"Who killed who?" Danny's eyes widened in alarm, sure that Vince had murdered somebody in the past.

"I told you that I didn't leave Vince because I was scared. It's not just that I was scared of him, I was scared of the things that people like him are capable of." She took a deep breath. "When I was 19, my best friend, Rochelle, moved in with her boyfriend, Kyle. Things got pretty bad between them, and I was pretty sure that he beat her." She paused to regain her composure. "He killed her. He beat her to death and it's all my fault. I saw all of the signs but didn't do anything." A tear slipped down her cheek. "It's my fault that my best friend is dead."

"Lindsay! It's not your fault," Danny assured her. "I understand why you were scared, though. No offence, but I've always thought that Vince was kinda creepy."

"You did?" Lindsay sniffed.

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I dunno. I didn't think it was my place to tell."

"You're my friend, my partner." I wish you were more than that, she thought. "It's definitely your place to tell."

"Ok. I'm sorry." I wish I were more than just your friend.

"It's not your fault. I'm the one who stayed with the guy who beat me."

"Let's talk about something else, ok, Linds?"

She smiled at him gratefully. "One more question."

"Ok. What?"

"Did you catch him?"

Danny looked away, not wanting to admit that he hadn't been fast enough.

"I'll take that as a no." Lindsay said ruefully.

"I'm sorry. We're gonna catch him, Linds. We are! I promise you."

"Ok."

"I am gonna do whatever it takes to catch that bastard and put him away." He squeezed her hand and half smiled. "I swear."

The intensity of Danny's promise scared Lindsay slightly. She knew that he meant well, but she was afraid that he was going to take this too far. She didn't want him to hurt himself trying to catch Vince. "He's not worth getting hurt over," Lindsay whispered.

"I know," Danny said, "But you are."

Lindsay returned to work two weeks later. She would have come back sooner if Mac had let her, but he insisted that she took time off. She was different; quieter, not as out going, but the team was glad to have her back.

"I had to kill him!" Farrah Parker, a wanna be actress whose husband was dead, exclaimed. "He beat me! I was scared for my life!"

"Can you prove that?" Danny asked her.

Farrah pulled down her sleeve to expose a bruise on her shoulder.

"That's it?" Danny questioned.

"I'm telling you! He got violent!"

Lindsay didn't want to listen to this woman. The whole time she told her story, images of Vince beating her flashed through her head. "You call that beating?" she asked suddenly.

Farrah cocked her head to the side, slightly confused.

"You call that beating?" Lindsay asked again, beginning to lose her temper. Danny gave her a look of warning, but Lindsay just ignored it. She happened to be wearing a button down shirt with a tank top underneath it that day. She unbuttoned it and shrugged it off,

"What are you doing?" Farrah asked.

Lindsay turned around, showing the bruises and cuts that were still visible on her back. "This!" she exclaimed, "is beating. I don't know how you got that stupid little bruise on your shoulder, but that's not enough of a reason to kill somebody. I let my boyfriend smack me around for nearly 6 months, and I never once hit him back, much less killed him!" she yanked her shirt back over her shoulders and stormed out of the room.

Danny finished the interrogation as quickly as he could, then, leaving Farrah in the room alone, set off to find Lindsay. She was leaning against a wall on the other side of the building, breathing deeply, trying her best to regain composure. Danny took her into his arms and she burst out into tears. It was the first time that she had cried since she had told Danny about Rochelle in the hospital. It felt good, though, to be here in Danny's arms, getting his shirt all wet. He smoothed her hair down and traced designs on her back, never suggesting that she should stop crying and never pulling away. He just stood there, holding her in his arms, telling her that everything would be ok.

A/N LAME ENDING ALERT!!! Sry. Um…ik its short (again) but please don't hurt me. I'll have the next chapter up soon.

xoxo

Lia