Author's Notes: With just 3 days, 8 hours to wait, I'm all excited for Season 6 to start. Writing is therapy. Reviews are better!

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Full headers and disclaimer in Chapter 1

Title: A Father's Heart, Chapter 9 (completed 09/15/2009)

Chapter Rating: T

Word Count: 2,396

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Danny stood, one hand braced on the doorjamb, listening to the sounds of good manicotti going into the toilet. His mind flew back to a similar scene, one that had taken place in the locker room at the lab. He wasn't sure what was in Lindsay's stomach that time, but he vividly remembered what she'd told him when she was finished. He didn't think Lindsay ever really understood the emotions that went through him in that moment.

First, there was relief. He'd been so afraid that Lindsay was seriously ill. Hearing that she was merely pregnant had momentarily taken a great load off his mind. Next, he'd been terrified. Almost immediately though, the terror had been joined by an unexpected joy. That confusing mix of terror and happiness had dominated his life for the next seven months. It still was, if he was perfectly honest. He thought he was getting the hang of fatherhood and marriage, but he was still pretty terrified if he let himself stop and think about it long enough. He was also happier than he ever believed he deserved to be.

And here he was, standing outside a bathroom door once more while Lindsay threw up on the other side.

"Oh shit!" He muttered under his breath. Was she…again? The doctor had warned them that all the old wives tales that said a woman couldn't get pregnant while breast-feeding, along with some similar nonsense, were exactly that - old wives tales that were simply not true. They'd been warned to use precautions right from the start, and they did. But as Lindsay was so fond of pointing out lately, they'd used precautions before and wound up with Lucy. Nothing was one hundred percent.

"Lindsay? You ok in there?" Danny waited. The retching had stopped, and now there was an eerie silence coming from the other side of the door. "C'mon, Linds. What's goin' on?" He was about ready to bust in when the door opened, and Lindsay came back out. Pale, shaking and holding a washcloth that she used to wipe her face.

"I…I think I need to sit down." She looked up at him. He'd never seen a look quite like that in her eyes.

"Sure, sure, babe. C'mon, let's go into the bedroom, it's closer."

Danny fought the impulse to just pick her up and carry her. On more than one occasion he'd scooped her into his arms and taken her into the bedroom for what became a night of lovemaking, but aside from that, he knew she preferred to get from point A to point B under her own steam whenever possible. He gripped one hand tightly and wrapping his other arm around her waist, steered her through the door and sat her down on the bed.

"Is there anything I can get you? Do you want some water?"

Lindsay shook her head and simply indicated that he should take a seat beside her.

"Lucy."

Danny looked at her quizzically. "Lucy's fine. She's asleep in the nursery. Do you want me to go get her?"

Again Lindsay shook her head. Nervously, she began to fold the damp washcloth in her hands, then unfolded it and took one more swipe across her eyes and mouth.

"Lindsay, are you…?" Danny broke off as Lindsay began to speak.

"When I was little, I used to wander off into the woods beyond the fields. I'd just walk and walk all day and lose track of time. When I finally got back home, my dad and all my brothers had been out looking for me and my mother would tell me that she got sick with worry."

Lindsay looked again into Danny's eyes, and now he realized what the look was. She was haunted…haunted by…something.

"I never really understood what she meant by that until just now, Danny. What if they come after Lucy? What if they decide that, if they can't get to your son, they'll get your daughter? Or what if they find out he's not yours and they come after her? Danny, when I think of that, I just…"

"Shhhh, Lindsay. Shhhhshh." Danny held his wife, rocking her gently back and forth. He couldn't tell her not to worry, when his own greatest fears mirrored hers.

"Lindsay, hon, we're not gonna let anything happen to Luce, a'right? I mean c'mon, Mac's her godfather. Do you really think he's gonna let some punk gang get within a hundred miles of his favorite goddaughter?" Lindsay was still shaking, and Danny decided he needed a different tactic. He gripped Lindsay's shoulders and gently pushed her back, just enough that he could look directly into her eyes.

"Lindsay, I know what you're thinkin', and I know how you feel. 'Cause I've been thinking the exact same thing and believe me, it scares the shit outta me. And I'm not sure what we can do to protect her, I only know that we gotta do everything we can. And I also know that, to keep Lucy safe, we gotta be thinkin' straight. We can't be fallin' to pieces here, although believe, me that's exactly what I'd like to do."

He felt a hand snake behind his waist, and he watched as Lindsay took a deep breath. He could almost see the shattered pieces reassemble themselves in front of him. Her hand drifted up to finger through his hair. She raised her head and nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Right, Danny. You're right. I can't be tossing my cookies in the can when my daughter needs me. I think I would like that water now, though. Can you go get it? And maybe you can check the locks and turn out the lights while I check on Lucy. Then we can go to bed, ok?"

"Sure thing, babe. You sure you're ok?"

Lindsay nodded and Danny got up and went to lock things up for the night. Lindsay felt a bit unsteady, but her strength returned as she walked to the bathroom to hang the wet washcloth over the bath. Then she went into the nursery, where the nightlight provided just enough illumination to assure her that her baby was safe and sound and sleeping peacefully. She was tempted to ask Danny to set up the portable crib in their bedroom, but realized Lucy was as safe in the nursery as any other room. She was just about to go back into their bedroom when she felt Danny gently lay a kiss on her shoulder.

"You feelin' better now, sweetheart?" He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her back against his chest. When he tucked his chin down onto her shoulder, she turned to give him a light kiss.

"I think so. I just never knew I could be that terrified."

Danny began to sway back and forth, holding her firmly as he did. "I guess that's part of bein' a mom, huh," he whispered, "I guess it takes some getting used to."

Lindsay turned in his arms and pulled a few inches away so that she could look into his eyes. "I don't want to get used to that part, Danny. I don't ever want to feel that frightened again. I want those boys found, and I want them put away and I want all the keys destroyed. I can't have my daughter's safety threatened by a bunch of thugs who have some idiotic grudge against you. I won't have it!"

Lindsay walked out of the nursery and back into the bedroom. Danny followed and found her sitting on the side of the bed, holding the phone to her ear.

"Who you callin'?"

"I'm calling Mac. He says he can't tell you about this case? Well, he'll damn sure give ME Every..Last..Detail!"

Danny was starting to feel a headache coming on. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sat down on the edge of the bed. There was no sense in arguing with her. The one person he knew that had more will than his wife was Mac Taylor. Mac would tell Lindsay exactly what he'd told Danny and not one bit more. Only eventually, Mac would hang up the phone and Danny would be left to deal with Montana's temper.

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Danny was right. Mac didn't tell Lindsay anymore than he'd told Danny earlier.

Lindsay spent about 40 minutes on the phone grilling, cajoling, needling and finally screaming. Through it all, Danny could hear bits of Mac's end of the conversation and was amazed that the man never once lost his temper. If it was Danny talking to him that way, he'd probably have gotten his ear blistered right through the phone. To say nothing of the dirt assignments he'd get for the next twenty years. Mac must have a soft spot for mothers, was all he could figure. And he always suspected Mac had a soft spot for Lindsay, anyway.

Mac told Lindsay the part that Danny didn't have a chance to. That a twenty-four hour patrol was watching their apartment, and a plain-clothes officer would be available to go with them anytime Lindsay and Lucy needed to leave the house for anything. Lindsay was still scheduled to begin a regular shift of light duty at the lab next week, but she would bring Lucy with her.

Danny was a little shocked when Mac mentioned Lindsay's return to work. At first he was angry that she hadn't discussed it with him, but then he decided she and Lucy would be a whole lot safer at the lab. He'd just have to keep an eye on that Blake character. For a single guy, he paid entirely too much attention to a three-month old baby girl for Danny's comfort.

Mac didn't give Lindsay any information on who they suspected might be running the Tanglewood Boys, who the members were, or how they came to be suspects in the case. Nor would he say anything about how they came to their conclusions about the motive for Melinda's murder.

Once Mac convinced Lindsay that he'd told her all he was able to, he asked to speak to Danny. He informed Danny that he contacted Child and Family Services regarding Joshua. Danny spoke to Mac shortly after Lindsay's afternoon call, to let him know about the arranged meeting. Just as Danny surmised, Mac was curious why Danny wanted to meet the boy, when he was so adamantly denying his paternity. Danny told him the truth. Melinda was a close friend through high school and Danny was curious to find out why she would list him as the father. Danny also told Mac that, with everything he knew now, it was even more important to him to discover exactly what was going on. Lastly, while he knew it wasn't his fault that Tanglewood had gone after Melinda to get 'his' son, he still felt enough guilt to feel obligated to do whatever he could to make sure that Melinda's son was well provided for.

Mac arranged to move the meeting to a safe house. Flack and a couple of officers would stop by in the morning to pick them up and take them, in a closed van, to the location where CFS would bring the boy. Mac assured Danny that they'd be allowed as much privacy for their meeting as was possible, under the circumstances.

By the time Danny hung up the phone, it was after midnight. He was tired before. Now he was exhausted. Lindsay had changed into a fresh t-shirt, having soiled the other one earlier. Danny gave her the information on the change in meeting arrangements while they turned down the covers and crawled into bed.

He was about to drift off to sleep. Lindsay was curled up next to him, her head pillowed on his chest, his arm wrapped around her, holding her as closely as he could.

"Danny?"

"Hmmm?"

"I meant what I said, Danny. I want those boys found and I want Tanglewood out of our lives forever. I don't care what it takes."

Danny turned slightly. It was dark in the room, but he could still make out the glint of Lindsay's eyes.

"I know you do, Linds. We'll get 'em - I swear we will."

"No, Danny, I don't think you understand." She hesitated. Danny wondered what it was that she thought he didn't understand.

"I said something, in the hospital, Danny, right after Lucy was born. I didn't really mean it, though."

He could see her lashes flutter, and thought he saw the light reflecting off a tear that was rolling across her nose. Reaching for it with his finger, he felt the moisture and leaned in to kiss it away.

"What are you talking about, sweetheart?"

"Danny, I do want us to have more children someday. I want to give you a son - I know how important that is to you. And don't try to deny it. I know you couldn't possibly love Lucy anymore than you do, but I also heard about how you terrorized the lab trying to pick out boy's names. If we don't take too long about it, I wouldn't mind having one or two more than that. I'm not sure how you feel about it, and we can talk about it, of course, but there were four kids in my family and it seemed like a really good number, you know?"

Danny was stroking her cheek gently as she told him this. He'd planned on one day talking to her about the hospital bed declaration she had made. She swore that Lucy would be an only child, and Danny hoped that she didn't really mean it. He was overjoyed to hear that she now wanted more children. And he thought four was a pretty good number, too. He was about to tell her that when she twined her fingers in his hand and continued.

"But Danny, I'm not having any more children if I have to worry every moment that some gang of hoodlums will take them away from me. I can't live with that, Danny, I'm sorry."

Danny sighed. Leaning forward, he kissed her gently and sweetly on the lips. "We'll get them Lindsay, I promise. We'll get them." He only hoped he would be able to keep that promise without breaking the law himself.

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