Author's Notes: It seems like I keep pushing the end further and further back. This chapter took on a life of its own so I hope you enjoy it. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer: Still not mine

Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Chapter 43

Lindsay looked at the bedside clock and wondered not for the first time if it had somehow forgotten how to keep time during the night. Hadn't it already read 2:30 a couple of different times when she had looked at it? It didn't seem like this night was ever going to end, but at the same time she wasn't sure why she was in such a hurry for it to do so. Once that clock turned 6:30, she would have no choice but to get up, shower, dress, get Lucy ready for school and then with her husband at her side face the monster who had done his damnedest to completely destroy her. Why was she in such a hurry for that?

Going to sleep earlier in the evening hadn't been a problem. Stepping out of Lucy's room from putting the two-year-old to bed, she had walked straight into her husband's waiting arms. Knowing how tense she was in anticipation of the trial the next day, he had silently led her to the bedroom where he had slowly undressed her before easing her on to the bed. Despite the inroads they had made toward resuming a normal sexual relationship a week earlier, they had only had full intercourse once since crossing that invisible barrier that had stood between them. That time had been later the same night and once again, Danny had left her in full control over everything that had happened. While the experience had been more than satisfying for the both of them, it hadn't been without it's moments of blinding fear for Lindsay despite how gentle and patient Danny had been with her. The tears she had cried after they had both collapsed on the bed after riding out their mutual orgasms had been a mixture of love for this man she was so fortunate to have in her life and of pain with the knowledge that no matter how much they both loved each other, what had happened to her was going to continue to affect her no matter how much she wanted it forgotten.

Though they had still had pretty incredible make-out sessions in the week that followed, this was the first time Danny had actually initiated anything bolder than kisses and touches designed to please not to frighten. The look he had given her as he laid her bare body on the bed had told her he would pull back if it wasn't what she had wanted but that he wanted her to trust him. She had surrendered her control over to him without hesitation knowing he would be just as gentle and protective as he had been before even if her body did have its moments of weaknesses. By the time exhaustion pulled them both into a deep and satisfied sleep, her body had become completely relaxed and completely loved by his ministrations.

Dreams had pulled her out of that sleep not even two hours later. She'd managed to open her eyes and pull herself from their hold before they became full nightmares that would have woken Danny as well but sleep had then become elusive. Naturally, her dream had been about the trial slated to begin later in the morning. She had been on the stand answering questions from the prosecutor when she felt Atwood's eyes boring into her full of lust and hatred; he was actually licking his lips as if imagining all that he could and wanted to do to her. She could hear murmurs coming from the people gathered in the galley and wondered what the commotion was about until she looked down at her own body. She'd been horrified to see that she was sitting there once more naked with her arms shackled behind her with the zip ties. She had looked to Danny for help but he was sitting there, his own expression of horror looking back at her, powerless to do anything to help her. She had woken up, her heart pounding in her chest but she was glad she hadn't woken Danny. She wasn't sure she had the words or the energy to voice her fears about the upcoming trial. Even if she could, there was nothing Danny could do but worry about her and she knew he was worried enough without adding to it.

So she had continued to lie on her side, spooned against her husband watching the numbers slowly change on the bedside clock. For the moment she felt safe, tucked into the embrace of her husband, one of his arms comfortably cushioned under her neck and the other cupping her breast as if to promise that there was more to come. One of his legs was crooked over her own, and she was glad for its familiar heaviness to keep her grounded. She didn't want to move, didn't want to wake Danny or risk losing the protectiveness of being in his arms. Her pillow was damp from the tears she hadn't been able to stop but she had managed to keep the threatening sobs from causing her body to shake too much.

Danny's hand on her breast twitched and he began to gently kneed the soft flesh he was holding. She could tell by the way his whole body shifted that he was waking up and tried to reign in her tears before he noticed. His slow, even breathing changed and she could feel the warmth of his breath at her ear. He pressed a kiss in her hair.

"I know you're awake, I can tell by how tense your are in my arms. It's okay, Baby, go back to sleep, it's still early." His voice was low and husky with sleep. He drew her closer into his embrace and was about to drift back to sleep.

"Yeah, you too." Her own voice was small and she hoped he was still too asleep to hear how teary it sounded. Instead, he rose up on the bed to turn on the bedside light. She tried to bury her face in the wet pillow to keep him from seeing that she was upset but it was no use. Using the arm under her neck, he gently rolled her towards him, cursing when he saw her red puffy eyes.

"Aw, Linds, how long have you been awake? Why didn't you wake me?" He held her close, his arms closing around her tightly, letting her cry. Now that she didn't have to worry about waking him up, her sobs broke past the protective dam she had erected around them. It took her a few minutes to get them under control enough to speak.

"I didn't want to bother you. It's stupid. Testifying against Atwood is the final hurdle to getting past all of this. I should be glad that it's coming to an end. He can't hurt me any more, not unless I let him so why am I giving him this power?"

"Lindsay, look at me." Danny gently ordered. He waited until her face, looking a little fuzzy since he wasn't wearing his contacts, was looking directly at his. "You could never be a bother to me. If you are hurting, then I want to be there for you even if I can't do anything more than hold you while you battle your fears. And your fears aren't stupid, Babe. Didn't you say Michelle and the other women warned you at your last support session that facing him again would probably be emotionally rough? Hell, I'm dreading being in that court just because I know how painful it's gonna be and I know I can't protect you from it. But Lindsay, you won't be there alone. I'm gonna be right there. You just keep your eyes on me and forget everyone else."

She sniffled and he immediately reached for a tissue for her to blow her nose. Once she could breathe through her healing nose again, she answered him. "But the prosecutor said I need to make eye contact with the jury, that they needed to see what he had done to me."

"Screw him. There is no way a single one of those jury members will not know the hell he put you and the others through whether you look them in the eye or not. This is your life not some cheap entertainment thrill for anyone and you gotta do what you have to do to be okay through it. If at any point it gets too difficult for you, ask for a recess. You heard the man, he's gonna make it as easy for you as he can; if that means asking for recesses, then it's the least he can do. If he doesn't ask for a recess, I'll stand up and demand one for you."

Lindsay giggled just a little at the thought of Danny interrupting the proceedings demanding the judge call a recess. She kissed him softly. "Please don't do anything that will upset the judge. I've heard federal contempt charges can be expensive."

Danny chuckled but then looked her in the eyes seriously. "No promises, Babe. You are going to be my only concern in that courtroom and I'm going to do whatever I have to do to keep you safe, physically and emotionally." He continued to hold her for a few more minutes, glad to feel her muscles starting to relax again. He loosened his hold on her so that he could allow his hands to roam her body, nothing sexual in mind but touching her in the places that he knew always relaxed her enough to sleep. When her eyes began to droop once again, he kissed her softly. "Go back to sleep, Sweetheart."

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

Sleep had been friendlier to Lindsay after that; when the alarm went off at 6:30, she didn't stir. Danny turned off the alarm and eased out of the bed, determined to let her sleep as long as he could. He took a quick shower and dressed in his black dress pants, maroon button down and sports jacket. He didn't think he needed to wear a tie since he wouldn't be on the stand but he'd ask Lindsay's opinion when she was finally awake. Stepping back into the bedroom, he was glad to see that she hadn't so much as moved a muscle in the time he'd been in the bathroom. He heard Lucy babbling on the monitor and smiled. Sometimes he wondered if she was going to be that easy to wake up once she reached the age that she didn't find school fun anymore. He was just glad he have quite a few years before he had to worry about that. He walked down the hall and opened the door to her bedroom and she looked up at him with a big grin, running to hug him. He got her ready for school and then went to fix breakfast. They had to be at the courthouse by 8:30 so he couldn't let Lindsay sleep much longer but he was reluctant to interrupt her sleep. She hadn't actually answered his question in the early morning hours about how long she'd been awake but he was pretty sure from how tense she'd been when he woke up that it had been awhile. The day was going to be emotionally draining as it was, she needed to be as rested as possible before it started.

He could hear the shower running and realized that Lindsay had woken up and was getting dressed. He poured Lucy a bowl of Fruit Loops and got her settled at the table eating her breakfast. Lately she'd gotten on a kick of not wanting milk on her cereal. He didn't fight it since she still happily drank her milk in her sippy cup. Once she was content with her own breakfast he thought about what to fix for Lindsay.

He was pretty sure Lindsay would protest eating anything but there was no way he would let her out of the house without eating at least something. Surely she would be able to handle a couple of slices of raisin toast and a helping of scrambled eggs. He started on the eggs and then put two slices of raisin bread in the toaster. He heard the shower cut off and figured Lindsay would be in shortly. She'd spent an agonizing two hours after arriving home from work the day before on the phone with Stella asking her opinion on what to wear to court so she had an outfit already picked out. He put the eggs and toast on a plate and set it on the table, noticing as he did that Lucy's cereal bowl was empty. He shook his head. "You really eating that or hiding it your pockets somewhere?"

"Gone, gone, Daddy. Mo' p'eas?" She handed her empty bowl to him. He shook his head and added a little more to the bowl. He gave her a kiss on the top of the head, surprised that Lindsay hadn't emerged from the bedroom yet.

"Luce, you sit here and eat your cereal and let Daddy check on Mommy, okay?"

She nodded happily shoveling the cereal rounds in her mouth like she hadn't eaten in forever. He shook his head as he left the kitchen for the bedroom. He was surprised to see Lindsay, dressed only in her robe, digging in her closet, a mountain of clothes piled up on the bed. "Babe, what are you doing?"

She whirled around, her eyes almost wild. "I can't figure out what to wear. Nothing seems right."

Danny leaned against the dresser, his arms folded across his chest, watching her. He didn't bother to ask about the outfit she'd picked out with Stella's advice the night before. He was sure this sudden frantic behavior didn't have anything to do with picking out clothes. Though she was always stylishly dressed, she just wasn't someone who worried about her clothes that much. He let her look for a few more minutes and then crossed the room to wrap his arms around her. "Your breakfast is getting cold. Why don't you go eat and I'll pick out the perfect outfit for you. You trust my style don't you?"

She leaned against him. "You would think I would look good in nothing at all."

He grinned wolfishly and planted several kisses along the side of her head. "I've seen you in nothing at all and I know you look better than good, try amazingly beautiful. But your birthday suit is not an outfit I'm willing to let others see you in. I promise I'll pick something you'll agree with." She tensed in his arms and he wasn't sure what he had said that upset her so he turned her around. Her eyes refused to meet his. "Babe?"

"Does it bother you that he saw me without any clothes on?"

Danny sighed and wished he could take back his earlier statement. He had intended to make her feel better not worse. "Yeah, it bothers me a lot but that's on him, not you. But for the rest of his hopefully short life, the only naked bodies he's ever gonna see are the other men in his cell block during shower time. Now, before our little bottomless pit empties her second bowl of Fruit Loops, get in there and eat your toast and eggs. Don't even try the 'I'm not hungry' route cause I'm not buying it."

Surprisingly, she didn't protest as she left the room. He began putting the clothes back in the closet, stopping only when he was back to the long brown wrap-around skirt and hunter green short sleeved sweater the two women had picked out the night before. That outfit he left lying on the bed and returned to the kitchen. To her credit, Lindsay managed to get one slice of the toast and about three quarters of the eggs down before she pushed the plate away to go get dressed. By 7:30, the small family was leaving the apartment to drop Lucy off to school and then head to the federal courthouse.

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

"You are going to wear a hole in that floor if you keep pacing like that." Danny Messer warned as he watched his wife make about the fiftieth pass in the last twenty minutes. "Not to mention that you are wearing me out just watching you. Come sit down over here, Babe."

With a groan, she completed the final pass that took her back to the bench Danny was sitting on and flopped down beside him, his arms automatically coming around her in a comforting hug. She rested her head on his shoulder trying to draw from what seemed to be an infinite pool of calm surrounding him.

Upon their arrival at the courthouse, the bailiff had informed them that Lindsay had to remain outside the courtroom until it was her turn to testify. Mac and Flack, who were also slated to testify were allowed to go inside for the whole court case. Since they were expert witnesses, they weren't seen to be in danger of having their testimony influenced by what was said by others. They had promised to save Danny and Lindsay seats on the front row behind the prosecutor. That way Lindsay would be able to easily see Danny during her testimony. The others from the lab had wanted to be there but since crime didn't stop just because of court, Mac had to deny their requests.

The first two and a half hours of waiting hadn't been too hard on Lindsay. Both Sam and Carla had been forced to remain outside as well so she had them to keep her from getting too frazzled. Neil and Amanda hadn't been called as witnesses for this trial since Atwood hadn't had much to do with the treatment they had received but they would be called when the other three men went to trial. Sam would have to testify at both trials. The attorney for the other men had won his request that they be tried separately from Atwood due to the added charges he had incurred due to his escape from jail. After Sam had been called and he and his wife had entered the courtroom, Lindsay had sat down next to Carla and delicately asked about Joshua's absence. The younger woman explained that she had asked him not to come. Things were better between them after the time they had spent with her parents but he still had a tendency of getting distant again when she talked about the rape. She felt that it would be better if he didn't have to sit through listening to her testimony.

Shaking her head, Lindsay had asked softly. "What about what's better for you?" She couldn't imagine walking into that courtroom without Danny at her side. Carla had shrugged and admitted that she was terrified but that Sam and his wife had promised to stay after his testimony to be there for her.

Now, thinking about that conversation, Lindsay looked up at Danny. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

Danny smiled at her. "Every day in every look and touch you give me and with every word out of your mouth. This will all be over soon, Babe."

"I don't even want to imagine where I would be if you hadn't been there for me this last month. I don't think I would have even survived being a captive if I hadn't had your love to protect me. I know I probably haven't always been the easiest person to be around lately but you have been so amazing through this. I'm so lucky to have you."

Danny leaned down and gave her a kiss and then responded. "I'll always be here, Babe. I worried while you were missing about what would happen if we got you back and you couldn't handle being around me. I figured that if it was best for you, I'd somehow have to find the way to let you go but I don't think I would have been able to do it. It's like I told you before we got married; you and I just make sense. You say you wouldn't have made it without me but I know I would be just as lost without you."

For several more minutes Lindsay continued to sit there being held by him. Then with a growl of frustration she glanced at her watch. "It's been almost two hours since they called Carla in. Have they really been questioning her this long?"

She pushed up from the bench and resumed her pacing once more. The courtroom door opened and she stopped, staring at the opened door with a deer caught in the headlights look in her eyes. Flack stepped out and walked toward them. He looked at them.

"Mac sent me out to check on the two of you. You need anything? I can get the two of you some coffee."

"No coffee." Danny immediately replied. As wired as Lindsay seemed to be, coffee was the last thing she needed to add to her system. He wanted to ask how things were going inside but he knew Flack couldn't say or it could jeopardize Lindsay's testimony. So he asked the next best thing. "Got any idea how much longer until they call Lindsay?"

Flack shrugged. "Shouldn't be too much longer."

Lindsay gave him a worried look. "How is Carla? Is she handling it okay?" She didn't have to know what kind of questions were being asked, she just needed the reassurance that the girl wasn't being hurt any more.

Flack reached out and gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. "Better than I would have thought. I mean, I don't think she'd want to list the experience as one of her top ten favorite ways to spend a day but she's holding her own."

The door to the courtroom opened again and this time people came pouring out of the room. Worried about what it could mean, Lindsay crossed back to Danny's side and into his comforting arms. Mac and the federal prosecutor were the last two out of the courtroom. They joined the Flack, Danny, and Lindsay. Mac's expression was grim. "They've recessed for lunch. Court resumes in two hours."

Lindsay slumped against Danny. She wasn't in a hurry to testify but this waiting was getting to her. "Two more hours? How much longer after court resumes will I have to wait. Will I even testify today?"

The prosecutor looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Detective Messer. I never expected the first two witnesses to be on the stand this long. I promise, you will take the stand as soon as court resumes. Why don't you and your friends go get something to eat and relax in the meantime. You look pretty tense."

As he walked off, Danny glared at him and growled under his breath. "You think? You little prick." Lindsay slapped his chest lightly and his arms tightened around her. "Sorry, Babe, I just don't like that guy. There's no sense in him keeping you out here all morning waiting like this. I guarantee you if we had kept him waiting for even a few minutes, he'd be out for our heads."

Mac regarded the young couple carefully. Both looked exhausted, Danny's manifesting itself in his angry outburst while it almost seemed like Lindsay was unable to stand still for even a second. Both needed a change of atmosphere. "There's a diner a few blocks from here. Like him or not, he had the right idea about you getting something to eat and relaxing. My treat."

They walked the short distance to the diner, Mac hoping the exercise would help to settle Lindsay's nerves slightly. Once in the diner, Lindsay excused herself to go the restroom, asking Danny to order for her. It didn't matter what he chose for her because she doubted anything would taste good to her right now. As soon as the bathroom door closed behind her, Danny looked at Mac. The two men who had been inside the courtroom couldn't discuss the case with Lindsay but there was nothing stopping them from telling him. "Be honest, how is it going?"

Mac shook his head. "Atwood plead not guilty by reason of mental defect. I have no idea where he's going with it. The prosecutor took maybe twenty or thirty minutes with both witnesses and the rest of the time the defense attorney has been questioning them. I'm beginning to think the attorney has a mental defect. The jury appears to be as confused as the rest of us as to what angle he's trying for. It's almost like he's helping the prosecutor rather than Atwood."

Danny played with the menu on the table. "He really keep Carla on the stand for over two hours? I don't know if Lindsay can handle that. She's putting up a good front but I know this is getting to her."

Flack frowned. "Yeah but she's got one advantage over Carla. She's used to testifying. She'll have this guy for lunch."

The waitress appeared and they all quickly ordered hamburgers and fries. Once the waitress left, Danny glanced at the bathroom where Lindsay was still holed up. "Lets hope so cause I'm not sure how much of this lunch she's gonna be able to force down."