Fic: Courage Enough - Chapter 2!
Before entering the morgue to greet Claire, Cindy tried to get her emotions under control. She obviously failed because as soon as she walked through the door, Claire immediately asked her why she had a goofy grin on her face. Cindy ducked her eyes to the floor in an attempt to keep this new aspect of her life a secret. That solidified things for Claire.
“She asked you, didn’t she?”
“Huh? Who asked me what?” Cindy feigned ignorance badly.
“Cindy, I have never seen you this excited, unless Lindsay directly pays attention to you and even then not as much. Lindsay finally asked you out didn’t she? And please spare me the pain of watching you attempt to lie.”
“Alright, alright. Yes. But how did you know?”
“She came in here earlier this week freaking out about it. I figured it was only a matter of time.”
“Oh…” Cindy briefly wondered why Lindsay was freaking out so much and what Claire told her to calm her down and get her butt into action.
Claire pestered a little more, but Cindy actually refused to answer. She had decided that anything that happened between her and Lindsay was private. For now. Claire turned back to the current autopsy she was working on. As she was elbow deep in the poor soul’s chest cavity, the topic of earlier conversation walked in.
Lindsay threw Cindy a wink and said hello to Claire.
“Hey what happened to calling?” Cindy asked nervously.
“What? You’re not happy to see me?” Lindsay responded with a grin.
“No, no I am, but you said you’d call, right? Or am I making things up again or hearing things or…”
“She got it out of you, didn’t she?” Lindsay interrupted Cindy’s ramblings.
“You bet I did. That girl’s easier to crack than a clam after cooking,” Claire responded.
“Hey! I am not that easy. I clamed up after that, didn’t I?” Cindy exclaimed.
“Yeah I suppose you did. I am happy for you guys though, even if it did take Miss Dense over here longer than we expected to ask you,” Claire fired back.
“Hey now, let’s not drag how long it took me into this. The point is, we’re giving this a shot,” Lindsay intervened as she flashed another grin in Cindy’s direction.
“What are we giving a shot?” asked Jill as she entered the morgue. As soon as she saw the body, she immediately turned around, which gave Cindy a free pass from being nettled by Jill as well. Cindy looked to Lindsay for help.
“Let’s just say, I finally got my ass in gear and took a chance on what has been right in front of me for quite some time now,” Lindsay answered Jill.
Jill was so surprised, she forgot about the body, and whipped around to stare at her favorite inspector and redheaded reporter. Two equally huge grins stared back at her. Jill squealed and practically pole vaulted herself across the room to engulf the two of them in a huge hug.
“This calls for celebration! I’m buying the first round!” Jill said once she released Cindy and Lindsay.
“Actually, can that wait until tomorrow night? I have a couple of things I need to sort out with someone first,” Lindsay responded.
Cindy started, thinking Lindsay meant someone other than her, but was reassured when she remembered that Lindsay had said she wanted to talk to her more about where this was going.
“Whyyyy? Can’t it wait?” whined Jill.
“No, sweetie. This particular conversation can’t,” Claire told her as she dragged Jill out of the morgue, which left Lindsay to grab Cindy and pull her into what can only be described as a huge bear hug.
“Did you take your car here? Wait, silly question. You came here with me. Sorry, I was distracted by this cute redhead I know,” Lindsay giggled. “You wanna come back to my place and we’ll talk some more.”
Cindy nodded and allowed herself to be led to the good Inspector’s car. She still couldn’t believe that this was actually happening. She’d been dreaming about Lindsay since practically the day they met. She never even began to fathom the thought that Lindsay would even remotely return her affections. She grinned at the thought that Lindsay was now hers to do….she shook her head at that train of thought. That was the last thing she needed: to be in a car, alone, with Inspector Lindsay Boxer having really, really inappropriate thoughts. A faint pink tinge began to work its way up her neck, no thanks to her fair skin. Lucky for her, Lindsay decided to steal a glance at her right at that moment.
“You okay? You look a little flushed.”
“Yeah, fine. I’m just a little hot is all.”
“Yes, you are,” Lindsay cringed. “Sorry! It slipped out. That was horrific.” She resisted the urge to bang her head on the steering wheel.
Cindy laughed, “No worries. At least now I know that you’re actually saying it and I haven’t imagined it.”
Lindsay grinned sheepishly and managed to focus on the road for the remainder of the drive. As soon as the pair walked through the door, a big furry blob came hurtling towards them.
“Whoa, Martha! Down, girl!” Lindsay commanded. “I’ve gotta take her out. She hasn’t been out in a while. Make yourself comfortable. I think I have stuff to drink in the fridge, although, I’m not really here much.” Hopefully, that will change, Lindsay thought to herself.
Cindy grabbed two bottles of water and plopped down on the couch while she waited for Lindsay and Martha to return. She sipped at one of them and thought back on the day’s events. She was reliving that first kiss when Lindsay and Martha reentered the house. Cindy hopped up and handed Lindsay one of the bottles. Lindsay nodded her thanks and flopped down on the couch and left a spot open for Cindy. Cindy immediately took the invitation and snuggled into Lindsay’s side. After Lindsay had had a chance to catch her breath, she asked, “so what were you thinking about when I came back? You had the most bizarre expression on your face.”
“Oh you know the same thing I’ve been thinking about for the last couple of months, although this latest version has definitely improved. I was also thinking about how I wanted to do this again.” And with that, Cindy leaned up to kiss Lindsay. She was pleasantly surprised when Lindsay met her halfway. After a bit, they finally had to break apart again as breathing became a problem. Lindsay kissed Cindy’s forehead and tightened her hold.
“Can we just stay like this for a bit? I just wanna make sure this is real,” Lindsay murmured into Cindy’s hair. She felt Cindy nod back. About ten minutes later, they were both sound asleep.
“She asked you, didn’t she?”
“Huh? Who asked me what?” Cindy feigned ignorance badly.
“Cindy, I have never seen you this excited, unless Lindsay directly pays attention to you and even then not as much. Lindsay finally asked you out didn’t she? And please spare me the pain of watching you attempt to lie.”
“Alright, alright. Yes. But how did you know?”
“She came in here earlier this week freaking out about it. I figured it was only a matter of time.”
“Oh…” Cindy briefly wondered why Lindsay was freaking out so much and what Claire told her to calm her down and get her butt into action.
Claire pestered a little more, but Cindy actually refused to answer. She had decided that anything that happened between her and Lindsay was private. For now. Claire turned back to the current autopsy she was working on. As she was elbow deep in the poor soul’s chest cavity, the topic of earlier conversation walked in.
Lindsay threw Cindy a wink and said hello to Claire.
“Hey what happened to calling?” Cindy asked nervously.
“What? You’re not happy to see me?” Lindsay responded with a grin.
“No, no I am, but you said you’d call, right? Or am I making things up again or hearing things or…”
“She got it out of you, didn’t she?” Lindsay interrupted Cindy’s ramblings.
“You bet I did. That girl’s easier to crack than a clam after cooking,” Claire responded.
“Hey! I am not that easy. I clamed up after that, didn’t I?” Cindy exclaimed.
“Yeah I suppose you did. I am happy for you guys though, even if it did take Miss Dense over here longer than we expected to ask you,” Claire fired back.
“Hey now, let’s not drag how long it took me into this. The point is, we’re giving this a shot,” Lindsay intervened as she flashed another grin in Cindy’s direction.
“What are we giving a shot?” asked Jill as she entered the morgue. As soon as she saw the body, she immediately turned around, which gave Cindy a free pass from being nettled by Jill as well. Cindy looked to Lindsay for help.
“Let’s just say, I finally got my ass in gear and took a chance on what has been right in front of me for quite some time now,” Lindsay answered Jill.
Jill was so surprised, she forgot about the body, and whipped around to stare at her favorite inspector and redheaded reporter. Two equally huge grins stared back at her. Jill squealed and practically pole vaulted herself across the room to engulf the two of them in a huge hug.
“This calls for celebration! I’m buying the first round!” Jill said once she released Cindy and Lindsay.
“Actually, can that wait until tomorrow night? I have a couple of things I need to sort out with someone first,” Lindsay responded.
Cindy started, thinking Lindsay meant someone other than her, but was reassured when she remembered that Lindsay had said she wanted to talk to her more about where this was going.
“Whyyyy? Can’t it wait?” whined Jill.
“No, sweetie. This particular conversation can’t,” Claire told her as she dragged Jill out of the morgue, which left Lindsay to grab Cindy and pull her into what can only be described as a huge bear hug.
“Did you take your car here? Wait, silly question. You came here with me. Sorry, I was distracted by this cute redhead I know,” Lindsay giggled. “You wanna come back to my place and we’ll talk some more.”
Cindy nodded and allowed herself to be led to the good Inspector’s car. She still couldn’t believe that this was actually happening. She’d been dreaming about Lindsay since practically the day they met. She never even began to fathom the thought that Lindsay would even remotely return her affections. She grinned at the thought that Lindsay was now hers to do….she shook her head at that train of thought. That was the last thing she needed: to be in a car, alone, with Inspector Lindsay Boxer having really, really inappropriate thoughts. A faint pink tinge began to work its way up her neck, no thanks to her fair skin. Lucky for her, Lindsay decided to steal a glance at her right at that moment.
“You okay? You look a little flushed.”
“Yeah, fine. I’m just a little hot is all.”
“Yes, you are,” Lindsay cringed. “Sorry! It slipped out. That was horrific.” She resisted the urge to bang her head on the steering wheel.
Cindy laughed, “No worries. At least now I know that you’re actually saying it and I haven’t imagined it.”
Lindsay grinned sheepishly and managed to focus on the road for the remainder of the drive. As soon as the pair walked through the door, a big furry blob came hurtling towards them.
“Whoa, Martha! Down, girl!” Lindsay commanded. “I’ve gotta take her out. She hasn’t been out in a while. Make yourself comfortable. I think I have stuff to drink in the fridge, although, I’m not really here much.” Hopefully, that will change, Lindsay thought to herself.
Cindy grabbed two bottles of water and plopped down on the couch while she waited for Lindsay and Martha to return. She sipped at one of them and thought back on the day’s events. She was reliving that first kiss when Lindsay and Martha reentered the house. Cindy hopped up and handed Lindsay one of the bottles. Lindsay nodded her thanks and flopped down on the couch and left a spot open for Cindy. Cindy immediately took the invitation and snuggled into Lindsay’s side. After Lindsay had had a chance to catch her breath, she asked, “so what were you thinking about when I came back? You had the most bizarre expression on your face.”
“Oh you know the same thing I’ve been thinking about for the last couple of months, although this latest version has definitely improved. I was also thinking about how I wanted to do this again.” And with that, Cindy leaned up to kiss Lindsay. She was pleasantly surprised when Lindsay met her halfway. After a bit, they finally had to break apart again as breathing became a problem. Lindsay kissed Cindy’s forehead and tightened her hold.
“Can we just stay like this for a bit? I just wanna make sure this is real,” Lindsay murmured into Cindy’s hair. She felt Cindy nod back. About ten minutes later, they were both sound asleep.