Title: Siúil A Rún

Disclaimer: Medium Slash. Explicit Violence. Angst. Language.

POV: Danny

Chapter Six: On The Job

A week later…

I slip my cell phone into my pocket and close the locker door. Finally, I'm back at work. My body is healing. My mind is getting there. The past week was like hell. Mac got the go ahead to give me the time off. What a bore. May I never have to watch that many episodes of "Judge Judy" again.

Feeling better than I have in some time I step out into the hall. The familiar noises of the lab welcome me. I feel like I've come home. Mac has me processing evidence for the first half of the day. After lunch he'll take me with him on his case. I know he's doing it to keep an eye on me. On my health; mental and physical. That's okay with me. I want to find the normalcy in life. Things have to return to normal. I'm ready to move on. I've grieved for Aiden, and for the most part, I'm passed my attack.

Lindsay greets me outside the Trace Lab. She smiles one of her mega-watt smiles. "Danny, I'm so glad to see you back. The lab just isn't the same without you."

I give her an honest smile. "It's good to be back. Oddly enough, I missed this place. I missed the creepy new coroner and even having Mac yelling at me."

She laughs softly. "Well, you know what they say about the heart growing fonder."

"That I do."

Hawkes walks up to us, placing a hand on Lindsay's shoulder. "Sorry, Danny, but I need her. We have new evidence in the case we're working. It's nice to have you back."

"Thanks," I reply.

Lindsay gives me a hug on impulse before following after the former coroner. Hawkes never used to leave the lab if he could help it. Now he spends more time out in the field than the rest of us. I shake my head at the irony of life as I enter the room to start my work.

First on my list is testing varying packets of cocaine to see what their levels of purity are. This takes about an hour to do. All the packets have a ninety percent purity rating. They weren't cut with anything else. This might just sway the case in Mac's direction. Pure cocaine can be deadly. I put the results in a manila case folder and pick up the next project.

A kitchen knife from Lindsay and Hawkes' case. To even an untrained eye the blade is covered in blood. I test it anyway. The DNA will have already been run. They'll want fingerprints and anything else that I can possibly find. I set about to dust the handle for prints when I notice that it's loose. I manage to pry the knife a little farther out of the handle. To my surprise I find more blood and a single small fiber trapped in it. I pick up my tweezers to pull it free.

The door swings open. "Hello, Messer."

"What can I do for you Stella?" I ask in a neutral voice. Maybe if I'm nice to her she'll be nice to me. I pluck the fiber while I wait for her to answer me. I slip it into a clear bag.

"Have you tested my green substance yet?"

"No, but I can do it next."

"Why didn't you start with it?" She asks with a bit of anger in her voice.

I look at her. "Stella, what the hell is your problem lately? What did I do to deserve your wrath?"

She walks up to me. "Like you don't know," she nearly yells.

"If I knew I wouldn't be asking." The anger in me is dying to be released. I can feel it clawing at its cage.

"It was always you and Aiden. Every day. Aiden, Aiden, Aiden. I thought that when she got fired things would change. No, of course not, what a fool I was to believe that. You still talked to her. Still saw her. She was getting on my nerves. I wanted her gone," she explains.

"Stella-"

"I never killed her. I would never want her to have died. Part of me feels responsible for her death. Like I had a hand in it when I didn't," she sobs. I can tell she's holding back tears. "When Lindsay transferred in I was a bit worried. But the two of you hated each other. Something that worked for me. Until Aiden died. Next thing I know you two are the best of friends." She takes a deep breath before continuing on. "When I found out about you and Flack, it was just too much. I want you to notice me. That's all."

Confusion takes over the anger. "Notice you? I always notice you, Stella. Who wouldn't?"

"But you don't notice me the way I want you to." All the anger has left her.

Her words sink in bringing with them a realization. I place a re-assuring hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry that I don't feel that way. It doesn't matter though. You don't really like me that way either."

"What are you talking about? Of course I do," she defends.

I smile. "It's Mac that you like and you're trying to hide it. Being the professional that you are you see office romance as something sinful. Especially with your boss. I got news for you, Stella; Mac likes you."

She shakes her head in disbelief. "No he doesn't."

I sigh with slight frustration. "Oh come on, why do you think I was always teamed with Aiden? Mac wanted to be near you. To spend time with you. For a smart lady you're blind about how people feel."

"I...uh" She lets her gaze fall to the floor while blush of embarrassment washes over her cheeks.

I chuckle. "What a relief. I'm glad that is what the problem was. For a while there I feared you would skin me alive."

"Oh, Danny, I'm so sorry," she apologizes. "This is my all fault."

"Just promise me that you'll be nicer to me now. And that you will set your sights on Mac."

She hugs me as a reply. The last few weeks have been awful. Now things are finally starting to look up. I'm afraid though. Will they continue to get better or will they get worse again? Like they say the calm before the storm. Things have been great between Flack and me. I haven't told him about that night and I know that it bugs him. Deep down inside I'm hoping it will all just disappear. I want to forget it. To make myself believe that it never happened.

The door to the lab opens. Mac clears his throat. "Stella, will you excuse us?"

"Sure, I have some things to deal with." She quickly departs.

Mac makes sure the door closes behind her. I feel like a bomb is about to be dropped. "Danny, we need to talk."

"What's up, Mac?" I sound calm. Meanwhile my heart is barely beating.

"A call came in reporting shots fired. The cops responded to the scene. When they found blood they called me, knowing that I would be the one to take the case," he explains.

I feel cold. I don't want to hear the words Mac is going to tell me. Best to do it like ripping off a band-aid. "Don't dink me around, Mac."

"Danny, I don't know how to tell you this." I can hear the emotion in his voice.

"It's Flack isn't it? That's why the cops called specifically for you. Please just tell me that he's okay."

"I'm sorry, Danny. I can't tell you that. As of right now Flack is a missing person."