Thanks to Aly and lily moonlight for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the last chapter!

Chapter Thirty Eight: This Is Who I Am

5 months later…

"Hey, Lindsay, I think I might have caught something!" Danny shouted from the deck.

Lindsay hurried over to him. They had been fishing off the lake for the afternoon. Samantha had visited that day, and was also trying her luck at fishing. She was still living in Bozeman, but soon would leave off to New York, where things were going back to normal again. "Are you sure you didn't just hook your line on a rock or something?"

Danny shook his head. He had actually caught his line on a rock earlier that day, and Samantha had already caught a few fish. This would be Danny's first if it wasn't a rock. He reeled his line in, and surprisingly, he didn't catch a rock. "Beat that Sam!" he exclaimed.

"Good job, you got your first fish," Lindsay praised him. "I think I know what we'll be having for dinner tonight."

"Lindsay!" a voice exclaimed.

She turned around to see Mac and Stella walking over to her. She waved to them. "Do you want to try your luck at fishing?"

"Maybe later," said Mac.

Mac and Stella had also stayed in Montana, living in a small apartment in Helena. They, too, would be going back to New York in a week or so, so they would soon all being living in the city again. "Well, that's okay; I'll give you the report on how it's been so far. Danny just caught his first fish and Samantha has caught about three or four already. I caught one fish, but not everyone can catch a bunch of fish like Sam."

"Hey!" a surprised gasp came from Sam. "It's not my fault that the fish like my bait the best."

"Anyway, what is it that you've come to tell me?" Lindsay asked both Mac and Stella.

"Well," said Stella, "it's big news."

"Big news?" questioned Lindsay.

"Yeah…"

Danny turned around. "Come on Stel, don't hold back. How big of news can it be?"

Stella looked down at the ground and then up at Mac. Lindsay saw her smile, and that gave her the answer. "No," Lindsay said, "is that it?"

"Yes," replied Stella. Still looking at Mac, she grabbed his hand and said, "I'm pregnant."

Danny turned around again, almost letting go of his fishing pole. "What?"

Samantha shook her head at Danny's surprise. "That's great to hear."

"I'm so glad for you two!" exclaimed Lindsay, wrapping both of them in a hug. "How long has it been?"

"Three weeks," replied Stella.

Now that Stella had told them her news, both she and Mac decided to try fishing. They only caught one fish like Danny and Lindsay had, but Samantha kept reeling up fish. Lindsay started to wonder if it had something to do with the position of the lake she was fishing at. Soon they went inside to go make dinner, Samantha had decided to stay, and as they ate they talked and laughed about almost everything. Nothing of the storm that had devastated them all months ago got mentioned and nothing about Lindsay's secret came up either. But after dinner, she decided it was time to tell the others the truth, about her double identity.

She talked to Samantha, telling her that tonight she would take the DNA test to see who she really was. When the results came back tomorrow, or a few days from now, she would tell everyone her real identity. But tonight, she would tell them of the story of Lindsay Monroe/Paige Hobson and how she became known with these two different names. She would tell Stella herself, while Samantha and Mac would explain the story to Danny.

"Lindsay wanted me to tell you something," Samantha began, "something that she has wanted you to know for a long time."

"And I'm pretty sure you knew something of it, Lisa told you, right?" Lindsay asked Stella.

Stella put her hands around her coffee cup for warmth. "About Paige Hobson?"

"Yes," replied Lindsay, "That I might be her."

"She may be her, she may not be," explained Samantha. "That's why she's taking a DNA test; to see if she's really Paige Hobson."

"What would be the bad reason about being her?" asked Danny. "I mean, I've heard Lindsay mention her name once, while she was sleeping and then the name Adisa, but is Paige Hobson some kind of a criminal or something?"

"You could say something like that," replied Samantha.

"I wasn't exactly a criminal," said Lindsay, "maybe something worse. But for you to understand, I'd have to explain the story first, the true life of Lindsay Monroe and Paige Hobson." Stella nodded her head, allowing her to tell the story. She explained of the life of Paige Hobson, who had been working as a data analyst and always would try to make a difference in the world. She told her of Adisa and Julia, and how she had gone missing when Emil Dornvald came to her office one morning. She told her of how she had murdered General Gamba and of the interrogation between her and Samantha. She explained little of the life of Lindsay Monroe, since Stella had already known most of the major things that had happened in her life. In the other room, Samantha quickly told the story to Danny, while Mac just listened, even though he had already heard of the story.

She then explained to Stella about her signing "Paige Hobson" on the bathroom stall so that someone would find it. She told her how she had cried herself to sleep almost every night after Stella had been found and how the only reason why she didn't like Danny was because she thought he wouldn't understand what she was going through and she didn't want him to have to be troubled by that problem. She explained of the DNA test she was going to take, to find out who she really was. She didn't say anything of the website; Mac could later tell her that if he wanted to, but right now, the website wasn't important. Lindsay looked up, to see the shock in Stella's face.

Stella's hands were trembling as she reached out for her coffee cup. Her voice seemed to be filled with the same sorrow that Lindsay had felt throughout this whole experience as she spoke. "Why didn't you tell me this?" she asked, almost crying. "Why?"

Lindsay almost felt taken aback. She hadn't wanted Stella to know; she didn't think she would have understood. "I didn't think you would understand what I was going through," she said lamely. "But, I guess I was wrong."

"Lindsay, not too many people are going to understand what you're going through, living two different lives," Stella said, her voice rising. "Not many people go through that type of thing. But there are people who care for you and want to make sure you're all right. And I'm one of those people." She paused for a second, and when she spoke again, her voice was a quiet whisper. "Ever since I heard you talk with Mac that one day, about when you signed your name on the bathroom stall, I was concerned about you. You said that the person who found that signature would be that 'someone' you were looking for, that 'someone' who would understand your problem."

Stella reached for her cell phone, turned it on, and put it down on the table. There was a picture on her cell phone, and in realization, Lindsay saw that it was the picture of the signature she had signed on the bathroom stall in the New York Crime Lab a year ago. Stella had been the one who found her signature. She was that 'someone' who was going to understand what she was going through.

"I knew since the time that I got found that something had happened to you," Stella continued. "You were miserable all the time and I could tell you cried a lot too. I heard that phone call you answered, when we were about to watch the movie 'The Day After Tomorrow'. You sounded so distressed when you answered that call. 'Have you figured out who I am?' That call was from Samantha, wasn't it?"

Lindsay nodded. She had also been right about that. Stella had listened in on the phone call Samantha had made to her a year ago.

"You didn't need to tell me this," said Stella. "But you did, and I'm glad you did. I worry about you kiddo, and I don't want you to have to go through this alone."

Lindsay smiled. "You called me kiddo. You haven't called me that for a long time."

"You like the name kiddo, huh?" Stella asked. "I can call you that more if you want." She took a sip of her coffee. "So this DNA test, do you really think it's going to determine who you are?"

"That's what I'm hoping," said Lindsay.

"So you might end up being Paige Hobson, who had escaped from jail after she murdered someone?"

Lindsay nodded. "But please Stel, don't remember me as that. I would never intentionally murder someone. I'm not that person anymore, if I am Paige Hobson."

"And if you aren't?" asked Stella.

"If I'm not Paige Hobson then I'll come back to work as a CSI when we go back to New York. That would mean that the real Paige Hobson is still missing. But if I am her, I'll be going to jail for the rest of my life."

"What about Jack and Samantha? Wouldn't they get in trouble for helping you?"

"We've already worked that out," replied Lindsay. "They're going to say that I was using an alias, which is the truth if I'm really Paige Hobson. And they'll say that they had no idea that I was Paige Hobson. And I won't say a thing, just go along with what Jack and Samantha says."

"But you can't do that," Stella said. "I mean, you can't go to jail. You didn't murder anyone! There's no proof!"

"The identity is proof enough Stel," said Lindsay.

In the other room, after Samantha had explained the plan of what Lindsay would do if she really was Paige Hobson, Danny burst into tears. "No," he sobbed. "She can't do that. She can't go to jail. She'd never make it through jail."

"You'll be surprised on what a person can handle," said Samantha.

But before she could say anything else, Danny yelled, "She's not just a person! She's Lindsay Monroe, no one else! You can't put her in jail!"

"Danny, you need to calm down," said Mac.

"She's Lindsay Monroe!" Danny shouted. "Not Paige Hobson."

She's Lindsay Monroe, no one else! That reminded Sam of the time when Lindsay had said herself that she was Lindsay Monroe. She remembered during the time of Stella's disappearance that every time she would walk around in the crime lab, Lindsay would try to stay out of her sight. But that had been so long ago, and now Lindsay would cooperate with the FBI, if she was Paige Hobson or not. "You're right Danny. Right now, she's Lindsay Monroe and she could be her. But without taking that DNA test, she won't know for sure."

Danny was shaking his head. He didn't believe that she was Paige Hobson; he didn't want to believe it. But he didn't want to argue anymore, so he just stood up from his chair and walked out of the room. He was done; he had heard enough.

Back in the kitchen, Lindsay and Stella were now getting up from their chairs and leaving the room. Stella had taken the news well enough, Lindsay thought. But she wondered how Danny had responded to everything and hoped he understood as much as Stella had. When she gazed through the open doorway of his room, she saw that he was sitting besides his bed, silently crying. But she didn't try to comfort him. Since he hadn't taken the news of her being both Lindsay Monroe and Paige Hobson so well, she didn't want to take the chance of how he would respond to her trying to comfort him.

A few days later, after Lindsay and Samantha had told the others of the news, Lindsay awoke early and immediately got dressed and showered. She then left, without being noticed, and drove to the new building where Samantha worked. Today would be the day when she figured out who she really was. Today they would leave Montana to New York, back to the city where they had once lived. The drive seemed to trail on forever, and she thought day would pass her by before she could find out the answer of her real identity.

She soon pulled up to the FBI building and hurried to park her car and ran inside the building. She quickly found Samantha, who was sitting at her desk, with a file in her hand. She sat in a seat across from her desk and took the file from her hand. She tried to read her expression, to tell if the answer would be bad or not, but she couldn't tell. She looked away from Samantha and down at the file. Slowly, she opened the file, and read the results.

After she had looked at the results long enough, she nodded to Samantha and gave the file back to her. Samantha took the file with her as she walked over to Jack. Then the three of them left the building, each of them driving in their own car to get back to Lindsay's house.

The drive home was quicker and when they got there, Mac and Stella were waiting for them outside. Lindsay had left the house unnoticed, but she had still left a note to tell them where she had gone, so they didn't worry. But she didn't see Danny; she wondered if he hadn't wanted to see her come home or if he was still sleeping. Either way, she would tell him the news, even if he didn't want to hear it.

She walked over to Mac and Stella, signaling them to follow her inside. She found Danny in the living room, but before she could say anything to him, he shook his head and followed her into the kitchen. There, they all took a seat at the table, and waited for Lindsay to talk. When she didn't say anything, Danny prompted her by saying, "You're her, aren't you?"

Even at his rude comment, she didn't say anything. She slowly nodded. But to her surprise, Danny didn't get up from his seat and storm off. He looked at her, with tears in his eyes, but still didn't say anything. The news had troubled him, just like she had thought it would.

"So when we go back to New York, she'll go to jail?" asked Mac.

Samantha nodded.

"Are you sure these DNA results can be trusted?" Stella asked.

"DNA doesn't lie," said Jack. "It came up as Paige Hobson. That means she's Paige Hobson."

Stella nodded. "Does she have to go to jail, for a crime she committed so long ago?"

Lindsay answered the question this time. "I murdered someone. I deserved to be in jail. It wouldn't be right for me to not to go to jail, to just get away with murder. Besides, the crime lab doesn't need me. I wasn't ever really wanted there anyway."

"Lindsay, you know that's not true!" exclaimed Stella.

"It's Paige now," replied Lindsay. "The crime lab doesn't need me, Stel; you'll be able to work there without me. Aiden was the one who should have stayed alive, and I should have been the one who died in the burning of that car."

She remembered when they had recovered a dead body, buried beyond recognition, lying in the front seat of a buried car. Later they had figured out that the dead body was Aiden Burn's, a detective who had used to work as a CSI, but had gotten fired for tampering with evidence. DJ Pratt had killed her, after she had tried to catch him as a killer in her own private investigation. DJ Pratt had been a suspect in many crimes, but there had been no solid evidence to prove he was the killer. If it hadn't been for Aiden, they would have never caught Pratt.

"Both you and Aiden were good detectives," said Mac. "Neither of you deserve to die."

"Did you hear what you said Mac?" asked Lindsay. "You said, 'were good detectives.' I'm not a detective anymore. I'm Paige Hobson, the data analyst, the killer on the loose. You don't need me, and as time goes on, you'll begin to forget me."

She paused and looked at Mac and Stella. "You have a child on the way, you'll be back in New York soon, and you'll be so busy with taking care of your child and working that you won't even think twice about me. You won't need to think of me. I'm not saying that you have to forget about me. What I'm saying is that I don't want you to worry about me, okay? I'll be fine, trust me.'

"In jail is where I deserve to be and that's where I plan to be most of my life. If you want, you can visit me there. But if you can't, that's fine too. Just promise me you won't worry about me, please."

Lindsay was silent for a moment, and Jack took that as his time to speak. "We'll be leaving to New York soon. We've already talked it out with the others at the FBI agency that we would be escorting Paige there."

"We're leaving to New York today too," said Stella. "But, probably not at the same time."

Jack nodded. "So we'll be saying our goodbyes here."

Stella nodded her agreement. Then they stood up from their chairs and walked over to the front door. Lindsay grabbed her suitcase and then met up with the others at the door. Mac and Stella said goodbye to her first, both of them giving her a hug. Stella said to her, "I won't worry about you kiddo. But I won't forget you."

Lindsay again smiled at the name of kiddo. "Thank you Stella, Mac. Good luck you two."

She walked outside to the front porch, where Jack and Samantha were waiting for her. Danny was also standing there, his hands in his jean pockets. She told Jack and Samantha to wait by the car for her, while she would go talk to Danny. She nodded to him. "Hey."

"Hey you," said Danny. "Are you here to say goodbye?"

"No," replied Lindsay. "We're not saying goodbye. We're making a memory." She kissed him on the cheek and then took his hand. "Don't think of this as a goodbye. Think of this as a hello, of a new beginning. Kiss me. Remember me as Paige."

Danny didn't hesitate, and he leaned down to kiss her. When he leaned away from her, she could see tears in his eyes. "Oh Danny," she said. "Don't cry in front of me. I can't bear to see you the way I was just a year ago."

"Sorry," he said, wiping away his tears. "I love you…Paige."

"I love you too Danny," she said and hugged him.

He still cried, and when he whispered into her ear and said, "I'll miss you Montana," she could hear the distress in his voice. She held on to his hand for a few more moments and looked at his face one more time. "Promise me you'll visit me in jail, okay?" she said, her eyes now filling with tears.

"I promise," Danny said. "And I won't love anyone but you, okay?"

She nodded. "I'll always love you too Danny." She let go of Danny's hand, looked at him, and then turned to walk over to Jack and Samantha. Before she got in her car, she waved to Danny, who waved back to her. And then they were gone, away from Bozeman and to the airport where she would leave Montana far behind.

The travel through the airport was fast, and soon they were on their flight heading for New York. She sat in the middle of Jack and Samantha, for she wasn't allowed to go anyway or leave their sight. She was a criminal now, and she couldn't try to escape again, like she had done when she had gone to jail for the first time. But she barely remembered when that happened; she could hardly remember being Paige Hobson. But what she could remember was when she shot General Gamba, and that would be the thing she remembered for most of her life. That was the reason why she was going to jail.

She had fallen asleep, and when they got to New York, she awoke. Jack and Samantha escorted her off the plane and through the airport. They drove her to the New York Jail, where she would spend the rest of her life. She gazed out the window to see the city of New York, which had now changed after it had been rebuilt, the last time. Even though the city had been rebuilt, there were still many buildings she could see that hadn't been completed, and there were also many lots that showed signs of a new building or store being built there. As they drove up to the jail, she tried to hold on to the memory of the city, of how it had been before the storm, but she couldn't. She couldn't remember anymore and she didn't want to.

They entered the jail, where they took her profile, fingerprinted her, and then took her to her jail cell. It went by so fast, she wasn't even allowed to say goodbye to Jack and Samantha. Her goodbye had been in Montana, and now, she had to say hello to her new life in jail.

Chapter 39- Ever wondered what happened to Amber during this storm? In this chapter you'll find out… Many House/Cuddy moments in this chapter too!

A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter! The next chapter should be up either Saturday or Sunday. The countdown continues…3 more chapter until the end!