Chapter Thirty-seven: Gone

"I've got a pulse but it's weak," yelled one of the paramedics as Flack was wheeled through the emergency room. A flurry of activity surrounded him, a large amount of blood on him and paramedics alike. Danny watched in stone cold silence as the detective disappeared from sight with two of his friends in wake. When they stormed into the apartment building he nearly jumped out of his skin, never having been so happy to see cops in all his life. With a measure of happiness he knew Sonny Sassone was lying on a stretcher of his own, only this one came with a black bag and a black van. Finally, after all these months, after everything the evil bastard had done to him, Danny was free of Sonny Sassone. All thanks to one well placed bullet by Mac Taylor.

Of course, watching the spot of red appear between Sonny's eyes was short lived as he remembered Flack had been shot. By the time he got anywhere near the back room the place was swarming with people, all of them yelling as they tried to stabilize the detective enough to make the drive to the hospital. He feared somewhere along the way that Flack would die, the last moments of his life spent in the back of an ambulance. He bummed a ride to the hospital with one of the officers, not quite comfortable enough to ask Mac or one of the others for a lift. Mainly because he worried what they might say to him. And he half expected they would cart him off to jail. No, this was better, standing in the background while they stood fast by the side of the fallen friend.

This was not his world as he had told himself time and time again. This was not where he belonged and nothing had gone right since the first day he laid eyes on Flack. It might be better, he figured, if he just disappeared. Now that he no longer had to worry about Sonny he could try to make a new go at his life. A new city, a new state, a new life. Something far removed from the mistakes of his past. With one last look at the emergency room he turned on his heel and ducked out the doors into the cool night. He made it almost out of the parking lot before he heard someone call his name. He refused to stop, thrusting his hands into his pockets, his head hanging down. The sound of someone running in his direction was not even enough to spark his attention.

And then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He did not have to look to know who it was having grown used to the sound of the voice.

"Danny, you should stay, make sure you get looked at," Mac said in an emotionless voice. Of all the people he expected to come after him Danny figured Mac would be the first; which was funny since he assumed Mac would want to stay with Flack. the two of them seemed pretty close.

He shrugged off the hand. "I should be going."

"Danny-"

"Let me go," he barked, turning his anger toward the head of the crime lab. "Can't you see that I've messed up things enough? Why the hell would you want me to stick around and make them worse?"

"How have you messed up, Danny?" prompted Mac, somehow keeping his composure. "Did you let love lead you in a new direction? Did you listen to your heart and discover a new way of life? So what if you fell into the wrong crowd, Danny. Life is full of second chances. Consider yourself lucky to have gotten out alive instead of the way Sonny did. That easily could have been you I left lying on the floor, Danny."

"You should," he muttered the words, his shoulders slumping, the anger being short lived. "I got Flack hurt, probably even killed and-"

Mac shook his head. "You had a plan, Danny. I bet you went back to Sonny to lead him into a trap. It wasn't your fault Flack was in that room tonight. He walked into it of his own free will. But you, you led Sonny there with the intent of killing him, am I right?" When Danny said nothing Mac pushed on. "But seeing Flack threw you off your game, it gave Sonny the opportunity he needed. My guess is that you told him Flack would be there and like magic, he was. You didn't know what to do, Danny. And you need to know it was not your fault."

"He shouldn't have been there," Danny felt the sting of unshed tears. What bothered him most was that walking into that room he had led Sonny to the exact thing he wanted. Mac figured out his plan somehow. Yes, he had gone to Sonny with all the intent of bringing him back to that room, the room he so often used for horrible things, and putting an end to Sonny. He wanted a chance to get on with his life, to find something better, to get out from underneath Sonny's thumb. But Flack, he shouldn't have actually been there and now look at how things had gone. He could have very well killed the one person he thought could save his life, pull him off the wrong path and set him straight.

Without speaking Mac closed the distance between them, embracing Danny much the way he imagined Mac hugged Flack in those times of need. Non one but his mother had ever given him a hug and it was the last straw, the final moment in the otherwise long day. He let the tears flow, sadden by how wrong everything had gone, by how fucked up his plan went. Mac said nothing, offering him a shoulder to cry on; which proved to be the best thing in the world.

And when the moment passed Mac placed a hand on his shoulder and directed him back toward the hospital.