A/N: Hi guys, so this little bit of something is the result of an idea that was nudged towards me by alexindigo. She politely demanded that I wrote the shower scene I happened to just briefly mention in the last post-ep I posted... and well, Fred wouldn't let go of it once the idea popped into his little writer's head. The idea itself has seen many different paths and ways I wanted to take it, but it was just no bueno, so with some input from Megan, I decided that perhaps a two-parter would be better (thanks for that, BTW ;) ). This is actually an additional post-ep if you will from 7x15 - Vigilante (the one with the EPIC Lindsay scenes and the rape victims :( ) so some of the content is a little high tempered, because you know, DL in my world.. sometimes things can get a little heated and argumentative - but that's always fun, right? And it always ends well :)

Oh yeah, did I mention it's M rated and will hopefully be a two-parter. Well, strike that. It WILL be a two-parter because the initial basis of the story hasn't even made it into the story yet. So it HAS to be a two-shot. Damn. Hope you guys don't mind? :)

We'll dedicate this one to Alex; I hope it's what you expected - [and that you like it! :)]

Wrapped Up In You.

Chapter 1.

As the hot water temporarily stung her back, Lindsay was glad of the soothing sensation it brought. She had yet to even brush over the bruise that had well and truly formed on the majority of her abdomen, and quite frankly, she was scared of the pain that would flood her entire body once contact was made. So she figured that soothing the rest of her body from the stress and heaviness that the past week had placed upon her was good enough for now.

But really, the pain that she knew was inevitable was really just a cover-up for something else she was afraid of; Danny seeing it in the bruise in its entirety. He'd whipped her top up in the locker room to sneak a peek at it, but he'd only really glanced at it before she'd tugged her top back down and chastised him. At work it was fine for her to push him away and downplay what had happened, but the second he got home, she knew for a fact she wouldn't be able to hide it for very long.

"Hey pretty girl."

"Shitting hell!" Lindsay cried; jumping out of her skin at the shock of him being home. "Couldn't you have made a little bit of noise, jackass? I nearly had an effing heart attack!" She screamed through the shower curtain.

"Oh, and if I had made noise, you'd have been convinced someone was snooping around the apartment. It was a lose-lose situation if you ask me."

"Jerk," she spat through the curtain as she tried to restore her previous heartbeat of less than two hundred beats a second, or so it felt. "You really scared me."

"I'm sorry babe," he said, poking his head around the shower curtain. Luckily, she'd just turned and was now facing away from him. As confident as she was with him and as much as she loved him; she didn't feel comfortable with his eyes focussing in on the bruise just yet. "Can I make it up to you?" He asked, softly.

"Yeah, try your hello again." She said through gritted teeth as the pressure from the shower head bounced off the offended area of her stomach.

Chuckling, Danny let go of the shower curtain and a few moments later, she could hear him shut the bathroom door. Seconds after, she heard his knuckles knock softly on the door.

"Baby, I'm home."

Despite the pain it brought, she couldn't help but giggle. "Hi Dan."

"Didn't wanna scare you," he said by way of explanation through the curtain before poking his head around, like he had before.

"That was sweet of you. I'd have probably been scared shitless otherwise." She smiled over her shoulder as she rinsed the suds from her body. "How was work?"

They shared a look before both of them simultaneously burst into fits of giggles, Lindsay not as committed or genuine as Danny's out of fear that the giggles would hurt her stomach further, but giggles were evident nonetheless.

"Did we actually just do that?" Danny questioned his giggling wife.

"Apparently," she smiled as she re-washed her front and stomach.

"How's your tummy?"

"Tummy?" she smirked over her shoulder, "Very technical terminology there, Detective."

"Nice dodge," he returned. "How is it? Turn around."

"No, the bruise is fine... it's gone down."

"Yeah, right," He rolled his eyes. "Turn around before I turn you around."

"Danny, I'm nearly done in the shower, give me two minutes."

"Babe, stop dodging this. I'm looking at it now or in five minutes."

"Danny, stop it." She sighed. "It's nothing. It's just a little bruise; nothing worse than what you've had before."

"Yeah, but when it's on me it's different. I can take and have taken a hell of a lot more than what you have, baby."

"And what do you mean by that?" she spat, as she turned and put her hands on her hips.

"Holy fuck!" he cried, his eyes instantly making their way to her stomach. "Linds... baby!"

"It's nothing," she sighed, folding her arms across her abdomen. "Honestly, it looks worse than what it is."

"Babe," he sighed. "Linds... you need to let me look at that."

"Danny, chill out." She sighed. "It's fine."

"Babe, I can see the fucking outline of her foot!" He cried, reaching out to her flat stomach. "Montana, you can't tell me that don't hurt."

"It's just sore and aches a little."

"A little?" he implored, tracing her wet skin with his fingertips.

"Alright, it hurts like a bitch," she admitted, "but there's nothing I can do about it now, can I?"

"You can go and get it checked for starts, babe; where that is it can't be good."

"It's a kick in the stomach, Danny. It's fine."

"Just a kick in the stomach; Linds have you heard yourself? Don't you know how damaging a kick in the stomach can be?"

"It looks worse than it is," she repeated, failing miserably to defend herself.

"Babe, please."

"Dan, come on, let it go alright?"

He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Whatever, don't get it checked Linds."

"Hey, come on... don't be like that Dan."

"No, it's fine," he shrugged, letting go of the shower curtain.

Sighing heavily, Lindsay rubbed her face and then turned on her heel and poked her head out of the other side of the bath, standing directly under the showerhead, watching Danny as he splashed water on his face.

"It's only 'cause I care; you know that right?" he said after drying his face with Lindsay's waiting towel. "I'm not doin' it to be a dick, its genuine concern."

"I know," she sighed, still letting her head peek around the shower curtain.

"And as caveman-esque as it seems, I want to protect you and I can't do that when you're out in the field. You think I like seeing something like that on you? It scares me Linds." He said, leaning towards her and pressing a kiss to the tip of her wet nose.

"Why though Dan?" She inquired as her eyes followed him to where he sat on the closed toilet lid. "I don't see why. I'm a big girl. I can look after myself."

"I'm not saying you can't babe, what I don't like about it is that I know how much that shit hurts, alright? You don't think I've been kicked in the stomach? I know it hurts like a bitch... and I don't have to worry about -" he paused as he reconsidered the ending to his sentence, "Never mind."

"No go on, you don't have to worry about what?" She pushed.

"It's stupid," he growled at her, standing up and dismissing himself from the conversation before it turned into something more. "Just finish your shower. We're not made out of money."

"Um, excuse me," she began, her voice high pitched – a quick indication for Danny that she was pissed, "Don't take that tone with me, okay? You're the one that came in here, so don't give me that crap. What were you gonna say?

"Leave it babe." He said, leaving the bathroom.

"Don't be so rude as to walk away Danny," She snapped, grabbing the other side of the shower curtain so that she was in a closer proximity to him. "Don't walk away, especially after the god awful week I've had."

"And I haven't had a shitty week either, Linds?" He spat, turning on his heel. "Do you think that I haven't had to sit and go through rape cases? More so than you probably! You haven't been the only one on this case."

"Who had the shit though Danny? Who had to constantly question a traumatised rape victim who turned out to be innocent? Who had to put her through the emotional ringer all week? Who had to question her actions? Me! So if you wanna trade roles then let's do it. I'd happily sit and read case files as opposed to seeing the look of betrayal that I saw constantly in Kate's eyes."

"You think you're the only one who struggled? Alright, let me ask you this: who had to constantly remind himself that he was a cop and wouldn't do the same thing if he was in that position?" Danny's voice was slowly raising, only irritating Lindsay further.

"That doesn't even make sense!" Lindsay snapped. "You'd never be in their position Danny!"

"I might not be, but-" he snapped, but then shook his head. "I don't even want to! I can't even bring myself to say it."

"Look... We're gonna wake Lucy up," Lindsay told him, detaching herself from the conversation completely. "Dinner's in the oven."

"No Linds, wait a sec, come on... we're being silly here. I know it's safe to say that we both know that this week has been shit for the both of us... and rather than arguing we should be there for the other... it's what we do best, you know?"

"Danny... dinner's in the oven."

"Don't do that," he growled at her. "Don't back away now that you've realised this is turnin' into somethin' else. Don't walk away and be angry just so that you save yourself from a confrontation."

"You mind?" She said, folding her fingers around the shower curtain. "I've been in here a while now. We're not made of money." She snipped at him, repeating his earlier words.

"Linds... come on."

"No, I've been in here a while and I still need to condition my hair."

"Lindsay," he sighed.

"What part of no don't you understand Dan?"

"You know what, fuck off Linds; I'm not in the mood for this shit, alright? Don't be such a smartass! I was concerned and upset that you got hurt earlier. I'm also upset at the fact that you've had a bad week and thought that maybe, just maybe I'd be able to help you a little bit. Sue me for it! What a terrible guy that makes me, huh?"

"Don't curse at me," she growled at him. "I get that you're upset and stressed but don't start taking it out on me."

"I am upset and stressed! I'm stressed that you're in pain because it's etched on your face and you're trying to be a trooper. It stresses me out that you can hide it from me and that you want to hide it from me. What does that say about us? What does it say about how you feel about me?"

"Everything isn't always about you Danny," she reminded him.

"No, you're right; it's about me and you in this marriage... so try and remember that next time you get a good kick in the stomach, alright? I'm only doin' this because I care; we're supposed to be in this together Lindsay... not you against me; so how about you remind yourself of that. I'm not pesterin' ya for the thrill of it – I'm doin' it 'cause I care."

"I don't want to argue," she sighed, running her fingers through her sodden locks. "That's not what I want."

"Well, what do you want then?"

"A hug," she let out a whimper; her emotions overcoming her quickly. She could sense his concern, despite the angry words that had been tossed back and forth between the both of them. Tears brimmed in her eyes as the words voiced with concern rang in her ears... and perhaps mixed with a little bit of pain on her part. "Danny... I... I..."

Sighing heavily, Danny made his way back into the bathroom and knelt with one knee against their porcelain bath. "Montana, I didn't mean to make you cry. Look, come on, come here, I'm sorry babe."

She failed to move, and simply stood underneath the spray of the shower; her hands over her face, hiding the tears that were now slipping down her face.

"Honey, I've been stressed and upset but that's no excuse and I'm sorry." he said, his hand carefully taking hold of her arm and tugging her towards him. "Linds, I didn't mean to make you cry baby."

"It really hurts," she whimpered, the droplets from her wet hair masking the tears that were steadily falling down her face. "My tummy and the bruise; it really hurts Danny."

Sighing heavily, Danny shook his head as he pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her. "Baby." All other words dissolved on his tongue, and instantly their argument from seconds ago was forgotten.

"It hurts," she sobbed against the crook of his shoulder. "It hurts a lot."

"Let me see it," he whispered as he softly and gently pushed her away from him so he could get a better look at her injury. "Come on, let me look." His tone had dropped a whole octave and he'd busted out the voice reserved for one person: their daughter. The soft spoken Danny who could solve any problem surfaced for very few people; and often not even for Lindsay. This Danny was Lucy's Daddy... so for him to make an appearance, an air of realisation hit Lindsay that he hadn't been messing when he was expressing his concern; which, of course didn't help her emotions at all.

"Careful," she sniffled as she carefully edged away from him but still kept a tight hold of his hands as she showed him the shocking bruise that had taken residency on her abdomen.

"I will," he promised as he moved in to take a better look. The closer he got, the more he realised that if the kick to her stomach hadn't done any damage aside from the physical aspects of the bruise, then she was incredibly lucky. The sheer size and colour of the bruise already startled him a somewhat. He'd had his fair share of bruises from chases and suspects in the past, but never one like this. Combined with the fact that Lindsay bruised very rarely and this... this was a serious bruise she had.

"Does it hurt when I run my fingers over it?"

She shook her head softly, "But if you add even a tiny bit of pressure then it really hurts."

He nodded, taking in the information. "I knew it was hurtin' you from the way you were holdin' yourself; I think you forget I know you better than you know yourself."

She sniffled and nodded as she glanced down to watch him gently stroke her skin and the area of her bruised stomach.

"I'm worried," he told her honestly, his voice still expressing his concern. "Can we please get it checked?"

"It's alright," she shook her head. "I had Hawkes look it over earlier and he said it was fine; just to take it easy."

"Why didn't you say earlier?" Danny questioned, brushing her wet hair from her face.

She shrugged. "I was upset and it briefly slipped my mind?"

"Nah," he said with narrowed eyes, "You wanted to make me worried... to see a little that side of me that appears every now and then. Secretly you like it when I get all concerned husband, don't you? You like gettin' my heart rate goin'?" He teased lightly.

"I didn't want to worry you!" she insisted. "It wasn't that; I didn't keep it from you on purpose! I promise!"

"Linds, calm down," he said, holding his hands up. "It's fine, alright? I was just joking, don't worry... "

"Promise?"

"Promise." Danny nodded.

Lindsay let out a massive sigh, "Look baby, about earlier and what I said-"

"Sweetie, don't even think about it; emotions run high after cases like that. I thought that we would have been alright but I guess we still needed that blow up like we usually do after shitty cases. If anyone should be sayin-"

"-I'm sorry." She cut in, trying to voice her apology first.

"-that," he smiled, "Then it should be me. I don't know why I got how I did, and I shouldn't have cursed at you either... I know you don't like that and I'm sorry."

"You were mad," she shrugged. "When we're mad we do and say things we don't mean."

"You got that right," he sighed. "Just, make sure you keep me in the loop 'bout it, alright? Your bruise I mean? It's a scary lookin' thing and I want you to tell me the truth when I ask you if it's hurtin' k? That's all I ask."

"Okay," she sighed. "I will. Look Danny, I really didn't mean to wind you up about it..." She trailed off, obviously saddened by the way that a light conversation had quickly turned into a raging argument between the two of them.

"Hey, look at me... Linds?" he said, pausing and waiting for her to react. She reacted slowly and made eye contact with him a good few seconds after he'd tried to get her attention." Listen to me, okay? I'm not mad at you; I'm not mad at the argument; I'm mad at myself for being snappy like I was, but that's beyond the point. All it is, is that I'm worried about this here," he said, laying a hand over her stomach "... but if you say that Hawkes looked it over and said it was fine, then I believe you, okay? I trust you."

"He did," she insisted.

"And that's fine." He nodded. "I just wanna make sure you're okay and there's nothin' we hafta worry about, okay?"

She nodded.

"And, if it makes you feel any better, bruise or no bruise, you're still beautiful..."

"I am?" she blushed.

"Montana, you're gorgeous; you should know that by now."

"I know but, I've gotta admit, as much as I love you, I've been feeling pretty self conscious standing here totally naked in the shower for like the past fifteen minutes while we had this... heated discussion."

"Seriously?" he smirked. "You, self conscious? Please. I don't believe that for a second."

She nodded. "Well, you know what we're like... I'm not naked for very long until... well, you get carried away."

"I get carried away?" he implored. "Who stripped last week because they were told I was tired?"

"Who finished stripping me?" She smirked, licking her lips.

"Touché," Danny smirked. "Well you wanna know what? Honestly? I'll give you this one... It's been killin' me standin' here with you totally naked and me thinkin' it's totally inappropriate when we were in the middle of a 'heated discussion'."

"And now that we're not?" Lindsay licked her lips.

Danny leant forward, giving her a moment to wrap her fingers around his collar and tug him in towards her for a sensual kiss that sent a chill down her spine. Despite the way that their lips had sealed themselves together, Danny tore his away and smirked as Lindsay peeled her eyes open. "Hey!" she protested. "Unless you broke away to strip that shirt off then you need to get back here, Mister."

"Good try," he smirked. "But there's no way we're having dirty shower make-up sex against the wall with me half dressed when you're supposed to be takin' it easy."

With that, he turned on his heel and scooped up her dirty clothes.

"What? Wait! Where you goin'?" she cried.

"Well, to get my dinner, I'm starved, it's like nine-thirty... and I'm gonna do the laundry so you don't have to."

"Put it down, I'll do it," she assured him. "Just... come back here."

"S'up?"

"Don't leave me," she whispered, her fingertips reaching out to him, but he'd strategically stood far enough away so that she couldn't reach him. "Come shower with me."

"You really want me to?" he asked her, his fingers curling around the hem of his shirt.

"Absolutely!" she insisted.

He smirked as he tugged his shirt over his head and dropped it on the pile of Lindsay's clothes. "Good try," he laughed, "But" he paused, slipping his hand into the shower and turning the temperature of the water down."I think a cold shower will do that bruise some good."

"DANNY!" Lindsay screeched, desperate to get away from the freezing spray that was gushing at her through the shower head. "Asshole! Come back here, Danny." When she saw that he was walking away with no intentions of turning around, she upped her game a little, "Don't walk away from me! I know you think this is hilarious, but you're gonna get it bad for doin' that! Danny! Stop ignoring me!"

He didn't even bother to fight the laugh that escaped him as he made his way through the living room. Although he was ignoring her, he was listening intently to everything she was screeching at him; and couldn't contain himself when he heard her foot connect with the bathtub; a clear sign that she had stomped her foot when she realised that she wasn't getting her own way.

"Suck it up, babe. Cold shower'll do you good!"

"Jackass!" she bellowed in response.

"You'd think she'd just turn the temperature back up," Danny smirked to himself as he switched the oven on and poured himself a glass of milk. "You married a beauty Dan," he chuckled out loud as he put the milk away, "but it's damn a good job you didn't marry her for her common sense."

One good thing about it, he thought to himself. He could be for damn sure her mood would have been lifted a little after a little cold shower... Not to mention the fact that if he was lucky; she'd find some way to get revenge on him. And although he'd never admit it, her revenge was always pretty damn sweet.

Heheheheheheheh, I left you hanging... I also left Lindsay hanging, poor girl; and I bet she's probably pretty cold right now. Who else thinks Danny's gonna get it for that ;) Hopefully I'll write and get the next chapter up soon. Hope you guys liked it and thanks for reading :)