Disclaimer: I hope that you understand none of this is mine. It all belongs to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer; although I hope they don't mind me borrowing them to keep myself entertained during the season break. Song lyrics are from the Moody Blues, and I don't own Burt's Bees lip balm either.

Work away today, work away tomorrow.
Never comes the day for my love and me.
I feel her gently sighing as the evening slips away.
If only you knew what's inside of me now
You wouldn't want to know me somehow,
But
You will love me tonight,
We alone will be alright,
In the end.

Give just a little bit more
Take a little bit less
From each other tonight
Admit what you're feeling
And see what's in front of you,
It's never out of your sight.
You know it's true,
we all know that it's true.

Mac looked up at Stella once again. "You mean to tell me that Jason's DNA was found in Danny's apartment?"

"That's what it says. And I got Adam to re-check it too."

"Is there anyway that it was there from before this incident?"

"It was on top of the donation from Lindsay." Stella said, looking none too happy about it. "There's no way Mac."

Mac felt disgusted. He had done this. He had been the one to send Jason over to take care of Danny. He couldn't have done it. There was no way. Jason had been there when Lindsay was in surgery, he had been there for Danny, and he had helped the whole team. This wasn't right.

"I can't believe he meant to harm either one of them Stella. We need to bring Flack in for questioning and ask him why his blood was at the crime scene. We need him to tell us what happened. You bring him in personally Stella. I'll file the paperwork and work on getting a warrant. Call me when he gets here."

"Okay."

Stella walked out of the office, not even noticing the bewildered coroner standing next to her. Sid stared after her down the hallway. Flack? Their Flack had his blood found at the crime scene? There was no way.

Sid walked off down the hallway in search of Flack, to ask him what was going on.

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

Flack was in search of Stella when Sid ran into him.

"There you are! I have been looking for you. Have you talked to Stella or Mac recently?"

"Not recently no, I was just looking for... Mac" Flack changed his answer halfway through, hoping that Sid wouldn't pick up on it. He had absolutely no reason for wanting to find Stella, except that he wanted to see her. Better not let Sid know too much. He had a killer taste for gossip.

"I think you might want to see him quick." Sid said, looking a little worried.

"Why? What's up?"

"I just think that they need to talk to you about the case, you've been linked to it."

"What do you mean?"

"I really shouldn't be the one to say it..."

"Spit it out Sid!"

"Well, they found your blood at the crime scene."

A puzzled expression spread across Flack's face. "That doesn't make any sense"

Sid opened his mouth to answer when Mac came walking up. Sid took a look at the expression on Mac's face and decided that goodbyes could be said another time.

"I've got an autopsy to get to. I'll see the both of you later." Sid walked briskly to the elevator and headed back down to the morgue. He would really have to work on his communication with live people. He worked much better with the dead, and his mouth was always getting him into trouble with the people who were alive enough to repeat what he said.

Mac looked after Sid for a moment, and then turned to face Flack. "Don, I need to talk to you."

"Sid just said that you found my blood at Danny's apartment? What's going on Mac?"

Mac looked at him, momentarily confused, and then a light bulb flashed on. "What exactly did Sid tell you? Because we didn't find your blood at the crime scene Don."

"Oh." Flack felt his cheeks turn a little red and smiled sheepishly. Sorry."

Mac's face remained somber. "Don, I still need to talk to you. Please come and sit." He gestured toward his office and Flack walked off in that direction.

"So? What do you need to talk to me about?" Flack asked.

"We found an extra blood donor, mixed in with blood we matched to Lindsay at Danny's apartment. The donor was XY."

"And?"

"Don, the blood matched your brother."

"What? Well, that must have gotten there at some point while he was staying there, I mean, he can't be involved in this. That's not right Mac." Flack was shaking his head, looking at Mac. "Jason wouldn't do anything to Danny, he's like our brother, and Lindsay's a friend too, why would he do something like that? Have you talked to him about it yet?"

"Stella is bringing him in now. I need you to stay away from this case Don. You can't have any part in it. "

"Well you shouldn't either! You know him!"

Flack was angry at Mac. He couldn't believe that his brother had done anything to harm Danny or Lindsay. They were like family. Mac couldn't be right. He just couldn't.

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

"What do you have in your pockets? Anything at all?" Danny asked Lindsay.

"I've got nothing, a little loose change, a couple paperclips, and some Burt's Bees lip balm. Not much at all." Lindsay responded, frustration evident in her voice. "What about you?"

"I've got even less. A lighter and a pen." Danny made a noise in the back of his throat and pulled on his restraints.

Danny thrashed for a moment, earning himself some cut up wrists from the handcuffs, before he finally subsided and gave up.

Lindsay felt him moving around beside her although she couldn't see him very well. It was dark, and the light was not getting better. There was little light filtering in from outside, and Lindsay saw that there was only one window at the far end of the building that had a crack of light filtering through it. She stared through the crack, thinking about what she would do when she got to smell fresh air and see sunlight again. Because she would see sunlight again. And she would be able to hold Danny, feel his body next to hers, with no restraints, and no worries. She thought longingly about the day that it might happen. But it wouldn't unless they found a way to get out of here. And with loose change, paperclips, lip balm, a lighter, and a pen, that wasn't looking promising.

Lindsay moved around, the uncomfortable metal of the pole digging into her back. She felt her hand around until she found Danny's sweaty palm. He was as nervous as she was, although he was trying not to show it. He grasped it tightly, and they sat like that for a few minutes before Danny sat up quickly. There, in the corner of the building, near what he thought was the entrance, there was a shadow moving. He strained his ears, trying to catch a moment of sound. There! A shuffling noise in the corner as the figure came into view. Lindsay sat up too, staring ahead, and Danny was amazed to see who their surprise visitor was.

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

Flack stood outside the interrogation room, looking at his brother inside. He could see plainly the cuts and bruises plaguing Jason's face, and knew that something had happened. He felt actual, physical pain in his stomach to think that his brother had done something like this. It wasn't right. He saw the determined look on his brother's face and knew that it was over. He had turned into the very type of person Flack tried so hard to take off the streets. He felt tears welling in his eyes as he tried not to cry. He walked into the side room, which was currently empty, and sat down. He looked around, made sure he had privacy, and let the tears fall. His shoulders shook silently as he tried to stop himself from crying. But he couldn't do it. He felt so lost, his own brother involved in the kidnapping of two of his best friends.

Flack was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Stella walk in. She took one look at Flack and walked right over to him, kneeling in front of him.

"Don, there was nothing you could have done. This wasn't your fault. Jason made his own choices."

Flack immediately sat up straighter and began wiping the tears off his red face.

"It just feels like I did something. I could have changed this. I should have figured out something was wrong. He's my brother Stella. I should have been able to do something to prevent this."

Stella felt her heart break just to see Flack look like this. He was normally so composed and strong. But here he was with no walls and completely vulnerable. She grasped his hand tightly, and looked into his eyes. Those blue eyes, normally so lively, but now they were full of pain and sorrow.

"Right now, you need to understand that Jason did this, not you. But while dealing with what's already happened, we need to find Danny and Lindsay. That's what's important right now. What's done is done."

Stella hated to be rushing him like this, but she knew Flack needed a pick-up that would get him moving again.

"Okay."

Flack stood up, still holding Stella's hand as she led him out of the side room. He looked like a lost puppy dog, blindly following its master. Stella took him to the break room and sat him down with a cup of coffee. He looked so sad; she wondered if he would ever be the same again.

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

Mac slammed the door to the interrogation room shut as he walked out. He was pissed off. Jason Flack for Christ's sake! Jason Flack did this, and to make it worse, he was refusing to give up the others involved, and he was refusing to divulge any information about where Danny and Lindsay were. His two detectives' lives were hanging in the balance. Jason could tell him where they were, help Mac save them, but he wouldn't. Mac was getting more and more frustrated. This wasn't getting them anywhere.

Mac rubbed his eyes as Peyton walked over to him. She grabbed his hand and whispered in his ear. "Take a break. Come get a coffee with me." Mac nodded blindly and let her lead him out of the lab.

"Jason obviously has some serious motivations for not telling you anything. If the people involved in the kidnapping are who you think they are, he could be getting blackmailed with someone's life." Peyton told Mac. "He is not an evil person."

Mac looked up at her with a pained expression on his face. "I don't know what to do Peyton. I thought that he could be trusted. I sent him to Danny's apartment to watch over him, not kidnap him! The least he could do would be to tell me how to save my CSIs' lives!"

Peyton grimaced. "Mac, you need someone to talk to him that is going to get through to him."

"I have to let Don talk to him." Mac replied, comprehension setting in.

Peyton nodded, taking a sip of her tea. "I know you'll save them Mac. You just need to calm down and think clearly. When you're angry, you help nobody."

Mac smiled back at her, kissed her on the cheek and ran back to the lab. He needed to find Flack.

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

Flack was starting to feel a little bit better when he saw Mac walking towards him.

"How are you doing?" Mac asked, voice laden with sympathy.

"Better." Flack answered, his voice sounding rather monotonous. "I just wish I could talk to him Mac. Just find out what happened from his view. I know I can't but that's what I want."

Mac smiled at him. "Flack, today, that is exactly what I want. I need you to talk to Jason, see if he'll tell you anything else. He loves you, you're his brother, and you might be able to get through to him. Give it a try."

Flack looked energized at the thought. "Where is he?"

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

Twenty minutes later, Flack walked out of the interrogation room looking weary. He had gotten through to his brother. Jason had spilled the whole story fairly quick after talking to Flack. The only problem was that Jason didn't know everything about the operation. He had told them that Sonny Sassone was the operation's ringleader. He had told them that his spare key had been used to get into the apartment. He had also explained the details of the operation, how Sonny didn't want to be caught, so the CSIs were to be trapped in an abandoned building due to be demolished. It had seemed like Jason was going to be able to save Danny and Lindsay after all, but then he had muttered something that had nearly made Flack give up right then and there.

"I don't know where the building is. Somewhere in New York was all Sonny told me. He drove them out there and left them. He's the only one who knows where they are. And you have until tomorrow morning before it gets blown up."

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

Danny looked up into the face of his father and felt an emotion he had never connected to his father before. Gratitude.

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to get you out of this mess, son."

Lindsay stayed silent, watching the exchange.

"How'd you know we were here? I don't even know where we are."

"That isn't important. Look, I know Sonny Sassone is behind this, and we need to get you out of here."

"Thanks Dad." Danny said.

Joey pulled out a hacksaw and leaned over to start cutting the chain between Danny's hands.

"Get Lindsay's done first." Danny said, looking over at her.

Joey nodded and moved over, sawing away at the handcuffs that were binding her.

After a few minutes, Lindsay was able to pull her hands free and stand up. Joey then started on Danny's handcuffs. Barely a moment after Joey started, he stopped abruptly.

"Dad, what is it?"

Joey was looking over at the side of the building, peering off into the darkness. "Nothing. Just thought I heard something."

He went back to setting Danny free when the two men came out from the shadows holding baseball bats.

"Well, well, well, Joey Messer, back to save his son. Who would've guessed he had a heart."

Joey looked up and went as pale as a ghost. Sonny was back, flanked by a man who was over six feet and must have weighed over two hundred pounds.

"I was just... just..." Joey didn't know how to get out of this one. He was stuck. He turned to Lindsay and said one word: "run". Then he turned and walked over to the two men. He barely spoke a word before he was hit. Danny watched from his makeshift prison as his father was beaten right in front of him.

Joey yelled for Lindsay to get out of there, and Danny yelled his father's name, before all was silent. Sonny made one movement towards Lindsay before she turned and ran out of the building, leaving Danny behind.

Danny watched her go, pained expression on his face. He then turned and looked at his father, lying on the ground, unconscious. "You think you're a big man, think that no one can stop you. We've got that DVD. It's what you want isn't it? Well, you're going to have to kill me like you did my brother. And I'll die laughing, knowing you're going to get life in prison." Danny was speaking from anger; he didn't even hear the words his mouth was saying. He just wanted to piss off Sonny, make him feel as angry as Danny felt at that moment.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you here then. There's no one left to save you, your friends at the crime lab will be too late. I have to go find your girlfriend. Please excuse me."

Sonny and the other man walked out of the building, leaving Danny there, thrashing and yelling curses at Sonny. He muttered a quick prayer to no one in particular. Please, let Lindsay be okay. Then he looked at his father and started to cry.

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

Mac looked at his watch. He had called a staff meeting to explain the details of the case. It was four-o-clock by the time everyone was assembled.

"I trust that by now, many of you have heard that this morning, two of our CSIs were kidnapped. Lindsay Monroe and Danny Messer are currently being held in a building in New York City. We know two things – this building is scheduled to be demolished at eight-o-clock tomorrow morning, and it is some type of abandoned warehouse. I need some of you to go through the City records to find out what buildings are due to be demolished."

"There are a lot of possible buildings; do we have any idea where in the city this building is?" Adam asked.

"Absolutely none. We know very little. I need all lab technicians to process this evidence before anything else. We have less than sixteen hours to find them and get them out of there. Let's get going."

Everyone was just leaving the room when Mac's cell phone rang. He was a little surprised. Everyone who would be calling him was in this room. He looked at the caller ID and saw a number he didn't recognize.

"Taylor"

"Mac, it's Lindsay."

A/N: Okay, so I only have a couple of chapters left in me before I wrap this up, please let me know what you think, give me lots of input, and I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter, as I do try and live up to expectations of twists in the plot. So go hit that blue button!