It seemed as if days had gone by since she last talked to him, since she had him close enough to smell him, to touch, to taste him. It had merely been hours. The longest hours she had ever spent in her life, waiting to see if the man she loved was ever going to say her name again.

"Who is here for Detective Messer?" said a small nurse who by the looks of it had just come out of surgery.

"Right here, how is he?" Lindsay had jumped to her feet the second she heard his name. "How is he doing? Tell me something?"

"Ma'am, he's out of surgery. But the doctor would like to speak to his immediate family first."

"We tried, but his parents are out of town. Please?" At that moment, Stella took Lindsay's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. After all, she too was feeling vulnerable and scare, the touch made her feel more calmed.

With that, the nurse let out a sigh and motioned for the women to follow her down the hall where the doctor was standing talking to a nurse while Danny was moved to recovery.

"Dr. Stevens? These women are here for Detective Messer."

"I'm his girlfriend, how is he?" Lindsay said before the doctor could open his mouth.

"Right now, all I can tell you is that he is stable. It is touch and go from here. He has lost a lot of blood, and there was significant damage to his liver and his left lung collapsed due to pressure from the gunshot wound to his chest. What we are worried about the blood loss, his pressure has been hard to stabilize."

"What does that mean?" Stella interjected, seeing the tears form in Lindsay's eyes.

"It means that he is going to have to fight. If he does survive this it is going to be a hard recovery." The doctor gave them a grim look that gave Lindsay chills.

"What do you mean 'if'?" Lindsay said in a harsh tone.

"I don't want you to have too high of expectations right now. I was surprised he even made it through surgery. I'm sorry, but it is good to stay positive." With that the doctor put a hand on Lindsay shoulder and said, "As soon as he is out of recovery and moved to the ICU, Ill get the nurse to come and get you."

"Thank you doctor." Lindsay said, Dr. Stevens gave her a meaningful nod and walked away.

"Okay, I'm…ah… going to call Mac I guess and let him know. You need anything?" Stella looked at a broken Lindsay and realized the only thing she needed was Danny.

"Thank you. Really, I mean I should be comforting you. You were there, I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay." Stella paused and decided that is was time she knew. "Lindsay… Danny saved my life." Lindsay sat down and looked up at Stella.

"What do you mean?"

"He had a feeling. He said something was off, and then he pushed me to the ground. He took those bullets for me. If he doesn't… well. I should call Mac." Stella turned on her heal and walked away before Lindsay could say anything. She knew that Danny was a hero; she just didn't know that he was a hero to more people then just her.

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"Ok… thanks Stella." Mac shut his phone and turned to the waiting Hawkes and Flack who were desperate to hear how their friend was doing. "He's out of surgery and he's stable. Apart from that its touch and go. Stella didn't sound enthusiastic." Mac said in a monotone voice.

Flack looked down at the floor of the hallway, where Danny's broken and bleeding body once laid. The blood pool was larger then he expected when he first arrived on scene, and the look of it made him sick to his stomach.

"So other then the fact that this guy is wanted for attempted murder of a police officer, he is also wanted on drug trafficking charges, theft and armed robbery. Seems like a nice guy." Flack said with angry and bitterness.

"I'm thinking that either Brendan had a drug deal gone bad between himself and his roomy or bad drug deal gone bad and now someone is after the roomy, and being a drug addict, he is probably paranoid. Hence the shooting through the door at Danny and Stella." Hawkes said in a very flat tone, trying not so show his upset in investigating the shooting of one of his best friends.

"We are not sleeping until this son-of-a-bitch in is cuffs. Do you understand me? Stella is on her way back from the hospital; Lindsay is staying with Danny. If anything changes she'll be calling." Mac paused and let out a large sigh. "Now… lets get this bastard."

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"Excuse me, Miss? Sweetie?" Lindsay heard someone saying, she opened her eyes, not even realizing that she had fallen asleep. She noticed the small nurse was standing above her.

"Detective Messer has been moved to the ICU. You can see him if you'd like." The nurses' tone had changed since her last encounter. She was more relaxed, more mother like. Lindsay felt at ease around her.

"Yes…I would, where do I go?" with that Lindsay got up and followed the nurse. When they got to the room, the woman turned and said to Lindsay, "My husband is a cop. I've been where your standing. Its not easy, but you can survive it. If you need anything, anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask." Lindsay took it in; the woman put a hand on her back and pointed her in the direction of Danny's room.

"Thank you." She said plainly, and walked slowly toward the room. Lindsay didn't know what scared her more. Seeing Danny attached to machines, or seeing him looking so helpless.

When she got to the room, it felt as if her heart would jump from her chest. She caught her breath in her throat and had to put a hand on the doorframe to steady her self. There were tubes coming from his mouth, his nose, and both wrists, his glasses were missing and for the first time, Lindsay had seen Danny with all of his defenses gone. He looked so helpless and calm.

Lindsay wiped the tears from her eyes, and walked toward the bed. She sat on the edge and took his hand. It was cold from the blood loss, so she brought it to her face to warm it against her skin.

"Hey baby. I don't think you can hear me, but ah… I know what you did. For Stella. I want you to know that I am so proud of you. For being so brave, and heroic." She paused to sniffle back her tears. "Listen you have to do me a favour and open your eyes, okay? You need to get better, because I need you to tell me that things are going to be okay. I never realized how much I need you in my life. You weren't something I planned, ya know? When I came here I never thought I'd fall in love with a man like you. But… I did, and I fell hard Messer."

Lindsay's tears were falling free now. But she remained calm; she knew that even though she was scared out of her mind. She had to be the rock for Danny.

"I know you'll wake up, just to prove the doctors wrong. You always have to be right, or be first. So make sure you are this time too. You can't die Danny; it isn't your time. You are too young, too beautiful a person. So… just keep fighting. Okay?"

Lindsay lay down next to him, careful to make sure that she didn't pull any wires. She lay close enough so that she could hear his heartbeats.

"I love you Danny. Just promise to come back to me. I love you."

Tbc…