Unexpected - Chapter 8
The nurse had taken Hannah to the nursery to give Lindsay time to rest. She had been fitfully dozing for the past two hours. Danny, however, had been unable to rest. He would sit and watch Lindsay for a few minutes, before heading to the nursery to check on Hannah, and then back to the room. When he returned to the room after his last visit to check on Hannah, he stood by Lindsay’s bed.
“Danny, you’re driving me crazy.” She slowly opened her eyes, and took one of his hands. “Why don’t you go home? Grab a shower and a couple hours of sleep. You can stop by the lab and show the team the pictures we printed.”
“No. I’m not leavin’ you and Hannah here alone.”
“Nothing is gonna happen. And I’m not going to get any sleep with you here acting like a mama grizzly bear.”
“Oh, a mama grizzly bear?”
“Yeah. Now will you get out of here?”
“Fine, you win, but I can be back here in 20 minutes if anything happens.” He told her as he bent down to drop a kiss on her forehead. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Now get out of here you big worrywart.”
As he left the room, Lindsay closed her eyes as sleep overtook her.
Flack was the first to see Danny. As soon as he saw him, he rounded up the rest of the team and bombarded the haggard looking Danny.
“So, Dad, boy or girl?” Flack asked.
“Her name is Hannah Grace. Six pounds, eight ounces. She was born at 4:01 this morning.” Danny said as he passed around the pictures.
“She’s a very beautiful little girl.” Mac said as he looked at the photos.
“She looks like Lindsay, except for the eyes. She has your eyes. She’s gonna be a knock-out.” Stella added.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be sleeping at all during her teen years.” Danny chuckled.
“How’s Lindsay doing?” Hawkes asked.
“Tired, sore, but she managed to kick me out, so I know she’s going to be fine.”
“She kicked you out?” Stella tried to hold back a laugh.
“Apparently I’m a worrywart.” He said grumpily. At that, Stella laughed out loud.
“Eh, Messer, why are there pictures of her hands and feet?” Flack asked curiously.
“Just documenting that she has ten fingers and ten toes.” Off of Flack’s eyebrow raise, he grabbed his pictures back. “I’m gonna laugh so hard the day that you have a kid.”
“She really is beautiful, Danny. Go get some rest and give Lindsay our love.” Stella told him as they walked towards the elevators.
“Will do.” He said as he stepped into the elevator.
“And bring Hannah by, I want baby snuggles.” Stella said as the doors closed.
“Hey, Uncle Flack gets first dibs on baby snuggles.” Flack told Stella as they went back to Trace.
“Uncle Flack just made fun of Danny for taking pictures of his daughter’s feet and hands. Auntie Stella gets first dibs.”
“Did Auntie Stella spend an entire weekend with Denial Danny, while painting the kid’s bedroom?”
“Denial Danny?”
“Yeah. Denying he’s in love with Lindsay. I asked him about it, and he was in complete denial. We’re not in love. It’s complicated. Complicated my ass. Having a baby, moving in together, these are not the actions of two people who aren’t in love.”
“Uncle Flack can have baby snuggles first.” Stella conceded.
On the day they brought their daughter home from the hospital, Danny’s mother was there to greet them.
“Let me see my granddaughter.” She said the minute they walked in the door. “And you,” she pointed to Lindsay, “should be resting. They let you go home so soon. No thought at all.” With her granddaughter tucked securely in one arm, she quickly reorganized the room, and the people in it, to her satisfaction. Lindsay was on her side on the couch, with her feet in Danny’s lap. “Now, the only thing missing from this picture is a wedding ring.”
“Ma…” Danny started.
“No, Daniel. I let it go because having a baby is a scary thing, but I can’t anymore. Lindsay said that you asked her to marry her, but I know that she was just protecting you. I know you, Danny. When you want something, you don’t take no for an answer. If you had really asked her to marry you, you would have been engaged. How do you think that makes poor Lindsay feel? She’s good enough to give you this beautiful little creature, but she’s not good enough for you to marry?”
“Ma, would ya…” Danny tried to start again.
“No, I’m not finished. I spoke with that nice boy Don, that you work with and he tells me that you’re not even together. That he asked you and you don’t even love her. That is a lie. We all see you together. We all know that you are perfect together. Why you not love her? Why?”
“Can I talk now?” Danny asks. When he receives a nod from his mother, he continues. “You’re right. I didn’t ask Lindsay to marry me. We spent the night together after a party, and then we decided that because we worked together, seeing each other wasn’t the best idea.”
“And then I told him I was pregnant, and it was a big shock. We were just so focused on Hannah, and what was going to be best for her, that we never talked about us. So I threw Danny a lifeline that night.” Lindsay put in.
“But the more time we spent together, getting ready for Hannah, the more I realized how much I wanted them. So I offered her the extra space here, so that even if we weren’t together, I could still be close. When we were painting the nursery, Flack asked me and I didn’t know what to say, so I told him it was complicated.”
“It was my first night here that we both realized that we were in love. But by that time, it was too close to my due date so we just left it alone.”
“Until she went into labour, and then I couldn’t let her have my baby without letting her know how much I loved her.”
“So you love each other. Why aren’t you getting married?” His mother asked.
“Because I’ve never been asked.” Lindsay said simply.
“Lindsay, you wanna help get my mother off my case?” He smirked at her. She laughed out loud, but quickly stopped at his mother’s next words.
“Daniel James Messer that is not how you propose!” She whisper bellowed, in an effort to have Hannah remain asleep.
“Just kidding.” He got down on his knees next to the couch and pulled a velvet box from his jacket pocket. “Lindsay, I love you and Hannah, more than I’ve ever loved anything in my entire life, and the thought of not having you in my life makes me sick. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and our family. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
Author’s Note: So, that’s all folks. I’m toying with the idea of writing a sequel, but for now I think this ties things up pretty well. Thanks for reading.
“Danny, you’re driving me crazy.” She slowly opened her eyes, and took one of his hands. “Why don’t you go home? Grab a shower and a couple hours of sleep. You can stop by the lab and show the team the pictures we printed.”
“No. I’m not leavin’ you and Hannah here alone.”
“Nothing is gonna happen. And I’m not going to get any sleep with you here acting like a mama grizzly bear.”
“Oh, a mama grizzly bear?”
“Yeah. Now will you get out of here?”
“Fine, you win, but I can be back here in 20 minutes if anything happens.” He told her as he bent down to drop a kiss on her forehead. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Now get out of here you big worrywart.”
As he left the room, Lindsay closed her eyes as sleep overtook her.
Flack was the first to see Danny. As soon as he saw him, he rounded up the rest of the team and bombarded the haggard looking Danny.
“So, Dad, boy or girl?” Flack asked.
“Her name is Hannah Grace. Six pounds, eight ounces. She was born at 4:01 this morning.” Danny said as he passed around the pictures.
“She’s a very beautiful little girl.” Mac said as he looked at the photos.
“She looks like Lindsay, except for the eyes. She has your eyes. She’s gonna be a knock-out.” Stella added.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be sleeping at all during her teen years.” Danny chuckled.
“How’s Lindsay doing?” Hawkes asked.
“Tired, sore, but she managed to kick me out, so I know she’s going to be fine.”
“She kicked you out?” Stella tried to hold back a laugh.
“Apparently I’m a worrywart.” He said grumpily. At that, Stella laughed out loud.
“Eh, Messer, why are there pictures of her hands and feet?” Flack asked curiously.
“Just documenting that she has ten fingers and ten toes.” Off of Flack’s eyebrow raise, he grabbed his pictures back. “I’m gonna laugh so hard the day that you have a kid.”
“She really is beautiful, Danny. Go get some rest and give Lindsay our love.” Stella told him as they walked towards the elevators.
“Will do.” He said as he stepped into the elevator.
“And bring Hannah by, I want baby snuggles.” Stella said as the doors closed.
“Hey, Uncle Flack gets first dibs on baby snuggles.” Flack told Stella as they went back to Trace.
“Uncle Flack just made fun of Danny for taking pictures of his daughter’s feet and hands. Auntie Stella gets first dibs.”
“Did Auntie Stella spend an entire weekend with Denial Danny, while painting the kid’s bedroom?”
“Denial Danny?”
“Yeah. Denying he’s in love with Lindsay. I asked him about it, and he was in complete denial. We’re not in love. It’s complicated. Complicated my ass. Having a baby, moving in together, these are not the actions of two people who aren’t in love.”
“Uncle Flack can have baby snuggles first.” Stella conceded.
On the day they brought their daughter home from the hospital, Danny’s mother was there to greet them.
“Let me see my granddaughter.” She said the minute they walked in the door. “And you,” she pointed to Lindsay, “should be resting. They let you go home so soon. No thought at all.” With her granddaughter tucked securely in one arm, she quickly reorganized the room, and the people in it, to her satisfaction. Lindsay was on her side on the couch, with her feet in Danny’s lap. “Now, the only thing missing from this picture is a wedding ring.”
“Ma…” Danny started.
“No, Daniel. I let it go because having a baby is a scary thing, but I can’t anymore. Lindsay said that you asked her to marry her, but I know that she was just protecting you. I know you, Danny. When you want something, you don’t take no for an answer. If you had really asked her to marry you, you would have been engaged. How do you think that makes poor Lindsay feel? She’s good enough to give you this beautiful little creature, but she’s not good enough for you to marry?”
“Ma, would ya…” Danny tried to start again.
“No, I’m not finished. I spoke with that nice boy Don, that you work with and he tells me that you’re not even together. That he asked you and you don’t even love her. That is a lie. We all see you together. We all know that you are perfect together. Why you not love her? Why?”
“Can I talk now?” Danny asks. When he receives a nod from his mother, he continues. “You’re right. I didn’t ask Lindsay to marry me. We spent the night together after a party, and then we decided that because we worked together, seeing each other wasn’t the best idea.”
“And then I told him I was pregnant, and it was a big shock. We were just so focused on Hannah, and what was going to be best for her, that we never talked about us. So I threw Danny a lifeline that night.” Lindsay put in.
“But the more time we spent together, getting ready for Hannah, the more I realized how much I wanted them. So I offered her the extra space here, so that even if we weren’t together, I could still be close. When we were painting the nursery, Flack asked me and I didn’t know what to say, so I told him it was complicated.”
“It was my first night here that we both realized that we were in love. But by that time, it was too close to my due date so we just left it alone.”
“Until she went into labour, and then I couldn’t let her have my baby without letting her know how much I loved her.”
“So you love each other. Why aren’t you getting married?” His mother asked.
“Because I’ve never been asked.” Lindsay said simply.
“Lindsay, you wanna help get my mother off my case?” He smirked at her. She laughed out loud, but quickly stopped at his mother’s next words.
“Daniel James Messer that is not how you propose!” She whisper bellowed, in an effort to have Hannah remain asleep.
“Just kidding.” He got down on his knees next to the couch and pulled a velvet box from his jacket pocket. “Lindsay, I love you and Hannah, more than I’ve ever loved anything in my entire life, and the thought of not having you in my life makes me sick. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and our family. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
Author’s Note: So, that’s all folks. I’m toying with the idea of writing a sequel, but for now I think this ties things up pretty well. Thanks for reading.