Note From The Author—Okay, I had to do something along this vein just so I could attempt to get Danny being a complete jackass out of my head so it would bother me even a tiny bit less. It's been in my head since I cried (yes, cried) over it on Wednesday and I was originally going to do an 'everything's going to be perfectly fine' story. Then I realized that much as I would like it the world isn't sunshine and puppies so for some reason this came into my head. I hope you like it; I know its cathartic for me. It's incredibly short and probably a little out of character, but hey.

Disclaimer—I don't own the characters of CSI: NY. We all know that the last episode never would have happened the way it did if all of us were in charge.

Lindsay had thought she'd finally gotten it right. She had finally opened herself to all of life's possibilities and she'd let herself take that terrifying plunge. Her mind kept playing back to what she'd told him; I've fallen in love with you. With what she knew now she hated herself for ever having told him. Now she would never know if he had come clean because he really wanted to or just because he pitied her after finding out how she felt.

She wished she could have said that she'd seen it coming, but in this case her skills had abandoned her. Never in a million years would she have thought that Danny would be the one to break and run. He was the man who had flown across the country just to support her, the man who had waited so steadfastly for her to finally be ready. Now all of that was cheapened and she could only think of him as the man who had trusted her so little with his own heart and soul that he'd slept with another woman to make himself feel better rather than turning to Lindsay.

The morning that he told her had been unremarkable up until that point. She had opened her door to leave for her shift and found him standing there and he'd blurted it out, without finesse or an attempt to pad the hurt. Shell shocked, for a moment she could only stand there. Then she had found her courage again, quietly shut and locked the door behind her and left him standing there as she walked away. The message had gotten through loud and clear, and he hadn't tried to say even a word to her since.

For days Lindsay had been holding herself together by bare threads. She did her job and she tried not to think about it. The entire team could tell something was wrong, and even without the full details they were all perfectly aware of the cause. Each time they asked if she was okay she told them she was and moved on as the others shared concerned looks over her head. She wouldn't allow herself to break down; but deep down she knew it was only a matter of time before she wouldn't be able to hold it back any longer.

That day came sooner than she thought. Lindsay was working on a case with Stella and Flack, and after a particularly intense interrogation she felt wrecked and dangerously close to the edge. When the suspect was led out she felt suddenly shaky; she stood and leaned against the table, her hands pressed flat against the top so they wouldn't tremble. That was how Flack found her.

"Linds, you doing okay?"

The shake of her head was so small he could barely see it. Then she raised her head and he saw the tears coursing down her cheeks. "No, I'm really not."

He quickly shut the door and found himself at her side in a second. Not sure if she would want to be touched, he sat down on the edge of the table. "What happened?" he asked gently.

Lindsay looked up into concerned blue eyes and the tears came faster as she thought about it. "He slept with another woman."

"Danny cheated on you? Linds are you sure?"

"He told me. He slept with Rikki."

Surprise didn't even cover what Flack was feeling. Shocked came closer, and barely controlled anger was just about there. In all reality he was edging towards rage. He couldn't believe that Danny would be stupid enough to screw things up and add more pain to the life of this woman who had already suffered so much. "I'm going to kill him."

A small flitted at her mouth for a moment. "Don't think I didn't consider it, but it wouldn't do any good." She rose to stand straight, running her hands through her hair. "I just…" she broke off as the tears came faster. She felt her heart clench painfully as it all washed over her again. "Oh God, I don't know what to do."

"Linds if I knew what to do…"

"There isn't anything that can be done. I can't undo what he did, and I'll never be able to forget it. How am I supposed to deal with this?"

"I wish I could tell you."

"I let myself fall in love with him Flack, and now I don't know that there's any way to fix this. He did what he did and I can only wonder if I ever mattered at all."

He shook his head. "You matter Linds, you always have."

"How can I believe that? After…" She couldn't bring herself to say it again.

"Linds." He stood from the table and pulled her hesitantly into his arms, not sure if it was the right thing to do. Then she grabbed hold of his lapels and leaned into him. He wrapped her tightly in his arms as she wept, wishing there was anything he could do for her.

"It hurts so much."

He could feel her tears soaking through his shirt and his heart broke for her. Even though she thought that it wouldn't do any good to kill Danny, he was pretty sure that at least punching him would make him feel somewhat better. Lindsay didn't deserve this. "I know. I know."