It was a dark night, only a lamp on the bedside table gave some light and the silence was filled with beeps from the heart monitor. She looked at the pale and busted face lying on the pillow in the bed next to her. Lindsay didn't understand why this had happened. She should have been in that building, not Flack. She should have been the one who had been blown up. Just this morning she and Flack had joked, about the Sunday block parties and Wyoming and now, suddenly she was sitting next to his hospital bed at 2 am. Lindsay knew that Dons life was hanging on by a thread. The doctors had only told her that Don was in critical condition and that the next few hours would be pivotal.
Everyone on the team were devastated. Flack was one of them; he usually spent more time in the lab than at the department. Every time he had had any trouble he always turned to Mac and not his Captain. Mac has always been more of a father figure than a superior officer to the team and to Mac they all were his family. He considered Sid and Hawkes his brothers and Stella her sister, Adam as his nephew; Danny and Flack his sons with Don being the older one because he felt like Danny would never grow up. In the last few weeks Mac had even started referring to Lindsey as the girlfriend of his eldest son.
But now, suddenly everything was out of place. Lindsey felt like the entire world was against her.
She wanted to cry, but she couldn't, something held the tears back. That something told her that everything would be okay – eventually. She knew that somewhere, someone is looking over him and that that someone won't let him die. She reached out and touched his face, the face that had looked at her so lovingly so many times. She wished that Don would just open his beautiful blue eyes. She knew that wouldn't happen and that he could be out for another day. Lindsay sat back in her chair and held his hand and cried – cried for the first time in that hell of a day.
The sky was in overcast and you could here the thunder upon the city of New York, it was going to rain soon. Knowing all that had happened – Lindsey still couldn't believe that Don was gone. She felt empty inside - just like a part of her soul was missing. Don lay in an oak casket, which was as strong and reliable as he had been. But now everything was wrong like it was happening to someone else. She looked at the tombstone that his parents had ordered the day after he had died, on it where words:
Donald Michael Flack
Beloved Son, Brother, Friend and Lover
Died in the line of duty
He shall never be forgotten
She didn't see his blue eyes after that morning ever again, that morning had robbed her of happiness by taking the love of her life. Knowing it all was gone, gone with the wind. How ironical that she compared herself with Scarlet O'Hara. But she was not and Flack was no Rhett Butler, Scarlet eventually got her happiness, got her Rhett, but Don will never come back. The priest was talking something, but Lindsay didn't hear it, it was as if looking at a movie with the sound on mute. Stella crabbed her left hand, she was crying, but Lindsay didn't feel like crying she was empty – out of tears, she didn't have anything to give anymore.
Lindsay saw Mac on Stella's left side just staring blankly. Lindsay looked at the front of the row of mourners. Dons' father held her wife tightly. The poor woman hadn't stopped crying from the moment when the doctor announced Don's time of death. Uncle Ralf was standing behind them, holding a hand on his sisters' shoulder. Colin and Patrick stood protectively around Camille who was firmly holding on to April; the girl had become an adult just after her fun-loving uncle died. Patrick had picked up Sean who didn't understand what was going on, but was crying anyway.
Lindsay was woken from her silent movie by Mac who walked past her. He was going to make the speech. It was expected by all that Mac would be the one giving the eulogy. He would have given it even if Dons' father hadn't asked him.
Mac paused for a moment, gathering strength, before speaking:
"I would like to say that the world is grieving. But I can't, because the world didn't know detective Donald Flack like we did. We are here to mourn one of the best detectives of the NYPD." They all saw how Mac tried to hold back his tears,
"I remember the first time, when I met him. I had just received a call to a crime scene. I remembered being told that morning that I would be getting a new homicide detective on my team. When I arrived I saw a tall, dark haired, blue eyed man. His first words to me were, "Hello, I'm detective Don Flack, I don't believe, that science solves crimes." I told him, that of course science alone doesn't solve crimes – that's why we also need homicide detectives. In years he understood that. I remember him telling me "You know me - everyone is a suspect, until you prove otherwise." He was like son to me, a boy I saw growing up from a young investigator to a detective who knew exactly what was needed. When he came to our team, Danny, one of his best friends started calling him Junior; I think you all know why. Don hated it so he got his revenge and Danny had blue teeth for a day and Flack himself had blue hair the month later. That was the beginning of the largest prank war the lab had ever seen only to be ended by his untimely death. Don never had a chance to get his revenge for the pink color incident. The junior thing stopped some two years after it started. I remember the day when me and Stella heard Danny refer to Don by his given name for the first time and when Stella asked what had happened during the shift Don only smirked, "Oh I put one crazy sniper away and saved Messer's butt from getting pierced.""
Lindsay noticed a few smirks and chuckles as she felt how the tears started fall again.
"Our day was never perfect without hearing some "Flackism" - his sarcastically quick-witted remarks for which he was renowned for. Twenty-nine years ago heaven lost an angel, but we gained one. Today we are giving him back. You'll never be forgotten, Flack. You'll always live on in our hearts." Lindsay closed her eyes; the tears that she couldn't hold back were once more rolling down her cheeks. Stella pulled her closer as they watched the 3-volley salute. The first drops of rain had started to fall when the flag was folded up. As they were leaving the cemetery lightning and thunder slapped again and rain started falling heavily. Like the sky was crying over the lost of Don Flack.
After Dons death Mac had submerged him self in work vowing not to rest until the bastard responsible was behind bars. Mac was sadder, he didn't laugh at all anymore. Danny, who was standing on her right side, had lost his sense of humor; Hawkes was more serious than before. The morgue was now silent - now you could feel the death in there, before Flack had died Sid would be making funny and quick-witted remarks but now it was like, well like a morgue. It felt like all the fun had died with Don. Adam had even stopped listening to the music that Flack had hated so much. He told Stella few days ago that it wasn't fun anymore, he had always turned the music up when he knew that Don was in the lab, it had annoyed Flack so much and Adam knew that exactly after 20 minutes Flack would come barging in telling him to turn that freaking music of or he would shove that goddamn stereo system up his ass. The New York crime lab would never be the same ever again.
Lindsay was woken by a sudden shaking.
"Lindsay." She opened her eyes and looked into the blue eyes that belonged to April Douglas "Oh, Morning, April." She looked past the girl and saw Camille and Patrick standing behind her.
"You were crying in your sleep." Lindsay jumped up and looked at the bed. He was still there, unconscious and pale – but at least alive. It had been only a dream.
"It was a bad dream that's all. What's the time?"
"Nine o'clock in the morning." Lindsay shucked her head to wake up. She thought she had to get to work in an hour only to recall that the entire team had gotten two days off.
"How is he doing?" Lindsay heard a voice so familiar but older, she looked at the door and there they stood, his parents. She could immediately see the family resemblance of Camille and Flack by looking at their parents who had just entered the room.
"Lindsay I'd like you to meet our parents Delanna and Donald Sr."
"It's nice to meet you; I only wish it were under better circumstances." She looked towards to April having thought that the girl was too young for all that had happened but she saw in her eyes the same confidence that Don and Camille had. She understood that April was ready for anything. April had known from a young age that anything could happen in the line of duty. "Dr Lang told us, that he isn't out of the woods yet but if he wakes up then he will probably recover."
"Thank god for that." Delanna looked at Lindsay knowing that she was the girl she had heard so much about form April, Camille and Don.
"So you are the girl who has smitten my boy so hard."
"I can't comment the smitten part, but yes, we are in love."
"Have you been here all night?"
"Yeah, I arrived here at midnight; I still don't understand why the nurses haven't kicked me out yet."
"I'm glad that he found a girl like you" said Delanna looking at Donald who seemed to agree that that girl was right for Don; he had finally found the one.
"But I will go now, I don't want to intrude." She walked to Don, took his hand, kissed his forehead and "Wake up soon, we miss you." As she lifted her head the she felt Dons' hand holding onto hers. The blue eyes that had been closed just seconds ago were opening. "Donno can you here me?" she whispered "We are all here."
"His waking" said Flack Sr. and grasped his other hand, "Donny can you hear us." Flacks' eyelashes flickered; he briefly opened his eyes and looked at his father and then turned towards Lindsay, "Angel!?"
"No Don, I'm not an angel. Now try to stay awake, I'm going to find a doctor." She let go of his hand and left to find a doctor.
"Donny, come out of it, look at us" said his mother. They could see as Don was fighting the darkness; he didn't want to let it win. He had seen an angel, a familiar one and was fighting for the chance to see her again. As he opened his eyes yet again he saw his parents and Camille standing over him. As the fog in his mind was starting to clear he could finally stay awake.
"Mom, Dad?" his voice was still weak but at least he understood where he was. Before his parents could reply he heard footsteps and saw a new face looking at him. "It seems like our sleeping beauty has waken, welcome back to the land of the living detective Flack, I'm Dr Jody Lang. How are you feeling?"
"It feels as if I was blown up."
"Donny that's not funny." His mother and sister said at the same time.
"Good to know that you haven't lost your sense of humor detective. Now if you excuse us I must ask you to leave so that I could examine him."
"We'll be just out side" said Delanna as they left the room. Lindsay looked at his family; they where so close just like hers.
"Really, I must be going know" said Lindsay
Delanna hugged Lindsay "You don't need to go. He needs you beside him as much as he needs us."
"It's not that Mrs. Flack, I need to go home, wash and eat something. I will come back later."
Dr Lang interrupted their little conversation; "His gone back to sleep now but his going to be alright. All he needs now is some peace and love. I'll be back in a few hours to check on him again."
Lindsay said goodbye to Dons' family and thought to herself as she was leaving "I can't wait to tell the guys the good news and after that I really need some coffee."
N/A: Here you go chapter thirteen. Everybody who are mad at me because of the dream, I tell sorry. But I have had long time a wanted to write a story what would the team and Lindsay/Flack felt when Lindsay/Flack would die. But I couldn't something stopped me, then I go an idea to write it as a dream. So that you got. I got myself a new beta-reader, I think you all saw how I started making threatful mistakes from the chaoter 8. In november my other beta had a very busy time at school and it hasn't stopped yet, so I posted without beta-reading. But my other friends agreed to beta me. When he started reading it he laught, I made mistakes what every eight year old should know, then I started imagen how all of you who's first language is English, read my story and think WTF, is she talking about. So I'm very sorry about the mistakse I had in the ohter chapters. And I hope you injoy my story anyway.
