Chapter 9
Three days later.
Mac looked around the packed church. Apart from the team and Lindsay's dad, there were her friends from Montana and a lot of detectives and uniform cops who had come to pay their respects. Stella was there as well, sitting with Hawkes at the end of the pew where Mac and the rest of the team sat. She'd be heading back to New Orleans in the morning, and in a few days Danny and Lucy would be leaving for Montana with Robert, to spread Lindsay's ashes in her favourite national park. He hoped getting away from the city and seeing where Lindsay grew up would help Danny and Lucy, give them the space they needed to grieve.
As Robert Monroe finished his eulogy and headed for his seat, Danny stood and headed for the front of the church. He was wearing his dress uniform, as were Mac, Don and many of the other police officers present. His face was pale and strained, his eyes red-rimmed and exhausted. Despite that, he moved with a sense of purpose and focus, his head held high. Mac felt a flash of pride. He was holding it together, Mac suspected more for Lucy's sake than his own. Mac knew all too well how near-impossible that was.
Danny cleared his throat.
'I want to thank you all for coming. Lindsay...she'd be so proud to see all of you here. I'm Danny Messer, her husband. It's funny, but not so long ago, my buddies used to tease me about getting married. I didn't really go for serious relationships with women. I remember my buddy Mac telling me marriage might happen to me one day, and me telling him not to even joke about that. But then I met Lindsay. She was pretty and smart and funny, and for some reason I still haven't worked out, she liked me as much as I liked her. I screwed up plenty of times and she just stuck by me. She wouldn't let me push her away. I fell in love with her, and that had never happened for me before, which should tell you something about how special she was. Lindsay is the most loving, compassionate, beautiful, bright, funny person I ever met and she made me happy. She also gave me Lucy, who's so like her Mom, it makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. I honestly can't imagine my life without Lucy in it, and she wouldn't be in it if it wasn't for Lindsay Monroe Messer, or, as she hated me callin' her, 'Montana'. So I guess what I wanna say is...I miss you Montana, and I love you, and thank you for everything you gave me.
He dropped his head for a moment, then walked back to his seat, sweeping Lucy up onto his lap.
Mac felt a lump form in his throat, and glancing around saw that many of the people around him were crying, or trying very hard not to, as he was.
Christine squeezed his hand.
'You're up,' she said. Mac nodded. He stood and moved to the front of the church. He let his gaze run over the people, many of whom he knew. He saw Christine smile at him in a gentle, encouraging way, and then he saw Danny and Lucy. Both were looking right at him with almost identical expressions of grief mixed with a kind of child-like hope that whatever he was going to say might make things easier somehow, like they needed to hear them more than anything else.
He looked at them as he began to speak.
'Danny and Robert have already done an incredible job describing what a wonderful, caring, special person Lindsay was,' he began, 'I'm not sure what I can add. Lindsay always surprised me. She was one of the bravest people I know. I'm sure most of you know what happened to her when she was a teenager, how she survived that and, as an adult, saw the man responsible brought to justice for what he did. I'm sure most of you know too how she saved the lives of Danny and Lucy when a criminal broke into their home and threatened them. But those are only the more public examples of how brave she was. She was brave in other ways too. She moved here from Montana to work at the lab, which must have been a pretty huge change. I remember how nervous she seemed when she first started, but it didn't take long for her to adapt to this city like she was born here. She married Danny, and let me tell you, I don't think that's a challenge the majority of women would want to take on. ' Everyone in the audience actually chuckled or smiled, even Danny. 'I saw the relationship between Danny and Lindsay grow,' Mac continued, 'and the day they got married, and the day Lucy was born, I was so proud of them both. Lindsay was not only one of the best detectives I've ever had the honour to work with, she was also a wonderful mother to Lucy, and I know Lucy's going to grow up to be as smart, strong, independent, and caring as her mother. I already mentioned what a brilliant detective and CSI Lindsay was, but she brought more than just professional skill to our team. She was always so...full of life, and so quirky. She would persuade me to do these little 'experiments' to demonstrate some evidence she'd found in a case. She'd come out with all these weird and wonderful bits of knowledge and explanations in a way that was just...uniquely Lindsay. Most of all, she was more than just a colleague to any of us, and more than just a member of my team. She was my friend, and it's in that capacity that I really will miss her more than I can ever say in words. We'll all miss her. But none of us will ever forget her, because with someone as unique as Lindsay, that's just not possible.'
Now several people began to cry quietly again, and Mac dropped his head for a moment, allowing the other mourners, and himself, a brief moment. Then he lifted his head and continued ' As I suspect many of you know, Lindsay was never much of a one for hymns, but she once told me that her father,' he nodded at Robert, 'used to sing a particular song to her whenever she was upset as a child. So, as the people who were lucky enough to know her best, I'll hope you'll join in with the final song as the service ends, as a final way to honour her memory. Thank you.'
He stepped down and headed back to his seat while the audience stood, the organist settled herself and found the right page on her sheet music, and people turned to the final page of the order of service. Christine squeezed his hand as he reached her, and didn't let go as the organist started to play, and, gradually at first, a little unsure, perhaps, and choked by emotion, but with increasing strength, those who had known and loved Lindsay Monroe Messer began to sing:
''Of all the money that e'er I had
I spent it in good company
And all the harm I've ever done
Alas, it was to none but me
And all I've done for want of wit
To memory now I can't recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be to you all
So fill to me the parting glass
And drink a health whate'er befalls
Then gently rise and softly call
"Good night and joy be to you all"
xxxxx
Note: I know. I have been a VERY VERY VERY BAD fanfic writer and not updated this for AGES. Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed, it means a lot. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Just a little epilogue to go now, and then that's it for this one. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.