Disclaimer: CSI: NY and all the characters from the show are owned by CBS, Paramount, Jerry Bruckheimer, Anthony Zuiker, and other people who aren't me. Any other characters are my own and resemblance to any other person is a pure coincidence.

First off, sorry this took a little longer to post. Apparently, my professors think their papers are more important. However, here is Chapter 9. I'll post Chapter 10 probably on Thursday. As always, comments and reviews are appreciated. Enjoy.

Wherein our heroes keep a vigil for their friend.

To an outsider, the Lab appears to be functioning as normal. Unfortunately, crime doesn't take a day off, so neither can the employees of the Crime Lab. The first piece of news passed around that morning by those in the know is good; Ned Watson confessed to everything. He doesn't seem to particularly care what happens to him now. Apparently, he is still muttering the phrase "master of eight worlds".

With that taken care of, the team tries to focus on work. It isn't very successful. While there are some cases, it is a relatively slow day. At least if things were busy that could help bury their minds and be the focus of all their concentration. It could be an escape. That escape is not forthcoming.

Everyone inside the department and most everyone in the NYPD now know what happened. Bad news travels fast. Luckily for the Crime Lab, the rest of the NYPD is offering sympathy. Sinclair came by that morning and reassured everyone that no one will interfere with the Lab. The gesture is appreciated.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, they are still waiting. During that long night, Flack kept as close an eye on Stella as he did on the door and the doctors. Eventually, the need for sleep overpowered him. Stella watched this and while he was asleep, she went into the bathroom and wept. Here, away from everyone else, she unleashed some of the feelings that she had been burying since they found him. For a while, she gave free reign to her tears and she let out some of her pain. Then, as quickly as they came, the tears stop. She looks at herself in the mirror, and steels herself. She will not cry anymore, at least in front of them. She is going to be strong. If this situation was reversed, and she or another one of them was in this awful position, he would be strong. For him, and for them, she will be strong.

The toughest part came early in the morning, when a nurse came in and told them they could wait in his room, at his bedside, in the ICU.

When she first caught sight of him, she felt weak again. The cuts and scrapes were bandaged up, and the blood is gone, but those are about the only improvements. He is hooked up to various machines, including one that is helping him breathe. His face is still bruised, and even in this state, he looks like he is in pain.

She finds a chair and maneuvers it to his bedside and puts his hand in hers. She isn't letting go.

Flack sits in the chair beside the door, not saying anything or looking at either of them. His mind keeps flashing back to the bombing incident. In many ways, this is much, much worse. That lunatic had targeted anyone and anything. The fact that Flack himself had been injured was just a terrible fluke. Mac though, had been purposely kidnapped and tortured. Mac had been hunted like some kind of animal. Flack had been badly injured, but not as bad as Mac. A small part of him had wanted Ned Watson to resist enough to warrant deadly force. That would be true justice in Flack's opinion. Another part of his mind is deeply fearful. He was still grieving over what had happened to Angell. The thought of losing someone else, especially such a close friend, it would be too much.

After only an hour in the ICU, Danny and Lindsay come, much to Flack's relief. He doesn't say anything as they take his place in the room.

Sitting there in the waiting room is difficult for both of them. For Lindsay, it seemed that not long ago that everything was right with the world. She and the man she loved were married, and she had given birth to a beautiful daughter. Mac had even agreed to be Lucy's godfather. Now, things were more uncertain. Danny had finally recovered from the wounds he'd received. In those first moments after he'd been shot, her world had collapsed. She believes that Stella is experiencing very much the same thing. Watching Stella, she knows what she is going through and Lindsay can't imagine a worse feeling. She has had her share of suffering in life; the terrible crime she witnessed back in Montana, what had happened to Danny. It makes her reflect on what is truly important, and the man sitting beside her certainly is. She pulls herself closer to him.

Just waiting here is very bitter for Danny. Here he was, the pieces of his life finally being put back together when another piece falls away. He's felt so fortunate in these past few months that he has Lindsay around to be his rock. The Lab and everyone on the team have also been strong supporters he could rely on. None more so than Mac. His boss had been more understanding during that time than Danny could have hoped for. It's just another thing that he feels indebted to Mac about. He had told Danny that he went against everyone's advice when he'd hired him. When his brother Louie had been a suspect, Mac still stood by him. Thinking of his brother Louie does nothing but darken Danny's mood. The outcome then had been horrible, with his older brother dying in the arms of their mom and dad. However, Danny knows that Mac is a stronger person than his brother was. If anyone could get through this, it would be him.

When their shift is about to end, both Danny and Lindsay go up to the bed. Lindsay kisses Mac on the forehead. Danny simply mutters "get through this boss, we need you."

When two leave, two come. In this case Sid and Tom come in. It takes both of them to persuade Stella to get up and leave the room for a much-needed walk.

Stella's resiliency is amazing to Sid. He has always known how strong she is, but this is just further proof. He does wonder though, how she really is taking this. He can see the pain behind her fierce determination not to give up on him. Sid can only hope that the rest of them have that same resoluteness. Sid is not naïve; trained in medicine, he knows the long odds against his friend. But now he is trying to forget those odds and hope for the best. It isn't easy. Although he would never burden Stella or anyone else with the knowledge, it is still inescapable; there are people lying dead at autopsy that have been dealt less serious injuries. This certainly isn't helping Sid hope for the best. Still, stranger things have happened, and Sid hopes that this is one of those times.

Beside Sid, Tom mulls over his own thoughts. His mind by nature and training is focused on law. Reason, justice, these are the principles that law is built upon. This whole situation spits on both these principles. True justice would have Mac okay and the man who did this to him in such a terrible state. Tom's consolation is once again the law. Watson confessed to everything, and the law says that the death penalty is still an appropriate response. That is true justice in Tom's opinion; that man being condemned by the very laws he broke. As for his boss, he is relying on faith to help Mac out. Tom is a religious man; he believes there is a God out there who watches over everyone, and he has prayed fervently that God will be merciful to his boss.

Stella comes back from her short trip and one of her companions goes and gets lunch for the three of them. Like almost everything else, they eat in silence. At the end of their shift, Sid and Tom like those who came before them, go up to the Stella and Mac. Sid tries offering Stella some reassurances that he isn't sure she hears. Tom looks at Mac and says quietly "Mac, you're the strongest person I know; you're going to be alright."

The final two, Hawkes and Adam come in for their shift. Throughout the day, the sky has been darkening and the not-so distance rumbling of thunder can be heard easily from the ICU. It is almost as if Mother Nature herself is angry with what has happened.

It feels surreal to Adam to be sitting here. He never would have thought that something like this could happen to Mac of all people. The very thought of his boss, a person who even to this day slightly intimidates him being here is shocking. Like Danny, Adam feels indebted to Mac. He knows that he should have been fired when the budget had to be cut, but Mac didn't do it. He found a way to save Adam his job. Now, having that same man here, fighting for his life, and needing help from a machine just to breathe. What Adam truly wants to know is why them? Why must this group of people have to suffer? Adam doesn't know the answer but he does know that it isn't right. It just isn't right.

Seeing Mac in the ICU, Hawkes feels some relief as opposed to when he first found him. In that hellhole of a basement, Hawkes believed for a brief moment that his boss truly had been lost. He had hoped beyond hope that he was wrong. He didn't want to be the person who had to tell them all that their friend was gone. When he found a pulse, Hawkes muttered a thankful prayer to whatever divine power was listening. Mac's breathing had stabilized, and there is no internal bleeding, at least for now. He had talked with Doctor Meyers before coming in here, conferring with her as a fellow physician instead of as a man with a friend in the hospital. The outlook Doctor Meyers gave him was slightly less grim than what he originally thought, but it is an improvement.

The end of the day brings the rest of the team back to the hospital. Adam and Hawkes go out to meet up with them Inside it is just two now.

While others come and go, Stella remains. Except for the short walk at lunch time, she has been here all day. And she will stay for as long as it takes. Until he wakes up and looks into her eyes, she will not leave. For the day, she just sat there, watching him. To her, the world had shrunk to just the two of them, with only the occasional interruption from anyone else. The concern of her colleagues is not lost on Stella. She has seen the looks they have been giving her, the compassion and the pity. However her concern is for them and for Mac. She knows she isn't leaving. The rest of them, they don't need to be doing this to themselves. With her free hand, she motions for all of them to come in.

"Listen, I appreciate what you all have been doing, but we can't all keep going on like this. Tomorrow is Saturday; I want you to take the day off. Don't come here, don't go to the Lab, just try and enjoy your Saturday."

The protests start immediately.

"No Stella."

"You shouldn't be here by yourself."

"It really is no big deal."

"If anyone needs a break, it's you."

She holds up her hand. "I'll be fine. I need some time alone and you need some time away. If I have to, I'll order you as your boss."

This helps quiet the protests. No one is willing to argue with her right now, especially since she played the boss card. Best not to test things.

Flack speaks up when they are out of the hospital. "Well, since we've been ordered to take tomorrow off, I'm heading to Gordon's Bar for a drink, anyone interested?"

Everyone but Sid agrees to come; the ME decides to spend the evening with his wife. At Gordon's, the beer flows freely. A couple share stories, but the conversation is a somber one. Finally, Lindsay lifts up her glass.

"To Mac" she says.

"To Mac" Everyone toasts their friend.

Then, they depart, each heading their own way.

A little more of a somber chapter. Don't worry; the answer to the cliffhanger I left at the end of the last chapter is coming up next. Stay tuned.