Justify Your Action

By Dimgwrthien

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:NY or affiliates.

Mac turned the map toward Claire, pointing at one of the routes on it. It was only a faint line, so Claire had to stare at it for a minute to see it. The fact that the sun hadn't even risen didn't help her to see anything.

"All of the trees look the same," Claire told him, waving out through the windshield as she turned to the right. "I don't know how they expect us to know where to turn."

"It's not as though it's really a marked route," Mac told her, folding up the map and placing it on his lap. "It's a place to camp in the woods."

"And we're still not camping," Claire pointed out. She raised her eyebrows at Mac.

Mac smiled. "We're too used to cities. Both born and raised in Chicago, and now we're going to New York next month. We're too civil for staying out here overnight."

Claire laughed and turned up the radio. A country song was playing. "If you're going to drag me out of work, then make it for something, not just the afternoon!"

Grinning, Mac reached into the backseat where the cooler was, pulling out two water. He put one in the cup holder for Claire and opened the other one. When she turned to grab the bottle, however, Mac saw a nearing figure in the road.

"CLAIRE!" he shouted, and she jerked the steering wheel to the side, sending them both crashing to the left. A tree met the front of their car, shattering the windshield and the entire hood.

Mac coughed, surprised to taste blood and glass in his mouth. He sat it out the best he could out the shattered window, then looked at Claire. Her eyes were wide and afraid, body hunched over the steering wheel. Mac looked around her enough to see her legs crushed under her, bleeding. She turned to him slowly.

"You alright?" she whispered.

Mac ignored her and stroked her cheek before trying to find where the dashboard ended and his seatbelt began. He found the end of it and clicked, trying to unbuckle himself. When he couldn't, he grabbed one of the largest glass shards and tore at the belt, ignoring the stinging pain in his hand from it. Luckily, his door opened with only a bit of force.

"Claire, I'm calling the ambulance, alright? I'll get someone to get you out really soon." He flipped open his cell phone, leaving bloody fingerprints on it when he noticed a man standing near the car. Mac pointed a finger at him as though to tell him to stay still as he got through to 911. He told them the route they were on as well as answered their questions on the state of things. Then, he dropped his cell phone onto the ground as he approached the man.

"Is she alright?" the man asked.

Mac grabbed him roughly. "What the hell are you doing are you doing, walking around in black without a light?" he asked, his voice low and harsh. The man tried to get out of Mac's grip, but Mac didn't let go. The man was hardly a man, probably only around seventeen years old and scared-looking. Mac let go of him. "Make yourself useful and help me."

The boy nodded, following Mac to the opposite side of the car where Claire was stuck. Mac saw a few tears running down her face. "How long?" she asked in a cracked voice.

"Just a little while," Mac answered, kissing her forehead. He saw that her nose was broken from the steering wheel and bleeding. "I can try to get you out -"

"No," she mouthed, shaking her head. "No," Claire managed to say in a choked voice. "It hurts so bad - that'll only make it worse. I just need the hood moved enough to get out."

Mac stroked her hair back from her forehead, then pulled off his sweater, using it to clean up some of the blood on her. It became stained with red, running with the blue color.

"You need any help with anything?" the boy asked, looking nervous.

Mac glanced at him. "You can just stay back or get back home if you need to. I'm trusting the police with this."

The kid frowned. "Let me help you move the car back, at least."

Mac glanced at the kid once more, seeing how desperate he seemed to help. "Alright," he agreed, taking Claire's hand for a second. "I'm getting you out."

The two circled to the back of the car, grabbing at the intact bumper, pulling hard. The car edged back from the tree, and they kept pulling until it was several yards back.

"Thank you," Mac said to the boy, kneeling at the bumper, resting his head on the cool metal. "Jesus… I have no clue -" He shook his head.

The flashing lights of the ambulance came closer and Mac could see them pulling up by the reflection off of the car. Several paramedics exited, two moving towards Claire, starting to move the dashboard away from her body and pulling her out slowly. Mac waited until he saw one of her legs as she got out of her seat before looking at the boy again. He was already walking down the road away from them.

"Thank you again," Mac repeated. He honestly felt as though he owed something to the boy, even if he had been the cause of the accident. The boy turned and looked at him, walking backwards. He raised a hand as though in a wave. "I didn't get your name -"

"A name doesn't justify an action," the kid told him.

Mac felt one of the paramedics start to lead him toward the ambulance. He thanked the boy once more, slightly confused, but was met with no answer.

Letting the paramedic take him away, Mac went to check on his wife.