Disclaimer: Don't own CSI: New York, unfortunately I do own my OCs, but feel free to borrow them (just give them back when you're done)
Spoilers: Run Silent, Run Deep, post Charge of the Post
No One Wants to be Alone
Danny sat in the break at the lab with Montana and Flack. They were eating a pizza and talking cheerfully about the upcoming softball game against another department. Unexpectedly, Danny's cell phone rang. He looked at the number and went out into the hallway to take the call.
He returned a moment later, looking very pale. Danny didn't say a word as he grabbed his stuff and got ready to leave. " Hey, what's the matter? Who died?" Flack asked, without thinking.
Danny noticed his friends for what seemed like the first time. "Louie." he answered cheerlessly. No one was said anything for a moment. "That was the hospital on the phone. He had some kind of stroke and died a little while go."
"I'm really sorry, Danny." Flack said. He was worried about his friend.
"I am too. If you need anything, you know you can give us a call." Lindsay was also concerned about him.
"Thanks," Danny mumbled. He barely registered what his companions were saying. He left the room to go find Mac.
Danny found himself standing outside his boss' office, unsure of how he got there. He didn't know what to say.
"Danny?" Mac spotted him hanging around outside. Damn glass walls! He walked into Mac's glass office, looking lost and defeated. "What's the matter?" Mac could immediately tell something was wrong.
"I'm gonna need a few days off."
"What happened?" Mac had already guessed what happened, but didn't know for sure.
"The hospital called me a little while ago." Danny heard himself saying. "Louie…" he couldn't finish.
He didn't have to. "I'm sorry." Mac said. "Take as much time as you need" He wasn't sure of what else to say. Mac remembered how upset Danny had been when Louie was first hurt. It really sucks to be on the other end of one of those phone calls.
"Thanks," Danny answered. He left the office and went home to call his father and take care of Louie's funereal arrangements.
A few days had passed. Lindsay and Flack were sitting in lab, worrying about their friend.
"Has he called you at all?" Flack asked Lindsay.
"No. I hate when he's like this. I hope he doesn't do something…" she didn't want to finish that thought.
"I know what you mean." Flack knew Danny was impulsive enough to do something stupid.
"We need to do something to help him." She looked at a nearby abandoned newspaper, scanning the obituaries. She finally found what she was looking for.
"Look, the funeral is the day after tomorrow. We both have the day the off. We should be there for him."
"All right." Flack looked at the paper to check the time.
"I'll also give Dylan a call. He's also Danny's friend and probably will understand what he's going through better than either us."
"That's a great idea." Flack said. "He seems like a cool kid." Lindsay called him. It turned out he was free and wanted to be there for his friend.
Danny stood alone a few minutes before the funeral began. A few people were there, mostly family. An old, blue Mustang pulled up and he watched in surprise as Dylan climbed out of the driver's seat, followed by Lindsay and Flack. "What are you guys doing here?" he blurted out, stunned by his friends presence.
"We though you needed some company. No one should go to a funeral alone." Lindsay answered.
"I… Thanks" Danny managed to say. He was grateful for the company. Much as he hated to admit it, Danny needed the support of his friends, especially Lindsay.
He hugged her closely for a moment, and then the group went to sit down together. Danny realized he needed them a lot more then he thought they did, and would always be there for him.
A/N: This takes place after my last story, "Ten Minutes to Closing", so you should read that first if you don't know who Dylan is. It's also kind of a prologue for my next project, which will be rated M and is called "Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll."
The first chapter should be up late tomorrow night or early the next day, depending on your time zone. And as always, Please R & R Thanks