I don't own CSINY.
Italics are flackbacks from a previous case during her first year as a member of Macs team. Kay, just go with it.
She woke up multiple times that night, she wasn't sure it was from being nervous about the whole trip to Bozeman, seeing the person who killed her best friends, seeing their parents faces or even her own parents. Or if it was from her feelings for Danny. Yesterday's confrontation replayed in her mind, constant flashbacks to the moment where he declared his love for her. Why did it have to be so difficult? Why now, why not before? Before all this happened. Lindsay looked at her clock, the time was 3:38am. 'I gotta pack' she thought to herself. Although her bed was so comfortable she forced herself up, if not she'd be laying there forever just thinking. She did a lot of that recently. Thinking. Thinking about life. About Danny. She'd almost finished packing when she came across a shot skirt she once wore in an undercover operation with Danny to catch a Drug Dealer who had been on the NYPD's radar for years. She remembered the case as if it was yesterday.
''Took long enough,'' Flack started. He turned around and looked at them both. ''It shouldn't have taken you long Monroe, you hardly had anything to change into.''
''Flack?'' Lindsay said.
''Yeah?'' He replied smugly.
''Shut up.'' She said harshly.
''You're just mad that you weren't informed that you're a stripper on the side.'' He snapped back earning a glare from her.
Danny laughed. ''And here I thought she was a prostitute on the side.'' He quipped.
''And what, Messer? Are you the pimp?'' Flack asked.
''I wish. Then I might have better clothes,'' Danny remarked.
''Again with the clothes.'' Lindsay rolled her eyes.
''Well if they weren't so scratchy and stiff I wouldn't be complaining would I?'' Danny said as he scratched his arms.
''You guys fight like a married couple.'' Flack mocked as Stella walked outside the building and stood next to Mac who was watching the whole thing.
Lindsay lifted her left hand to show him the bling. ''Well, apparently we are.''
Detective Fuller (the Narcotics Detective assigned to the case) stood outside the crime lab writing in a note pad, he finally spoke up. ''Can we focus?'' he asked with a stern voice. ''This is serious. These guys –drug dealers- aren't a joke. They are very dangerous and if we have any intentions on busting them, we have to take this seriously. Do you get it? He asked.
''Yes,'' Danny and Lindsay said together in unison.
Fuller didn't seem to believe their answer. He turned around to look at them, ''Do you get it?'' He spat violently as he glared at them.
"Greek, we understand that this is some serious shit, okay? We know how to take serious things seriously." Danny retorted.
"Well, it seemed to me like a second ago you weren't taking this that serious," he practically spat. Fuller was a hot head. Everything was serious in his book, he didn't have time for "comedians" and especially people like Danny. He was a major control freak, it was his way or the high way. All those things made him one of the best detectives at the 18th, even though everyone practically hated him. "I don't think you understand how dangerous Martin Simmons is."
"Fuller, I understand perfectly. You are underestimating our skills and knowledge." Lindsay said calmy, quite frankly at this moment she was more scared of him than of Simmons.
"Messer, I fully 'understand' of your skills and knowledge, it's her I'm worried about." he gestured towards Lindsay as if she couldn't hear his insult.
Greek's comment towards Lindsay made Danny a little furious. He knew Lindsay was small and innocent which made her sometimes vulnerable but she was stubborn sometimes and didn't listen to what she didn't believe, but she was smart and would think outside the box. She is going to do fine, Fuller." Danny spat back as he and Lindsay got in the car which would take them to their ''apartment.''
"Yeah, that's what everyone has been telling me." He turned around back around in his seat and looked out the windshield. "Lets go."
Flack put the car in drive and pulled out into the busy street.
"You are now officially Jamie and Olivia Matthews." Greek announced. "Danny Messer and Lindsay Monroe once arrested you as a suspect for a murder, if that."
"I think Jamie would definitely be a fan of me," Messer said.
Fuller looked back and gave Danny an intimidating death glare. "Jamie Matthews is a fan of what I tell Jamie Matthews to be a fan of. And Jamie Matthews is not a fan of Daniel Messer.'' Greek, once again, turned back around. "You each have a bag with stuff in it to get you through, and the apartment has food, clean sheets, and everything needed." Greek reached in his coat pocket and threw them a set of keys. "The keys to the apartment. 2B"
"-or not 2b." Lindsay mocked quietly.
Greek looked back annoyed by her.
''HEY. I've had enough of this, you're treating us like children. Up in your prison of a precinct do you not know how to make each other feel better by making small jokes. Hell you probably don't so just shut up and tell us what we need to do so we don't have to see your sorry little ass anymore.'' Danny defended his partner, he was getting pissed off by this Fuller man.
Ignoring him he went on with his details. "There is a safe in the far closet on the east side. The small gold key goes to it. Inside are files on the drug dealers and what not. Read them, study them, memorize them. These guys are dangerous and the more you know -understand- of them the easier this will be." Fuller dug deep into his other pocket and pulled a out a small black remote with only a few button on it. "Here is the remote to the cameras inside your apartment-"
"We are being recorded?" Danny asked. He seemed disappointed. His face fell the slightest, only so that Lindsay could notice. She was also the only one that would know why.
"Yeah, but they can be turned off."
They scooted out of the back seat of the car and onto the cement sidewalk. Lucky enough for them it wasn't filled with pedestrians that would stare. Flack popped the trunk and they each grabbed a black bag from it. Lindsay hoped there was decent clothes in it for her, because she wasn't necessarily comfortable in a sluty skirt. If one more person called her a stripper or a prostitute she might flip.
As they started down the sidewalk Flack called out to them. "Good luck."
They bobbed their heads to him and kept walking down the sidewalk together. As they rounded the corner Danny slipped his arm around her waist and held her tight against his side. "What apartment is it?"
"It's down the street a little further." Lindsay said in a hushed tone. She didn't want to bring attention to them. It was a bad part of the city and getting mugged wasn't on her to do list mainly because it would be hard to run in this tight leather skirt and awkward high heels. Not saying that she wouldn't be able to do, because she knew that she could, but no, she just didn't feel like taking the effort to chase after a low life to get her purse back.
They couldn't help but look at the people sitting on the steps on an apartment building smoking. drinking, and laugh obnoxiously. Danny could tell Lindsay didn't wasn't comfortable walking down this sidewalk by the way her body tensed next to his, but they casually walked down the sidewalk like they were supposed to actually be there, like they belonged there. Danny put a little swag in his step and Lindsay tried hard not to laugh at the amusement of it.
"Jamie" Lindsay empathized his 'name', "Lets get some coffee."
"I would love to, Olivia," his smirk fell to annoyance. "But we have no money. Fuller made me leave my wallet."
"Damit, that's right."
"Maybe there will be a coffee machine in the apartment." he suggested hopeful, but they both knew that if there was one that it would be at the point of no return. It would be repulsive.
Lindsay stopped which caused Danny to stop next to her. She gestured her head toward an old, red brick building. "This is it."
"I guess… it's not as bad as I thought." he shrugged with a half-hearted smile that didn't reach his eyes. They walked up the cracked cement steps together. He tried the door with no success. "Do you have the keys?"
"No, you have them in your pocket."
He dug in his jean pocket and pulled them out. He had to stick every key in the key hole trying to figure out which out it was. "Are you sure he gave us the right key?"
"You're probably just doing it wrong." she pulled the keys out of his hands. "Here, let me." She slide in each of the keys into the key hole and tried twisting it, but just like Danny, it didn't open. "Crap, he must have not given us it." Lindsay reached to the back of her head and slipped out two bobbie pins.
"What are going to do?"
"What does it look like?" Lindsay bent the bobbie pins in a certain way and stuck them into the key hole.
"Being a criminal is natural for you. This… 'situation' wont be hard for you then," he mused.
She looked up at him. "Do you have any better idea?"
"No."
Lindsay rolled her eyes and maneuvered the bobbie pins in a certain way and the door clicked open. "and plus," Lindsay added. "It's not criminal if I'm a resident here."
"Sure," Messer said as he held the door open for her.
The smell of cigarette smoke and mould filled their nostril when they first stepped in. Danny wrinkled up his nose.
"Danny-"
"Jamie," he corrected.
"-I'm sure you've smelt much worse."
"But Linds-"
"Olivia"
"We are actually living here the next few days-" His eyes widened in disgust. "- was that a rat or an enormous looking cockroach?"
"Butch up!" she hissed at him as she made her way up the dirty, orange carpeted steps. "You're supposed to be this tough guy that is not afraid of cockroaches."
"Is that what Fuller said?" Messer mocked changing his tone.
"Not my fault he doesn't like you." Lindsay stepped onto the top step and made her way down the hallway. She glanced at each door to see what one was theirs. "Maybe you shouldn't be such a smart ass around him, and then he would like you."
"I'm not a smart ass."
She turned around and gave him a dubious look. She stepped towards a door that had 2B engraved in it. "Mm-hmm," She shoved the key into the key hole and luckily it worked and the door knob squeaked as it was twisted to open the door.
"I'm scared to even look in." Danny said standing a few feet away. He squinted his eyes close and then peeked one open to see her reaction.
"It's not that bad. I've definitely seen worse," She replied to him as she stepped in the apartment out of his view.
"Yeah, but you're a-" Danny started but then stopped when he realized he was almost going to say CSI. "Prostitute."
She popped her head back out the door and narrowed her eyes at him. "Just get in here.. Now."
She was pulled from her flashback by her alarm, it was now 5am and she had to start getting ready. She had a long drive ahead of her. Why couldn't it be like that again, less awkward? They were close then not driven by feelings? Or were they? And were they much easier to deal with then? Lindsay pushed all the thoughts out of her head and went for a shower. She went over her testimony in the shower so she was prepared. It was a coping mechanism. And a distraction.