The following characters are not mine. They belong to CSI NY creators.

Note: Originally, I had a problem with this chapter … and then a few others. The most common meaning for 10-10 is Fight in Progress. But this was supposed to be just an epilogue. So I was going for the less common meaning of Off Duty. But then, the following scene popped into my head … and I wondered, why couldn't it be both. So here you go. .

The Tenth

Chapter 10:

Fight in progress

When their statements were made and the police were gone, when the flashing lights and commotion faded from their neighborhood, when all the evidence had been collected from the site and Danny had taken his family over to his mother's for the night …

All of the fear and anger Danny had held in rushed to the surface. Their house was a crime scene. His home had been invaded, his wife, child and mother threatened.

They thought … he had no idea what they were or what they had been thinking.

He paced his mother's living room where they had come after putting Kaley to bed. Lindsay had stopped in the doorway. She rubbed her hands over her arms, as if she was cold, unsure. There was a depth of weariness in her eyes.

But as he looked at her, it all rose up. The thoughts, the feelings … everything that he had fought against in the long ride to their house.

And he turned on her. The words just poured out.

As she stared at him, those big brown eyes hardened.

"I was thinking of Kaley," she returned.

"And what would Kaley be without her mother?" he asked angrily. "Do you know what was going through my mind? You knew what that man was capable of. You had it in your head. I watched it … destroy part of you. It—"

"Of course I knew. I—" Lindsay eyes were hardened. "It was in my head."

"Then maybe you don't remember what it did to you."

"Daniel Messer. You've had your say," it was Danny's mother who chimed in that time.

He spun around, stared at her. For once, her withering glance did nothing to push him back. "Have I? Didn't I tell you to wait outside?"

"While the daughter of my heart and my granddaughter were inside that house? With that man?"

"You could have been killed."

Mother and son stared at each other, hot tempers fired up from decades of practice. Normally, his mother wasn't someone Danny took on. Partly out of respect and partly because she had a look that disintegrated his bones.

"I've lived my life—" she snapped. "And you're underestimating me and Lindsay. Not because," she looked pointedly at him, "we went after him, but because we couldn't have stayed out of the way. Neither could you. Now get it together and do what you need to do for your family."

With that said, she walked past him with her head held high. Danny turned and watched her go, watched her head upstairs. The fight just left him, retreating … leaving him feeling foolish and alone.

It was then he realized Lindsay had gone.

Lindsay retreated to the backyard and stared at the little stone path. Just a few weeks ago, there had been a party here. Louie and his new girl friend, a few of Danny's aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles, with Kaley at the center of attention. There had been so much life. So much laughter.

Kaley had walked along the stone path, taking long strides to step from stone to stone, barely keeping her balance, but giggling all the way.

A small smile on her lips, Lindsay stared at the path, remembering her daughter, remembering how Danny had swooped her up and into his arms when she reached his side.

She knew he was there, then, watching her from the house. She swallowed as the smile disappeared.

"If you've come to start yelling at me again, I really can't deal with it," she said without turning.

"No," she heard him approach, felt his hands on her shoulders, his long fingers closing in. "I'm sorry. You didn't do anything I wouldn't have expected you to do."

But she hadn't done it. She'd faltered. If it hadn't been for Danny's mother …

"Your mother's amazing."

"She is."

Lindsay smiled a little because she heard the underlying layer of trepidation in his voice. She turned around and looked up into those eyes—eyes that could hold every emotion possible with depth. Even now, the gentleness she saw in them drew her in, settled her heart.

"You left," it wasn't an accusation.

"I'm just tired."

"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"

"I know. I know you didn't mean it."

He ran his fingers through her hair, searched her eyes. "Are you okay?"

She started to say yes, but the word couldn't come out. The image of the man flashed, standing there outside her daughter's bedroom.

Do you not feel the power of death?

She did. And she would have killed him. She'd raised her gun. It hadn't trembled, she remembered now.

Not until it was all over.

"Lindsay."

"I don't know. He was going to—"

"I know."

The words, the description, the nightmare the man had described to Lindsay was still in both their minds. It had already crippled her.

But it was over.

"I need to call Mac, though."

"What? Why?"

"I just want to make sure when he gets the footage at the train station to try and get the guy slashing your tires, that he gets enough so we can see a certain detective hijacking a helpless man in a car."

The startled laugh escaped before she could stop it. She pictured the man and the car and felt a wave of belated embarrassment wash through her.

"He wasn't helpless," she murmured as she slid her arms up and around his neck, "but you're going to be. Pretty soon."

"Oh really," he said slowly, dipping his head down, but stopping a breath before her lips …

"Just wait and see …" she murmured before sliding into the kiss.

. .

. .

Off Duty

Two Weeks Later

"Daddy!" Kaley jumped up and down so that her jumper squeaked as her father came into the kitchen. Lindsay turned, looked over her shoulder and smiled when he dipped down and lifted her out and into the air.

"I didn't think you were going to make it."

"For what?" Danny walked into the kitchen as he said the words and dipped immediately down to grab Kaley from her jumper.

"For dinner, such as it is," Lindsay glanced back at the cutting board and finished slicing tomatoes, but let out a squeal of her own—though more controlled than her daughters—as he wrapped a single arm around her and trailed a line of boisterous kisses up her neck. Behind them, Kaley giggled, lost in her own little world of play.

"And who're the people in the living room?

"That's Mike and his family," she nodded toward the kitchen window. "Their kids are out back."

"Mike?" With his arms around her, Danny leaned a little to look through the window at four boys, of differing ages, on his make-shift basketball court. "Oh, the guy you hijacked."

She smiled a little. "Something like that. You didn't get my message?"

With Kaley balanced on his hip he reached for his cell and flipped it open, only then noting the text message.

CMPNY 2NTE

CME HM IF PSSBLE

PLSE

"Exactly how big of a please is this?"

"Much more now that I know how big Mike's family is," she glanced over at him. "He dropped by this afternoon with his wife, wanted to make sure everything was okay—actually, I think she dropped by with him. They saw the footage of the arraignment and press conference last night. Apparently I've become quite the legend in his house. Someone who brought the mighty Mike to his knees. He has a big family of brothers who think it's the story of the century."

"See … you should have let me make a copy of it. We could pop it into the DVD player and—"

"You had your fun in the lab, Messer."

He grinned, that wickedly perfect Messer grin and with one hand to the other side of her head, drew her in and left a lingering kiss at her temple. "I suppose I should go make nice," he looked at Kaley, then back at Lindsay. "I owe him big."

"You do that—and fire up the grill. You're on burger duty tonight." Lindsay grinned. "And Danny—"

"yeah?"

"That's Mike and his family, his three brother's, two sisters, their family, your mother, Louie—"

"And let me guess—" he said, turning in the doorway, "Flack."

Lindsay shrugged. "Mike does have an eligible sister."

There you go ... ten chapters with a focus on the number ten. If anyone is interested in using it again and going beyon the first ten, these codes go passed 100.

I've hope you've enjoyed this journey! Leave a review, please, and let me know what you think, thought or wished. I would love to hear from you! Please? Pretty please? It would make my day!