"You want to kiss me, don't you?" she asked as stood with her back against the railing that overlooked the river.

They were standing so close to one another that it was amazing their bodies weren't touching, his arms grasping the rail on either side of her. He'd leaned down to whisper something into her ear, but he let his lips linger for a moment next to her cheek.

They'd only seen each other a few times since they'd first met, but this is was what all their encounters were like.

"Would that be a bad thing?" he asked and now his lips were centimeters away from hers.

She smiled. "I don't think you should kiss me. It would be impossible to go back to this…this uncomplicated place, after you kiss me."

"Let's be honest here," he said as his lips finally landed a chaste kiss on her forehead. "It's already pretty complicated, kiss or no kiss."

The blood was pouring out of her, and Danny wasn't even sure where it was all coming from. Victor had gotten off at least four rounds before Martin tackled him to the ground. She was looking up at him with frightened eyes, but she couldn't speak. Danny kept moving his hands around trying to stop the bleeding, but it was no use.

"It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay, baby," he kept saying to her in between shouting for the paramedics.

And then he saw a tear stream out of her eye as she tried to speak, but instead of words, he saw blood.

"Don't…don't say anything. Just keep your eyes on mine. Just look at me. Look at me," he pleaded as he rested his bloody hand on her cheek, but slowly the life in her eyes faded. And he knew he'd lost her.

After the paramedics entered the house, Jack and Sam pulled Danny away from Lauren's lifeless body.

"Danny…Danny…you're bleeding," Jack said as he looked at Danny's arm.

"It was her…there was…there was so much blood," Danny replied in dazed state.

"No, Danny, it's you. Your shoulder and your arm. They look like through and throughs," Jack said as he tried to guide Danny out to a waiting ambulance.

"Oh…God," Danny said as it hit him. When he'd shielded Lauren, the bullets ripped through him and hit her.

As Danny walked outside, he saw Martin being tended to by a paramedic. And then he searched the crowd as his eyes finally rested on Victor talking to agents.

"Why…why isn't he in cuffs?" Danny asked as he looked at Jack. "Why isn't he in cuffs? He just killed a woman!" Danny shouted. "Why the hell isn't he in cuffs?"

All the agents and police in the vicinity were staring at him now as he continued to shout.

Martin came rushing towards him as Jack and Sam tried to hold him back from confronting Victor and the agents around him.

"Danny, we have to give our statements. After we do that, they'll arrest him. Right now, it looks like self-defense," Martin said in a restrained tone. "You need to let the paramedics look at your shoulder, man."

"No, he needs to go to jail! It's not right. She's dead, Martin! She's dead!" Danny cried out just as the coroner rolled out the gurney with the body bag.

Twelve Hours Later

"Agent Fitzgerald, are you saying that Ms. Palmer kidnapped Victor Fitzgerald in self-defense?" the detective asked.

Martin had been giving his statement for the last two hours. He knew that Danny had been in before him, but the detectives hadn't given much credence to what he'd told them. Jack had informed Martin that Danny was still in shock and behaving erratically. After much pleading, Jack had finally convinced Danny to spend the night in the hospital where the doctors gave him a heavy dose of sedative to calm him down.

So now it was up to Martin to convince the detectives that his father was not only at fault, but also a sadistic monster.

"Yes sir, that's exactly what I'm saying. She was trying to get away from him. That's why her car was in Richmond. When he finally caught up to her, she defended herself while he was…um…he was…he was sexually assaulting her," Martin admitted, voice full of shame. "After she knocked him out, she acted irrationally because she was in shock, as you can imagine."

"But she kidnapped you as well. She was rational about that, yeah?"

"No, sir. That's inaccurate. She called me to tell me she had my father. I was in that house willingly and not under duress," Martin lied. He'd decided that was the only way he could help Lauren now that she was gone.

"Agent Taylor said—"

"Agent Taylor was mistaken. He just watched this woman die, and he's obviously still in shock. Lauren Palmer did not kidnap me. I went in to the house first to convince her to let my father go. Then Agent Taylor came. When he came in, she agreed to surrender peacefully."

"What happened as you started to exit the house?"

"Agent Taylor was telling Ms. Palmer that they would go out as soon as tactical had secured my father. I started to open the door because I thought my father was right behind me, but when I looked back, he'd pick up a gun—"

"What gun?" the detective asked.

"It was his gun. Ms. Palmer had it until Danny had convinced her to put it down. I should have secured the weapon before going out the door, but I didn't. That was my mistake," Martin said, voiced full of guilt. "Um, I looked back and my father was aiming at Lauren. I shouted something. Danny looked over and immediately turned to shield Lauren, but he'd already fired. It happened so fast. Both Danny and Lauren went down. I took my father down and took away the weapon. The next thing I knew tactical was in the house, and Danny was trying to stop Lauren's bleeding."

The detective took a few notes, and then took a short breath before asking his next question. "Do you really believe that your father, the deputy director of the FBI, is actually responsible for all the heinous acts that Agent Taylor accused him of in his statement."

Martin nodded. "Yes sir, unfortunately, I do believe it."

"We've talked to the Palmers. They aren't corroborating anything in Agent Taylor's statement. They are saying that Lauren was mentally disturbed. They are saying she invented everything."

"They're lying" Martin replied simply.

"Can you prove that, Agent Fitzgerald?"

"Yes, sir. I can"

Six Hours Earlier

As Martin took the shuttle plane down to D.C., he racked his brain trying to think of where his father would hide his hidden life, and then it hit him. His parents had a rental property in D.C that they hadn't rented out in years. Occasionally, they'd let friends or family stay at the property, but it hadn't had long-term tenants in the last ten years.

Jack had told Martin not to go, but Martin had felt it was his duty to Danny and even to Lauren to find out the truth about his father.

As soon as he landed, he took a cab to the rental property. He didn't have a key so he broke the window on the back door. After he let himself in, he made his way down to the basement, knowing there was a makeshift office down there.

Since the office door was locked, he had to kick it open. At first glance, the office looked innocuous. He pried open drawer after drawer without finding anything. And then his eyes drifted over to an armoire. The armoire was locked as well, so Martin picked the lock. As soon as the door opened, Martins' heart started to beat faster.

There were stacks and stacks of labeled DVDs, along with a DVD player and a television. Martin didn't want to go any further, but knew he didn't have a choice. He turned on the TV and then pressed play on the DVD player.

He only had to watch a few seconds to realize it was Lauren and Danny. Feeling sick to his stomach, he pressed stop. Forcing himself to continue, he took out the DVD and replaced it with a DVD marked 'L Only'. After pressing play again, Martin saw Lauren in the small room that Jack had told him about. Her wrists and legs were restrained with leather straps. In the background, he heard his father's voice saying awful, horrible things to her. Martin turned that one off quickly as well.

"I requested Metro police have a guard watch the house, until you can send someone down to process the scene," Martin said as he tried to remain professional. "From what the little I saw, it appears he's been escalating this…this sickness for the last several years. I think he used prostitutes before Lauren."

The stunned detective didn't respond. He just nodded as he rose from the table, leaving Martin to take a deep breath.

Two Weeks Later

Taking a deep breath, Danny stepped off the elevator. Slowly, he walked towards Jack's office. As he approached the door, he saw that Sam and Vivian were in the office with Jack. He lightly knocked on the door before entering.

"Hey," he said quietly.

Both Vivian and Samantha smiled when they saw him.

"Hey," Vivian said as she walked towards him. Gingerly, she put her arms around him in a warm embrace, being careful of his arm that was still in a sling.

Sam hugged him next. "We've all missed you," she whispered in his ear.

"Are you sure you're ready to come back?" Jack asked from behind them.

Danny shrugged. "It's better than sitting at home, right? I'm fine. Really. Um, is…is Martin here?"

Jack shook his head. "Uh, no, he's not here right now."

"Well, I wanted to tell you guys all at the same time, but I guess I'll catch up with him later. Um, I just…I wanted to say thanks for all your help over the last couple of weeks. You've been really great…being at the funeral…and um, just being there. It's meant a lot," Danny said in a slightly stammering, nervous tone.

"We're just glad you're doing better," Vivian said as she squeezed his arm. "We better get back to work," she said, glancing at Samantha.

"Right," Sam responded. "See you out there," she said as she passed Danny.

"Why don't you sit for a minute?" Jack said as he motioned to the chair across from him

Nodding, Danny took a seat in the chair. "I'm guessing its desk duty until my arm heals?"

"You guessed right," Jack replied with a small smile. "There's something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"What? Are you worried about my mental state? I know I was messed up right after, but I'm better. It's been hard, but I'm getting better."

"Good. That's good to hear," Jack responded. "I also wanted to show you this," he said as he handed Danny some papers.

Danny glanced at the papers and frowned. "Transfer papers? For Martin?"

"He gave them to me last week. He's requesting a transfer to Violent Crimes in D.C."

"Why?"

Jack shrugged. "It's pretty obvious why."

Martin sat in what felt like his fiftieth NA meeting since finding out about his father. He felt like it was the only thing that was stopping him from falling into the abyss.

About halfway through the meeting, he noticed that someone took a seat in the row behind him. Glancing back quickly, he was shocked to see Danny.

When the meeting ended, Martin didn't make a move to get up. Instead, Danny got up and took the seat that was just vacated next to him.

"What are you doing here?" Martin asked as he kept his eyes focused on the front of the room.

"Just felt the need to come to a meeting."

"This is an NA meeting, Danny."

"Yeah, I know. I'm familiar with the concept," Danny replied with a smirk. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you, and you're not returning my phone calls."

"I'm sure Jack told you about the transfer, so I know what this is about. You don't have to take the high road, Danny. You deserve to not have to work with…"

"Work with who? You? Why wouldn't I want to keep working with you?"

"Because of what my father did. He—"

Danny put his hand on Martin's arm. "Don't. Don't say it. I'm trying to make myself not think about it every second of the day," Danny interrupted and then sighed slightly before continuing. "But here's the thing, Martin. You're not your father. Thank God…none of us are our fathers. And you did the most unbelievable, courageous thing when by giving that statement and finding all the evidence against him."

"He's going to get away with it, Danny," Martin replied in a desperate, regretful tone. "He has friends in high places that are covering everything up. My mother is even standing by him because she can't believe he's capable of being so…so evil. The FBI is making him retire, but it's been two weeks and there have been no charges brought against him. You shouldn't have to work with someone who's a constant reminder of that."

Taking a deep breath, Danny rubbed his temples. "I still have hope that he'll pay for what he's done, but I have to let it go. Just like you have to let it go. It will be much harder for both of us to do that if you transfer."

"I should have secured the gun—"

"Martin…stop…just stop. You can't look back, man. It's over, and…and she's gone," Danny interrupted as he tried to contain his anger and emotions.

One Week Later

Danny was still on desk duty, and he was bored out of his mind. He missed being out in the field and yearned for more work that would keep his mind off Lauren and Martin's father.

Martin rescinded his transfer and was back at work. While things weren't as comfortable with Martin as they were before, it was getting better everyday. The fact that his father still hadn't been charged in Lauren's murder was still frustrating, but there was very little Danny could do about that.

Lauren was never far from his thoughts. He still wasn't sure what they were to each other, but he knew that he missed her and still felt terribly guilty for not being able to save her.

"Danny," an agent called out as she approached him.

"Yeah."

"There's a woman named Robin Phillips here to see you. I put her in the visitor's conference room downstairs."

Frowning, Danny had to think for a few minutes to remember the name and then it came to him. "Thanks," he responded as he got up from his chair.

Stepping off the elevator, Danny made his way down the hall and then entered the conference room.

As soon as he entered, Robin looked up and gave him a small smile. "Agent Taylor, thanks for seeing me."

"I'm surprised you're here. What's this about?" Danny asked in a warm but skeptical tone.

"I, um, I saw you at Lauren's funeral. I wanted to say something to you, but—"

"I was still pretty angry at her funeral. I probably didn't look very approachable."

"Yeah," Robin responded. "It was so sad. I…I still can't believe that her family isn't coming forward to support her now."

Danny shrugged. "Self-preservation, I guess."

For a moment, they didn't say anything. The silence becoming a bit uncomfortable, Danny said, "Listen, it was nice to see you. I know you cared about Lauren. You were one of the only people to really help me when she was missing, so thanks…for stopping by." He started to rise from the table.

"Wait. I, um, I have something for you. Like I said, I wanted to give it to you at the funeral, but it didn't seem like the right time. And then I questioned whether I should give it to you at all…maybe you just want to forget about her. But then I thought that maybe this would help you find some closure," she said as she reached into her purse and pulled out a DVD case.

Taking the case from her, Danny inspected it for a minute. "What's on it?"

"Remember when I told you that Lauren volunteered to be one of my therapy patients?"

Danny nodded.

"Well, we videotape our sessions, so we can go back and review what we did right and what we did wrong. After I heard that Lauren had attempted suicide, I reviewed her sessions over and over again to see if I could have helped her differently. And then I came across this," Robin said as she motioned to the DVD.

"I don't know if I should have this," Danny responded in an uncomfortable tone.

"Ethically, you probably shouldn't, but I really think that Lauren would want you to see this. She had to be so guarded when she was with you, but when she talked about you with me, she could be more open. She would want you to see this. I know she would."

He'd had the DVD for over a week, but hadn't had the courage to watch it. Parts of him thought he should just leave it alone and move on since watching it wouldn't bring Lauren back. But then he realized that as much as he tried to bury his feelings and tell everyone he was okay, he still ached every day.

Maybe watching it would be the only way to bring closure and would help him to continue grieving, instead of just trying to forget she was ever a part of his life.

He took the DVD out, put it in the player, and then sat on the edge of the coffee table right in front of his TV.

His breath caught when he first saw her appear on screen. He paused it on her face for moment. He'd almost forgotten how stunningly beautiful she was, even without any make-up and her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Taking another deep breath, he pressed play again.

"You're looking especially radiant today," Robin said from off-camera.

Lauren smiled widely. "Am I?" she asked coyly.

Danny paused it again and almost stopped it completely, seeing her smile almost too much to bear.

But he pressed play again.

"You're still seeing the FBI agent, aren't you?"

Lauren nodded.

"It's going well?"

Her smile faded slightly. "It's going really well. I've never experienced anything like this before."

"You're falling in love."

Lauren shrugged as she stopped smiling. "I don't think I can allow myself to fall in love."

"Then what is it with this man?"

"He's my friend. And he genuinely cares about me. No one has ever made me feel like that before."

"Cared for?"

Lauren nodded. "Yeah. When I'm with him, he makes me forget about all the awful stuff. He makes me laugh. And he makes me feel safe. For the first time in my life, I don't feel fear or dread when a man, Danny, touches me."

"Do you ever think that you'll be able to have a real relationship with him?"

Lauren smiled again. "I actually had a dream about that the other night. I was older. It was a different time and place, but we were together. I could feel him holding my hand. And there I felt…I felt…"

"Felt what?"

"I didn't feel dirty anymore. I didn't feel the chaos that I feel now. I just felt clean and peaceful."

"Maybe you'll have that with him some day."

"Maybe," Lauren responded, but there was skepticism in her eyes. "Right now, I just try to hold on to my happy moments with him. It makes the dark times almost bearable. Even if the last time I saw Danny was the last time I could ever see him, it would be okay because he's given me the memories of something so good and pure and joyful. No matter what happens, I'll carry that with me forever."

End note: Thanks for reading and reviewing. I had this story in my mind for a while and finally found the courage to post it. I'm sorry for killing Lauren, but that was my plan all along. As I wrote the story, I actually thought about keeping her alive at the end, because I liked her so much – but I think this story was too dark to have a sappy ending. Also, I'm pretty sure this is the only fanfic I will write, so thanks, MariaLisa, Ninz, UkeleleBoy, and Zonya, thanks for your encouragement as I wrote it.