Author's Notes: A prologue and eight chapters just to cover one day. Probably why I don't write episodic television where the entire case has to be wrapped up in 45 minutes. Day One was filled with a lot of doubts and questions so hopefully Day two will bring more answers and trust. But no promises. I should say the product mentioned in the last section of this story is strictly from my own imigination and not based on anything real.

Disclaimer: CBS, Anthony E. Zuiker, Carol Mendelsohn, and Ann Donahue own all rights to the characters and premise of the show. I am making no money off this story and it is for entertainment purposes only. However, this particular story is my creation and should not be used without my express written permission.

Attack

Chapter 9

The clouds and grayness of the day before had washed away in the storms of night and left only sunshine and brilliant blue in its stead. The new day held more promise than its predecessor and one could only hope it would be the same in non-weather related matters as well.

Lindsay awoke from a restless dream-filled sleep to throbbing pain mostly from her ribs. But the pain wasn't quite as bad as the day before. Certainly still enough that she wouldn't balk at taking one of the pain pills the doctor had prescribed but enough that she didn't worry that taking the medication would feel about as useful as eating candy. She dressed slowly and gingerly in the outfit Stella had picked out for her. Soft jeans and an even softer bulky sweater that screamed its comfort. Without someone like Stella or Jess to help her, fastening the bra was difficult but she'd had her share of injuries growing up to have had practice with using a braced hand to help perform difficult tasks.

As she dressed, her thoughts turned the to the day before. Her brain wasn't as drug fuzzy as it had been previously and she could more coherently analyze what had happened. She couldn't believe Danny would willingly take steroids. Sure, he'd boasted when he heard about the new PT requirements that he planned to not only pass them but to outshine all the other officers. He wanted to prove that the science geeks had brawn as well as brains. But that was just his usual boastful, sure-of-himself, swagger. She knew he could do it but by his own abilities not with the boost of performance enhancing drugs. No, Danny had too much confidence and pride in himself to resort to drugs. He had to have been given the steroids from an outside source without his knowledge.

But still, something didn't make sense to her. A couple of football players from her brother Jeremy's class had been caught using them and it had sent the school administration over the top for years after making sure that their students knew the risks and dangers of using steroids. As a result, she'd read the literature, seen the videos, and heard all the horror stories about steroid abuse and the resulting rage that could come upon the user. Yes, Danny's rage the day before had all the tell-tale markings of a full blown 'roid rage but what had precipitated it? The change had been so swift and unprovoked that it had been scary enough all on it's own without the resulting violence. Even if Danny had a build up of steroids in his system, what had triggered the attack on her? She still had many questions; she just hoped the answers wouldn't be too devastating.

She emerged from the bedroom to the delightful smell of bacon frying on the stove. She smiled, having a hard time picturing Mac being so domesticated. Of course, that could be because he never seemed to leave the lab enough for her to imagine that he was ever home long enough to do domesticated things. She gingerly perched on one of the bar stools at the island in front of his stove. Mac transferred several slices of bacon to a paper-towel covered plate and then poured her a cup of coffee. He set the mug before her with a smile.

"Morning, how did you sleep?"

"Like a baby."

Mac chuckled, the dark circles under the eye that wasn't swollen and bruised told the full story. "That fitfully huh? How do you like your eggs?"

"Over medium. I'm impressed, the Mac Taylor Home for Injured Officers sure knows how to treat its guests." Lindsay teased, remembering his comment from the night before about his spare bedroom.

"We aim to please. Lindsay, I have to go into work today; Sinclair is going to have my head if I don't have answers soon and I want to have all my bases covered before I give them to him. I hate to leave you by yourself all day though. And no, you are not coming to work today I don't care how much better you claim to feel."

"Don't worry, I would like nothing more than to be at the lab working to prove what really happened before its too late to protect Danny's job. But I know you can't let me near the case and even though, like you, I don't always show it; I do know my own limits. I wouldn't be of any use to anyone at the lab today. Still, when Dr. Terry said he didn't want me staying by myself, I don't think he meant that I needed a full time babysitter. I'll be fine. I promise I won't do anything more strenuous than press the buttons on your remote. How did it go talking to Danny last night? I never heard you come in." That's when her eyes fell on the glass jar of dehydrated fruits on the other side of the counter. She paled. Mac noticed and explained.

"I stopped by your apartment last night just to make sure things seemed undisturbed. Met your neighbor Petey. When he heard you were injured he insisted on sending the fruits to help you feel better. I got the feeling you are his number one fan. The storm seemed to be bothering him so I offered to keep him company until his brother got home."

"Petey used to live in Ohio with his parents until they were killed in a tornado. He survived without so much as a scratch but even the threat of bad weather scares him now. Mike hates having to leave him alone if the weather's forecasting rain but he can't just leave work every time there's a storm. Thanks for staying with him." Outwardly Lindsay appeared calm but inside she was shaking. Petey wouldn't have told Mac about that night on the roof, would he? He'd been so upset that he'd accidentally hurt her when he pulled her back from being too near the edge of the building. But looking in Mac's eyes, she could see that he knew at least some of the truth. She waited for him to bust her on her lie.

Mac could see her fears behind her eyes and knew what she was worried about. After leaving Petey safely in his brother's care, Mac had put in a call to the Bozeman police chief. He'd talked to the man several times while he was thinking of hiring Lindsay and knew the man was not just a boss but a family friend. Micah Alexander had told him all about the shooting at the diner when Mac was gathering information on Lindsay a year ago; the Bozeman chief explaining that while the tragedy had been exceedingly difficult and continued to be for his favorite employee and friend, Lindsay hadn't let it stop her from becoming the best in her field that he'd ever seen. In fact he'd confided that while he hated to lose Lindsay to the New York Crime lab, he couldn't help but feel it would be better for her to be away from the constant reminders of the tragedy. He'd sounded like he genuinely cared about Lindsay. If something had upset the young woman as much as Petey had claimed, it had to have been news from home. If anyone would know what had happened it would be the police chief.

Micah, almost as if he'd been expecting some kind of phone call from Mac, had filled him in on the night he'd had to call with news of the arrest. Said she'd been understandably in shock by the news but when he'd talked to her an hour later she'd been much better. Micah had assured Mac that while Lindsay could have extreme moments dealing with shock and pain, she'd never have crossed the line that Petey's story had suggested. She might have been upset but not that upset. He also warned Mac that it would be better to let Lindsay confide in him when she was ready. Pushing her into talking about something before then would just make her shut down completely. Mac had thanked him for the advice and hung up.

"I'm glad I met him. Nice to know that you have someone keeping an eye on you. Not that you need it." Mac assured her, saying nothing about either conversation. "As for Danny, don't worry about him. I'm going to have Flack check out the drugstore where Danny get's his Coach's Special. Danny thinks the switch from the normal drug had to have happened there. He also said he'd given you some of the pills from an older bottle of pills. Your tox report came back negative so those couldn't have been tainted."

"I never took them." Lindsay offered as Mac set a plate in front of her, seeing no reason to keep the information from Mac any longer. "It wasn't that I didn't trust them; I just don't like relying on anything, even vitamins for a boost. There in a bottle in the bottom drawer of my desk. You can get them and test them to be sure. It would help prove that Danny wasn't willingly taking the steroids." Then she sighed, still worried about his visit to her apartment. "Mac, about my old bruises.."

"Lindsay, don't worry about it. You might have broken protocol by not reporting your vertigo and yeah, it could have been dangerous not doing so, but nothing truly bad happened so as long as you follow procedure in the future; I'm not going to make a stink about this time. But I'd prefer it if you would promise me that you'll come to me in the future before something like this happens again."

Lindsay smiled, a faint blush creeping into her cheeks. She was pretty sure he knew that her cover story was a lie and probably knew the truth but he wasn't going to press her for information. As she'd lain in bed the night before after her dream about the night Micah had called with the news, she'd thought about the two men she claimed both as boss and friend. In some ways they seemed so opposite each other but in all the ways that truly mattered they were almost exactly alike. Perhaps that was why she'd taken to Mac so easily.

"Promise."

Mac nodded, knowing she had picked up on what he'd really been saying. "I'm also glad you promise to take it easy today. Still, don't be surprised if I send anyone who has a reason to get out of the lab today over here to check on you. I promised Dr. Terry to keep any eye on you for a day or so and I'm going to do that even if it means sending in substitutes."

"Wouldn't expect anything different." Lindsay assured him, pushing around the eggs on her plate.

"Good, so long as we're on the same page here. Now finish your breakfast so you can take something for the pain I'm sure you're still in. Since you didn't sleep too well last night, maybe you can fit in a nap between television shows today."

Lindsay did as ordered but then paused after a second bite. "Mac, while you are at the lab today, could you see about bringing my phone to me. I guess it must have been taken as evidence with the rest of my clothes. It shouldn't be needed as evidence, should it?"

Mac shook his head. "I don't remember seeing your phone in the stuff Stella collected but I suppose it could have been put with the other evidence gathered at the diner. I'll check and see. Shouldn't be a problem."

- CSI: NY - CSI: NY - CSI: NY -

As soon as Mac stepped off the elevator at the lab, he knew a battle was at hand. He could see Sinclair pacing back and forth in his office looking madder than he'd ever seen him. He sighed and braced himself for what was probably coming.

"Brigham, what brings you by this early?" Mac tried, hoping a calm, friendly voice would soften the man's mood some. It didn't.

"What brings me here? Are you seriously asking me that? Taylor, I want to know the truth and I want to know it now. Did Messer's tox screen come back positive for steroids?"

Mac glanced back at the door to make sure it had closed firmly behind him before Sinclair had asked his question. Only the core team - Stella, Flack, Lindsay, Sheldon, Adam, and himself, knew about the tox report. He'd purposely kept the information close to the vest. Danny was going to have a lot of questions facing him when he came back and Mac didn't want to add fuel to the fire until they knew the whole story. "How did you find out about that?"

Sinclair shook his head. "Dammit, not the way I should have found out, Taylor. Didn't I tell you yesterday that I wanted to be kept abreast of every detail of this investigation? Why didn't you call me as soon as you got the toxicology report? Or, if not that, then why wasn't I informed during one of the many times I called looking for information? I have half a mind to pull your team from this whole investigation and assign it to another department. I don't like even the appearance of a cover-up under my watch."

Mac shook his head, becoming defensive himself. "There is no cover up going on, Brigham. And you aren't going to turn this investigation over to another department because you know we're the best. If anyone's going to get to the bottom of this with the least amount of flack for the department it's my team. Yeah, I withheld the information but I would do the same on any case. The toxicology report is a starting point but not the whole picture. All we currently know is that somehow Danny ingested high amounts of anabolic steroids; we now even know the source of the steroids, but we don't know who is responsible for them. Without the whole story, we have nothing."

Sinclair practically threw himself down on the couch in frustration. He hadn't slept hardly at all the night before after getting the call. "Where did you find the steroids? Don't jerk me around, Taylor. I want the truth and I want it now or I don't care how good your team is, you're off the case."

"Danny's apartment." Mac admitted reluctantly. The look Sinclair shot him could have cut through solid walls.

"Dammit, Mac. If they were in his apartment then he probably put them there. How can you stand there protecting him? How is it going to look to the public when this gets out? Every defense attorney worth his salt is going to file an appeal for any client put away due to the investigations of this lab. And a judge will probably grant it. How trustworthy is the word of a drug addict?"

Mac perched on the edge of his desk fighting the urge to yell back at his superior officer. Instead he took a couple of deep breaths before replying. "Danny is no drug addict. This is exactly why I didn't tell you. You're jumping to conclusions when we haven't even begun to get all the facts. The drugs were in Danny's apartment but we haven't proven he knew what he was taking. I talked with him last night and he seemed genuinely surprised by the findings. His story is that he believed he was taking a mixture of vitamins created by his baseball coach back in high school. Pills he's been taking for years. I've got Flack investigating the pharmacy that Danny bought the pills from; someone might have switched the pills Danny thought he was taking for the steroids. If that happened, then Danny is an innocent victim in this."

Sinclair shook his head. "Innocent victim my ass. What about the other innocent victim in this? Detective Monroe? How is she supposed to feel about you risking this lab's integrity to protect the man who viciously attacked her?"

"If I would allow it, she'd be right here today helping to prove his innocence." Mac assured him.

"Are you sure about that?" Sinclair's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps she's just afraid to speak up."

Mac had a feeling Sinclair was going somewhere with this other than just concern for Lindsay's feelings but he wasn't sure what it could be. "It's the only thing I'm sure about. I don't necessarily understand it but the only person in all of this who hasn't expressed even a momentary doubt about Danny's innocence is Lindsay herself."

Sinclair rose from the couch. He began to pace once again before stopping to look out the glass window into the lab. Finally he turned back to Mac. "You asked me earlier who I found out about the report. I got a call last night informing that you were covering up the truth. The person wouldn't give her name because she was worried about reprisals. I ran the number on caller ID. It came back to Lindsay Monroe."

Mac shook his head. "It's not possible."

"Why, because you don't want it to be?" Sinclair accused.

"No, because Lindsay hasn't had her cell phone since the attack. She asked me this morning to see if it had been collected as evidence. So if Lindsay didn't make that call, who did? Sounds like someone is going to a lot of trouble trying to get Danny in trouble."

- CSI: NY - CSI: NY - CSI: NY -

Flack almost reluctantly stepped into Mac's office not quite two hours later. The older man set aside the folder he'd been reading over. "Tell me you got good news."

Flack shrugged. "Linds was fine when I checked on her. Does that count?"

Leaning back in his chair, Mac motioned for Flack to have a seat on the couch. "Always but not quite what I was asking about. How did it go at Stanley's?"

"Not the way any of us wanted." Flack admitted. "Neither Stanley was in the store today. Jimmy is Upstate attending a pharmacy convention and the elder Stanley was out delivering prescriptions to elderly patients that can't get out to get them themselves. But the girl behind the counter was really helpful. Of course, I think she was more interested in trying to get into my pants than give me information but that's another nightmare for another day. Once she realized I was a cop she was more than willing to answer my questions about Coach's Special even without a search warrant. Showed me the compounding area where Stanley creates the pills. Even gave me a quick look at the ingredients that go into the pills so I could see that they were completely safe. She even showed me the ledger they keep of sales. Apparently they are really concerned about the local rivals getting their hands on the formula."

Mac nodded. "So far, I'm not hearing where this was a bad trip and I'm including your potential love life in that as well. So where did things go sour?"

"I showed her a picture of Danny. She recognized him; called him the hunkiest Italian Stallion she'd ever had the pleasure of. She didn't say what she'd had the pleasure of and I don't think I want to know. I'm just grateful Danny's standards for dating have come up over the years. I asked if she remembered seeing him come in about three weeks ago to pick up a new supply of Coach's Special."

"Did she?"

"Said she hadn't seen Danny in months, sounded real disappointed about it, too."

Mac frowned. He could see where that wasn't the kind of news that Flack was hoping to be able to report. "Still, doesn't mean that Danny wasn't there. I'm sure she's not the only one who works there. Maybe Danny came in while someone else was working the counter."

"That's what I thought as well. She said there were a couple of guys that worked late afternoons that could have sold him the pills. So she pulled out the ledger to check to see when Danny was last in. I looked at every name in the book for the time frame we were looking at. No sign of Danny's name. Figured maybe we were off a week or two either way so I checked every page until I finally found Danny's name."

Though this was the news that Mac had hoped for, the way Flack was talking; it wasn't as good as it sounded. "When did he get it?"

"The last time Danny's name is recorded as getting a bottle of Coach's Special is about four months ago. The bottle Hawkes found in Danny's apartment was almost full. There's no way it was the same bottle he bought back then. I don't know where the pills came from but it doesn't look like they came from Stanley's."

- CSI: NY - CSI: NY - CSI: NY -

Mac returned the coffee carafe back to the warmer and carried his mug to one of the break tables. It was the first break he'd taken all day and the pounding in his head was making his need for a caffeine boost achingly clear. So far they were no closer to proving that Danny was innocent of taking the steroids of his volition than they had been yesterday when the attack first happened. If anything it seemed like every where they turned it was pointing more like Danny had known exactly what he was doing.

It was only a matter of time before Sinclair came back insisting that Danny be fired and probably worse, dragged from the hospital to a jail cell.

"Um, Boss?" Adam stepped into the break room looking nervous. Mac suppressed a groan, not wanting to hear any more bad news. He set his mug down.

"What is it, Adam?" He was glad to hear that his tone hadn't betrayed his inner turmoil. He knew everyone on his team was working double time trying to prove what really happened. In fact, he could tell by the exhausted look on Adam's face that the lab tech probably hadn't gotten much sleep the night before in his attempts to discover the truth. No it wasn't the team's fault that the answers were remaining elusive but it didn't make it any easier to hear bad news.

"I got something I think you should see." The young lab tech shifted from one foot to the other but Mac couldn't tell if it was Adam's normal nervousness or an excitement over a case-breaking find that had him fidgeting.

Leaving the mug of coffee he so desperately needed behind, Mac stood and followed Adam down the hall to the AV room. It was obvious that Adam had been pouring over the video collected from the diner the day before. The big screen showed a still image of the diner in what had to be before the attack happened because everyone seemed oblivious to the impending danger. A piece of paper had been taped onto the lower right hand side of the screen. Mac raised an eyebrow and pointed to the paper questioningly.

Adam looked a little embarrassed. "That's where Danny and Lindsay are sitting and where he hurts her. I couldn't focus on anything else that was happening so I finally just covered the screen."

The explanation made sense and it saddened Mac to think the young man had had to resort to covering the screen to be able to stomach doing his job. Was this what one senseless act had brought them to?

"Can we remove the paper for now?"

"No offense, Boss, but you don't want to do that." Suddenly any trace of the nervousness that usually came over Adam when he met with Mac had vanished and his tone was confident and matter of fact. "There's nothing to be gained by seeing what goes on under that piece of paper. Nothing but watching one person you count as a friend brutalize a second person you care about. Nobody should have to see that because it never should have happened. Besides, it'll distract you from what you need to see. After I'm finished showing you what I found, if you still want me to, I'll take the paper down and rewind the tape. Once I'm out of the room, you can watch it to your heart's content but I really suggest you take my word for it that you don't wanna see it."

Mac nodded. "Okay then, what do you have to show me?"

"The cause of Danny's personality change."

Adam's words were cryptic at best and Mac shook his head. "We know that, Adam. It was the steroids."

"No, it wasn't." Adam argued, not sounding at all like his normal nervous self. "The steroids exacerbated Danny's condition but it didn't cause his rage. Just watch and I'll show you."

He started the tape rolling. "Okay, we see Lindsay and Danny come into the diner. You can see they both look relaxed and happy. See the way Lindsay waves and greets the staff; it's obvious she's a regular. They sit down at the booth and still everything seems fine. Watch the door." Mac did as instructed and it wasn't long before a woman entered the diner wearing dark sunglasses and a scarf over her head. It was impossible to positively ID her. She went and sat down in the booth that shared a back with the one Danny and Lindsay were sitting at. Adam paused the video. "Okay, I'm going to fast forward a little. Danny and Lindsay eat their meals while the woman in the other booth simply drinks coffee. Trust me when I tell you that under that piece of paper, Lindsay and Danny are enjoying themselves. I don't need sound to tell. They are relaxed and obviously joking back and forth." He forwarded the video to the spot he wanted and then paused it again. "Lindsay just stood up like she's about to got the rest room or something and Danny grabs her wrist but it wasn't in a threatening way. Now watch the woman again."

He pushed play and the video resumed. The woman Adam was encouraging him to watch pulled what appeared to be an atomizer from her purse and sprayed herself with the perfume. Again Adam paused. Mac shook her his head.

"Adam, it might be rude to spray perfume at the table like that but it isn't illegal."

Not to be deterred, Adam indicated the screen just before his blocking screen. "She didn't spray herself. She sprayed behind her. Danny would have gotten the full effect of the spray."

Again Mac looked confused and maybe a little irritated. "Please tell me you didn't bring me down here because you think Danny went crazy on Lindsay because an impolite person accidentally sprayed him with her perfume. Steroids or not I think that's asking a little too much."

Now some of the nervousness that was so common with Adam crept back into his voice. "No, boss, of course not. But see, I don't think it was an accident and I don't think it was perfume. I'm pretty sure it's PheromoRage."

Mac pulled a chair over and sat down. He was pretty sure he was going to need to be sitting to follow this story. "What the hell is PheromoRage?"

Now Adam was decidedly more nervous. "Well, see, it's something I've read about only. I don't understand why anyone would use it. It's sick and it's wrong and well, I guess some people get off on it because, according to a friend of mine, it's pretty popular."

"Adam, Adam." Mac interrupted. "I'm going to need a better explanation than that.""Okay." Adam slowed down a little. "Okay, see I have this friend from college; he owns a novelty store that caters to erotic literature and merchandise. He's always telling me about new products."

"Adam." This time Mac's tone was sharp. "PheromoRage?"

The younger man blushed. "Right, sorry. Any way. You know there's people out there all into the S&M. The whole idea of getting off on causing and receiving pain sickens me but it takes all kinds I guess. So, everything is fine I guess if both parties are agreeable to it. But what happens if only one partner is into that kind of thing. We see it all the time when there's a sadist in the duo. It probably accounts for most of the domestic abuse cases we see. But what if you are the masochist who craves the pain but don't have a partner willing to cause it? That's where PhermoRage comes in."

"I still don't understand what this has to do with Danny. I don't think either Danny or Lindsay fits either description."

Adam continued as if Mac hadn't interrupted. "The masochist either has to find a new outlet for the pain or find a way to convince the partner to overcome their social mores and become the sadist. PheromoRage is a pheromone that triggers the anger center of the brain. One whiff and a person temporarily loses all control. The person under the control of the pheromone acts in a way he or she never would normally act in order to give his or her partner what has been described as the best sexual experience of their lives. And because it is a pheromone and not a drug, it leaves no trace in the bloodstream. Plus the person under its affect doesn't remember the encounter."

Mac felt sick. "Are you telling me that people willingly allow themselves to be turned into an unrecognizable beast so that he or she can inflict pain on the person he or she claims to love? And for what, a sexual turn-on? Your friend sells this stuff?"

"He doesn't agree with it any more than you or I do but people request it. He'll only sell it if both parties sign a waiver saying they are both aware of the risks and are doing so of their own free will. But yeah. I personally don't find anything even remotely sexually satisfying about having the shit beat out of you but I guess some people do."

Mac pointed at the screen. "And you think that's what the lady was doing? You think she sprayed Danny with that pheromone in order to make him lash out at Lindsay like he did?"

Adam nodded. "From what my friend was telling me, usually the violence that results from PheromoRage is minor, nothing like the damage inflicted on Lindsay. But add the PheromoRage with the steroids and it's like a recipe for disaster. That's why Danny doesn't remember what happened in the diner."

"Damn, that's sick." Mac agreed. "You think your friend could get us a sample? As much as it galls me, we have to check out the possibility."

Adam reached over to a nearby desk and picked up what appeared to be a small perfume bottle. As Mac took the bottle from the younger man, he noticed the sprayer had been carefully taped up to avoid accidental exposure. Adam explained. "I went to seem my friend before coming in to work today. I figured we'd have to check it out. I've known him for years and he even made me sign a waiver that I was using this for police business. He doesn't take chances with getting sued."

"Smart guy." Mac agreed. "Is that all you wanted to show me?"

Adam shook his head. "You should see the rest." He pushed the play button again. "Danny just hit Lindsay and then knocked her to the ground. Everyone else in the diner is watching them but you watch the woman."

She stood up, watched the events playing out with a sort of sick smile on her face. Then she bent down and picked up a rectangular object before exiting the restaurant without so much as a backward glance.

"Back it up Adam. What did she pick up?"

As requested Adam ran the tape back and then tried to zoom in on her hand. "Looks like a cell phone, sir."

Mac's expression was grim. "I bet that's Lindsay's cell phone. It probably fell when Danny attacked her and if this mystery woman took it with her it would explain why it wasn't collected as evidence. It also explains why Sinclair got a call from Lindsay's number last night. Did the camera ever get a good look at her face?"

"No, sir. I tried. But Boss, was this an isolated attack or did she intentionally pick Danny? How would she know where to find them?"

Mac turned his attention away from the screen, knowing that just behind that thin sheet of paper, two lives were being irreversibly changed forever. "With the steroids in his system, Danny was a walking time bomb. All she had to do was wait outside the building until Danny and Lindsay came out and then follow them. I just have one big question."

"What's that?"

"Was Danny the target and Lindsay just collateral damage or was Lindsay the target and Danny the weapon of choice?"