Chapter Sixteen

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: Brother-sister bonding up ahead as well as a possible 'moment'.

This was starting to be an interesting Saturday, Lindsay thought to herself and a smile split her face for a second as she imagined someone like Flack in her current situation.

She and others steadily and slowly walked backwards, giving the 6-foot black-haired animal lumbering in front of them its room. Cody held a small can of bear pepper spray. Will held an extra satchel in his hand, ready to throw down in order to provide a distraction if needed, but judging by the blowing and clacking of the bear's teeth, the animal was already frightened of them and he was counting on the fact that it would eventually move off on its own. The sun was rising and the bear would be wanting to take a nap. Flack would have probably already had his gun out. She could only imagine him, with some amusement, trying to play dead in a worse-case scenario attack with a bear.

The bear continued its blowing noises and then took a step forward. To the party's credit, they merely continued giving the bear its space. Finally, with a final stressful moment, the bear wandered off into the trees to their left.

In a silent unanimous response, the party automatically headed in the opposite direction.

Only when they were far enough away did Noah laugh. "Whew, that's one thing I don't miss in San Diego!"

Will looked at him. "Aren't there black bears in California too?"

"Nowhere near where I live!"

It was Saturday morning and the group were making their way up the mountain at a brisk pace, all of them more or less conditioned to this pace and terrain, growing up in the area. They were all thankful that it wasn't winter yet. For the most part, the journey was made in silence with Will leading the way, who although somewhat unfamiliar with the area, was still the best person to lead. It was shortly after a break for lunch that Noah approached his sister as they walked.

"How's it going?" His brown eyes looked at her bowed head, the sun glinting off the highlights in her hair. Noah didn't tell her, but that Friday afternoon, he had seen her crying. Something horrible had happened while his sister was still in New York. And he was aiming to find out what.

"Better once we find mom and dad."

"Yeah. But what I was really asking was: how's it going for you? You know, back in New York?"

Lindsay fell silent for a moment and kept her head bowed. Finally, she answered softly, "Fine."

"Bullshit." Noah continued bluntly as his sister shot him a startled glance that did nothing to hide a slight pain in her brown eyes. "Something happened Linds, I'm your brother, I can tell. Who were you talking to on the phone yesterday? I saw you crying."

"It's nothing."

"Was it your boss? One of your friends? Was it that guy you keep telling me about? What's his name, Danny, right?" Noah pushed until he zeroed in like the investigator he was on his sister's visible reaction to his last question. "It's Danny, isn't it? What, he break up with you? Hurt you? Guy's a bastard then. He doesn't deserve you if he's hurt you. Want me to come there and beat him up?" he asked with no sign of it being a joke on his face. The pair walked quietly for the next few minutes, Noah waiting, and Lindsay gathering strength.

When she began, it was quietly. "A few weeks ago, we got this case. A young boy had been shot, killed. It's always hard when it's a kid, you know? But, it turns out that the boy, Reuben was his name, he was really special; he lived in Danny's building and the two were really close." Lindsay gave a watery smile. Noah wrapped an arm around her, giving her comfort.

"Danny was devastated. He blamed himself for it happening. And I...I couldn't help him. More like he wouldn't let me. He was grieving, trying to handle it his way, and...he just shut me out. I didn't know what to do, so I just...waited. Tried to show him that I was there if he needed someone to lean on, but Danny always did think he could handle things like this alone. Afterwards, after the case was done and the funeral, Danny just...started avoiding me. And there I was, still having no clue what to do. If I pushed him, I was afraid he'd push me further away, but I tried not to act like a tragedy like this hadn't happened." She sighed. "It was the day Mac told me about mom and dad. He'd sent me home for the day and it was later that night that Danny stopped by. He didn't know about mom and dad. He'd come because he wanted to tell me something. I could already tell it was bad and you have no idea how many worst case scenarios were running through my head. The visit didn't last long, although it seemed like forever then." Lindsay took a deep breath. "The day that poor boy was killed...Danny slept with Reuben's mom." Noah's arm tightened around her and Lindsay hurriedly went on, "They were both so devastated and in pain and I guess..." She gave an abrupt laugh. "When he blurted it out, I went blank. I...I couldn't think, I just, just froze. We had a big fight. I was hysterical and Danny, Danny was trying to get me to understand. He then told me that she might be pregnant." Noah's eyes slid shut. "I broke it off right there and then. He looked so heartbroken and he kept trying to apologize, but I wouldn't, couldn't listen. I wasn't in any shape to deal with more bad news. Yesterday, when you saw me, I was listening to a message he'd left when he heard about mom and dad. Said he was sorry again and that...that he still wanted to be with me, that he was still there."

"God, Linds, I'm sorry." Noah kissed the top of her hair and she leaned into him.

"The funny thing is though, now that I've had time to think about it and me putting some distance between us, I can kind of understand. Not that I'm condoning it," Lindsay added. "It's just...when I remember how Danny looked, in so much pain, it's not hard to picture him not being in his right mind at the time." Lindsay sighed. "It's all so complicated."

Noah remained quiet for a moment. "I think I can understand too. Now, I can't tell you what to do, but in cases like these, there are extenuating circumstances," he said in a voice one could tell he used when thinking about a case. Remain rational and think practical. "Not that those circumstances gave him any right to do what he did, but grief can make people do crazy things. You and I see that almost everyday in our jobs. This Danny sounds like he's genuinely sorry and, I can't believe I'm saying this about the jackass who broke my baby sister's heart and I still want you to give him hell, I think the best course of action is to sit down, the two of you, and talk. For however long it takes until the air is clear. The end result might not be what you want, but you gotta' try, you know? Be open and honest with each other." He smiled down at her.

Lindsay, eyes deep with thought, nodded very slowly. "Open and honest."

"All the way."

"All the way," she repeated, looking up at him and smiling. "Thanks Noah." Lindsay gave him a tight hug.

"No problem." He returned the hug before joking, "See? That extra year of experience I was talking about came in handy today." He grunted when her fist smacked against his chest. Neither noticed their additional listener.

"Hey guys!" Will came rushing up to them, waving the map in one hand and holding the group's radio in the other. "We've got some news!"

The two Monroes snapped to attention, ears pricked with intent.

"A volunteer group found a necklace that one of the members were able to positively identify as Mrs. Monroe's tangled up in a bush about 200 miles from here in a northwesterly direction. The group's position is almost at edge of the designated search perimeter before entering this territory." He looked excited as he indicated the area on the map.

"Which essentially means that if we're correct, then Katum and Dakin were heading in this direction and that they're most likely wandering the mountain somewhere ahead of us," Cody mused, voicing everyone's thoughts. "So we are headed in the right direction."

"We just have to pick up the pace."

"But not tire ourselves out. It won't be good if we're all winded if we should spot them," Scott cautioned.

"Chief Carter has broad-casted that all teams start making their way in this direction," reported Will. With an exchange of hopeful smiles, the group moved on with renewed energy.

That hope kept the group at a brisk pace all day before Will suggested calling it for the night. No one wanted to wander around at night in the dark with not only two murderers with guns on the loose, but also bears and other wild predators. Lindsay shrugged off her pack, took a small flashlight out of her cargo-pant pocket, and began looking for small sticks to make a tiny fire, one that would not give off too much light, but adequate enough heat.

Finding plenty of tiny debris at the base of the trees, she began gathering them up when another flashlight joined hers in gathering. Turning around, she saw Scott picking up sticks too. He flashed a smile and moved to stand beside her. "You know Linds, don't take this the wrong way, but I think it's really admirable how well you're holding up. When I first heard the news, I was stunned for a good hour. I thought of you and worried about how you were handling it. I was pretty worried. People around town were in shock too. I saw at least a dozen people crying over what had happened. You...you seem nothing but determined and collected. Can't wait to show those bastards that you don't mess with Lindsay Monroe, huh?"

"Actually, I had my breakdown before I came and well, I'm pretty good at keeping up a good front," she said wryly.

A hand landed on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. "You're not alone in this Lindsay. Everyone wants to help. Chief Carter, Cody, Will, Noah...me."

Lindsay turned to look at him and saw him staring at her with longing before his eyes flicked down to her lips. Slowly, he leaned closer and Lindsay watched, almost as if in a dream, his mouth inching towards her own. In the moonlight and with blond hair, she could almost imagine that it was Danny. Danny.

Abruptly, Lindsay averted her face and stepped backwards. "Scott, I can't."

He stopped and looked searchingly at her. "Why not?" he asked quietly, face full of sadness. "Is it because of that guy in New York I heard Noah talking about? I...I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but considering what he did Linds, do you still want to be with someone like him? If you take him back...what's to stop him from doing it again?"

Lindsay scowled. "First off, whether I take him back or not is none of your business and why do I feel like your questions are personally motivated?"

Scott shoved his hands in his pockets. "That's because you know it is." His green eyes had never seemed so intense as they did when he looked at her. "You know I've liked you for a long time, Linds."

"Scott...don't do this." She looked pleadingly at him and shook her head. "Please don't do this. Not now." She scrambled to explain. "My job is in New York, that's where my life is. Even if I did feel that way about you, which I'm sorry, I don't, we would never work. It just wouldn't work." Frustrated and not wanting to deal with anything more, Lindsay walked off towards the others, seeking the comfort in numbers.

Scott sighed heavily, his shoulders slumped. He cursed under his breath and then spun around, hand on his holster, as he heard a twig snap.

"Relax, man, it's just me." Noah stepped out of the trees holding his hands up, grinning.

The blond-haired man didn't relax though. He looked at his friend. "You were listening?"

Noah shrugged. "Not to all of it. It's not a good idea to wander off too far here. Besides, despite what she might think or say, Linds is still my baby sister." Rocking back and forth on his feet, Noah said lightly, "Listen man, right now, Lindsay is pretty stressed and vulnerable. I'm not blaming you or anything, but now is not the time. I know you've liked her for a while," he grinned, "don't think I didn't realize all the time you spent over at our house was because I was your best friend." He held up his hands jokingly. "Had to admit that when I realized what was going on, I was pretty disturbed and then I wanted to lock my sister in her room whenever you came over."

Against his will, Scott chuckled.

"But...Linds is right though. You live here, she lives there. Discounting this whole Danny thing, who I still think is a punk and automatically despise for touching my sister, you heard it yourself. She just doesn't feel that way. I'm sorry."

Sighing resignedly, Scott said nothing.

AN: Next chapter, back to New York.