A/N: Okay, so this story was a challenge (kinda) from lostladyknight, who wanted some Danny/Louie angst. I came up with this little one-shot here. I don't own any known entity, including (but not limited to) CSI:NY, CBS, or anything else. I don't know all the medicine in the world, so if I'm a little off, I apologize. I hope you guys enjoy the story, and please review. :D
Family Affair
He sat in the dark, the only lights coming from the monitors. It didn't matter if the lights were on or off. Louie Messer didn't know the difference.
Danny sat next to his brother's bed, holding his hand. It had been the same thing he'd been doing for a year and a half now. After shift, he'd drop by the hospital, sit with his brother for a while, then go home by himself or out with Lindsay.
Danny was the only one of the Messer clan that still stuck by Louie. Doctors had reasoned a while ago that he would be in a coma for the rest of his life, that he'd never wake up. It wasn't that Danny didn't believe that. He did. It was just that he didn't want Louie to be alone when he died.
Earlier in the shift, he had gotten a phone call from the hospital. Louie's vitals were going south, and they had found bloodpools forming on his brain. After all the inactivity Louie had suffered for the past year and a half, his body was finally giving up.
Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation was the fancy term for the condition Louie had developed. The long and short was that his brain was starving for oxygen, and the doctors said that he probably wouldn't make it through the night. Danny's parents were on their way down, but Danny didn't know if they'd get there in time.
He had left work without saying a word to anyone. Left a note to Mac saying he had a personal issue that he needed to take care of and that he needed to leave. He knew he probably wouldn't have to explain to Mac. Mac would just know.
"Can I get you anything, Mr. Messer?" a nurse asked softly as she walked in. Danny looked up at her briefly.
"No, thank you," he replied, just as quiet. She nodded.
"Let me know if I can get you something, okay?" He nodded, and she gave him a sad smile before walking out the door.
The light faded as the door closed behind her, and Danny turned back to Louie, squeezing his hand gently. "Just hang on until Mommy and Daddy get here, Louie," he told his older brother quietly. The monitors beeped quietly, and Danny kept eyeing them nervously, hoping his brother would hang on for just a little longer.
The door opened again, and Mr. and Mrs. Messer walked in. "Danny," his mother said, walking over to him. Danny stood up.
"Hey, Ma," he said, hugging her. He shook hands with his father as they sat down.
"How's he doing?"
"Not good, Ma. I don't know how much longer he's gonna hang on." She sniffled, and he looked over at his father, who was staring at Louie. No one said a word until the doctor walked in a few moments later, followed by the same nurse that had just been in.
"Mr. and Mrs. Messer," he said. "I'm Dr. Jackson. I've been taking care of Louie for a few months now."
"Nice to meet you," Danny's father said, standing and shaking his hand.
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but your son doesn't have much longer."
"Our son, Danny, mentioned that earlier." He gestured at Danny, who smiled sadly.
"His hypothalamus is shutting down, meaning that soon he won't be able to control his temperature, breathing, or heart rate."
"Do you know how much longer our son has?"
"Could be minutes to hours." Danny's father nodded, and Dr. Jackson frowned. "I'm sorry."
"Thank you, Doctor." The doctor walked out, and the nurse turned to the family.
"Can I get anything for you?" she asked.
"No, thanks," Mrs. Messer said. She nodded, walking out of the room and leaving the family alone. "So, how have you been, Danny?" she asked after a moment. Danny shrugged.
"I've been okay," he said.
"How's, uh… Lindsay? Was that her name?"
"Yeah. She's good."
"She's not here?" He sighed.
"She doesn't know. I, uh, I didn't really tell anyone. I wasn't sure how this was gonna go." She nodded.
"When do I get to meet her?" He chuckled.
"Soon, Ma. I promise." She smiled.
"Good, good." The three of them sat in silence, a silence that felt like it could kill them, had the machines not started going haywire after five minutes. Danny looked up as the medical team rushed in, finding Louie Messer with no respiratory or heart rates. They soon declared him dead, knowing they'd never be able to revive him anyway. Danny and his parents bowed their heads, praying silently for a moment before Danny jumped up. He hugged his mother, kissing her on the cheek, patted his father on the shoulder, and left the room quietly.
Danny had found himself unable to stay there, sitting next to his dead brother's body. Louie had quite literally given his life to keep Danny out of prison that one time. Danny still couldn't believe that his older brother was dead, had just taken his last breath in front of him.
He made his way outside, finding Mac on the street, much in the same way he had a year and a half ago. "I got your note," Mac said. "Figured it had to do with Louie." Danny looked down, snorting softly.
"Yeah," Danny replied quietly, twisting his shoe nervously on the sidewalk.
"Are you okay?" Danny shook his head, sniffling.
"He's gone, Mac." Those three words were the hardest Danny had had to say in a while, and he found tears forming as he said them. Mac stepped forward, hugging Danny as he cried.
"I'm sorry, Danny." Danny didn't say anything, choosing just to cry. Mac rubbed him on the back softly, not saying anything else either. They stayed like that for a few moments before approaching footsteps caught their attention.
"Danny," Flack said softly. Danny stepped away from Mac as Flack put his hand on his longtime friend's shoulder.
"He's gone, Flack," Danny said. Flack nodded sadly, hugging his friend.
"We all noticed you left early. Mac said it was personal, so we all kinda put 2 and 2 together."
"Everyone knows?" Danny looked over at Mac.
"I never said anything," Mac said.
"Yeah, I know," Danny said.
"They're CSIs, Danny," Flack pointed out. "It's their job to notice stuff. Anytime anyone asked, Mac deflected the question, said it was personal and that we had to ask you ourselves. We just figured it out." Danny nodded.
"How are your parents?" Mac asked.
"Still inside," Danny said. "They're hurtin'."
"Understandable. If you need anything, Danny, don't hesitate to ask."
"Thanks." Lindsay rushed up, hugging Danny.
"I'm sorry, Danny," she said.
"How…?" he asked.
"Just a guess." He shook his head.
"Louie hasn't been dead for more than half an hour, and half the team already knows."
"I'm sorry, Danny."
"Thanks." She kissed him on the cheek gently, and he hugged her tightly.
"I love you," she whispered in his ear. He smiled slightly, closing his eyes.
"Love you too," he replied, matching her tone. "My mom really wants to meet you." She chuckled.
"Well, I really want to meet her too." She pulled back a bit, giving him a sad smile. "You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah." She rubbed his arm tenderly.
"Remember, Danny, you're not alone," Flack said.
"I know," Danny replied.
"We got your back." Danny nodded.
"Thanks, guys. I think I just wanna head home, though." Mac nodded.
"We'll walk you." Danny nodded again, watching the door as his parents left. They walked up to Danny.
"Mom, Dad, I want you to meet Mac Taylor, Don Flack, and Lindsay Monroe," Danny said. "They're my colleagues."
"It's nice to meet you," Mrs. Messer said. They shook hands with everyone.
"I'm very sorry for your loss," Mac told them. Flack and Lindsay echoed his sentiments.
"Thank you. Danny, we're going to head home for the night, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Danny said. "I'm headin' home too."
"We'll call you about arrangements," his father said.
"Okay." His parents said goodnight, walking away and leaving the four of them together.
"C'mon," Flack said. "Let's go home, huh?" Danny nodded, and Mac, Lindsay, and Flack walked with him away from the hospital. They made it to Danny's apartment, and they sat down with him.
"You guys don't have to stay," Danny said.
"Don't have to, but we're going to," Lindsay said. Mac and Flack looked on in agreement.
"Okay, fine. If you're going to stay, someone's gotta run out for beer."
"I'm on it," Flack said, walking out. Lindsay muttered something about the apartment being a mess and set about cleaning it up, leaving Danny alone with Mac.
"You gonna be okay?" Mac asked. Danny snorted softly before shrugging.
"I don't know, Mac," he said. "He never woulda been in the hospital if it wasn't for me."
"You can't blame yourself, Danny."
"I got a lot of regrets here, Mac." Mac sighed, looking down.
"We all do when we lose someone close to us suddenly. You always think about the things you wanted to say and never did. Even if you get the chance to say goodbye, you still think of the things you should've said." Danny bit his lip.
"I'm sorry." Mac looked up at him.
"What for?"
"Never thought about what losing… what that was like for you." Mac shrugged.
"Better off that way, Danny. Listen, I have to head home, but if you need anything, you call me, okay?" Danny nodded. "Take as much time as you need."
"Will do." Mac stood, and Danny followed suit.
"Hang in there, okay?" Danny nodded as Mac hugged him.
"Will do," Danny repeated as Mac let go. They walked to the front door, and Danny watched as Mac left. Lindsay walked up behind him.
"He leaving for the night?" she asked softly. Danny nodded as he turned around.
"Yeah, he had to head home," he replied. She hugged him gently as he pushed the door closed. "Thanks for cleaning up around here."
"No problem. I figured Mac had something to say to you, if he followed us back here." He chuckled softly.
"Yeah." She continued to hold onto him, and he rested his chin on her shoulder. "Thanks for being here, Lindsay."
"There's no where else I'd rather be right now." He nodded, pulling her tighter to him. "I love you."
"Love you too." She kissed him softly, and he smiled, to tired from the emotion of the day to really push things further. A moment later, Flack knocked on the door before pushing it open.
"I got beer," he said. Danny smiled softly.
"Always welcome, friend," Danny replied. Lindsay chuckled.
"Let's crack these, huh?" The three of them made their way to Danny's living room, sitting down. They drank and they talked for hours before Danny started to nod off from everything. "We wearin' you out, old man?" Flack teased. Danny snorted.
"Long day," he replied. Flack nodded.
"I'm gonna head home."
"You drank too much to drive."
"I walked here." Danny nodded.
"Right. See you later, Flack."
"Take care, Danny." Flack patted his friend on the shoulder before pulling Danny into a friendly hug.
"Will do." Flack let go before hugging Lindsay gently and wishing them both a good night as he left. Lindsay turned to Danny.
"Let's go to bed," she said softly. Danny nodded, too tired to do much more. She led him to his bedroom, taking off his pants.
"I know I'm tired, but I can still change for bed," he joked. She smiled.
"Never thought I'd hear you complain about a girl taking off your clothes." He chuckled.
"True." He climbed into bed, and she climbed in with him after she changed. He closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around her. "Thanks for being here, Montana."
"You're welcome, Messer. I'll always be here." He nodded to himself, pulling her closer as he drifted off to sleep for the night.