The ceiling above his bed seemed to be getting farther and farther away as Danny lay awake in his warm, comfortable bed with Lindsay beside him. As exhausted as he was, fear kept him awake in the late hours of the night. Shifting his hips in bed he heard felt his sleeping bed mate stir.
"Danny, you awake?" Lindsay whispered.
"Yeah, go back to sleep." He whispered back as Lindsay turned over slowly, wrapping her body around his. Danny brushed the hair back from her face as she settled on his chest.
"Can't sleep?" She asked, her eyes still closed.
"Don't worry about it." He whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Do you have another head ache?"
"I'm fine, go back to sleep." He denied, feeling something was wrong and not being able to explain it was one thing, but when the person you love notices is another story.
"I know you're scared, but everything is going to be fine. I promise, the MRI will be clear and this is just going to be a bad head cold." Lindsay said sitting up on her elbows and looking at him in the eye.
Letting out a deep breath he looked at her, she was half asleep and was still beautiful. "Yeah." He said blankly.
"What?" She questioned with a slightly annoyed face.
"What about you? Are you doing OK?" He asked, changing the subject, raising his eye brow.
"Danny, please, stop worrying about me. The only think I have to worry about is what would mix best with chocolate and pickels. You can talk to me?" She was pleading, he hated when she pleaded.
"First off, that's disgusting. And secondly, I know you don't worry, but I do. Everyday." He pushed himself, pushing the pillows under she shoulders.
"Why?" Resting her chin on her hands across his chest was the most comfortable position she could muster with her awkward belly.
"I'm just afraid something is going to happen to you, or the baby. I've screwed enough up, I don't want to screw this up." He said, closing his eyes for the last part.
"You're such a drama queen." Lindsay said dryly. Danny opened his eyes and smiled at her.
"Shut up." He joked.
"I'm fine, you'll be fine, the baby is fine. For once, lets just believe that we too can have a happy ever after. Please?" She said slowly pulling herself up to Danny level.
"I think I can do that." He said kissing her gently.
"Good." She said kissing him again. "Now try and get some sleep." With a smile, she rolled herself over and pull her pillow under her chin.
Danny watched her as he turned to rest himself along her side, the movements causing a stabbing pain in his side of his skull. Trying hard to mask his gasp in pain, he rested his hand on his the side of his head, as he eyes began to water from the pain.
"You Ok?" Lindsay asked, feeling his body stiffen.
"Go to sleep, I'll be back." He said as he hazily got out of bed, leaving a very confused Lindsay watching him as he walked into the bathroom and shut the door.
"Dan?" He heard Lindsay calling him from bed.
"Gimme a sec Linds, I'm fine." He lied. The pain didn't stop, turning on the water he looked up into the mirror, shocked by his appearence. Rushing cool water over his face, breathing deeply to calm his heart, he dried his face and sat down on the side of the tub, he sat with one hand on his head and the other over his stomach as nausea did a dance in his stomach.
"Danny, you alright?" He heard Lindsay banging on the door. Danny sucked in a breath as he got up and slowly made his way to the door, stopping in front and resting his forehead against it. "Danny, open up." Lindsay begged.
Opening the door, Lindsay gasped at the sight of him, he was pale and had large circles under his eyes. "What the hell?" She said angrily.
"Nothing gets past you." Danny said turning back to the tub and sitting back down.
"What happened?" She said pulling a cloth from the cabinet and wetting it in the sink.
"The pain is back." He said putting his head back.
"No, lean forwards." Lindsay said handing him fresh tissue and putting the cold wash cloth on the back of his neck, as she rubbed his back. He closed his eyes, as the pain began to subside.
"Maybe we should go to the hosptial?" Lindsay was genuinely worried, Danny could hear it in her voice.
"No... it's the middle of the night, you should go back to bed." He said, realized nausea was now very present in his system.
"Danny, this is getting ridiculous, you need to see a doctor." She practically begged.
"Please don't yell at me right now, my head is killing me." He begged, pressing his eyes closed, hoping his sickness would pass. It didn't, his stomach bubbled and within seconds, he found himself retching in toilet, luckily it wasn't far.
"Danny, oh god!" Lindsay said watching him, as she rubbed his back.
Sitting on the floor with his back to the wall, Lindsay wiped his face with the cloth that had been on his neck.
"Water." He breathed with his eyes shut, holding his abdomen.
"Ok, sit tight." Lindsay said standing slowly and getting water from the sink. "Danny, we should go to the hospital." She said handing him the water, when his hand came up weakly from the floor, she moved it to his lips and helped him swallow some.
"No, no hospital." He said finally opening his eyes and looking up at Lindsay, seeing his blood shots eyes.
"Have you been sick like this before?" She asked, feeling his face, his heat was flaming off of him.
"Once." He closed his eyes again, taking deep breaths he could feel his heart beating painfully against his chest.
"This is stupid, we're going to the hospital." Getting up from the floor in front of Danny she sat on the side of the tub.
"It's four A.M. I don't want you out this time of night." He finished as another spell of sickness hit him.
"Ah! This is bullshit!" She said leaving the bathroom. In the bedroom, Lindsay moved around the bed to Danny's phone and called the one person he wouldn't be able to say no to.
"Flack?" He answered quickly.
"Hey Don. It's Lindsay." Her voice was shakey.
"What's goin' on, Linds? You know it's four A.M. right?" He joked.
"I'm sorry, but I need your help." Her voice cracked on the word 'help' and she could feel tears threatening to form in her eyes.
"It's OK, I'm working anyways. What's wrong?" He was now scared.
"It's Danny, something is wrong with him and he won't let me take him to the hospital."
"What do you mean?" Don stood up from his desk, and began putting his coat on.
"He's sick Don, he needs help." Finally succeeding in breaking, her tears began to fall.
"Alright, I'm on my way. Just sit tight." Don picked up his keys and left his desk.
Lindsay hung up the phone and went into the bathroom to find that Danny had not moved. Putting her hand on his forehead she noticed his temperature was back to normal.
"Who was that?" He said, barely audible as he kept his eyes shut with his head leaning back against the wall.
"Don. He's going to take you to the hospital." Standing up Lindsay picked up another cloth and began wetting it.
"Everything is going to be fine, Linds. I promise." His voice was slurred. Lindsay turned back to him, seeing that his eyes were still closed and she wiped her own tears from her face. "I have to be at work for eight, I should be back for then."
"Danny, you're not going to work tomorrow." Lindsay said, cleaning his face with the cloth.
"She's thirteen, someone has to be looking for her." He babbled.
"What are you talking about?" She said, wiping his neck.
"Her parents didn't even claim her. No one even knows she's dead. Why?" He finally opened his eyes, looking up at a very confused Lindsay.
"I don't know." She said putting a hand on his cheek.
"I have to help her, I can't let them get away with this." His eyes were glossed over, he couldn't stop looking around the room, Lindsay shook him a bit.
"Danny, look at me." She said, shaking him. He couldn't concentrate.
"I have to go." Danny attempted to stand.
"What are you doing?" Grabbing his arm, as he fumbled around trying to stand.
"I have to go." He mumbled, as he walked out of the bathroom, using the wall as support. Half way into the room, his legs shook and he fell to his knees.
"Danny!" Lindsay moved to his side.
"The water was so cold... she didn't have a chance." He wasn't making sense, Lindsay could see his hands shaking sitting on his knees.
"Baby, you need help. We're going to the hospital." She said as she saw the dark red line form and fall from his nose. "Damnit." Still holding the cloth, she put it under his nose.
Hearing a knock at the door, she got to her feet and ran to the front door.
"Don!" She said swinging the door open and pulling him into a hug. Tears ran down her face, Flack put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her.
"Hey, what's going on?"
"Something is wrong! He needs help!" She cried.
"What happened?" He said, entering the apartment and closing the door behind him.
Taking a deep breath through her sobs, she withdrew a breath and explained. "He's been getting these head aches, and nose bleeds. Tonight it got worse and he is rambling and he can't stand up!" As the moved into the bedroom they saw that Danny hadn't moved from the floor where she left him.
"Dan, buddy? You alright?" Don said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Don?" He looked up confused. Don saw right away that this was worse then he thought, Danny's eyes were dazed, he was covered in a cold sweat. Blood was slowly dripping down his chin, the cloth Lindsay had given him hanging loosly in his sagging hand.
"You're going to be alright, man." He said seeing goose bumps ripple across Danny's arms in his t-shirt. "Hey, Linds. Grab me his sweater." He put out his hand as Lindsay placed one in his hand. Wrapping it around his body, Don pulled Danny to his feet. "We're going to the hospital."
"OK." Danny said as his knees shook. He was weaker then Don had enticipated at he put his arm around his shoulder and walked him to the front door where Lindsay helped put his shoes on.
"Everything is going to be alright." Don said, as Lindsay held the door as Don led a barely conscious Danny out the door on their way to the hospital.