DISCLIMER: you know the spiel.
A/N: Sorry, being a grownup sucks and I want to go back to university like none other! So Hopefully I can make my absence up to you. Also, I cannot skip an episode, but since there is soooooooo little interaction between Danny and Lindsay, this chapter is going to be a bunch of short vignettes to get us to where we want to be, and fast, so express lane chapter! Enjoy.
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: : Murder Sings the Blues : :
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Cake consumed the break room. Pink boxes everywhere. It was clear Flack had a sweet tooth, or just couldn't say no to the sexy little blonde behind the counter at the bakery. There was a lot of cake in the crime lab, which fit as it was Mac's birthday. Not that he made a big deal of it, but this year he actually took off, so something was going on. Could the boss man have a lady in his life? Nah. Couldn't be. Danny laughed picking a chocolate cupcake out of the box and taking a heaping bite. "So your suspect was a crazy wannabe bride huh?" Danny asked between chews.
"Yea, sort of like your last girlfriend." Flack snarked at Danny.
"Whatchu talking bout man?" Danny asked after swallowing a heaping bite.
"You last girlfriend, what was her name, the blonde."
"Cindy? What about her?"
"The woman was nuts, Danno, she was looking for a wedding."
Danny laughed at that "No she wasn't." the woman was crazy, but looking for him to marry her. Not possible.
"Danny, she gave me her ring size for you."
"You're shitting me man."
"You know I never fully understood what the term shitting you meant." Lindsay said as she walked in to refill her coffee. "What's with all the pink boxes?"
"It's Mac's Birthday." Flack said plainly.
"Uh huh, and the boxes of…" Lindsay started peaking into one of the containers "Cake are...?"
"Flack couldn't say no to the bakery chick."
"So you bought the bakery out." Lindsay laughed picking out a cupcake of her own.
"Yea." Danny supplied in a cocky sort of way. It was fun to throw a friend under the metaphorical bus sometimes. "So how's your case coming?"
"So so, not many answers so far." Lindsay shrugged. "Yours?"
"Crazy wannabe brides and irritated neighbors." Flack laughed. "Actually Linds, that's something I wanted to ask you?"
"Ask me what Flack?" Lindsa asked, looking Flack over curiously. What tie did she have to this case?
"Why do women get a kick out of listening to sex?"
"What?" Lindsay laughed, nearly choking on a bite of cake.
"Our vic, did it a lot, the girls in the building admitted to listening, with pleasure."
"Probably the same reason you guys like watching it."
"Whoa." Danny piped in. "You guys?"
"Ok, guys in general. It's a laugh." Lindsay shrugged.
"So have you listened in on…."
"OOOhhh. Yea." Lindsay smirked. "The lady upstairs, um she's a screamer. It's entertaining to say the least."
"It's not Connie is it?" Danny asked
"Upstairs, not next door." Lindsay corrected, "Thank god too, if its someone you know, that's just mortifying."
"Like what?"
"Like you can hear your brother getting it on in the next room under your parent's roof. Actually, no that was actually pretty good, especially when Pop's walked in on it." Lindsay laughed. "Oh the humiliation."
"Can only imagine." Danny laughed with her. Looking at her he could only imagine her in her room, pillow over her head, then sitting bolt upright to listen intently when Mr. Monroe came in. Then his mind wandered: If it had been Lindsay, there probably would have been a shot gun and a poor guy running from the house bare assed and not caring, just thankful to be alive. At least, that's how he pictured Lindsay's rancher father being. Stereotypes can be misleading, but probably not in this case.
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: : Consequences : :
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"Hey Montana, You ever paint ball." Danny asked taking the seat next to Lindsay in the break room. She was staring into a cup of tea with a manila folder staring back at her. She looked like she needed her mind taken off whatever it was focused on.
"What's that Dan?" She asked
"You ever paint ball?"
"Messer, does a bear shit in the woods?"
"Nice very Montana." Danny laughed. "You going back for Thanksgiving?"
"To Montana? No, I have to go back in the spring, so."
"So….you going to spend the holiday alone?" Danny asked skeptically. Lindsay hadn't been herself in months, and honestly, he was a little worried about her. He'd even take her to the Messer's if he thought it would do her some good.
"No, not exactly"
"Jenna?"
"Italy with Ben." Lindsay shrugged. "My uncle and his family in Terrytown are having dinner, what about you?"
"Ah, a great Messer family meal on the island."
"You going to get slapped again?"
"Hope not." He said with a cocky smirk. True last year he did receive an awesome black eye from his cousin. He deserved it. He did out her pregnancy.
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: : And Here's to You, Mrs. Azrael : :
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Mother killed the daughter thinking she was the best friend. Lindsay walked out of observation with the group. It was an eerie walk out of the precinct. No one saw that coming. And it was just wrong, wrong on so many levels. But the end of this case hit a sour note with Lindsay. Oh, her baggage just got heavier. She held it together until she got about a block away from the crime lab before cracking. She slunk into an alley before the coffee house and slumped against the cool brick wall and let out a healthy sob. Today was tough. And she did a good job of hiding her emotions or so she thought.
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Danny had been eyeing Lindsay all day. He had thought it a lot in the last few months, but something was bugging Lindsay and today it was worse than usual. He had watched her instead of interrogation. He saw her wrap her arms tight around herself, and give a chill. She was trying to protect herself / shield herself from something. She hurried out of the lab after shift today, she looked like she was barely holding it together. He made a mad grab for his jacket, and just missed her elevator. He be lined it to the stairs. He jogged out of the building and looked in each direction for her. He spotted her a block or so ahead and quickly headed in that direction. She slipped into an alley—you know, its probably a good thing he was following her. An alley really, does she not know what happens in dark alleys in New York?
She was in tears, shaking, leaning up against a wall in the shadows. He approached her slowly as to not startle her. Standing right next to her, he placed a hand tenderly on her shoulder and whispered "Linds?"
She looked up with a small sniff and rubbed tears out of her eyes. "Hey Danny." She greeted in her best everything is fine voice. "What's up?"
"Linds…" he started but there really weren't words. At least not words he could use without prying which he more or less promised he wouldn't do.
"It's nothing Danny. I swear." Lindsay assured him. It wasn't true. She felt like she was in the back of that ambulance again: being treated for shock while all the cops, forensics, and media in Montana swarmed around. Her face in an oxygen mask she watched as flashes from camera's went off. It didn't seem real. Her friends were not dead in there. This wasn't happening. Her dad was right next to her, there rubbing circles in her back trying to keep her calm. Dana's and Kelly's parents were off to the side in hysterical tears, husbands holding their wives tight. A car came to a screeching halt, the door slammed and Kayla's mother came storming in Lindsay's direction. "WHY YOU! WHY NOT KAYLA, SHE HAS MORE REASON TO LIVE THAN YOU! SHE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN HERE BUT FOR YOU! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" the rest was a blur, her father stepped in she remembered. But, still….
"Yea Linds, you're fine." Danny said sarcastically. Looking her dead in the eyes after a few seconds something broke, she softened. Tear started streaming and she fell into Danny's chest. Stunned for a second, he then hugged her tight to him, whispering comforting words. "It's okay, Linds."
"No Danny, it hasn't been okay for 10 years." She said pushing off him a little to look him in the eye.
"That's a long time to hold on to something Montana." Danny told her softly.
"You would know." She laughed the best she could wiping the last few tears out of her eyes. Embarrassed she couldn't keep herself together in front of him, but he did find her AFTER she had left, so if it was too much for him, well it was his doing. Anyway maybe some humor may help, even if it wasn't really humor.
"Yea I know." He chuckled lightly. Yea he knew, he had carried around his problem with his brother for 15 years. Before it was resolved. Lindsay had helped with that. He owed her help with this in any way he could, even if he didn't know what this was. "How bout some coffee? Yea?" He said rubbing her forearms to warm her up. The weather was quite chilly. There was a definite late November nip in the air.
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: : Sweet 16 : :
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They were just friends and barely that anymore. Lindsay was distancing herself from the team. The only time any of them saw her any more was at work. And yet he was worrying about her like she was his girlfriend, or worse his wife. She was bitten by a snake, and he could not stop thinking about her, worrying about her. Yea Mac said the doctors took care of her, she'd be fine. But really. She was bitten by a snake! He needed to see her, tonight, after work, giving her her space be damned.
Luck was on Danny Messer's side. Because just as he set his mind to checking on her after shift (in 6 hours time) his phone bleeped: Montana. His mind flashed to all the possible scenarios as to why she would be calling. All bad. "Lindsay?" Danny asked cautiously. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay." She said softly. She sounded a little groggy, but not bad. "I'm going to be okay."
"That's good to hear." He smiled to himself. She was going to be okay. "What can I do for you Sweetheart?"
"Actually, I um…."
"Linds?"
"They won't release me from this hospital unless I have someone to pick me up." She informed hesitantly.
"You need me to pick you up?" Danny asked a smirk forming on his face. Today looked like it was going to get better.
"If you can get away."
"I'll see ya in a bit Montana."
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Danny ducked into Mac's office and let him know where he was going. Which he fully understood, but the smile on his face was a little unsettling. Nothing was going on between the two of them, and sometimes the look he felt he/she/they were getting made it seem like a good portion of the lab seemed to believe they were well, you know.
He drove across town and found Lindsay at the bite center. Her arm was bandaged up, but she looked perfectly fine. Sitting up in bed flipping through a magazine. "Hey Montana." Danny said knocking on the door frame. "Leave it up to you to get bitten by a snake in New York City."
"Yea, Danny, at some rich New Yorkers over indulged daughter's 16th Birthday Party. Not the same."
"Linds, you were bitten by a snake."
"And you…"
"I what?"
"Haven't been laid in awhile." She shot smugly.
"Whoa! How would you know!" Danny asked in disbelief, why of all things would she pick that as her response.
"Well…." Lindsay said putting down her magazine, Cosmo-of course, that reading gave her these ideas. "You did turn down the Suicide girl."
"We talked about that. And you haven't—you know-in a while either."
"I'm a woman." She laughed
"So!" Lindsay lifted a brow in his direction. "Ah freaking double standards!" He cried. "Okay, let's get you out of here." He said offering her a hand.
"Yea." She accepted his hand and hopped off the bed. She stumbled slightly, Danny quickly wrapped an arm around her and held her close to steady her.
"You okay Linds?" he asked his voice laced with concern.
"Yea, yea, I'm fine, just a little light headed." She answered shaking off the dizziness.
"No wonder they would only release you into someone else's care."
"Not true."
A nurse entered with the discharge forms for Danny to sign "True Miss Monroe. Rest for the next 2 days, no work."
"But…" Lindsay began but stopped with one stern look from Danny.
"Linds you got hurt on the job, the least they can do for you is give you 2 days paid leave."
"But…."
"No buts, I'm taking you home, and putting Connie on watch You are going to do nothing but watch movies and eat her famous chocolate chip cookies, and you know save me a few."
"Fine to the movies, but I'm not making any promises about the cookies." Danny laughed at that.
"Whatever works for you babe." He said with a smirk before taking his chances and kissing her forehead. He was rewarded with a smile from Montana. Things could work out. They really could.
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: : Raising Shane : :
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What the hell! First this guy kills a sorority girl, a bouncer, almost a judge, a druggie in order to frame Hawkes, and now he wants Danny to come to him. This fucker is fucking insane. Yea okay, she shouldn't have stood him, and yea she did still have a crush on the guy. She would be a happier, she wouldn't cry herself to sleep some nights, she would have someone to help chase her nightmares away. But she didn't, she didn't want to bring him down with all of her shit, but, right now, her heart was pounding thinking about him going into that bar to meet a psychotic killer without backup, and barely armed, if this is how he felt when she went undercover for the Holly's then, no wonder he asked her out, and well this was so not cool.
"Danny!" Lindsay called and jogged after him into the locker room. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" she shouted the door slamming behind her.
"What's up Montana?" Danny asked turning towards her pulling on a bullet proof vest.
"Are you seriously going to humor this whack job!"
Danny smirked that grin of his and shook his head. "You know Linds, this conversation sounds a little familiar."
"Yea, Danny, I know!" Lindsay said a little hysterically. "But still."
Danny held in a chuckle at that. Looking at Lindsay sobered him up. Also gave him some hope. She was just holding back some tears, she was a little furious, and Lindsay really cared, and this thing that was bugging her, that was haunting her, it wasn't too big to overtake her feelings for him. He lifted a hand and cupped one cheek. "I'll be fine Linds, backup is right outside the door."
"Yea, but Danny."
"Don't worry, Montana." He said giving her a reassuring smirk, brushing a curl behind her ear and leaning in and softly kissing her cheek. "I got this."
It didn't settle her nerves much, but did cause butterflies to erupt in her stomach. Damn it. April could not come soon enough, then all this would be behind her.
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