A/N: Well, like I promised, here's my own 4x16 fic. It'll be a multichapter - the length I don't know as of yet. But I do have plans, and I will try and work it out.

IMPORTANT - MUST READ: Please, for the life of me don't comment on how much you dislike Rikki. I don't like her anymore than you do, and if you by chance DO like her, keep it to yourself. This chapter in particular deals with what happened in 4x16 between Danny and Rikki. So please, if you hate either one of their guts, don't read only to tell me I've upset you. I'm giving you enough warning as it is. For my loyal readers, you should know by now where I stand when DL is concerned.

This IS a Danny/Lindsay fic and I WILL be working on fixing their relationship. Whether it will work out or not remains to be seen. So I hope you enjoy the beginning of 'The 416'.

“Hi, you’ve reached Lindsay Monroe. I’m not available right now so please leave a message along with your name and number. Thanks.”

It had been the same voice, the same tone, the same line; over and over again for the last 27 times Danny had tried to call. She was home; he knew she was because he knew her schedule like the back of his hands just like she knew his. She wasn’t on call tonight and she never went out on a Wednesday night - never. But then again, he’d never thought he could do this to her, or she could do this to him. Not in a million years could he have imagined being in this situation, one that was so…unreal that he wondered if he’d fallen off a building and landed in the backyard of an LA soap opera. It was…a dream, no, a nightmare. This was all a nightmare, one that he sincerely wished he could tear himself away from, to wake up on the pool table with her sleeping in his arms and Ruben’s laughter coming from the hallway. No guilt, no blame, no nothing. He wanted that back, he needed that back. He dialled again.

“Hi, you’ve reached Lindsay Monroe. I’m not available right now so please leave a message along with your name and number. Thanks.”

Danny clicked the phone shut and closed his eyes. He looked up to see the pool table in front of him, unused, empty and foreign. He remembered the way her eyes had glazed over as they made love for the first time. He clenched eyes shut at the memories, at the betrayal he so mindlessly agreed to. Braced against the kitchen counter, he picked up his cell phone and dialled her mobile.

“Hi, this is Lindsay, I can’t pick up right now so leave a message after the beep. Thanks.”

Danny’s heart dropped. He could even hear himself in the background of the pre-recorded message. He was there; standing right beside her when they were talking about the new phone she’d just gotten and was trying to figure out how half the gadgets on it actually worked. He’d laughed at her that day. He was happy that day. He flipped the phone shut and held it in his hands a moment as if he was weighing it. Then he turned and hurled it at the blackboard that was hanging beside his fridge and let loose a loud cry of frustration as he sank onto the counter, propped up on his elbows, face covered by his hands. A small creak reached his ears and he looked up to see Rikki come out from his room with nothing but a towel covering her. He looked away.

“Danny, is everything okay?” She asked with that soft, whispering voice of hers that made him feel as guilty as a murderer for taking Ruben away. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Danny,” she called again and in his mind he could hear her approach him. He felt a tender hand on his shoulder and her fingers slipped beneath the fabric of his wife-beater. “What’s wrong?”

Putting up a façade, Danny pulled back and faked a smile. “Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine,” he said, cringing inwardly at the memory of the same words he’d spoken to Lindsay not two days before. Why did everything have to be this complicated?

“You’re a bad liar, Danny,” Rikki said with a smile.

“Apparently, I’m a pretty good one,” Danny replied, it was meant to be sarcastic but he couldn’t help but acknowledge the truth behind his words. “Nothing’s wrong. Forget it.”

“Danny…”

“I said just forget it!” Danny barked back, immediately biting back his words when he saw her flinch. “Rikki, I’m sorry…I’m just…it’s just…nothing is happening the way it’s supposed to.”

“You don’t know how things are supposed to turn out Danny,” Rikki replied. She moved around the counter and stood in front of him.

“Ruben wasn’t supposed to die,” Danny whispered, “and Lindsay…”

“Lindsay?” Rikki repeated, and when Danny looked up, the defeated look in his eyes made her realise this Lindsay was someone he cared about. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Rikki…” Danny pleaded, moving forward to rest his hands on her shoulder. Their eyes met, but saw nothing.

“What is she to you, Danny?” Rikki asked softly.

“I…she told me she’s fallen in love with me,” Danny whispered. He closed his eyes and imagined every detail of her face when she’d said it; the hurt, the anger, the disappointment. It killed him. Yet he was still here, with Rikki standing in front of him in a towel.

“Do you love her too?”

“I don’t know…” Danny replied, and was caught off guard when Rikki kissed him, her hands fisting his hair. His body responded, but the image of Lindsay remained in his mind and he pulled back with a start. “I’m…I’m sorry, I can’t…,” he stuttered, his eyes falling to the ground unable to look at her.

Rikki smiled. “There’s your answer.”

Danny looked up in confusion. “What?”

“You care about her,” Rikki replied. “This thing between us meant nothing Danny. It was just sex.”

“Do you regret it?” Danny asked, and Rikki shook her head.

“That I could forget for a moment that I was alone, and that Ruben was gone? No, I don’t regret it. But I do regret it being you who I turned to,” Rikki replied.

“I just want the pain to go away,” Danny whispered.

“Did it?”

Danny shook his head. It was worse.

“What we did was a mistake, Danny,” Rikki admitted, “and nothing more.”

“All of this is my fault,” Danny said in shame.

“No it’s not,” Rikki replied. “I should’ve stopped you.”

“Ruben’s gone.”

“But you still have Lindsay.”

Danny turned away. “No I don’t.”

“Danny…”

“She said she was mad at herself for falling in love with me,” Danny said. “She wants nothing to do with me.”

“I don’t believe that,” Rikki replied.

“You don’t know Lindsay,” Danny replied. “She doesn’t know what we did, what I did.”

“Talk to her,” Rikki said. “Just do me one favour, Danny,” Danny turned back to her, “Don’t lie to her. This was a mistake, but it wasn’t an accident either. We both wanted it at the time, but it didn’t just happen on its own. If you want her back, don’t lie to her.”

“She doesn’t even want to talk to me.”

“You’ll find a way,” Rikki replied. “You always do.”

Danny smiled. “Thanks.”

“I should go,” Rikki replied as she turned and disappeared back into his room, re-emerging a moment later fully clothed. “Thanks for letting me use your shower; the plumbers can’t make it until tomorrow night.”

“Yeah, sure,” Danny replied as Rikki left through the front door. But she was right; the sex was a mistake. He just hoped that Lindsay would be able to forgive him for it. He picked up his house phone seeing as his mobile was shattered in pieces on the floor, and dialled Lindsay’s number.

““Hi, you’ve reached Lindsay Monroe. I’m not available right now so please leave a message along with your name and number. Thanks.”

He sighed and walked across the room to collapse on the couch. He needed to talk to her, and he needed to do it soon - tomorrow, at work.

Stifling a yawn, Lindsay stepped into her apartment and switched on the hallway lights. She peeked at the clock hanging next to the kitchen counter and groaned. It was 2 AM and she had to be in early the next morning. She had helped Stella temporarily move into her hotel room and had stayed for a much needed round of girl talk. One thing led to the next and they were soon sipping wine on the bed, discussing every topic under the moon. Danny had come up a few times, but she’d changed the subject every time and Stella got the hint not long after and stopped asking.

Danny. She didn’t know who he was anymore.

Letting her bag hang on the coat hanger, Lindsay slipped off her shoes and padded into the silent apartment. She headed over to the phone to see it blinking; she had 14 unheard messages. Taking a moment, she watched the red blinking numbers before hitting the ‘delete all’ button without a second thought. Her cell was off, but she figured there were just as many messages on there so she left it sitting in her bag, which she had left beside the door. With another yawn, she slipped into the bedroom for what she hoped would be a night of easy sleep.

A/N: Thoughts? Suggestions? Please review and share them.

Please remember to cut back on the flames. Thank you!