Mac was in rare form when the two CSIs arrived. He didn't say anything to them, just motioned for them to join him and the rest of the team in his office. Lindsay looked around at the gathered players for this little drama and could tell that most of them had been dragged out of bed against their will. Sheldon in particular looked exhausted but that was because he had worked a 4 to 12 that had in all likelihood gone into overtime.

The minute she entered the room all eyes seemed to be on her and her neck. She was glad for the scarf hiding her bruises. She didn't want them worrying on her account and all this attention was making her slightly uncomfortable.

Danny walked in right behind her and stood close to her. She was more grateful than he could ever know for his supportive presence at her back.

Her gaze scanned the room and came to rest on each of her colleagues' faces. Stella had a thunderous look in her eyes but when she caught Lindsay's they softened for an instant.

Hawkes still looked tired but drummed up a small smile for her and Flack was unfortunately absent. He was on leave until he fully recovered from the blast that had put him in the hospital and she found that she missed his easy banter and smile. She considered him a good friend and she had a feeling she could use all the friends she had right about now.

Lindsay turned her attention to Mac and found the look on his face unreadable and a little scary. She took a deep breath and almost jumped when Danny placed a calming hand on the small of her back.

The way they were positioned in the room kept the gesture hidden but she was grateful none the less.

"Thank you all for coming in so early. I know that a couple of you have pulled a great deal of overtime lately and I'm afraid that I am going to have to add more."

He met each of their eyes in turn and continued.

"We've got a problem. Carl Riker has taken over as counsel for Alex Davis and according to the A. D.A. they have already filed to get the evidence Lindsay found thrown out. He is trying to get this case dismissed before it ever sees a jury and he has decided that the best way to do that is to attack the creditability of this lab."

Stella muttered a low, anger curse, Sheldon sighed, and it was probably a good thing that Lindsay couldn't see Danny's face, because he looked capable of murder.

"It gets worse," Mac said and to Lindsay's surprise he focused his steely gaze on her.

"He is going to claim that Lindsay acted in an unprofessional and blatantly sexual manner towards his client during the interrogation, causing him to temporary loose control of his faculties. He is trying to make it look like the attack was your fault. He's going to bring up that incident, Lindsay," he warned.

Lindsay paled. He couldn't, he wouldn't, and how the hell did he even find out?

Danny kept his hand on her back but stepped forward a little. Rage colored his words.

"What the hell Mac, you saw the tape. Lindsay did everything by the book. This is complete bullshit."

"I agree but there are extenuating circumstances." Mac's eyes bored into her and she flinched. "I'm sorry but you have to tell them. They are going to need to know in case Riker decides to leak this to the press."

"Mac, I can't…" she started to say but she couldn't get the words out. His face morphed into a sympathetic expression.

"I know this is hard but you can trust them with this. You trusted me," he pointed out.

She tightly wrapped her arms around herself and sighed; he really did look sorry. She had hoped that the only person in her department who would ever know about this particular incident in her past would be Mac, but now she was being forced to tell everyone she worked with. She couldn't believe she had to dredge all this back up and her stance shifted towards defensive.

Lindsay took a deep breath and met the eyes of each of her colleagues, except for one. She couldn't look at Danny and get through this story. She was too afraid of how this revelation would change his perception of her.

"When I first started working as a CSI for Gallatin County a colleague of mine took exception to my enthusiasm. He resented the fact that my work was getting recognition from our mutual supervisor and decided that I must be doing something other than being a through investigator and accused myself and my supervisor of sexual misconduct."

There were gasps and mummers at this revelation and Lindsay briefly closed her eyes. When she opened them she had to pick a point on the wall behind Mac to focus on, too afraid of what she might see if she looked at her co-workers.

"The fall out was epic. People I worked with and trusted didn't know what to believe and it didn't help that I happened to be friends with my boss. Suddenly innocent gestures and smiles took on new meanings as the gossip spread. The worst part was that he was married and his wife…she confronted me, believing that I was having an affair with her husband. None of it was true but the rumors had already done so much damage. If it wasn't for the colleague who accused me getting caught tampering with evidence then the whole thing might have ruined both of our careers."

The room went deathly quiet and she was afraid to see the suspicion and speculation that she was sure would be her colleagues' faces. She was angry, angry at Davis for attacking her, at Riker for trying to Houdini his client out of prison, and at Mac for making her tell this story that she had buried deep with in her past and her subconscious.

Stella was the first one who broke the silence.

"You told Mac all this before he hired you?"

Lindsay took a deep fortifying breath, looked right at Stella, and nodded. To her great relief she didn't see any of the resentment she had expected in the older woman's eyes. Instead she found compassion and righteous anger.

"Then that is good enough for me."

She gifted Stella with a grateful smile and shifted her gaze to Hawkes, who was also gazing at her with sympathy. Finally, she looked at Mac, who thankfully had already known the story, and was relieved when he gave her an encouraging nod.

That only left one person and his possible reaction scared her more than the others combined. She turned her head so she could look over her shoulder at Danny and found a blank mask staring back at her. She couldn't read his expression and it made her uneasy but she took comfort in the fact that his hand was still firmly at her back. Still, she desperately wanted to know what he was thinking.

"I know that was hard for you Lindsay, I'm sorry," Mac said simply. She nodded but kept her own face blank of emotion. She was afraid that if she thought too much she would do something completely humiliating, like start crying.

"So Mac, what's the plan. We can't let Riker and Davis get away with this crap," Stella said and Mac smiled.

"We aren't, believe me. Stel, I want you and Hawkes to drop what you have been doing and focus on the Davis case. We may need new evidence to bring against him if Riker actually manage to pull the wool over some judge's eyes and gets the evidence we have thrown out. I want to keep this guy in jail. Danny you and Lindsay stay here for a minute. We need to talk."

Puzzled they both nodded and smiled at Stella and Hawkes as they left. Stella grasped Lindsay's hands in one of her own before going and whispered.

"You are not going to face this bastard alone."

Lindsay didn't know what to say but the grateful expression on her face was better than any words she could have come up with. The older woman smiled, squeezed her hand gently, and left.

When she and Danny were the only two left in the room, Mac motioned them forward to sit in the seats the Stella and Hawkes had just vacated.

He eyed them both for a moment and they shifted uncomfortably when he leaned forward.

"I spoke to the A.D.A earlier. She is concerned about the tactics that Riker is using to get Davis off the hook. She still needs you to testify but she wants to be the one to put you on the stand, preferably after a slew of other witnesses. This gives us some time."

He shifted his focus to Danny, his eyes boring into the younger man.

"Now, I can't suggest that you actively try to dodge any summons that the defense attorney might try to serve you with. That would be interfering with the rights of Mr. Riker's client."

Danny's eyes widened behind his glasses; he couldn't mean? Lindsay was looking back and forth at the two men with a lost expression, while a slow, mischievous grin was transforming Danny's face.

"You know Mac, I gotta go check on somethin'. Can we pick this up later?"

Mac's eyes twinkled as he nodded to his CSI. He then started to straighten some papers on his desk. He looked up a few moments later to find Lindsay watching him. He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You still here?" She started in surprise and her puzzled frown grew deeper. Mac smiled.

"I suggest that you go and find out what Danny is up to. You might find it interesting."

Lindsay shot him one last perplexed look, thinking that in the last few minutes he must have lost his mind. She got up and left, but a strange sound accosted her when she reached the door way and caused her to pause.

It was Mac and he was whistling.