turn this thing around. (csi: new york)
danny/flack; rebuild; meme response
the first step is easy
written for powerof3. title from the killers' read my mind. no copyright infringement intended.
--
keep me where the light is
--
The first step is easy: get Danny out of the apartment. Don fills up their spare time with tickets to sports events and movies he knows Danny wants to see. End of the shift means a trip to the bar; end of the week means take-out and an excursion. He doesn't really know what Danny's into beyond the obvious, so he starts picking things at random, just to get a rise out of the guy. Danny doesn't say much, just goes along with whatever Don plans, but even he had to raise an eyebrow when they end up at an interpretive dance theatre.
(So, yeah, those tickets got ditched. Good thing too, because Don wasn't sure if audience participation was necessary, and no way did he want to find out in person.)
The second step involves effort: no way is Don going to let Danny fall back into his downward spiral. This means not talking about work, or letting Danny get melancholic. Don's not as much of a talker as some people (read: Stella) like to imply, and he ends up recruiting Sheldon for the overtime with this one. But it's a big world, and there are plenty of things to talk about that don't trigger emotional fallout.
Thing is, Danny likes to argue, and Don's got as much of a temper on him as anyone else, so it's hard to stay on track. He's human, too, and easily irritated, but dammit, he's trying. He doesn't let Danny bait him any more, and if he really wants to fight? Don lets him have it. He'll shout about anything, just so long as it isn't what Danny wants to fight about.
But the more Don tries to get around to step three - getting Danny back to being safe in his own skin - the more he gets diverted. He's beginning to wonder if Danny won't always be like this. He's not sure if he can keep the guy together. He's not sure if he should.
You're not broken, Don thinks, but you sure as hell need fixing.
--
It's mid-Spring, and the air's picking up, sending newspaper sheets skipping down the street, and Don breathes deep, face up to the sun. The city's waking up from hibernation, getting back on its feet after the long cold winter, and he can see it in everyone around him: people are turning new leaves, stretching up towards the crisp clear sky. Even the buildings take on a new sheen at this time of year.
They're having coffee - Danny's got court in an hour, and Don's finishing up a mountain of paperwork, and there's some joker across the street looking for handouts. Don's about to run him off when Danny calls the feller over and hands him some change. Hey, friend, go buy yourself some coffee.
Don's about to make some joke about how he's not paying for Danny's no more if he's got coin enough to throw his change away, but something in his partner's face makes him pause. Around them the city's shaking off its dust and coming into the light, and Danny's standing there, spry and awake and so alive that Don has to fight the need to grab him by the collar and kiss him. Instead, he lays his hand on Danny's shoulder, half-nodding, half-laughing, and pretends it never happened. Hey, he says, so how about that game?
end.