It Didn't Seem Important At The Time

Danny spent the rest of the day in a daze. He pushed everyone in the lab to breaking point, and if they didn't process the evidence or interview the suspects quickly or viciously enough he would do it again. Mac repeatedly asked him to lay off and let him take care of it but Danny wasn't tuned in to anything other than catching Sheldon's attacker. But Mac was reaching breaking point and when Danny had literally busted another suspect Mac hauled him into his office.

"What the hell d'you think you're playing at?????"

"Mac I just-"

"You just nothing Danny, you're flinging yourself at every suspect who looks at you the wrong way, we can handle this! But we can't handle this well if you're going to throw yourself under the bus at every given opportunity!!" Danny bit his lip furiously, too angry to say anything. Mac relented a little. "Danny I know you're desperate to solve this for Sheldon's sake, but if you carry on the way you are it'll more likely be you rotting in the clink than Sheldon's attacker." Mac waited as Danny paced the office. Finally Danny spun round to Mac.

"You can take me off the case," he said forcefully, "but you can't stop me looking on my own."

"Danny, do you want to jeopardise any work this lab does, either for Sheldon or in the future? Huh?" Mac stared him out. Danny dropped his head to his chest.

"No." he whispered. There was silence while Mac calmed himself.

"You're off the case Danny." Danny let out a small laugh. Mac raised his eyebrows and carried on. "You should go home and start thinking about your other responsibilities." Danny looked up sharply, but Mac's eyes pointed him out of the door.

Danny guessed what Mac meant was Lucy. Screw Lucy, and Lindsay, right now the most important thing was Sheldon. Danny found himself trudging the way to Sheldon's apartment, but when he reached the corner he stopped and turned the other way to catch the subway. He went to the hospital and asked at the desk if he could see Sheldon. The nurse smiled kindly.

"I'm sorry sir," she said, "but he's sleeping right now." Danny was about to turn away when he felt something clunk against the desk. He pulled out his police badge.

"Please?" he said.

Sheldon's hospital room was warm and gently noisy. The heater hummed through the wall and the clock was ticking on the beside table. Danny had always found hospitals uncomfortably white. He gazed down at the bed from his position by the door. White, white, and then this calm pool of chocolate brown lying on the pillow. Danny slowly moved towards the bed. Sheldon was asleep, his eyes closed, his breathing deep, his thick lips parted slightly. One eye was swollen, the rest of his face covered in cuts and bruises, dark bruises and deep cuts. His arms which lay on top of the sheets were much the same. There were sores at his wrists, where it looked as though he had been tied up. And all along the length of his slender arms was bruise upon cut upon bruise and they were shaking ever so slightly that Danny didn't notice it to begin with. Danny sat as quietly as possible next to Sheldon, and took his hand carefully in his own. The hospital band slid down Sheldon's wrist and Danny winced, but Sheldon didn't move. Danny ran his fingers over Sheldon's red knuckles and then down the pale palm, over the life lines and the love lines. Danny crossed one leg under the other and lay Sheldon's hand on his thigh, stroking the palm in circles, his eyes never leaving Sheldon's sleeping face. He didn't look peaceful, Sheldon had once fallen asleep on the sofa before Danny got back, Danny remembered then that Sheldon had been smiling, he had been at ease, his head at a crooked angle against the cushion. But here, his head was to the side and his mouth was a little down-turned, although the rest of his expression was clear. Danny closed his eyes and sighed. Sheldon shifted, groaning.

"Ah shit!" Danny hissed under his breath. He was about to leave when he felt a grip on his wrist. When he turned around Sheldon's eyes were as open as their injuries would let them and his mouth was parted in a question:

"Danny? What are you doing here?" Danny sat down.

"I just…I wanted to see how you were holding up." Danny hung his head for a second then looked up again. "I guess…I wanted to interrogate you again." Sheldon blinked and he drew in breath sharply.

"I've told Don everything," he said tensely. Danny patted his hand.

"I know, I know, I just wondered-" Sheldon let go of Danny's wrist.

"Danny I have nothing else to say." He looked away. Danny could see Sheldon's chest rising and falling quickly.

"I'm sorry-"

"Please go, for the moment." Sheldon turned his head. "Please Danny, I…I need space." Danny pursed his lips and rubbed his chin.

"Ok," he said. "I'm going." Sheldon let a deep breath and he looked relieved.

"Thank you." He whispered, a glimmer of a smile walking across his mouth. Danny left the room without looking back, and left the hospital as quickly as possible, thoughts racing through his head.

"I thought Mac removed you from the case?" Don looked at his friend suspiciously. Danny shrugged nonchalantly.

"Don give over, I just wanna know what he said, what happened, I didn't hear the whole of it." Don still looked suspicious. Danny sighed. "Please?" Don still looked suspicious but he got out his notebook all the same.

"Ok," he flipped through pages, " ok, I talked to him after you did-"

"Yeah but all he said to me was that he'd been-you know-" Danny ran his hand through his hair irritably.

"Woah" Don held up his hands. "Calm Messer." Danny perched on the edge of Don's desk as Don continued to flick. "All right…" Don found the page and he stopped, biting his lip. Danny watched him intently, knowing Don was remembering the conversation.

"Hey Sheldon."

"Hey Don." The battered face looked up at him. Don sat in the chair beside Sheldon's bed.

"Do you feel ready to talk about this?" he asked. Sheldon sighed.

"I have to do this now." He whispered.

"Let's go from the beginning, anytime you wanna stop, just say." Don leaned forwards. "What were you doing before the attack happened?" Sheldon swallowed.

"I was walking home, through Central Park, I felt like someone was following me." Sheldon refused to make eye contact with Don. He fiddled with the sheets. "I think someone came up behind me," Sheldon seemed to get irritable, "everything went black I don't remember…"

"You called home. We traced that call to your cell number, but we haven't found your cell. Do you remember that?" Sheldon shook his head, still not making eye contact. Don leant back. "You told Danny you were raped. "

"It's what the hospital told me."

"You don't remember it?"

"No." There was silence for a while.

"We can stop…" Sheldon didn't answer. "Danny said the phone call came around 2:30 am. He said you got back at almost 4am."

"I left work late…I guess…it was almost 1:15am, Adam's night replacement had come in…I walked home…"

"How long does it normally take you?"

"45 minutes." Sheldon caught Don's look. "I don't know what the time was when I got attacked."

"Did you call straight away or-"

"I don't remember."

Pause. Don leant forwards again.

"Sheldon…why do I get the feeling you're not telling me everything?"

"I walked home, I was attacked, I blacked out, I woke up, I got home. No I don't remember anything about my attacker, no I don't remember exactly where we were, no I don't remember being raped. I don't remember-!" Sheldon's breathing was painful. "I'm sorry Don, I don't…I can't…" Don held his hand.

"It's ok, the evidence will tell us the rest." Sheldon eyes were fearful.

Danny flicked through the notebook.

"I'm telling you Messer, that's all he said. He was being kinda weird about it."

"Of course he was you expect him to be overjoyed that some bastard raped him???" Danny relented. "Sorry…"

"You guys have gotten close recently," Don said, frowning. Danny glanced up.

"I've been living with him, how could I not?" Don sighed. Danny swung his legs off the desk. "Go through this with me, what do we know?"

"We know he left work at roughly 1.15, lab techs confirmed it. He called you at 2.30 and he arrived home in pieces around 4, right?"

"Yeah" Danny nodded. He rested his elbows on his knees. "Right now all we've got from the evidence is a lot of bloody clothes, skin from Sheldon's teeth which has no match, unidentified semen from the rape kit, definite evidence that it was rape and not consensual sex although how likely is it that it would have been consensual?" Danny laughed slightly in a humourless way but Don raised his eyebrows.

"Danny you know Sheldon's bisexual right?"

"What? No way, we were talking about girlfriends, he never said-" Danny stopped short.

"Messer?" Don gave him a push. "hey-" Danny shook himself.

"I'm fine…just…fine." Danny looked into the distance. "I just…remembered something. Only it didn't seem…important, at the time."

"Hey Dance-Pants I'm home!" Danny dropped his bag on the floor and his keys on the table. He hung up his coat and kicked off his shoes as Sheldon's cell rang. "Hey Sheldon!" Danny called, "Someone's calling you, Rob, apparently." Sheldon came down the steps and took his cell off Danny.

"Oh it's no one, just some guy from ballet class who won't leave me alone." He smiled, his eyes were a little red.

"You ok?" Danny asked, indicating Sheldon's eyes.

"Yeah I'm fine," Sheldon laughed ."I've been chopping onions and rubbing my eyes."

"Ah," Danny flopped down on the sofa. "that'd be why I leave all the cooking to you." He took another look at his friend. "They seem pretty red though." Sheldon sniffed and rubbed his nose.

"Yeah, onions really get me!" Danny smiled and as Sheldon turned back to the kitchen he caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a heavy bruise on Sheldon's arm.

"Sheldon, you're bruised?" Danny leaned over the arm of the sofa. Sheldon looked down at his arm.

"I had that yesterday," he said.

"Really?"

"Yeah I kinda…pirouetted into the barre."

"Ow!" Danny winced. Sheldon laughed.

"Yeah," he agreed, "it really hurt." He returned to the dinner and Danny turned on the TV.

Oh yes my dearies I'm back! And I've finally got myself back on track so hopefully this'll get much better. Love you all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx