A/N: So, this chapter is the main idea for the title of the story. My beta's favorite. R/R.
Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine.
Lindsay was awakened by the scraping of a shovel on a tree. Brad was standing next to her, grinning like a maniac. His eyes held dark shadows underneath him, dirt was caked along the creases of his neck and there was a black smudge along one cheek.
"Had a nice nap?" he laughed at her.
Lindsay couldn't answer; the duct tape covering her mouth prevented her from doing so. Instead she frowned at him the best she could, knowing her eyes and her brows would covey the message. What she didn't anticipate was the shovel slamming into her head. She groaned, and then let the blackness take her.
Danny was paired with Hawkes this time- driving steadily along the stretch of highway that wove through the park. Mac and Stella were in the chopper above them. Flack had driven up into the reserve after obtaining copies of the road surveillance tapes, one snapping a clear picture of Lindsay driving while Brad sat in the passenger seat. The next camera- 40 miles ahead- didn't show any footage of the pair, thus narrowing the search area greatly. As Hawkes peered through the passenger window, searching for any signs of life, Danny drove on, wondering if Lindsay was alive, if the baby was hurt, what Brad was planning on doing to her.
"Look!" Hawkes said, pointing through the front windshield.
Danny got onto the radio, and sent a message to Mac and Stella above them. Hearing their response, he quickly jumped out of the SUV, joining Hawkes in gearing up for the trek through the forest. The chopper landed a few miles away, and two police cars came from behind, Flack leading. Motioning for the other police car to go retrieve Mac and Stella, Flack joined the two men, already dressed in his Kevlar and a backpack. The three men waited for the others to join them. Once Mac and Stella came to the truck and finished getting ready, the five of them headed into the forest.
"Wakey wakey sunshine. Ready to die?" Brad ripped the duct tape off Lindsay's mouth, and cut the rest off her ankles and wrists. "Get up." Lindsay cringed as she stretched her legs out, feeling the pain from being held in one position for so long, her joints stiff and aching. Her head throbbed. "FASTER!"
She frowned at him, angry. "Fuck off." She regretted it the instant it words slipped past her lips. Brad's kicked her side, and she was able to shift her arm in time to absorb most of the blow. She still rolled sideways, ending upon her stomach, her face scrunched up in pain.
Brad grabbed and handful of her hair, and dragged her up. When she was standing at full height, he head bucked her, causing her to fly onto her back again. She landed on a root; the wind was knocked right out of her, leaving her gasping for breath and in pain. She cried out, feeling tears forming in the back of her eyes.
"Get up!" Brad shouted. "C'mon, at least show to your precious Danny that you put up a fight. At least show him you tried to be a good mother and protect his child. You know? The way you did mine!" He kicked her in the ribs again, and Lindsay could feel the anger boiling up in her chest. "You were never going to be a good mother. Hell, I bet secretly Danny only took you in because he knew you were a hopeless slut who couldn't find another man to save her life. He felt sorry for you, and that's why you were getting married. Because no-one else would want you. Just like how nobody will miss you." He grabbed her by her shirt and hauled her up, making sure she was steady before he punched her, splitting her lip down the middle, and causing her to stumble. He laughed as she clung to a tree, and turned to retrieve his knife from his bag, getting ready to slit her throat. But when he turned, she was gone.
Lindsay panted, clutching her ribs and winching as she struggled to take a breath. She slipped behind a tree, hearing Brad's yells for her. She cautiously peeked over the side and saw he wasn't even twenty feet from her. She couldn't risk running- he was faster and not injured. Glancing down on the forest floor, she saw a tree branch in the shape of a Louisville Slugger. Smiling, she picked it up, and waited for Brad to 'find' her.
Danny walked steadily east, his calves feeling the burn of walking on such an uneven terrain. He glanced to his left and didn't see anyone; he knew Flack was on his direct left, Mac on his right. Glancing back down, he saw a glint of silver. He stopped and bent his legs, and picked up the watch. Turning it over, he saw two initials- LM. His heart beat quickened, and he stood again, picking up his pace.
"Lindsay…come on out. It doesn't hurt that much and I've had some practice now, so it won't take as long…Come on sweetheart." Brad searched in between the trees, looking for Lindsay. He knew she couldn't have gone far.
Lindsay watched as Brad moved forward, looking left and right, hoping to spot her. She slowly approached him from behind. She was no more than 10 feet from him when she stepped on a particularly dry branch, which cracked loudly underneath her. Brad spun around, a huge grin on his face.
"Finally."
He rushed her, giving her a split second chance to swing the branch she picked up at his head. He dodged the swing, and the hand that had the knife swung out at her leg, leaving a gash along the front of her thigh. She felt the hot liquid seeping out and tricking down her leg, but she ground her teeth together and dodged the fist that almost connected with her face. She followed quickly by smashing his knee with the branch, causing him to go down on one knee, screaming in pain as the kneecap cracked so loud, Lindsay's ears rang with the noise.
Moving faster now, she kicked the knife away from his hand, and hit him in the back with the branch, sending him sprawling forward on his stomach. Groaning in pain, he tried to get up, but was down once again because she hit him golf-club style in the ribs repeatedly. She heard the satisfying crunch, and his screams of pain.
Lindsay propped her back on a tree, clutching the leg that was still leaking blood- even though the flow had lessened. Every breath she took was ragged, her ribs still sore.
"Let me tell you something, you fucking self righteous son of a bitch. Danny Messer is more than three times the man you can ever be. And I'm not carrying his devil spawn or evil mongrel, I'm carrying his children. Twins, which is more than your fucking limp dick swimmers could ever produce. And when Danny asked me to marry him, he did it because he cared for me more than your sorry ass ever did. When you almost fucking killed me, he asked me to marry him again, proving that it wasn't just because he felt sorry for me! He does something you were never capable of. HE loves ME."
Lindsay's was yelling, downright furious. Brad was on his knees now, looking at Lindsay with a mutious glare.
"Shut the fuck up now, you whore! He doesn't love you- you're an easy lay!" he spat at her.
Lindsay snapped. "NO!" She grabbed the branch and struck out at Brad, moving so quickly and catching him unaware that the branch connected with his jaw, the resounding crack filling her with joy. "I am not a whore. You fucking raped me! You cheated! You abused me! It's your fault and I was just too stupid to realize that!" She punctuated each statement with a resonant hit from the branch. "I have a family here that loves me. That cares for me. I am NOT alone! I am returning all the pain you caused me, and you are taking it back!" She was crying now, the tears blurring her vision and making the areas she hit on Brad fuzzy.
"Lindsay! Stop!"
Lindsay spun around, sobbing as the voice of the man she loved rang clear through the forest. She heard the footfalls coming closer, and before she knew it, Danny had her in his arms, his hands running over her body, checking for breaks. She winced visibly when his hands ran across her ribs, and then he looked down at her leg and saw the semi-dried blood on her pants.
"Jesus Linds, what the fuck did he do to you?"
Lindsay couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Danny was here, in front of her. She could feel him and see him and smell him, but she couldn't comprehend that she was safe now. Her hand was still closed tightly around the branch, just in case.
"Montana? Baby, are you hearing me?"
Lindsay blinked, her eyes seeming to come out of a haze. "Danny…I'm sorry!" She burst out in fresh tears, dropping the branch and falling against his chest. Her head was starting to pound, the noise sounding like bass music in her ears. She vaguely remembered Danny whipping out a radio and giving someone his coordinates. That was all she remembered, because suddenly, the pain in her chest was too great, and she fell unconscious.