Title: Siúil A Rún

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

POV: Danny

Chapter Nine: Tanglewood

Few hours later…

I'm sitting in the hospital waiting for Mac to get here. I know that he'll have loads of questions to ask me. I sigh as pace the halls of the hospital. The inside of the building is all too familiar. In roughly two months I've seen more of the inside of this hospital than I did when I was a kid. I feel I should know all the doctors and nurses by their first names. Mac comes waltzing down the hall with an air of importance mixed with a pinch of anger. Hawkes and Stella follow behind him a few steps. The last time I saw Lindsay was at the lab, after I had regained consciousness. She made herself non-existent when the ambulance showed up.

"What happen, Messer?" Those are the first words out of Mac's mouth. He doesn't sound pleased at all.

"You don't even ask if I'm okay or how Flack is doing, you just head straight into the action?" My voice is surprisingly raspy.

"I told you to stay at the lab to keep you out of trouble and somehow you end up here. I want an explanation. Now."

Stella and Hawkes stand uncomfortably behind him. I shake my head in disbelief. Why am I shocked that Mac is all business? He's always that way. Sympathy stands firmly in second place. Best to give him what he wants.

"Sonny Sassone showed up at the lab with Detective Flack. He had Flack handcuffed and was holding him hostage with a gun. Hawkes and Lindsay walked in on the standoff which surprised Sonny." Mac listens intently. "However he didn't falter once. When he turned to them he made sure to keep Flack well within my range of fire. Things progressed. Sonny finally decided to let Flack go. He made him walk backwards toward me. This again kept Flack in my line. Being the twisted fuck that he is Sonny shot Flack and Hawkes shot Sonny," I finish.

There are still so many questions waiting to be asked. Mac wants to ask them. I can tell. But he wants to ask them in private. There are specific things that he wants to know. I close my eyes. Stella takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.

"How are you feeling?" She asks.

I lift up the end of my shirt to show her the white bandaging above my hip. "I caught the bullet that went through Flack. Went in about half an inch."

Hawkes smiles. "You have the worst luck with getting shot."

"I didn't get shot the first time. The bullet grazed me."

"How is Flack?" Stella questions.

I sit in one of the plastic chairs. "The bullet was a through-and-through. He was lucky that it missed all his vital organs. The doctors say that there's a good chance he'll recover fully. He did lose a lot of blood and there is a slight risk of internal bleeding."

"He'll be fine," Stella soothes as she sits beside me.

Mac looks at me. "Get up, Danny. I need to talk to you in private."

I climb from the chair to follow after him. I feel a bit of a burning sensation in my side. I thought having a bullet graze my side was bad enough. Feeling it tear through the flesh like a hot poker is nearly unbearable. I can't imagine the pain Flack is going through. Lying there in that damn hospital bed because someone from my past felt the need to torture me. Following after Mac puts a flutter in my chest. It's not a good feeling. I miss the way Flack makes me feel inside. Waking up in the morning with him next to me. Being surrounded by everything that his purely him. I wish I could whisk him away from this place. He'd heal better in my hands.

We reach a quiet section of the hospital and Mac turns toward me. "Danny, why was Sonny Sassone at the lab today?"

Have we not gone over this before? "I told you, Mac."

"Lindsay called me before I got here. She ran the bullets from his gun through the database. She pulled up quite a few records, some of which I found to be very interesting. Would you like to know what they were?" He asks. The tone of his voice and his posture tell me that I need to be careful. I'm always walking on eggshells around Mac.

"Yes," I say shortly. The fewer words the better.

"First my eye caught the robbery-turned-murder that you were involved in. The same one that had Flack conveniently occupied. He never saw the perp that you claimed shot you. Next the bullet was matched to the same one used to kill Aiden. You were there too," he remarked. "Now I leave you behind at the lab and Sonny just happens to show up. I want an explanation, Messer."

My jaw drops open. My own boss is accusing me. "How can you seriously consider that I would have a hand in murdering Aiden? She was my best friend. And I would never dream of harming Flack. He means too much to me," I protest.

"When I hired you, you told me that you stayed out of the Tanglewood Boys. Sonny seems to be following you around lately. Why?"

I shrug. "I really don't know, Mac. You have to believe me."

I can't believe that my boss thinks I'm guilty of murder. In all the years that I've known Mac Taylor he has never questioned me like this before. We've had our differences. But who doesn't? It's a stab at our friendship, and trust in each other, to hear the things on his mind. How can he think so poorly of me all of a sudden? I bite my tongue to keep from saying something that I'll regret.

"Daniel, you have to admit, you have been acting strange a lot within the last month or so. I don't know if it's because you are having problems with your relationship or something else. What I do know is that Sonny has not been a problem for almost a year and half. Why would he start attacking people connected to you without motivation?" He asks. He keeps his hand clasped together.

I shake my head. "I really don't know what to say to that. I can't believe that you think so low of me." I throw my hands up in disgust and turn to walk away.

"I'm not done with you, Messer," Mac calls after me.

I look over my shoulder. "Fuck you, Mac."

With anger, confusion, and disbelief I storm away from my boss and former friend. Hawkes and Stella act as though they saw nothing. As though nothing transpired. I turn the corner to look for a doctor. Before I leave I want to make sure that Flack is okay. The third doctor I question gives me the answers that I'm looking for. His condition is stable. The doctor offers me a visit with Flack but I refuse the gesture of kindness. I don't want to see him in a frail condition. I want to hold the image of him as a fit cop hunting down the bad guys. With my keys in hand I hop into my ride to head toward my next destination. I would have stayed with Flack until he woke up but not with Mac's accusations dancing in my face.

The drive isn't as long as figure it will be. I climb out of my car and close the door quietly behind me. The sounds of the city echo in my ears and in my mind. The unexpected shrill cry of a falcon makes me jump. With a heavy heart I follow a paved path that's being slowly overtaken by grass. All around me various sizes of stone mark little memorials.

I stop in front of a low-to-the-ground stone polished to shine its brightest. A bouquet of roses and lilies lies on top of it. I brush them aside ever so slightly to peer at the name. I sit on the grass. We all live a great life with many accomplishments. We touch lives whether we know it or not. And all we get to show for it is a stone with our name. A simple marker is all that is left for us. I place a hand on the cool stone.

"I'm sorry, Aiden. I couldn't stand to attend your funeral. There were too many memories. There still is. My visit is over do and I'm sorry for that too." My fingers brush the soft petals of a red rose. "Someone has been out to see you. At least you haven't been alone. Wish I had thought to bring you something."

The sun plays a game of hide-and-seek with the clouds. The shadow caused by the passing cloud gives me a chill. My eyes shift from the headstone to the blue sky as the sun comes out of hiding. The warmth washes over me with a lack of comfort. There's no holding the pain inside. When I look back at the small polished memorial it's through tear filled eyes.

"I wish you were here right now, Aiden," I sob. "I need someone to talk to. Life has gone so wrong since your death. The day you were taken from me I was going to tell you some happy news. Flack and I are together. I should be happy." The sun disappears behind another cloud. "Now he's lying in a hospital bed because someone from my past has an itchy trigger finger. Mac thinks I'm responsible for it, and that I killed you too."

All the emotions that have been stewing from the last few days finally boil over. I slam my open palm on the cold lifeless stone. "Why the hell did you have to leave? I need you here. I need someone to help me make sense of this fucking situation. How could you leave me?" I yell. "How could you just leave me?" I whisper as I bury my head in my hands.