1Beautiful Reminiscence

A short little piece of fluff about Danny, reminiscing about Aiden, and then meeting her again. I wrote a poem with this title, but I had to reuse it for this because nothing else fit. Just a little piece of info. Here goes. And we will miss Aiden, won't we:(

The first time he saw her, he felt like he wouldn't feel the same. She wasn't overly beautiful, but she was pretty enough to make him stare just a little longer than expected. It was kismet, he thought. She was tough, cynical, from Brooklyn, and he was a tough cocky Staten Island boy. They had the chemistry, but not the opportunity or the temperament, at least on her side. She shot down the only try he made, saying she was "out of his league." She really thought so, didn't she? That didn't stop him from being crazy for her still.

Then came that day she was called out. She had been weirdly quiet all day, just barely smiling at his jokes, looking tiredly wary, like she knew something had happened, but she didn't know what. Then she left, with no explanation, no saying anything. He was worried all day. Then, just a few days later, he got a note from her.

Hey, Danny.

I got fired today. It was my fault. I guess I couldn't keep up with the flow without changing the direction a bit. I just want you to know that I will miss you so much, and I've enjoyed every second of working with you. It may seem a little out of the ordinary for me, but then again, I've been out of the ordinary for a while now. You were great. And I know you'll do well with your new partner.

Love, Aiden

P.S. I'm not out of your league. You're out of mine.

Danny was numb as he read, then reread the note. She was gone. Aiden had left him. Not choosing to, she had left him alone. There would be no more of her smiles, no more of her Brooklyn accent sweeping the lab, no more of her hands processing evidence. She was gone. Going where?

He folded up the note and stuck it in his pocket, his hands shaking for some wild reason. "Hey, Danny, you all right?" Flack said as he passed him. Danny could only shake his head no. His voice was gone, he couldn't think, he could barely even breathe.

And the last line... that was what stuck in his head. As if she was whispering into his ear, I'm not out of your league. You're out of mine. Danny, you're out of my league.

As if he could ever be good enough for her. After everything he did, she was going to say that. He passed his hands over his eyes, taking off his glasses. It couldn't be true.

But it was.

Then he got the call from her, four months later.

"Hey, Messer. What's new?"

He paused. "Hello?"

As if he could ever forget that voice. "Danny? Messer? It's me."

He sighed. He knew it was her, of course. "Hey, Aiden."

"Surprised to hear from me?"

"Yeah. How are you doing?"

"Not as well as I could be. Mac actually didn't blackball me. I thought he would have. Anyway, I'm in Boston now."

Boston. So far away from New York City. How could she ever come back here?

"How is it?"

"It's nice. A lot smaller than New York. But I like it."

"That's... that's good. That's great, Aid."

He could hear the slight smile in her voice. "Thanks, Danny." Then she cleared her throat. "Can you meet me in front in ten minutes?"

"What?" Danny was nonplused. "Aren't you in..."

"Oh, I didn't tell you? I'm here for the weekend."

His stomach leaped almost into his mouth, and the soaring feeling of complete happiness came over him. "You..."

"Yeah."

He looked at the clock. "I'll be there."

In ten minutes, he saw her coming down the street, pretty as ever, smiling brightly. "Hey, you," she said, embracing him warmly. "It's been a while, eh?"

"Yeah," he said. "Wow, look at you."

Her hair was a little shorter, and her skin was somehow glowing. "All that sea air," she said cheerfully. "Of course, nothing compared to here. I had no idea I'd miss it so much."

"I don't know how I'd leave from the start."

"Really? That's how I felt," she replied. "I've got to take you over to Boston one day."

"If I have time."

She smiled. "You're busy too. We all are. Everywhere. I guess crime doesn't take a break."

"You've got that right."

They walked to a bar they both knew well, and had a few drinks together. It seemed just like it used to be to Danny, except she was just here for a couple of days, not long enough for him. She watched him as he thought, his mind wandering back to his confines of beautiful reminiscence that made him miss her terribly. "Penny for your thoughts," she said.

"Penny? Oh, please. This is New York. Thoughts are a dollar now," he joked, making her smile slightly but not fully. There was a twinge of how she looked before she left. "I'm just thinking about the note you left me when you left. About you saying you not being out of my league..."

"That's right," she replied. "I never realized until that moment."

"What?"

She leaned over to him, her eyes wide and sincere. "You were perfect for me."

Then there was that inevitable kiss, the quieting of protests, the joining of feeling and soul and emotion between them both. It was short, and when they broke apart, she hugged him again, laying her head on his shoulder, as he stroked her hair.

"Oh, God, Danny," she said. "I missed you so much."