Thanks again for the reviews everyone. They really are addictive! This next episode had only a few DL moments in them, so I expanded upon them, just a smidgen. I hope you like my ending missing moment. As always reviews, suggestions, comments and constructive criticism is always welcome. Thank you!

Chapter 4- Manhattan Manhunt- Episode 2.5

Lindsay was on the train heading home for the day when her phone began to ring. She checked the number- Messer.

"Monroe." she said into the receiver.

"Montana, we've got a high priority case that just came up. Stella wants the whole team in on the double."

"I'll get off at the next stop and head back."

"Where are you now?"

Lindsay checked the subway map, she still hadn't memorized all the stops yet. She rattled off the stop they had just passed. " I can double back, it'll take me about a half an hour."

"Actually you're almost halfway to where we're heading. I'm picking up doc now, and we'll come get you. I've got your kit. We'll see you in 15." and he hung up.

Lindsay closed her phone and leaned her head back against the window of the subway. She'd just come off a 10 hour shift, and had a long commute in front of her. She'd probably have gotten more sleep on the train than she would have at her uncle's house. He just didn't understand the concept of a night shift and the need to sleep after completing one. She tried to focus on the task at hand. Stella had called an all hands for the team? Must be something big. In the month that she'd been there that hadn't happened. They'd dealt with Man eating tigers, men who disappeared because of mob connections, corporate men who thought they were samurai soldiers, widows who arranged the death of their husbands, and older men who got their kicks with younger girls. She forced herself to really wake up and be alert. She wanted to be 100 focused on this case and prove without a doubt that she belonged.

20 minutes later Danny stopped the CSI SUV by the curb to let Lindsay in. Sheldon was already riding shotgun.

"So whats up?" she asked as soon as Danny pulled back out into traffic.

"Stella called," Sheldon started. "It seems Henry Darius is back in town."

"Who?" Lindsay asked.

"Henry Darius," Danny said catching Lindsay's eyes in the rear view mirror. "A few years back he shot three nurses up in the Midtown Hospital. He had them lay on the floor and shot them at point bank range execution style in the back of the head."

"Why?" Lindsay asked.

"Why? Because he's a whack job." Danny said as if that explained it all.

"According to Mac, a psychologist found him competent to stand trial." Hawkes reminded him.

"Yeah?" He commented sarcastically, "what does a shrink know."

"I seem to remember that the crime scene photo's were pretty brutal." Hawkes said turning around to look at Lindsay.

"What made them so brutal?" Lindsay asked him but it was Danny who answered as he pulled to a stop in front of a large apartment building.

"He played in their blood Montana." Danny turned around and surveyed her and Sheldon. "Gear up," he said, "we're here."

Upstairs Danny, Sheldon and Lindsay walked past the yellow crime scene tape and walked into a very large foyer of a very expensive home.

"Where are we exactly." Lindsay asked as she set down her kit and pulled out her gloves.

"We're in the home of the Endecott's, one of Manhattan's wealthiest families." Sheldon answered.

Danny had already gone around the corner and Sheldon and Lindsay followed. The sight that greeted them made them both stop and stare around the room. There was blood everywhere. Lindsay noticed that it had pooled under the 6 kids as they lay on the floor, face down just like Messer had said Darius had shot the nurses. All around the room, on just about every surface was blood, but it hadn't sprayed there, it looked like it had been placed there.

Danny, flashlight in hand had already begun to examine the blood trail on the walls, while Lindsay and Sheldon could do nothing but take in the gruesome sight. While she was transfixed on the mirror that plainly showed a hand print smeared in the blood, Stella came in behind them.

"Teams all here." Danny told Stella.

"Thanks guys." she said looking at everyone in turn.

"What's with all the pills?" Lindsay asked, looking at the Rainbow of colored pills sitting on the coffee table in front of them.

"It's a Pharm party." Stella answered.

"A what party?" Lindsay asked not understanding.

"Pharm as in Pharmaceuticals." Stella explained. "Rich kids idea of fun. They all bring whatever pills they can get a hold of from their parents medicine cabinets and pop til you drop. At first glance I've got Lithium and Cirtalene. Half these pills won't even make you high."

They all turned as Mac approached.

"Stella and I are going to run with this one." Mac began. "Danny I want you checking the service elevator, we've got a secondary exit there. Sheldon I want you bagging these bottles, when you're done get them over to Lindsay, she'll be in the lab."

Lindsay looked at him in surprise. "Sir, I've worked high profile cases before. I'm here and ready to work."

Mac shook his head. "No, I need you in the lab, I need your full attention on this one."

Lindsay obviously mad bit off whatever she was going to say.

"Anything we find could lead to Henry Darius. Be careful, Be thorough." and he nodded to them to begin work.

Stella handed Lindsay a box already filled with several samples and fingerprints from the victims in the living room. She said nothing as Lindsay stoically took the evidence and headed downstairs to catch a ride back to the lab.

Stella waited until Mac was alone and asked him quietly. "Why send Lindsay back to the lab? With all the processing we have to do here, and extra pair of eyes and hands couldn't hurt."

Mac looked at the blood on the mirror that had held Lindsay's attention. "I know," he said grimly, "but I have my reasons Stella.

Realizing that he wasn't going to give anymore detail, Stella nodded and returned to the blood smears.

Danny returned to the lab with boxes of evidence for Lindsay. He had found trace fibers at the scene near an elevator and was in a hurry to find out what Lindsay had made of it.

"Whatcha got Montana?" he called as he walked in the lab.

Lindsay looked up from her microscope with a very pissed off expression on her face. "Danny stop calling me that." she said annoyed. "My name is Lindsay, Lindsay Monroe."

"Alright., alright. I'm just joking." he said attempting to placate her.

"What am I supposed to be the new girl and all the butt of your jokes?" she snapped.

"Are you still mad because Mac dismissed you?" he asked her.

She turned back to her monitor. "I can handle it." she replied with cool indifference.

"Listen, Mac was just looking out for you." he replied. "You saw that place it was a slaughterhouse."

"You think I haven't seen blood like that before?" she asked him.

"Tell you the truth I don't know," he said quietly. "Have you?" he asked.

"Yes," she admitted. "and a lot worse than that."

She got a pained expression on her face for a moment. Danny recognized that look. He often saw it on the faces of cops who had a case that haunted them. He remembered seeing it on Aidan's face when she thought about DJ Pratt- a rapist that they couldn't connect with the evidence. Every time she saw a case that was remotely similar she'd be reliving the Pratt case. What had happened up in Montana that would make Monroe look like that? he wondered to himself. He wanted to press for more information , but now was not the time. He made a mental note to ask her about it later, but for now he settled with a distraction.

"So are these the fibers I found at the scene?" He asked her.

"Yeah," she said turning back to the screen she had been examining. "Take a look at this. The fiber on the right is the one front the gate, the one on the left is from one of the dead girls uniforms."

"Looks like a match to Hathaway prep." Danny stated.

Yes, but none of the victims had a whole in their skirts..

"So one of the girls got away." Danny said thinking of the six victims he had seen that morning.

"Yes," Lindsay said quietly seeing four different faces, "one did."

Missing Moment

Much later that day, Don Flack walked into the main lab and spotted Danny peering into a Microscope.

"Messer," he called out tapping at his watch. "Quitting time- lets go. Sullivan's awaits us."

Danny looked up and put his glasses back on and smirked at the tall detective hovering next to him.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." He grumbled as he put the evidence he's been examining away. He turned to the young tech who was working at a nearby table and said, "Make sure you look at the marks on the edges and if you see anything unusual make sure you…"

Flack interrupted him. "Messer, come on. This case is done. Bad guy in jail, that means we leave, let's go."

Danny smirked at Flack and his eagerness to get to the bar. "Why the rush, is what's her name working tonight? He asked.

"I'll admit the scenery will be nicer this evening than usual. Anything is better than having to look at your ugly mug all night." He replied with a grin.

"Get outta here." Danny replied good-naturedly. "I just need to grab my jacket from my office." and he left the lab to walk down the hall.

Flack followed him. "The last time you had to 'just get your jacket', I was waiting a half an hour."

Danny just rolled his eyes at the remark and kept walking to his office. As he rounded the corner he spotted a light on and Lindsay working at Aidan's desk. No, he thought to himself, it was her desk now. Over the past couple cases he had worked with her he'd started to agree with Mac. She was pretty tough. She was eager to work, and felt the need to prove herself if today was any indication. From what she had said earlier she had seen some pretty bloody cases up in Montana. He would have thought that her biggest case before she came here was solving a missing cow case or something.

Lindsay looked up as Danny and Flack walked into her office.

"Hey Lindsay, burning the late night oil?" Flack asked her with a grin.

"Hey Flack, Messer." She said.

"You workin' on something?" Danny asked her. "I thought your shift ended an hour ago."

Lindsay rolled her head from side to side, and stretched, her muscles tense from a long day, and what was shaping up to be a long night in front of the computer. "I'm apartment hunting." She said looking back to her screen.

"Still staying with your uncle in Terry town?" Flack asked her.

She nodded.

"Quite a hike." Danny replied.

"Some nights I just want to bring a sleeping bag here and camp out." She admitted.

"No luck finding anything?" Flack asked again.

"Every time I find something that sounds good, by the time I call it's gone."

Danny moved to stand behind her and put his hands on the back of her chair. "There's lots of places in Brooklyn, and even Queens. Where are you looking?" He asked peering over her shoulder at the map she had on her screen.

"Manhattan." she admitted looking at Flack, trying not to notice how close Danny was standing.

"Here's a tip," Flack said as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, "it's not what you find it's who you know. What are you looking for?"

"A one bedroom apartment with a bathroom that I can stand in and a kitchen that I won't have to fight any rats to get into."

"Sounds like you've seen some real winners." Danny said to her with a grin.

Flack stepped out of the office and dialed a number into his phone.

Danny moved from behind her chair, sat on the corner of her desk and crossed his arms. "I found a great place." he admitted. "Big open space, right near the subway- boom, 20 minutes from work."

"Yeah but it's in Brooklyn." She said with disdain.

"Greenpoint." he corrected. "What's wrong with Brooklyn anyways?"

"Nothing," she said with a shrug. "I'm not looking for something fancy, just a place to lay my head, but I want my head to be in Manhattan."

Flack walked back in with the phone to his ear. "Uh-huh, she's right here, let me ask her," and he covered the mouthpiece and looked at Lindsay. "Eddie Cahill, he's a landlord I know, has a couple buildings in the area. He's got a vacant one bedroom apartment on the corner of 102nd and 3rd. The place is small, but Eddie keeps them pretty clean. You interested?"

Lindsay turned to the keyboard and typed in the address Flack mentioned, and turned back to him with a huge smile on her face.

"That's only a dozen blocks from the park!" She exclaimed. "That would be great."

Flack nodded at her and with a smile went back to his conversation. "Yeah Eddie she's interested. She can meet you in – what, an hour?" he asked looking back at Lindsay.

She smiled at him and nodded.

"Ok Eddie, her name is Detective Lindsay Monroe. Yeah, sure. You tell Cassie that I said hello." And then he ended the call, and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen off of Danny's desk and started scribbling notes. "Eddie will meet you at this address in an hour. It's right across the street from Pang Thai, great food by the way. If you like the place it's yours." He finished as he handed her the note.

Overwhelmed Lindsay stood up and gave Flack a hug while Danny looked on unsmiling.

"Yo Flack, weren't you in a hurry to get to Sullivan's before it got too late." Danny reminded.

Flack just grinned at him as Lindsay stepped away to grab her purse. "Never in too much of a hurry to help a damsel in distress." Flack said to Danny.

"If this place works out, next time drinks are on me." She said flashing another big grin at Flack.

"Hey, if you get done over there and feel like buying me those drinks tonight, we'll be at Sullivan's." Flack said as she headed out the door.

She turned back to smile up at him again." I may just do that. Thanks Don. Night Messer." She said over her shoulder as she headed to the elevator.

Flack watched her walk down the hall,

Don leaned against the doorway and turned his head to watch Lindsay walking away. "The scenery there isn't bad either." Don said smiling. "Big brown eyes like that -a guy could get lost." He turned back the grin still on his face.

"Yeah yeah, Don Juan." Danny said still unsmiling as he grabbed his jacket and started towards the door.

"What?" Don asked as he followed Danny down the hallway. "She's a nice kid. No harm in flirting a little."

Ordinarily Danny would agree, but he hadn't liked watching her smiling up at Flack like that. Not that he was jealous or anything. He was just trying to look out for her. She didn't know what those smiles could do to a guy. What they could make him think.

As they reached the elevator Danny punched the down button with a little more force than usual.

"What's eating you?" Don asked. "You got a thing for Monroe?"

Danny looked at Flack with disdain. "Get outta here. Me and Montana?"

"You're the one acting like I'm encroaching on your territory." Flack replied.

Danny just glared at him silently.

"I think maybe those big brown eyes have been getting to you too." Don teased.

"You're out of your mind." Danny muttered.

The elevator opened and Danny stepped in with Flack right behind him. As the elevator doors closed Don smiled. He hadn't been able to rile Messer like this in a long time. This was going to be fun.