Author's notes: Sorry for the lack of a new chapter yesterday. I simply got tied up with work and was exhausted when I got home last night. I hope this is worth the wait. No guarantees that I'll have the next chapter up tomorrow night. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's episode so I might be delayed.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, I wouldn't be sitting on pins and needles waiting for tomorrow's episode.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Chapter 20

Danny's happiness at seeing Stella Bonasera was eclipsed by the heart wrenching sobs that Lindsay had been reduced to. Knowing how close the two women were, he hadn't been surprised when Lindsay started to cry but he couldn't understand this almost devastation at the sight of their friend and former colleague. He tightened his embrace hoping to offer her comfort but she struggled in his arms, for the first time seemingly desperate to get away. He loosened his embrace but didn't release her completely.

Stella crossed the room trying to help but Lindsay's emotional distress seemed to increase. Danny could hear her muttering beneath the oxygen mask. "Not again, please not again. I thought it was over. It's not fair."

Unable to take it anymore, Danny pulled and held her against him despite her protests. "Lindsay, Babe, what's wrong? You're scaring me but you are really freaking Stella out."

Lindsay stopped struggling and went limp I his arms. She looked up at Danny, the expression in her eyes confused. "You can see her too?"

Realization dawned on Danny. Her question would have been amusing if the whole situation hadn't been so heart breaking. He hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, Babe, Stella is really here."

Lindsay pulled away and looked at her friend. "I'm so sorry. I thought you were another hallucination. I thought they were all gone but you were here but you couldn't be here because you are in New Orleans. I wanted it to be real, but it was too much to hope for. I'm so sorry."

The rambling concerned Stella almost as much as the sobs had. She hugged her younger friend tightly, tears prickling her own eyes. Mac had warned her that Lindsay was emotionally fragile but she hadn't been prepared for just how fragile she'd really be. "Oh, Kiddo, don't apologize. I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have surprised you like that. I didn't think."

Stella accepted tissues that Danny pressed in her hands, giving his hand a squeeze as she did so. She helped Lindsay wipe her eyes and settle back in the bed. The injured woman couldn't take her eyes off Stella as if she wasn't completely sure she trusted her senses.

"How did you know?"

"Mac called me the night of the robbery to tell me you were missing. I wanted to fly up then but he suggested I wait until you were found. When he called me yesterday to tell me you'd been rescued, I put in for my vacation and caught the first available flight. I'm here for a week but I can extend my stay if I need to."

Lindsay was feeling a little shaky from the crying but it was starting to level out. She had been thinking about Stella all day, wanting to call and ask her to visit but scared to voice the request out loud. It was one of the reasons she'd been so sure that her arrival was just a hallucination. Something she wanted so much that her mind had decided to play a cruel trick. Two things had made her hold off either making the call or getting Danny to do it for her. One was that she knew how busy the other woman was running the New Orleans Crime Lab. More importantly, she didn't want Danny or the others to think she was slighting them but Stella had been the first to break through her protective shell here in New York and for that reason it just always seemed easier for her to confide in the older woman. "Can you afford all that time off? I know how busy you are."

Stella gave Lindsay's hand a squeeze. "Never too busy for you, Kiddo. Yeah, the lab is busy and I never realized how much harder it was being the one in charge. I see now why Mac never sleeps. But at the end of the day, it's just work and others will pick up my slack for as long as I'm away. The two of you are family. Besides after I growled at a couple of techs over something small yesterday morning the whole lab was volunteering to pack my bags for me."

The two women hugged again. Danny could feel himself relax just a little; Stella's presence would be good for Lindsay. He knew her recovery would be difficult, and despite the talk and the kisses they had shared, Lindsay would have to confront the memories of the attack. He couldn't see her having cathartic heart to hearts with a counselor and that her own protective streak would keep her from confiding the worst parts of it in him. Stella, however, could convince her to open up in ways that no one else seemed to be able to.

Stella studied both of her friends while trying not to appear to be doing so. She could tell Lindsay was in pain by the way she gingerly maneuvered herself on the bed. She could remember how sore she'd been after Frankie's attack, and she knew Lindsay's injuries were much more severe. But it was the expression in Lindsay's eyes that really told the story of her emotional state. After everything Lindsay had been through since coming to New York, Stella would have thought she had seen every emotion possible reflected in those brown pools. True, there weren't many new emotions there but the combination of all those negative emotions joined together and mixed with a little bit of doubt was almost more than she could bear.

Danny wasn't much better. She could only remember seeing him look so unkempt in the months directly after the shooting. She knew how hard this had to be for him. The lab's perpetual little boy who wasn't going to be serious about life had settled down quickly and happily when Lindsay had agreed to share her life with him. Lindsay and Lucy didn't just mean the world to him, they were his whole world. It must be killing him to see her Lindsay in this shape.

There were so many questions she wanted to ask. So many that Mac simply hadn't known the answer to when he called her yesterday. From what she gathered, he was calling her while driving to the hospital to meet the couple there directly after she'd been rescued. He had told her what their fears were about Lindsay's condition but she didn't know how bad it really was. But instead of asking the painful questions, she kept the conversation light. Time for the hard questions would come later.

"So when can I get my hands on my favorite little niece? From those last pictures you e-mailed me, it looks like she's grown so much."

Danny was about to answer when the door pushed open again to reveal Jo Danville. She looked surprise to see Stella sitting there. She had never met the woman whose job she took over but she had seen enough photos of her to know her immediately.

Danny made the introductions and the two women shook hands. Jo then gave Lindsay's shoulder a small squeeze in greeting before settling on the couch. "How are you feeling, Lindsay? I'm sorry I haven't been here but it seemed like I could do more by letting Mac come to the hospital yesterday. Then work got busy."

Lindsay chewed her bottom lip, ignoring the question Jo had asked. "How close are they to catching him?"

Stella's eyes flashed fire. "What 'he' are you worried about them catching, Lindsay? Mac told me when he called yesterday that the men responsible were behind bars."

"The ring leader killed a detective and escaped." Jo explained, then continued. "Nothing on Atwood yet. It's the strangest thing; we've barely even had any false tips called in. It's like he's disappeared."

Danny shot Jo a glare about the same time that Lindsay dug her fingernails into his arm. It wasn't that he lied to her about the escape, he just shared the information that was important that she knew at the time. "Nobody told me that he killed someone in the escape. Who was it? Oh my God, it wasn't Don was it? Is that why I haven't seen him since yesterday? Danny?"

Jo realized she had said too much and mouthed a silent apology. Gently he extracted his arm from her grasp before her nails could draw blood. He took both her hands in his and waited until he was sure she was listening to what he had to say. "Flack is fine, Babe. He left after finding out you were being moved to a regular room so he could go question the other three suspects. We were hoping they could give us some clue as to where Atwood was hiding. James Markson was the detective that was killed. I'm sorry I didn't tell you yesterday. I should have told you when I broke the news that Atwood escaped."

Lindsay nodded slowly. She liked Markson; he wasn't Flack but still one of her favorite detectives to work with if Flack wasn't available. It hurt to think he was dead and had died at the hands of the man who had hurt her so much. She hated the panic that rose within her with each new piece of information but didn't know how to prevent it. "If the gang won't talk, maybe you could find someone who knew him at Rikers. Maybe they would know of a place he might hide."

Jo smiled. "Flack had the same idea. I think he went home last night for a few hours sleep but this morning he was driving up to see what he could find out. He'll be here tonight. Lindsay, you concentrate on getting better. You've already done the hard part of this case and helped up get their identities. Give us the opportunity to do some of the work. Speaking of going home, Danny, why don't you take advantage of Stella and I being here so you could run home for a little bit. You could get a shower and change, maybe shave and get a change of clothes. I'm sure Lindsay wouldn't mind having some real clothes to put on. That gown can't be that comfortable."

Danny didn't like the idea at all. He knew that neither Jo nor Stella would let anything happen to Lindsay, but the idea of leaving her for any length of time scared him. What if something happened and he could get to her in time? But then he saw her eyes light up at the thought of having real clothes to put on. He sighed. He had hoped that she would confide in Stella. Maybe this would be an opportunity. "Okay, I guess I could do that. You sure you don't mind, Babe?"

She didn't want him to leave any more than it appeared that he wanted to leave. But still, he deserved a few minutes to himself. "I'll be fine. Maybe Stella and Jo could help me get a shower while you are gone."

Jo stood. "I'll go check with your nurse and see if there are any restrictions." She was gone in a second, relived to have a task that would help. She felt bad about upsetting Lindsay with the news of Markson's death.

Once she was out of the room, Danny looked back at Lindsay. "I don't have to do this. I'm fine and I can get Ma to stop by the apartment and pack a bag for both of us when she brings the pizza and Lucy."

As much as Lindsay wanted to have him stay she knew that Jo was right about him needing to get out of there. "You want your mom to carry a duffle bag of clothes and toiletries for the two us, our daughter, and a pizza all the way up here? Danny, your mother is a super mom but that's asking a lot, isn't it?" He nodded reluctantly and she smiled thinly. "Just do me a favor. I think the swelling is down in my hands now. Can I please have my ring back?"

Danny returned her smile with one of his own and slid the small band off his pinky and onto her ring finger. Then cupping her face gently in his own, he kissed her warmly. "I love you so much. I'll be back before you know it." He kissed her again and then stepped away from the bed.

Stella followed him to the door, giving him a warm hug. "Don't worry about her, Danny. I won't let anything happen to her."

"I know…" Danny sighed, unable to verbalize his fears. He kept his voice low so that Lindsay wouldn't hear what he had to say. "Stella, they didn't just beat her. They, Atwood actually, took away much more; I don't know how much. You know Linds though. I'm afraid she's tying to act like is all okay until she convinces herself that it is true. Maybe you could…"

Stella smiled. "I'll do what I can. I know Jo has her weapon but just in case…"

"In the top drawer." He'd missed this the most since Stella left. Their ability to finish each other's sentences because they knew each other that well. Realizing that Lindsay would indeed be safe, he kissed his friend's cheek and left.

Stella returned to Lindsay's bedside. The younger woman frowned and pushed aside the mask. "He's worried about me."

"We all are, Kiddo; occupational hazard of loving someone. You worry about getting better, let him worry about you, and the rest of us will worry about both of you. That way the worry is spread around evenly."

Jo returned but not alone. With her was Michelle Greer. The counselor smiled at Lindsay. "Detective Danville was telling me you wanted a shower but I was hoping we could talk first. Is it okay if they wait outside the door while we do that? They won't be far."

Lindsay wanted to say no but she was certain that if she did it would only fuel Michelle's belief that she needed to talk. She wasn't sure if it was better or worse that she knew Michelle but she wasn't looking forward to the questions that she was certain Michelle was going to ask. "Yeah, sure. I guess that would be okay. Jo, Stella, do you mind?"

The two woman promised they would be just outside and then stepped outside. Seeing two chairs right across the hall, Jo and Stella took a seat where they could see anyone that got close to he room. Jo shook her head. "I hate like hell that Lindsay is having to go through this. She and Danny both. Neither one of them deserves this. I know they are tough and that they love each other enough to get through this but it's not going to be easy."

"Nothing about their relationship has been easy. Danny must have gone nuts while she was missing. He never did 'Lindsay in danger' well even when they weren't dating. Couldn't have been easy keeping him from doing something crazy."

"He handled it surprisingly better than I thought he would. It's good that you are here though. Hard as I may try, I can't take your place in their lives."

Stella smiled sympathetically. "It shouldn't be about taking my place but about finding your own. From what I hear from everyone, you've managed to do that quite well."

Jo looked at her. "I didn't know you talked to everyone that much."

With a shrug, Stella explained. "I talk to Lindsay and Mac the most. Lindsay on the weekends when we both have time off and Mac during the week when I come up with some excuse to call for advice. The rest is usually by Facebook or Twitter. They've all said the same thing; you've fit in like you've been here your whole career."

Jo indicated the room with a nod of her head. "How do you think that's going to go? In the months I've known Lindsay the one thing that's been obvious is that she doesn't discuss her feelings much."

"Lindsay will open up only as much as she feels like she has to. It took her over a year of being at the lab before she opened up to me. Since we've got time to kill, why don't you fill me in on what that bastard did to her."

Inside the hospital room, Michelle sat down in the chair next to the bed. "I thought I heard that Detective Bonasera transferred to New Orleans."

Lindsay nodded. "She came back when she heard what happened to me. Look, Michelle, I know how this works. You don't have to ease into it with small talk."

Michelle nodded. She'd been pretty confident that Lindsay wasn't going to be an easy victim to work with. What was the saying, doctors and nurses make the worst patients? If that was true then cops made the worst victims. "Okay then. No small talk. Would you like to tell me what you remember about the attack?

Shaking her head, Lindsay stared at a spot on the far wall. "Not really. You performed the exam so you probably know more about what happened than I do. Especially since the drugs that I was given had me hallucinating throughout most of my captivity." That's right, Lindsay, she told herself. Keep yourself detached and technical and you can get through this.

"Maybe if we compared stories we can sort out what was real and what was imagined. Reality wasn't that great but I have a feeling it wasn't as bad as you think it might have been."

Realizing she didn't have much choice, Lindsay began to recount her memories.

- CSI: NY - CSI: NY - CSI: NY -

By the time Danny returned to the hospital not quite two hours later, he felt slightly more human. He had showered, shaved, and changed into clean clothes. He took longer to pack a bag for Lindsay trying to figure out what she might like to wear. Something soft that wouldn't be too confining to her injuries would be best and he had a feeling a bra wouldn't a viable option for awhile. He finally packed her a couple of pairs of cotton lounge pants, the ones she liked to wear just around the house on her days off, a couple of tank tops, and a couple of her baggiest t-shirts. He made one more stop on his way back and then headed to the hospital. Reaching the floor of Lindsay's room with a duffle bag and a large bag from a nearby store, he was surprised to see Jo and Stella sitting outside Lindsay's room, talking animatedly. It was clear they were trading stories about the team as if they had known each other for years. He indicated the room.

"What's going on?"

"Michelle Greer is talking with her. She's been in there for almost as long as you've been gone."

Danny was shocked. After the incident with Shane Casey, Lindsay had practically spent every minute of her counseling sessions watching the clock waiting for the hour to be up. He couldn't believe she hadn't kicked the other woman out of her room an hour and a half ago. Perhaps this time counseling would be different.

The door opened and Michelle stepped out. She closed the door behind her obviously wanting to talk without Lindsay overhearing. "She's asleep. Discussing what happened wore her out. Danny, you were right about her. She's not going to willingly agree to counseling. The only reason I could get her to talk today was to differentiate between hallucination and reality. I believe she now knows exactly what really happened to her but the memories of those hallucinations will not go away overnight. You were also right about not needing a suicide watch. She's a strong person. She's going to have really tough days but she's determined to be okay. I think she will be but I would be happier if she would agree to more counseling. Try to talk her into it."

Danny promised and then walked into the room. Jo and Stella followed behind him Danny stood at the foot of the bed watching Lindsay. He had a knowing look on his face. "You may have fooled Michelle but you don't fool me, Babe. I know you aren't asleep."

Lindsay opened her teary eyes. Danny sat beside her and gathered her into his arms, holding her tightly. He was sure it wasn't easy for her to talk about what happened. She would have relived every moment of it while talking about the experience. After a few minutes she pulled away. "I'm glad you are back."

He smiled at her. "I bought you something. Figured it might help you feel better." He held the bag up. "Sorry I didn't have a chance to gift wrap it."

She opened the bag and pulled out the lone object inside it. A genuine smile lit up her face she saw it. It was a large creature pillow that was in the shape of a cow. She hugged it to her as Danny explained. "With your ribs all busted up, I thought it might help to have a pillow to hug to you when you needed to move. You know, to kind of brace your ribs so they don't hurt as much. When I found one that looked like a cow, I knew it would be perfect.

A couple of tears slipped down her cheeks. "You're perfect. I'd rather have you holding me but this will be a great substitute. Thank you so much. I love you."

- CSI: NY - CSI: NY - CSI: NY-

When Anna Messer arrived at the hospital that evening with Lucy and two pizzas, Danny and Stella were the only two there with Lindsay. Jo had left about an hour earlier to be there when Ellie got home. Flack had called to say he would be there in about an hour. When Lucy saw Stella in the room, she ran straight for her and threw her arms around her. "Aunt Stella, Aunt Stella, you're here! We's bought pizza."

Danny gave Lindsay a solemn look. "I think we've been replaced."

Lindsay shook her head. "As soon as we open that pizza box, she'll be ours again."

Seeing that his mother had bought two pizzas, Danny looked at her confused. "I know Lindsay's appetite has been huge today but two?"

Mrs. Messer chuckled warmly. "Every time I brought just one pizza when you were growing up, all your friends would show up and there wouldn't be enough. I figured things haven't changed that much so I brought two."

No sooner had Lindsay tore into the first slice, the hospital door opened and Mac came in. Ten minutes later, Sid and Sheldon arrived to check on Lindsay. Mrs. Messer smiled knowingly. When Flack arrived thirty minutes later both pizza's had been devoured leaving not so much as a glob of melted cheese. Stella put in a call to have two more pizzas delivered since it seemed like Lindsay was enjoying the company and safety of all her friends. As Lindsay had predicted, Lucy had come back to her parents as soon as they started to eat pizza. Now she had lying beside Lindsay sound asleep.

At Mac's questioning, Flack admitted that they didn't have any new information on Atwood's whereabouts. He did have a bit of news about the three suspects in federal custody. "They're set to be arraigned in federal court in three days. Federal Prosecutors are aiming to have them held without bond until the case goes to trial."

Lindsay listened to his statement. With a pounding of her heart, she made an announcement of her own. "I want to be there."