Chapter 5 At four thirty in the morning, Caitlin Morris hopped out of the cab at the Lincoln Hospital. She found her husband waiting outside, smoking a cigarette. It was a habit which disgusted her. "Robert, put that out. I know what you're up to and it's crazy", she yelled across the parking lot. Robert looked up and saw his wife. "Why did you come here? I told you I'd take care of it", he snapped. "I can't let you do it. I have to tell them it was me. I'll need you to take care of me, too", Caitlin whimpered. She reached out her hand and placed it on Robert's shoulder. Robert was about to pull her in for a reassuring hug, when the door opened and Doctor Murphy emerged. He eyed Caitlin suspiciously. "She's, er, my wife's sister", Robert stammered, aware one slip up could cost them both their freedom. "Your wife is out of surgery, Mr Morris. It went well. She's still unconscious but you can see her now". With that, Doctor Murphy left, and Robert took Caitlin to the room where their victim lay. They stopped outside the room and stared in at the mystery woman, who was now back from surgery. She had an oxygen mask over her mouth, and bandages wrapped around her head. Caitlin clapped hand to her own mouth and sobbed, realising the gravity of what she'd done. A passing nurse stopped. "It's okay, she came through the surgery well. She's in a coma, but that's normal, given the amount of head trauma". The three of them stared in through the glass panels, watching the monitors bleep and hum.

Robert wasn't sure how long they stood there. At some point, the nurse must have left, because it was just him, Caitlin, and mystery woman behind those glass doors. It wasn't until the tall detective called his name that he was brought back to earth. "Robert Morris?" he asked. Robert and Caitlin both looked up. "Are you Robert Morris? You phoned my station earlier. I'm Detective Flack. I'm here to connect a missing person's report with your phone call". Robert nodded, and indicated the glass doors. Flack looked into the room and stared, incredulous. "That's not Caitlin Morris, is it?" Robert shook his head, and Caitlin stepped forward. "I'm Caitlin Morris. I caused the accident. I'd had a long day at work, I haven't been sleeping. My mind wasn't on the road, and the next thing I know, I've hit someone. My husband just tried to save me. I'm the only one with an income, and if we lost that income, our whole world would fall apart", she admitted. Realising the selfishness of her words, she bit her lip. "I'm never going to forgive myself. Here was this poor woman fighting for her life, and I was more concerned with myself. I never gave her a second thought. She's got her whole life ahead of her". Flack nodded. "That's Lindsay Monroe. She's a crime scene investigator with NYPD. There are a lot of people looking for her. You'll need to come to the station with me". Robert looked at Lindsay. "I'd like to wait with her until her family arrives. I don't want her to be alone". Flack raised his eyebrows at the strange offer, pulled out his cellphone and dialled a number. "Don't go anywhere", he warned them both, as he walked down the corridor.

At 5am, Flack sent a squad car to collect Danny from his apartment, and promised to be on the front steps of the hospital to meet his friend. What Danny didn't notice on his arrival was the woman stood behind Flack, handcuffed. "Lindsay's in Intensive Care, Danny. Up the stairs, second floor", Flack said. Danny charged up the horrible, clinical stairs, with the horrible, clinical smell until he found the ward. "Where's Lindsay Monroe?" he asked the nurses at the front desk. They lead him to the glass fronted room. Unlike Robert, who could never bring himself to go into Lindsay's room, Danny charged right in and stopped by the end of the bed. "Montana, it's me. Open your eyes". She didn't. She was so quiet and still, it wasn't like her at all. What drugs had they put her on? He picked up her chart and noticed the surgery consent form. Someone had signed it. Somebody called Morris. He'd said he was her husband. Danny could feel the rage bubbling inside him. Lindsay had made him wait months before she'd even consider dating him, and this idiot called Morris just gets to pass himself off as her husband? He loved Lindsay, and Lindsay loved him. If anyone was going to be her husband…Danny stopped that thought right there, daring himself to finish the sentence. He clenched his fists and headed out to the nurses' station. "Is Mr Morris still here?" he asked, managing to hide his fury well. The young nurse shook her head. "No, Mr and Mrs Morris went downstairs with the officer. What a terrible tragedy – his wife causes the accident, and he tries, in such a misguided way, to save her". As he raced down the stairs, Danny could only imagine what he was going to say to this Morris guy. It definitely didn't involve a trip to the Russian Tea Rooms, or a night on Broadway. A lifetime underneath the sidewalks of Broadway, perhaps. He stopped at the front desk to ask Marcia who Mr Morris was, and she helpfully pointed him out. He was sitting on the stairs by the entrance, preparing to light another cigarette. When he noticed Danny, he stood up, quickly, as if he instinctively knew who Danny was. "I can't stop thinking about this mess. How is she?" he asked. Danny looked Robert in the eyes. "Quit thinking about my girlfriend, and think about how if anything happens to her, I'm not going to let you live in peace". He walked over to where Flack and Caitlin stood. "As for you", he snapped, "I suppose you were drunk driving or something. Couldn't keep your mind on the road, and now there's an innocent victim in a hospital bed". Caitlin's eyes filled with tears. "I was so tired, it was all my fault. My car, my driving. If any harm comes to her, I will never forgive myself", she whispered. Danny watched Robert rush to his wife's side and promise her that no harm would come to Lindsay, and how it was an accident. All he could do was look down at his shoes and try and deal with the whirling emotions in his head. Those two had each other. Who did he have? His girl was trapped in a comatose body. "We're sorry", Robert added, feebly. He put a consoling hand on Danny's shoulder and let Flack escort his wife to the police car. Danny brushed Robert's hand off his shoulder and watched as the car took Caitlin away. He thought it would give him some degree of relief to see this woman taken away, but it just seemed to make the pain in his heart much worse. Lindsay wouldn't want to break up a family, or make their pain any worse. He figured he ought to make an effort to make her proud. Reluctantly, he turned to Robert and acknowledged him with a nod.

By 8am, Stella and Mac had arrived. He'd not wanted to wake them by calling any earlier. Stella, having seen Danny's haggard appearance, offered to keep watch over Lindsay's progress. Doctor Murphy had ordered Danny to go home, get some sleep. It was probably the most impossible thing you could ask someone in his situation to do. Sure, he went home. He sat in the front room, watched some TV. Laughed at some of the commercials that Lindsay laughed at. Made himself some chicken soup using her recipe, and tried to lie down on the bed, but every time he started to get comfortable, he caught a trace of her perfume on the pillow, or thought he heard her singing in the bathroom. She was a terrible singer, and half the time she just made up the words, but that just made it more loveable. He couldn't bear to think how life would be if he didn't hear her ruin another great song. In the end, he lay on the bed and watched the sky get light, Lindsay's terrible singing running around his head, lulling him off to a deep sleep.