Author's note: Thanks for the reviews. A little bit of the case and then the Danny/Lindsay reunion. Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Blown Apart
Chapter 7

"What?"

Both men whirled around at Mac Taylor's thundering voice. Once he and Danny had arrived at the hospital, Mac had sent Danny to see Lindsay and he had continued up to ICU to check on Grant's status.

"Mac, I…um…" Adam stumbled all over his words. "That's not the right guy." He laughed nervously even though there was no humor in the moment.

Flack looked at Mac. "I though you had no doubt. You found a uniform and bomb parts in his apartment. How could he be the wrong person?"

"Adam, are you positive this isn't that man? Maybe he wore a disguise or something. He matched your description. We found evidence in his apartment linking him to the crime."

Adam appeared to want to shrink away. Despite his earlier comment about Danny and Lindsay scaring him, Mac scarred him more than anyone else ever could. He could feel the anger radiating off his boss; he was sure it wasn't directed at him but at the situation, yet it was anger nonetheless. He wish he could take his earlier admission back and just use his concussion to explain a memory lapse. But he had to be truthful because that's who he was and it would be what Mac wanted even if it hurt the case.

"I'm positive. I know he matches the description I gave you but there are differences. Things that couldn't have been disguises. The guy in there, his crew cut isn't as close like maybe it wasn't as recent. But the bird is the dead give away."

"Blackbird on the left side of his neck." Mac supplied from memory.

Adam nodded. "This morning the guy had a red bird on the right side. Looked pretty recent as well. I'm sorry. I wish I was wrong, but I'm not."

Mac sighed heavily. "I know, Adam; your attention to detail is one of the things that make you great at your job. I don't understand any of this . If Grant didn't deliver the bomb, why did we find evidence pointing to him in his apartment? Why did he shoot at us."

"Maybe he had an accomplice that actually delivered the bomb." Flack offered. "Would explain the similarities. I'll start looking into Grant's associates. See if I can find Mr. 'Red bird on my neck' How did it go with IA?"

Mac's mouth was set in a grim line. "Let's just say we are at an impasse but at least I was able to break Danny free for the time being."

"Good, I take it he's with Lindsay now. I had to tell her what happened and it took all I had to keep her from leaving the hospital right then. Since everything seems settled here, I'm going to head out and get started investigating Grant. Adam, you staying or would you like a ride? I'm pretty sure they won't let you leave the same way you came."

"Thanks. Sounds great. Could you drop me off at the lab? Maybe I can help sift through some of the evidence…"

"Absolutely not." Mac interjected. "You are to go home and rest like the doctor ordered. I'm going to call Jo and tell her if you step so much as a toe in the lab for the next couple of days, she's to have an officer escort you home - in cuffs if necessary. Understood?"

Adam nodded. Flack grinned. "Don't worry; I'd have never taken him there. What about you? Are you staying or leaving?"

"I'm going to stay. I want to check on Lindsay but I want to give her and Danny some time alone. They deserve and need the time after everything that's happened today. I'll find a quiet place and call Jo. IA may have put me on Administrative Leave but she can still keep me in the loop as to what's going on. Besides the case, we have a lab to put back together again."

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

Danny opened the door to Lindsay's room and stepped in. She was asleep and he stood there watching her. Except for the bruises and bandages he could pretend he had just arrived home after a long shift to find she'd already fallen asleep. As he watched he could almost feel his heart which had been racing all day slow to match the slow, even rise and fall of her own chest. She looked better than he had feared she would but he hated the fact that she was hurt at all.

Someone in white slipped into the room beside him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw it was the nurse. His heart which had been beating in time with Lindsay's accelerated with fear of what news she might bring.

"She's one lucky woman." She comment dryly.

"Don't I know it. That blast could have easily killed her." It hurt his chest to even say it out loud.

A slow smile spread over the nurse's face. "Yeah, for that reason as well. However, I was talking about all the good looking men she's had checking on her. First there was that sweet young man who reminded me so much of my oldest grandson Tim. Then there was that tall, dark, and dreamy that I wish my middle daughter had met and married instead of that lazy bum she ended up with. Then there's you. Judging by the band on your finger, I'm assuming you're the one she snagged for her own. Too bad, I have a daughter your age I'd have introduced you to."

Danny blushed. "The other two guys were co-workers."

"My mom told me to become a nurse so I'd meet a handsome doctor. If I had known how handsome police officers were, I might have traded in my scrubs for a badge.

A smile crept into Danny's features in spite of the day he'd had. The nurse nodded approvingly. "There's the smile I was aiming for. I'm not usually so forward but I could see how worried you are about your wife. I figured a little joking would ease your mind a little bit - not that I didn't mean what I said, mind you. She's sleeping pretty hard right now because of the pain killer I gave her but she's going to make a full recovery."

"What is the extent of her injuries? I know the doctor was worried about her shoulder, ribs and a possible concussion but I don't know what he found in the scans."

"Her shoulder was dislocated but the doctor was able to sedate her and put it back in place. She'll have to wear that sling for a few weeks. Once she's out of the sling, the doctor will recommend physical therapy. But she should eventually regain full range of motion. As for the ribs, three or four ribs were cracked and the rest bruised. Painful but fortunately nothing we'd have to worry about puncturing her organs. Respiratory Therapy will come in later and make her do some deep breathing exercises."

Danny nodded. He'd broken ribs before and he knew how much regular breathing hurt but it was either force himself to breathe deeply or risk pneumonia settling in. "What about her head?"

"Scans looked good; the doctor is not anticipating any lingering problems but she does have a concussion. She might have trouble remembering all the details of the accident and she'll definitely have a headache for a couple of days. Frankly she'll probably be sore all over for several days but the doctor will probably release her early tomorrow."

"I know when my muscles are sore a hot shower or bath always help. Would it be okay for her to have one later if she up to it? I'll help her."

"A shower will be fine. Just keep in mind that showering is all that she has business doing for a couple of weeks while you are in there 'helping' her."

Once again Danny blushed deeply. The nurse laughed. "No sense getting embarrassed about loving your wife. In fact I can think of something else that might help both of you feel a little better. That bed might be small but why don't you go squeeze into it with your wife. I know you want to."

Danny glanced at her. He saw on her badge that her name was Martha. "How do you know that?"

"Son, I've been married to the same man for forty-two years and my husband still looks at me the way I saw you looking at her. And I know that if it were me in that bed, that's where my husband would want to be. So go."

"You sure its okay? I don't want to hurt her."

"She's so medicated right now, she probably won't even know you are there. You relax and I'll make sure the two of you aren't disturbed."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "I thought this was a hospital not a hotel. You got a do not disturb sign in your pocket?"

Now she laughed. "Almost. We have signs at the nurses' desk that request no visitors and directs them to our desk instead. I'll put one on her door and when she wakes up and the two of your are ready for visitors, just buzz the desk and I'll remove the sign. I can even hold off Respiratory for an hour or so. Sound good?"

Leaning over, Danny kissed her cheek. "If you can give us time alone, I'll set your daughter up with my friend."

She cocked her eyebrow back at him. "Which one, cute and sweet or tall and dreamy?"

"Either one or both if you'd like."

She laughed out loud. "I think Mrs. Messer snagged the right guy. If you need anything at all, just buzz the desk."

As soon as he was alone with his wife, Danny crossed to the bed and toed his shoes off. Despite the nurse's assurance that he wouldn't hurt Lindsay, he gingerly eased into the right side of the bed next to her. He was lying on his side with his right arm draped over the pillow so that he could run his fingers softly through her hair. His left hand, he placed on her chest so that he could feel the reassuring beat of her heart.

Martha was wrong, however, Lindsay seemed to instantly know he was there. Even though she didn't waken, she did sigh in contentment as soon as he was beside her. She nestled her head closer until it rested on his shoulder and her whole body seemed to visibly relax. A hint of a smile ghosted her lips.

He wasn't sure how long he lay there watching her before she did that little sudden intake of breath she always did before waking up. Her eyes blinked a couple of times before lazily opening all the way.

"I hope this isn't a dream but if it is don't wake me up." her voice was still a little husky with sleep.

With a chuckle he leaned down and kissed her. "You're not dreaming. I'm really here."

She gave a little stretch and winced at the pain the sudden movement caused. She buried her head deeper into his shoulder, still sleepy. "When did you get here?"

"Not long ago."

"You should have woken me up. What have you been doing, just watching me sleep?""Nah, I've also been doing some thinking. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to figure out some plastic bubble system for you and Lucy to walk around in. I don't think I could handle anything else happened to you."

"What about you? You don't have the best track record of remaining uninjured yourself. Besides, I could think of some major drawbacks of this plastic bubble system. I wouldn't be able to do this." She stretched up a little to give him another light kiss.

Danny chuckled. "I'll work on a solution to that one. I'm sorry I deserted you earlier. I expected to be back before you woke up."

"How did it go with the IA investigation?"

Danny stiffened and laid back on the bed staring at the ceiling. "Flack wasn't suppose to say anything about that."

"To give him credit, he tried every way to keep from telling me. When I finally got the information out of him, I almost checked out of the hospital to go check on you."

Danny sighed. "Babe…"

"Don't worry. Flack talked me down. Saner heads and good drugs prevailed. So?"

"I'm on Administrative Leave until the investigation is complete. The detective that questioned me asked some pretty probing questions but I think Mac's was worse. Jamison seemed surprised when Mac stormed in and told him the interview was over. He didn't say much on the ride here but I think Sawyers really went rough on him. You gotta admit, neither one of us have squeaky clean records. I think I screwed up this time, Babe." He admitted softly.

Lindsay pushed herself up so she could see him better. This time she ignored the twinge in her ribs. "Dan?"

"We followed protocols. Technically we did everything right. Had it been any two other offices, IA probably wouldn't hesitate calling it a righteous shooting."

"Then what are you worried about?"

Danny gently tugged her down so she was lying against him. He wrapped his arms around her lightly, careful not to squeeze her. "Because it wasn't any two other offices, it was Mac and me. We were personally involved, especially me. That automatically brings everything we did into question, all our motivations. I don't know if our actions will hold up in that kind of scrutiny. Jamison pretty much said he thinks I went there hell bent on getting revenge."

Lindsay shook her head. "They just don't know you, Danny. If they did, they would know you wouldn't…"

"Do you? Cause I don't." Danny sighed and apologized. "Sorry. See, I never had a conscious thought of wanting to kill or hurt him. I had every intention of just bringing him in for questioning. I know it for a fact in my head but subconsciously?" He shook his head. "From the moment I knew you were in that lab I've been crazy with worry. You know how I get when something happens to either you or Lucy. What if subconsciously I was hoping for a reason to unload on him? I really can't say what was going through my mind when he fired those shots through the door."

Twisting her head so that she was looking Danny straight in the eye, Lindsay spoke softly. "Danny, as much as I love being the center of your universe, maybe you weren't even thinking about me at that moment."

Bending his head down to kiss her nose, Danny argued. "I'm always thinking about you and Lucy. Every minute of every day no matter what else is going on. Seriously though, what else could have been on my mind?"

"What happened the last time you and Flack went to bring in a suspect and were fired upon."

"The Marcella Gomez murder? We didn't even fire a shot in that one. He shot through the door and then threw down his weapon."

"And then proceeded to beat the crap out of both you and Flack."

"The bruises didn't hurt as bad as the chewing out you gave me for taking unnecessary risks. Crossing you is not good, Woman."

Lindsay smiled. "So maybe you were deciding to be a little more cautious this time to avoid another tongue lashing. Shoot rather than tackle?"

His fingers worked their way through her hair and he grinned. "Not saying your right or wrong, cause I just don't know. But if you are then that would mean you were still the center of my universe. Did I mention I'm really glad that you are okay?"

"Maybe not in words but your hugs and kisses have given me a little bit of an idea. I'm just a little surprised Flack and Adam haven't come back. Don wanted Adam to ID your suspect."

"Mac was heading there as well. All three of them may be out there right now. However your nurse promised to give us a little alone time before allowing visitors to come back in. I have you all to myself for as long as we want or Respiratory comes to make you breathe."

"I'm breathing quite well without Respiratory. I don't want them to come in; they'll make my ribs hurt and then I'll need more pain medication that'll make me sleepy. I'd rather just lie here and cuddle with you." But then her stomach growled very audibly. She blushed and Danny laughed.

"Hungry?"

"I didn't think so. We had those giant muffins from the coffee shop this morning on our way to the lab. It hasn't been that long since breakfast has it?"

Danny shrugged. "I don't know; time sorta seemed to stop when I heard about the explosion and I haven't thought to even look at my watch." He twisted his wrist so that he could read the dial. His eyes widened. "Wow, it's after five. I guess time didn't really stop and you have every reason to be hungry. Want me to buzz Martha and ask her if you can have something to eat? We can resume our cuddling tonight after everyone has gone home for the night."

"Deal."