Here With Me
Chapter 2 : Hold Me Close...


Thank you sooo much to everyone who reviewed, it means the world to me and you are the best! There is some Dna this chapter for Bleedingmascara as a birthday gift, hope you like! It's still up to you whether this ends up Danny/Aiden and Flack/Lindsay or Flack/Aiden and Danny/Lindsay. Hopefully I'll be able to update again before I go away on Sunday. Please review, luv Vikki xx.


When it became to difficult for Flack to talk he and Aiden sat in companiable silence, she gently stroked the back of his hand with her thumb as she held it in hers. All she could hear now was the sound of Flack's breathing and the technical whirring of the machines that he was wired up to. Things seemed to have become quieter in the corridor and Aiden wondered if they had decided to call it a night knowing that Don wouldn't be alone now. Somehow Aiden doubted this knowing how the unit stuck together through so much, although not when it was her turn to be fired and then things were very different. Aiden sighed, what mattered now was Flack and not what had happened in the past. Flack's eyes were closed now and she guessed that he was trying to sleep. The silence seemed to become more intense and Aiden felt herself panic.

"Don! Don!" She stood up and in her hurry she knocked over the chair she had been sitting on. Her fear taking over, Aiden hit the panic button and waited for a nurse to arrive.

"What's wrong?" The blonde haired nurse asked when she rushed into the room less than a minute later.

"He's not breathing right." Aiden said, her voice a semi tone in her panicked state.

"Can you give us some space?" The nurse asked but Aiden knew it was an order not a question. She simply nodded and exited the room, trying to steady her own breathing.

"What's the matter?" Stella asked, leaping forward towards Aiden as she entered the corridor.

"He stopped breathing." She said and was met with astounded stares from the others.

"What? But he was doing okay just now." Lindsay piped up.

Aiden took the comment the wrong way. "You think this is my fault?" She demanded, her jet lag and the emotional stress from the day taking it's toll on her. "I knew it was a mistake to come back." With that Aiden Burn stormed out of the door.

Lindsay looked confused, that wasn't what she had meant. She was just shocked that Flack's stabilished condition had suddenly gone down hill. Danny touched her arm to let her know it wasn't her fault.

"I'll go after her." Stella sighed, her own fatigue catching up with her.

"No it's okay Stella, you stay here. I'll go." Danny followed in Aiden's wake as he tried his hardest to catch up with her.

"Aiden?"

"Leave me alone." She snapped, carrying on walking at a pace which was more similar to a run.

"Aiden!" Danny shouted, he grabbed her by the arm and made her face him. She could make no attempt to hide the tears running down her face.

"Just leave me alone." She said but her voice was close to breaking.

"I'm not leaving you alone." He said firmly. "Don is dying upstairs and I will not let you walk away from me again!" The conviction in Danny's words were enough to stop Aiden from trying to run again.

"I'm so sorry." She said, breaking down into a fresh wave of tears. "I shouldn't have spoken to Lindsay like that."

"It's okay." Danny soothed, taking her face in his hands. "She knows you didn't mean it."

"What if he doesn't make it?" Aiden asked as more tears escaped from her eyes.

Danny took Aiden in his arms and held her close to him. "Don't think like that Aid. Don's a fighter."

"I know." Aiden smiled at the memories she had of Danny and Don back when she was a CSI.

"You wanna come back upstairs?" Danny asked putting his arm around her shoulders.

Aiden shook her head. "No, I don't think I could face it."

"Come on Aid, Don would want you to be there."

There was no way that Aiden could argue with that and she let Danny lead her back up the stairs to Flack's ward.

When Aiden and Danny entered the waiting room where the other CSIs were waiting an awkward silence elapsed. Mac finally broke it by asking Aiden questions about what she was doing now. Aiden replied as well as she could but since being fired she hadn't really done much with her life. Maybe that was why she was able to drop everything and come back to New York when Mac had told her about what had happened to Flack. Lindsay avoided being drawn into the conversation and Aiden knew that she would have to apologise to her later. After what seemed like an eternity a nurse finally emerged from Flack's room. Silence fell over them as they waited for the nurse to deliver the news.

"You'll be relieved to know that Don has regained normal breathing patterns and he is now responding to the treatment. However, as you probably know the first twenty four hours is the most important time and it is important that Don gets plenty of rest and not too much excitement." She looked pointedly at Aiden and Lindsay who blushed, clearly their disagreement had been overheard. "It would do you good if you got some rest as well." She smiled briefly and left them alone.

"Well I don't know about you lot but I'm staying here." Mac said, readjusting his position on the chair to try to make himself more comfortable.

"Me too." Stella agreed and Sheldon and Lindsay nodded too.

"I think I'm going to need some sleep but I'll be back in the morning." Danny promised, stifling a yawn.

"Yeah me too, the jet lag is catching up with me." Aiden said. "I'm going to find a motel and I'll be back in the morning so you guys can get some rest."

Aiden and Danny left the hospital and went out into the cool city air, it felt refreshing and invigorating after the suffocating hospital. Aiden shivered, not from the cold though.

"You cold?" Danny asked.

"Nah I'm okay, hospitals give me the creeps." She said.

"Me too." Danny nodded, his eyes clouding with his uncried tears. "My brother Louie died here only a few months ago."

Aiden's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh Danny, I'm so sorry, I didn't know! I would've come back sooner."

"It's okay." He gave her a weak smile. "And I'm okay."

Aiden got out her phone and Danny looked at her in puzzlement.

"What you doin' Aid?" He asked.

"Trying to get signal so I can find a motel." She replied.

"Don't be stupid, you're coming home with me." Danny replied, linking arms with her and guiding her to his car.

"Are you sure?" Aiden asked, she would prefer sleeping at Danny's than in a motel somewhere, though she doubted she'd be able to sleep much with everything that was going on.

They drove to Danny's house talking about the old times and what had happened since. They had forgotten how much they enjoyed each others company.

"I'll take the couch." Danny offered when they got back to his place. He went to get the spare bed linen.

"No, I insist. You've done enough for me by letting me stay here. I'll take the couch." She said firmly, taking the covers from him.

Danny knew better than to argue and they both went to their beds. Not long later Aiden woke up screaming from her troubled sleep. Danny came rushing into the room, anxious to know what was wrong.

"Aid, you okay?" He asked, for what seemed like the hundreth time in the past few hours.

"Just a dream." She replied, her breathing slowly returned to normal.

Danny sat next to her on the couch and pulled Aiden into his arms. "Don'll be okay, he'll fight this all the way."

"Yeah I know, I just feel bad for not being there for him...or you for that matter."

They hugged for what seemed like hours and when he knew Aiden was okay Danny began to slowly slip away back to his bed.

"Don't go." Aiden whispered so he didn't.

Somehow as their emotions took over Danny and Aiden's lips met in an uncertain kiss which turned passionate more quickly than they could have imagined. It might have been wrong but at that moment it just felt so right.