I'LL NEVER LET YOU GO...
AN: I started this story back in January, but because of various things, I've only just got round to posting it.
It's set after Love Run Cold. Lindsay didn't stand Danny up on their date and they got together.However, Lindsay is still haunted by her past. Can their new-found relationship survive when everything seems to be against them?
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; I just like to torture them. No copyright infringement intended.
Please review; they help me improve and encourage me to write and update. I have nearly all of this already written, so I'm hoping I'll be able to update regularly.
Anyway, enough rambling, on with the story…
Chapter 1: An Old Friend Returns
The shrill, almost deafening buzz of a cell phone echoed around the quiet room, penetrating into the sleeper's haunting dream, rousing her from her restless slumber. She cautiously opened her deep brown eyes, only to quickly shut them again, blinded by the bright light that streamed through the crack in her floral curtains, illuminating the dark room in an orange early morning glow. Rolling over onto her back, she looked at the digital alarm clock perched next to her cell phone. Through her tired eyes, she just made out the blurry display - 5:58am. She grasped the cell phone just as it wobbled off her old, wooden bedside cabinet and flipped it open, not bothering to check the caller ID.
"Monroe" she answered gruffly, her voice laden with sleep. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, awaiting a response, from who she thought was Mac calling her in for a case, even though was not expected at work that day.
"Mornin' sleepy-head," replied Danny, his Staten Island accent coming through strongly. Lindsay sighed.
"What'ya want, Danny?" Lindsay replied, slightly irritated at him for waking her up, but mostly relieved to have woken up from her harrowing dream.
"Look who woke up on the wrong side of the bed this mornin'!"
"Cute, Messer. Now what'ya want? It's my day off." Lindsay said, yawning.
"Busy night…mornin'… whatever. We're tapped out, need all hands on deck." Danny heard Lindsay moan in annoyance, and chuckled.
"Tell Mac I'll be there in an hour." Lindsay said, resignedly.
"Will do. Later, baby girl." Lindsay said goodbye to Danny and hung up the phone. She pulled herself out of bed and headed into the bathroom. She turned the taps in the shower to hot and, after removing her camisole and shorts, she stepped in. The warm water flooded over her, soothing her aching muscles, shocking her body awake. After about 20 minutes, she stepped out, dried off, and changed into a simple outfit of jeans that hugged her hips, and a V-neck top, which showed a little more cleavage than she usually exposed. She slung on her shoes and jacket, grabbed an apple to eat on the way, and headed out, locking the door securely behind her.
She left her apartment complex, shivering as the harsh winter breeze hit her. Wrapping her parker jacket tightly around herself, she strode off at quite a brisk pace towards the subway station, munching on her apple as she went. She made it to the station a few minutes later, bought her ticket from the spotty, blonde-haired teenager behind the booth, and ran to catch her train. She jumped into the carriage just as the doors slammed shut, narrowly missing trapping her in their deathly grip. She looked around at the surprisingly empty carriage and took a seat near the window, watching as the lights and tracks whizzed past her in a blur. Fifteen minutes later, the train screeched to a halt, and Lindsay stepped out onto the platform and headed out. She left the station and jogged the short distance to the lab. She walked through the automatic doors into the warmth of the New York Crime Lab building, letting the heat course through her, warming her chilled skin and bones. She shrugged off her jacket and looked at her watch - 6:55am. She headed over to the elevators and pressed the flashing button to bring the lift down to the ground floor. A few seconds later, the heavy metal doors opened and she stepped in. The elevator was full with office personnel, so she had to squeeze in at the front. She tilted her head back so she could watch the numbers slowly climbing. 2...3…4...5... Lindsay looked at her watch, wondering why it was taking so long. Finally, the doors pinged open at the 35th floor. She stepped out, and hurried to the break room to meet Mac and the others. She arrived in the break room to see that only Danny was there. She took a seat beside him, and he took her small, cold hand in his larger mitt, gently massaging it, sending heat coursing through her body. She leant against him, her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "Hey baby," Danny drawled. "You're freezing." He leant in close, and whispered in her ear seductively, his breath tickling her neck. "Let me warm you up." Lindsay sent him a sultry smile and leant in, her lips inches from his. Just then, Mac walked in. He cleared his throat to get their attention. "Come on, lovebirds. We've got a triple in Brooklyn. I'll fill you in on the way, let's go." Mac ordered, and then left. Lindsay and Danny stood and hurried after him, their faces red.
They piled into Mac's car, Mac driving with Danny and Lindsay in the back, and speeded off down the busy city streets. "So, where we headed, Mac?" Danny enquired, his arm draped over Lindsay's shoulder, her head nestled in the crook of his arm. "Apartment in Brooklyn. Family was murdered, a single mother and her twin girls, aged 16." Danny felt Lindsay tense up beside him. He squeezed her hand in gentle support. "Do we know COD?" Lindsay asked her voice quiet and weak. "Flack just said it's brutal. Worst he's ever seen." Mac said, oblivious to Lindsay's discomfort. Lindsay snuggled closer to Danny, as horrific memories flooded her mind - the sound of gunshots and blood-curdling screams echoed through her head. She shook her head to try and shake the sounds from her mind and squeezed her eyes shut, trying vainly to stop the tears, which had rapidly formed behind her lids, from escaping. A worried voice broke through her thoughts.
"Linds?! Honey? We're here." Lindsay sat up, wiped her wet cheeks, and jumped out of the car before Danny could notice. Danny grabbed their kits and handed Lindsay hers. "You alright?"
"I'm fine, let's just get this over with." Lindsay snapped, but immediately regretted it when she saw the look of hurt in Danny's eyes.
"I'm sorry, Dan. I'm just tired. Someone woke me up." Danny laughed, wrapped her hand in his and they walked into the apartment building.
The strong smell of copper filled the air as Mac, Danny and Lindsay entered the two-bedroom apartment. They immediately spotted a trail of footprints leading from one of the bedrooms to the entrance, and sidestepped to avoid them. They stuck close to the walls as the ventured further into the room. They found the mother lying on the kitchen floor in a pool of
blood, with multiple holes in her upper torso. Her arms were covered in scratches and bruises; evidence that she fought, hard. Danny gulped, trying hard to prevent the pancakes he had enjoyed for breakfast from coming back up. "I've got this one." Mac said, as he knelt beside the body.
"The others are in the bedroom, second door on your left." Flack said, before leaving to take witness statements. Danny and Lindsay turned, and headed into the girls' bedroom. What they saw shocked them both - one of the twins was lying on the bed, her shirt ripped open, her torso littered with gunshot wounds, the bed sheets soaked in deep crimson blood. The other was on the floor, her skirt hiked up to her waist, with several large gunshot wounds in her back, her blood pooling around her, soaking through the pale cream carpet. The colour drained from Lindsay's face, and her legs went weak. Her vision was blurred; all she could see were images of her friends, lying dead on the floor of the café. Danny saw Lindsay's pale complexion and was immediately concerned. He pulled her out of the room, fearing she would pass out.
"What's going on, Lindsay? First in the car, now this? Talk to me." However, Lindsay was still too shocked, so Danny just pulled her to him, and held her as the tears she had been trying desperately to hold back finally fell from her eyes, cascading down her porcelain face, staining Danny's dark green shirt. Just then, Mac came round the corner.
"I've finished with the mother; they're taking her away now. Everything ok?" he asked.
"We're fine, Mac. The scene just shook Linds up a bit, that's all." Danny said, hoping Mac would believe him. Mac noticed something was wrong, but decided not to push it.
"Ok. Well, there was a huge shootout in Times Square fifteen minutes ago. Can you finish up here?"
"Sure Mac. We can handle it. We'll see you back at the lab." Mac nodded, gathered his stuff and left.
"I don't think I can go back in there, Danny." Lindsay said, weakly. Danny knew this went deeper than just a gruesome scene, but he also knew not to push it. He simply nodded, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"That's ok, baby girl. I'll take the girls' room. You finish up in the kitchen." Lindsay nodded, and made her way into the kitchen.
She watched Sid's assistants wheel all the bodies out on gurneys and started taking samples of the pool of blood where the mother had been lying. The house was eerily silent, and all of Lindsay's senses were on alert. As she leant over to retrieve an evidence bag to place the samples in, she heard the distinct sound of footsteps.
"Danny? Is that you?" Lindsay asked, her heartbeat rapidly increasing. A drop of perspiration trickled down from her moist forehead to her nose; she quickly wiped away.
"Remember me, Lindsay?" A deep voice travelled through the empty room, reverberating off the walls. A flash of recognition crossed Lindsay's face, and her heart was filled with fear. She turned her head, but froze when she heard the familiar scraping and clicking sound of a gun being cocked ready to fire.
"How did you…? I thought…" Lindsay stuttered, her voice failing her. She slowly turned around, and came face to face with the man who had filled her dreams for so many years.
"Montana? Everything ok in there?" Danny shouted from the girls' room. He had heard the voices and was concerned.
"Who's that?" the intruder questioned. "I thought everyone left!" Lindsay saw the anger bubbling through him. His finger moved to the trigger. Lindsay's heart pounded, threatening to burst out of her chest. The beep of Lindsay's pager startled them both. The man's finger slipped on the trigger releasing a bullet that went hurtling towards Lindsay. The bullet sliced through the flesh in her shoulder, sending a river of blood down her chest, soaking through
her top. Upon hearing the gunshot, Danny immediately dropped the evidence bag he was holding and ran into the kitchen, withdrawing his gun from its holster. What he saw made him sick to the stomach - Lindsay was lying on the tiled floor, her torso covered in blood, leaking from the fresh wound in her shoulder.
"Oh my god, Lindsay!" Danny cried and rushed over to her. The shooter was no-where to be seen. Danny saw that the window in the lounge was wide open, and he remembered that it was closed when they first arrived. Danny knew that was the shooter's escape route, and he should go after him, but his concern for Lindsay was stronger. Danny heard the clatter of footsteps running up the stairs, and knew that help was coming. A neighbour must have heard the gunshot and called it in.
"Lindsay, baby, stay with me," Danny said, taking her cold hand in his. Mac and Flack burst through the apartment doors, closely followed by Hawkes and Stella.
"He went out through the lounge window. He's probably long gone by now." Danny said, still clutching Lindsay's hand. Flack went over to the window to see if he could see the attacker. The paramedics rushed in and knelt down beside Lindsay.
"She's lost a lot of blood; the bullet probably nicked an artery. We need to get her to the hospital, stat." the paramedic said. They bandaged up the wound, which was still bleeding, but not as profusely as before, slid her onto a stretcher, and wheeled her away, Danny still clutching onto her hand like a vice grip, determined not to let go. They rushed into the elevator, and were soon loading her into the ambulance. Danny climbed in after her, whispering soothing words to her, willing her to stay with him.
"Room for one more, the rest of you will have to follow," the paramedic said. Everyone looked at each other, then to Mac. Mac looked into the eyes of his team and saw mixed emotions - sadness, anguish, hurt - but only in the eyes of the Greek woman beside him did he see true fear and pleading. With a quick nod, he signalled to Stella that she should be the one to accompany Danny. As she moved to enter the ambulance, Mac held her arm.
"Take care of her, Stell. And Danny too; he needs you." Stella nodded in understanding, and then boarded the ambulance. The driver shut the doors and jumped into the cabin. The ambulance sped off, lights flashing, siren blazing, into the busy New York streets.
AN: Please review, good or bad, I don't mind, I can take it. Thanks x