Usual disclaimers...I own no-one in the show, I just like to use them from time to time.
2. Stormy weather...
Mac hated days like this, days that he was forced to catch up on the much maligned paperwork. Danny also disliked them, immensely, him being more of a hands on, let's get to the point and find that perp kinda guy. Unfortunately for him, although the splint had been removed, his hand hadn't quite healed and he still had another few days to go before he was cleared and determined fully fit. Until then, he was riding a desk mostly and running the mundane stuff. But, the day was starting off slow and only Sheldon and Stella had been assigned to the home invasion which was their only case so far. Mac and Danny were left with dotting the i's and crossing the t's and mopping up the general scut that had to be cleared from time to time, grumbling and nit-picking all the way.
Danny had been back at work a little over a week and Mac had noticed the slight change in the man's demeanour. He'd aced the statutory psych eval and completed the required hours of departmental counselling, so, to Mac, it wasn't a terrible change, just a subtle shift into a more guarded mode. He was sure more of the old Danny would finally break through, he still held the promise of the old histrionics and from time to time they bubbled up and simmered but they surfaced a lot less and Mac wasn't quite sure as to whether or not he missed the drama queen or was glad it'd been dampened down, it was just the way it had been doused that he wished had never happened.
The sighs were getting ever more audible as Danny wrestled with the mountain of paperwork Mac had dumped in front of him, shuffling around in his chair and tapping his feet impatiently.
"Mac, c'mon, there must be something else I can do, I'm gettin' writers cramp here, I'm beginning ta wish they'd stamped on this hand," he grumbled, holding his right hand up in the air and flexing it.
"Hey, less of that, Danny," Mac chided gently, "it'll heal soon enough and then you'll wish paperwork was all you had to do." he continued, pointing his pen in Danny's direction.
"Never, I don't think that hell could be worse than this, I'm goin' stir crazy stuck in here Mac, can I go out on the next call, please Mac, honestly, I won't get in the way, I'll take notes, label, anything." He pleaded.
"You got out of here a couple of hours ago," Mac stated.
"That was different, regulation lunch breaks don't count." Danny pouted, "now, 'bout me hitchin' a ride on the next job?"
"You're persistant," grinned Mac, "It'll cost you though, if, I let you."
"Mac, you got it, name your price."
"Coffee, the good stuff, not from the breakroom," he paused for a moment before adding, "and a cinnamon muffin from Ed's deli, some of us didn't get lunch," he added, thinking back to the huge sub he'd been forced to watch Danny wolf down over an hour ago. His stomach was still growling.
"Anythin' ta get outa here," laughed Danny, "back in a few," he added, doing a swift about turn before Mac had chance to change his mind and made for the elevators with a renewed spring in his step.
As Danny headed out to the deli he regretted his decision for a split second as he felt as though he'd been stuck into the oven and turned on to fast cook, the heat was overpowering. The city in Summer was hard work, your clothes stuck to you, the air thickened and everyone cussed more, still, he didn't think he'd ever want to leave, it was home, no matter what. He felt his face flushing and once again bemoaned his fair skin and the instant sunburn he seemed to be 'blessed' with, so quickly made his way down the block and dived into the mercifully air conditioned haven of Ed's.
"Hey, Danny, good to see ya, hon," shouted Rita, Ed's larger than life other half, quickly smoothing down the gaudily flowered pinafore she was never without.
"What can I get ya sweetie?"
Danny recited his order and chatted about this and that as Rita got everything together, putting them all into a 'to go' bag so as he could carry most things with his good hand. He bristled slightly on hearing an Irish accent shout out in the back of the store and took a deep breath to steady himself.
"Everythin' okay?" Rita asked, concerned at his sudden stillness.
"Yeah, It's nothin', really, it's nothin" he replied as the smile returned to his face and the moment vanished.
He put the spare change from the order into the charity box on the counter before bidding Rita goodbye and strolling back to the lab on the shady side of the street in no rush whatsoever to get back to the mountain of paperwork. He thought briefly on his reaction back in the store and accepted reluctantly that it was gonna take time.
"Rome wasn't built in a day," he muttered quietly and knew that neither would his confidence be. He was trying to learn a new skill thesedays, a skill he'd never quite understood until now, patience.
The tune on his cellphone interrupted his thoughts.
"Hey, how're you doin'?" he answered softly.
"I'm fine, I just wondered if you could bring those discs I left at your place to work with you tomorrow," asked Lindsey, "only it's a bit of a trek from my place to yours."
"Sure, no problem, you off all day?" he asked.
"No, I'm in later but I've got a ton of stuff to do, what about you?"
"I've just stepped out for coffee, takin' a little break, y'know how it is."
"Quiet then?" she giggled, "you know what they say, the calm before the..."
"Don't even, don't even go there, Montana, ya hear."
"Loud and clear," she paused, "listen, I gotta go, okay."
"Hey, Lindsey," Danny stuttered.
"Yeah."
"For the record, I'm glad we're still friends."
"Me too," she said, before adding, "I think friends, definitely, works better for us."
"You got that right, hey, I'll see you at work, yeah!"
"Yeah, and don't forget my discs, ok?"
"I won't, I promise. See ya then."
"Bye, Danny."
Danny popped the phone back in his pocket and bounded up the steps into the CSI building, relishing the sudden drop in temperature. He thought about the brief, but intense affair with Lindsey and was glad they'd both realised their mistake early on, before any real damage was done to their friendship. They'd talked it all out last night over a few drinks and gotten along a heck of a lot better than when they'd been together. He couldn't wait to tell Flack, that was one person who'd be breathing a huge sigh of relief. He reminded himself to call him again later, after shift. Flack and Joe were going out tonight and would probably have more than a few celebratory drinks at hearing the news. He stifled back a laugh and pressed the button to summon the elevator.
As the elevator doors opened he found himself almost nose to nose with Mac, a geared up ready for a crime scene, Mac.
"Good thinking, Danny," Mac stated as he pointed at the 'to go' bag.
"We gotta call?" questioned Danny, expectantly hopping from one foot to the other.
"Yeah, we've got a call, but all you're going to be doing, Danny, is taking notes, understood!" Mac stated, leaving Danny in no doubt.
"Scouts honor," he grinned.
"I'd have more confidence in that statement if I didn't categorically know that you'd never been a boyscout," Mac countered, steering them both out of the door and over to the vehicle compound.
As they walked over to the vehicle, Mac took the chance to grab his oversized muffin and coffee and throw Danny the keys, much to Danny's shock.
"I'm drivin'?" questioned Danny with an overtly raised eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure it's not Christmas yet, Mac."
Mac shook his head, but smiled nonetheless. "Shut up and do as you're told...before I change my mind and leave you here to fry."
"You got it, boss," Danny answered, as he unlocked the vehicle.
Mac climbed in the passenger side after putting his case in the trunk, settling down and tucking into his food and coffee.
"What've we got then," asked Danny as he started the engine, plugging the scene's location into the sat nav.
"Abandoned vehicle," Mac replied.
"What? Isn't that a traffic job?" Danny grumbled, furrowing his brow.
"Not when there's signs of harrassment, blood present and a smashed windshield it isn't."
"Ahh, now you're talking."
They were lucky with the timing, negotiating the midtown traffic relatively quickly and heading off out to Brooklyn.
"Ah, Mac, you gotta be kiddin' me, look at that," Danny grumbled, flicking the wiper switch, swatting away the offending raindrops.
"Put your foot down, Danny, or we're going to have no scene left to process."
"Summer downpours, dontcha just hate 'em." stated Danny as he turned on the siren and hit the gas.
They reached the scene soon afterwards and Mac grabbed his case, sprinting over to the jeep. Fortunately, for them at least, it was rammed into a tree trunk and the leaves were staving off the worst of the rain.
"Danny, come on, grab the board and take notes," he shouted.
"Right behind you, Mac, where do you wanna start?"
"Officer Davy, " asked Mac, " who called it in?"
"Hang on, got it right here," he replied, ducking under the branches before taking out his notebook. "Cecil Montgomery and wife, driving home from their daughters place, saw a car screaming away, then noticed the jeep under the tree."
"What time was that?" questioned, Danny, writing as quickly as he could as Mac quickly got to work on the jeep.
"2.50pm, forty five minutes ago," he recited. "They took down the number of the plate, we ran it, but it must be a fake, we got nothin'."
"Wonderful," complained Danny. "I'll go over and talk to them."
"Green sedan, back there," gestured the Officer.
Danny spent a while with the shellshocked couple, making sure nothing was missed and they'd gone over the events a couple of times just to make sure.
"Danny, over here a minute, can you label these up,"
"What've you got, Mac?"
"I got trace from the airbag deployment, should be able to get dna, blood from the slashed seatbelt."
"Slashed seatbelt, kinda rules out joyriders, don't you think?"
"Let's get all the facts before we rule out anything, yes?"
"I know, Mac and I'd agree, but we got another witness over there who says they saw someone or something dragged away from the jeep, but by the time they'd stopped their car, they'd disappeared, time ties in with the other witnesses who saw the car screaming away," Danny explained. "Gotta say, I'm leaning towards kidnap, Mac."
"Have the P.D run the jeep's plates yet?" asked Mac, "it's brand new, only 10 miles on the clock," he observed.
"Officer?" shouted Danny. "Who's the registered owner of the jeep?"
"Vehicle is registered to a, Finley Marshall at a Staten Island address, we've sent a couple of uniform over to the address, just waiting for them to check in."
'Finley Marshall," Danny puzzled. He was sure the name sounded familiar, but couldn't for the life of him remember why. He shook his head, he'd find out soon enough he supposed.
Mac interrupted. "Subtract standard delivery milage and there's not enough miles on the clock to have made it over from Staten Island."
"So, the jeep was purchased here in Brooklyn, within a four or five mile radius," stated the Officer.
"Let's get everything back to the lab and I'll get on it, Mac."
"I'm not getting such a good feeling with this, Danny, we need to find Finley Marshall, and quick!"
They watched as the jeep was carefully wrapped and hoisted onto a tow truck, ready for it's journey back to the CSI garage. After it's removal, Mac diligently scoured the area underneath and surrounding, making doubly sure that nothing had been missed or overlooked.
"We got everything, Danny?" he questioned.
"Yeah, well, everything the rain didn't get to first," he answered.
"We can't do any more than that, Danny, as much as it pains me to admit it," Mac countered with a shrug. "Let's get moving, sooner we get all this back, the sooner we'll get some answers."