Author's Notes: Only one or two more chapters to go after this one. I really appreciate everyone's kind reviews.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Blown Apart
Chapter 12

When Mac opened the door to Lindsay's room, he was surprised to find her dressed and alone sitting in the bed. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and looked around. "Where's Danny?"

Lindsay smiled and motioned for her boss and friend to have a seat. She felt better since Danny had helped her get a shower earlier and she'd been able to get out of the hospital gown. The tops that Martha had brought her had made dressing easier but she had still needed Danny's help tying the straps, not to mention getting into the jeans, socks, and shoes his mom had brought her. "He went down to the pharmacy to get my prescriptions filled. The doctor has already come by and signed my release papers so I'm free to go once Danny gets back. Thanks for picking us up. Somehow I don't think the subway or a cab would have been as comfortable."

"Not a problem." He regarded her sling thoughtfully. "What's the prognosis on your shoulder?"

"I have to keep it immobilized for two weeks and then I'll have at least two weeks of physical therapy. He said I should be able to work at least part time once the sling comes off."

Mac shook his head. Were all of his employees as much of workaholics as he was? "We'll play that by ear when the time comes, okay? Just concentrate on getting better."

Lindsay chewed on the bottom of her lip and debated on whether to bring up the subject that had been foremost on her mind since she'd broached the subject with Danny. She knew her husband hadn't put much stock in her theory that maybe Grant had been the ultimate target after all. She wondered if she would get the same reaction from Mac. "Danny and I were talking earlier about who might be responsible for all this."

Mac raised an eyebrow. "Really? Did either of you come up with a name?"

"What made you suspect Grant was responsible for the bombing?" Her question surprised Mac but he tried not to show it.

"Adam's description was of a man with a bird tattoo on his neck. It was a feature of Grant's that stood out in my mind. That and the wording of the note matched something I said to him when he was arrested."

Lindsay nodded mulling that over. "So our bomber just so happened to have a similar tattoo on his neck. So possibly no accident that you suspected Grant was involved."

"What are you getting at, Lindsay?" He loved the way her mind worked; it had helped solve many cases over the years she'd worked for him but sometimes he had difficulty keeping up with the direction she chose to go.

"What if all of this had nothing to do with the lab other than as a catalyst to get you to go after Grant. What if he was the target all along and we were just the pawns used to get him."

"Then I would say the bomber was a true psychopath. That would be a pretty elaborate, tricky plan to carry out. I just don't think its likely. I'm sure we are going to find out that someone with a grudge against someone at the lab, probably Danny is behind this. I know its less scary to think it could be about someone else but we have to face the reality of the situation."

Lindsay could feel herself getting annoyed that two of the most important men in her life had so easily brushed off her suggestion. "Less scary? I think its pretty scary to think someone would go to so much trouble without regard to who might get hurt. Would it hurt to at least have Flack check into anyone who might have had a grudge against Grant? Cover all bases and such?" She blinked back a couple of tears, not wanting to show her hurt. She knew that her emotion would be a little more extreme for a few days because of the concussion but she didn't want Mac to see her cry. However, Mac was too good of a CSI to not notice the tears. With a sigh, he leaned over and gently wiped away the tears with his fingers.

"I'll tell Jo your theory and get her to ask Flack to look into it. I didn't mean to make you feel like I was blowing off your idea. I'm sorry. I just don't want you and Danny letting your guard down when someone could be targeting either of you."

Danny came into the room then carrying a small white bag with the hospital pharmacy logo on it. "Got your meds, Babe. As soon as Mac… Oh hey, Mac. Didn't know you were here already." He picked up on the tension in the room and frowned. "What's wrong?"

Mac leaned back in his seat as Danny came and sat down next to Lindsay. "Lindsay was sharing with me her theory on who the real target might be."

Danny nodded and looked down at her. "Babe, don't worry about the investigation. You are on medically leave and the two of us are on Administrative Leave. Let Jo and the rest of the team focus on the investigation. You focus on getting better and let me focus on you. 'Kay?"

She nodded, still feeling like she was being humored. Her body however remained tensed. Danny sighed and kissed the top of her head. He knew he had upset her but didn't know how much of it was the concussion and how much was her true emotions. He wanted to make it better but wasn't sure how to do so. "You ready to blow this popsicle stand?"

"Do I have to ride in the stupid wheelchair?" Lindsay knew she sounded petulant and childish but couldn't help it.

"Hospital rules, Babe. I'll let Martha know we're ready." He was about to reach for the nurse's button but Lindsay grabbed his arm before he could.

"Hold up for a minute." She looked from him to Mac and back again. "I have a request before we get down to the vehicle. There's somewhere I need to go before we go to the apartment."

Danny frowned. "Babe, anything you need I'll go get once we get you settled. Or I'm sure Mac would be more than happy to go pick something up if you don't want me to leave you alone when we first get home."

She shook her head. "It's not something anyone can pick up but someplace I need to go. I want to go to the lab."

"Out of the question. You are not going to set foot in that lab until the doctor clears you for work." Mac's tone brooked no argument but this was one time Lindsay was ready to argue.

"I don't want to work but I need to see it - see the destruction- so I can start to put it behind me. I don't remember much of anything after the first explosion so my imagination is trying to feel in the blanks. I'm afraid if I don't face the reality of it now, before my imagination builds it into so much more; it'll be too difficult to go back once I'm cleared by the doctor."

Danny pulled her close and held her tightly. Everything in him told him that it was a bad idea. He remembered every detail of the way the lab looked; the paralyzing fear of what he would find, and he was sure he would have nightmares about it for months. He wanted to shield her from that if at all possible. But at the same time, he recognized her logic. Lindsay had once shared with him that it had taken her years to ever go back into the diner where her friends were killed. He didn't want the lab to be like that for her. "What if reality is worse than anything' your imagination can come up with?"

"Then I'll have you there with me to get me through it." Lindsay stretched up so she could kiss his lips softly. Danny growled in frustration. He couldn't say no to her. They looked at Mac who still didn't seem convinced.

"You don't have to do this to yourself. I talked to Jo this morning and a clean up team is slated to start work tomorrow on repairs. By the time you are back to work, the lab should be as good as new and yesterday nothing more than a memory."

She could tell it wouldn't take much more pleading to convince him. "A memory I don't have. Please Mac, I just need a few minutes to see it and process the destruction in my mind. Then I'll go straight home and not even think about work until the doctor clears me."

Mac chuckled in spite of the gravity of her request. He'd knuckled under a miniature set of those same pleading eyes quite a few times when he had babysat Lucy. Now he knew exactly where the two-year-old had learned the skill. "Somehow I doubt you'll go two hours let alone over two weeks without at least thinking about work but okay. I don't like the idea but if you are certain its what you need and Danny's okay with it, that's where we'll go."

The next ten minutes were spent getting Lindsay in a wheelchair and Martha wheeling her down personally. Usually one of the orderlies handled the final discharge of a patient but this was one patient that Martha wanted to escort out herself. As they waited for Mac to pull the truck around, Martha gave Lindsay a warm hug and made her promise to come back to visit. Then she turned to Danny and gave him a hug as well.

"Stay out of trouble and keep a close eye on that one. I want to see you both again but not as patients. Got it?"

Danny nodded and slipped a small piece of paper in her hand. She glanced down and saw under his name a phone number. She gave him a questioning look. He smiled. "Give it to your daughter. Have her call me and I'll set up those dates with my friends like I promised. Thanks for taking such good care of Lindsay for me."

A wide smile spread over her face. "If either of them is half as sweet as you are, she'll be a very lucky young woman."

By then Mac had pulled up in the Avalanche and Danny helped Lindsay into the back seat. Before she could reach for her seatbelt, Danny had taken it and was fastening it for her. She shook her head. "I'm do still have one hand you remember."

"Humor me." He gave her a kiss and then climbed into the front with Mac. "Next stop, our home away from home."

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

Angela Sawyers sat across from Jo Danville for the second time in less than twenty four hours. This meeting was more relaxed than the first one had been. Then she'd been investigating two officers involved in a shooting. This time she was delivering a report about a murder charge.

"So as soon as he realized I was implicating him in the murder of Steve Grant, he rolled over and sang." She said speaking of her interview with Grayson earlier that morning.

Jo leaned back in her chair. "Was he working with the murderer? Do we know who and why someone wanted Danny framed for murder?"

"No to both, turns out it was nothing so nefarious. Grayson was covering up a dereliction of duty. He was suppose to stand right outside the door but it seems he got a little bored with that duty. He had stepped down the hall a little ways to the nurses' desk to flirt with a pretty little blonde nurse. He could still see the room but was about ten feet away from the door. He saw someone come up to the door but when they flashed a CSI badge he waved them on in and stayed where he was. When the alarms went off at the desk, that's when he knew something was wrong."

Jo frowned, could it really be so random and unconnected as that? "Then why point out Danny?"

"I pressed him hard on this to make sure since Detectives Taylor and Messer would have been our natural first suspects. Grayson didn't want to admit that he didn't get a good look at the killer so when I gave him the photos to look at, he chose the picture that looked the most like the man he saw and hoped for the best. Had the clothing description he gave matched what Detective Messer was wearing yesterday, I would be right back to suspecting him."

Giving it considerable thought, Jo shook her head. "I'm just not buying that it was a coincidence that Grayson pointed out Danny's picture. Perhaps the suspect made sure he matched Danny's description on purpose?"

Angela shrugged. "Sometimes coincidences do happen. I don't know. Grayson's story now, and this one I believe, is that the guy was about 5'7'' with brownish blond hair and a real short hair cut. Pretty general description but Detective Messer is the only one at your lab that matches it."

"Also matches the description Adam gave Mac of our bomber, the description that led Mac to Grant in the first place. So what's going to happen to Grayson?" Jo had a few things she'd like to do to him for getting her friend and colleague into trouble he didn't deserve.

Sawyers eyes turned steely. "If it were up to me, I'd have his job not only for leaving his post but for lying about the whole situation in my investigation. I'd also find a way to let his girlfriend know he was flirting with another woman while on the job. I told him so as well. However, I am turning over my report to a different IA officer and they'll make a ruling. He's a rookie so they'll probably suspend him and maybe bump him back to working with a training officer until they are sure he won't make this same mistake again."

"What are they doing here?" Jo's attention had been diverted out the window where three people were trying to get past the new security. Sawyers followed her gaze. Mac Taylor and Danny Messer had their badges out and were apparently trying to convince the guard to allow Lindsay in. The two women rose and went to the door. Jo called to the guard.

"It's okay. Let them all in." She crossed to meet them and gave Lindsay a warm hug and then admonished her. "What are you doing here? If they were crazy enough to let you out of the hospital so soon you should have gone straight home and stayed there. Although I'm really glad to see you up and about." She gave Danny and Mac a severe look. "What were you two thinking bringing her here? I can buy her not thinking 100% straight with a concussion but what's your excuse?"

Mac held his hands up in surrender. "I drove under protest. She insisted."

Lindsay ignored what she knew to be their concerned teasing and settled on Detective Sawyers. "Your presence has usually meant bad things for Danny. If you are here to take him for more questioning or anything like that I beg you to wait. I get that you have a job to do, but right now I need him to be my husband not an officer you insanely think could be responsible for murder. So please, at least give us today without having to worry about these stupid charges."

Sawyers was glad that it did appear that Danny hadn't even spoiled her reputation to his wife. She tried to look a little annoyed at Lindsay's request but the pain she saw reflected in the younger woman's eyes made it impossible. She'd been through enough in the last twenty-four hours that she didn't need any extra worry. "How about I give you more than a day. My investigation into the shooting isn't complete but my part of the murder investigation is. Detective Messer, you've been cleared of the murder charge. I'll let Detective Danville fill you in on the details. I'll be in touch in the next couple of days with my ruling of the shooting."

Danny's relief was evident as he hugged Lindsay. He was barely aware of Sawyer's departure and only half listened to Jo's explanation. He could fill in the missing pieces later. He was just glad that that part of the nightmare was over.

As Jo started her explanation, Flack approached. He had already heard what happened with Grayson but waited until Danny released Lindsay. He shook his best friend's hand, understanding the relief he was feeling and then turned to Lindsay. He gave her a hug and a kiss and then looked at Mac. "I think I'll have a harder time cuffing her and leading her home with her arm in that sling."

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "You guys are so funny. Let's get this over with." She started down the hall to the destroyed lab with Danny on her heels. As they left Mac explained what she wanted to do. Worriedly, the three friends stayed back to allow her and Danny some privacy.

Stopping outside the lab, Lindsay took a deep breath, wincing at the pain the maneuver caused her ribs. Danny held the police tape up so she would have to bend under it as she stepped inside. He rested a comforting hand on the small of her back and watched her carefully. Personally he didn't want to see any of the destruction ever again; the image was firmly ingrained in his memory. But he understood her need to do this and was determined not to let her do it by herself.

She looked around, taking in every detail. Flashes of memory came back to her. Opening the box, flying backward, hitting hard and the file cabinet landing on her as she landed on the floor. A second more powerful explosion. She shuddered and then twisted so her head was buried in Danny's chest. His arms wrapped around her tightly and his hand rubbed her back soothingly. He could feel her tears wetting his shirt and he simply held her as she cried. He knew she didn't need to hear soothing platitudes, she just needed to be held. After several minutes she looked up at him.

"I'm really lucky to be alive, aren't I?"

Danny's eyes, against his will settled on the spot where they had pulled the file cabinet lying on her. He remembered how still and broken she had looked. His heart skipped a beat just at the memory and his hold on her tightened until he heard a slight groan of pain. He kissed the top of her head in apology and loosened his hold. "Yeah, I think you are. I think we're both lucky it wasn't worse. I know the nightmare of all this isn't gonna go away overnight but I think we gotta hold on to just how lucky we were and are that we can both stand here in each others arms. I know at least if I dwell too much on what could have happened, I'm gonna have a hard time letting you ever leave the apartmentl You seen enough?"

Lindsay blinked back the tears and nodded. "More than enough. Thanks for letting me do this. I know its just as hard for you but I had to do this."

"I know, that's why I went along with it." He glanced up at the remaining wall where lab coats used to hang. A sudden thought hit him. "Hey Babe, don't some of the techs leave their badges on their coats?"

Lindsay nodded. "Yeah, the ones that don't need their badges outside the lab usually do. Why?"

"Maybe that's how our killer got the badge he showed Grayson. When he dropped off the bombs maybe he took one off a coat on his way out."

"Makes as much sense as anything else I guess. Jo said he only saw the badge from a distance. The killer could have held his thumb over the picture. Let's go share your theory with Jo and Flack and then get Mac to drive us home."

As they returned to their friends, they saw that Hawkes had also joined them. Once again Lindsay found herself in a friendly embrace and then Danny filled them in on his observation. They were just about to leave when Adam came rushing down the hall a piece of paper in his hand. He stopped short when he saw Mac and Flack glare at him. "I'm not here to work. I finally got the sketch of the man who dropped off the bomb perfect and I wanted to drop it off so it could be scanned through the facial recognition program. Lindsay, what are you doing here?"

Mac took the paper and looked at him. He shook his head. "I don't recognize him. Danny?" He handed the paper to the younger CSI who shook his head as well. Hawkes caught a glimpse of the picture as Danny started to pass it to Flack and took it from him. He looked at it long and hard and then looked at the others.

"I know who this is."

TBC

Author's Note 2: I almost revealed who it was here but decided to leave you hanging until the next chapter. If you have a prediction, I would like to hear it either in a review or PM. The story has taken some twists and turns as I've written it but the identity of the bomber has been firmly set from the conception of the story.