Hi everybody,
This is my first attempt on writing a fanfic. Hope you enjoy it :-)

Title: Shining through

Author: Rikke,  rikke.t.mellergaard@get2net.dk

Summary: Well… It's about Lindsay getting a visit by her brother. I can't
really say much more without giving everything away… So I won't
;-)

Disclaimer: The characters belongs to DEK and ABC and I make no money at
all – though I sure could use some now that I've just gotten my own
apartment and have to pay for everything myself.

Author's note: This is my very first fanfic. I hope you like it. And to
Livvy, Melly & Caitie, thanks for all your help.

Feedback: I would love to hear what you think, but please be gentle with me
since it's my first one.

    4;   &#6= ; 

The door to D,Y,D&F opened and a handsome dark haired man stepped  inside.
Rebecca looked up: "Hi, can I help you?" The young man ran  his hand
through his hair and smiled sweetly: "Is Lindsay here?" "No  sorry, she's
in court right now, but I think she'll be back in…"
Rebecca was interrupted by the door being slammed open and Helen  storming
in. "Is Ellenor in?" As she saw the young man she stopped  and nearly
screamed: "JASON!" "Helen… Hi," he said with his sweet  smile.
"Hey Baby-boy, what are you doing here?" They hugged each  other while
Rebecca looked at them not quite understanding what was  going on. "Well,
what are you doing here?" Helen asked once again.
"I'm here to see Lindsay of course."
Helen turned towards Rebecca: "When is she back, Bec?"
"In less than 10 minutes I think."
"Great! Come on Jason, let's hide you in the conference room and  surprise
her," She shoved inside and closed the door behind him. To  Rebecca she
said: "Don't say a word… I wanna see the look on her face  when she finds
out he's here."
"Okay, fine… Just one question… Who is he?"
"That's Lindsay's baby brother" Helen clapped her hands together in
excitement.
"And I gather she hasn't seen him in a long time?"
"No, not since she fled the scene of the mighty Jack Dole"
"Excuse me?" Rebecca didn't quite understand.
"She had this big fight with her father. That's kinda why she moved  here,
she hasn't spoken to him since."
"But that's what… Four or five years ago."
"Sounds about right."
Rebecca looked shocked. "That's a really long time not to be talking  to
your family. What happened?"
Helen felt she had said too much and a little uncomfortably said:  "Look, I
don't think I it's my place to tell… It's kinda personal…"
"It's okay," Rebecca waved her hand understandingly.
"Oh and by the way, to answer your first question. No, Ellenor isn't  in,
she's in court with Lindsay and Bobby."
Helen looked at her with a funny expression on her face, but then she
realized what Rebecca was talking about. "OK, I'll just wait then."
She didn't get to wait long though, because at the same time the door
opened and Lindsay, Bobby and Ellenor walked in talking and laughing.
Lindsay spotted Helen. "Hey Babe! Why are you here?"
"I needed to talk to Ellenor about the Donald case."
"Just give me two seconds and I'll be right there," Ellenor said as she put
down her bag at the desk and started looking for her note pad. Lindsay sat
down at her desk and looked through the drawers for a file. Rebecca was
distracting Bobby, while Helen went to the conference room and let out
Jason. Silently they went to Lindsay's desk. Helen signed to Jason that he
should say something. "Hey Kermit," he said naturally. "Hey Kiddo," Lindsay
answered not really noticing him. Then she went quiet, realizing who had
just been talking to her and slowly she looked up. "Oh my God!" The biggest
smile spread across her face and she stood up. Instead of walking around
the table she just climbed over it and threw herself in Jason's arms. "I
can't believe this!" Tears were running down her cheeks as she squeezed her
little brother hard and took in his well- known scent and all the other
things she had missed so desperately.
Bobby looked at the two of them and couldn't help feeling a little jealous.
Of course he and Lindsay was just good friends, but who was this guy she
seem to be so awfully close to? Rebecca was amused when she saw the dark
look on Bobby's face and she almost burst into laughter when he asked:
"Who's the smart-ass?"
"Why do you wanna know?" Rebecca couldn't help teasing him a little.
"Rebecca!" He shot her a look, telling her that this was no time for being
funny.
"Relax Bobby, it's just her brother."
"Well, it's just nice to know who comes here." Bobby tried to talk himself
out of it. He didn't want people, and especially Rebecca, to think he was
jealous.
In the meantime Lindsay was so excited she didn't quite know what to do
with herself. So Helen intervened and asked Bobby: "Would it be okay if
Lindsay took the rest of the day of? I don't think she'll get a lot of work
done anyway."
"Yeah sure, go ahead."
Lindsay turned towards Bobby, sent him a sweet smile and said.
"Thanks."
Bobby smiled back at her and gave a little nod. It felt good to see her so
happy.
"Come on Kiddo, let's get out of here."

"So where's all your stuff?" Lindsay asked as they walked down the street.
"Back at the hotel," Jason answered.
"Hotel? Come on… no baby brother of mine is going to stay at a hotel. You
can stay with Helen and I."
Suddenly he stopped and took her into his arms. "God, I've missed you so
much Kermit."
Once again the tears came to her eyes. She didn't say anything, just held
on tight to him.
They took a cab to the hotel, got Jason's things and went to the apartment.

The rest of the evening – and night – they spent talking catching up on
things. At 3 am Lindsay finally got up from the couch and proclaimed that
now she really had to go to bed if she was ever going to get up in the
morning.

4 days later, D,Y,D & F.
Bobby heard the front door open and looked through the open blinds of his
office. He saw Lindsay walk in expressing a happy "good morning" to
everybody. A little smile played on his mouth. Ever since Jason had arrived
it was like she was walking around two feet off the ground, and he liked
it. It made him feel so good seeing her so happy.
She walked into his office and threw herself down on the couch putting her
legs up on the table. As she saw Bobby's surprised look she couldn't help
laughing a little. "What…? You haven't seen a woman making herself
comfortable before?"
"You're crazy, you know that?" He laughed.
"Yeah, I know that… I can't help it… It just feels great!" She sent him the
sweetest smile. A smile that just made him want to get up and take her in
his arms.
"So how's Jason doing?" Bobby asked, got up from his chair and sat down on
the little table on which Lindsay had placed her feet.
"He's great. You know, I can't believe I didn't call him or go to see him
in all this time. I guess I was just afraid that he didn't want anything to
do with me. Four years is a long time, I feel I've missed out on so much."
"Hey, he's here now right," Bobby didn't want her to get sad.
"Yeah, he is… He'll be going back in a couple of days though, but it's
never going to be four years again."
Bobby could see how the thought of Jason leaving was making her sad, so in
a sudden impulse he said to her: "If he's going back in a couple of days,
then what are you doing here?"
"Excuse me…" She looked at him not quite understanding.
"Go home Linds… And don't come in the next couple of days."
"You mean that?" she asked while a smile spread from one ear to the other.
"Sure… Now get out of here!" He tossed his head in the direction of the
door.
She stood up, took his head in her hands and placed a soft kiss on his
lips. "Thank you so much Bobby Donnell, you're the best!" Then she walked
out and didn't look back at a Bobby who looked like he had just fallen down
from the sky.

Next day at D,Y,D&F.
"You just couldn't stay away, huh?" Ellenor asked as Lindsay and Jason
walked through the door.
"Ha ha!" Lindsay replied. "I just need some papers then we're out of here
again."
As Lindsay searched her drawers, Jason went to Bobby's office. Bobby looked
up as he heard the door being shut. "Jason, hi… What are you doing here?"
"Kerm… Lindsay just needed some files," he answered.
"But I told her to take some days off."
"You know my sister… She just can't stop working."
Bobby smiled a little. Of course he should have known that. There was a
soft knock on the door and Lindsay poked her head inside.
"Oh, there you are Kiddo. Look, I have to go down to the D.A.'s office… It
won't take long. An hour tops… Promise."
Bobby and Jason just looked at each other and then started laughing.
"What?!" she asked.
"Nothing… It's nothing." Bobby made a dismissing movement with his hand.
She gave him a look that told him she didn't really believe him.
"Jason do think you can find a way to spend the next hour on your own? I'll
meet you at McCall's at 12.30 for lunch…"
"Yeah, I think I can manage, Kermit," he said and gave her a stop-
treating-me-like-I'm-eleven-years-old look.
"Sorry… See you at 12.30," she smiled at him and closed the door behind
her.
"She's hopeless," Bobby sighed. Jason nodded in agreement and sat down on
the couch.
"So… What's going on between you and my sister?"
"What?!" Bobby was taken aback by his forthright question.
"She told me that you were…"
Bobby blushed a little. "What… She just tell you everything?"
"Actually yes… And I got the feeling that she hasn't put it as much behind
her as she wanted to. So now I feel it's my obligation as her brother to
find out what's really going on."
Laughing a little Bobby said: "Are you always this direct when there are
things you want to know?"
Now it was Jason's turn to blush. "I guess so. I think that's how you get
the best results."
Bobby nodded understandingly.
Jason looked him straight in the eyes. "You're really fond of her, aren't
you? I mean… I've seen you look at her…"
Bobby looked away from Jason `s gaze and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't
know… I guess so… But she would never… I hurt her pretty badly once, I
think…"
"And maybe she hurt you a little too… Right?"
Bobby looked back at him. Damn… This kid knew everything… What was he – a
mind reader or something.
"Maybe the two of you should get together and talk…"
Bobby shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe…"
"Well, you guys have to sort things out yourselves… Oh, one more thing…"
Jason's face went serious. "Will you take care of her for me, when I'm not
around… I know she wants to handle everything herself and be strong, but
sometimes… She's not…"
Bobby nodded: "Of course I will, don't worry."
"Thanks," Jason said and stood up. "And now I want to go shopping and see
if I can find something nice for my sister." With these words he walked out
of the office.
After Jason left Bobby sat for a while just starring out in the empty
space. Did he dare believe Jason's words. Was there really a chance that
Lindsay might still have feelings for him?
"No, don't be stupid Donnell," he thought to himself. "Why would she ever…"

No, he wouldn't even think about it. He wouldn't get his hopes up. It would
just be too… devastating when she turned him down.

Bobby was so caught up in his own thoughts, he didn't even hear the sirens
from the ambulances and police cars that rushed through the streets below.


The sky was gray and the rain was falling. The flashing lights from the
police cars attracted people's attention and the crowd around the smashed
car was growing bigger. Mike McGuire got out of his car and walked towards
the scene of the accident.
"So, what have we got?" He asked while he bent under the yellow
"Police line do not cross" tape.
"Young man hit by a car," the uniformed police officer answered. "He died
immediately."
They both looked at the body lying under the white sheet.
"Do we have an ID on the guy?" Mike asked.
The officer took out a little note pad and looked at it. "Uh… Jason Dole"
A shocked expression spread on Mike's face.
"Oh no!" He burst out.
"What… you know him?" The officer looked at Mike with concern in his eyes.
"No… But I think I know someone who does…"


A soft knock on the door made Helen look up from the file she was reading.
"Come on in."
Mike stepped inside closing the door behind him.
"Hey Mike, What's up? News on the Foster case?"
He shook his head feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Look Helen, this might be bad news… But I need to ask you a question."
"Sure, bring it on," she said but his behavior was starting to make her
nervous.
"Do you know if Lindsay is related to a Jason Dole…?"
"Yeah of course she is. He's her little brother… Why do you wanna kno…"
Then she realized what he had just said. "No…Please… No…" the tears started
to form in her eyes.
"I'm afraid so… He was hit by a car. There was nothing we could do. He was
already gone when the ambulance arrived."
The tears were now running down her cheeks. "No… It's not fair… It's not
fair…" She looked at Mike. He could see the despair in her eyes.
"I know Helen… I know it's not"
He bent over the desk and gently wiped a tear of her cheek.
"Look, I have to go tell Lindsay. Will you be okay, or do you want me to go
get someone?"
"I wanna go with you," she said through the tears.
"No, Helen. That would only make things worse. Give me half an hour, then
call her or get over there."
"No! I wanna come…" She stood up.
"Helen… No!" Mike said in a firm voice.
She sat down again and put her head in her hands. "It's not fair… It's not
fair…" She kept repeating. Mike looked down at her, his heart aching for
her.
"I'm gonna go see Lindsay now," he said. "Do you want me to get somebody…"
She shook her head. Mike left closing the door quietly behind him. When he
was gone Helen got up not knowing what to do with herself. She picked up a
book from the desk and using all her strength she threw it at the wall. A
picture fell down and the glass from the frame was shattered. Helen sat
down on the floor feeling like someone had just taken out her heart and
broken it into pieces just like the glass.


D,Y,D&F
Lindsay rushed through the front door, slamming it behind her. "Hey, easy
now," Rebecca said.
"Sorry!" Lindsay apologized and she walk to her desk and threw down the
files she was carrying. "But I'm meeting Jason in…" She looked at her
watch. "… three minutes!"
None of them noticed Mike stepping inside before he cleared he throat.
"Lindsay, can I talk to you?"
"Hi Mike… Can't it wait till tomorrow, I'm having lunch with my brother in…
Well, now it's two minutes." She looked pleadingly at him. He shook his
head dreading what he had to tell her.
"You better make it fast then."
He just looked at her, pointed at the conference room and said: "Could we
step in here for a minute?" They walked inside and Mike shut the door
behind them.
From her desk Rebecca's eyes were curiously following them through the open
blinds. She saw Lindsay sit down and Mike kneeling before her. He put his
hands on her knees and started talking to her. Rebecca would have given
almost anything to be able to hear what he was saying. Suddenly Lindsay
jumped up, pushing Mike's hands away and screaming: "WHAT!!" Rebecca was
startled over the sudden noise and almost jumped in her chair. She saw a
disbelieving expression on Lindsay's face as she started backing away from
Mike. He was still talking to her while she opened the door. She turned
towards him again her eyes burning with anger. "I don't believe you… You're
lying to me… I don't believe…" She stopped and Mike reached out for her.
"NO! Don't touch me!" She screamed.
Disturbed by the noise Bobby came out from his office. "What's going on?"
Mike looked at him with sad eyes. "Jason's dead… Car accident…"
Both Bobby and Rebecca looked shocked. "But… He was just here…" Bobby
couldn't quite believe either. The tears were burning in his eyes and he
started to feel sick. Not because of his own loss, he hardly knew the guy,
but because of the loss Lindsay had to be feeling. He went to her wanting
to put his arms around her, but as he closed in on her, she stepped away.
"Don't touch me!" She made a defensive gesture with her arms and shook her
head. "It's not true… I don't believe it…" She collapsed into a chair.
"It's not true… You don't give something to a person and then take it away
after such short time… You don't…"
Bobby walked towards her making another attempt to try and comfort her. She
just looked at him coldly.
"Stay away from me Bobby, I don't need you!"
He was taken aback and hurt by her harsh words. Mike put a hand on his arm
as if to tell him to stay calm. He stepped back a little giving her some
room.
"Lindsay, I hate to ask you this," Mike said quietly, "… But could you come
with me down to the morgue? I need you to make an offi…" He didn't get any
further. She had already gotten up from the chair.
"Sure," she nodded with a blurred look.
"Okay, let's go…" Mike hesitated a little as if he wasn't quite sure
whether he should take her with him or not. But she was already walking
towards the door, so he followed her waving a brief goodbye to Bobby and
Rebecca.
After the door shut Bobby stood for a while not quite knowing what to do.
Then the phone rang. Rebecca picked it up: "Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt…
No, I'm sorry she just left with Mike… Yeah sure, just a minute." She put
her hand over the receiver and said: "Bobby… It's Helen."
Bobby slowly turned his head towards her. "I… I'll take it in my office."
He went inside and picked up the receiver.
"Helen?"
"Bobby, hi." He could hear she had been crying.
"So… You've heard…"
"Yeah, Mike told me… How's she doing?"
"I don't really know Helen. It's like she doesn't understand, like she
refuses to believe it."
Helen was silent for a moment then she said: "Do you know when she'll be
home?"
"No not really. I think Mike is taking her home when they're done."
"Then I'll go home now, so I'm there when she gets back."
"Yes, you should do that… And tell her to stay at home tomorrow, will you?"

"Sure."
"And tell her if she needs anything… Well, I'm here for her… She can just
call."
"I Will… Bye Bobby."
She put down the receiver and couldn't help but smile just a little. He was
a weird closed up person that Bobby Donnell, but somewhere deep under all
his defences he really did care a lot about Lindsay.

Next morning.
Bobby was pouring coffee as Lindsay walked in. Her face was pale and her
eyes were dark.
"Lindsay, what are you doing here?" He asked in a concerned voice.
"I   here, remember?!" She said as she walked past him to her desk.
"I know that, but I think it would be better if you stayed home…"
"Would you shut up! Why does everyone think they know what's best for me?
You don't know, okay? You don't!"
Aggressively she searched her drawers, took up some files, put them in her
bag and rushed out with an "I'll be in court" on her way.

Over the next couple of days it pained Bobby to see how she was looking
worse each time she stepped into the office. But his every attempt to
comfort her was put down by her cold looks and angry words. Bobby was
beginning to feel desperate. He wanted so badly to help her through this
but she wouldn't let him in. She just buried herself in work and when she
had no more work to get done she rushed home.

"I talked to your mother this afternoon," Helen said as she walked into the
kitchen where Lindsay was putting on her running shoes. Lindsay didn't even
look up but Helen continued. "The funeral will be on Sunday, so I thought
we could drive home Friday after work."
"You'll have to go alone," Lindsay said concentrating on tying her shoe.
"What?!" Helen couldn't believe what she had just heard.
"I said, you'll have to go alone… I have work to do."
"Bobby will give you the time of, I'm sure he will. He wouldn't be keeping
you from your brothers funeral, you know that."
"Yeah, well, I have work to do alright?"
"No Lindsay you can't do that. You're not staying away. This is your last
chance to say good-bye properly." Helen was feeling desperate.
"Well, maybe I don't want to say good bye!" Lindsay looked up.
"You can't stay away, okay? You can't. Think of your mother and… And Jason,
what about Jason. You can't do this to him, you need to be there too…" She
was interrupted by Lindsay.
"I can't do this to him? I can't do this to him! He did this to me! ME! I
wasn't the one who left. He was! He did this to me!" Her eyes were burning
with all the anger she was keeping inside. She starred at Helen for a
second or two, then she turned around and left the apartment.
Once she stepped out onto the street, she started running. She had been
doing that a lot lately. Running was good. If she was running fast enough
it was like she could run away from the empty feeling. And if she was
running long enough so every muscle and bone in her body was aching she
almost couldn't feel the pain in her heart. Lightning flashed across the
sky and the rain started pouring down. But she didn't notice, she just kept
running away from it all - from the feeling of being left behind.
In the meantime Helen was on the phone with Lindsay's mother. "I can't get
her to come Maggie. She's so angry… It's like I can't get through to her."
Helen was near tears. "Things are really bad… I don't know what to do or
say…" She was silent for a little while listening to what Maggie was
saying. "I'll try to talk to her again, but I don't think… Look Maggie I
gotta go, someone's at the door. Yes… See you Friday… Bye, bye." She put
down the receiver and went to open. Outside Bobby was standing.
"Hey Bobby, come on in" She stepped aside and let him in.
"I just wanted to check on her and see if she's alright," he explained.
"Yeah, well she's not in right now, she's out running."
"Running? Well maybe that's good for her." He shrugged his shoulders.
"Good for her?!" Helen laughed bitterly. "Bobby… This is the second time
today – today – she's out running, and she's been out there – running – for
almost an hour now. That is not healthy, and she's loosing weight… And she
won't talk to me… And she's shutting me out… And… And… Bobby, she won't
come to his funeral!" Finally Helen burst into tears. Bobby went to comfort
her.
"I can't take it anymore. It's like she doesn't live any more… She just…
exists."
Bobby decided to wait for Lindsay and they sat down on the couch drinking
some coffee.
Ten minutes later they heard the door open and Lindsay came in totally
drenched with rain. Because of the rain her shirt was sticking close to her
body, and Bobby could see what Helen meant. She really had become very
skinny.
They both stood up. "Lindsay… We need to talk," Helen began.
"Yeah Linds, we really want to help you…" Bobby took over.
Lindsay just looked at them, her eyes dark with anger. "What is this? Some
conspiracy to make me feel small and helpless? Well, snap out of it. I
don't need you!" Then she turned towards Bobby. "And what are you doing
here anyway. You're my boss… Not my best friend!" She didn't wait for him
to reply, just went to her room and slammed the door. –
In your face Donnell! He could feel the anger rising inside. If this was
the way it was going to be then fine! Helen saw the look on his face.
"Bobby…" She began trying to smooth things out.
"No Helen, I've tried to help, but if this is the way it's going to be…
Count me out. She's on her own now." But his heart was aching as he walked
out the door.

A week later Bobby was talking to Helen in the courthouse. "So, how was the
funeral?" He asked in a gentle voice.
"It was awful… But it was also so peaceful. It was like you finally
realized that he isn't here anymore… That he's in a better place… I so wish
she would have come. Maybe she would have… Oh, I don't know." Helen shook
her head in sadness.
"She's shutting people out at the office too. She won't let them talk to
her unless it's about a case. Someday soon she's gonna fall big time."
"I know." Helen nodded.

D,Y,D & F
"I'll be in court," Lindsay said grabbing her bag and walking towards the
door. She stopped at Rebecca's desk. "Rebecca, do you have that file on the
Smallwood case I asked for?"
"Yeah sure." Rebecca handed her the file.
"Thanks." Lindsay said and she was out the door, leaving Rebecca at her
desk with a concerned look at her face. Eugene looked at her.
"What's wrong?"
"Do you think it's wise to let her handle the sentencing on the Smallwood
case?"
Eugene knitted his eyebrows. "…Smallwood case?"
"Yeah you know, the drunk driver who hit and killed that little girl."
"No… Not wise. Why is she on this case?"
"I think she got it before… I guess none of us remembered she was still on
it."
"Well, there's not much we can do. She'll get angry if we try to get her
off…"
"She probably will… I just hope she'll be alright." Rebecca sighed. Eugene
nodded his head slowly.

Court.
Kevin Smallwood was apologizing to the dead girl's parents.
"I am so deeply sorry. I know it'll never be enough, but I really am. Not
one day goes by without me regretting my actions…"
Lindsay was sitting on her chair feeling more and more sick to her stomach
hearing his words.
"… If I could only go back in time and undo what I did…"
Suddenly Lindsay stood up. "But you can't, can you. There's no way you can
ever undo what you did to that little girl and her parents. You took their
most precious belonging from them and you can never, never, make it up
them…" She said with rage in her voice. The parents, the D.A., the judge,
Kevin and everybody else looked at her shocked.
"You think everything is going to be alright just because you sit up there
and tell everyone that you're sorry. Well it's not. You took their little
girl away from them… Away… How will they ever be able to heal all that
pain… All because of you… You…" She pointed a finger towards him.
"Miss Dole.." The judge said in an angry voice.
"NO, I'm not done here… Don't be sitting there feeling sorry for yourself…
No one feels sorry for you… Do you understand that… No one…"

"Bobby… Bobby Donnell," a young man was calling for him in the hallway.
Bobby stopped. "Yeah, what's up?"
"I think they need you over in judge Steinbeck's courtroom."
"Why?" Bobby asked wondering what he had done now.
"It's one of your associates… Skinny, long brown hair… She's freaking out…
They don't know what to…"
Bobby didn't hear his last words, he was already running down the hallway.
As he walked in the courtroom he saw the D.A. approaching Lindsay.
"Stay away from me," she said to him in a desperate voice. "He needs to be
told this…"
But the D.A. didn't stop. "I said stay away!" She was hysterical now. Bobby
walked over there. "Do as she says," he said stopping the D.A.
The D.A. looked at him with relief in his eyes.
"Lindsay, sweetie… Calm down." Bobby said walking towards her.
"No, you stay away too!" The tears were running down her cheeks and she was
trying desperately to stop herself from falling completely apart. And if he
came any closer she wouldn't be able to.
"No, Bobby… Please…" He saw the pain in her eyes, but he walked closer
taking her into his arms. At first she struggled a little, but as she felt
he wasn't letting go, she gave up put her arms around his neck and clung to
him letting it all come out.
"Help me Bobby… Please help me…" She cried.
"I will Linds… I will, don't worry," he said stroking her hair.
"I miss him… I miss him so much… It hurts… I don't know what to do…
Please help me, I don't know what to do…" She was clinging on to him so
hard, resting her head against his neck. He could feel her tears, and he
was thankful that she finally let them out. At the same time he couldn't
stop the tears from coming to his own eyes. He felt her deep pain and
wanted so badly to make it go away. When she had calmed down a little Bobby
looked up and saw that the judge had cleared the room. The judge walked to
them. "Do you think
you could take her home?" She asked gently.
"Yeah, I will." He said still stroking Lindsay's hair.
"Good." The judge nodded.

Helen & Lindsay's apartment.
Bobby opened the door and let them both inside.
"Come on, sit down." He led her to the couch. "I'll get you something to
drink."
She sat down, but as he turned to leave she grabbed for his hand.
"Bobby, please don't leave." Her eyes were big with fear.
He kneeled in front of her. "I'm not leaving, Linds… I'm just gonna go get
you some water."
She shook her head letting go of his hand.
"Okay, it can wait," he said putting a loose tuft of hair behind her ear.
Once again Lindsay felt the tears burning in her eyes and she fought to
keep them back. She starred at her hands in her lap. Gently Bobby lifted up
her head so her eyes met his. "It's okay Linds, you don't have to hide from
me."
She smiled a little while the tears were running down her cheeks. He really
did know her too well. Bobby saw her smile and smiled back softly caressing
her cheek while drying away the tears.
Then she spoke: "I had just gotten him back Bobby… And then he's taken away
from me again. How can that be fair? I mean… What am I supposed to do now?
He was always there for me, always making sure that no one would ever hurt
me…"
"I can do that…" Bobby mumbled, mostly to himself, but he realized she had
heard him. She looked at him a little surprised.
"… If you'll let me."
She looked down. This was too soon, she wasn't ready yet. Bobby was
disappointed by her rejection and he felt stupid for revealing his feelings
like this. Lindsay felt this and reached out for his hand to comfort him,
this time entwining her fingers in his.
She leaned towards him resting her forehead against his. "Will you give me
some time, Bobby?"  He couldn't help smiling. She was opening the door,
maybe just a bit, but she was.
"Take all the time you need. I'll be here." He lifted his head and placed a
gentle kiss on her forehead. Then he got up and placed himself next to her
in the couch. She snuggled into him, resting her head on his chest, closing
her eyes. Maybe things were hard right now. Maybe there was a big empty
hole in her heart. But now she felt, that in time she would heal and become
a whole person again.

5 days later.
Lindsay walked into the cemetery carrying a single red rose. As she reached
the grave she slowed down a little, scared to come closer. Then she took a
deep breath collecting herself and walked the last few meters. "In loving
memory of Jason Dole" the tombstone said. Lindsay had to swallow hard while
reading the words. She placed the rose upon the stone and stepped back.
"Hey Kiddo… I had never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would be
standing here today. You know… I thought we'd be together always…" her
voice was trembling. "If you can hear me, I just want you to know, that I'm
sorry I wasn't here to say good bye, and I love you… But I guess you know
that. When we meet again someday, you gotta promise me you'll never leave,
okay. Coz I can't live this one more time…"
Soft flakes of snow were beginning to fall from the sky. Lindsay opened her
hand catching some of them on her palm. They melted away in a few seconds.
"Don't wait up for me Kiddo. I'll be around soon enough…"
She turned and walked away letting the tears run freely.
As she reached the parking lot, Bobby got up from the bench he was sitting
on. His collar was up and he had his hands in his pockets to protect
himself from the snow. He waited for her to catch up with him, and when she
did they started walking together not saying anything. Then she put her
hand into his pocket entwining her fingers with his. A small smile spread
on Bobby's face. As Lindsay saw this and felt the warmth from his hand, she
felt a tiny flash of happiness. Maybe her healing was beginning now. Maybe
there was light at the end of the tunnel.