A/N: I love you all, so so so much! Seriously. Seriously guys, there are no words. You are all awesome. I'm so glad you're all on board with the idea of Patrick... He was written as a good guy, so I'm glad people see that in him. It made me a happy girly to see all the really positive comments. :) This chapter is probably what a lot of you are looking for so I hope it doesn't disappoint!

And on that note, we'll leave it there and I'll let you get on with reading! :D But quickly before, just a quick thanks to all the lovely folk who took the time to review, I appreciate it lots, guys! saderia, Lady-Buster, alexindigo, Dantanacy4ever, Dine89, KTmac09, 18lzytwner, brendanakai, afrozenheart412 and Izzi Creo

Over and Over – Nelly & Tim McGraw

I remember the day you left; I remember the last breath you took right in front of me. When you said you would leave I was too damn stubborn to stop you or say anything. But I see clearly now, and this choice I made keeps playing in my head, over and over again.

"Movin'? What do you mean movin'?" Danny blinked as the rest of the group stared on in shock. "Movin' what, apartments? You guys movin' in together?"

"No Danny, Patrick and I... we're moving to Chicago. He's got a job there and asked me to go with him."

"But the crime lab out there isn't hiring." Mac uncharacteristically blurted out. "If they were I'd recommend you for the position, but they're not hiring, Lindsay."

"I already know," Lindsay attempted an encouraging smile; an attempt to convince herself that she was okay with the conversation she was having. "We've talked about it and Patrick has some contacts. I'm going to get a job with a college and try forensics from that side. Teaching, lecturing – that kind of thing. It'll be interesting."

"Lindsay," Danny shook his head. "No, come on, you're not- you're not seriously... you..." he took a deep breath to compose himself. "You're tellin' us you're leavin' and not even transferring. You're givin' it all up?"

"He wants to be with me, I want to be with him. New York isn't either of our homes. I love you all so much but..." the look on her face was a pained one. It was obvious she'd put the conversation off for as long as she physically could. "This is something I have to do."

"You don't mean that."

"Don't turn this into something it isn't Danny." Lindsay growled at him. "Not here and not now."

"Not here? Alright, excuse us." Danny muttered before, quite selfishly, grabbing Lindsay's hand and proceeded to pull her from the conference room. He silently tugged her along the hallway that led them to their office. He had to admit that he was surprised when she didn't protest, but he figured she'd expected some form of reaction from him.

As soon as the office door closed behind her; his resolved finally failed him. "Don't go." He said, sitting her down in her desk chair. "Please don't go."

"Why?" She asked quietly, glancing up at him through her eyelashes.

"Because."

"Oh, because?" She snorted. "Right okay if you could just pass me the phone there I'll cancel my flight now." She stared at him pointedly before shaking her head. "Because isn't a good enough reason to make me stay Danny."

"Don't go," he shook his head as he plopped himself down in his own chair. "You can't go Linds, what about the lab, your job?" What about me? Was what he'd wanted to say but simply didn't have the guts.

"What's left for me around here Danny? Patrick's going to Chicago. I'm not exactly going to attempt a long distance relationship just to keep my job. I love this job but I can get another one. I can work at that college until-"

"Until what Montana, a crime scene gig opens up? You know as well as I do how hard it is to land a position these days. If you walk away from this, you're going to regret it. I can see it in your eyes; you know what you're walking away from. This is too good to give up. This has been your dream for years. Why give it up? For some guy who's tellin' you he loves you?"

"Right, and what are my other options? I know I sure as hell don't want to be stuck here, miserable as sin and full of regret because I had to break it off with Patrick. I know we sometimes let this job take over our lives, but it's just a job."

"It's a job that you love though."

"I loved my job in Montana too."

"What can I do to make you stay?" Danny asked quietly.

"Nothing," Lindsay shook her head. "He means a lot to me Danny, you might not believe that and it might be hard to stomach but I do."

"So I've gathered," he muttered sourly. "And if you mean a lot to him, he'll understand the sacrifices you're making and reconsider."

"You don't think we've talked about this?" She implored. "You don't think he knows and understands what it is I'm giving up? You don't think he's desperately tried to talk me out of it after asking me when he realised what he was asking of me. You don't think he's tried to find ways for us to stay here? I love him Danny, I love him and I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve here, but I'm going. I told you it was over. It's over between us; it's been over a long time and I'm over you."

He swallowed as he looked up from the spot he'd been staring at on his desk. She'd told him months ago that she had to find a way to get over him. Because I've fallen in love with you and I have to figure out how to let that go. It had given him the kick up the ass he needed to stop screwing around and fight for his girl; it'd had been the motivator that he had needed to realise what it was he was doing to her. He'd dodged that bullet once, but now eight months down the line he was having practically the same conversation; except she'd found her way. She'd gotten over him. He may have dodged the bullet once but now it was becoming painfully clear that this time the bullet was heading straight for his chest.

And as if to rub salt into those bleeding wounds, she continued. "I thought I'd made that clear but obviously not. I'm over you, Danny. I don't love you anymore."

She'd broken his heart that day. She probably had a good idea of how she'd hurt him, but he knew she was past the point of caring and he didn't blame her. How could he when he'd brought it all on himself? He'd been hanging onto a false hope for months. Months upon months. He'd known things weren't looking very good for reconciliation between them. But as hard as it would be, he figured that as long as he could see her, he reasoned that with time it'd get easier. He'd rather have her in his life than not have her there at all.

But that hadn't worked too well for him, had it?

He'd taken time off on the day that she was packing up her half off the office. He couldn't torture himself by watching her actually follow through with what she was doing. It was one thing her moving on from him. He probably deserved it in all honesty. He was a cocky bastard and he did himself no favours. But did she have to leave everything she'd built for herself behind?

The last few days of Lindsay working at the lab had mentally and physically exhausted him. He was constantly in debates with himself, trying to decide whether or not it'd be a good idea to tell her everything. Give her everything. Put it all there on the table and let her make her decision. He had nothing to lose and if she left after knowing everything, at least he could say he tried.

Except as the days passed, he never gathered up the courage. He never told her.

So instead, when the day came that Lindsay finished her last shift, he realised he couldn't be there to watch her go. He'd carefully calculated how long she'd take packing up her half of office and saying her goodbyes and he'd made his way back to the office after being positive she'd be gone. It killed him, but he couldn't bear to say goodbye to her. She might not have been any good at goodbyes, but neither was he. Especially when it was for good. On paper, his plan had worked... Except, he hadn't timed it right and got back just as she was putting her last picture frame into the last box. It had been a like a dagger through his chest as he watched her swipe away her tear before straightening up when she realised he was there.

"I didn't realise you'd be coming back. Flack told me you were takin' a long lunch. I thought you were avoiding me," She said sadly.

"I wouldn't have done that. I had it timed perfectly. I was always gonna come and wish you luck," He lied, "Ya know, say goodbye."

"You timed it right in that case," Her lip trembled as she tried a watery smile. "That was the last of everything so I guess this is it." she said, setting the box on the floor and holding her arms out.

He walked towards her and pulled her into a tight embrace; his emotions failing him. One single hot tear slid down his cheek and hit her soft hair as he buried his face in her locks. He inhaled her scent one last time and squeezed her tight.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "For everythin' Montana."

"Don't be," she replied, her voice just as shaky as his. "I'm not." She pulled away and swiped at the stray tears on her cheek. "I've loved working with you, Danny. We-"

"Lindsay," He sighed as he reached out to swipe away her tears, but his hand stopped mid-air. "Baby, I need to tel-"

"We've had our ups and downs, but I've always had a special place for you in my heart and I knew your goodbye would be the hardest."

"Lindsay, listen to me I really need to tel-"

"You made my time here absolutely..." she spluttered, almost ignoring him as tears streamed down her cheeks, "absolutely amazing. Thank you, Danny."

He took a series of deep breaths as he let his hand fall to his side and allowed Lindsay quietly continue her crying. He wasn't sure whether he was supposed to beg her to stay. Let her go. Tell her he loved her?

He just didn't know.

So instead of saying something, he said nothing.

Eventually, she composed herself and gathered up the last remaining box in their office. She settled it against her hip and turned three hundred and sixty degrees as she soaked in the last mental image of where she'd practically lived for the past three years. When she was satisfied, she headed for the door and heaved it open. She paused in the door way and turned to face Danny, whom was stood silently, watching her leave – his heart racing in his chest and a feeling of dread and regret landing heavily in his gut.

"Danny-"

"Yeah?" He replied hopefully.

"I-" she whispered, "I- never mind." She shook her head, taking one last deep breath before letting the office door shut behind her.

His internal battles and stubbornness had done him no use. She'd left and hadn't looked back.

He wasn't sure what hurt most; the fact that he'd done nothing to try and stop her, or that she hadn't looked back as she was leaving. Sure he'd been a douchebag to her and was most definitely a pain in her ass, but they'd shared more good times together than he could honestly say he'd ever experienced with another person. She brought things out in him that he'd never thought he'd see in himself, and likewise he brought things out of her that had been hiding for a long time. When they weren't arguing they were good for each other; both of them had known that, whether or not Lindsay had chosen to admit it. They had a connection that had sparked from the beginning and had stayed strong right until the very end. He'd never realised it and would probably never admit it, but she had been his best friend. And he was pretty much positive that he was in love with her. It was clear to him now that he'd loved her for a long time but his arrogance and confidence had casted a mist over his feelings. That coupled with the fact that he was too damn scared to tell her how he felt when it had mattered had meant he'd lost her.

And he'd probably lost her for good.

"Danny?"

His instant reaction was to downsize the image of her that he'd been staring at for the past twenty minutes, and did so suspiciously, jumping at the sound of the feminine voice.

"Sorry, did I interrupt something?"

"Nah, not at all, what's up kiddo?"

"I'm having trouble with the GCMS; you couldn't come and give me hand could you?"

"I'll be there in just a sec." He smiled. "Try not to break it anymore than I'm sure you already have."

"Smartass."

His teasing smile was plastered on his face until his bright faced partner disappeared into the hallway and over into Analysis. Then it disappeared again. Abigail, or Abby as she preferred, was brought in as Lindsay's replacement. And she was exactly the type of girl any guy would kill for; she was gorgeous, intelligent, witty and one hell of a CSI.

But she wasn't Lindsay.

Sure there had been chemistry between the two of them. She was attractive, he was attractive. He was single, she wasn't, but that never really presented a challenge for him. Back when he was in college he always got his girl in the end and Danny knew they had potential.

But she wasn't Lindsay.

He tried really hard not to compare Abby to Lindsay. He kicked himself every time he corrected her doing something because she was doing it 'wrong'. 'Lindsay never used to do it that way,' he'd say, almost like a broken record. She was a good sport, and he knew that – he couldn't fault her. She'd always ask for advice and then proceed to do it Lindsay's way... but it wasn't fair on her. It wasn't Abby's fault that she wasn't Lindsay. It wasn't Abby's fault that Lindsay had left the lab. That Lindsay left him.

Yet, he couldn't help but constantly remind himself, and Abby, that Lindsay was no longer there and that Abby was no Lindsay.

He pushed himself away from his desk and quickly made his way into Analysis, where he saw Abby smack the side of the machine in frustration.

"Hey whoa, Mac sees you doin' that he's gonna send you packin' back to your little sorority house without a second's thought."

Sighing, Abby rolled her eyes." For the thousandth time, I am not part of a sorority... nor was I ever. Sorry to quash that little pipedream of yours, Messer."

"Yeah, if you say so," he smirked as he effortlessly pressed a few buttons and had the machine whizzing; complying to what Abby had wanted it to do in mere seconds. "What was so hard about that?"

"Smug asshole," Abby growled playfully at him as he proudly crossed his arms over his chest. "No wonder Lindsay left with you walking around like a pompous jackass. She probably couldn't deal with you anymore."

Abby had hit a nerve and Danny's teasing nature transformed into a defensive stance within seconds. "Shut the hell up, you don't know the first thing about her and me."

"Wow," Abby growled. "Could you just bend down there and give me my head back. I think you just gnawed it off and spat it out but I can't be too sure. I was joking Danny, it was a joke."

"Yeah well, don't joke about her okay. Just don't even talk about her."

"Oh, I can't talk about her but you can talk about her all day, every day?" Abby snipped. "That hardly seems fair."

"Yeah well, you didn't know her."

"Maybe not, but I do know she was a huge part of this lab Danny, and I have huge shoes to fill. I've got a lot of expectations to meet that are pretty high. I know that she set high standards when it comes to newbies. I'm trying Danny, I really am; just give me a chance."

"I'm giving you a chance, Abby. You're doin' great and I'm enjoyin' workin' with you. I am... it's just... You just... you don't get it alright. You wouldn't understand."

"Yeah, maybe I don't, but I'm sure Lindsay would!" Abby snapped as she grabbed her file and stormed out into the hallway.

Running his hand down his face in frustration Danny didn't waste much time before following her angry path to the break room.

"Abby, listen..."

"No, you know what, don't." She turned with a resigned sigh. When she saw the apologetic look on his face, she offered him a weak smile. "Look, it's my fault. I'm just stressed. You're being a dick Danny, but I shouldn't have blown up and walked out like that. It's not exactly professional."

Danny smirked at the use of 'dick' to describe him in the same sentence as her chastising herself for not being professional, but decided against commenting. "I've been bustin' your onions though over this... I shouldn't be mentionin'-" Danny paused as he tried to figure out whether it'd be wise to mention Lindsay again.

"Go on: mentioning Lindsay." Abby finished his sentence for him, "Look, Danny, you can say her name. You can talk about her to me all you want. Just don't compare us. I'm not Lindsay and I don't want to be. I know she was your partner and she meant a lot to you, and I'm not trying to replace her. I want to be my own person. Yes I'm Lindsay's replacement, but I don't want to be her replacement forever."

Danny nodded slowly as he sighed and began pacing the break room as Abby took a seat at one of the empty tables.

"I'm going out on a whim here, and correct me if I'm wrong but you liked her, didn't you?"

Danny glanced up and met Abby's gaze for a moment or two. "Yeah, I did, I liked her a lot."

"And did she like you?"

"Yeah." Danny nodded. "We were together for a while until I screwed it up with her. She told me she loved him and I... it's complicated."

Abby nodded in understanding before taking a deep breath. "You're cute Danny and anyone in their right mind would be crazy not to snap you up... but nobody is going to want to be second best to someone who isn't even in the picture anymore. Now I'm not trying to piss you off again but Lindsay's gone. She's not here anymore and I get that you still obviously have feelings for her, but there's just some lines that need to be drawn so that you can move on. She's over you, so why aren't you over her?"

Danny took the seat next to Abby, accepted the cup she was handing him and let out a huge sigh. "I ask myself the same thing every day, Abby."

"Well, I think you've got to stop asking yourself that question and start doing something about it. Moping isn't going to get you anywhere... and focusing all of your energy on missing Lindsay and mulling over whatever you did and how you screwed her over isn't going to get you anywhere. You've got to approach it from a different angle... just some food for thought."

Danny took a sip of his coffee and offered Abby a smile. "You're pretty knowledgeable about this... got a lot of experience?"

"Pipe down, Messer. I'm just rational and logical. You're not. You're feeling sorry for yourself." She patted him on the shoulder. "Now finish that and get back to the GCMS, I've got something else I need to run before Rick picks me up. We're going to that Tapas place Dr Hawkes mentioned the other day. Have you ever been? Is it as nice as he was saying?"

Rolling his eyes Danny downed the rest of the tepid coffee and slammed the cup on the table, as if he'd just downed a shot. "Do I look like a Tapas kinda guy, Abby?"

"No," she shrugged, "But you don't look like a miserable mopey bastard either so you can't judge everything from appearance." She winked playfully.

"Alright, point taken I guess. Lead the way." Danny plastered a smile on his face.

All that Abby had just said made perfect sense to him. He knew deep down what he had to do to start the process of getting over Lindsay. He couldn't sit for twenty minutes at a time, staring at her picture. He couldn't constantly revisit the last time he'd seen her. He couldn't mentally go over the list of things he'd wished he had said to her. He knew it was going to get worse before it got better, but he couldn't constantly mull over what had gone wrong. But as much as he knew that he couldn't do all of that... He wanted to. He wanted to miss her. He wanted to feel the regret over all the things he wished he'd said. He wanted her back. It was quickly becoming clear to him that he seriously didn't have a hope in hell of getting over Lindsay Monroe.

And in all honesty, he wasn't sure if he even wanted to get over her.

No cliffhanger? What's going on! I don't know either actually. Perhaps Fred felt like he'd tortured you all enough? I'm not sure. I hope this satisfied your Danny POV urges. I hope it was easy enough to keep up with because I realise I flipped back and forth a few times.

Anyway, thanks for reading guys; let me know what you thought :)