A/N: This, I think, is a complex relationship. I do believe that if Messer hadn't been there, these two might have had a chance at something else (they do look cute together!) and, on the other hand, how do you go about dealing with your best friend's significant other?

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LINDSAY – ALFONSINA AND THE SEA

Only God knows what heartbreaks you endured, what old pains your voice silenced…

And if he calls, don't tell him I'm home, tell him Alfonsina isn't coming back… and if he calls, never tell him I'm home, just tell him I'm gone…

Despite the sneezing and the teary eyes and everything uncomfortable that goes with an allergy attack, I was able to take a good look at you at the zoo the day you arrived. And I liked what I saw. Really liked. I knew you'd be a handful and a half, and not an easy one to tame, and I was up to the challenge. I knew (and I can say this without a false sense of modesty) that you were pleased with the sight before you. I'm sure Montana has its share of good looking guys, but not sure there are many Irish around. It's the blue eye/dark hair combo that scores every time.

I thought it was almost a done deal. I'd wait a couple of weeks for you to settle down, get used to the routine and then ask you out for a beer at Sullivan's. Maybe shoot some pool. Very police-like, very neutral, very… safe. Two, three outings like those and then I'd switch to dinner at a low key place… somewhere that didn't scream "date" as soon as you walked in. And then…

That's as far as my planning went. My allergy was getting the worst of me, on the one hand, and in the other, the scowl on Messer's face spelled trouble. I knew he was determined to hate anyone who tried to replace Aiden, only because it was easier to hate the newbie than blame Mac… or Aiden herself, for the whole thing. Somehow, I got the feeling that Danny wouldn't take lightly the fact that I decided to put my moves on you. So I decided to back down and lay low until he kinda warmed up to you and then it wouldn't pose an issue. You seemed like a sweet kid, a competent cop as well, and those dimples of yours were going to be hard to resist, so I was sure sooner or later Danny will accept you for you and then it'll all be a walk in the park.

What is it that they say about best laid plans? I knew I'd lost my window of opportunity as soon as you asked Messer to "make tracks". It slammed on my fingers as hard as it had smacked Danny on the face. I didn't need no Einstein IQ to figure that out, either. When you've been around him for as long as you have, and you've double dated until you had made an art out of it, you tend to know every single non-verbal cue of your partner-in-crime. And Danny's non-verbals were louder than hell itself.

So I took a step back and watched. And watched, and watched. I saw how you reformed my best buddy without even planning on it; I saw how you made a man out of the boy… and the only "date" you've ever had was your idea… and it was solely to show Messer who's boss. I'm telling you, I'd have paid good money to see his face that night, when he saw Mac up on stage and realized he'd just been had.

Suddenly, subtly, you began changing. You began coming to work with your face puffed, as if you've been up all night crying; and you began acting weird around crime scenes making everyone wonder what was wrong with you.

Everyone but Messer, that is. You'll have to excuse my friend; he's a bit of an idiot when it comes to love, having experienced it seldom in his life. He was so worried about how to take whatever you two were feeling for each other to the next level that he failed to see the way you were behaving. When he should have been analyzing you carefully, he decided to take the plunge and ask you out. Needless to say, your "it's not you, it's me" speech didn't help zilch. I should know. I spent the next three weekends watching him get wasted and listened over and over again as he agonized over all the reasons you had to turn him down, no matter how nicely you've done it.

He wasn't the greatest of people to be around the following months, but it all went to hell when you flew to Montana without saying goodbye. Granted, that "Moo" card was something else, but it didn't avoid the drunken self-pity party. He was sure you had gone back to marry the fiancé you've never mentioned before, and that you were never coming back.

I have a confession to make, Linds. I went behind you back and did some background checking on you. Please understand I did it for my friend, because I couldn't stand his moping about any longer, because it broke my heart to see him worrying about you so badly he couldn't see up from down. So I contacted the local PD and soon I knew why you were back in Montana and why you had been acting the way you had been acting.

And I had to tell Danny.

I had no idea he'd go all knight in shinning armor and fly to your rescue, and I'm sure nobody actually believed it until you confirmed it; but everyone who knew Danny knew that meant he was a goner. The moment I saw you coming out of the airport gate holding hands, I knew it was a done deal.

The knowledge was confirmed at a later date over drinks. Now don't give me that look and please put that gun away. Danny's not the type to kiss and tell… much. He just says enough so I know you two are doing good by each other and that you're happy and that's all I want and need to know.

On second thought… sprayed-on latex??? You gotta be kidding me, Montana!

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"Alfonsina y el mar" by Ariel Ramírez and Félix Luna is a song based on the death of Argentinean poet Alfonsina Storni, who committed suicide by walking into the sea. She's one of the greatest female/feminist poets of early 19th century, always having a hard time finding her place in a world that was male dominated.