Disclaimer: Not mine, blah, blah, blah. You know the drill.

Spoilers: I'm seriously convinced there are none, so I'm going to stop putting this header here. If you find one, I'm sorry.

A/N: well, I said this would be posted by Monday, and since I am posting this now at 11:49 PM, I have managed that, keeping my promise by 11 minutes. So there may be a few mistakes, it is late after all, if they don't bother you, then they don't bother me. (Seriously though, if they bother you, let me know, and I'll try and find a beta. As of right now, I'm too lazy)

Dawn is a feeling
A beautiful ceiling
The smell of grass
Just makes you pass
Into a dream

You're here today
No future fears
This day will last
A thousand years
If you want it to

Mac ran as fast as he could, tapping his foot for the elevator that was surely moving slower today. Forget it. He'd take the stairs. He was halfway to the staircase when the elevator bell dinged. Damn! Mac turned and ran back to the elevator, barely squeezing back in through the closing doors. He stared at the little light indicating what floor he was on, willing it to move faster. When he reached his floor he was out of the doors before they had opened all the way. There was no way he was missing this interrogation.

---------------

Detective Angell wasn't used to cases like this. Not when one of your own was involved. Unfortunately that was why she was chosen to conduct this interrogation. She hadn't had any contact with any of the police officers involved, and she knew very little about the case itself. Just then, she saw Mac sprinting through the hallway up to her. He gave her a curt nod and stepped into the observation room. Angell sighed and stepped into the interrogation room to question the man responsible for the shooting of Lindsay Monroe.

---------------

Danny was still sitting in the chair next to Lindsay's hospital bed. He had been there for hours. He still hadn't let go of her hand. Only problem was, she had. After a brief moment when Danny was sure she was going to wake up, she had let go, her hand going limp. Danny was worried. Dr. Boldt kept telling him it would happen, she would wake up, it was going to happen. Danny was becoming less and less sure and more and more worried with each passing minute. Flack had come and gone, Jason had come and gone, Stella and Mac had both stopped by. Even Detective Angell had stopped by to let him know how the interrogation of the suspect had gone.

This was the only bright part of Danny's day. The suspect was named Eddie Valenti, and was a no name guy in the lower dregs of the Tanglewood Boys. This was obviously supposed to be a simple reconnaissance, or they wouldn't have sent a rookie. Only thing was, Valenti hadn't coughed up the name of the guy who sent him on the pick-up. Danny wasn't too worried about that. If needed, he could crack the guy. And he was going to crack him whether he coughed up the name or not. But maybe a little less if he gave up the name. After all, he did shoot Lindsay. Danny's free hand curled into a fist as he thought about it.

He sat back in his chair, looked at the sleeping Lindsay, and closed his eyes, trying to get some rest, but with his hand still clenched tightly around hers.

----------------

Flack sat at home, staring at his TV. It wasn't turned on; he was just staring at a blank screen. He had the phone call earlier, saying that the guy, Valenti or whatever his name was coughed up and confessed. He still hadn't rolled on the high level guys, but he had confessed to Lindsay's shooting. He was going away for a while because of that.

Flack sighed. This had been a long week. He was relieved partially though. Things were starting to look up. They got the shooter, Lindsay was expected to make a full recovery, and he had been cleared of the shooting. He even had a week off. So it was mandatory, whatever. He had a week to spend with the people who mattered. He could be there for Lindsay and Danny, and maybe spend a little time with Stella. He thought back to the elevator ride. When he closed his eyes he could still feel her lips on his, melting into him.

He quickly opened his eyes. Perhaps a cold shower was in order.

---------------

The man heard a phone ringing. He answered it and was disgusted with the voice he heard answer him. "I told you not to call me. What the fuck do you want?" The answer was good enough to warrant the call, lucky for this scumbag. Valenti had been caught. How do you fuck that job up? thought the man. Too late to worry about that now though. He had better not roll on anyone though, or the rat would wish he had died as a child. The man hung up the phone. Things were starting to head south. He hit speed dial number two on his phone and another man picked up.

"What do you want old man?"

"The same thing you want. We got into this together; we need to leave it together. I assume you heard about Valenti? He was your pick, and I sure as hell hope you didn't mess up on that one. If he rolls on me, both of you are going to wish you died years ago. Do you get my drift?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now we need to meet and figure out what to do."

"Fine. The usual place?"

"Fine. 7:00 tonight. Don't be late."

Both men hung up. More would be talked about later. The second of the two men looked at his phone in disgust, as though it was the cause of all his problems. But that wasn't right. The cause of all his problems was that no good, son of a bitch Danny Messer. And he would be dealt with all right. He would be dealt with just like his brother was. They had given him a pass years ago because he had no contact with Tanglewood. Now he was screwing with them more than he was allowed to do. This was it for Danny Messer. Him and that girlfriend of his. She had come close to dying, but Valenti hadn't even managed to do that right. If she stayed near Danny, she was bait. And Tanglewood had no problem bringing the two of them down.

---------------

"You no-good son of a bitch! You get out of this house now! And stay out! If I ever see you near this place again, I won't bother with polite chatter, you're going to see the back of my fist before anything else! Now get!"

Danny cried as he bolted from his father. He could hear his mother object, and a brutal slapping noise. Louie just stood there at the doorway, watching Danny run off. Danny headed to the Flacks' and spent the night there. The next day he packed up and moved there permanently. At least until he could get out of the house for college. He had had it with his father. He was never going back, never. He just hoped his mother would be okay. He remembered something she had always told him. Le persone prendono che meritano. Se lei è buono, lei prenderà una vita buona. Lei sarà ricompensato. Sarò giusto. Lei non deve mai ricordare. Quando lei esce, sta fuori, e fa ciò che è migliore per lei.

Danny woke up and stared ahead. God these memories were keeping him from sleeping. He was becoming a hollow shell. He looked over at Lindsay. He was still holding her hand and it took him a moment to realize it. A smile broke out over his face and he felt truly happy for the first time in days.

---------------

Lindsay felt her head pound. Her shoulder hurt, her stomach hurt. Well, I guess that means I'm alive. Pain is good right? Her body immediately counteracted that thought as a painful twinge surged through her body. Okay Linds, first thing to do, open your eyes. Come on, you can do it. No she really couldn't. Oh well. She felt her hand touching something though, and realized that Danny was holding her hand. She could smell his scent, that familiar scent. He must have been by hr bedside for a while. She gently squeezed his hand. He didn't do anything. He was probably asleep. Finally, with a great effort, she opened her eyes. Danny was indeed asleep, but not a very good one.

Lindsay was frightened to see Danny like this. He was mumbling in Italian, and while she didn't mind this in the least, it was the way he was saying it that troubled her. He was obviously having a troubling dream, and Lindsay couldn't fault him for that. It had been a very difficult few days, and now she had been shot. She wondered how much he had been going through. She squeezed his hand once more, still barely able to move.

She was surprised to see him jerk awake. He stared blankly ahead for a moment. Then he looked down at their hands, grasping each other. Then he looked into her eyes. She saw a very tired man, one who was stressed so much that he looked older than he should. Empty eyes stared back at her. Then something clicked on. His face broke into a smile as he looked at her, truly happy to see her awake. He leaned forward gently and embraced her. She was so glad to be able to have him hold her like hat. She loved him, but didn't know whether or not to say it.

She tried to say the words, but her mouth wasn't ready to speak. A jumbled mess was all that came out. She tried again and managed "Danny", but got no farther. She just looked at him. But that was enough. He seemed to understand. He lifted her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it.

"Lindsay, I've missed you. I'm glad you're back. I love you." Danny said it without thinking, but immediately froze. He hadn't even realized he had said it. Was it too fast? What was she going to think?" He looked at her and he realized he had no need to worry.

"I love you too." Lindsay managed to choke out. She saw tears in his eyes, but knew that they were tears of happiness this time. This was where she belonged.

It was a new day, and she belonged here, in his arms. She didn't want to let him go.

---------------

Hey it's Danny Messer, I'm not here to take your call, leave a message, and I'll try to get back to you.

The man listened to the answering machine. When he heard the beep, he said a simple message. Danny, it's your father. We need to talk.