TITLE: Paper Anniversary (3/?) <—-(You never know how long I might ramble.)
PAIRING: Lindsay/Cindy – duh
SUMMARY: Lindsay and Cindy celebrate their anniversary. But which one?
NOTES: The is a sequel to House Arrest… as requested. For Nikky and anyone else who wanted, but was too shy to ask. Couldn’t relegate it to a one-shot though. I love this Lindsay and Cindy too much!
DISCLAIMER: Women’s Murder Club does not belong to me. The characters do not belong to me. They are the property of James Patterson, 20th Century Fox Television and ABC. (Well, not anymore. Jackasses.) I have no problems with that as long as I can borrow them for short bursts and use them in pursuit of my own enjoyment. I am not trying to infringe. Though, I don’t know why anyone has a problem with fan fic. After all, it really is a compliment. If anyone wants to write fan fiction about my book, feel free.

(December 19th – Cindy’s POV)

This was not a frightening thing.

Waiting for Lindsay in the holding cell after one trivial infraction or another, that was a frightening thing.

Waiting for Lindsay to come home from a shootout, that was a frightening thing.

Wondering, on occasion of self-doubt, if Lindsay might decide to hit the hills, taking the largest chunk of her heart with her, that had potential for fright.

By comparison, walking into a room full of Lindsay’s colleagues should have been a proverbial piece of cake.

But it was more like she was standing on the edge of a room filled with shady characters from a crime novel than the same people she’d been seeing on a regular basis for over a year. She felt like the target of every sidelong glance, and as if every gun, hidden beneath the formal attire of everyone in this room, was secretly pointing in her direction. And she knew that they all had guns on them, because Lindsay, dressed to gorgeous perfection in a long dress, had her own in a thigh holster, which, though disturbing, Cindy had to admit was kind of hot.

A familiar face would have been nice, but she didn’t see Jill or Claire or Jacobi in the crowd of people. She did see Tom, standing in a prime spot in the middle of the room with Heather, but he was pretty much the last person she wanted to see.

Finally, she spotted Cho looking out the door at her. She waved in friendly greeting, and Cho smiled. The friendly gesture was nice, but not nearly as nice as Lindsay’s immediate response of putting a hand lightly on her lower back and moving closer as if claiming her territory. Maybe it was pathetic, but she liked when Lindsay turned into a kindergartner who didn’t want to share her.

“Relax, Baby,” Lindsay leaned close to whisper. “This is no big deal.”

“Right,” Cindy agreed in word only.

“You ready for this?”

Cindy followed Lindsay’s eyes to see that they were getting a big signal of acknowledgement from Tom.

Spotted. Like a deer in the forest.

“I guess,” Cindy said.

Lindsay’s sturdy hand held Cindy’s gently, but tugged her firmly through the crowd, and too soon, they were standing in front of Tom and Heather, who were smiling merrily enough that they had to have a few drinks each in them.

“Linds, you’re late,” Tom declared good-humoredly.

“Sorry, I got sidetracked.”

Cindy could actually hear the smirk in Lindsay’s voice, and really hoped that she didn’t go into detail regarding how many times they had put their dresses on and taken them back off before they finally made it to the party.

“Cindy, it’s good to see you again.”

“You… Tom… too… good to see.”

Lindsay finally let go of her hand, her comforting touch moving across Cindy’s lower back as she stepped closer. Tom and Heather’s ultra-vigilant eyes moving over them felt almost as tangible as Lindsay’s hand.

“That’s a beautiful necklace,” Heather commented.

“Thank you,” Lindsay said, hand dipping dangerously low on Cindy’s back. “Cindy got it for me last year.”

Lindsay gave her a quick wink, and Cindy managed a small smile, which promptly faded when she turned her head and locked eyes with Tom. Dropping her gaze toward the floor, she gulped her discomfort and tried not to squirm, for fear of shaking Lindsay’s hand even further down onto her ass.

Awkward, ‘twas the ensuing silence.

“So, then the two of you have been…” Tom finally started.

“Hey!” he was mercifully interrupted. “I wondered when you two were going to get here.”

As if sensing the dire need for intervention, Jacobi was suddenly at Cindy’s side, and she gave him a dazzlingly grateful smile. Brilliant man that he was, Jacobi looked around at the shell-shocked faces and deduced the subject of conversation.

“And you’re just in time too,” he continued. “I need a dancing partner. What do you say, Red? Up for a twirl?”

“Yeah, I’d love to,” Cindy sighed in relief.

Seeing the amusement on Lindsay’s face, and feeling Lindsay’s fingers finally drop down into inappropriate territory, she whipped her purse against Lindsay’s stomach harder than necessary. “Hold this.”

She put her hand in the crook of Jacobi’s arm and let him take her away to the dance floor. Situating herself into Jacobi’s embrace, Cindy looked up to see an impish grin on his face.

“Tom knew, you know?” Jacob assured her. “He may have wanted to believe he didn’t know for sure, but Lindsay hasn’t been keeping any secrets.”

“Really?” Cindy questioned, glancing in Lindsay’s direction, surprised to find Lindsay staring unabashedly at her. She held dark eyes across the room until Tom returned to hand Lindsay a drink and Jacobi turned them so that Lindsay was no longer in her immediate sightline.

“Really,” Jacobi confirmed. “You make her happy. She’s proud of that. And I’m proud of her for having the courage to be happy. There have been times when I’ve wondered if she’d ever let that happen.”

Sometimes Cindy wondered if Lindsay ever truly understood how much Jacobi cared about her. Moving her hand around his back, Cindy hugged Jacobi in the middle of the dance floor. Jacobi gave her a veritable bear hug and released her to take her hand again. The song picked up tempo and Jacobi sent her through a series of elaborate turns and fancy moves that had Cindy practically in tears she was laughing so hard by the end.

A slow Texas drawl came with the opening strands of the slow song that followed. “You mind if I take her back?” Lindsay softly requested. “I’ll trade you for this one.”

“I don’t know why I put up with this,” Claire said as Cindy and Jacobi turned to face them.

“Hey Claire,” Cindy greeted.

“Hey Honey,” Claire smiled.

Cindy glanced to where Tom and Heather were still standing, Ed now beside them with a lap full of purses, and looking rather cheerful about it.

“I’d call that a fair trade,” Jacobi declared, offering his hand to Claire. “Would you do me the honor?”

“Don’t bother with the charm,” Claire waved her hand at him. “You think I don’t know I’m just being pimped out so that she can dance with her girlfriend?”

“Woman, quit fussin’ and dance with me,” Jacobi demanded.

Tamed, Claire took his hand and they stepped gracefully away.

Lindsay’s hand moved with silken affection over her hip, and Cindy turned into her as Lindsay took hold of her hand and brought it between them, so that it was cradled against her chest. Lindsay’s fingers were warm through the back of her dress and even warmer against her palm, and Cindy could feel the steady beat of Lindsay’s heart against the back of her hand. Free hand gliding over Lindsay’s shoulder until her fingers came to rest against the back of Lindsay’s neck, Cindy allowed herself to be pulled in closer, until the space between them disappeared.

“Is this some kind of bold proclamation?” Cindy murmured.

“Half of these people are so drunk this will just be a remarkably hot fever dream,” Lindsay returned, the soft skin of her cheek brushing against Cindy’s temple as she pulled her even closer. “I just want to dance with you.”

Fingers grasping more tightly to Lindsay’s hand between them, Cindy dropped her head onto Lindsay’s shoulder, and, somewhere in the midst of the action, all of those people she’d been so concerned about vanished into the atmosphere.