Fic: Unexpected (CSI:NY, M/D/D)
Title: Unexpected
Authors: Kathie, Dee and Ginny macadamianuts
Fandom: CSI:NY
Disclaimer: Not ours, but the fun if the three of us together owned them. *watches everyone flee in terror* *smiles innocently* Captain Smith is our answer to who Mac's boss is and Detective Trevor and his belong to the three of us.
Trio: Mac/Danny/Don
Warnings: Slash, threesome, violence, general season 3 spoilers.
Rating: FRM
Challenge: 10 H/C Fics
Prompt 5: Emotion
Summary: When Danny gets attacked where he should be safest, the manhunt is on
Authors Notes: For Stanley...he's our favorite Plot-o-pi.
~*~*~
The man stumbled through the halls of the brightly lit lab, occasionally clutching the wall for support. He was looking for something, for someone, but he was having trouble remembering what or who. He stopped to catch his breath as a wave of dizziness washed over him, not noticing the bloody handprints that he was leaving behind.
Through hazy vision, he finally spotted what he was looking for. Mac and Don were just around the corner talking with Stella and Lindsay. He started off again at an unsteady pace, ignoring the blackness that was creeping into his vision.
"Mac," he croaked only to remember that he wasn't supposed to draw attention to the three of them at work. It had been his decision, one that neither of the other men was happy with, but it was safer for people to know about two rather than three. Two men together was much easier to accept than three; besides, he had the ring proving their commitment to him hanging on the chain around his neck.
His hope that he hadn't been heard died when all four people looked up and saw him.
"Danny?" Mac asked, worry and concern on his face.
"Nothing, it's nothing," Danny gasped. It was suddenly hard to breathe. And move. And see. His legs collapsed from underneath him and he fell toward the floor, cushioned by Mac and Don who caught him, easing him the rest of the way down. "Sorry," he whispered as he slipped into the beckoning darkness.
Mac instantly jumped into action, grabbing his phone and calling the paramedics as Stella called for Hawkes. He could still see the labored rise and fall of Danny's chest and, at that moment, was the only thing keeping him grounded. He needed to get Danny to the hospital, process the scene, wherever the scene was, and then he could worry.
"What happened?" Sheldon asked as he rushed into the hallway and saw Danny laying at Mac's feet.
"We don't know," Stella answered as she watched the three men on the ground closely. Sheldon nodded and knelt next to Danny.
Mac stole a quick glance at Don as Stella continued to talk to Sheldon, trying to reassure the other man with a soft smile. He would find who did this to their lover. Even if he had to turn New York City upside down, he'd find the person responsible.
"Mac?" There was a quiver in Lindsay voice and she'd wrapped her arms tightly around her chest. Everyone but Sheldon, who was focused on figuring out just how badly Danny had been hurt, looked over at her. "There's a blood trail," she whispered, pointing at the bloody handprints that were on the wall at intervals.
"I'm on it," Stella stood and started down the hallway.
"Right behind you, Stel," Don agreed, catching up to her.
Mac nodded, thankful that the choice had been taken from him, and returned his attention back to Lindsay and Sheldon.
"Hawkes? How bad is it?"
"I don't know, but it's not good," he admitted reluctantly. Danny's left eye was already swollen shut. Sheldon had pushed his shirt up only to be horrified by the vivid bruising that covered his chest. With the bruising as dark as it was, he'd bet a month's salary that not only were there broken ribs, but also internal bleeding. "He needs to get to the hospital."
Mac nodded, keeping his hand wrapped around Danny's wrist. His thumb rubbed soft circles on his wrist as the thready pulse kept him reassured that Danny was still with them.
He finally let go of Danny as the paramedics arrived.
"Hawkes, ride with him and bring any trace back."
"On it Mac," Sheldon agreed and ran after Danny.
"You okay?" Lindsay asked once they were alone.
"Grab your kit, we need to process everything Danny touched before he fell," Mac said instead, ignoring her question.
"Detective Taylor, I think-"
"I really don't care," Mac interrupted as he turned to face Captain Smith.
Smith smiled, "I was going to say, before you interrupted me, I think you might need an extra hand." He said pulling on a pair of gloves. Mac stared, it wasn't often his supervisor helped. This had to be bigger than he initially thought.
Danny, NYPD officer and CSI had been attacked somewhere in his lab. Mac shuddered to think of the implications and what was going to happen when they caught who was responsible. Because they would catch him. And he would pay, Mac would make sure of that.
Deliberately, he forced his thoughts away from the fact that it was Danny who had been hurt. He had to concentrate on the facts, stop thinking of the victim as his friend, his lover, and work the evidence. He would catch whoever did this to the younger man, and if it was the last thing he did. Letting the person who did this get away because of procedure mistakes was not an option. They would get that guy, and when they put him behind bars, he would stay there.
Mac took a deep breath. Now was not the time to worry. Now was the time to act.
"I want photographs of everything Lindsay," Mac said calmly. "We're going to need samples of every smear and handprint to prove that they're Danny's." He ignored the pain that the statement caused. "Stella and Don are looking for where this took place. Adam!" he summoned the tech who, like all of the others, was unashamedly watching.
"Yes sir?"
"This whole area needs to be cleared. I want everyone evacuated from this floor and guards posted to keep anyone from coming back and trying to destroy any incriminating evidence."
"You want me to help guard?" Adam asked in surprise.
"No, I want you to call Maka, Scagnetti, and Angell. Have them get something organized."
He hadn't even finished the sentence when Maka walked towards him, a dark expression on her face.
"Mac. Flack called us, what happened?" she asked, businesslike, but Mac knew that it was just a mask, like his own. Maka and Danny were good friends, and the fact that she was the first detective to make it to the lab spoke volumes.
Before he could answer her, his cell phone rang. "Talk to me Stella," he ordered briskly.
"Mac, we found the original scene," Stella said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
"Where?" He barked.
"You're not going to like this."
"Stella," He warned.
"In front of the interrogation rooms. It's bad Mac. I'm surprised he's still alive." She finished in a whisper.
Mac felt his throat tighten up. "Secure the scene, bag and tag everything," he said. "We don't want this one to get away."
Stella didn't answer, but she didn't need to. It was clear that the whole crime lab would work this case.
Today, no other crime in New York mattered.
He heard Smith behind him, barking orders to Detective Trevor and demanding the night shift to come in and help with the investigation. Time was what mattered now. They needed to work this as fast, and as accurately, as possible.
"Where is the original scene Mac?" Smith asked.
"Near the interrogation rooms," Mac said flatly, struggling to keep the anger that filled him from erupting.
Lindsay gasped in surprise. Until then she'd held onto the slightest thread of hope that it hadn't happened in the building, that Danny had been outside and somehow made it up to them. "But that means ...." she trailed off, horrified by the confirmation.
"It was one of us," Smith finished for her. Mac nodded and squared his jaw.
"I'm going to help Stella," Mac said, looking at Smith and picked up his kit. At the slight nod, he walked past them and out of their sight.
Once he was sure he was far enough away, Mac's steps faltered and he clutched the wall. He knew that if it was a fellow cop he'd have a hard time keeping Don from ripping the guy's head off. Unless he did it first. He needed to get to Stella and determine how bad the scene really was.
He clenched his teeth and took several deep breaths. He had to stay calm. It wouldn't help anyone if he didn't get himself back under control.
Only when he could finally unclench his fists did he move again. He could do this. He had to do this. He had to keep everyone organized or it would all fall apart. Everyone was watching him to see how to handle this. For Danny and for Don, who was going to take this hard no matter what, he could stay calm.
"Talk to me Stella," he ordered as he stepped around the corner and then froze as he saw the extent of what had happened.
It looked like a scene from one of those horror movies Danny made them watch every year at Halloween. Blood smeared the floor, walls and ceiling before two separate, distinct sets of foot prints headed off in different directions. One heading the way he came, which Mac assumed was Danny's, and the other heading farther into the precinct.
"I had a feeling you'd be down here," she said calmly but Mac could feel the underlying tension in her posture.
"Where's Don?"
"He went that way," she pointed in the direction of the second set of footprints.
"Anyone go with him?" Mac asked as he pulled his weapon and carefully stepped over the drying pools of blood.
"No but he was calling for backup as he left."
Mac nodded grimly. He was fairly sure that Don hadn't called for backup for himself, but to secure the scene.
"I'm going after him."
"I know." Stella's eyes were sympathetic. "Be careful."
"Of course," Mac replied, his mind already focused on finding Don and whomever Don was chasing.
He rounded the corner and saw Don leaning around the corner of the far wall.
"Don!" He half-whispered, half-yelled as he quickened his steps and caught up to the other man.
His lover was unnaturally pale, his hands were clenched in tight fists. Mac watched as he swallowed repeatedly. Carefully he settled a hand against Don's shoulder, and when Don flinched from his touch, he gripped tightly. "We'll get him through this, and we will find out who did this to him," he promised hoarsely. "You hear me, Don?"
"I'm going to kill whoever did this," Don said, his voice quivering in anger. "I am going to rip them apart and kill them."
"Me too," Mac whispered. He clenched Don's shoulder again before taking a step back. "But first we have to find them."
Don took a deep breath and nodded once, his mask snapping back into place.
Within seconds, he was no longer the worried lover, but the professional cop. "Trail leads this way," he pointed out and shook his head. "You comin'?"
"Yes," Mac answered immediately. As they followed the trail through the now nearly deserted police station with their guns drawn, it struck Mac about how wrong the scene was. They were in a place filled with cops, it should have been one of the safest, most secure, most watched places there was.
He looked up and realized what he should have thought of immediately.
"Don?"
"Yeah?"
"Surveillance tapes."
"On it," Don replied, pulling out his cell phone. After a few barked orders, which under any other circumstance Mac would have found extremely sexy, Don snapped his phone back shut and continued down the hallway. "Maka's on it."
"Good."
They followed the bloody footprints in silence, until they suddenly, abruptly, in the middle of the floor, stopped.
"Damn!" Don hissed.
It was impossible to tell if their suspect had stepped out of his shoes or if the trail had been rubbed away by the foot traffic. Possibly both, Mac mused and that helped them not at all.
"We'll luminal the hallway, that might help," he said. He reached reflexively for his kit only to realize that he'd left it next to Stella.
"Shit," he muttered under his breath. Looking around, he discovered exactly where they were. In the middle of the bullpen, and standing right next to Don's desk. "Shit," he repeated.
"One of us?" Don asked in disbelief. "I kept tryin to tell myself that it was a suspect but..." Don trailed off as they tried to figure out which way to go.
With a sinking feeling, Mac realized something else. "This is your desk," he said. "Don ... this is your desk. The trail leads directly to your desk."
"I didn't do it. Mac, you know I wouldn't do something like that. I love him," Don protested hotly.
"Don," Mac soothed. "I know."
Don let out a deep sigh. Of course Mac would know that he would never, ever do something like that.
"We'll forget the fact that you've been with me for the last four hours, and I see two possible ways this could go."
"Someone's trying to frame me."
Mac nodded, "Or they know about us, or at least you and Danny, and are rubbing it in."
"We need to call Shel and see how Danny's doin," Don said as he rubbed a hand over his face. "If he's awake, maybe he can give us a name."
Mac nodded, still trying to wrap his head around the idea of someone of their own trying to frame Don for a crime.
"I still have to check your shoes," he said softly. "We both know that you were with me, but it's still your desk..."
Don shook his head. "You can't. Not unless someone else is here to confirm it. Whoever it is will say you tainted the evidence to clear me."
Mac nodded and reached for his phone. "Richard, the trail ended and I need you to come down here. I'm in front of Flack's desk with him...yes sir, the trail ending in front of Flack's desk... Yes, we'll wait." Mac closed his phone. "Smith is on his way down."
Don nodded and carefully stepped away from his desk to pace a few steps away. "Who would want to do this to him?" he asked. "Who would attack him like this?"
"I don't know," Mac admitted.
"I do," Stella told them, startling both men with her sudden appearance.
"Who?" Mac asked as Smith came around the corner also.
"Did you find something?" He asked.
"The trail stops here. I cannot check Don's shoes without someone present," Mac explained, careful to stay formal.
Smith nodded. "Detective Flack, have a seat please."
Don nodded and took a seat, lifting his legs so Smith could see the souls of his shoes. A quick test later determined Don's shoes were clean. "You should check my desk also, just to be safe." Don stated.
"What did you find out, Stella?" Smith asked as he stepped over to Don's desk and started looking.
Stella smiled grimly. "You won't like it," she warned.
"Stella," Mac and Smith both growled.
"It's a theory, but I have witnesses to back up the threat that was made to Danny."
"And your theory is?" Smith prompted as he looked under Don's desk.
"Gerrard."
The sound of Smith's head hitting Don's desk echoed through the empty room. "Ouch!" he swore loudly and stood. "Flack, I don't see anything here. I've gotta go check in with Maka. If Stella is right..." He trailed off with a satisfied smirk and quickly walked away from the three stunned detectives.
"Why do I think this is about to get very ugly?" Stella asked.
"Because it's already ugly," Don sniped.
Mac swore he could feel the headache forming. "I want those videotapes in the A/V lab and I want an update from Hawkes within the next five minutes. Choose your tasks," he ordered.
"On my way," Don snapped his fingers and darted out of the room. Stella wiped out her phone and called Hawkes.
Mac rubbed his temples and wondered exactly what Alex Gerrard had against Danny. He could not remember the younger man ever doing anything to the captain. Closing his eyes against the suddenly too bright room, Mac swore he'd rip Gerrard to shreds if was the one behind what had happened to Danny.
"Mac..." Smith hesitated. "We don't know for sure that it was him," he pointed out quietly. "Don't jump to conclusions here, okay? Wait for the results to come back."
"I always follow the evidence," Mac reminded him sharply. "And if it proves that he attacked one of my men...." He let the unspoken threat hang in the air and stalked back toward the elevator.
He found Lindsay photographing the scene while Scagnetti watched, moving rulers and numbers where she instructed.
"Lindsay, you don't have to do this," he told her, noticing that she looked green. If he'd had any idea of the extent of the scene, he swallowed heavily, he never would have had her there.
"It's for Danny, I do," she contradicted quietly.
Mac nodded, understanding Lindsay's reasoning and walked past them, continuing on his way to the A/V lab.
"Don?" He asked walking into the room.
"It's him," Don stated, slamming his open hands against the desk. "It's all on tape, Mac. He ambushed Danny outside of the interrogation rooms. Didn't even give Danny a chance to fight back. My own fucking Captain." Don shook his head and blinked back the tears.
Mac swallowed against the tightness in his throat. He didn't want to, but he knew he had to. "Show me," he ordered softly.
Adam started to protest but stopped, realizing that it would be pointless. With a resigned shrug he pressed play just as Captain Smith joined them.
Mac felt the bile rise in his throat as Danny walked out of the second interrogation room and Gerrard walked up behind him, yelling something none of the men could figure out. As Danny turned, Gerrard started hitting him, with what appeared to be a baseball bat. Danny went down quickly, too surprised by the attack to fight back or defend himself.
"We need to find that bat," Mac whispered as he watched Danny struggle to get to his feet after Gerrard walked away and stagger out of frame.
Adam coughed uncomfortably. "Did you..." he started and stopped as soon as everyone's attention turned towards him. "I mean..."
"Adam," Mac managed, despite everything, to appear calm and encouraging, although Don knew that he was most likely frustrated enough to take Adam by the lapels of his labcoat and shake him to get him to talk.
Adam shrugged. "Locker room?" he suggested. "I know that...I mean, some of us saw him...there...at your locker, always..." he stopped and looked at Mac with wide eyes. "We didn't think anything..." he stopped. "God..."
Mac shook his head. "Thanks, Adam," he said quietly, before turning around and leaving the room without a glance back.
"Stella!" Mac snapped, spotting the woman down the hall. "You're with me."
She nodded and fell into step next to him. "Where are we going?"
"I think Gerrard stashed the weapon in my locker," he said calmly as he slammed open the doors to the locker room.
"What?" she asked, doing a double take. "Why would he do that?"
"I don't know," he said shortly as he started fingerprinting his locker.
"Unless he's been stalking you, there's no way he knows about --"
"Stella," he cut her off sharply, "I really don't want to discuss theories at the moment."
"You don't want to be caught by surprise when we start questioning him."
Mac sighed deeply as the throbbing in his head got worse. "Not now Stella, please?"
"One more question," she promised as she lifted the first set of prints for the locker. "How did he think he'd get away with it? Danny will be able to name him when he wakes up."
Mac swallowed heavily, remember the ferocity of the blows. "He wasn't supposed to wake up."
"And what about the surveillance tapes that clearly show him trying to kill Danny?" Stella pointed out darkly.
"I don't...I don't know Stella. I just want to find Gerrard and figure out why he attempted to kill Danny." He stopped suddenly and glared at her. "I thought you called Hawkes?"
"I did. He was in surgery and all they could tell me was that he was hanging on," she said quietly.
"Why didn't you say something?"
"Because we were focused on figuring out that it was Gerrard. I didn't think we needed the distraction."
Mac shook his head. "I don't get it," he admitted softly. "Why? Why Danny? Why now? Why?"
Stella knew that he wouldn't allow to show these emotions in front of anyone else, not while they were still working this scene. She also knew that technically, they should let another team work it, since they all were involved, but she also knew that they wouldn't step back and let them. Danny was one of them. He deserved the best CSIs in the city to investigate this, and the best team was still them.
She squeezed Mac's shoulder for a brief moment. She didn't have an answer to his question, but she knew that they also didn't have time for them now.
Later, she promised herself.
After they got Captain Alex F. B. Gerrard.
"Let's get these prints back to Adam. I'll have Lindsay go to the hopsital and collect the trace Sheldon lifted from Danny. We'll get him," She vowed and ushered him out of the room. Once the door was closed, she snapped on a fresh pair of gloves and carefully opened Mac's locker. With a painfilled sigh, she pulled the bat out and dropped it into a large evidence bag.
She couldn't think about the blood on the bat, she had to focus on getting the evidence to Adam so there was no doubt Gerrard did this. There wasn't room for doubt.
"That's the weapon?" Adam asked as Stella handed him the evidence bag. He swallowed hard, looking a little green.
"Yes."
"Okay. I'll have the results back to you as soon as possible," he promised.
"By the book Adam. He knows procedure as well as we do and I don't want him getting off on a technicality."
"Don't worry Stella," he promised, looking grim. Gerrard wasn't going to get away because of him.
She nodded and picked up her cellphone when it started ringing. "It's Hawkes," she said and did her best to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach.
"Tell me good news," She begged.
*"He's outta surgery and they're taking him to ICU now."* Sheldon's voice assured her, sounding extremely tired.
"How is he?"
*"They don't know. The doctors were able to stop the internal bleeding and get him patched up. Right now, we wait and see how strong his will to live is,"* Sheldon replied.
"What are his chances?" She whispered.
*"Not good."* She could tell he was shaking his head and trying to keep his composure. *"Not good at all but if he makes it through the night..."*
"Okay. I've got Lindsay on her way down to collect the trace."
*"Thanks."* Sheldon replied and ended the call.
"How is he?" Mac asked from the doorway.
She hesitated, not sure how to answer.
"That bad?" he whispered.
"I'm sorry Mac."
He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white as he tried to keep the rage that was flooding him under control.
"He will get through this, Mac," Stella promised. "And by the time he wakes up, Gerrard will be rotting in hell. Or prison. Whichever comes first."
"Hell," Mac forced out between clenched teeth.
"No. Calm down, Mac. I can't sit back and let you do something to destroy this case. Gerrard knows how we work and you have to seperate your emotions from this. If only for a bit longer."
Mac nodded once and turned just as Adam rushed up behind him.
"Got the results."
"So soon?"
"It's Danny," Adam shrugged. "I don't have any thing else on my desk right now as important. He'd do the same for me."
Mac smiled softly, "Yes, he would. What does it say Adam?" He asked, his voice suddenly tired.
"Gerrard's epithelials are on the handle and knob of the bat. In combination with Danny's blood on the barrel and the fact that it wasn't completely dry, it proves that this was the weapon used to try to ki-- to beat him," he finished.
"That isn't enough," Mac sighed. "It only proves that he touched the bat...not that he did it..."
"And we got his fingerprints on your locker. If we can only find the bastard-" Adam blushed, "I mean, if we can only find him we can check his shoe size. Don's feet are too big to have made those footprints."
Mac stood, "We're finding him now. Right now." He stormed out of the room, pushing Adam out of his way.
Of course, that was easier said than done.
"What do you mean you can't find him?" Mac snarled at Scagnetti.
"The last time I saw him he was organizing the chaos that the evac caused. He supposed to be overseeing the temporary set up but he's not there."
Mac swallowed. "But where can he be?" he thought out loud.
Scagnetti shrugged. "If he found out that we're after him...he probably tries to leave the city."
"Or cleans up behind him," Stella added. She paled. "Oh fuck. Danny..."
Stella immediately pulled out her phone and called Sheldon as they ran out of the building. Mac refused to listen to her as he grabbed Smith and Don on their way past and loaded the entire team, all five of them, into the SUV.
"What's going on?" Don asked.
"We think Gerrard's going after Danny," Mac explained.
"Move over, I'm drivin'," Smith replied with a dangerous smirk and took the keys from Mac.
They arrived at the hospital in record time. Smith stopped at the curb in front of the building, slamming the car into park and they all jumped out, ignoring the shouts for car to be moved.
They ran into the hospital, badges out. Smith and Mac each had their weapon drawn, but the others only kept their hand on the handles.
As they rushed through the halls, it occurred to Lindsay that they knew the layout of the hospital too well. They had definitely spent too much time visiting injured teammembers here.
Hushed whispers and insisting beeping greeted them when they finally came close to their destination.
The first sign that something had gone wrong was the dark skinned body lying motionless on the floor, gun still in his hand.
"Hawkes!" Lindsay gasped when she saw the puddle of blood under him. "Oh God..."
"Go! Get the doctor," Stella ordered her as they split up, two of them on one side of the door and the other two slipping around to the other side. Lindsay nodded and quickly disappeared from sight.
"Freeze!" Smith called out as he looked around the corner and took the first glance into Danny's room, gun pointed at Gerrard's head.
Gerrard whirled around, growling when he saw the four detectives.
"You're not going to stop me. You don't want to stop me because you know that I'm going the right thing. He's a disgrace to the uniform."
"No," Don growled and took a step closer to catch a glimpse of Danny's seemingly lifeless body. "You're the disgrace."
Gerrard snorted. "Shut up, Flack. I let your behaviour go by because of your father...but this one?" His gun pointed straight at Danny's forehead. "Nobody will come to his funeral."
He laughed. "He doesn't deserve to be a cop. NYPD should get rid of all these corrupt and disgraceful people."
A single shot rang out.
~~~
One week later, Mac shivered and wrapped his coat tighter around himself as he looked over the cemetery and the fresh, open grave in front of him.
"I should feel some sort of guilt but I don't," Mac shook his head. "I still don't know why you did it and I never will."
"You okay?" Don asked as he walked up behind Mac.
"Yes. Danny doing better?"
"Yeah, he threatened to have the jello tested for poison." Don laughed lightly and kicked at a clump of dirt. "You did what you had to."
"I know."
"It was a clean shot. Even Smith backed you up on it," Don pulled him from Gerrard's grave and towards the rest of their team.
Mac slowly allowed the rest of the team to pull him out of his silence. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about events of the week before. But Danny was recovering better than they had hoped and things were slowly returning to normal.
Hawkes waited for him by his car. He had a bandage around his head, and Mac knew that he was still on painkillers. Gerrard had shot him, luckily it was just a graze. They had all been very very lucky that day...it just as easily could have turned out differently, Mac thought with a small shudder.
"Mac...I'm sorry," Hawkes said as soon as Mac stood in front of him. "I'm sorry I couldn't..." He broke off and shook his head. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect him. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," Mac assured him. "You couldn't have known that he was try something like that." No, the truth is it was Mac's fault. Danny was his, his employee, teammate and lover. He should have protected him better.
"Stop it," Don ordered softly from behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault either." He forced himself to smile. "Come on, Mac, do I need to tell Stella to kick your ass?"
Mac chuckled weakly. He could always trust his lovers to know what he was thinking.
"Should you be up, doc?" Don continued, but he didn't pull his hand away from Mac's shoulder while he did.
"I have clearance for the funeral," Sheldon promised. Unlike most of his teammates, he really did listen to what the doctors said. And, if he didn't agree with them, he had experience to back up his arguments.
"And only the funeral," Stella reminded him as she and Lindsay joined the three men. "Which means it's time for us to be moving along."
Hawkes smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You're the boss," he answered with a half-shrug.
"And don't forget it!" Stella teased back. "Let's go." She turned towards Don and Mac. "What are you going to do now?"
"We're heading back to the hospital," Don answered. "Gotta keep Danny entertained or he'll drive the nurses crazy."
"You're just afraid they're going to snatch him away from you," Lindsay teased.
Stella laughed at their horrified expression before explaining: "Actually, I meant in the long run. The whole lab now knows about you three...maybe even all cops? What are you going to do about that?"
"Nothing," Mac answered.
"Nothing?" Lindsay repeated, surprised.
"Almost everyone has been very supportive. I'm as surprised as anyone."
"Mac helps. It helps that Smith has made it known that he supports us," Don added.
"So Danny was your little dirty secret and now he simply isn't, anymore?" Lindsay asked, confused. "Just like that?"
"I wouldn't think of him like that," Mac said, frowning. "We never wanted him to be a secret."
"Then why was he? We only knew about you and Don."
"Honestly? We were afraid how people would react with us being a threesome." Don shrugged. "Danny was the one that suggested it and, after a lot of arguing between the three of us, we agreed. Every one accepted Mac and I, and thought Danny helped bring us together, so it never looked funny when the three of us left together or went to lunch together."
"We know threesomes aren't common and we didn't want to push people's acceptance of us," Mac continued.
"You could have said something to us," Lindsay said, hurt that they hadn't been trusted. "We're your friends."
"We...I'm sorry guys." Mac hung his head and felt the misery falling back over him. "We should have."
"You're right, you should have," Stella said and then took pity on him. "But, since you didn't, it just means you're going to answer questions and give details at the next bar night."
Mac chuckled lightly. "I suppose that's fair."
"Besides," she added. "Some of us already knew."
"You knew?" Don asked staring at her in shock.
"I'm not a CSI for nothing," She grinned. "But I still wanna hear all the glorious details." She winked at the two of them.
Mac groaned. "Fine. Later." Right now he just wanted to get back to the hospital and remind himself that Danny was still with them and that things would be all right.
~*~*~*~
"I don't want any more damn jello," The raspy voice hissed as they reached his door. "I want some fuckin pizza."
"Mr. Messer, you have to eat or you're never going home," The nurse smiled softly.
"Let me try," Don offered as he walked into the room, followed by Mac.
"Hi," Danny greeted with a smile. "Are you here to spring me yet?"
"Mr. Messer, it's much too early for you to be going home," the nurse protested.
"I wasn't asking you, you'd just give me more jello," he snapped.
Don laughed and dropped a soft kiss into Danny's hair. "Eat up, or you won't get dessert," he ordered.
"This isn't food, it's poison!" Danny answered, but he obediently picked up the spoon again. "What's for dessert?"
Don smiled. "Chocolate on Mac."
Danny's laugh was hoarse but he managed to force down most of the jello before turning his attention back to his lovers.
"How are you feeling?" Mac asked as he brushed the back of Danny's hand with his thumb.
"Like I went ten rounds with Rocky."
"At least you're feeling better," Don replied as he and Mac took the two vacant chairs. "Yesterday you said you felt like you took ten rounds with bus."
"Yeah," Mac added. "And the day before that, it was twelve rounds with Stella."
"You still not remember anything?" Don asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
"Not really. I remember questioning the suspect and I forgot my pen, so I went back in and as I was comin out..." Danny focused on the small memory. "I remember someone callin my name and nothing. The rest is a blur. Like it's there, I just can't grab a hold of it."
Mac smiled softly and leaned forward in his chair, "That's more than you remembered a few days ago. Don't push yourself, okay? It'll come back."
"At least you remember us," Don laughed.
Danny smiled and leaned back in the bed. "You're the reason why I'm here."
Don and Mac took his hands and held them. "And you're the reason we're here," Mac said and smiled. "I love you. I love you two so much."
"Love you too. Love both of you," Danny whispered before he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He wished he could tell them what happened, what Gerrard said but Danny couldn't bring himself to say the words. He felt Mac's lips brush his forehead, followed quickly by Don's and then the soft click of the door closing behind them. Danny opened his tear-filled eyes and stared at the closed door. "I'm sorry."
He rolled on his side and pulled the blankets up to his nose. His eyes burned, but he refused to let the tears fall.
He didn't want to, but he had to admit that Gerrard had been right. Mac and Don deserved someone so much better than him. He was holding them back, he was a risk to them, and he was a disgrace. Mac and Don didn't need him. They would get over him in no time at all, he was sure of that, and go on with their lives. He just had to leave.
It would be for the best.
For all of them.
Then, much like an epiphany, Mac's firm voice assaulted his mind and clouded his thoughts. The memories of Mac and Don when he woke up, their tear stained faces and tired, love-filled eyes staring down at him blurred his vision. Danny blinked back the tears forcefully. He would not let Gerrard win.
He refused.
Danny tightened his jaw and focused his attention on the poison they claimed was dinner and forced himself to finish it. He had already proved so many people wrong. He wasn't going to prove Gerrard right. Besides, if Mac and Don didn't want him, Danny was positive they would have told him long ago; long before they gave him the silver ring he wore around his neck.
They loved him; they had told him so often. He just needed to remember and focus on that. The ring he was wearing was a comfortable weight around his neck that proved how much he meant to them.
And Danny knew that he loved them too. He loved Don and Mac with every fiber of his being, and he would never willingly let them go.
The nurse reappeared a few seconds later to take his empty tray.
"Detective Messer, we thought you had fallen asleep," she commented as she picked up the empty tray and wrote his vitals in his chart.
"I did for a moment. Are Don and Mac still here?"
"Like I could ever get them to leave?" she asked with a laugh. "Would you like for me to send them in?"
"Yes please." She nodded and slipped back out. Danny had to do what he thought was right. He had to tell them, and only then could he be able to heal the emotional wounds that Gerrard had inflicted on him.
Only then would he - would they, all of them - be able to go on with their lives.
No, Danny vowed. Gerrard would not win.
He would not rule their lives.
And that determination gave him the power to smile when Mac and Don came back in. It would be painful, but it would be the end to this. This would be over, and they could go on with their lives.
Just as it should be.
~~End~~
Authors: Kathie, Dee and Ginny macadamianuts
Fandom: CSI:NY
Disclaimer: Not ours, but the fun if the three of us together owned them. *watches everyone flee in terror* *smiles innocently* Captain Smith is our answer to who Mac's boss is and Detective Trevor and his belong to the three of us.
Trio: Mac/Danny/Don
Warnings: Slash, threesome, violence, general season 3 spoilers.
Rating: FRM
Challenge: 10 H/C Fics
Prompt 5: Emotion
Summary: When Danny gets attacked where he should be safest, the manhunt is on
Authors Notes: For Stanley...he's our favorite Plot-o-pi.
~*~*~
The man stumbled through the halls of the brightly lit lab, occasionally clutching the wall for support. He was looking for something, for someone, but he was having trouble remembering what or who. He stopped to catch his breath as a wave of dizziness washed over him, not noticing the bloody handprints that he was leaving behind.
Through hazy vision, he finally spotted what he was looking for. Mac and Don were just around the corner talking with Stella and Lindsay. He started off again at an unsteady pace, ignoring the blackness that was creeping into his vision.
"Mac," he croaked only to remember that he wasn't supposed to draw attention to the three of them at work. It had been his decision, one that neither of the other men was happy with, but it was safer for people to know about two rather than three. Two men together was much easier to accept than three; besides, he had the ring proving their commitment to him hanging on the chain around his neck.
His hope that he hadn't been heard died when all four people looked up and saw him.
"Danny?" Mac asked, worry and concern on his face.
"Nothing, it's nothing," Danny gasped. It was suddenly hard to breathe. And move. And see. His legs collapsed from underneath him and he fell toward the floor, cushioned by Mac and Don who caught him, easing him the rest of the way down. "Sorry," he whispered as he slipped into the beckoning darkness.
Mac instantly jumped into action, grabbing his phone and calling the paramedics as Stella called for Hawkes. He could still see the labored rise and fall of Danny's chest and, at that moment, was the only thing keeping him grounded. He needed to get Danny to the hospital, process the scene, wherever the scene was, and then he could worry.
"What happened?" Sheldon asked as he rushed into the hallway and saw Danny laying at Mac's feet.
"We don't know," Stella answered as she watched the three men on the ground closely. Sheldon nodded and knelt next to Danny.
Mac stole a quick glance at Don as Stella continued to talk to Sheldon, trying to reassure the other man with a soft smile. He would find who did this to their lover. Even if he had to turn New York City upside down, he'd find the person responsible.
"Mac?" There was a quiver in Lindsay voice and she'd wrapped her arms tightly around her chest. Everyone but Sheldon, who was focused on figuring out just how badly Danny had been hurt, looked over at her. "There's a blood trail," she whispered, pointing at the bloody handprints that were on the wall at intervals.
"I'm on it," Stella stood and started down the hallway.
"Right behind you, Stel," Don agreed, catching up to her.
Mac nodded, thankful that the choice had been taken from him, and returned his attention back to Lindsay and Sheldon.
"Hawkes? How bad is it?"
"I don't know, but it's not good," he admitted reluctantly. Danny's left eye was already swollen shut. Sheldon had pushed his shirt up only to be horrified by the vivid bruising that covered his chest. With the bruising as dark as it was, he'd bet a month's salary that not only were there broken ribs, but also internal bleeding. "He needs to get to the hospital."
Mac nodded, keeping his hand wrapped around Danny's wrist. His thumb rubbed soft circles on his wrist as the thready pulse kept him reassured that Danny was still with them.
He finally let go of Danny as the paramedics arrived.
"Hawkes, ride with him and bring any trace back."
"On it Mac," Sheldon agreed and ran after Danny.
"You okay?" Lindsay asked once they were alone.
"Grab your kit, we need to process everything Danny touched before he fell," Mac said instead, ignoring her question.
"Detective Taylor, I think-"
"I really don't care," Mac interrupted as he turned to face Captain Smith.
Smith smiled, "I was going to say, before you interrupted me, I think you might need an extra hand." He said pulling on a pair of gloves. Mac stared, it wasn't often his supervisor helped. This had to be bigger than he initially thought.
Danny, NYPD officer and CSI had been attacked somewhere in his lab. Mac shuddered to think of the implications and what was going to happen when they caught who was responsible. Because they would catch him. And he would pay, Mac would make sure of that.
Deliberately, he forced his thoughts away from the fact that it was Danny who had been hurt. He had to concentrate on the facts, stop thinking of the victim as his friend, his lover, and work the evidence. He would catch whoever did this to the younger man, and if it was the last thing he did. Letting the person who did this get away because of procedure mistakes was not an option. They would get that guy, and when they put him behind bars, he would stay there.
Mac took a deep breath. Now was not the time to worry. Now was the time to act.
"I want photographs of everything Lindsay," Mac said calmly. "We're going to need samples of every smear and handprint to prove that they're Danny's." He ignored the pain that the statement caused. "Stella and Don are looking for where this took place. Adam!" he summoned the tech who, like all of the others, was unashamedly watching.
"Yes sir?"
"This whole area needs to be cleared. I want everyone evacuated from this floor and guards posted to keep anyone from coming back and trying to destroy any incriminating evidence."
"You want me to help guard?" Adam asked in surprise.
"No, I want you to call Maka, Scagnetti, and Angell. Have them get something organized."
He hadn't even finished the sentence when Maka walked towards him, a dark expression on her face.
"Mac. Flack called us, what happened?" she asked, businesslike, but Mac knew that it was just a mask, like his own. Maka and Danny were good friends, and the fact that she was the first detective to make it to the lab spoke volumes.
Before he could answer her, his cell phone rang. "Talk to me Stella," he ordered briskly.
"Mac, we found the original scene," Stella said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
"Where?" He barked.
"You're not going to like this."
"Stella," He warned.
"In front of the interrogation rooms. It's bad Mac. I'm surprised he's still alive." She finished in a whisper.
Mac felt his throat tighten up. "Secure the scene, bag and tag everything," he said. "We don't want this one to get away."
Stella didn't answer, but she didn't need to. It was clear that the whole crime lab would work this case.
Today, no other crime in New York mattered.
He heard Smith behind him, barking orders to Detective Trevor and demanding the night shift to come in and help with the investigation. Time was what mattered now. They needed to work this as fast, and as accurately, as possible.
"Where is the original scene Mac?" Smith asked.
"Near the interrogation rooms," Mac said flatly, struggling to keep the anger that filled him from erupting.
Lindsay gasped in surprise. Until then she'd held onto the slightest thread of hope that it hadn't happened in the building, that Danny had been outside and somehow made it up to them. "But that means ...." she trailed off, horrified by the confirmation.
"It was one of us," Smith finished for her. Mac nodded and squared his jaw.
"I'm going to help Stella," Mac said, looking at Smith and picked up his kit. At the slight nod, he walked past them and out of their sight.
Once he was sure he was far enough away, Mac's steps faltered and he clutched the wall. He knew that if it was a fellow cop he'd have a hard time keeping Don from ripping the guy's head off. Unless he did it first. He needed to get to Stella and determine how bad the scene really was.
He clenched his teeth and took several deep breaths. He had to stay calm. It wouldn't help anyone if he didn't get himself back under control.
Only when he could finally unclench his fists did he move again. He could do this. He had to do this. He had to keep everyone organized or it would all fall apart. Everyone was watching him to see how to handle this. For Danny and for Don, who was going to take this hard no matter what, he could stay calm.
"Talk to me Stella," he ordered as he stepped around the corner and then froze as he saw the extent of what had happened.
It looked like a scene from one of those horror movies Danny made them watch every year at Halloween. Blood smeared the floor, walls and ceiling before two separate, distinct sets of foot prints headed off in different directions. One heading the way he came, which Mac assumed was Danny's, and the other heading farther into the precinct.
"I had a feeling you'd be down here," she said calmly but Mac could feel the underlying tension in her posture.
"Where's Don?"
"He went that way," she pointed in the direction of the second set of footprints.
"Anyone go with him?" Mac asked as he pulled his weapon and carefully stepped over the drying pools of blood.
"No but he was calling for backup as he left."
Mac nodded grimly. He was fairly sure that Don hadn't called for backup for himself, but to secure the scene.
"I'm going after him."
"I know." Stella's eyes were sympathetic. "Be careful."
"Of course," Mac replied, his mind already focused on finding Don and whomever Don was chasing.
He rounded the corner and saw Don leaning around the corner of the far wall.
"Don!" He half-whispered, half-yelled as he quickened his steps and caught up to the other man.
His lover was unnaturally pale, his hands were clenched in tight fists. Mac watched as he swallowed repeatedly. Carefully he settled a hand against Don's shoulder, and when Don flinched from his touch, he gripped tightly. "We'll get him through this, and we will find out who did this to him," he promised hoarsely. "You hear me, Don?"
"I'm going to kill whoever did this," Don said, his voice quivering in anger. "I am going to rip them apart and kill them."
"Me too," Mac whispered. He clenched Don's shoulder again before taking a step back. "But first we have to find them."
Don took a deep breath and nodded once, his mask snapping back into place.
Within seconds, he was no longer the worried lover, but the professional cop. "Trail leads this way," he pointed out and shook his head. "You comin'?"
"Yes," Mac answered immediately. As they followed the trail through the now nearly deserted police station with their guns drawn, it struck Mac about how wrong the scene was. They were in a place filled with cops, it should have been one of the safest, most secure, most watched places there was.
He looked up and realized what he should have thought of immediately.
"Don?"
"Yeah?"
"Surveillance tapes."
"On it," Don replied, pulling out his cell phone. After a few barked orders, which under any other circumstance Mac would have found extremely sexy, Don snapped his phone back shut and continued down the hallway. "Maka's on it."
"Good."
They followed the bloody footprints in silence, until they suddenly, abruptly, in the middle of the floor, stopped.
"Damn!" Don hissed.
It was impossible to tell if their suspect had stepped out of his shoes or if the trail had been rubbed away by the foot traffic. Possibly both, Mac mused and that helped them not at all.
"We'll luminal the hallway, that might help," he said. He reached reflexively for his kit only to realize that he'd left it next to Stella.
"Shit," he muttered under his breath. Looking around, he discovered exactly where they were. In the middle of the bullpen, and standing right next to Don's desk. "Shit," he repeated.
"One of us?" Don asked in disbelief. "I kept tryin to tell myself that it was a suspect but..." Don trailed off as they tried to figure out which way to go.
With a sinking feeling, Mac realized something else. "This is your desk," he said. "Don ... this is your desk. The trail leads directly to your desk."
"I didn't do it. Mac, you know I wouldn't do something like that. I love him," Don protested hotly.
"Don," Mac soothed. "I know."
Don let out a deep sigh. Of course Mac would know that he would never, ever do something like that.
"We'll forget the fact that you've been with me for the last four hours, and I see two possible ways this could go."
"Someone's trying to frame me."
Mac nodded, "Or they know about us, or at least you and Danny, and are rubbing it in."
"We need to call Shel and see how Danny's doin," Don said as he rubbed a hand over his face. "If he's awake, maybe he can give us a name."
Mac nodded, still trying to wrap his head around the idea of someone of their own trying to frame Don for a crime.
"I still have to check your shoes," he said softly. "We both know that you were with me, but it's still your desk..."
Don shook his head. "You can't. Not unless someone else is here to confirm it. Whoever it is will say you tainted the evidence to clear me."
Mac nodded and reached for his phone. "Richard, the trail ended and I need you to come down here. I'm in front of Flack's desk with him...yes sir, the trail ending in front of Flack's desk... Yes, we'll wait." Mac closed his phone. "Smith is on his way down."
Don nodded and carefully stepped away from his desk to pace a few steps away. "Who would want to do this to him?" he asked. "Who would attack him like this?"
"I don't know," Mac admitted.
"I do," Stella told them, startling both men with her sudden appearance.
"Who?" Mac asked as Smith came around the corner also.
"Did you find something?" He asked.
"The trail stops here. I cannot check Don's shoes without someone present," Mac explained, careful to stay formal.
Smith nodded. "Detective Flack, have a seat please."
Don nodded and took a seat, lifting his legs so Smith could see the souls of his shoes. A quick test later determined Don's shoes were clean. "You should check my desk also, just to be safe." Don stated.
"What did you find out, Stella?" Smith asked as he stepped over to Don's desk and started looking.
Stella smiled grimly. "You won't like it," she warned.
"Stella," Mac and Smith both growled.
"It's a theory, but I have witnesses to back up the threat that was made to Danny."
"And your theory is?" Smith prompted as he looked under Don's desk.
"Gerrard."
The sound of Smith's head hitting Don's desk echoed through the empty room. "Ouch!" he swore loudly and stood. "Flack, I don't see anything here. I've gotta go check in with Maka. If Stella is right..." He trailed off with a satisfied smirk and quickly walked away from the three stunned detectives.
"Why do I think this is about to get very ugly?" Stella asked.
"Because it's already ugly," Don sniped.
Mac swore he could feel the headache forming. "I want those videotapes in the A/V lab and I want an update from Hawkes within the next five minutes. Choose your tasks," he ordered.
"On my way," Don snapped his fingers and darted out of the room. Stella wiped out her phone and called Hawkes.
Mac rubbed his temples and wondered exactly what Alex Gerrard had against Danny. He could not remember the younger man ever doing anything to the captain. Closing his eyes against the suddenly too bright room, Mac swore he'd rip Gerrard to shreds if was the one behind what had happened to Danny.
"Mac..." Smith hesitated. "We don't know for sure that it was him," he pointed out quietly. "Don't jump to conclusions here, okay? Wait for the results to come back."
"I always follow the evidence," Mac reminded him sharply. "And if it proves that he attacked one of my men...." He let the unspoken threat hang in the air and stalked back toward the elevator.
He found Lindsay photographing the scene while Scagnetti watched, moving rulers and numbers where she instructed.
"Lindsay, you don't have to do this," he told her, noticing that she looked green. If he'd had any idea of the extent of the scene, he swallowed heavily, he never would have had her there.
"It's for Danny, I do," she contradicted quietly.
Mac nodded, understanding Lindsay's reasoning and walked past them, continuing on his way to the A/V lab.
"Don?" He asked walking into the room.
"It's him," Don stated, slamming his open hands against the desk. "It's all on tape, Mac. He ambushed Danny outside of the interrogation rooms. Didn't even give Danny a chance to fight back. My own fucking Captain." Don shook his head and blinked back the tears.
Mac swallowed against the tightness in his throat. He didn't want to, but he knew he had to. "Show me," he ordered softly.
Adam started to protest but stopped, realizing that it would be pointless. With a resigned shrug he pressed play just as Captain Smith joined them.
Mac felt the bile rise in his throat as Danny walked out of the second interrogation room and Gerrard walked up behind him, yelling something none of the men could figure out. As Danny turned, Gerrard started hitting him, with what appeared to be a baseball bat. Danny went down quickly, too surprised by the attack to fight back or defend himself.
"We need to find that bat," Mac whispered as he watched Danny struggle to get to his feet after Gerrard walked away and stagger out of frame.
Adam coughed uncomfortably. "Did you..." he started and stopped as soon as everyone's attention turned towards him. "I mean..."
"Adam," Mac managed, despite everything, to appear calm and encouraging, although Don knew that he was most likely frustrated enough to take Adam by the lapels of his labcoat and shake him to get him to talk.
Adam shrugged. "Locker room?" he suggested. "I know that...I mean, some of us saw him...there...at your locker, always..." he stopped and looked at Mac with wide eyes. "We didn't think anything..." he stopped. "God..."
Mac shook his head. "Thanks, Adam," he said quietly, before turning around and leaving the room without a glance back.
"Stella!" Mac snapped, spotting the woman down the hall. "You're with me."
She nodded and fell into step next to him. "Where are we going?"
"I think Gerrard stashed the weapon in my locker," he said calmly as he slammed open the doors to the locker room.
"What?" she asked, doing a double take. "Why would he do that?"
"I don't know," he said shortly as he started fingerprinting his locker.
"Unless he's been stalking you, there's no way he knows about --"
"Stella," he cut her off sharply, "I really don't want to discuss theories at the moment."
"You don't want to be caught by surprise when we start questioning him."
Mac sighed deeply as the throbbing in his head got worse. "Not now Stella, please?"
"One more question," she promised as she lifted the first set of prints for the locker. "How did he think he'd get away with it? Danny will be able to name him when he wakes up."
Mac swallowed heavily, remember the ferocity of the blows. "He wasn't supposed to wake up."
"And what about the surveillance tapes that clearly show him trying to kill Danny?" Stella pointed out darkly.
"I don't...I don't know Stella. I just want to find Gerrard and figure out why he attempted to kill Danny." He stopped suddenly and glared at her. "I thought you called Hawkes?"
"I did. He was in surgery and all they could tell me was that he was hanging on," she said quietly.
"Why didn't you say something?"
"Because we were focused on figuring out that it was Gerrard. I didn't think we needed the distraction."
Mac shook his head. "I don't get it," he admitted softly. "Why? Why Danny? Why now? Why?"
Stella knew that he wouldn't allow to show these emotions in front of anyone else, not while they were still working this scene. She also knew that technically, they should let another team work it, since they all were involved, but she also knew that they wouldn't step back and let them. Danny was one of them. He deserved the best CSIs in the city to investigate this, and the best team was still them.
She squeezed Mac's shoulder for a brief moment. She didn't have an answer to his question, but she knew that they also didn't have time for them now.
Later, she promised herself.
After they got Captain Alex F. B. Gerrard.
"Let's get these prints back to Adam. I'll have Lindsay go to the hopsital and collect the trace Sheldon lifted from Danny. We'll get him," She vowed and ushered him out of the room. Once the door was closed, she snapped on a fresh pair of gloves and carefully opened Mac's locker. With a painfilled sigh, she pulled the bat out and dropped it into a large evidence bag.
She couldn't think about the blood on the bat, she had to focus on getting the evidence to Adam so there was no doubt Gerrard did this. There wasn't room for doubt.
"That's the weapon?" Adam asked as Stella handed him the evidence bag. He swallowed hard, looking a little green.
"Yes."
"Okay. I'll have the results back to you as soon as possible," he promised.
"By the book Adam. He knows procedure as well as we do and I don't want him getting off on a technicality."
"Don't worry Stella," he promised, looking grim. Gerrard wasn't going to get away because of him.
She nodded and picked up her cellphone when it started ringing. "It's Hawkes," she said and did her best to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach.
"Tell me good news," She begged.
*"He's outta surgery and they're taking him to ICU now."* Sheldon's voice assured her, sounding extremely tired.
"How is he?"
*"They don't know. The doctors were able to stop the internal bleeding and get him patched up. Right now, we wait and see how strong his will to live is,"* Sheldon replied.
"What are his chances?" She whispered.
*"Not good."* She could tell he was shaking his head and trying to keep his composure. *"Not good at all but if he makes it through the night..."*
"Okay. I've got Lindsay on her way down to collect the trace."
*"Thanks."* Sheldon replied and ended the call.
"How is he?" Mac asked from the doorway.
She hesitated, not sure how to answer.
"That bad?" he whispered.
"I'm sorry Mac."
He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white as he tried to keep the rage that was flooding him under control.
"He will get through this, Mac," Stella promised. "And by the time he wakes up, Gerrard will be rotting in hell. Or prison. Whichever comes first."
"Hell," Mac forced out between clenched teeth.
"No. Calm down, Mac. I can't sit back and let you do something to destroy this case. Gerrard knows how we work and you have to seperate your emotions from this. If only for a bit longer."
Mac nodded once and turned just as Adam rushed up behind him.
"Got the results."
"So soon?"
"It's Danny," Adam shrugged. "I don't have any thing else on my desk right now as important. He'd do the same for me."
Mac smiled softly, "Yes, he would. What does it say Adam?" He asked, his voice suddenly tired.
"Gerrard's epithelials are on the handle and knob of the bat. In combination with Danny's blood on the barrel and the fact that it wasn't completely dry, it proves that this was the weapon used to try to ki-- to beat him," he finished.
"That isn't enough," Mac sighed. "It only proves that he touched the bat...not that he did it..."
"And we got his fingerprints on your locker. If we can only find the bastard-" Adam blushed, "I mean, if we can only find him we can check his shoe size. Don's feet are too big to have made those footprints."
Mac stood, "We're finding him now. Right now." He stormed out of the room, pushing Adam out of his way.
Of course, that was easier said than done.
"What do you mean you can't find him?" Mac snarled at Scagnetti.
"The last time I saw him he was organizing the chaos that the evac caused. He supposed to be overseeing the temporary set up but he's not there."
Mac swallowed. "But where can he be?" he thought out loud.
Scagnetti shrugged. "If he found out that we're after him...he probably tries to leave the city."
"Or cleans up behind him," Stella added. She paled. "Oh fuck. Danny..."
Stella immediately pulled out her phone and called Sheldon as they ran out of the building. Mac refused to listen to her as he grabbed Smith and Don on their way past and loaded the entire team, all five of them, into the SUV.
"What's going on?" Don asked.
"We think Gerrard's going after Danny," Mac explained.
"Move over, I'm drivin'," Smith replied with a dangerous smirk and took the keys from Mac.
They arrived at the hospital in record time. Smith stopped at the curb in front of the building, slamming the car into park and they all jumped out, ignoring the shouts for car to be moved.
They ran into the hospital, badges out. Smith and Mac each had their weapon drawn, but the others only kept their hand on the handles.
As they rushed through the halls, it occurred to Lindsay that they knew the layout of the hospital too well. They had definitely spent too much time visiting injured teammembers here.
Hushed whispers and insisting beeping greeted them when they finally came close to their destination.
The first sign that something had gone wrong was the dark skinned body lying motionless on the floor, gun still in his hand.
"Hawkes!" Lindsay gasped when she saw the puddle of blood under him. "Oh God..."
"Go! Get the doctor," Stella ordered her as they split up, two of them on one side of the door and the other two slipping around to the other side. Lindsay nodded and quickly disappeared from sight.
"Freeze!" Smith called out as he looked around the corner and took the first glance into Danny's room, gun pointed at Gerrard's head.
Gerrard whirled around, growling when he saw the four detectives.
"You're not going to stop me. You don't want to stop me because you know that I'm going the right thing. He's a disgrace to the uniform."
"No," Don growled and took a step closer to catch a glimpse of Danny's seemingly lifeless body. "You're the disgrace."
Gerrard snorted. "Shut up, Flack. I let your behaviour go by because of your father...but this one?" His gun pointed straight at Danny's forehead. "Nobody will come to his funeral."
He laughed. "He doesn't deserve to be a cop. NYPD should get rid of all these corrupt and disgraceful people."
A single shot rang out.
~~~
One week later, Mac shivered and wrapped his coat tighter around himself as he looked over the cemetery and the fresh, open grave in front of him.
"I should feel some sort of guilt but I don't," Mac shook his head. "I still don't know why you did it and I never will."
"You okay?" Don asked as he walked up behind Mac.
"Yes. Danny doing better?"
"Yeah, he threatened to have the jello tested for poison." Don laughed lightly and kicked at a clump of dirt. "You did what you had to."
"I know."
"It was a clean shot. Even Smith backed you up on it," Don pulled him from Gerrard's grave and towards the rest of their team.
Mac slowly allowed the rest of the team to pull him out of his silence. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about events of the week before. But Danny was recovering better than they had hoped and things were slowly returning to normal.
Hawkes waited for him by his car. He had a bandage around his head, and Mac knew that he was still on painkillers. Gerrard had shot him, luckily it was just a graze. They had all been very very lucky that day...it just as easily could have turned out differently, Mac thought with a small shudder.
"Mac...I'm sorry," Hawkes said as soon as Mac stood in front of him. "I'm sorry I couldn't..." He broke off and shook his head. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect him. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," Mac assured him. "You couldn't have known that he was try something like that." No, the truth is it was Mac's fault. Danny was his, his employee, teammate and lover. He should have protected him better.
"Stop it," Don ordered softly from behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault either." He forced himself to smile. "Come on, Mac, do I need to tell Stella to kick your ass?"
Mac chuckled weakly. He could always trust his lovers to know what he was thinking.
"Should you be up, doc?" Don continued, but he didn't pull his hand away from Mac's shoulder while he did.
"I have clearance for the funeral," Sheldon promised. Unlike most of his teammates, he really did listen to what the doctors said. And, if he didn't agree with them, he had experience to back up his arguments.
"And only the funeral," Stella reminded him as she and Lindsay joined the three men. "Which means it's time for us to be moving along."
Hawkes smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You're the boss," he answered with a half-shrug.
"And don't forget it!" Stella teased back. "Let's go." She turned towards Don and Mac. "What are you going to do now?"
"We're heading back to the hospital," Don answered. "Gotta keep Danny entertained or he'll drive the nurses crazy."
"You're just afraid they're going to snatch him away from you," Lindsay teased.
Stella laughed at their horrified expression before explaining: "Actually, I meant in the long run. The whole lab now knows about you three...maybe even all cops? What are you going to do about that?"
"Nothing," Mac answered.
"Nothing?" Lindsay repeated, surprised.
"Almost everyone has been very supportive. I'm as surprised as anyone."
"Mac helps. It helps that Smith has made it known that he supports us," Don added.
"So Danny was your little dirty secret and now he simply isn't, anymore?" Lindsay asked, confused. "Just like that?"
"I wouldn't think of him like that," Mac said, frowning. "We never wanted him to be a secret."
"Then why was he? We only knew about you and Don."
"Honestly? We were afraid how people would react with us being a threesome." Don shrugged. "Danny was the one that suggested it and, after a lot of arguing between the three of us, we agreed. Every one accepted Mac and I, and thought Danny helped bring us together, so it never looked funny when the three of us left together or went to lunch together."
"We know threesomes aren't common and we didn't want to push people's acceptance of us," Mac continued.
"You could have said something to us," Lindsay said, hurt that they hadn't been trusted. "We're your friends."
"We...I'm sorry guys." Mac hung his head and felt the misery falling back over him. "We should have."
"You're right, you should have," Stella said and then took pity on him. "But, since you didn't, it just means you're going to answer questions and give details at the next bar night."
Mac chuckled lightly. "I suppose that's fair."
"Besides," she added. "Some of us already knew."
"You knew?" Don asked staring at her in shock.
"I'm not a CSI for nothing," She grinned. "But I still wanna hear all the glorious details." She winked at the two of them.
Mac groaned. "Fine. Later." Right now he just wanted to get back to the hospital and remind himself that Danny was still with them and that things would be all right.
~*~*~*~
"I don't want any more damn jello," The raspy voice hissed as they reached his door. "I want some fuckin pizza."
"Mr. Messer, you have to eat or you're never going home," The nurse smiled softly.
"Let me try," Don offered as he walked into the room, followed by Mac.
"Hi," Danny greeted with a smile. "Are you here to spring me yet?"
"Mr. Messer, it's much too early for you to be going home," the nurse protested.
"I wasn't asking you, you'd just give me more jello," he snapped.
Don laughed and dropped a soft kiss into Danny's hair. "Eat up, or you won't get dessert," he ordered.
"This isn't food, it's poison!" Danny answered, but he obediently picked up the spoon again. "What's for dessert?"
Don smiled. "Chocolate on Mac."
Danny's laugh was hoarse but he managed to force down most of the jello before turning his attention back to his lovers.
"How are you feeling?" Mac asked as he brushed the back of Danny's hand with his thumb.
"Like I went ten rounds with Rocky."
"At least you're feeling better," Don replied as he and Mac took the two vacant chairs. "Yesterday you said you felt like you took ten rounds with bus."
"Yeah," Mac added. "And the day before that, it was twelve rounds with Stella."
"You still not remember anything?" Don asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
"Not really. I remember questioning the suspect and I forgot my pen, so I went back in and as I was comin out..." Danny focused on the small memory. "I remember someone callin my name and nothing. The rest is a blur. Like it's there, I just can't grab a hold of it."
Mac smiled softly and leaned forward in his chair, "That's more than you remembered a few days ago. Don't push yourself, okay? It'll come back."
"At least you remember us," Don laughed.
Danny smiled and leaned back in the bed. "You're the reason why I'm here."
Don and Mac took his hands and held them. "And you're the reason we're here," Mac said and smiled. "I love you. I love you two so much."
"Love you too. Love both of you," Danny whispered before he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He wished he could tell them what happened, what Gerrard said but Danny couldn't bring himself to say the words. He felt Mac's lips brush his forehead, followed quickly by Don's and then the soft click of the door closing behind them. Danny opened his tear-filled eyes and stared at the closed door. "I'm sorry."
He rolled on his side and pulled the blankets up to his nose. His eyes burned, but he refused to let the tears fall.
He didn't want to, but he had to admit that Gerrard had been right. Mac and Don deserved someone so much better than him. He was holding them back, he was a risk to them, and he was a disgrace. Mac and Don didn't need him. They would get over him in no time at all, he was sure of that, and go on with their lives. He just had to leave.
It would be for the best.
For all of them.
Then, much like an epiphany, Mac's firm voice assaulted his mind and clouded his thoughts. The memories of Mac and Don when he woke up, their tear stained faces and tired, love-filled eyes staring down at him blurred his vision. Danny blinked back the tears forcefully. He would not let Gerrard win.
He refused.
Danny tightened his jaw and focused his attention on the poison they claimed was dinner and forced himself to finish it. He had already proved so many people wrong. He wasn't going to prove Gerrard right. Besides, if Mac and Don didn't want him, Danny was positive they would have told him long ago; long before they gave him the silver ring he wore around his neck.
They loved him; they had told him so often. He just needed to remember and focus on that. The ring he was wearing was a comfortable weight around his neck that proved how much he meant to them.
And Danny knew that he loved them too. He loved Don and Mac with every fiber of his being, and he would never willingly let them go.
The nurse reappeared a few seconds later to take his empty tray.
"Detective Messer, we thought you had fallen asleep," she commented as she picked up the empty tray and wrote his vitals in his chart.
"I did for a moment. Are Don and Mac still here?"
"Like I could ever get them to leave?" she asked with a laugh. "Would you like for me to send them in?"
"Yes please." She nodded and slipped back out. Danny had to do what he thought was right. He had to tell them, and only then could he be able to heal the emotional wounds that Gerrard had inflicted on him.
Only then would he - would they, all of them - be able to go on with their lives.
No, Danny vowed. Gerrard would not win.
He would not rule their lives.
And that determination gave him the power to smile when Mac and Don came back in. It would be painful, but it would be the end to this. This would be over, and they could go on with their lives.
Just as it should be.
~~End~~