A/N: Okay, here comes my next chapter. Thanks everyone for reviewing. Hope you all like this one too. By the way, the timeline is set somewhere in season 2, maybe before Run Silent Run Deep. Since Lindsay has yet to really reveal her deep dark secret to everyone, I'll just let her hint mostly to Danny and try to keep it within the show's plot.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

They stared helplessly at the huge forest area as they passed by. "They're somewhere in the middle of all that? How're we going to find them?" Stella asked. The night was falling fast so they had decided to stay at a local town first and set up a temporary base of some sort. Hopefully, Lindsay and Danny would survive one more night and they would be able to start in the morning.

"That what the K9 units are for." Mac answered, "And we were assured help from the local sheriff. They know this area so we should be able to count on them."

"I wonder if Fido will make a good bloodhound." Hawkes mused, "What do you think Flack? He's your dog."

"He's a dog I've only had for the last two days. How well do ya think I know him?" Flack retorted but he patted the dog affectionately on the head anyway.

"By the way Flack," Hawkes grunted as he tried to shift himself into a more comfortable position in the car, "I realize you've gotten attached to the dog and all but was there a need to bring him along?" Fido was a fairly large-sized dog and he was squeezed in between Flack and Hawkes in the car. Sometimes during the long drive, he would stretch himself out across their legs. Flack didn't quite seem to mind but Hawkes had the butt end, and he was constantly nervous about any 'presents' Fido might decide to drop into his lap.

"Aw come on Hawkes, he's being a good boy." Flack scratched his new dog behind the ears and Fido began to wag its tail in enjoyment, brushing Hawkes' face in the process. The doctor immediately started spitting out the fur that managed to find its way into his mouth.

"Yeah, he didn't mean to do that." Hawkes said with heavy sarcasm.

"Dogs will be dogs Hawkes. Don't mind him." Flack said good-naturedly. He glanced out the window at the dark, shadowy forest and hoped that no matter where the two detectives were, they were safe. Honestly, Flack couldn't think how he would survive a night in a forest but that was probably the city boy in him talking. Lindsay was a country girl. If there was anyone who could survive in the wild, it was probably her. Danny was just lucky to have her.

Wait, did he just see a glimmer in the dark forest? Flack sat up in his seat, straining to see what he thought he had seen but the glimmer had flickered and disappeared in the darkness.

"Flack? Is something wrong?" Hawkes sounded concerned.

"Nah," Flack shook his head. "I thought I saw something. That's all."

"We have to keep the fire hidden." Lindsay explained to Danny as she covered up the glare of their fire with several rocks kind of like a tower around the fire. "In a night as dark as this, a good fire is a beacon to our location."

"I got the idea." Danny said. They had managed to find a cave to stay in for the night, despite Danny's reservations about something already occupying the cave. Lindsay had sent him in search for firewood at first but had rejected most of what he had brought back. Danny didn't quite understand the difference. Wood was wood. It would burn just as well as the next stick, right? Wrong, according to Ranger Monroe, and she had made him go fishing instead while she went for properly flammable wood. Luckily Danny did have a little bit of experience at fishing. As he had told Hawkes once, he had gone fishing with his dad in the Hudson and though he had hooked something, neither of them was crazy enough to eat something that had lived in the Hudson River so the lucky fish was thrown back in.

As it turned out, not even Lindsay was sure how to turn a stick and a line into a fishing rod without proper bait. She did hint that he could try and dig for worms but without a hook, it was going to be hard to catch a fish. In the end, Danny had tied Lindsay's knife on the end of a sturdy branch and went spear-fishing instead. It was probably one of the hardest things Danny had ever done. Those fish were even more slippery than the wiliest criminal he had ever come up against. Those sneaky little bastards were just so damn fast. Danny knew all about the refraction in water that made his task even harder. He was a scientist after all. He knew that in order to spear a fish, he couldn't aim directly at the fish because of the refraction of light in water. However, it was one thing to understand the theory and another to actually put it into action.

By the time Danny had managed to catch dinner, in the form of two small silvery fish, he was cold and wet and very tired. Nonetheless, he triumphantly showed off his catch to Lindsay and proving to her that even city boys could survive in the wild with a little help. Lindsay had to laugh at his enthusiasm. He reminded her of an exuberant little boy who had just caught his first fish and was showing off to his parents.

And now they were huddled around the small fire Lindsay had made, waiting for the fish to cook. Danny had his hands put out towards the fire. It was really cold and he had been soaked for most of the evening. Luckily, the cave was retaining the heat somewhat so he wasn't freezing. Still, Danny couldn't help shivering. Lindsay appeared to have noticed because then she ordered him to take off his shirt.

Danny blinked a couple of times, wondering if he heard right. "What?"

"Are you going deaf Messer? I told you, take off your shirt." Lindsay was blushing as she said it.

"Why Montana," Danny drawled slyly, making her blush harder. "We haven't even been on a date and you're trying to undress me?"

"Shut up, you're going to die of pneumonia if you leave it on." Lindsay said. She slowly shifted next to him. "We have to keep close and conserve body heat." Danny wasn't going to complain about their closeness. If anything, she was warm and it was a welcome change from the biting cold. "I think the fish are about done now." Lindsay announced at last and handed him the fish on a stick. All kinds of questions about hygiene popped into Danny's head as he took the stick. What if there were termites or some other creepy-crawlies living inside the twig. And who knew what kinds of things that stick had been exposed to? But looking at Lindsay eat her fish, the questions all disappeared. After all, he'd eaten bugs before. This couldn't be any worse.

He reached the motel just as the sky darkened and the stars began to shine their first tiny pinpricks of light. It was late and those detectives had probably already settled down for the night. It would be best if he took a rest of his own as well. He could always start his search first thing in the morning and work his way upstream.

The man at the desk looked disapprovingly at his dogs all standing around but he tossed a couple of notes at the young man and he wisely decided not to mention it. He was given a room key and he led his dogs towards their room. It was a small town but it seemed things were about to become very busy soon. He noticed a large car pulling into a parking lot in front of the motel and four people climbed out. The word 'police' might as well have been stamped on their foreheads. He'd been doing things like this for so long, he'd learned to recognize cops simply from their bearing and the way they walked. It wasn't anything really specific; just a bunch of little things that when put together simply screamed that they were the cops. The tallest one especially, there was a very authoritative air around him. Even normal people would probably be able to tell he was a cop from a mile away.

They had a dog with them. That was surprising. Was one of them perhaps a dog handler? It didn't particularly look that way but there was no other reason for a dog to be following a couple of cops around. They were probably here searching for the detectives as well. He would have to be careful to steer clear of them. These people were people on a mission. He could see it from the way they were walking. No hesitation whatsoever. They were completely business.

He watched as they went up to the desk clerk and apparently ordered rooms for the night. The barking of his dogs seemed to catch the attention of the tall one and they waved a kind of greeting to each other. When the tall one looked away, he hurriedly entered the room and ushered his dogs inside. That was close. He hoped the dogs hadn't aroused their suspicions. He didn't want any trouble when he started his search in the morning.

"No, it's not my fault." Lindsay mumbled in her sleep. All that remained of their fire was a few small flames and mostly dying embers. Lindsay was lying with her head on Danny's lap as they both slept. "Carla…I'm sorry…It's not my fault…Never wanted this to happen…"

She was crying, refusing to believe a word Lindsay was saying. She blamed her, Lindsay could tell. They were standing next to his coffin, both dressed in deepest mourning black. Lindsay could tell she wanted to berate her for even showing up at all but their parents intervened. Lindsay was a victim too, they said, and there was nothing wrong with her wanting to come to her nephew's funeral.

Nephew…He'd been more like a brother than a nephew to Lindsay. Their ages were so close that they had practically grown up together. Lindsay couldn't believe he was gone. Things had started out so normally…How had it all gone so wrong? It just didn't seem possible that he was gone. But they were lowering his casket into the ground now and Lindsay watched her big sister break down again…The grief of a mother losing her child…Lindsay could never see a weeping mother without thinking of her sister and that horrible incident again.

"It's not my fault…" Lindsay continued to mutter as, in her dreams, her sister continued to hurl accusations at her. "I'm sorry Carla…I'm sorry…"

Her voice shook Danny out of his light doze and he instantly realized she was having a bad dream. "Hey, hey Montana. Wake up, you're having a nightmare." He said, shaking her shoulder. Lindsay's eyelids snapped open and she nearly bolted upright, her breathing shallow and her eyes full of tears. She looked around wildly for a while, trying to make sense of her surroundings and then the memories came crashing back. "Hey, you okay?" Danny asked in concern.

"Danny…" Lindsay whispered as if she'd just realized he was around. She wiped at the unshed tears in her eyes. "I'm fine…Just some bad memories."

"You wanna talk about it?"

Lindsay shook her head. "Not now Danny. I'm not even sure if I'll ever be ready to talk about it. But thanks anyway." She smiled weakly at him.

"It's no problem," Danny grinned his famous crooked grin, the one that made her heart thump faster. "I'm sure you'd do the same for me. I've got a couple of things that keep me awake at night myself."

She stared at him, her eyes filling with tears again for some reason. Did he have to be so understanding? Why couldn't he be that jerk he was when they met? Lindsay didn't want to break down in front of Danny but as the first tear spilled, she knew she couldn't hold it in anymore. Not tonight. With a soft sob, she starting tearing onto his shoulder, letting loose all the sorrow she had kept pent-up inside ever since his funeral. Just for tonight, she could be weak. Danny would understand.

Danny was surprised when she starting crying for no apparent reason on his shoulder. He definitely felt awkward. Girls in tears were among the toughest things to handle on his list, and this one was particularly important. Stiffly, he reached his arm around her and patted her on her back. He might not know what was bothering her but that didn't mean he couldn't comfort her when she needed it the most.

As the sky began to brighten once more, her sobs began to subside and Danny's shoulder was damp with salty tears. But one look at her embarrassed, apologetic smile told him it was all worth it. He was there for her when she needed it and that was what counted.

And that concludes this chapter. Not much happening here, to say the truth. Just a brief interlude to all that's been going on lately I guess. Sorry if this chapter took a long time. I had some kind of parental block on my computers that wouldn't let me on the site. It seems to have cleared up now so I'll try to post the next one soon. Sorry again people.