CHAPTER TWO

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"The chief of police, your former boss, said that the escape happened yesterday morning," he paused as Lindsay let out a choked sound of disbelief and outrage at not being told immediately. "I know, but you know as well as I, that the first forty-eight hours are crucial. They needed to fully concentrate on what was happening around them and you are safe here in New York. An immediate investigation began and calls went out to mobilize a search for them. Your brother was informed and brought to the house to confirm if anything was missing." Mac noted her flinch when he mentioned her brother. Her eyes dropped to her lap.

"Besides some money, clothes, and food, your father's gun cabinet was also raided." Another flinch and Mac wanted desperately to stop, but she had to know. He squeezed her hands, trying to lend her strength. "There was no evidence of blood at the scene," flinch, "and the fact that the place was ransacked covered up any clear indication that a struggle may have taken place." Despite being only words, they continued to hit Lindsay worse than any fist or bullet. Her breath came faster, as if there was a giant hole in her chest sucking air out as she was trying to take it in. "Your parent's car was also missing and an alert has been issued. They're patrolling the city and major roads leading out, other counties are on alert and searching too, but so far nothing. Your brother informed the police of the make and model of your parent's car, but it's very popular."

Lindsay nodded mutely. To any farmer or rancher, a pick-up truck was just another essential piece of farm equipment. Her dad must've gone through two trucks, both blue, while she lived in Montana still. He had proudly showed off the blue 2006 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab that he'd bought while her mother stood in the background, rolling her eyes during the days of the trial.

Lindsay gave a tiny shake of her head. "H-how...how do they know that Katum's responsible for this?"

"Besides the fact that the timing is too coincidental, a report came in only an hour later after the escape from a woman who told police that her and her husband had been forcibly thrown out of their car while stopped at a gas station a few miles from the city and jail. Their descriptions match Katum and the other inmate. The car was found abandoned only a few miles down the road from your parent's ranch, tank was empty."

Her brow furrowed both in pain, but also in confusion. The CSI part of her, though vastly overwhelmed by emotions named panic, dread, fear, amongst others, prompted her to ask, "How did they know where my parents lived?"

Mac sighed. "There are a couple of theories bouncing around, but the most believed is that the other inmate, caught and convicted only three months ago, somehow had this information. It wouldn't have been too hard to get. Katum's trial was publicized widely. Police believe that he used this to trade for Katum's help in helping him escape. He offered Katum two things he really wanted: freedom and revenge." He shrugged and tightened his grip around Lindsay's cold hands. "Lindsay, there's more."

"There's more?" Lindsay's voice rose, enough to be heard outside Mac's office, attracting attention, including an already concerned Hawkes, and she clamped down the emotional urge to burst into tears while hyperventilating. While his office was a sanctuary of sorts, the walls were still made of glass and she would not break down in public. She would not.

"The inmate that escaped along with Katum. His name is Jackson Dakin and he, like Katum, is an only recently convicted killer, sentenced to life for torturing and murdering a family of four. It's possible that the two are traveling together - "

A half-sob, half-laugh cut him off. "So, you're telling me that it is entirely possible that my parents have been kidnapped by not only a man that would love nothing more than to exact revenge on me for sending him to jail, but also another murderer who liked to torture his victims before killing them." Lindsay's eyes were wide and her breath hitched, unable to breathe properly still. "Oh god." Unable to help herself any longer, Lindsay's face crumpled and tears rose to the surface. "Oh god, Mac, oh my god."

Hurriedly taking a seat next to her, Mac wound an arm around his distraught CSI, cursing the county sheriff's office for not keeping a tighter rein on its prisoners and Katum even more for existing in the first place. Would this never go away?

"Lindsay...Lindsay, look at me." Her brown eyes, glassy with tears, ceased their rapid darting and locked onto his face. "The chief of police has assured me that they're doing everything they can, making this their top priority. They're calling in extra help and they won't stop searching, Lindsay. You have to believe that they will find them."

Lindsay felt the tears run down her face and ducked her head, ashamed even now in a situation such as this, at losing control in public. In front of Mac no less. Squeezing her eyes shut, Lindsay struggled to control herself.

"Take the rest of today and tomorrow off Lindsay." He gazed at her bent head with a mixture of sadness and concern. "That's an order. Deal with this. I've asked the local police to keep me informed and I'll do the same for you. I know this is hard, but you have to stay focused all right? They will catch these guys, they will. But for now, go home."

Go home? Where was that? Her tiny apartment here in New York? Was this really her home? Or was it still back in Montana? Her heart broke. Home, with her parents. Their ranch. The place where she grew up, rode her first horse, met her first friend, had her first boyfriend, her first kiss, her first taste of a cigarette, attended prom...the wide open spaces, the open sky, the familiarity of her surroundings, the faces of friends...family. The place Katum had tainted once before by killing her friends with a shotgun and had tainted once more by storming in and taking her mom and dad. He had violated her home. He took her friends, took her innocence and childhood, traumatized her for life, and now he was taking away her parents. Go home? Where was that?

"Lindsay?" Mac's voice filtered through her tormented thoughts for the second time that day.

Jolting back, Lindsay wanted nothing more than to go crumple onto her couch and sink into despair. She swiped at the tears on her face."Yeah...yeah, I think I'll go do that." Lindsay couldn't stop the hiccuping sob that tore out of her chest. "I-I'm sorry Mac, I didn't mean to cry all over you, I-I just..." Lindsay trailed off in mid-babble.

The two sat in silence, both waiting for her to regain her balance.

Mac watched as Lindsay took a deep breath and his arm fell when she abruptly stood up. Standing up slowly, he watched as her back straightened. She turned toward him and her face, white and stretched, immediately reminded him of a trauma victim, save for the intense pain and despair in her eyes. Wiping her face dry and giving a small sniffle, Lindsay tried to give Mac a weak smile, only to clamp her lips tight together to stop their trembling. "T-thanks Mac," was all she could choke out, wanting to give in to urge to run away. "I...I'll just go, now."

Spinning on her heel, her grip on Mac's office door threatening to wrench it off its hinges. She could feel his eyes boring into her back, burning a hole between her shoulder blades. Around her, the lab continued in its daily bustle. People talking loudly, laughing at jokes their friends told, exclaiming excitedly over whatever events happening in their personal lives, shoes clipping across the shiny floor, rustling of clothes, papers shuffling, glass tubes clinking. All threatening to overwhelm her.

Hunching, Lindsay concentrated on maintaining her composure as she strode quickly toward the locker room. Grabbing her things, she slammed her locker shut and bolted for the door, heavy waves of worry and dread hitting her over and over, and all she wanted to do was lock herself in her apartment, kill Katum for cursing her life once more, call her brother in Montana for more information, and break down. Not necessarily in that order though.

Nearing the doorway, Lindsay crashed into Hawkes, her purse smacking lightly against his shoulder as he steadied her. "Whoa, Linds, you alright there?"

Looking into his concerned eyes almost broke her composure. The stress of the past few weeks, the confusion with Danny and now her parents made her want to collapse into his arms and sob the whole story out.

Instead, Lindsay swallowed hard and took a step back. "I'm fine, Shel. Sorry, I didn't mean to run into you. Are you alright?"

He nodded, the concern not leaving his eyes which narrowed slightly at the sight of her glazed eyes and slight shaking. The edges of her eyes were tinged red.She looks like a scared child, he thought. "Are you sure you're fine Linds? And not just now, but, ah, back in Mac's office...you looked upset." You still do. He stuffed his hands into his pocket, trying to maintain a friendly, but non-overbearing stance. Lindsay, he knew, was the type of person to remain stubbornly shut-off unless approached in the right way. In the minute glance he had walking past Mac's office and then hearing his co-worker's voice rise slightly, he could tell that whatever they were discussing was serious. And bad. Very bad. Lindsay looked like she had just been shot, without warning, by a friend. Stunned and shocked. He'd moved on when he caught Mac's eye, but had lurked nearby, the distress on her face demanded he wait for a chance to talk to his friend. What with the recent case hitting close and personal to Danny the last few days, the last thing anyone needed was another tragedy. "I don't mean to pry, but it looked bad. Is everything okay?"

He watched as her eyes flickered and then mentally slumped his shoulders in defeat as he noted the tell-tale determined jaw clench that signified that Lindsay had already begun to close herself off.Damn.

"Yeah, yeah, everything is fine," she said, adding hastily, "I mean, it was just..." My parents have been kidnapped by murderers. "Some bad news back home, but it's not serious." Bullshit. My mom. My dad. I love them. I don't want them to die. I don't want to get a call saying their bodies have been found. This is my life "It just shook me up a bit, that's all." I can't breathe. "Mac's sending me home, though, to deal with some things. Gotta make some phone calls and stuff. Don't worry." Lindsay made another failed attempt at a smile.

"Oh, okay then." Hawkes knew she was lying. Sometimes he wanted to shake Lindsay and chastise her, reminding her that he was her friend and that he was there for her. She didn't have to deal with anything alone. He'd seen her do it before, when she went back to Montana, and saw what it did to her. Somehow he thought that this time was going to be worse. And she was determined to go it alone. And she was going to break. He sighed and moved out of her way. "Well, if there's anything I can do, I'm a phone call away, alright? I mean that, Linds."

Lindsay was barely listening to him, feeling horrible, but just wanting to get out of the building. She was already moving past him, giving him a short nod, eyes fixed on the floor, mouth locked tight.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Hawkes called after her. His shoulders sagged, an uneasy frown forming on his face as he watched Lindsay ignore the elevators and slam through the door to the stairs. It looked as if she was trying to run away, from him, from the lab, or from something that you couldn't really run away from.

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In complete contrast to the loud pounding of her racing heart and rapid gasping, Lindsay closed her apartment door with a quiet and slow click. Her purse dropped to the ground and she collapsed on the floor in the hushed darkness and sobbed. Cradling her face in her hands, she let it out. Wrenching sobs that wracked her body and seemed so loud, so loud in the darkened apartment. Lindsay clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her cries, lest the neighbors hear. Shh, be quiet, Linds, baby girl, it's alright, I'm here. Mrs. Chani next door could be nosy at times. Don't cry, don't cry. Through blurry eyes, she stared unseeingly into the shadowed dimness, not really seeing her furniture, but instead replaying thousands of memories of her parents.

Her mother, always carrying around that familiar comforting smell of home mixed with lightly scented powder wrapping soft comforting arms around her while reading her story. Lindsay remembered burrowing into them, closing her eyes and just listening and then later falling asleep in them. Her father, always smelled like the outdoors, hay, light odors from the animals in the barn, and wood. His arms were always so strong, wrapped tightly around her, protecting, sheltering, soothing after she'd almost been run over by a spooked horse. His voice, deep and reassuring, full of pride congratulating her on graduating from Montana State University.

Baby girl...don't cry. Everything will be all right tomorrow. You'll see.

AN: Only the second chapter and I'm still building things up. The next two chapters, I dutifully promise, will be up this weekend or perhaps sooner :) Thanks to all who reviewed; it was a pleasant and much appreciated surprise.