A/N This is my first CSI NY story. it is set afte Lindsay went to testify in Montana at near the end of season three.
Disclaimer: Csi NY and anything affiliated with it are property of CBS. I own Kayla...
Danny unlocked his door, dropped his bags and shrugged off his rain soaked coat before hanging it up. He wandered through his empty apartment trying to ward of the impending night of silence. Friday nights usually meant ice cream and old movies with Montana but ever since she had disappeared he had been all alone on Friday nights and quite frankly it sucked. The first week he had tried it by himself but that had failed immensely. The ice cream (Raspberry Ripple, Lindsay favourite) had tasted crap, the movie (which usually cracked him up) hadn't been funny and so not even half way through he had turned it off, vowing to never try a movie night by himself again.
He was so deep in his own thoughts that he almost missed the soft knock at his door.
"Comin" he called, before quickly flicking on the TV, so that in the off chance that it was someone from work they wouldn't know that he had been sitting in his apartment, all alone watching the clock tick and wishing Lindsay was next to him again.
He opened the door slowly, surprised to find Mac and Stella on the other side.
"Hey" he greeted "What's up?"
"We just came by to drop this off" said Stella, handing him his security clearance card.
"You left it on your desk, when you went home this afternoon so I figured you where either quitting or had forgotten it" joked Mac.
"No" Danny laughed quietly "I must have just left it on my desk when I went home. It was a pretty busy day so I was tired and must have just left it there. Hey do you guys want to come in for a beer or something?" he asked suddenly, catching Mac and Stella by surprise. "I just don't feel like being alone right now" he explained sheepishly "But if you guys have other plans that's fine, you don't have to"
"No, a beer sounds great Danny" smiled Stella.
"What will you guy's have" yelled Danny from the kitchen.
"Waters fine" answered Stella.
"Yeah" agreed Mac.
"Are you going to tell him?" whispered Stella leaning in to make sure Danny didn't hear their conversation.
"I don't know Stel" said Mac, shaking his head.
"Mac he deserves to know. You've seen the way he's been. He thinks she up and left him. He needs to know what really happened" warned Stella.
"Everything okay?" asked Danny walking into the room.
"Yes" said Stella, taking her glass. She stared at Mac.
"Actually Danny, there's another reason Stella and I dropped by" started Mac "I got a call from Lindsay today"
"Oh" said Danny, trying not to sound too concerned. Inside his stomach was doing somersaults and his mind was reeling.
"Do you know where she is?" he asked.
"Yeah" nodded Mac "Actually I've known where she was all along"
"What" exclaimed Danny, immediately confused "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.
"Lindsay didn't want to worry you so she asked me not to tell you where she was"
"She didn't want to worry me. What, is she in trouble or something?" asked Danny, trying to stop his mind going through the possibilities of what trouble she was in.
"Danny calm down" said Stella, placing a restraining hand on his arm.
Once he had settled down Mac started explaining.
"Lindsay went back to Montana to testify on a case" he explained.
"What case, how come I didn't know about this case?" asked Danny.
"When Lindsay was about 16, she survived a crime in which four of her friends died" answered Stella.
"The guy wasn't caught at first so Lindsay wouldn't leave Montana. Last year though, the caught the guy and Lindsay didn't see the point of staying in Montana. Her job was done and too many things reminded her of what happened. That's when she moved up here"
Danny nodded trying to digest the new found information. He couldn't believe that any one would try and hurt Lindsay, His Montana. He had the sudden urge to throw up and kill the person responsible for hurting her all at the same time, but restrained form either after realising Mac was still talking.
"Lindsay was asked back to testify against him in Montana so that's where she's been for the last three months"
"What!" exploded Danny "They made her face the man who did that to her again, what's wrong with those people" he yelled.
"Danny, you need to calm down okay" said Stella, noticing the young man begin to shake. "Lindsay agreed to do this. Okay. It was her choice to face him. She need's that closure"
"Okay" whispered Danny, sitting back down. "Why'd she ring you?" he asked a few minutes later.
"To tell me the case had finished" answered Mac.
"Was the guy convicted?" asked Danny.
"She didn't say" answered Mac "All she said was that she would be home soon"
"Oh" nodded Danny "Thanks for telling me Mac"
"That's fine, now if you don't mind I think we should probably get going"
"Yeah" nodded Stella. "We'll let our selves out" she added, noticing the distant look on Danny's face. He was so deep in thought that he didn't even hear them get up or the thud of the door as it closed shut.
Later that night he struggled with a restless sleep. After spending hours laying awake letting his thoughts of Lindsay take over he had finally let sleep claim him, but now he tossed and turned in bed, the thoughts still plaguing him in sleep. His torment was ended momentarily by a sharp knock at the door.
'What the' he thought 'who on earth would be calling out this time of night'.
He stumbled out towards his front door, narrowly missing stubbing his toe on the lounge, before staring in the mirror to make sure he was presentable. He opened the door a crack and found him self staring up at none other than the women who had stolen his thoughts for the past three weeks. She was standing on his door step, soaked to the bone and pale, clingy desperately to a tiny sleeping girl on her hip.
"Lindsay" he whispered.
She opened her mouth to speak but all she could manage to do was pass the sleeping child into his arms. Her eyes fluttered closed and as quickly as she had appeared at his front door she feel forward against Danny's chest narrowly missing hitting the floor as he used his free arm to grab her around the waist. He stood there disbelievingly, Lindsay laying limp and unconscious in one arm and the little girl, awoken by the sudden movement, sniffling quietly in the other.