.00026-FanFic : Over the Grief
♥ Over the Grief- Chapter 5 ♥
Title: Over the Grief
Author: daisay
Rating: T
Pairing: Danny/Lindsay
Content Warning: Drama/Romance
Summary: Set in season 4- Danny and Lindsay are trying to figure out their relationship. Can they get over the past hurt and move on?
A/N: Here is the fifth chapter for you. I hope you enjoy this.
And special thanks to stuffy34 for checking out this chapter before posting.
Crushed by previous events, Danny had spent the past few days in a miserable state of mind. He constantly pondered on what he had put her through and all that she had related to him. Simply put, he had no idea how to handle the situation. The more he thought of it, the more that realization struck him: he had lost Lindsay, the one woman he truly loved. The darkness continued to devour him, his mind sinking into a hole from which he could not escape. He attempted to accept the reality of it all, but it was feeble. In his heart he knew he could never really swallow such a harsh fact.
He feverishly wanted to hear her voice, but he had barely gotten in a single word since their break-up on that rainy night. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity passing without them talking, he walked into work with a determined glint in his steel blue eyes. No matter the cost, they were going to speak.
Unfortunately, Lindsay did not have the same idea. She was nowhere to be seen in the lab, and he wondered if she was out in the field. His mind suddenly flashed back to that fateful day in her apartment, and he understood the reason for her absence.
An icy claw gripped his heart as he struggled to push aside the gut-wrenching feeling that something was terribly wrong. He was so consumed in his thoughts that he didn't even hear a knock on the glass door of the office he shared with Lindsay.
"Danny...Danny." The voice brought him back to reality, and he gazed up from his desk.
"Danny!" said Mac, this time a bit louder.
"What? What is it, Mac?" he asked, now noticing his boss standing in the doorway.
"You have a minute? I've got some news."
"Sure. What's up?"
"It's about Lindsay."
Lindsay. Just hearing her name made him wince, and questions immediately started to pour from his mouth. "What happened to her? Is she okay? Don't tell me she's hurt!"
Mac held up a hand in an effort to calm the anxious young man, but his tone told Danny something was indeed wrong. "She's fine. I just need to tell you that she won't be here for a while."
Danny's voice radiated a hint of frustration. "Mac, tell me what's going on."
"I got a call from Bozeman PD this morning. They said her parents died."
+++++
Danny stood a short distance away, staring at her surreptitiously. She was dressed all in black, barely supported by the arms of her three brothers. From his spot under a tree he could see her quite clearly. Lindsay, who was a mere shadow of her former self, was on the edge of falling to pieces. She looked as fragile as a piece of glass, and her sorrow made her normally bright features a dull grey. Her eyes, swollen with tears, reflected the depth of her grief and pain. The mere sight of her tore at his very being.
The funeral service went on with a solemn atmosphere; even the leaden sky was covered with low hanging clouds. Cold air that accompanied early winter added more oppressive atmosphere to the place. Those who were close to Mr. and Mrs. Monroe during their lifetime were now walking away, offering Lindsay and her siblings their condolences.
A while ago - Lindsay wasn't entirely sure the exact length of time - a robbery case had occurred not very far from the Monroe ranch. Two armed men had burst into a grocery store demanding cash, and her parents were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The owner was shot almost instantly after refusing to give the till to the would-be thiefs. Lindsay's father had made the fatal error of moving in an attempt to help the fallen man, and his heart was pierced by a bullet. Then, out of sheer panic, the masked thief shot a defenseless Mrs. Monroe and fled.
Lindsay, who was informed of her parents' murder through New York Crime Lab via Bozeman PD, left everything else unattended to fly back home in Montana. It was all a horrifying dream from which she could not awaken, and this caused her to sink even further into oblivion.
The entire ceremony passed by smoothly, there was no one left but Lindsay and her brothers. She knelt down by the twin graves and placed a bouquet of roses on the fresh soil, but when she tried to rise her legs turned to jelly and they gave out. Her brothers, however, were right there and aided in helping her stand.
Observing her silently, Danny somehow managed to restrain the immense urge to reveal himself. This was all for naught, though, as one of the Monroe boys saw him and alerted Lindsay of his presence. Their eyes met the second she turned her gaze to him.
Sensing the tension, the brother who had spotted Danny whispered something in Lindsay's ear before nodding to his siblings. The other two men gave Lindsay each a kiss on the cheek before retreating to their car.
Danny realized then that he was holding his breath, and he let it out slowly. After what seemed like an eternity, he was the first to move. With his eyes locked to hers, he slowly walked across the graveyard. He edged closer and closer to her until there was no more distance to close, and then he stopped.
"Lindsay..."
Her hollow eyes reflected nothing other than total despair, and his heart ripped into tiny pieces as he thought about the unimaginable weight of grief weighing down her small frame. He wanted to say something, anything, but what? What could he say that would possibly heal her wounded spirit? A heavy silence lingered in the cold air.
After several minutes he found the courage to speak and whispered softly, "I'm sorry about your parents."
Her beautiful eyelashes fluttered as she nodded silently. "Thank you for coming."
How he wished he could sweep her up in his arms, protect her from such a cruel world, reassure her that everything was going to be alright. "You know I'm here for you."
She nodded, not speaking a single word. Together they walked to the awaiting car, where he helped her get in. She gave him a final gaze, repeated the previous words before closing the door. "Thank you for coming."
He offered her a small smile and closed the door, following the vehicle with his eyes and watching the tail lamp disappear from view.
To be continued...