A/N: My thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to read and review!
A Bullet for Danny: Danny's Great Escape
As soon as the news of Louie's arrest hit her ears Lindsay made a beeline for the hospital busting lights the entire way. It was late afternoon and traffic was at a stand still. Not even emergency vehicles would be able to get through the endless stream of cars that lined the road heading towards Queens Memorial.
"Get out of the way!" she shouted laying on her horn at a couple of jaywalking pedestrians.
"Yeah well where do you ya think your going in this traffic bitch?" one of the jaywalkers shouted back in a thick pronounced accent as a second flipped her the bird. Through she could have done without the profanity she couldn't help but notice how much the young man sounded like Danny.
More than hour passed before she finally pulled into the large concrete parking structure and grabbed the first space available. Exiting her SUV, Lindsay jogged at a moderate pace, with her long brunette hair bobbing over her shoulders.
She was almost to the elevator when a strong pair of arms reached out and yanked her inside the awaiting stairwell. Her first instinct was to scream until she recognized the sound of Mac's commanding voice.
"Lindsay, Lindsay!" Mac held tight as she struggled against his grip, "Lindsay you can't go up there right now!" In Mac's mind it was still too dangerous. There was just something about the idea of Julian Sassone ordering the hit that didn't sit well with him.
"Let me go Mac! I have to get to Danny!" Lindsay returned unconsciously sinking her fingernails into the tops of Mac's hands where they had a tight hold on her waist.
"Lindsay, Lindsay listen to me. I've already seen Danny and he's fine!" Mac growled loosing his grip a bit.
Realizing she was in a loosing a battle with her boss, Lindsay stopped struggling causing Mac to release her.
"He needs me, Mac" she choked not caring if her true feelings for her co-worker were showing. At the moment it seemed that all sense of professionalism had gone out the window.
Mac stood silent for a moment with his brow knitted. What as going on here? Lindsay was always one to be thorough and now she was acting a like a spoiled teen with a schoolgirls crush. Sure he'd noticed the ongoing banter between Danny and Lindsay before but had never taken much notice beyond what it looked like on the surface.
He could clearly see that now was not the time to stir things up but a made a mental note to address the issue when things were settled.
"He needs all of us right now" he said softly stepping aside, letting his eyes follow Lindsay as she hurried up the stairs.
Lindsay was breathless by the time she arrived at the morgue. In the back of her mind part of her wondered why Mac hadn't moved Danny upstairs yet but she quickly dismissed the thought when she saw Det. Jennifer Angell standing outside the small room that double for Danny's ICU ward. The New York bred detective was coolly sipping a cup of Starbucks finest.
"How's he doing?" Lindsay asked.
"He's taking the news about Louie pretty hard. I came out here so he could be alone" Jennifer replied pressing the paper cup to her pale lips and swallowing as Lindsay started to breeze past her. "Hey, I gotta question for you?"
"Yeah?" Lindsay looked over her shoulder.
"Isn't Danny from Staten Island?"
"Born and raised why?" Lindsay smiled softly as her hand started to the turn the door knob.
Jennifer shrugged, tossing her cup into a nearby trashcan "That's weird he kept calling out for Montana"
Lindsay's smile grew as she opened the door. She was relieved to see that Danny was sitting up in bed and that his doctors had removed the tracheal collar. Now only a bandage lay across the area above his collarbone where the bullet had entered. A gastric feeding tube was winding it's way from underneath the sheets reminding her that he wasn't out of the woods quite yet.
"Danny" she said his name softly earning the injured CSI's attention. Gingerly Danny lifted his head so that Lindsay could see his face. He tried to say her name but nothing except a tired sound rasp passed through his lips.
From where Lindsay stood she could see his eyes were red, puffy and welling giving her the impression that Mac had broken the news about Louie killing Julian Sassone. Crossing the room, Lindsay launched herself at him, holding his muscular frame in her arms.
"Danny, I'm so sorry" she whispered letting her lips graze the top of his ear as he held her back, letting long sobs of emotion escape his body.
Mac sat behind his desk with a pensive look upon his face. Something was bothering him; Julian Sassone. The bounty had that been placed on Danny's head seemed much to high for the likes of a Tanglewood boy. One hundred thousand was usually reserved for political targets or people of special interest. Not a CSI with a gang related past. Something did not add up.
"Knock, knock" Stella rapped on the door sticking her head inside.
"Come in" Mac motioned with a wave of his hand.
Stella padded up to the desk and folded her long arms over her chest. "So I gather since you haven't informed the Messer's that Danny is alive that you don't think this is over"
"Things don't add up," Mac replied flatly. "The bounty placed on Danny's head was way to high"
"Could Mayer have lying about the money?" Stella put in letting her arms fall to her side.
Mac shook his head, "The man has no reason too" Men like Curtis Mayer didn't need the ego boost.
Stella chewed down on her bottom lip, pondering a plausible answer. She wanted this to be over for Danny's sake. Now that Louie was in jail for Julian Sassone's murder Danny would have more than his fair share of grief. The poor man didn't need to be looking over his shoulder all of the time waiting for the other shoe to drop. "Well maybe Julian came into some money. He was a Princeton graduate you know"
Mac turned his swivel chair towards his computer, "Even if did I don't think he'd blow that much on avenging Sonny's arrest"
Stella reached for a small trinket on Mac' desk which proudly displayed the Marine emblem and started to tinker with it. "So what we do?"
"Keep Danny safe until we can figure who's still out there with a steady cash flow"
Or an empty bank account" Stella quipped replacing the trinket before she spun around. "I'll tell the rest of the team to remain in mourning"
"Hey Stella" Mac called her back. "What do you know about Danny and Lindsay?"
"Danny and Lindsay?" Stella tried to keep her eyes blank so that Mac would see she knew what he talking about.
"How close are they?"
"How close are they?" she repeated innocently with a shrug. "They're friends"
"Friends" Mac dared to repeat, "that all?"
"Friends" Stella quipped again, "Just like you and Peyton"
"That's what I thought," Mac sighed wondering what to do about two of his finest.
"Ahem" Det Jennifer Angell cleared her throat as she entered Danny's room. Danny of course was sound asleep from mixture of sheer exhaustion and painkillers. Lindsay was curled up at his side, spooned up against his chest.
"You not get enough sleep at home detective?" Jennifer added when Lindsay started to stir.
"Huh? What?" Lindsay pushed her brown strands always from her face and sat up, realizing she'd been caught in the act. Instantly her cheeks started to flame.
"It's not what it looks like," Her voice started to stammer. "Danny and I are just friends"
"Wish I had a friend like that" Jennifer snorted purposely keeping her accent thick, "But for what it's worth Messer is quite a catch"
Moving gingerly, Lindsay pushed herself from the bed, careful not to disturb Danny. "I really wouldn't know. We just work together". Although there was no use in trying to keep up the façade, she had to try to remain professional…or at least as professional as possible given the situation.
"Right" Grinning with her own embarrassment over the situation Jennifer scratched the back of her head. "Say did Taylor get a hold you?" She asked suddenly prompting Lindsay to look down at her cell. She'd missed three calls from Mac.
Lindsay frowned deeply. She didn't want to leave Danny again, especially not now, not again.
"He's kind of expecting you in his office like Pronto" Jennifer winced, "I promised I'd relay the message"
Lindsay rolled her eyes and pulled her bag over her shoulder.
Jennifer sank in the metal chair beside the bed and kicked up her feet so that they were resting on the utility cart, "Anything you want me to relay to you handsome prince should he wake up?"
Lindsay smirked feeling rose bushes bloom upon her cheeks. The idea that she and Danny were a potential couple was catching on fast. "Just tell him he's always have a little piece of Montana"
The big hand on the clock was nearing the ten o'clock hour mark when Danny suddenly found himself awake and filled with energy.
"Can I get ya a steak or somethin'?" Jennifer quipped from where she sat in her chair flipping through the latest edition of Cosmo.
Feeling like a glimmer of his ol self, Danny sat up a little taller, speaking in a raspy voice "An Angell with a wicked sense of humor, I like that"
Jennifer shrugged flipping the page of her magazine loudly. "Yeah well in our line of work it helps to have something to fall back on, but seriously if you need anything I'll be happy to get it for you"
Danny pursed his lips letting his mind tick away at an idea "As a matter of fact there is something" he began sporting a weak version of the famous Messer grin. "I'd like my clothes," he said gauging her expression "I gotta see my brother"
With a sour expression, Angell clicked her cheek. Danny leaving the hospital would not be in the best interest of the department nor his own, "If you wanna commit suicide be my guest just don't expect me to be any part of it"
"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll believe me when I tell them how I over took you with all these tubes and wires comin' out of my chest" Danny hissed carefully dislodging the IV thread in his upper arm.