Thirty minutes later Mac and Stella found Flack and Danny in the ER waiting room. Danny looked lost. He was sitting next to Flack, still covered in Lindsay's blood and was just staring down the hallway.
"Danny, are you okay?" Mac asked quietly as he sat down next to him. Danny did not say a word, just continued to stare at the hallway as if he was waiting for Lindsay to walk around the corner. "Danny, look at me." Mac said a little louder, causing Danny to turn to face Mac. Almost immediately Danny began to cry. Mac pulled Danny into a hug and held him until a doctor showed up a few minutes later.
"Are you here for Detective Monroe?"
"Yes." They all said in unison as they jumped up.
"I am Detective Mac Taylor." Mac said as he shook his hand. "This is Detectives Bonasera, Flack and Messer." The doctor nodded.
"She is on her way to surgery. The bullet did a lot of damage and the procedure is going to take several hours. The bullet hit her left lung and shattered two ribs. A small piece of one of her ribs tore a small hole in the side of her heart. I will be honest with you, it is a miracle that she has survived this long. We are doing everything we can, but I think you need to prepare yourselves for the worst." Danny felt like he was going to be sick. "I wish I had better news. If you want to go to the third floor, there is a surgery waiting room where you can get updates." The doctor turned to leave, while Stella and Flack led Danny back over to the chairs. Mac followed the doctor out and stopped him in the hall.
"I want you to be honest with me, what are her chances?" Mac asked with tears of his own. Lindsay was like a daughter to him and the thought of losing her was almost too much to take.
"With the injuries I saw, I would say 30." Mac stared back in shock. "Detective Monroe has been very lucky so far. Her heart has stopped twice already. Once at the scene and once in the ER."
"Thank you doctor." Mac said as he shook the young doctor's hand.
"Like I said I wish I had better news." He said with a weak smile. "Would you like me to find a pair of scrubs for Detective Messer?" He asked glancing back towards the waiting room. "I am sure it would be more comfortable then sitting around in his partner's blood."
"Girlfriend." Mac corrected the doctor and he nodded. Something told him that when this was all over and Lindsay was awake, because she would get better, he was going to have to talk to them about interoffice relationships. "And that would be great, thank you."
"Okay, I will have a nurse bring you some." The doctor turned to leave and Mac went back into the waiting room.
A few minutes later a nurse came in and handed Mac a pair of scrubs. Mac nodded a silent thank you and she left.
"Danny, I got you a pair of scrubs to change into." Mac said turning to Danny. Danny looked up at Mac and then down to his clothes and for the first time realized that he was still completely covered in her blood. Montana's blood. Danny jumped up and ran towards the bathroom, where he emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet. A few minutes later Flack found Danny sitting on the floor with his head buried in his hands.
"Why don't you put these on for now and I will have Hawkes swing by your place later and get some clothes for you." Flack said as he handed Danny the scrubs. Danny did not way a word. He took the scrubs and went into one of the stalls.
A little while later, the four of them made their way to the surgery waiting room. They had been waiting for what seemed like forever and they still had not heard anything about Lindsay's condition. Finally Danny startled everyone when his voice broke through the silence.
"She forgave me." Danny said, not really to any one in particular.
"Excuse me Danny?" Stella asked.
"I told her I was sorry, that I was a dumb ass and she forgave me. That was the last thing she said." Danny said with tears in his eyes. Flack gave his friend a pat on the back.
"That's good Danny." Stella smiled.
"You were right Flack, she knew." Danny said as he looked up from the floor. Flack nodded and felt his own tears beginning to form.
"Knew what Danny?" Mac asked.
"I slept with Rikki."
"Oh, Danny." Stella said with a deep sadness in her voice.
"I totally screwed this up. I had the best girl in the world and I cheated on her. How could I be so stupid?"
"Do you love her?" Mac asked. Danny looked stunned by the question. "It's a simple question Danny, do you love her?"
"With all of my heart." Danny said looking at his boss.
"Have you told her that?" He continued.
"Not till today." Danny sighed. "But I should have told her before. I should have told her everyday." Tears threatened to fall again.
"When Lindsay gets better and she will get better, because I have complete confidence in her, you and her need to have a talk. A serious talk." Before Danny could respond a doctor came into the room.
"I am Dr. Simpson. Are you here for Detective Monroe?"
"I am Detective Mac Taylor, I am Lindsay's boss and this is Detective Messer, her boyfriend." Stella looked at Mac and could not help but think that had the circumstances been different the fact that Mac just called Danny Lindsay's boyfriend would have been sweet.
"Is she okay?" Danny asked quickly after he shook the doctor's hand.
"She is out of surgery but she is not out of the woods yet. Her condition is critical. We were able to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding. We repaired the damage to her heart as well as her lung. We currently have her on a ventilator to help her breath while her lung heals."
"Can we see her?" Stella asked.
"I will let you know when she is out of recovery. She will be in the ICU for the next several days or until she wakes up. She is strong and since she made it this far I am cautiously optimistic. Does she have any immediate family I should speak with?"
"No, she is from Montana. Both her parents are dead. She has a brother but they do not talk." Danny said.
"Okay well if you need anything just ask." Dr. Simpson shook all their hands and left the room.
Danny let out a sigh and ran his hands over his face as they returned to their seats.
"I can't believe this is happening." Danny said as Stella squeezed his hand.
"She is tough. She will pull through this Danny." Stella said holding back her own tears.
"I hope you're right Stella. I hope you're right."
They continued to sit there in silence while they waited for a nurse to come get them. Finally a nurse ran into the room and immediately Danny knew something was wrong.
"We're taking Detective Monroe back into surgery. Her pressure is dropping and we can't stabilize her. As soon as we are through the doctor will come find you." Just as quickly as she entered she left, leaving four very stunned people behind.
A/N- I know another cliffhanger….. I will update as soon as I can, I promise. Please Review