Hey all, first of, thanks for opening this up!If you read my story Can't Let Go, the first few chaps will make more sense, but not necassary..I don't think..Anyways, thanks to everyone who did make my first story possible and here's hoping I'll get the same great feedback for this one!:D

Thanks to Brinchen86 for beta'ing, my stories wouldn't be possible without her!

Enjoy.

It was the day after Danny had taken Lindsay's breath away in Central Park Zoo and she couldn't stop smiling. Luckily they both had a late shift that day so Lindsay was taken by surprise when she awoke to an empty space next to her where Danny usually slept.

She suddenly had a terrifying reminder of what happened the last time she woke up alone when she wasn't meant to. Her panic quickly faded when she glanced over to the pillow next to hers. A note lay where Danny's head normally would.

Montana,

Sorry if I've freaked you out, you just looked so beautiful lying there; I didn't want to wake you. I've gone to buy breakfast; I'll be back before you know it

I love you future Mrs Messer,

D xxx

Lindsay's smile grew as she reached the end of the note. Content in the knowledge that Danny would soon return, she fell back into a peaceful sleep.

Two hours later Lindsay woke again, she strained to hear any inclination that there was another person in the apartment. Any hint at all that Danny was home, but she found none. Once again feeling a now familiar mix of panic and angst, she picked up her phone and began to dial Danny's cell. Before she had a chance it began to ring in her hands. It was Stella.

Lindsay answered immediately, and was surprised to hear Stella stifling sobs on the other end, any hopes Lindsay had of Danny being at the lab were soon wiped away.

"Linds, it's Danny" Lindsay caught her breath as every possible scenario ran through her head, none of which were pleasant ones.

Stella continued "There was a mugging outside the bodega where Danny was, h-…" Lindsay cut her off.

"Where is he Stell? Tell me where he is." She demanded.

"He's at the hospital, Flack's on his way to get you, the rest of the team were called to the scene so we're already here." Stella replied.

No sooner had the phone dropped from Lindsay's hands did she hear a knock on her door. She ran to answer it and was practically halfway down the corridor when Flack called her name.

"Lindsay" You might wanna get dressed, you're wearing Danny's sweats..."

"Do you think I care?" she practically shouted, "My fiancée is in hospital, all I care about is getting to him as quickly as possible."

Flack nodded and followed her to the car.

Once inside the moving vehicle, Flack tried to keep the tone light hearted.

"Fiancée huh? So he finally did it?"

Lindsay gave a small smile and nodded "You knew?" she whispered.

"Yeah, he told me the day you and Stella went shopping. She was in on it too; did you know that both you and Danny picked out the same ring? Man, you guys were so meant to be."

Lindsay tried to smile before she felt her eyes prick with tears, and before she could stop herself she began to cry. Flack looked over at his friend the best he could whilst still keeping his eyes on the road. A little piece of his heart broke at the sight of his friend facing what he could only imagine was her worst nightmare. He pushed his foot down on the accelerator, determined to get to the hospital as soon as he could.

They had finally pulled into the hospital and Lindsay jumped out of the barely stationary car. Flack had to sprint to catch up with her and into the ICU where Danny was. She didn't stop running until she saw the team sitting on the horrible plastic chairs that could only belong in a hospital. She barely paused for breath before she bombarded everyone with questions.

"How did it happen? Where was he? Why did this happen to him? What's going on? Where is he now? Is he okay?"

Stella took a breath and began to explain what had happened "From what we've gathered from witness accounts, Danny was in the bodega when he saw a fight outside. Danny being Danny went out there to break it up. Anyway, he got too involved and one of the perps…." Stella's voice broke "They pulled a gun on him Linds."

Lindsay bit her lip to prevent herself from crying out loud, but it didn't stop the steady flow of tears that were falling from her eyes. She remembered seeing his piece on the kitchen table that morning. He was unsuspecting and completely vulnerable to any form of attack.

Mac decided now would be as good a time as any to tell her the details of Danny's injuries.

"They shot him in the chest Lindsay…he's in surgery, he arrived at the hospital in critical condition." He stood up and brought Lindsay into a hug, mainly to prevent her from collapsing to the ground.

Hawkes then went on to explain that the perp who drew the gun on Danny was currently in questioning and that Adam was processing the gun to confirm that he was the shooter. It was a sure thing that he would be serving at least 10 years.

Lindsay was still processing the information when Mac spoke.

"Lindsay…is that an engagement ring?" he stammered.

Caught off guard, Lindsay glanced down at her left hand. Last night had seemed like a lifetime ago,

"Danny and I got engaged last night." She gave a watery smile.

The team shared a short glance. This was fantastic news. But for another situation. They all wanted nothing else than saying how happy they were for the couple. But neither of them dared to speak it out.

Lindsay barely summoned enough energy to keep smiling when Mac stood up once again and enveloped her into yet another hug. When they broke apart Mac had tears in his eyes as he spoke.

"Danny will be there to see you walk down the aisle, he wouldn't miss it for the world..." he smiled.

Lindsay felt her lower lip tremble again as she tried to mirror his smile whilst blinking through the tears.

She was about to ask Mac if he would give her away when a nurse came bursting into the corridor from surgery.

Lindsay couldn't help but wonder if the blood on the nurse's surgical scrubs belonged to Danny as the nurse spoke.

"Detective Messer's heart stopped twice during the surgery, we were able to revive him, but his condition is still unstable, the next 24 hours are critical to his recovery. He'll be in the ICU until he is stable enough to move him into his own room upstairs. The bullet was successfully removed. You will be able to see him one at a time, I'll send someone out to let you know when he is ready for visitors, bear in mind that he won't wake up for a while. "

She handed Mac the plastic bag that the bullet was in for processing.

Lindsay slid down onto the plastic chair and sobbed into her hands. No, this was not how she imagined she would spend the first few hours of her engagement, not at all.

A/N: Thanks so much, I hope you liked it, now all you need to do to make my day is click that little purple button and review. Anything you have to say at all, even constructive critisism, it makes the story better for everyone!:)

Hands out cookies!