A/N: Sorry about the delay with getting this chapter posted. I had the majority of it written but just couldn't find the time to work on the end. But this weekend I was finally able to sit down and get some work done. Hopefully you won't have quite as long a wait for the next chapter, but I can't make any promises. :( I'll just say that this story will be finished before Christmas actually rolls around. How's that sound?

Huge thanks to lulubell79, Julia, afrozenheart412, Alex Joleta, RandomTVFan30, webdlfan, Daisy1966, MesserFamilyFan100, the mirror, Elja, and Mel1592 for leaving reviews for the last chapter. You guys are so awesome!

I realize you guys didn't come here just to read my author's notes (or maybe you did. Who am I to judge?), so I'll shut up now and let you get on with the story!

Danny was standing at the stove when he felt a tug on his pant-leg. Glancing down, he grinned at his daughter who was bouncing and wiggling her fingers in the air.

"Daddy! Daddy, up! Up!"

"Hey there, squirt," Danny said, bending to scoop her up into his arms. "Did you come to help Daddy?"

"Hungwee," she replied, pointing to the food that was slowly making its way from the stovetop to the platters laid out on the counter.

"I know you're hungry, Sweetpea," he said. "We just have to wait for Nona and Papa, and then we can eat, okay?"

"Hungwee!" she bellowed, leaning over and stretching out her hand toward a pot of hot gravy.

"Whoa, careful Luce," Danny said, holding her tighter and taking a step back from the danger zone. "You can't touch that, sweetie. It's hot. Daddy doesn't want you to get hurt."

Lucy huffed, plunking her forehead down on his shoulder despondently. "Hungwee," she mumbled into his shirt.

Danny glanced around the kitchen, looking for something small to placate her until his parents arrived. "Babe?" he called out, pulling a Mini Babybel from the fridge. "Linds? You heard from my folks yet?" Balancing Lucy in one arm, he pulled the little tab, tearing the wax coating from the cheese and handing it to Lucy.

"Not yet. Why?" she replied from the living room where she was sitting talking with her parents.

"We got a hungry, grumpy Messer on our hands," he chuckled, "And for once it isn't me."

She smiled at him as she joined them in the kitchen. "They'll be here soon, and then we can…" Her smile slipped from her face and a frown took its place at the sight of Lucy munching happily away on her snack. "Danny!" she snapped "What are you doing? Now she's not going to want to eat her dinner!"

"What? It's just a piece of cheese," he said, jiggling Lucy in his arms. "You'll still be hungry, won't you Luce?"

"Mo-awr p'ease!" she demanded, stuffing the last of the cheese into her mouth. "Hungwee."

"See? She's fine."

"Hmm," Lindsay said, narrowing her eyes at father and daughter. "Well, she definitely knows which side her bread is buttered on." She smiled at Lucy, taking her from Danny's arms and kissing her cheek. "Mommy wouldn't have given her any cheese."

"And that's exactly why Daddy is her favourite," Danny quipped over his shoulder, turning his attention back to stirring the gravy.

"Well, we'll just have to see if you're still her favourite when she wants to start dating."

"Hey! You promised you weren't going to joke about that anymore," Danny grumbled.

Lindsay laughed and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Sorry, babe," she replied. "I forgot." She winked at him before going back out into the living room to rejoin her parents. A few minutes later, a knock at the door signalled the arrival of their long-awaited guests.

Lindsay smiled at her in-laws, stepping back and ushering them into the apartment. "Hi Mom. Merry Christmas," she said, accepting Maria Messer's warm embrace. "Merry Christmas, Dad."

"Buon Natale, Lindsay!" Maria said in greeting. "Oh, it smells so good in here!"

"Thank you," Lindsay replied, blushing. "Dinner is almost ready, so come on in and make yourselves at home."

"Are your folks here yet?" Joe Messer asked. "Are we late? We got stuck in traffic."

"Well, we wouldn't have if you'd just followed my directions, Joe," Maria scolded. "Honestly. You and your shortcuts," she muttered before turning to Lindsay. "It's a wonder we got here at all. I hope you don't have the same problem with Daniel."

"No. Danny's pretty good at…"

"Because if he's anything like his father…" Maria trailed off, narrowing her eyes in her husband's direction before she beamed at Lindsay. "But never mind that. We're here and that's what's important. Now, I know you said not to bring anything, but I couldn't help myself. I never like to show up empty handed, so… here." She reached into one of the enormous gift bags they'd brought with them, pulling out a large Tupperware container filled with her delicious homemade Christmas cookies. "If we don't eat them tonight then you can put them in the freezer. But if I know my son, they'll all be gone by tomorrow morning."

"Thanks Mom," Lindsay said. "That's really very sweet of you."

"Bah. It was nothing. No trouble at all cara mia," Maria replied, reaching out to pat Lindsay's cheek affectionately. "Now, speaking of my son… Daniel!"

"Just a sec!" Danny bellowed from the kitchen, hurrying to turn down the heat on the stove before heading out into the living room.

"Buon Natale, Ma," he said, kissing his mother's cheek. "Merry Christmas, Pop. Can I take your coats?"

Once shoes and coats had been tucked away in the hall closet, Lindsay led the way into the living room where Dana and John were seated on the couch playing with Lucy while eyeing the new arrivals. "Ma, Pop," Danny began, "These are Lindsay's parents, John and Dana Monroe."

"Mom, Dad," Lindsay continued, "These are Danny's parents, Joe and Maria Messer."

Stepping aside, Danny and Lindsay both held their breaths, waiting for something to happen. They weren't exactly sure what they were expecting, but they each breathed a sigh of relief when both sets of parents smiled at one another, John and Dana rising to their feet while Joe and Maria stepped forward to shake their hands.

Dana and Maria exchanged hugs, John and Joe a hearty handshake. Then Maria turned to Joe, giving him an appraising once-over while she shook his hand. "You don't look that scary," she said. "Hearing Daniel talk about you, I would have thought you were ten feet tall with fangs and claws. But you look harmless enough."

John let out a bark of delighted laughter, casting a glance at Danny who suddenly wished that the floor would open up and swallow him whole. He felt Lindsay shuddering with laughter beside him and he nudged her with his elbow. "It's not funny!" he hissed.

Wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, Lindsay grinned at him. "Come on, babe. It is kind of funny," she replied, earning a huff of annoyance from her husband.

"Well, in Danny's defence, John was a bit of a bear toward him when they first arrived in Bozeman," Dana said. "But he smartened up when he saw how happy he makes our Lindsay. You two raised a very well-mannered and respectful young man. You should be proud."

Joe appeared somewhat flustered by the compliment, while Maria beamed with pride. "We just did our best," she said. "But we can't take all the credit. He's a new man since he met Lindsay. We're so glad they found each other. We just love her to pieces! Such a lovely girl."

"And they make such beautiful grandbabies!" Dana continued, jiggling Lucy in her arms. "Aren't you just the most beautiful little girl? Yes you are!" She smiled at Maria. "I've been after Lindsay to have another one. It'd be such a shame to waste those good genes."

"I know," Maria agreed with a sigh. "But every time I bring it up with Daniel he just rolls his eyes at me and tells me to mind my own business."

"Ma, please! Don't start that again," Danny moaned. "Can't you guys talk about something else?"

"Oh, let us have our fun, Daniel," Maria replied, patting her son's cheek consolingly. "What's the harm in us doing a little wishful thinking?"

Danny was saved from having to come up with a retort to his mother's comment when Lindsay took him by the arm and pulled him into the kitchen.

"I need some help getting dinner on the table," she explained. "And besides, I want them to get to know one another, so let them talk on their own for a while."

"But that's the problem," Danny grumbled. "They're not talking. They're plotting. I thought it was bad enough having my mom on our case, but your mom is just as baby-crazy as she is."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Lindsay asked, her back to him as she began transferring the contents in the pots and pans on the stovetop to dishes and platters for the table.

"Well… no," Danny admitted. "But I'd like the decision to have another baby to be ours, you know? I don't want to do it just to appease our parents. Wouldn't you rather wait until the time is right for us before we start trying?"

Lindsay shrugged her shoulders. "The time wasn't necessarily right for us when we found out about Lucy, but that seemed to work out alright," she said evenly.

"Well yeah, but we also didn't have everybody breathing down our necks at the time either," Danny countered. "Don't get me wrong, Linds. I would love to have another baby. I just don't like all the pressure."

Lindsay grinned slyly at him over her shoulder. "You worried about performance anxiety, babe?" she teased, earning a pair of raised eyebrows from Danny.

"Me? Performance anxiety?" he queried, setting down the corkscrew he'd just retrieved from the drawer. With a few quick steps he closed the distance between himself and his wife, wrapping his arms around her waist and whispering intimately in her ear. "I've never had any problems in that department when it comes to you, my beautiful and oh-so-sexy wife."

Lindsay closed her eyes and sighed as Danny's lips found all the little spots on her neck that drove her absolutely wild. "Mmm… baby stop," she panted as he nipped at her earlobe. "Come on, everyone's waiting for dinner. Behave yourself."

"Make me," Danny challenged.

"Danny!" Lindsay giggled, swatting at him with a convenient tea towel. "You'd better be good, or you won't get your presents from Santa."

"If I'm really good can I have a present tonight?" Danny asked.

"Maybe."

"Can that present be you in nothing but a big, red bow?"

Lindsay laughed. "Not tonight, babe. Don't forget that Lucy's sleeping with us for the next few nights and my parents are going to be in the next room."

"Dammit," Danny lamented, dropping his forehead down onto Lindsay's shoulder despondently. "Why'd you let me get myself all worked up? Now I've got this mental picture of you in my mind and it's gonna drive me crazy until… how long are your folks here for?"

"Four days."

"Oh my God," Danny groaned. "I'll never make it. Do I have time for a cold shower before dinner?"

"You do not," Lindsay said, turning to face Danny and wrapping her arms around his neck. "But how about this; maybe after Lucy's gone to bed you and I can take that shower together."

"You wanna take a cold shower with me?" Danny teased. "Kinda defeats the purpose, babe."

"I was thinking more of the hot and steamy variety," Lindsay replied, standing on her toes to press her lips against Danny's.

"Mmm… I like the way you think, Mrs. Messer," he murmured against her lips before he pulled back and smiled mischievously down at her. "Now, we're supposed to be getting dinner ready for our guests, so you've got to stop distracting me."

"Excuse me?" Lindsay raised an eyebrow, giving Danny a disbelieving look. "I'm distracting you? I think you'll find it was the other way around. You are the bad influence here, mister. Not me."

"Whatever you say, sweetheart," Danny replied with an impish grin. He leaned forward and pecked Lindsay lightly on the lips. "I love you, Linds."

"I love you too, Danny," she replied.

"Hungwee!" came a little voice from the living room, followed by a chorus of laughter from two sets of doting grandparents.

Danny and Lindsay shared a smile before they returned to their tasks in the kitchen. Finally, everything was set and all that was missing were the guests.

Lindsay stepped into the living room to announce that dinner was ready. She smiled at the sight before her; her mother and Maria were sitting side by side on the couch with Lucy wedged in between them as they went through one of the many photo albums that documented the little girl's life thus far. And on the far side of the room, her father and Joe Messer were bickering good-naturedly with one another as they watched the hockey game playing quietly on the television.

Feeling Danny's arm around her, she turned and smiled up at him. "It's nice to see them together like this," she mused.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed, pressing a kiss to her temple. "And they even seem to like each other, which is awesome. I don't know what you were so worried about."

She nudged him with her elbow, narrowing her eyes at him. "Excuse me? I wasn't the only one that was worried."

Danny chuckled, pulling her closer. "The important thing is that – so far – they seem to be getting along."

"Mmm," Lindsay sighed, nestling into Danny's side, her arms sliding around his waist. "It's nice, actually. Having them all here feels good. Like it's really Christmas."

"You know what else would make it feel like Christmas?" Danny asked. Lindsay glanced questioningly up at him. "Food. I'm starving, Linds. Can we eat already?"

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "You are such a mood-killer sometimes," she chided, but pressed a quick kiss to his smiling lips nonetheless. "Alright everybody! Dinner's ready!"

LOL. I couldn't resist throwing in some banter and a little innuendo. It wouldn't be Danny and Lindsay without it! I hope you had fun with this chapter and are eagerly awaiting what else I have in store for this story!

Please feel free to leave a few words in a review if you feel so inclined. Also, just FYI, updates for High School Daze and Something Wicked This Way Comes are in the works so keep your eyes peeled over the next few days!

Thanks for reading. Until next time!

*rhymes*