DISCLAIMER: Bruckheimer, damn that genius, owns CSI:NY.

A/N: I know it's extremely late (a year late, in fact), but I really wanted to write something about the S2 Finale: Charge of This Post. So, here it is. Short and sweet.

LET GO

The thing about the past is that it never lets go.

Mac Taylor tightened his grip on Flack's limp hand as a vision of another dying man's face flashed through his mind. He shut his eyes tightly and forced the memory away. He focused on the steady sound of Flack's heart monitor, and the slight buzz of electricity that hummed around the otherwise deathly quiet room.

But the memory didn't let go.

He could still remember the way the blood gushed out of Whitney's wound, the way he stared up into his eyes as if looking for some kind of reassurance that he was gonna be fine. Back then, Mac couldn't. Corporal Whitney died in his arms, and all he could do was hold his friend and fight back the tears.

Twenty-three years later, he was back in the same position, like the past had finally caught up to the present. Like the past didn't want to be forgotten.

This time, it was Flack. But it was still the same.

The explosion. The sheer noise, the heat, and the shockwaves that ran through his body had all been the same. The darkness and silence that had followed were familiar.

And then there was all that blood. Flack had looked at him with terrified blue eyes as his body went into shock. And still Mac couldn't reassure his friend that he was gonna be just fine.

He'd muttered the same words to both Flack and Whitney. They were gonna be fine. Help was on the way. It wasn't so bad. They were gonna be fine.

Lies.

He knew his eyes had shown his terror. He knew that his shaking voice had whispered his real fears. "Damn it, Don," he whispered. "Don't you die on me."

A tear trickled down his cheek. He had to remember that this wasn't the past.

It wasn't about Whitney. It wasn't about being a Marine and taking charge of his post. It wasn't about 1983 or Beirut.

It was about Flack. About being the Head Detective in charge of the investigation. It was about here and now.

It was about how the past wasn't the present. He had to remember that.

Because Mac wasn't sure how to hold another friend in his arms and watch him die, too.

END

A/N2: We all know that Don Flack survives. But at the end of that Finale, it was in the balance, and I wanted to capture Mac's uncertainty.