanted to roll over and wrap her up in his arms and tell her that he was there for her, that he wasn't going anywhere…

He sighed heavily. After several minutes, he decided to risk it. Carefully, he turned himself over and cracked one eye open just enough to see her. When he saw her eyes were closed, he opened both of his. She was blurry, the result of him not wearing his glasses, but he could still make out her features. She looked so calm and serene, the first time he had seen her as such in awhile. Her body moved slightly with each rhythmic breath she took. Her hair flowed loosely over her, down her neck and across the pillow. He couldn't be exactly sure, but he could almost swear she was smiling as she slept.

And a smile crept across his face. He finally saw a little bit of happiness in her, a small glimpse of a Lindsay void of any walls, barriers, or fronts. The real Lindsay.

He missed that Lindsay.

He closed his eyes and dreamed of a time when he could have that Lindsay all to himself.