I do not really own anything. All the characters belong to CBS and all of the appropriate people. Spoilers up through Season 5 episode 5x17. Takes place right after 5.17. Just a little play on words that came to me. Loosely connected to a previous story Penny Thoughts. You don't have to read that to get this, its just loosely references it.

By the way, Marshall is on Hiatus. I've got to get my feet back under me with the changes in cannon. I like to try and stay within the show. Sometimes.

They would have taken a cab. They could have. They probably should have.

But Lindsay wanted a moment to walk, to enjoy the city, with her arm in his. She wanted to remember this day, in this city, and take it with her, she said.

Well, so did he.

"Funny how half an hour ago all you wanted to do was go home and pack so you could leave me. Now you don't mind taking your time."

She glanced up at him as she squeezed his arm. "So I could get back."

"You're going to leave me so you can get back …"

"The sooner I get there, the sooner I get home."

He chucked, managed to push back the sadness. It wasn't a day to be sad, he reminded himself. "I don't think it works that way."

"And years from now, you'll tell the story of how I left you the day after your wedding. Tell the story just like your uncle Linus … or your Uncle Clem … of how his wife forgot to bring her trunk with her to the wedding and they had to return to the parent's house that night? I heard it. I heard how the emphasis was on her."

She laughed and rested her head on his shoulder. Their pace had slowed. New York just moved around them. "It's what I was thinking—trying not to think—while you were saying all those beautiful words."

"Wait—" he stopped mid stride. "You weren't even listening?"

"Oh, I was listening," she looked into his eyes as he turned her towards him. Her brown eyes were so engaging. She seemed so … soft, all of the sudden. His Lindsay.

So often over the last three years, he'd seen her fierce, he'd seen her brave, he'd seen her sad … and he'd seen her fun side, her laughter, and the brilliant twinkle in her eyes.

But he liked this soft side of love he saw in her now. He'd seen it recently, he'd watched it bloom. He'd begun to get used to it. He'd only had a few months to get used to it.

And now she was leaving him.

Leaving him the day after their wedding day.

"You didn't … don't feel boxed in?"

"Danny Messer," swatted him on his arm. Something Aiden would have done. Something that jarred him a little out of his self pity.

But it was Lindsay grinning at him. It was love he felt.

"You boxed me in the moment you walked through those court room doors back in Montana. Or maybe that's the moment I knew," she lifted a hand, slowly traced a gentle line down his cheek. "And I wasn't thinking I was boxed in. I was thinking that you'd managed to find a way to tell a big tale, with the bride at the center of the tale. And you'll probably forget your role that made it was all last minute. So you'll tell the story, like your uncle. Probably like your grandfather. And I thought … this was our story. We had our own wedding day story. It was going to be told around the poker table, and the family diner table. It's a little intimidating. It's a big deal."

He let her words settle with a warmth that was deeper and richer than anything he'd felt all day.

"And Danny…" her hand, still warm on his face, slid around and into his hair to pull him toward her. He slid, like warm butter, into the kiss. So gentle. So perfect.

"You are that man," she said softly as they parted. "I've known that a long time. I was listening. I have been."

She slid her arm back into his, and they slowly began to walk again. The day was growing cool again, but there was a warmth around them.

Your mama had to leave me. Yeah, yeah—he would chuckle—she would spear him with a look. I couldn't have left her the day after our wedding. But she left me. Just got on that plane, and left me alone. We didn't have a honeymoon. Not right away.

But it was still perfect. We still had that night. We soaked in the city that was ours. We walked the streets, because it was where we both belonged.

I'll never forget that day. Never forget the beauty on your mama's face. A beauty that made the big city simply melt away.

Yeah, he thought, drawing her closer. Maybe he wouldn't say all those words.

But they had their story.

Let me know what you think! :P