Fifteen minutes passed then half an hour then an hour; Stella was becoming more and more terrified over what that dreaded phone call from Mac would entail. She knew it wasn't going to be good. If it took over an hour to respond, the odds were something horrible had happened. She stared at her phone, watching, waiting for it to light up with an incoming call from her boss, and hoping that it wasn't going to be so bad, that she was overreacting and that Danny was fine. But in the pit of her stomach, the dread had already set in and made a home for itself.

The time ticked on as Stella got lost in her thoughts, each one focusing on the possible outcomes the phone call would bring. The first had been Danny ending up in the hospital for a few days with a couple of broken bones and nothing to worry about. But the longer she waited, the worse her thoughts became. Her final one had started at the hospital with grave expressions on the faces of her coworkers and friends and the words, "I'm sorry, Stella…" Fortunately for her, just before the bad news was uttered, the phone on the desk began to ring.

Stella shot up, having used her right arm as a pedestal for her head while she thought. Her hand was almost numb, but she still used it to pick up the phone and looked at the caller ID. "Mac" it read, and immediately came her sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank God it's you," Stella said without even bothering with the normal pleasantries.

"Lindsey and I are at St. Vincent's. Danny's in surgery. The car did a number on him," Mac explained calmly. "The doctor says its touch and go right now. He has a fractured skull and swelling in the brain along with a compressed spinal cord, a punctured lung, a broken clavicle and tibia, and some nasty bruises along the left side of his face."

Stella's body began to tremble. A part of her didn't want to believe that this was Danny they were talking about. He'd always been careful. He'd never so much as cut himself, let alone been hit by a car. But she didn't have much time to collect herself as she heard the door to Mac's office open. Looking up quickly with large, shiny eyes, she saw Sheldon Hawkes walk in with a file in his hand.

"Mac, I've got the…" he started to say until he found Stella sitting at his boss's desk instead. "Where's Mac?" Hawkes immediately asked. Stella held up a shaking finger to tell him to be quite. He quickly sensed that something was very wrong. Stella had never looked so trouble in all the years he'd known her.

"I want you, Flack, and Hawkes at that crime scene as soon as possible," Mac continued, not knowing that Hawkes was waiting for Stella to get off the phone. "Lindsey is still too shook up to answer any of my questions."

"Oh, God, I completely forgot about Lindsey!" Stella replied, her voice slightly cracking when she realized that the poor girl had seen the accident happen. "Is she alright?"

"She's fine, just very shook up. I'll keep trying to get her to talk, but you get to the crime scene and start processing. I want something by the time I get back," Mac ordered. "Remember, this is not just one crime scene, but two."

"Alright, we'll keep each other posted," Stella answered before hanging up.

"What happened to Lindsey?" Hawkes immediately questioned, having only heard her end of the conversation.

Stella looked up at him with her sad green eyes, unable to bring herself to explain the situation, but knowing that she needed to. "There's been an accident," she grimly said. "Danny was hit by a car this afternoon and is in surgery right now at St. Vincent's. Lindsey witnessed the whole thing, but she's too shook up to tell anyone what happened. Mac is with her at the hospital right now. He wants us to go over to the scene of the accident and find out as much as we can."

Hawkes stood there for a moment, taking it all in before hesitantly answering, "Are they going to be okay?"

"Lindsey should be fine, but they don't know about Danny yet. Mac said it was touch and go," Stella answered as she breathed in a deep sigh, hoping it would get rid of her urge to burst into tears. She stood up from the desk and began to make her way out of the office towards the lab. Now was a good time to call an emergency meeting and tell everyone else the sketchy details.

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Happy Wednesday!! Just thought I'd get this next chapter posted today so you guys had something to nibble on before tonight's ep. Hehe.

I am absolutely overwhelmed by all the wonderful reviews I've received after posting this story and I can't thank you all enough! You guys are totally awesome! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!

To everyone: Sorry to leave you guys hanging. I've only just begun this story, so don't expect anything short of nail biting from now on. I don't mean to kill you with suspense, it's just the way the story goes. I'm just glad you're enjoying it enough to write back and tell me how I'm doing. I really REALLY appreciate it. Thank you AGAIN!

To my beta, prplerayne: Thank you. This story wouldn't be possible without your neverending encouragement and your belief in my work. You're one of the few people that have supported me through all my years of writing fan fiction. Thank you so much! Luv ya, girl! My condolences about your grandma. May God give you the strength to get through this time and become stronger than you alread are. All my love. -D