Okay, here it is! And yes, we're still in New York. I don't own these characters and apologise if anybody is out of character.
"We need to talk Danny, it's important." was the first thing Mac said when Danny let him in. Danny held up his hand. "Don't bother Mac, I know why you're here. Didn't trust me to show up, did ya? Can't say I blame you." Danny went over to the table and picked up his badge and gun. "I just want to say I'm sorry that I let you down. It has been an honor working with you, and I understand why you have to do this so here." Danny held out the items to Mac, but Mac pushed Danny's hands away. Danny was confused. "I'm not here to fire you Danny, you're still a member of this team. I'm here because I'm worried about you." Danny swallowed. Mac sounded so sincere but...Danny still couldn't believe it. Mac was worried? Mac actually cared? It didn't seem possible. Mac himself had said that they weren't friends anymore. "We'll see" had always translated to "never" in Danny's past. Danny kept his eyes glued to the floor. He was afraid of what he'd find if he looked Mac in the eyes-and afraid of what Mac would see in his. "Danny, I want to apologise to you. I should have made it more clear that I was on your side during the Minhas case, maybe if I had you wouldn't have disobeyed my orders about keeping your mouth shut." Mac cleared his throat. "I lied to you Danny. I still consider you a friend. That's why I gave you such a cold response. I thought it would keep you from messing up again. I don't want to have to fire you Danny, honest I don't. You're too good a CSI -too good a person to throw your life away.Will you look at me when I'm talking to you? No-I want you to look me in the eyes." Danny shook his head. He checked his gun to make sure it wasn't loaded then tried again to hand it and the badge to Mac. "Danny I don't want them, they're yours." Mac was starting to feel scared. Danny's body was shaking with silent sobs and he kept holding out his badge and gun to Mac. "Take them, damn you! Take them!" Danny shouted. "I can't take it anymore Mac, everybody's watching me, waiting for me to mess up again. I keep trying to do the right thing, honest I do. B-but I always end up doing something wrong. I don't even trust myself anymore Mac." The pain in Danny's voice was almost unbearable. Mac struggled to keep his own voice calm, not wanting to upset Danny further. "Take it easy, Danny. Not everybody's waiting for you to mess up again, honest they're not." Danny gave no sign that he heard Mac. Mac tried again. "Please listen to me. I know you're in pain, I want to help you-we all do." Mac added, refering to the rest of the team. "But you have to reach out to us Danny, we can't help you if you don't trust us." Danny shook his head. "You don't understand Mac, I can't trust people. Last time I trusted someone I got burned real bad. It's too dangerous, I can't risk it." This was news to Mac, although it did explain why Danny had trust issues. Mac wanted to ask what had happend, but this was not the best time to be asking. "I'm sorry that had to happen to you Danny, but I'm not like that. You know I'm not. Yes, people are going to let you down, it happends sometimes. But you don't stop trusting, that's no way to live." Danny lowered his hands to his sides. He let the gun and badge fall to the floor. "I-I'm sorry Mac." he whispered. "I want to trust you, but I just-I can't." Mac could tell he was losing Danny, losing him fast. He tried to put a hand on Danny's shoulder but Danny jerked away. Mac stared at Danny's bandaged hand. "Tell me how you hurt your hand Danny." Danny shook his head. "You did it on purpose, didn't you?" This time Danny didn't respond at all. Tears were streaming down his face and his nose was running, but Danny did nothing about it. "I'll take that as a 'yes'" Mac said. He went into the bathroom to get some toilet paper so Danny could clean his face. Turning on the light, Mac saw the broken mirror. "So, that's how." he whispered. Grabbing the toilet paper Mac went back into the living room, but Danny was nowhere to be found. It was then that Mac noticed that the window was open.