I would like to thank just a reader for their insightful reviews. Their critisim has been very helpful and if it weren't for them this story would really suck. I'm rewriting this chapter at their request. I hope they like this version better. This chapter is dedicated to them. just a reader,would you be interested in being my beta? You really know what you're talking about. Send me an e-mail if you're interested. I don't own these guys and apologise if they are out of character.
Danny was sitting on the railing of the fire escape, his legs dangling over the edge. His heart was pounding in his chest, it felt as if he were drowning. He looked at the ground below. Was he high up enough? Would the fall be fatal? Danny chewed on his lip. There wasn't much time to think, Mac would come back into the living room soon and notice that Danny was gone. If he was going to jump he had to do it now. He started to slide forward until he was dangling by his hands. He slowly losened his grip. For a split second he started to fall when a hand grabbed his wrist stopping him. It was Mac, of course. Danny struggled to break free. "Let me go Mac!" But Mac just tightened his grip and tried to pull Danny up.
"Forget it Danny. I'm not going to let you die. Please stop struggling. Let me help you." Mac was leaning over the edge of the railing hanging onto Danny's wrist with one hand while hanging onto the railing with the other. The way Danny was sturggling Mac was bond to lose his grip on him. But if Mac let go of the railing, he stood a very good chance of falling himself. How could I have let things get so bad? he wondered. Mac's eyes stung with tears. Please God don't let me drop him. Mac tried to pull Danny up while Danny tried to pry Mac's fingers off his wrist. For one horrible moment, Mac felt his grip slip. He let go of the railing and held on to Danny with both hands. He tried again to pull Danny up. It wasn't working, Danny was fighting too hard. "You're not going to fall Danny, I promise." Mac was scared. He didn't know what to do, Danny was determined to die. Mac had no idea how to get through to him.
Danny was angry and upset. He wanted the pain to stop, and death was the only way. Why couldn't Mac understand that? He had felt such hope when Mac started to lose his grip, but now Mac was hanging on with both hands and his grip was tighter than ever. He was as determined to save Danny's life as Danny was to end it. Danny couldn't help but wonder who would win. Mac was shouting something at him, but Danny wouldn't listen. He couldn't let Mac talk him out of this. It had to end now. "...know what it's like to think your life is over, when Claire died I wanted to die too. But I got help Danny. Because I had friends who cared about me. You've got friends too Danny, whether you know it or not. Flack, Aiden, Stella, Nick, Me, even Hawkes. We all care about you Danny. Please don't do this." Mac sounded like he was crying. Danny stopped struggling and looked up. Mac really was crying, and Danny could see the pain in his eyes. Mac was finally able to pull Danny to safety. They sat down on the stairs and Danny cried into Mac's shoulder.
Mac hugged his friend tightly and thanked God that Danny was alive. Too close, that was way too close. Mac thought. And it wasn't over yet. Danny was still in danger, he could try again and next time Mac wouldn't be able to save him. Danny needed some serious help. He had to get Danny to a hospital, have him put on suicide watch."Shhhh...shhhhhh...it's going to be okay, Danny. You'll see." Mac soothed. "Think you can stand up? No tricks now." Danny nodded and with Mac's help got to his feet. Mac led him back into the apartment and closed the window. "Where are your keys?" Danny pointed to the counter top. Mac grabbed the keys and started to lead Danny out the door when a thought occured to him. "Danny, empty your pockets. Now." There was no point in hiding them anymore. Danny removed the bottle of pills from his pocket. Mac gripped Danny's shoulder. "Did you take any?" Danny slowly shook his head. "But you were going to, I interrupted you, didn't I?" Danny nodded and looked down at the floor. Meanwhile Mac's stomach was tying itself in knots. If I had been five minutes later...
They left the apartment and Mac locked the door. As they walked down the stairs Mac held on to Danny's arm to keep him from bolting. When they got to Mac's car Danny asked where they were going. "You need help Danny, I am going to take you somewhere so you can get it." Danny tried to break free. "Not this again. Get in the car, Danny." Danny shook his head. "It's going to be okay, trust me please." Danny swallowed hard and got in. They drove in silence until finally they arrived at what looked like a hospital. "Come on, we're here."
Danny felt panic rise in his heart. This was a mental facility. Mac couldn't be serious, he wasn't really going to leave Danny here was he? The look on Mac's face said that yes, he was. Danny shook his head. Mac got out of the car and came around to the passenger side. He opened the door and grabbed Danny's arm. He pulled Danny out of the car and tried to get him into the building. It wasn't easy. Danny really didn't want to go. "Please Mac, don't leave me here. I won't try to kill myself again I promise, please don't do this." Danny's cries were breaking Mac's heart. How could he convince Danny that this was for his own good?
Mac was able to get Danny through the door and explained what was going on to the hospital staff. They took over, restraining Danny and giving him an injection of some kind of sedative. Mac had no idea what it was but it worked fast. Danny's breathing became more shallow and his eyes slowly closed. He mumbled something that Mac didn't catch and was wheeled away on a gurney. After Danny had been officially checked in, Mac was told he had to leave. He got into the car and drove aimlessly for awhile. He needed time to think. He was going to have to explain to the team, and to Nick back in Vegas, what had happend. Mac wasn't quite ready to do that just yet. It had been his training that had kept him from panicking when he saw Danny start to fall, and it had kept him calm for the duration of the emergency. Now that it was over his nerves were shot to hell. He wasn't in any hurry to relive that experience. Mac knew that he had done the right thing, that Danny was going to get the help he needed, but he still felt guilty that he hadn't done something sooner. If he had, then Danny wouldn't have needed to be placed on suicide watch. Mac's cell phone rang. It was Flack, he and the rest of the team wanted to know what had happend with Danny. Mac sighed. "I'll be there in a few minutes, I'll tell you then." He discounected the call. The team wasn't going to like what he had to say.