"What are we supposed to be talking about?" Lindsay asked, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"You datin' Adam?"
"What? No."
"You're not?"
"That's what I said, isn't it?"
"But he made it sound like… I dunno."
"Made it sound like what, Danny?"
"Never mind. I read it wrong."
She sighed and crossed her arms.
"Is there something bothering you?"
There was a long silence and she stared down at her shoes, worried she had asked the wrong thing.
"I miss you, Lindsay."
Her stomach twisted and she sat down in the other chair, wanting to yell and scream at him, make him feel as worthless as she had, but for some reason she just couldn't do it.
"Danny, you made your decisions."
"I know that. I do. But I was wrong. I wish I could take it back, Lindsay. I wish I never woulda hurt you like that."
"I wish that too, but you did."
"I'm so sorry. I don't know what else to say. I guess there's not much I could say anyway."
"It needs time, Danny."
"I saw you with Adam earlier. When you came in this morning and kissed his cheek."
"He brought me good coffee."
"And then just now, when you guys hugged each other."
"Some of my methods on that last case were called into question. I was stressing out about it. It all turned out fine. I was just relieved. He came over last night and talked me through it about fifteen times and… Danny, were you jealous?"
His silence was all the answer she needed.
"You were jealous. Danny, Adam and I, we're just friends. He's been there a lot lately, and I love him like a brother, but I swear, we're just friends."
"I thought you'd moved on. I wasn't ready for that. I love you, Lindsay, and I wanted to make things right. I wanted to work it out and it felt like I had lost my chance."
His head finally lifted at the sound of her sniffles and his heart broke all over again. She hadn't cried about this, not in front of him. Not the day she had stormed out, not the day when she had confronted him and he had told her everything. Not one tear had been shed in those moments, but now while he was apologizing? He didn't understand.
"Lindsay…"
"Don't say it, Danny."
"Say what?"
"That you love me."
"But I do."
"Maybe I believed that at one time, and maybe it is true, but I just can't believe it right now. It hurts."
"I'm so sorry, Lindsay. I did it because I didn't know how to deal with what was going on. I didn't do it because I wanted to hurt you or because I didn't care."
"I know you didn't. And that's the only reason I don't hate you now. I just feel bad that you didn't feel like you could come to me about it."
"I think I was trying to protect you."
"You don't have to do that, Danny. With me or in any relationship you're ever in. Honesty is way better."
"Then let me be honest right now. I want to fix things between us. I don't want to be apart from you anymore. I miss you like I've never missed anyone, and I don't want to live like that. I don't want to see the hurt in your eyes. I want us to be happy again."
"I've forgiven you, Danny, but that's as far as I've gotten. I don't trust you anymore, and I can't even think about being with you until I do."
"Take as long as you need."
"It might be a while, Danny. I have never loved anyone the way I loved you. I've never fallen harder, and I've never been hurt more. You're going to have to be patient, and you're going to have to accept the fact that I may never get there."
"I'll wait, Lindsay. I'm not going to just let you walk away."
"I know."
"No matter what you decide, I want you to know that I'm always going to be there for you."
She nodded and wiped her eyes, then stood up from her chair.
"You think Stella would be satisfied with that talk?"
"Geez, I hope so. I don't think either one of us can take much more."
She smiled and they left the office.
"Hey, you're not gonna tell Adam about this, are you?"
"I don't have to tell that guy anything, he always just knows."
"Freaky."
She smiled and stopped walking, turning to face him.
"Thanks for the talk. I needed to hear that stuff."
"Right back at ya, Montana."