Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to show up you guys. So, here I am, giving you your long overdue Chapter Four! So…you think Mac and Madeline are safe yet? I also bring news of a new idea. I've been doing so much work with Mac getting in to some deep trouble, so I've decided to take a little break from that and propose a new idea to you all and see what you think. Since I'm still a bit too addicted to trouble for my own good, I have a proposition of trouble for Don and Mac this time around. A murder, a set-up, and Mac and Don looking guilty for Premeditated Murder. What's your opinion?

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Out of Surgery

Catherine had her kit with her as she looked over the monitors in the hospital room. In front of her was Detective Taylor. The doctor said he'd done pretty well with the surgery, considering the severity of the gunshot injuries.

She sighed softly, shaking her head and bringer herself back to focus on her task at hand. She needed to see what Mac could "tell" her about what happened. She was certain he wouldn't mind her poking around, but it still felt a little strange to her. She didn't know this man and yet she felt some sort of loyalty towards him.

She determined it was because she still considered him one of their own. He was a CSI, just like her.

She took her camera and took photographs of what she found. What interested her most was the strange mark she found on his neck. It troubled her as she couldn't quite place where she'd seen something like that before.

As she continued looking, she could feel his pulse under her fingertips. That was a good sign. It had been many an hour since they first brought in the detective, and he'd barely been hanging in there then. From her understanding of the monitors, it seemed that he was doing relatively well.

"You interested in that?"

The voice shocked her and she jumped. She looked down to see two blue eyes looking back at her. He smiled a bit at her reaction.

"I see you're awake, Detective Taylor," she said, quickly regaining her composure.

Taylor managed a minor chuckle and a slight smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Yeah, for now, huh?" he asked, sounding tired.

She didn't blame him. "Do you know where you are?" she asked. She wanted to make sure she could talk to him about what had happened. Hopefully he'd be up to telling her what Casey had done to him.

"Las Vegas, ma'am," he replied, not at all thrown by the question.

Catherine nodded and allowed a slight and soft smile to appear on her face. "Call me Catherine. I'm CSI Catherine Willows, with the Las Vegas CSI team," she said, introducing herself.

Mac nodded and looked over at her. "Work with Langston, don't you?" he asked.

Catherine nodded and took a seat. She hesitated for a moment. "Detective Taylor..."

She didn't get any farther as Mac cut her off, "Please, call me Mac."

Catherine looked at him and saw he was patiently awaiting her continuation. She nodded, "Mac…I hate to ask so soon, but can you tell me what happened to you?"

Mac shook his head at first. "You're doing your job. Don't regret asking," he told her, looking at her. He then shrugged his shoulders ever so slightly, wincing just slightly at the protest from his shoulder. "And, yes, I do believe I can tell you what happened," he added, closing his eyes and focusing on the story he had to tell.

When he looked over at her again, she saw patience in her relaxed posture and somewhat curious and questioning gaze. She doesn't expect me to tell her everything up front.

"It started in New York," he began, "When we were hunting for Casey Steele and Madeline Briggs."

Catherine nodded and Mac continued.

"We didn't find them there. Neither of them. I remember me and Langston splitting up to canvass more area and a nagging feeling I was being followed. The next thing I remember is waking up in the sleeper of an 18 wheeler. I didn't know where we were being taken then. But, I did know one thing. Madeline Briggs was with me. Casey Steele was at the wheel and he brought us here, to Vegas," he said, motioning to the city, which was clearly visible out the partially open window in the hospital room, the city's lights making a loud statement against the solid, dark, night sky.

"That's where he attacked you?" Catherine asked.

Mac nodded and looked back to her and Catherine thought she saw a flicker of fear in his eyes, but it was gone too fast for her to be certain. "Yes," he said, nodding a bit.

"What exactly did he do to you?" Catherine inquired, wondering if Mac was even up for sharing that at the moment.

The detective took a deep breath. "He shot me in the shoulder first," he stated, seemingly not liking the next part of the story he had to tell. "Then they took Madeline away. I don't know where they put her, but Casey remained. The man that was with him was the man to take Madeline out of the room," he said.

He stopped there and a slight frown crossed his features. Now Catherine was certain that whatever Casey had done had scared him. "What'd he do to you, Mac?" she asked gently.

"You were interested in the mark, yes?" he asked. Catherine almost thought he was trying to doge the question at first, but she nodded in reply.

"It was a taser," Mac told her. "He had a taser, a knife, and my gun."

Catherine nodded, starting to understand what had happened without Mac going in to the details. Torture. No wonder he didn't want to talk.

"We found traces of a few drugs in your system. Did he drug you?" Catherine asked, deciding it best to not ask him in which order Casey did those things to him.

Mac nodded. "Yeah. He left after he was finished," he said, his eyes not meeting hers. "That's about when Madeline came back."

Catherine nodded again. "She found you?"

Mac nodded once more. "Yes. Yes she did."

Catherine offered the detective a slightly forced smile and laid a hand on his arm in what she meant to be a comforting gesture. Mac looked up at her, his gaze searching her for answers.

"Is she ok?" he asked.

Catherine nodded. "She's fine, Detective. They didn't hurt her. We brought her in as well after we heard she was pregnant."

He relaxed a bit visibly and a sigh escaped his lips and he nodded. "Thank you."

Catherine smiled a bit. "I'm just doing my job," she told him. She thought she saw another smile start to play on his face as she quoted him. "I'll let you rest now. And I'll let Detective Bonasera know you're ok."

Mac nodded, sighing and closing his eyes again. "Thanks, Catherine."

Catherine only smiled and grabbed her kit and camera before heading out to tell the news to Ray and Detective Bonasera.