nfiSo I know I have two other stories but I just had to post this one. Thank to Brinchen86, I now am in love with DL so much that this story popped in my head. And I want to thank Brina so much (really, I couldn't do it enough) for being my beta, DL consultant, chat buddy, but mostly a great friend so Brina, this one is for you.

Please, let me know what you think. This takes play right after Pay Up so if you haven't seen it, be warned that it has major season 5 spoilers.

And I don't own anything.

-Andie

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Chapter One: Praying for the Future

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Never in her life had Lindsay Monroe been so tired.

She spent years as a CSI, dealing with twelve hour shifts and countless over time hours yet nothing could compare to the exhaustion she felt as she stood outside of her apartment building. The early morning air created stillness in the atmosphere, leaving the city quiet and tranquil. The slowly rising sun cast a thin ray of light along the city's borders, the sky answering with a deep blue and an invading lighter one. The only sounds that could be heard were the noise made by cars as they made their way down the quiet city streets or the calls of bird who greeted the morning with excitement of what would be found during their flight over the city's horizon.

Yet, Lindsay heard none of those. The only thing she could hear were the panic screams of terror that had taken place not even twenty four hours before…

Stella held her glass in her hands, taking in a sigh before she started talking. She told herself that she didn't want to cause any more tears and she prayed that she wouldn't.

"Jessica Angell was one of those rare people who touched each of our lives; the kind who reaffirms your faith in humanity. She was someone who you could trust, both as a colleague and as a friend. She fought for what was right, something which I will always admire her for…"

Lindsay sat across from Stella with her hand intertwined with Danny's, listening. She couldn't agree more which was exactly why the day had been so hard. She wouldn't say that she and Angell were best friends but there was a large amount of respect between the two and Lindsay knew that she would miss the woman dearly.

Throughout the evening, she had cast quick glances in Flack's direction. Every time she saw his face, her heart broke. She had never seen him so vulnerable, so helpless, so distressed. Flack was one of the strongest men she knew, both physically and mentally so seeing him now harshly hurt her on the inside.

With her eyes drifting off of Flack and back towards Stella, she focused her attention back on the woman's voice; only she never heard any other words.

The door seemed exceptionally heavy has she pushed it open. She was greeted by both the silence and darkness of the apartment. Normally, she was elated to enter her apartment as it usually promised the sight of her daughter but today was different; there was no one there.

Yet, as she moved further inside, she came to the conclusion that she preferred it that way. They say that the way you feel affects the mood of your baby, and she couldn't bear the thought of her grief passing on to her daughter. Thankfully her mother in law had graciously taken Lucy for the night. Her daughter was her everything and she knew she couldn't expose her to the ever darkening tone in the apartment for it was just too much. She wondered if she would be able to handle it herself.

As much as she tried to fight it, her mind kept going back to the night before.

Before Lindsay could process what Stella was currently saying, she heard a sudden blast of noise shooting through the air so rapidly that her head was instantly greeted with a headache.

By the time it had registered that the noise had been gunshots, she felt herself being pushed forcefully to the ground. Everything had been happening so fast that she couldn't even scream out in pain as she felt her wrist hit the ground and the weight above her crash down on her body. She stayed still for a moment, listening to the sounds of the room. People were screaming, glass was cracking, and cries of those hurt filled her ears.

As she slowly lifted her head, another sound filled her ears.

"Lindsay! Lindsay, are you okay?"

The weight that had once been present on top of her was now gone and Danny's voice came in loud and clear.

"Answer me Lindsay." The shear amount of panic in his voice became clear, causing her to gather the strength to move from her position.

"I'm fine Dan...aahh," her statement was cut short by the sudden amount of pain that shot though her left wrist. She quickly moved her other hand to cradle it as she moved to a sitting position.

Danny was in front of her rapidly, quickly surveying her wrist. He gentled rubbed a finger over it, stopping when he felt her body wither in pain.

Feeling he was about to say something more, Lindsay spoke first. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just bruised," she said before quickly moving her eyes around room.

Trusting her judgment, Danny did the same and immediately spotted Sid moving to stand up. He quickly got up to aid the older man as Lindsay stood up.

"Is everyone alright?" Mac, who was currently helping Stella up, looked around the room, mentally taking count of every member of his team.

Sheldon, who never forgot his role as a doctor had already begun to help others in the building. He currently sat with a woman who was bleeding profusely from her arm. "I'm okay. Someone call an ambulance," he threw over his shoulder.

"What was that?" Adam asked in a daze. Lindsay could see the blood dripping from his forehead. She rushed to him, doing her best to conjure up all the medical knowledge she had. "Adam, are you okay?" The cut on his head was deep, raising the amount of worry inside of her

"Yeah, I'm fine Linds." His voice was quiet, causing Lindsay to usher him to a chair that managed to stay upright. "Where's the ambulance?" she called out.

"ETA's in two minutes."

It was just then she remembered Don. She looked over to see him yelling into his phone, barking orders and requesting back up. From her view, he had gone back into Detective mode; a place that Lindsay feared would be too much to handle right then and there. Yet, she knew that it was in his nature to spring into action whenever necessary.

She waiting with Adam, she glanced back over in Danny's direction. He stood with Sid who was clearly shaken up by the whole ordeal. He had a hand rested on his heart as he seemed to be taking deep breaths. As she looked at Danny, he glanced up at her, sending a silent 'are you okay?' across the room.

She nodded and turned back to Adam. "You're going to be okay, Adam."

The view of the ceiling from her bed had become very familiar in the last hour. She lay in bed, doubtful that any sleep would come her way. Instead, her thoughts stayed on the shooting, wondering what exactly had happened.

Afterwards, they all went to the hospital so be with Adam. According to the medical staff, he would be fine. They did however want to keep him overnight. She luckily was able to go home with a hairline fracture. Sheldon promised her that it would heal in a month or so; something she was grateful for merely to the fact that the cast they gave her was already becoming a nuisance.

She glanced at the empty spot on the bed beside her. They had stayed in the hospital with Adam until Mac insisted they went home as he and Stella volunteered to stay. Danny had quietly told Lindsay that he wanted to take Flack home, knowing that the man had a lot on his plate and that driving may not be the right option, especially at that hour. As much as she wished Danny had come home with her, she knew he was right. Flack needed someone and Danny was volunteering to be that someone; an act that she greatly respected.

The sound of her phone beeping took her mind away from the current situation and brought her attention to the phone that rested on her nightstand. She reached over and read the screen, seeing that she had one new message from Danny.

Hey, just letting you know that I got Flack home and I think he's finally asleep but I'm gonna stay a while. Love, D.

Lindsay let out a sigh of both relief and contentment. She was deeply worried about Flack as she was thankful that Danny was there with him.

Another beep from her phone caught her attention. She looked down at the screen.

And stop worrying, Montana. Everything's gonna be alright.

As she read the words along the screen of her phone, she prayed that he was right.