A/N: Thanks to everyone who took time to read and review. I am truly touched by the number of you who added this story to your alert list. Hope you all will continue to enjoy.

A Bullet for Danny chapter 2

Stella blinked and shook her head slightly as the morning sun started to creep across the top of the New York skyline. "Come again?"

"I did this" Lindsay repeated, "I did this to Danny"

The older CSI crossed her arms over her chest, dipping her chin in thought. Slowly she brought it upward, biting on her bottom lip. "Did you shoot him?"

"No!" Lindsay shot back. Long streams of tears were now running down her face like slithering snakes.

"Then I'm not following you" Stella said returning her hands to her hips. "Look Lindsay, we're all torn up over what's happen to Danny but that doesn't mean that we're responsible."

Stella continued to watch as her friend ran her index finger under her left eye swiping at the salty tears.

"You don't understand. I had dinner here last night. The fork and the lipstick stain are mine," Lindsay confessed softly staring down at her shoes. "And I keeping thinking, that maybe if I would have-" Stayed a little bit longer was the phrase she was thinking of but it wouldn't come out.

Lindsay pulled the wine to her mouth and felt the cold liquid brush up against her lips. "It's good," she said barely letting the liquid seep past her teeth.

"It goes really well with pasta primavera" Danny sat on the coffee table across from her holding a carton of take-out in his hands. Two forks were stuffed in the center of the noodles standing upright. "But I could get you the angel hair with marinara if you like"

"No this is fine" Lindsay reached for the Primavera taking it out of his hands and delicately dove into the pasta.

"Okay, I'll eat the angel hair" Danny reached behind him and picked up a second container shoveling in huge bites. "Something wrong?" he asked noting Lindsay was just picking at the food with her fork.

"No" she said softly raising her eyes to meet his, "It's great"

Danny set his container back down on the coffee table "If it's so great then why aren't you eating it?" A pause lapsed between them. "You did come here to eat didn't you?" he added as Lindsay burst into a set of soft giggles.

"What?" Danny asked bemused as she reached for a napkin and leaned forward.

"Let's just say you wear your food well" Gently she brushed a huge blob of chunky tomato from his blue short-sleeved shirt.

"I guess you can't take me anywhere" Danny lifted his eyes meeting hers in serious stare before gazing down at her lips.

"I should go" Lindsay said quickly pulling back rising to her feet before any further thought could occur. She turned for the door only to have Danny jumped up and take a hold of her arm.

"What are you so afraid of Lindsay?"

Words formed on the tip of tongue but refused to go any further. Tingles were shooting up her arm at the feel of his touch. "It's complicated" she finally blurted as his hand reached up and brushed the side of her face.

"I don't mind complications. I enjoy them in fact"

"Danny please, I told you I can't do this" she blinked pulling free of his grasp so that he wouldn't see the tears gathering on her lashes.

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm sorry, I made a mistake" She wanted to be with him but she just wasn't ready.

"No, no" Stella shook her head as she wrapped her long arms around Lindsay and attempted to guide her back towards the stairs. "You're a professional Lindsay you should know better than to go there."

Together the woman climbed the stairs, gently dodging the barrage of people coming in the opposite direction on their way to work.

Back in Danny's apartment, Flack and Hawkes stood looking down at a blood pool that had colored the hardwood crimson.

"Look" Hawkes pointed towards a trail of blood, which resembled claw marks on the living room floor.

Flacks eyes flicked to the cordless phone that was laying just a few feet away from the bloodied spot where Danny had been found. "We have it on record that another call came into 9-1-1 five minutes after the first neighbors but there was no verbal response. Danny must have dragged himself to the phone and then passed out"

"The phone was on the end table," Hawkes added noting the empty cradle as a mental vision of friend sprang into his mind.

Danny was lying on his back with blood seeping from the bullet wound just above his collarbone. A dark curtain slowly started to form over his eyes as he saw his attacker rise and retreat. Heavy footsteps pounded the hardwood floor until they were nothing but an echo in the hallway.

Sweat formed quickly at his brow along with a pool of blood that spread quickly onto the floor painting the light colored hardwood crimson. His heart rate began to accelerate as he felt life start to slip away. The cordless phone lay just a few inches from his face. Realizing it could be his only hope Danny stretched out his arm, his body trembling as frantic fingers scrambled to pull to phone to him.

Some how he managed to roll over onto his stomach and did a belly crawl towards the end table where he was successfully able to knock the phone out of it's cradle.

Shaking fingers dialed 9-1-1. "911 Operator, please state your emergency"

Danny's mouth opened in effort to speak but nothing came out Dark spots combined with fuzziness danced over him while his peripheral vision began shrink making him feel as if he were trapped in a narrow tunnel. An unforgivable pain washed over his body as he swallowed convulsively trying to form the words to call for help or even draw a breath in through his blood-clogged throat.

"Useless" he thought feeling as if a pair of hands were wrapped around his neck cutting off his need for air. He couldn't breath…he was losing this battle.

Flack pinched the bridge of his nose as a similar vision of his friend entered his mind. "We're gonna get this sick bastard and hang em out to dry"

"Yeah," Hawkes agreed drawing out a long sigh, before flicking his eyes to Don "But first we've got to find him"

A small smile came to Flack's face. There was something about the way that Hawkes had said "got to find him" that made him grin, "But without Danny here to tell us who shot him, you've got to follow the evidence"

Happy to have found some humor in the bleak situation, Hawkes slapped the detective on the back "Now your thinkin' like one of us". Together the two friends continued to survey the scene until they had gathered an adequate amount of blood, fingerprints, hair, broken glass and shoe impressions.

Queens Memorial Hospital

It was nearly noon when Stella entered the surgical waiting room with a garment bag tucked over her shoulder and panned the area for Mac. The formidable team leader was sitting in the corner, aimlessly flipping through an old copy of Psychology Today.

Slowly Stella crossed through the rows of chairs to Mac and settled down beside him "Has there been any word?"

"No" Mac tossed the magazine aside and leaned back into his chair before digging into his pocket, pulling out an evidence bag. Inside was the bloodied bullet that doctor's had managed to pull out of Danny's throat "A nurse came out a little while ago and said they managed to remove the bullet. I want you to take it to the lab and see where it came from then track down the owner"

A short pause lapsed signaling that Mac was starting to wither, "The woman that brought me the bullet, said they pulled it out the top of his chest. It barely missed his heart. She also said Danny has a large contusion just below his right eye"

"Pistol Whipped?" Stella surmised. "That would make sense considering we found Danny's glasses on the floor. The frames were pretty bent up."

"Execution style I think" Mac envisioned Danny Messer on his knees with his hands laced behind his back, nostrils flaring. A gloved hand pressed the nuzzle of a revolver down on his collarbone and fired quickly.

Stella reached for the bag and glanced it for a moment before tucking it way in her handbag. "He'll be okay" she smiled softly letting her hand brush over the top of Macs, "He's Danny"

Mac nodded offering his own version of a half-hearted grin. "How's the rest of the teaming taking it"

"Pretty good" Stella shrugged, "Except for Lindsay. She was having a hard time so I sent her home"

"She and Danny are close" Mac grunted rubbing his chin as Stella started to study him. The stress on his face was evident. His normally dark eyes were clouded with a highway of wavy lines reflecting his exhaustion.

"Mac, I brought you some cleans clothes but why don't you go home and try to get some rest you've been here all night"

"No..no…I've gotta stay until Danny comes out of surgery" he protested taking the garment bag from her lap. Together they pulled to their feet and Mac slung the garment bag over his shoulder.

Stella could see by the intense look in his eyes that if they lost Danny, Mac needed to hear it in person. Inside he was still wrestling with losing former CSI Aiden Burn, they all were. She shuddered to think of how they would all react if they lost Danny too.

"I'll be in the lab as soon as I hear something. Meanwhile you're in charge. I've already cleared it with the Commissioner, we're not working any other cases until we find Danny's attacker. "

"Okay" Stella answered wordlessly as he brushed past her on his way to find a shower.

Lindsay's Apartment

Lindsay sat on her couch, barefoot with her knees drawn up against her chest. She was staring at the television but saw nothing of the evening news. It was just background noise. The sound of her heart crashing up against her chest was the only sound she could really hear. It was the only sound she wanted to hear.

She couldn't believe that she choked today at Danny's apartment. Stella had been right she was a professional. You were the one who told Danny we should just do our jobs a little voice inside of her head berated.

"I didn't mean it," she whispered burying her head into her knees.