A/N - Updating quickly - (Oooo 2 days in a row) for Kates89. Thank you to reviewing peeps, so so so so so so so so x millions appreciated. I love you guys! And for being all nice reviewers I'll give you a hint, come next weekend, this story might be down one character... Ooooooo :(

Israel - Chapter Eight

Don lay in bed looking straight up at the ceiling. His handsome features marred by swelling, bruising and cuts. The hair on the left side of his head had been shaved off and a nasty cut could be seen, stitched up rather haphazardly. He turned his head towards Mac as he entered the room and his grimace of pain didn't escape unnoticed by the older man.

"Don," Mac murmured as he went forward and took hold of a bruised hand.

Don was silent; he just watched Mac as he took up the hand and pressed a kiss to it. Mac's other hand found its way to the younger man's hair and gently stroked it, mindful of the cut.

"God," Mac murmured, fighting hard to keep his anger at bay as he took in Don's wounds.

"I'm so sorry," Don whispered, looking back up at the ceiling. His right eye was barely open, squashed closed by the swelling.

Mac frowned in confusion. "Why are you sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for."

"It's my fault. I couldn't stop them. They had me and...and I was weak."

"Don, how many times do we have to do this?" Mac said sadly. "You're not weak."

"I've put you through this again. All the worry..."

"No you haven't. Those bastards did this. They put US through this. We're in this together, Don, for the long run. Me and you."

"So you won't leave me?" asked Don, finally looking back at Mac.

Mac slumped back in the chair, letting go of Don's hand and rubbing his face.

"Do you really need to ask me that?"

Don stifled a cry and looked back up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry. I keep fucking everything up."

Mac held a hand over his mouth and closed his eyes briefly. This was difficult.

"Do you remember what you said to me when I was in here? When I was concerned about looking weak to you?"

Don shook his head gently, his eyes never leaving the ceiling.

"Nothing will stop me from loving you," Mac stated, reaching out to pick up the swollen hand he'd previously held.

A tear fell from Don's good eye and rolled down the side of his head. Mac carefully wiped it away with his hand, remembering what an idiot he'd been when Don had visited him in hospital after he'd been shot.

"You shouldn't be here," Mac said as soon as the door opened to his room and the tall detective came in. It was the same greeting that he used every single time Don turned up, which was every day, every moment he wasn't working.

"And like I told you yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that...yes I should," Don grinned.

Mac didn't smile. "I...I don't like you seeing me like this, Don. So weak...so..."

Don plonked himself down in the chair next to Mac and shook his head. "May I remind you that you used to visit me when I was in hospital recovering from the explosion and I didn't grouch at you."

"I didn't give you the chance," Mac murmured apologetically.

"Hey!" Don said warningly.

Mac sighed and looked out of his window. "You're so young, Don. You don't want to be stuck with someone like me for the rest of your life."

"You trying to dump me again?" Don half joked. It went down like a lead balloon. "Look, Mac. I'm a big boy, I can make my own decisions and if I want to be here with you every day, and with you every day once you get out of here, then I will."

"I just think you'd be better off..."

"Mac!" Don practically shouted. "If I wanted to be somewhere else...if I didn't want to be with you then I wouldn't be. I've already had enough chances to leave this, in case you'd forgotten."

Mac sighed and nodded in acceptance. "I don't really want you to go," he admitted. "I just hate you seeing me like this."

Don too his hand and squeezed it. "Nothing will stop me from loving you, Mac."

Mac finally smiled.

"Or believing you're the biggest badass out there," Don added grinning.

"Shut up," Mac said, shaking his head in exasperation.

Don laughed and settled back in his chair. "By the way, I think Jo knows about us."

"I'd be surprised if there was anyone left who didn't know, the amount of time you've been spending here."

For the first time Don's face dropped and he looked genuinely worried. "Shit, Mac. I didn't think. I..."

"Hey, it's okay," Mac soothed. "If anyone says anything then we'll just deal with it as and when it happens."

Don still looked unsure but nodded anyway.

"I knew Jo had guessed anyway," Mac said smiling.

Don cocked his head. "How? You never told me."

"It was a long time ago and we weren't actually together then. It was after a case we had at a prep school. Some kid killed her classmate cos she was stealing her friend away and she was in love with him."

Don frowned as he tried to remember the case. "Did I work it?" he asked.

"Yeah," Mac nodded.

"I don't remember," Don finally shrugged.

"Well, anyway, after this kid was being taken away Jo turned to me and said, 'Do you think he had any idea?' and I replied, "That his best friend was capable of murder?" Jo then said, "That his best friend was in love with him. It's funny the things we choose not to see."

"She said that to you?" gawped Don.

"Yep. At the time I couldn't help but wonder if she meant me. That she'd recognised that at least one of us was in love with the other but he didn't know."

"Well then she got it wrong," Don smiled. "We both knew."

Mac smiled too. "That we did."

"I said that?" Don asked as he turned his head once more to look at Mac.

"You said that," Mac nodded in confirmation. "I was weak; my pride didn't want you to see me like that. But you stayed Don. You were there when I needed you, and afterwards when I tried to deal with the anomic aphasia by myself, you yelled at me, made me see that I needed help. It's okay to need other people, Don, and nothing will stop me from loving you."

"I meant it," Don stated. "When I said that, I meant it."

"And I mean it too now," Mac replied.

Don tried to smile but it looked rather more like a grimace. "We'll be okay," he said softly.

"Course we will," Mac agreed.

"We won't let them break us, Mac. I love you and I'm not afraid," Don murmured.

"Neither am I," Mac smiled.

"The only thing that makes me feel afraid is you not being here with me," the younger man added quietly.

"I'll always be here with you, Don. I'm never leaving you," Mac replied.

Danny entered the small room nervously and faltered by the door as two sets of eyes locked onto him. The two occupants of the room were locked in a gentle embrace and seemed reluctant to move.

"Err...I can come back..." Danny mumbled and made to leave.

"It's okay, Danny. Come on in," Mac smiled as he straightened up and went over to the younger man. He lowered his voice and then murmured to him, "stay with him will you? I need to check in with Jo."

"Course," Danny whispered and moved to let Mac past out of the room. He heard the door click behind him and then looked back at Flack who was staring at him. They'd certainly done a number on him and Danny was painfully aware that if he hadn't known it was Flack he was looking at, then he wouldn't have been able to recognise him through all the bruising and swelling that masked his usual handsome features.

"How you doing there, buddy?" Danny coughed as he inched nearer.

Flack stared at him for a bit and then attempted to push himself up in the bed. He grimaced in pain and flopped back down. Danny was immediately by his side helping him up.

"Thanks," Flack said gruffly.

"Don't worry about it," Danny replied as he sat down on the chair Mac had vacated.

Flack stared at him again; he noticed the CSI had a black eye.

"Flack, man, you gotta stop staring," Danny mumbled uncomfortably.

"Where were you, Mess?" Flack asked, ignoring what the older man had just said.

Danny sighed and looked away. He couldn't bear those piercing blue eyes that stared straight into his soul.

"I'm so, so sorry, Flack," he murmured.

"I'm not blaming you, Mess. I just want to know where you were?" Flack asked.

"This is all my fault, isn't it?" Danny asked, still avoiding Flack's gaze.

"I thought you had my back," Flack said quietly, finally looking away from Danny and out of his window. The day was slowly drawing to a close and he could just about see the last of the sun's rays from behind the tower blocks.

"I do, Don. I do," Danny cried, taking the opportunity to look at Flack while he was momentarily distracted.

"Then what happened?" Flack asked, looking back at Danny and locking eyes with him.

Danny took a deep breath and gulped. "I went round the back, to catch the guy. I thought I'd head him off."

Flack nodded, it was much as he suspected. "What happened then?"

"I caught up with him running down the back road. I grabbed him and cuffed him. I figured you'd just gone back round the other way so I took him back to the car and got him in it."

"Didn't you figure something was wrong when I wasn't there?" asked Flack sharply.

Danny flinched at the tone of his best friend. "Course I did. But I couldn't leave him alone in the car. It's not like it was a squadcar."

"So you were just gonna leave me?" Flack asked. "I could have been dead."

Danny covered his face as tears fell from his eyes. "I dunno. I tried calling you. I was gonna go back and look but I..."

"But what?" Flack asked angrily. "What excuse can you possibly come up with to justify leaving me alone in that alley?"

Danny sobbed into his hands. "I'm so sorry, Don."

Flack closed his eyes and looked away. He'd thought Danny would always have his back, that he could always rely on Danny but when it had really mattered...he'd been alone.

"I can't do this," murmured Danny and stood up. "I'm glad you're okay, Don," he murmured and then fled the room.

Flack stared after him, tears falling down his face.

Mac carried the cup of coffee he'd retrieved from a vending machine in one hand and his phone in the other. Jo had confirmed everything was fine in the lab and they could spare him for at least another hour. She'd not heard much about the case against the officers that had attacked Don except they'd been rounded up and were now being interrogated by IA back at the precinct. Apparently Hatcher was doing his nut and Sinclair was on his way over there.

"Whoa!" Mac yelled as someone ran straight into him, nearly knocking his coffee to the ground. "Danny!?"

"Mac," murmured the younger man, looking up, eyes red and swollen with tears.

"Danny, what's happened?" Mac asked in concern, "Is it Don?"

"No Don's fine" Danny mumbled.

"Then what is it?! Mac asked, leading the younger man over to a white, plastic chair.

"He hates me, Mac. He thinks it's my fault!" Danny burst out as he collapsed into the chair.

"I doubt that very much, Danny. Of course Don doesn't hate you. You're his best friend."

"He blames me. I should have gone back to look for him sooner. If I had maybe..."

"Danny. This isn't your fault. And neither is it mine. The only people we have to blame are the ones who did this."

"He said I didn't have his back," Danny choked.

Mac grimaced at his words and placed the coffee on the floor beside him. He put an arm around Danny shoulders and pulled him close, hugging him tight. He let the younger man cry into his arms for a while, waiting for him to calm.

"It's okay, Danny. Just let it out," he said softly.

"What am I gonna do, Mac? I can't lose him," Danny mumbled.

"I'll sort this out, don't worry," Mac nodded as he stood.

"How? What difference can you make?" Danny cried, scrunching his face up against his tears.

"Just wait here, promise?" Mac asked sincerely.

"Whatever," Danny muttered and looked away, sniffing.

Mac sighed and turned from the CSI towards Don's room. He didn't know what could possibly have been said in the five minutes he'd been gone from the room but whatever it was it was serious. Danny now seemed to think that Don hated him, that he blamed him for this attack...how on earth that was possible Mac didn't know. Those cops would have got to Don at some point whether Danny had been there or not. Mac wasn't sure what the younger man was playing at really but he was sure as hell gonna find out. He pushed the door open and stormed over to Don's bedside.

"Don, what the hell is going on?" Mac growled, "I've just bumped into Danny...he's distraught."

"He should be," Don growled back.

Mac stared for a moment in disbelief and then sat down in the chair, hands wiping over his face as his mind raced to find the best plan of action to diffuse the situation.

"Please tell me you're not blaming him for this, Don?" Mac stated seriously.

Don looked towards him. "He just left me, Mac. He wasn't even going to look for me."

"He had a prisoner in his custody whom he couldn't leave. And it was a good job too because this was all a set-up, Don. If he hadn't stayed with Hopkins until Lovato arrived then there would be no-one to testify that those bastards planned this."

"W...w..what?" stammered Don in complete shock.

"They planned this, Don," Mac sighed. "They knew your case, knew you'd be questioning Hopkins so they got to him first and paid him to lead you down that alley."

Don stared at him in silence. He could feel a pain in his heart. This was so much worse than he'd imagined. They hadn't just chanced upon him because of Danny's radio call, no, it had all been a trap..." Don closed his eyes and turned his head away from Mac.

"Don?"

Don heard Mac calling to him but he didn't respond. He wanted nothing more than to be left alone at that moment. They'd wanted him dead... men who had been his friends for years had wanted him dead, all because he loved a man. Now he finally understood. All those years of incomprehension as to why Mac had left him in the hospital after the explosion now seemed so futile. It all made complete sense. Mac had known this would happen, Mac had wanted to protect him from it and he had never believed him, not once. He'd thought it had all been an excuse because Mac was scared but that wasn't it, he realised. Mac had been scared but for a different reason, for him, for his safety, for this exact thing. Don knew all too well what it was like to be sat in hospital, hoping that the person you loved wouldn't die. He'd done it twice himself, once with Jess and the second time with Mac.

Flack collapsed back into the hard plastic chair and bent over, his head in his hands. This wasn't happening...it just couldn't be happening. No. He felt Jo sit beside him and place a comforting arm around his shoulders.

"He'll be okay, Don. I'm sure..."

"You don't know that. Not even the doctors can tell us that."

"Don..."

"What am I going to do, Jo? What am I going to do if he..."

"Don't think like that, Don. Try to stay positive..."

Flack turned his head to look at her. His eyes were red. "Fuck," he muttered and sat back, wiping both hands over his face.

Jo didn't say anything. There was no point in telling Don that Mac would be okay when there was a large chance he wouldn't be. They'd both been there, talking to the doctor, both heard what he'd said. She knew the young man loved Mac and that those feelings were returned. She'd had her suspicions for a long time, almost for as long as she'd known them both. But it had been confirmed in her mind the day Flack was caught up in that car bomb. The way Mac had reacted when he'd heard the news...she'd never seen him so worried before. He'd driven like a maniac to the scene and had jumped out of the car before he'd even pulled up to the curb. She'd watched from a distance as the two men danced around one another, clearly wanting to touch, to hug but not being able to.

"I shouldn't be here," Flack suddenly said, standing up.

"Where else would you be?" Jo asked frowning.

"The person who did this is still out there, Jo. I should be out there catching him. Getting the son of a bitch who did this."

"Don, the others are working as fast as they can to catch whoever did this. You're place is right here, beside Mac."

"No," Flack muttered shaking his head, anger surging through his veins. "No, I need to be out there. I need to be working."

"Don...Mac needs you here..." Jo tried to convince him.

"I need to go," Flack muttered and stormed away before she could say anything else.

Jo just stared helplessly after him.

But he had returned that day, and Jo had been right. He never should have left. Just like Mac today. Mac hadn't left to question those detectives, if he'd even been allowed. No, he'd stayed and waited for him. Just like he should have done.

Flack quietly opened the door to the small room and moved to sit in the chair next to Mac's bedside. He reached a hand out and took hold of the unconscious man's hand.

"I'm so sorry, Mac," he murmured as his eyes welled up. "I'm so sorry for leaving."

He brought the hand to his lips and kissed it softly.

"I never should have left. Jo was right, my place is here...by your side. I was just so scared. I couldn't sit idly by while that bitch was still running around out there."

Flack wiped his free hand across his face, trying to remove his tears that were drenching it.

"We got her though, Mac. We got her and...God...when I grabbed her... it was like time stopped...and I could have..."

Flack stifled a sob.

"I could have done it again, Mac. I could have killed her. Does that make me a bad person?"

Flack blinked his tears away but they dribbled down his cheeks.

"I need you, Mac. I...God...I love you so much. I need you here...to be with me...to calm my temper...to make me a better person..."

Flack grasped the hand tightly to his cheek.

"Just cos I love you. I need you here cos I love you."

"Don, please talk to me?" Mac was begging.

Don opened his eyes and looked back at Mac.

"You were just trying to save me, weren't you?" he asked.

Mac frowned. "What? When? It was Lovato and Danny..."

"After the explosion. When you left me, you were just trying to save me from this."

Mac sighed deeply. "Yes."

"I never understood that, Mac. Not until now. I'm so sorry," the younger man said earnestly.

He reached a hand out over the side of his bed even though it hurt him to move. He blinked away his tears of pain. Mac sighed as he watched Don's attempt for contact. He didn't understand why Don had never realised this before, the amount of times he'd explained it to him.

"Mac?"

Mac saw that Don was upset at his rejection of the extended hand. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. None of this mattered anymore. What mattered was to get Don and Danny back on track. He smiled and reached out and took Don's hand, standing up at the same time and moving closer. Don watched him closely.

"Don, listen to me carefully. None of that matters now. We've been through this so many times already. I love you. I've always loved you. Every day since the moment I told you about, the night you told me you loved me and I realised I felt the same. It was the biggest mistake of my life to walk away from you in the hospital and yet again to do it a second time with Peyton. I will never forgive myself for doing those things. But we're together now...I love you now...and I can't wait until we're married."

"Mac..." choked Don. He tried to turn, to move nearer but yelped in pain as the movement jarred his body.

Mac was immediately beside him, as close as possible and attempting to make him more comfortable. Don clung to his shirt with his free hand, not wanting him to move away.

"I'm here, Don. It's okay," Mac said soothingly.

"I'm scared," Don whispered. Finally admitting the fear that had settled in his heart after he'd heard that his attack was planned. He hadn't been afraid up until Mac had told him that.

"They won't hurt you again, Don. We have three witnesses, they'll lose their jobs, may even serve jail time."

"But that'll just make other people at the precinct angry at me. Their friends..."

"Don, people are angry right now about what they did. In fact most people are. You didn't deserve this, Don. No-one does."

Don let out a small sob and his hand clenched tighter into Mac's shirt. Mac used his free hand to take it up and hold it gently, untangling it from his shirt.

"And if it really came down to it, I would give up my job a thousand times over for you, Don. You're the most important thing in my life and have been for years," Mac said softly.

Don nodded gently, the movement hurting him. "I'd do the same for you. I knew that as soon as I saw Lindsay doing it for Danny."

"We'll be okay Don. You'll be okay. Like you said, we won't let them break us."

"Never," choked Don.

Mac smiled at him and then leant down and gently kissed him on the forehead. He let go of one of Don's hands and moved the chair closer, sitting down on it and then picking up the hand again. Don looked calmer now and that made Mac feel calmer himself. He hated this, hated seeing Don scared but after what the younger man had been through he was certainly allowed his moment of weakness.

"So what exactly happened then?" Don asked slowly, as though unsure he really wanted to know.

Mac nodded understandingly. "Wolf and Machado overheard you and Danny talking about your case at your desk. They found Hopkins before you and paid him to lead you into the alley where they would be waiting along with their partners. They knew one of you would call it in and they could use that as an excuse for their presence. Valenti and Machado were to trap you whilst Wolf and Kincade were going to get Danny out of the way; fortunately they didn't have to because he caught Hopkins and took him back to the car."

"How do you know all this?" Don asked warily. "I thought you hadn't spoken with them?"

"I haven't," Mac replied. "It was Lovato, Don, she saved you."

"What?" Don choked.

"She overheard their plans and tried to warn you but you'd already left. So she went after you with two officers, and called me on the way. She arrived as Danny was waiting with Hopkins; one of the officers was left to deal with him while she, the other officer and Danny went to find you. They saved you, Don. All of them. You mustn't blame Danny."

Don opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again, unable to form exactly what he wanted to say. He'd been so horrible to Lovato recently and it was only five minutes ago that he'd given Danny an earful too. Yet they had both saved him, stopped his attack before he'd been killed and most likely risked their own lives too.

"I think I need to speak to Mess," Don said quietly to Mac.

Mac nodded and then smiled. "He's outside, I'll go get him."

"Thanks, Mac," Don replied and watched him leave the room. A moment later the door opened and Danny stood there.

"Come in," Flack croaked at him.

Danny hesitated and then walked nearer but he didn't sit. He looked antsy and nervous.

"Danno," Flack mumbled. He felt like an idiot. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Danny bounced on his feet and looked distinctly uncomfortable. His eyes glanced to the door before he sighed and then went to the chair sitting down in it. He rubbed his hands over his face, in a gesture that reminded Flack of Mac, and then held them there, blocking Flack from view.

"It's not your fault, Flack. I shouldn't have stayed with the suspect. I knew...I knew you should have been back at the car by the time I got there. And then you didn't answer your cell and I knew something was wrong. I should have gone after you."

"They would have hurt you too if you'd gone by yourself."

"It would have been better than this!" Danny snapped, looking up and gesturing at Flack's body.

Flack flinched at Danny's anger. "Mac told me it was you who saved me. You and Lovato. I shouldn't have said you didn't have my back. I didn't know..."

"Flack, you have every right to be angry with me but..."

"No I don't! You didn't do this, Danno. Mac was right. The only people to blame are Kincade, Wolf, Valenti and Machado. They planned this; they planned to attack me they wanted me dead. I thought they were my friends..."

"Don't do this to yourself, Don," Danny said shaking his head in sorrow. "They were never your friends. You wouldn't want to be friends with people who can do a thing like this. I thought my probies were my friends but they turned on me too. Your true friends are those who got your back, who you can trust with your life."

"You," Flack nodded and once more tried to smile, failing miserably as the pull on his facial muscles made his right eye look even more swollen and squashed.

"Doesn't feel very much like that now" Danny commented as he stared at Flack.

"No. You did. You had my back, I knew you did and I'm sorry for what I said before."

"It's forgotten," Danny smiled feebly.

Flack smiled and for the first time it actually looked more like a smile than a grimace.

The door opened and Mac came in.

"I see you two are friends again," he said pleased.

"We never weren't," Don stated and Mac shook his head exasperatedly.

"I need to get back to the office. But I found these two outside to keep you company."

The door opened again and Hawkes and Adam appeared with cheery grins on their faces.

"Hey, Flack," Adam said timidly.

"Flack," nodded Hawkes.

"I've assigned them the job of cheering you both up so you better be happy when I return," Mac joked.

"Don't worry about that," Hawkes grinned as he held up a bag. "We were supposed to go for beers tonight...but if you can't go to the beer then the beer shall come to you!"

"Beer!" Flack and Mac shouted at the same time, the younger in an extremely excited tone, the older in one of disdain and shock.

"Well, for us," Hawkes replied. "You my friend have, Mmmm grape juice!"

Flack started grumbling to himself as Mac smiled and then turned to leave. "Look after him," he whispered into Hawkes' ear as he went to the door.

"I'll be back later, Don," Mac said, looking directly at the man in the bed.

"See you then," Don murmured.

Mac smiled and then left the room. Hawkes pulled up a chair the other side of Flack's bed and Adam sat on the windowsill.

"So we got you the standard 'get well soon' teddy bear," Hawkes grinned as he pulled a fluffy pink bear out of one of the plastic bags he was carrying.

Flack stared at it in horror while Danny and Adam started to snigger.

"Oh God," Flack moaned. Hawkes and his God damn thing for teddy bears.

A/N - Flashbacks are from some point between s8-s9 and 8x22 for the last two.