Chapter 21: Anything For Love

And I would do anything for love

I'd run right into hell and back

I would do anything for love

I'll never lie to you and that's a fact

But I'll never forget the way you feel right now—

Oh no--no way--

I would do anything for love

But I won't do that

It was Mac who gathered the women up; Mac who got them to the hospital. He had seen the whole chase from a similar perspective as Lindsay, although he had also seen Danny land safely on the next roof. In fact, Danny had landed hard on the suspect, pinning him to the ground. It was only when neither of them moved that Mac had started to run, at almost the same moment Lindsay's despairing cry had ripped through the building.

"Damn, damn, damn." It was an unending litany running through Mac's head as he organized a car to take them all to the hospital, lifted Lindsay out of Stella's protective arms, helped Stella to her feet, pushed the unresponsive Lindsay to the elevators and into the waiting car. "Damn, damn, damn; not the hospital. Not again."

He didn't know how to do this again: sit by a bedside, take evidence from a broken and abused body, wait for doctors and listen to beeping machines and feel that bitter burning in his nose and throat as he waited.

The three were silent, encouraging the driver to go faster by the tension in their bodies. When they finally go to the hospital where Danny had been taken, they moved with the cold precision of a trained team, which, Mac was proud to notice, they looked like.

Flack was waiting for them on the fourth floor. He grabbed hold of Lindsay's hands, but spoke to the commander. "He's okay. Mac, he's okay. He knocked himself unconscious when he hit the kid. Knocked the kid out too, so he gets the collar." Flack's eyes lit up. "You should have seen it, man. He FLEW. I've never seen anything like it!"

Mac's response was quiet enough to stop Flack from talking, "I did see it."

Stella put a hand on his arm, "Lindsay saw it too, Don. I was just listening on the blower."

"Oh God, Lindsay. You must have been freaking out. But the docs promised he'll be okay. He broke his arm and a couple of ribs, and he'll have a hell of a headache. They're going to keep him overnight." Flack looked at Mac. "It's Doc Chase, Mac, if you want to check with him. Come on, Lindsay, I'm going to get you a cup of coffee, then we'll go see Danny, okay?" Taking her hand, he led her away, talking to her in his deep soothing voice.

"Okay, Stella. What was that about being afraid you wouldn't be there when one of them jumped?" Mac's voice was suddenly shaky. He couldn't believe it. This time it wasn't serious, but Danny had still jumped off a freaking roof. It would be Mac's job to figure out if that was suicidal, pig-headed, or just competitive. He closed his eyes; had it always been this hard?

Stella led him to a chair. "I think that is the best thing Danny could have done – well, he could have avoided hitting his head, perhaps," she qualified it when Mac opened his eyes and stared at her in disbelief.

"He has been so subdued, so passive. It's not natural for Danny. Now, jumping off a roof, stupid though that is, is natural for Danny. So maybe, it's for the best."

"Okay," Mac said slowly. "I see your point. Still, could we avoid counseling our depressed CSIs to jump off a roof? I'd hate to have this set some kind of precedent!" He stood up to find the doctor, cheered by Stella's laughter. After he saw Danny, he would go home, call Peyton, and try to recover the equilibrium he felt was his naturally. It was something he had been sorely lacking the past few months.

Although Stella and Flack tried to convince Lindsay to go home with Stella, she quietly refused to leave the hospital. Knowing how stubborn she could be, they gave up the fight quickly, just making her promise to take a taxi home to get some sleep, and to eat the food they brought her from the cafeteria. As soon as they had left, she went into Danny's room and sat beside his bed.

"You are a complete, total, absolute …" her voice gave out.

"Hero?" He countered in a hoarse, tired voice. He did not open his eyes; she could tell from the crease in his forehead that the pain meds were not working yet.

"Ass." She snapped back. "What kind of idiot jumps off a building? Did you even know what you were jumping to?"

"Well, I thought I'd just ride the kid down if he was wrong." His grin cracked through the pain.

"Idiot. You idiot, Danny." Mindful of his aching head, she kept her voice down, but could not help dumping some of her fear and anger on him. Even as she told him off, her hand was wrapped around his, and she was pouring and helping him drink water, then smoothing his pillow and adjusting his blankets. He tolerated her fussing over him; she was trying to make him feel more comfortable, after all. How could he tell her there was nothing comfortable about her body close to his, the feel of her warm hand. He refused to open his eyes, not wanting her to read anything when he was getting knocked around by both the pain and the meds.

Finally, Lindsay was finished with her lecture and her ministrations. She sat quietly for a minute. "I saw you jump, you know."

Danny thought for a moment about the proximity of the Station to the roof he had ended the chase on, and figured out where she had been standing.

"How did it look?" That grin was back in place.

"Terrifying. Stupid. Cool." She had to admit it.

"Yeah, that's pretty much how it felt."

They sat in silence for a while longer. Danny drifted off, and Lindsay watched his breathing.

"Mac's right. I have to tell him. Either I trust him or not. If he lets me down, he's hardly the first."

Danny could practically hear her thinking. He could certainly feel her strain in the steadiness of her breathing, as if she were counting each breath, and the rigidity of the arm which was lying on the bed so she could hold his hand.

"Danny, do you want to go to sleep?"

"The doc said not too, right?"

"Yes, you have to try to stay awake. Will you stay with me?"

"Tell me a story and I will." When the words formed in his head, they were just words. When they crossed his lips, he knew it was a defining moment of their relationship. What she did would shape any future they might have.

With a sigh, Lindsay gave in all the way. "Yes, all right. Are you comfortable? Here goes … Once upon a time…"