A/N: I'm worried I rushed this a bit… but hopefully you guys won't think I did

A/N: I'm worried I rushed this a bit… but hopefully you guys won't think I did! I couldn't remember the exact details of what happened in the diner without putting my DVD on, and that DVD was conveniently misplaced, so I sorta had to make it up. Hopefully I got it roughly correct. We're almost there!

Disclaimer: Me? Own CSI? Nooo.

Stella was getting frustrated with the smugness of Taylor Newsom. She was beginning to wish they'd let Danny kick him into next week. For someone who had apparently been driven to kidnap a child because of the death of his own, he was surprisingly calm, and wasn't going to give up his son's whereabouts anytime soon. She sighed, going back into the interview room and sitting down opposite him.

"Right, Mr. Britt," she said, purposefully, "can you explain to us again you and your son's motive for snatching Katy Monroe?"

He didn't so much as flinch, and as he explained, his voice was monotone and emotionless, "Lindsay Monroe and my daughter were childhood friends. Kelly was going away for the summer, and Lindsay thought it would be nice for them to all go to their favorite diner… to say goodbye. I told Kelly not go… that she had packing left to do. But she wouldn't listen. Said that Lindsay wanted them all to be there, so she had to go. A man robbed the diner that night, shot my daughter, shot all her friends, but left Lindsay Monroe alive. It had been her idea to go, and she was the only one who got out alive."

"But that was near on 20 years ago," Stella said, still baffled as to why someone would leave it this long to get revenge.

"Jesse and his wife, Leigh, they've been trying to have a baby for 4 years but doctors don't think it's possible. He overheard Miss Monroe's parents talking about a grandchild… it was surprisingly easy to track their daughter down. Especially after we saw her at the trial. Hell, I followed her out of here myself and no one noticed. Lindsay Monroe took something of mine; I wanted to take something of hers. And Jesse got the child he'd always wanted. It was the perfect plan."

"We will get Katy back, Mr. Britt, and then you and your son will be in jail. Have you got any idea what Leigh's going to have to go through then?"

"Not going to happen Detective," he said, with a smile, "Jesse, Leigh, and the child… they're long gone. Your detectives can search as hard as they like, they won't find them."

There was something almost sickening about how easy this whole story was dripping off the man's lips, and the smile was the cherry on top of the cake. Stella was beginning to want to kill the man herself. She sighed, got up from the table and went to leave the room.

"And just so you know," she said, not bothering to look over her shoulder, "Lindsay has felt guilty about that day in the restaurant for the past 19 years. It plagues her dreams, and she's never quite forgiven herself for it."

"Good," he said, simply.

Stella left the room before the urge to punch him became too strong.

-

"We've got half of NYPD looking for this guy, we will find him," Flack said, trying to reassure Lindsay.

It was a few hours since Taylor Newsom – who they now knew to be Michael Britt – had made his confession. The night had quickly bled into the morning and now it was nearly 5. Mac had persuaded Lindsay and Danny to go home, but their apartment felt empty, lifeless. Flack had gone over to keep them company, and keep them up to date on the case. Now they sat in the living room, Lindsay with her legs curled under herself on the couch, Don in an armchair opposite. Danny had gone out to stretch his legs, and they both really hoped that was all he was doing.

"You should go home… sleep," Lindsay said, resting her head heavily on the arm of the couch, looking at Flack out of one eye.

"Are you gonna sleep?"

She went to say yes, but thought better of lying and shook her head.

"Well then. I'd rather be here, looking after you two. Sleep can wait."

"Okay," she sat up, rubbed her eyes, "you want some coffee?"

"Yeah that'd be nice."

-

Three Weeks Later

Lindsay lay in bed, alone and wide awake. It was around 3, and she hadn't had a wink of sleep. She was used to spending the nights alone. Danny put everything into work, coming home in the early morning, if he came home at all, sleeping on the couch. Lindsay couldn't face work. Mac had told her to take as long as she needed, which probably wasn't a good idea, because she was beginning to think she'd never go back. She felt as if her finger was inches away from her self destruct button. Most days she didn't bother getting dressed, stayed in her pyjamas, hardly eating, watching junk on TV, sometimes sleeping. She didn't like going out. Katy's face was still on the front of newspapers, and the pitying looks people gave her when they realized who she was, made Lindsay feel sick.

She longed for the old days. When Danny and she could laugh, flirt, make meaningless conversation, without a care in the world. Things were different now. Their relationship was hard… maybe even strained at times. Nothing had been easy or simple since Rikki had happened, especially after Lindsay found herself pregnant. They'd had to grow up. Katy had made them happy, but Lindsay knew that would crumble away without the little girl's presence. It had already started happening. The chances of getting their daughter back were getting slimmer and slimmer, and Lindsay didn't think there was any point in getting on with her life without her.

Danny still wasn't home, not that she particularly expected him to be.

There was a knock at the front door and Lindsay contemplated ignoring it. Who came by at 3am anyway? Maybe Danny had left his keys behind.

She slipped out of bed, pulled a t-shirt on over her underwear (all her pyjamas were dirty so she'd taken to not bothering) and went to the door. The thumping was more consistent now and she was almost sure it was Danny. Definitely the sound of an NYPD officer. She checked the peephole, and sure enough it was him. Sighing, she opened the door and was about to turn and go back into the bedroom, expecting that he wouldn't bother to so much as say a word to her, knowing his mood lately, when she realized there were tears in his eyes. He looked like a lost child, and she could do nothing but wrap her arms around him and hold him, the door closing behind him with a soft click.

"It's ok," she murmured, resting her head on his chest, which was shaking with the force of his crying.

"It just… it just suddenly hit me," he said, between sobs, "that she's gone. She's really gone. And I don't think she's coming back."

That was enough for her to break down too, and for a while they just stood there, holding each other whilst they cried.

That night, for the first time in a long time, they made love. It was unlike anything that had ever happened between them before, but both knew it was what they needed.

-

Lindsay woke to find her head cushioned by Danny's chest. He'd stayed. She didn't think he would, given the circumstances, but she was so glad he had. They hadn't been this close in a while, and she'd missed his warmth. She knew if there was any way they were going to get through this, it was together. Pressing a kiss to the center of his chest, she closed her eyes and readied herself to go back to sleep.

"You awake?" he asked, lifting a hand to her head, stroking her hair.

"Mmm. Barely."

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice low, lips against her ear.

She looked up, "sorry? For what?"

"Shutting you out, ignoring you… actin' like you didn't know what I was going through. Like you weren't going through the same thing."

"It's okay," she sighed, "we will get her back Danny. I know in my heart that we will. Our little girl is still out there, and she's coming home. We just have to wait for her."

And with that she drifted back to sleep.

-

TBC.