A/N: Time for Danny and Lindsay to spend a little time together. I tried to make Danny a little more like his character on the show but I don't know if I succeeded. Oh and just a reminder, all spelling, grammar and tense mistakes are my own.

Tuesday and Wednesday went by pretty fast, not too many incidents and little conversations here and there with Danny when they could. She wouldn't let herself be alone with Mr. Mason which he must have sensed because he kept eyeing her in class.

When it came to Danny, Lindsay found herself looking forward to seeing him; she finally had someone that talked to her at school. She didn't know if she could call him a friend just yet, she didn't know what he was thinking or what people were telling him.

Lindsay did however enjoy that despite Madison's continued attempts to flirt with Danny, he seemed unfazed.

Thursday everything was going well until lunch time. Lindsay was on line waiting to pay for her lunch when Jason, Madison and Lexie all paraded past her. First Jason called her a 'bitch' and pushed into her causing her to drop her tray, then Madison pushed by calling her a 'whore' and finally, Lexie topped it off by calling her a 'slut'.

Danny happened to be on line behind Lindsay and upon hearing a tray crash and someone being called a 'bitch', Danny looked to see what was going on. He looked over in time to see that it was Lindsay who had dropped her tray and a guy and two girls who bumped into her and were calling her names.

Lindsay couldn't move; it was the same frozen feeling she got every time she saw Jason. She just stood there with her tray on the ground and here eyes down.

Danny walked over to Jason and got in his face. "You got a problem," he asked angrily.

"Not with you," Jason replied, "with that bitch," he motioned towards Lindsay calmly.

"Don't call her a bitch," Danny demanded getting more in Jason's face. Lindsay couldn't believe what was going on.

"Or what, huh? What are you going to do about it," Jason questioned mockingly moving right back into Danny's face. The two boys were having a stand-off in the middle of the lunch line. When Lindsay thought Danny might punch Jason she took hold of his arm and pulled him a little.

When Danny felt Lindsay pull his arm he decided not to cause a scene so he led Lindsay out of the line.

When Lindsay thought he was going to stop at a table, he kept going. "Follow me" he said as he took her hand.

Once in the hallway she asked, "Where are we going?"

"Out," he replied simply.

"Out," Lindsay questioned confused.

"Out to lunch," Danny explained.

Lindsay stopped walking and Danny faced her. "You know this is a closed campus, we can't leave the grounds," she explained.

He smiled and asked, "Do you trust me?" Lindsay had only known him for a few days but for some reason she couldn't help but trust him so when she nodded yes he took her and again said, "Then follow me."

So Lindsay followed him down some stairs where she had never been before. They got to the loading docks which was right by the Janitors office. When Danny started walking towards the exit a voice said, "Where are you going?"

Lindsay got scared; she thought they were going to get in trouble but Danny calmly replied, "I'm taking my friend out to lunch."

The man looked like he was sizing Danny up and then said, "Make sure you get back before your next class and bring her back in one piece."

Lindsay just stood their confused but Danny smiled. "This is my dad," Danny explained.

"Oh," Lindsay said a little surprised.

"Dad, this is Lindsay, Lindsay this is my dad," Danny introduced. "My dad works maintenance here," he explained.

"Hello Lindsay, nice to meet you" Danny's father said with his hand held out to her.

She gave him her hand and said "Nice to meet you too Mr. Messer," as they shook.

He put his other hand on top of both of theirs and said warmly, "Please, call me Joey, no mister, just Joey." Joey was no taller than Danny but rounder with a sweet, tired face, the same blue eyes as Danny and graying hair.

Lindsay smiled and said, "Nice to meet you…Joey."

They dropped hands and Joey looked back at Danny. "Like I said, be back on time or I could get in trouble."

"Ok," Danny promised as he and Lindsay walked out.

They walked for a while when Lindsay took a breath and asked, "Why are you hanging out with me?"

"What," Danny asked confused.

"I'm sure Matt told you I called the cops at a party; talking to me is like committing social suicide," she explained.

"I told you, I don't care," he said lightly. "If talking to you is social suicide than at least I'll be committing it while talking to a beautiful girl."

Lindsay let a shy smile grace her lips. They found a café to eat at and after sitting at a table Lindsay admitted, "I did call the cops."

"That explains the 'bitch' comments but not…" he pretended to think hard, "what was it…'whore' and 'slut.' Who were they," Danny asked.

"Well, you know Madison from biology and Lexie is her best friend. Jason, the guy you almost beat up is Madison's boyfriend." Lindsay took a deep breath and Danny could tell she was contemplating whether or not to continue.

"You don't have to tell me," he assured her.

"No, I want to. Jason tried to rape me at that party," she said quietly. She was looking down at her lap, afraid of what Danny's reaction might be. She was shocked when she felt his hand on her chin lifting her to look at him. All she saw was concern in his eyes so she continued as he took his hand back.

"Madison walked in and she saw us. I just froze; I couldn't say anything so Jason told her I seduced him. Of course she believed him; I began to panic, I couldn't think straight so I called the cops. I was going to tell them that someone tried to rape me but I froze again. Someone at the party picked up the line and heard the police on the other line and everyone freaked out. They knew it was me who had called and I guess Madison told them what she thought happened in that room. Needless to say, she stopped being my friend and everyone at school knows what happened." Lindsay took a breath as tears began to fall. She didn't try to hide it like she did with Mr. Mason, she let them come out.

"You're the first person I've told that too," Lindsay admitted quietly as she looked down, her hands on the table fidgeting.

Danny took one of Lindsay's hands in his own hand and said with sincere compassion, "I'm sorry you had to go through that alone."

She let out a small smile, "thanks."

"Come on," Danny said as he started to get up, "we should start heading back."

They walked back in silence for a while before it got to be too much for Lindsay. "What are you thinking," she asked Danny.

"I'm thinking…how much I'd like to go back to the dining hall and kick Jason's ass…but I promised my dad no more fights," Danny explained.

She smiled slightly and questioned, "Fights?"

"Yea, I got in some fights before switching schools," Danny explained but didn't go further and Lindsay didn't push but now she was happy that she had stopped him from punching Jason.

When they got back to the loading dock they saw Danny's dad. When he saw them he asked, "How was lunch?"

They both said it was good and then said goodbye and went to their ethics class together. When that class was over, before they went their separate ways, Lindsay stopped Danny and looked him in those ice blue eyes she liked so much. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

Danny replied, "You're welcome," with a shrug like it was the most natural thing in the world.

After school that day, when Lindsay was getting ready to leave, she saw Mr. Mason looking at her. She knew what he wanted but she couldn't go there again. Danny made her feel special, he saw her, talked to her, listened to her. Her only wish was that she had met Danny a week earlier and the whole thing with Mr. Mason wouldn't have happened.

As she walked out of the building she felt Mr. Mason's eyes following her.

Please review. More Danny and Lindsay time coming up in the next chapter so stay tuned!