Disclaimer: I own nothing. Lyrics are from Paolo Nutini, song is "Still Crazy". I couldn't resist.

A/N: I know, it took me a long time to get this posted, but I had the dreaded exams... And now I am ready to write again. Yay!

Shut me out completely,

That would not be such a sin.

Lock up every entry,

Make sure that there's no way for me to get in

Won't try to pry them open,

Never mind knock upon your doors.

Truth is that there's no reason for me to even see your face anymore.

But I need your ears and I need them now I've got something to say,

I'm not here today to win you back just to remind you that.

Sure as the rain starts to fall,

Yes I'll always remember you dear.

And though we don't talk anymore,

I was crazy for you; yes I was crazy for you, that's for sure.

Nothing's ever easy; I think we both know that it's true.

I was convinced you loved me, and I was pretty sure that I loved you too,

When was our final moment, what's your favourite might have beens.

When was my fatal error that changed the way you thought of me ever since.

Cos I made you smile and I made you laugh, I made nice gestures and surprised you enough?

And I made you come, but I made you cry,

I wish this was true but I'm not gonna lie.

So sure as the rain starts to fall,

Yes I'll always remember you close

And though we don't touch anymore,

I was crazy for you; I'm still crazy for you, that's for sure.

Still crazy for you, still crazy for you, still crazy for you

Danny stood under a black umbrella. The weather was horrible. It had been raining every day since he had stepped out of the hospital. How's that for weather imitating life? He thought. He looked next to him and saw Lindsay standing there. Her face was blank, and he realized that this was as hard for her as it was for him. He turned his head forward to look ahead and tried to listen to what the priest was saying.

All he got was something about living a good life, someone being a good father and husband. Danny couldn't really hear. All his senses felt a little foggy. It seemed to take hours before the priest finally crossed the air in front of him and finished the prayer.

Lindsay's hand found his and squeezed tightly as he felt tears well up in his eyes. He looked over at her and saw she was doing the same. He pulled her into a hug, and they stood like that for a long time. Finally Lindsay pulled away.

"Are you ready to go home, or do you want to stay a little while longer?" Danny looked into her eyes and saw the sincerity in her eyes, her face full of concern.

"I just want to say a quick goodbye. I'll just be a minute. But I need to do it alone."

Lindsay nodded, gave his hand another squeeze and went to stand next to Danny's mother, who was waiting near the parking lot.

Danny slowly began the walk to the gravesite that now belonged to his father. The gravediggers had just moved away, and the ground had been freshly laid on top of the casket Joseph Messer was now calling home.

"Hey dad." Danny choked out. "I'm sorry you had to go. It wasn't your time. I don't care what you thought. It wasn't your time to go."

Danny thought back to his final conversation with his father.

"I knew when I got into this that I wasn't going to make it back out, son. Nobody messes with Sonny Sassone the way I did and gets away with it. But I had to do it. I lost Louie and I wasn't going to lose you too. I wanted to die knowing I had done the right thing for once in my life."

"You didn't have to do it dad. You don't have to die now. Don't give up on me."

"Daniel, when the doctors refuse to give you a straight answer, it's because they don't want to give you an answer. And when they don't want to give you an answer, it's because the answer is one you don't want to hear. I'm getting old Daniel, and there's nothing they can do for me except give me pain medication."

"I don't want you to go dad. After all we've been through, it's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair. If it was fair, then it would be easy, and if it was easy, the world would be perfect. But hey, I've done too much stuff in my past to be granted an easy way out. I deserve an early death, and I'm just grateful that I get my chance to apologize to you before I go. I'm sorry for all I put you through as a kid. And I'm sorry for all I put you through as an adult. I haven't made life easy for you, and yet you turned out good anyway. I don't know where me and your ma went right, but something happened, and I couldn't be happier. Now, don't worry about me, go on and live your life like you should be able to. And give your ma some grandchildren"

"I'll never forget you dad. I owe you –"

"Nothing. Go on home. I'm pretty sure there's a short, brown-eyed country girl waiting for you there."

"Dad –"

Danny had stopped then when he had seen his father's eyes close, knowing that they would never open again. He squeezed his hand, kissed his forehead, and whispered "I love you."

Danny looked at the words written on his father's tombstone. Loving father, loving husband.

Just weeks ago, Danny would have thought those would be the last words anyone in their right mind would associate with his father. Now, his mind had been changed for him. His father had died saving his life, and giving him a chance to move on, without the horrors of his past there stalking him.

With a whispered "I love you, dad." To the wind, Danny walked back up to the parking lot, towards Lindsay. He grasped her hand and led her to their car without a word.

It had been three weeks since the warehouse, but it felt like a lifetime to Danny. They drove back to their apartment in silence. It had been a rough day for the both of them.

"How are you doing?" Lindsay asked as they walked through the door to their apartment.

"Not that bad actually. The best thank-you I can give my dad is not to mourn him too much. I know this is the way he wanted to go. Risking his life to save us. He wanted to die honorably, to make up for the rest of what he had done. He told me that. So the last thing I can do for him is to make sure that I don't forget him."

Lindsay came up behind him and gave him a hug, kissing the back of his neck. "He loved you. It's just a shame that he won't be there to see us get married."

Danny smiled and turned around pulling her into a hug. "He'll be there." He grasped her left hand and looked at the ring perched on her third finger. It was nothing too ambitious, but it fit Lindsay perfectly. It was a gold band with a simple diamond on it. It was part one of two rings. The wedding ring that she would get would go on after her engagement ring, sliding together and matching like two pieces of a puzzle, meant to symbolize their two hearts. He had explained this to her and she had kissed him senseless for what she called "the romanticness of it" But it was the engraving inside it that truly showed how Danny felt.

For my Montana. 'Til death do us part.

When he had presented it to her, she had cried and embraced him, soaking his shirt. That was the happiest day of Danny's life. Lindsay Monroe was going to marry him. And he was never going to let her go.