Disclaimer: I don't own CSI:NY.
Series: None.
Spoilers: Charge of this Post. Anything in bold was taken from the show.

Right, my barricade is set up, so onwards and upwards. I was going to leave this for a week, but I've come to the conclusion that it's best for my health to post it now.

Chapter Twenty Seven – Charge of this Post

In the aftermath of the explosion, silence reigned for a few seconds while everyone digested what had just happened.

Then the screaming started.

Lindsay struggled to her feet, feeling Don grab her arm. Warm liquid trickled down her forehead and she wiped it away. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Don grasped her face gently, examining the cur. "Doesn't look too bad. Hurt anywhere else?"

"No." Lindsay stared at the building. The second and third floor windows were shattered over the ground, but there were no bodies in the No Man's Land in between. "Where are they?"

"I don't know." Don answered in a jerky voice. "Start calling. I'm gonna …" He jerked his head over his shoulder at the people behind them and she nodded.

Calling got her nowhere and she could only conclude that they were still inside.

"Hey, Montana!"

Lindsay spun around, never so grateful to hear that stupid nickname. "Danny!"

Danny dropped his kit at her feet and grabbed her shoulders. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lindsay turned to Stella. "Mac and Jess are inside."

"Where's Don?" Aiden asked.

Lindsay pointed over to where he was helping a woman to an ambulance. "Trying not to think about it."

"Linds, you're hurt." Danny touched her forehead, wiping away the blood that was still trickling from the cut.

"It's fine." Lindsay brushed it off. "It just went off …"

"Yeah, we know, we heard the 10-33." Stella raised her voice. "Hey, guys, there's at least two NYPD cops in there; there may be other survivors; let's go!"

"I'm gonna set up a command post." Hawkes told her. "Is radio safe?"

"If there was another charge waiting for a radio signal, it would've gone off by now." Stella said.

"Gotcha." Hawkes jogged after the ESUs. "Hey, I'm right behind you!"

"We'll get that looked at." Danny steered Lindsay over to the EMTs, ignoring her protests.

"Flack!" Stella called, waving him over. "Did Jess have any idea?" She asked in an undertone.

"Well, if she did, she didn't tell me." Don frowned.

"She did." Aiden sighed. "She told me. I thought she was gonna let it lie!" She protested. "She said Don nearly died last time and she couldn't figure out how to stop it without risking making it worse! She … Why did you leave?" She asked Don suddenly.

"She said that Lindsay had told her about it." Don answered, taken aback by the change of pace. "I just assumed that the danger was out here."

"You're predictable." Aiden said quietly, as if to herself. "You're … She played you, Don! She knew you'd follow Lindsay. She deliberately set it up so she was in there and not you."

"She …" Don span around to stare at the building as Stella left to speak to DHS before they could overhear. "She'd better be okay, Aiden. Or I'm going to shoot her myself."

As soon as she had taken three steps towards the stupid kid, everything had fallen back into place and she had yelled for him to get down, diving to the side a split-second before the bomb went off.

Now, as the dust in the air began to settle, Jess chanced movement. Rubble shifted on top of her, but there was no serious pain, aside from a sharp stinging on her right thigh.

She looked down to see a shard of glass protruding from her jeans and groaned. Oh, that's gonna hurt when they get it out.

Still, it was nowhere near as bad as the injury Don had sustained and that made this a success in her book.

"Jess!" Mac called.

"Over here." Jess responded. "You alright?"

"I'm fine." Mac answered. "So's the other guy."

"Good." Jess bit back a whimper of pain as she sat up. "That means I can shoot him later."

"I wouldn't blame you, Detective." The other guy called over. "I'm just glad we're all okay."

"I was kidding." Jess rolled her eyes. "Just get rid of those damn headphones."

"Consider them gone."

"Jess, can you move?" Mac asked.

"Erm, I can." Jess looked down. "Not sure if I should."

"Stay here." Mac's voice said, quieter this time. There was a soft noise and the rubble shifted some more, then Mac appeared in front of her. "That doesn't look good."

"It was worse the first time." Jess told him, her voice low. "Don nearly died."

"That why you're here and not him." Mac shrugged his shirt off and carefully bandaged her leg, taking care not to move the glass. "You know he's gonna be mad at you."

Jess shrugged. "I'd rather have him mad at me than in a coma, Mac. Or worse. You know the reason I was hired in the first place was to replace him. Just remind him, when they've carted me off, that I warned him that there'd come a time when he'd question my actions and he promised to trust me."

"I doubt it's a case of not trusting, Jess." Mac said grimly. "He'll be mad because he loves you. You could have died."

"I know." Jess whispered. "But rather me than him."

"Got another air pocket!" One of the ESUs called.

Don sprinted to his side. "Jess! Jess, can you hear me?"

"Mac?" Danny called, appearing a second later. "Mac, you in there?"

"Yeah, we're here!" Mac called back. "Everyone's fine."

Don sagged in relief and Danny seized him under the arm to keep him from collapsing.

"We're gonna need a medic though." Mac added.

"Mac, I'm fine." Jess protested.

"You are not walking out on that leg, Angell." Mac told her.

"But …"

"Jessica, stop being so damn stubborn and take the medic." Don barked, brushing Danny's arm away.

"Fine." Jess agreed after a reluctant pause. "But it's really not that bad."

"It better not be." Don muttered, waving an EMT over. "You qualified to go in there?"

"Yes, sir." The technician assured him, taking the helmet one of the ESU offered her.

Danny and Don stepped back to let her through and waited. After a nerve-wracking few seconds, Mac emerged, holding a blood-stained cloth to his shoulder.

"It's a glass shard," he explained, seeing Don's concern in his eyes. "She'll be fine."

"I'm gonna need a stretcher." The technician called out. "No, Detective, you're not putting any weight on that leg."

With a sigh, Mac waved another technician over. "Before you say anything to her, Don, everything she did was because she loves you."

"I know." Don admitted. "But that doesn't change the fact that she scared the shit outta me."

"Maybe." Mac conceded. "But you got her back. Not all of us are that lucky. She also said to remind you that she warned you."

""There'll come a time when you question my actions and my motives."" Don remembered with a wry smile. "Yeah, she did. Just wish she'd been more …" He cut himself off with a curse as the stretcher came through.

Jess may have been conscious and smiling, but that didn't detract from the paleness of her face, or the large shard of glass sticking out of her leg.

"Flesh wound." She assured him. "I'm fine."

Don crossed his arms. "We'll see about that. I'll meet you at the hospital."

Jess grimaced. "Alright."

Don turned to Danny as they carried her to a waiting ambulance. "That woman's gonna be the death of me."

"Don?" Aiden asked quietly.

Don was pacing the length of the corridor, and had been since they arrived.

"Don?" Aiden tried again when she got no response. "She's gonna be fine."

"It should be me in there, Aiden." Don muttered. "It should have been me."

"Right." Aiden rolled her eyes. "She should be the one pacing because you're on the brink of death, rather than us sitting here calmly because we know she'll be fine."

Don gave her a dirty look and fell into one of the plastic chairs in the waiting room.

Aiden exchanged a glance with Danny and he nodded, standing up. "C'mon, Montana. Let's get some coffee. We can take some back to the lab for Mac and Stella."

"Sure." Lindsay agreed quietly, leaving quickly.

Aiden watched her go, concerned, and gave Danny another loaded look. She and Danny had worked together for so long that they no longer needed words – she wasn't sure they ever had – a look said it all.

When Lindsay had joined the team, only Aiden picked up on the difference in Danny; she was fully aware of how much he liked her and she approved whole-heartedly.

Just as their first look had decided that Aiden would deal with Don, their second told Danny to look after Lindsay, who was obviously more shaken by the day's events than she was letting on.

Aiden moved to sit next to Don, taking his hand. "She's alright." She repeated quietly.

"I love her so much, Aiden." Don whispered. "I can't lose her."

"You're not going to." Aiden said quietly, slightly taken aback by this confirmation. She knew that Jess and Don had started dating and she knew how Jess felt … but she had no idea that Don felt that strongly as well.

"It's only been a few months." Don murmured, looking up to meet her eyes. "And I want to spend the rest of my life with her. Is that normal?"

"I don't know." Aiden admitted, stunned by the emotion in his eyes. However much he was putting into words, there seemed to be a whole other depth to his feelings that he couldn't vocalise. "I've never been in love. Maybe. When you meet the right person."

Don smiled weakly. "Well, I've definitely met the right person. That's why I'm worrying."

"You okay?" Danny asked quietly, following her out of the ward.

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "I'm fine." She frowned. "Is this the way we came in?"

Danny stopped quickly, not quite avoiding a collision as she turned to face him. "Oh, sorry. Did I …?"

"No." Lindsay flinched back slightly as his thumb brushed against the cut on her forehead. "It's fine."

Danny didn't seem to be listening, brushing the hair out of her face to take a closer look. "You know what? You should put something on that."

"Back home they say it's better just to let it breathe." Lindsay murmured, as he slowly pulled his hand away. He gazed at her, with such concern and affection in his eyes, that she finally let herself believe what Jess had been telling her since she arrived in New York.

He cares about you. A lot.

She wasn't sure who moved first, but her lips were suddenly pressed against his in a soft gentle kiss that she never wanted to end.

She knew she probably should, though, any longer and she couldn't really pass it off as comfort. For either of them.

But as she threatened to pull away, he slipped an arm around her waist, and wove his fingers into her hair, anchoring her to him.

Lindsay's hand slid over his shoulder to rest on the back of his neck and she pressed against him slightly, as they reluctantly parted, their need for oxygen greater (just) than their need for each other.

"They do that back home too?" Danny asked breathlessly.

"Never like that." Lindsay admitted shyly. "Erm, what did that …?"

"Mean?" Danny finished, cupping her face. "Depends on why you kissed me."

Guess that answers my question. Lindsay raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"Well, if it was a comfort thing, then nothing." Danny said carefully. "Whereas if it was because you like me as much as I like you, then I'll pick you up at eight."

Lindsay observed him with narrowed eyes for a few minutes, until he shifted, visibly nervous, and then she broke into a smile. "Where are we going?"

A few hours later, Jess limped into her apartment with Don behind her, maintaining a stony silence. He hadn't said a word since he'd arrived at the hospital and she followed his example, even when she'd been discharged and she'd driven him home.

Without a word, he removed his weapon and placed it in his gun-safe, holding out a hand for hers. Jess handed it over silently, remembering the evening after they'd caught Henry Darius.

But even then he hadn't been this quiet, and it was starting to scare her.

He walked into her bedroom and she followed him, watching as he undid his tie, tossing it onto a chair, and loosened his sleeves, turning to face her. "Why?"

Jess didn't answer.

"It's a simple question, Jessica." Don prompted.

"I don't have a simple answer." Jess whispered.

"Then give me a complicated one." Don said sharply. "Anything that explains why you seem to have a fucking death wish! Do you have any idea how scared I was? Do you even care?"

Jess stiffened, anger flashing in her eyes. "Don't you dare!" She hissed. "Don't you dare accuse me of not caring about you!"

Don sighed. "I'm sorry, Jess; that was outta line. I know you care, of course I do, I just …" He sank onto her bed, rubbing his eyes. "I was terrified, Jess."

Jess ran a hand through her hair, her body relaxing all at once. "Don, when I met you, you were lying in a hospital bed. You know that. I told you that. You nearly died."

"But I didn't!" Don protested. "Why not just let it happen? Aiden said you were going to."

"Because I got the opportunity to change it." Jess explained. "Don, I know you were okay and that I could have walked out of that building knowing that everything should be alright eventually. But do you really think you got blown up, recovered physically and that was it?"

"Well, I kinda assumed …" Don admitted.

"Well it wasn't." Jess stated bluntly. "Before we even became partners, I found myself locked in the locker room trying to convince you we weren't in a building that was about to blow up. A year later, you broke down in tears in my arms – only after biting my head off for a month, I might add. And when we started dating, every time my hand even inched towards your abdomen, you stopped me.

"When you tell me you don't have a problem with my scar and that you're grateful for it because it means I'm still here, I'm not laughing because I don't believe it. I'm laughing because you're a damn hypocrite – you flinched every time I so much as glanced at yours! The phone that detonated the bomb hit you, Don, it blew your stomach apart and Mac had to perform emergency surgery with a fucking shoe string of all things!"

Everything Jess had been bottling up, every fear she'd had, every worry that had passed through her mind, came pouring out of her mouth without reservation.

Don was staring at her in shock, but she wasn't paying attention again.

"The fact that you would have been thinking about me outside that building as well as Lindsay could have moved your position in relation to that bomb by even a millimetre and that's all it came down to, Don. That one millimetre could have killed you and I'm sorry if I wasn't prepared to take that chance!"

Slightly breathless now, Jess crossed the room to her dresser and pulled her shirt off, chancing a glance at her reflection.

The only injury may have been to her thigh, but her upper body was littered with cuts and bruises. "Dammit."

Don's hand brushed against her lower back and she stiffened involuntarily. His hand withdrew. "Did I hurt you?"

"No." Jess turned to face him. "You just startled me, that's all."

Don sighed. "It should have been me, Jess."

Jess shook her head. "No. It shouldn't. Look, Don, it's done. Can you just drop it, even if you don't understand?"

Don kissed her forehead. "I understand, Jess." He whispered. "I guess I've just got survivors' guilt."

"Well, we both survived." Jess murmured. "I wasn't sure we would …"

"That's why you've been so affectionate lately." Don realised. "You didn't …"

"I didn't know when it was going to happen." Jess admitted. "Or if I would be there or not. If I wasn't, I didn't want you to doubt that I loved you. You know, when you realised that I'd let you get blown up."

"And if you were?" Don asked.

Jess smiled sadly. "You remember when we met? In the hospital when I was bordering on hysterical?"

"How could I forget?" Don chuckled. "You turned my world upside down, Jess. Hard to believe it hasn't even been a year yet."

"Well, before I fell back, I woke up." Jess told him. "In the hospital. And I could hear you and Lindsay talking …"

"We thought you were dead." Don remembered. "You told me that in hospital, part of your 'statement'."

"You know what you said?" Jess asked quietly. "You said, "I love her, Lindsay, and now she'll never know. And I'll never know if she felt the same way." You never knew, Don. We were best friends for two years, dated for ten months. I told you things I would never dream of telling anyone else. And I couldn't say three words. When I realised that I could change things, I promised myself that I wouldn't let that happen again."

Don kissed her, cupping her face in his hands. "I know, sweetheart. I know you love me and I'll never doubt you. But I'd rather have you here and alive, if you don't mind, so if you could just stop the heroics?"

Jess smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

AN: Hang on, folks, don't go anywhere, the ride's not over yet. I was going to finish here, but I've got too many ideas on this one, so I'm going to keep it going until to runs out of steam, whenever that may be.

Thank you to:

Babou27 for correcting my French in Chapter 25

bando2 for suggesting that Aiden and Flack have a chat at the hospital

Sweet LIL loz for requesting the Lost Kiss

And everyone else for reviewing – I would cyber-hug you all, but FFNet isn't letting me reply to reviews for some reason. Anyone else having that problem?

Review please!