Author's Note: MJ Taylor is my creation. I have no claim to any established CSI: NY Characters, they belong to CBS.
Secrets
She was sitting in her office going over some pretrial evidence for Stella when Lindsay walked came in with a file in her hand. "Have you seen Danny? I need to get with him on the Greenly case." MJ unintentionally snapped her answer. "Oh, he'll be back after lunch. He's currently enjoying deli sandwiches that he managed to smuggle past the nurses with Don." MJ rolled her eyes and went back to her reports. "MJ, you okay?" MJ shook her head. "Sorry don't mind me. He's at lunch, he'll be back." Lindsay sat down opposite MJ. 'When was the last time you slept?" Lindsay asked. "Last night." MJ answered which earned her a raised eyebrow from Lindsay. "I did. I went home and actually laid in bed and fell asleep." MJ informed. "For how long?" Lindsay questioned. MJ relented, knowing the rest she did get, wasn't restful and it showed. "A few hours. Why?" Lindsay leaned forward. "MJ, I'm only saying this because you're my friend. You look worse than the day of the bombing. Do you want to talk about it?" MJ threw the file she was looking at on her desk. "Linds, it's just every time I close my eyes, I see him lying on the triage table with that gigantic hole in his stomach. I can't get it out of my mind. Then on top of everything else he's acting like it's no big deal, like it was just another day at the office. It's just frustrating." Lindsay quietly listened. "The doctors are sending him home." Lindsay encouraged by the good news. "That's great." MJ shook her head. "Problem is, he won't even consider going to his folks. He says it doesn't want to be babysat. The doctors have arranged for a visiting nurse until he starts rehab, which is a small consolation. But still, he's come so far, I'm afraid he'll push himself to hard and end up right back in the hospital." Lindsay feeling some sympathy for MJ, knowing how hard the past few weeks had been on her. "He's okay, MJ. The doctors wouldn't send him home if they weren't sure." Lindsay reassured. MJ threw her head back. "I know. I know. I've been telling myself that but it's not helping." Lindsay smiled and asked. "Have you talked to him yet? About the two of you?" MJ looked at her. "No, I've wanted him to focus on getting better. I'm not going anywhere." Lindsay smiled and added. "At the moment, neither is he. You need to tell him how you feel. Otherwise, you'll regret it."
Meanwhile back at the hospital, Danny and Don were finishing up lunch. "So, when are you getting the boot from here?" Danny asked. "Hopefully, within in the next couple of days." Don told him. "You going to stay at your folks?" Don nixed the idea. "Nah, I'm going home. Visiting nurse will come until I start rehab which should be within a week from the time I'm released." Danny leaned back in his chair. "How's that going over with MJ?" Don looked at him. "It's not. She's worried that I'll push myself too hard to get back to work and hurt myself more." Danny knowing his friend smiled. "She's right." Don looked at him and snapped at him in frustration. "Danny, I'm fine. I'm telling you, just like I've told her, like I've told my folks and the doctors, I'm fine." Danny stopped smiling and snapped back. "I'm glad you're so fine because MJ's not. She's been worrying herself sick since you almost died and believe me Don, you were a hair's away from cashing it in." Danny was silent for a moment. "Look Don, you both have gotten the scare of your life. The two of you have been dancing around what's between you for months and I'm not going to minimize what you've gone through. I can't even begin to imagine. But I've watched her for the past several weeks walking around on autopilot. I haven't figured out what's she's more scared of, her feelings for you or losing you." Danny's normal cavalier attitude was absent given the seriousness of the situation. Don knew he was right. MJ looked like she hadn't slept let alone eaten. "I know D, I know. I'm crazy about her and I think she feels the same, but she's holding back. I just don't know why." Danny took a deep breath, knowing the reason for MJ's reluctance. "Don, look, I have an idea why but I can't tell you without betraying her confidence. Trust me though; it has more to do with her than you. I will tell you this; if you think she's amazing now wait, when you hear her story you'll want to hang on to her for life." Don smiled. "I already do, Danny. I already do."
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