Here is part two. Thanks to all those who reviewed and alerted and what not

Disclaimer: i do not own anything, it all belongs to CBS or whoever actually does own it. I just borrow for entertainment purposes.

Nervously, she stood on the sidewalk outside his building, running through her mind what she would say to him. Wringing her hands together, she fought the urge to bolt, knowing that he deserved an explanation. As convincing as Stella had been back at her own place, she couldn't help but worry about what she was about to do. What if he doesn't want to know? What if I pushed him away too far? The questions swam around in Lindsay's head as she tried to summon the courage to go into the building. The logical side of her brain was saying You'll never know if you don't go and talk to him.

Before she could change her mind, she walked swiftly into the building, heading for the stairs, thinking that walking would give her time to plan what she was going to say. She hadn't talked about that day in years, thinking that avoiding it would mean it might never have happened. But now she knew she couldn't hide behind that front any longer. She had to tell Danny, needed to tell Danny. Even if they couldn't have a relationship, he was still her best friend. And best friends could always confide in each other.

Before she realised what was happening, she was outside his door. Looking at the worn green panelling, hand poised ready to knock, she hesitated. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't do this, couldn't tell him what was going on, couldn't let someone else in. But she needed to. She was torn, and she could make no more of a decision now than she could have done 8 hours earlier when her brain was working properly. What was she going to do? She was saved from making a decision by the door opening.

Danny stood there, looking extremely puzzled. "Lindsay?"

Lindsay looked back at him. She was Lindsay now. Not Montana anymore. Strangely enough, no matter how many times she'd told him off for calling her by her home state, she kinda missed it. Although it was used to tease her in the beginning, now it was a term on endearment.

Realising she was still stood in the same position as before, hand still ready to knock, she stepped back, cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Hi. Erm…" She paused, unsure of what to say. "It's a bad time. I'll come back later. Chickening out, she turned slightly to head towards the door, before a hand gently took hold of her arm.

"No, its not a bad time. I was just coming to find you."

"You were?" Lindsay looked him in the eye, trying to determine if he was telling the truth.

"Sure. Come on."

With that, he gently led her into the apartment, Lindsay being certain that the only reason she hadn't run away was the hold he had on her arm. It wasn't hard, but the touch alone was enough to paralyse her mind, and she cursed her muscles for betraying her as she followed him in.

She stood awkwardly in the hall, still trying to recover from her earlier embarrassment. She could feel Danny's eyes on her, but she refused to meet them, sure she'd say something she'd regret later.

Danny could feel her reluctance, and although he was unsure why she was here, he was glad she was. He couldn't read her though, her emotions were on lock-down, and that made him nervous about what she had to say to him. Trying to make them both feel more at ease, he asked "You want a drink?"

Lindsay looked up then, thankful that he'd broken the tension that had previously graced the room. "Sure. You got any beer?"

Danny chuckled. That sounded more like the Montana he knew. "Sure. Feel free to make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back." He disappeared into what she assumed was the kitchen, and she wandered into the living room, noticing the motorbike and the pool table were taking pride of place. Spotting a couch on the far wall, she went to sit down, briefly pausing to look at the pictures he had scattered about the place. One in particular caught her attention - it was a photo of the two of the at the lab Christmas party a few months before. Both of them were smiling at the camera, Lindsay laughing at something Danny had said. Putting the photo down, she smiled - she had exactly the same photo back in her apartment.

Feeling her nerves overtake her again, she sat down on the couch before her legs gave out beneath her, and she leant forwards, resting her head in her hands. Why was she doing this? Why did she think she could handle it? Why had she let Stella talk her into this? She wasn't ready and she knew it.

Meanwhile, Danny stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, trying to figure out what was going on. Earlier on, Lindsay had brushed him off, and now she was here, in his apartment. What was he meant to do?

He grabbed two beers from the fridge and made his way into the living room, still trying to figure out what to say. He stopped dead when he saw Lindsay with her head in her hands, and he knew at once that he couldn't hold what she'd said earlier against her. She looked…broken.

He moved to sit next to her, fighting the urge to pull her into a hug. She looked up, and gratefully accepted the beer he handed her, before taking a huge gulp. Danny watched, amazed, as she continued to down the beer - clearly there was something that was really bothering her. He drank his own beer, trying not to stare but still taking glimpses from the corner of his eye.

She put her beer down and returned to her earlier position. Danny was now truly concerned. "You alright there Linds?"

Her answer came out muffled. "No."

Danny knew that Lindsay wasn't one for showing her emotions, and for her to admit there was something wrong in the first place meant her problem was a big one. He didn't want her to retreat into the shell she'd made for herself, so he was careful in choosing his next words.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Again her answered was muffled. "No."

Danny wasn't sure how to react to that, so was thinking about what to say next when Lindsay sat up and looked him straight in the eye. "I don't want to talk about it, but I need to talk about it."

Danny's curiosity was piqued. "Ok."

He could tell Lindsay was nervous because she began to ramble. "I mean, I haven't talked about it in years, and I really hate talking about it because of the looks of sympathy and pity I get from people, which I hate I might add. And I hate thinking about it because it means I have to imagine it all again and I hate doing that because it means I have to hear them die all over again and I can't deal with that But I have to talk about it and think about it because I have to get the bastard prosecuted for what he did, but I don't want to see the mothers again because I don't want to be told I don't deserve to be the only one and…

"Whoa, Montana, calm down." Danny interrupted her because he could see she was getting upset. He could tell from her use of expletives - she never swore. "Take a deep breath okay? I didn't catch a word of what you just said, and I get the feeling you don't want to be repeating things twice, so you're gonna have to slow down a bit, and start at the beginning."

Lindsay looked at him with wide eyes, amazed once again at how well he could read her, and realised he was right. She wasn't making any sense. If he knew what had happened, he'd have been able to figure it out. But he didn't know. So she'd have to tell him.

Taking a deep breath, she started again. "I'm sorry about earlier Danny. I meant what I said, I do like you a lot. And I know that I used the 'its not you its me' line, but honest to god it is me. I have to go back home to testify in a case from 10 years ago. I got the call this morning, and I really don't want to go because of all the memories."

"What memories?"

"The ones that made me leave Montana. You see, 10 years ago, I…I survived a crime. A crime where 3 of my friends died. And now they caught the guy that did it so I have to go back. To testify. As an eye-witness."

Chancing a glance at Danny, she tried to read his emotions. She thought she could see shock in his eyes, but she couldn't be sure. She waited for him to respond.

"What happened?" Danny's voice was calm, but inside, his thoughts were flying rapidly - she'd survived a crime. She could have died. She saw something no one should ever see, especially a teenage girl. But as shocked as he was, and as sorry he was that she'd had to experience that, he kept his emotions hidden - he knew she didn't want the pity, she'd said so herself not 10 minutes before.

Lindsay was glad that he hadn't tried to offer any sympathy. It would make the next bit so much easier. Because she had to continue now. "We were in a café back home. It was the night before we all left for our summer holidays, and we were just sitting there, talking. You know, like teenage girls do. And we'd been there for a couple of hours so it was getting quite late, but because of where we were, we thought it would be safe. Everyone knew everyone. Anyway, I got up and went into the restroom. And after I went in, someone came into the café. The next thing I know, there is a gunshot and lots of screaming coming from the next room."

Tears formed in her eyes and she had to swallow hard before carrying on. Danny grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed it as a silent show to support.

"Linds, if you don't wanna carry on…"

"No! I have to, I have to finish. Please." Her eyes pleaded with him, and as much as it pained him to see her hurting, he knew that she had to do this for herself.

Looking down at their hands, she carried on, in a smaller voice than before, still trying to hold back the tears and the images that were forming.

"I just stayed there until the last shot was fired and the screaming stopped. I was scared that he'd come through the door and find me, but he didn't. I heard the bell ring at the door again, and I went out, and I found my friends…they were all dead, and covered in blood and I almost passed out." By now the tears were flowing, and she didn't have the energy to hold them back any longer. "I called the police and then the rest is history. They were in the room, and I could hear them dying, and I did nothing. Nothing! I should have done something." She wept, not even resisting when Danny pulled her into a hug.

"There was nothing you could have done Linds. Nothing. If you'd have tried, he'd have killed you too." She just cried harder. "Sometimes the bravest thing to do is nothing."

"But they're dead because I didn't do anything.!"

"No, they're dead because a man with a shotgun came in and shot them all for no reason. This is not your fault. There was nothing you could have done…" His voice trailed off. He could see she was hurting, and it hurt him to realise that she was blaming herself.

"It hurts so much Danny. So fucking much."

"I know. I know it does." There was nothing else he could say to her. She didn't want the sympathy, so he just held her, and let her cry. She cried until there were no more tears left, but still, she held onto his shirt, just like she had done after the diamond heist. Like she needed a lifeline. Danny could now understand why she was reluctant to be in a relationship. She had never really dealt with what had happened, had never had any closure as they hadn't caught the guy until now.

After a while, she looked up at him, eyes bloodshot red, cheeks puffy, but yet she was no less beautiful. He smiled down at her, and she smiled back. She whispered to him, "I'm scared. I don't want to see the guy that did this. I had enough nightmares back then, I don't want them now I've finally left it all behind."

Stroking her hair, he nodded. "I know, I know you're scared. But you need to go back. I know you don't want to, but you need to. You can put this animal behind bars, so that he never hurts anyone else. You can get justice for you're friends. You can get yourself some piece of mind after all these years. Because God knows you deserve it."

"Thanks Dan."

"Don't worry about it Linds. I'm here for you, you know that. Don't be afraid to talk to me about something, anything."

"Montana. Not Linds."

He smirked at her, showing the famous Messer grin for the first time since the previous day. She shook her head, in pretend disgust, before leaning her head once again on his chest.

They sat there in companionable silence for a while, both of them enjoying the feeling of being next to each other. When Danny next looked down, he noticed the Lindsay had fallen asleep. Smiling softly, he picked her up gently before carrying her into his bedroom. He tucked her into his bed, smiling at how peaceful she looked and how adorable her curls were when spread all over the pillow.

Walking softly back to the door, so as not to wake her, he glanced back. "You'll be ok Lindsay Monroe. You're stronger than you know."

With that, he left the room and went to make up a bed on the couch. The last thought he had before he feel asleep was that he was glad she'd finally confided in him.

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