A/N: It's depressing, I know. I'm sorry. Blame Harry Gregson-Williams.

It wasn't fair, Flack decided. For a brief moment, he let himself wonder what would have happened if he had asked Lindsay out when she first arrived in New York. Maybe she and Danny would never have been interested in each other. Maybe she would have even grown to love him. They could have been happy.

But he guessed none of that mattered now. He had missed his chance, and had to watch her be happy with his best friend…until he cheated on her and broke her heart. And even then, he couldn't make a move on her. Her heart still belonged to Danny, no matter what she said. Flack could still hear the hope in her voice during their conversation that morning.

"I'm pregnant," she said quietly.

Flack took his eyes from the road momentarily. "Messer's?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"You told him yet?"

"No."

"You decided what you're gonna do?"

Lindsay sighed. "It's his child, Don. I have no right to keep it away from him. And I want this baby. More than you could possibly know. Maybe Danny and I can even learn to be friends again.

He wanted to reach out and touch her hand, but instead he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "You deserve to be happy," he said quietly.

She gave him a small smile. "I think we can be."

When the gun went off, the only thing Flack could think about was Lindsay. She did deserve to be happy, and even if he thought that Danny didn't anymore, he couldn't let her lose this. His arms reached out and threw his friend back, at the same time as the bullets collided with his chest. Vaguely, he realized that the shooter had fired more than once, but he had missed the sounds of the other shots. His body convulsed and he fell back, his lungs filling with blood as he collapsed to the concrete floor.

Somewhere off in the distance, people were running and shouting, and he knew that they were chasing the suspect. All except one – Danny held him now, disbelief and anguish in his voice as he screamed for help and begged him not die.

Flack reached up and took a hold of his hand, the gesture enough to make Danny fall silent for the moment.

He could feel his lungs filling, even as the life bled out. "Take care of her," he whispered.