Part 9a/14 of What Danny Deserves, CSI:NY fic
Series: What Danny Deserves
Title: Hangovers and Hang-ons
Rating: PG-13 for excessive alcohol consumption, and more drugs references and consumption, foolish boys.
Summary: Mac, Adam and Don celebrate. Hard. And regret it.
Warnings: drunken stupidity and embarrassing hangovers. Then some serious stuff. I’m sorry
Wordcount: 5550 (split again)
Author’s Note: I feel a little guilty for getting Don, Adam and Mac’s hopes up. As well as yours. But please, don’t give up hope.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but I just had to tell this story. No money is being made.
part one: suspicion
part two: potential crime scene
part three: witness statements
part four: modus operandi
part five: interactions
part six a: failed interventions I
part six b: failed interventions I
part seven: failed interventions II
part eight a: emergency
part eight b: emergency
Hangovers and Hang-ons
Adam and Mac wait in the relatives’ room whilst Hawkes watches over the nurses and doctors as the prod and poke Danny over his miraculous recovery and conduct numerous tests, as if they won’t be satisfied until they find something wrong with him.
“Mac, can you just stop pacing!” Adam yells before realising he just ordered his boss to stay still and he winces a little. Mac stays still for a second before he starts pacing again.
“You heard what I heard right?” Mac looks to Adam for confirmation.
“Mac, Danny had just come out of a week-long coma-“
“Yeah, but he was lucid, he was coherent. Do you really think he meant it?” Mac asks Adam hopefully, hands tapping against his sides.
“I think he wants to be a cop and living with you is a good way for him to do that again.” Adam replies, rolling his eyes at Mac’s grin. “You know, you’re scary when you’re happy.” Adam notes. The Mac’s grin grows as he snaps his fingers and bounces a little on his feet.
“I should tell Don!”
“Huh?” Adam blinks, his mind a little foggy and spinning from all of Mac’s pacing.
“He thinks Danny is dead. I’ve got to tell him the good news.” Mac’s almost out of the door in the microsecond it takes for Adam to comprehend the words.
“How are you gonna find him?” Adam calls out and Mac actually stays still long enough to give Adam a glare.
“Adam, where have we spent the last six months, moping about Danny and drinking ourselves into a stupor?”
“Are we really that pathetic? At least with Danny we used to go to other bars.” Adam reflects.
“If you need me, we’ll be at Sullivans.” Mac grins before running, although Adam will call it skipping, off. Adam rubs his eyes and sinks back into his chair.
*****
“Hey.” Mac nods over at Don who is sitting at the bar, whisky in hand. Mac joins him, trying to keep his face straight. Don doesn’t acknowledge him. Mac orders his own drink. “Y’know, Danny’s not dead.” Mac can’t say the words without smiling.
“What?” Don’s already half-way to drunk.
“It was amazing, they disconnected him from the ventilator, I thought he was gone for sure but he just woke up. He woke up and called for me. He said he’d move in with me Don!” Mac enthuses.
“I didn’t get a word of that Mac.” Don slurs, trying to figure out if he’s way more drunk than he thought or if Mac really is that hyperactive.
“Danny’s not dead!” Mac shouts, loud enough so everybody in the bar can hear. There’s a loud cheer which makes Don’s head ring.
“Danny’s not dead?” Don questions, knowing the answer by Mac’s smile.
“He’s breathing on his own; he’s speaking; he was able to recognise me.” Mac takes a big gulp of his drink, wincing at the bitterness but still buzzing with excitement. “He’s agreed to move in with me. I’m going to be able to protect him. He’s going to be fine. He’s going to be safe. I’ll make sure of it.” All the while Mac is rambling, Don slowly starts to smile.
“I think we need to order some more drinks.” Don grins. The bartender gives them a jug of red fruity stuff. “Cocktails?” Don raises an eyebrow.
“On the house.” The bartender laughs at Don’s disgusted expression as he tries some. “Yeah, it may be sweet enough to rot your teeth but it’ll get you drunk and keep you awake so you guys can keep ordering drinks.”
*****
A few hours later, Carlos the barman regrets that decision and knows who to call for back-up. He calls Sheldon first but gets no answer, and then he remembers Danny and knows Sheldon will be busy Doctoring. He should have realised sooner except it’s been a long shift. He takes a deep breath and dry swallows some painkillers.
“Hey, Adam, it’s Carlos here. I may have done something stupid and I’m not sure I can handle the fallout. Please hurry buddy.”
*****
Adam finds Carlos outside Sullivans, smoking the first cigarette he’s had in over a decade.
“Mac and Don?” Adam asks anxiously. Carl shakes his head.
“They’re in there. They’re fine. They’re not even trouble for the most part, but you know how you guys are usually and it is Mac who looks after you, but Mac’s been downing drinks without even questioning what’s in them: Red Bull, artificial sweeteners, colourful dyes, that on top of the alcohol and it is going to get crazy.”
“You gave him sugar? He was already crazy hyper over Danny!” Adam exclaims.
“I’ve never seen Mac like that before, I thought he could handle it, but with Don egging him on... they’re fine at the moment, even coherent but it’s still weird and I just wanted you here in case it gets messy.”
“I wish Danny was here.” Adam cries. “But I guess that’s kind of the point.” Adam takes a deep breath, and heads inside.
Where Mac is giggling.
*****
“I’ll have a cola red bull please.” Adam sighs, a few feet from Mac and Don.
“You sure you don’t want anything stronger, sweetie?” Doris asks. Adam shakes his head.
“One of us needs to be sober.” Adam replies. Mac tilts his head, recognising that voice. He looks over and sees Adam, then rushes over to him and pulls him into a bone-crushing hug.
“You sure about that?” Doris grins, before moving on to serve another customer. As Mac and Don talk Adam's ear off, about sports and odds and other stuff that Adam can’t decipher, he’s a little worried he’s going to get drunk off the fumes coming out of Don and Mac's mouths.
“I’m gonna take a leak, you guys can behave yourselves until I get back, can’t you?” Adam asks. The grin Mac gives him doesn’t do anything to assure him. Adam heads into the restroom, lamenting a lack of window big enough for him to escape out of.
“Hey Mac, I’ve been thinking,” Don nudges Mac.
“Uhoh!”
“Nah, nah, this ain't bad." Don turns serious. "I think I need your help, but only if you promise not to arrest anyone.”
“That’s a strange promise.”
“Danny’s friends are strange people.” Don replies. “And just because Danny knows the difference between a criminal and a good person who has to break the law to survive, it don’t mean they’re not high maintenance. I’ve had three suicides and four felonies committed just because I’m not Danny.”
“What are you supposed to do?”
“I don’t know. Whatever Danny does. I don’t know how to help these people. They need money, they need support, they need time, and I can’t afford to give it to them.”
“Are they dangerous?” Mac asks.
“They’re desperate.” Don replies. “And there’s just so many of them.”
“How do you know?”
“Danny mailed me a book, about eight months ago, took me ages to decipher his graffiti hand-writing. It was a list of names, addresses, contact numbers and a brief description of who they are to him, why Danny cares, how they need help, why they deserve it. You’ve got everything from rape victims to manic depressives in there. Hundred of names, I can’t help them all.”
“And you tried to? By yourself?”
“These people, they act out, they make themselves sick, they’re bullied, they commit petty crimes. I can’t bring any of my police friends in on this, they’d just arrest them. Sheldon knows, he tries to help but these kinds of people often have no insurance, they slip through the cracks and even Sheldon only has two hands. I would have asked Adam, but some of these kids have abusive parents, adults whose OCD has gotten out of control, people who are starving because they send all they have away so their families can eat. I don’t want Adam to see that.”
“You should have asked me.” Adam tells Don, rather angrily, much to Mac’s surprise. “That book he mailed you, did it look anything like this?” Adam pulls out a tattered leather bound notebook from his jacket pocket. “Yours probably has a few more names in it, he gave me this three years ago. I have an electrical updated copy but this one still has sentimental value. Danny trusted me, it’s nice to know you feel the same.” Adam bites.
“It’s not like that.” Mac defends. “Don was only trying to protect you, and he’s been keeping this from me too.”
“Danny’s not an idiot, he knows you can’t save the world on your own. He helps people, he helps people and makes them want to help other people, kind of like a pay it forward deal, even though I know he’s never seen that movie. You haven’t protected me, you’ve just let others suffer because you were too proud to ask for help-“
“No offence Adam, but how the hell are you gonna help?”
“They way I’ve helped since the start. Talking teenage kids into going home because they’ve spent all their money on internet cafes, talking to people online, keeping them at their keyboards when they’re angry, or upset, setting up bank accounts for people, tagging NYC with Danny’s sig, giving people hope, sometime’s it’s enough, just knowing he cares. I’m not completely useless Don.”
“These are alot of names.” Mac remarks, leafing through the book.
“That’s not all of them. I know all of Danny’s friends, even meet some of the more well-adjusted ones face to face. Even play with little Stevie online and he’s settling into LA nicely, Danny’s friends are looking after him. I even know Danny’s friends in LA and I trust them.”
“Danny has friends in LA?” Don questions.
“Danny has friends everywhere. People he befriends in New York, they move on, he still stays in touch. But most of the people Danny hangs with are New Yorkers, born and bred, can’t imagine any other home. Like that chick from the theatre place, the one you hate Don because she’s his best friend.”
“Danny has other sane friends?” Mac smirks.
“Looking at you guys, I think she’s his only sane friend, but Don drove her away. I’m not even sure if she knows about Danny, she’d have never let it get this far.”
“This mystery woman have a name?” Mac asks, partly curious, partly bitter.
“Yeah, Melanie Capes.” Adam smiles fondly. “She stopped seeing Danny, even after she won that catfight Don started over him. She’d slipped my mind, I’ll send her a text, we’ll have to meet up some time, introduce her to you Mac. I know she’d love to see you again Don, I even promise she won’t gloat over kicking your ass that night.”
“You were beaten by a girl?” Mac smirks, trying hard not to laugh.
“She ain’t a girl!” Don retorts, rubbing his chin as he remembers the bruise Melanie gave him.
“Hey Don, do you want to arm wrestle?” Mac teases, rolling up his sleeves. Don look at him, challengingly.
******
Somehow, somewhere, they’ve managed to get hold of some paper and Adam watches as Mac and Don concentrate, to see who can make the best aeroplane. Their faces are akin to a child playing a video game, brainless yet focussed. When they both have something which vaguely recalls an aeroplane they decide to fly them. Not such a good idea.
They fly remarkably well considering they were constructed by two drunken men, but that doesn’t mean they fly straight: they end up smashing into people’s eyes, dropping into people’s beer and Adam is rather terrified there’s gonna be a fight but as soon as the regulars realise it’s Mac, they just rub their eyes and continue drinking. Thankfully.
After about five minutes of flying and retrieval, one of Don’s planes comes to rest on a beam, twenty feet up. Don’s determined to get it.
“Don, don’t be stupid, you remember what happened last time you tried swinging from the beams?” Adam tries to talk some sense into him.
“But this time, I’m not the blue fairy, this time I’m a cat!” Don replies, standing up on the table.
“Mac, he’s talking nonsense, please.” Adam turn to Mac, knowing he’s got the authority to make him stop.
“You can do it Don, you get that plane!” Mac enthuses. And Adam watches through his fingers as Don clambers on top of tables and chairs, before leaping, managing to push the aeroplane free but he can’t grip onto the beams and he falls. Adam rushes over to him, Mac rushes over to the plane.
Don burst out into laughter. “Meow!” He purrs.
*****
“We should play Truth or Dare!” Don announces suddenly and Mac grins in agreement. Adam yawns.
“Truth or Dare?” Mac repeats and Don scrunches up him face as he thinks of an answer.
“Dare!” Don screams. Now it’s Mac’s turn to think.
“I dare you to get me a drink whilst Doris is not looking.” Mac grins. Don grins.
“No problem! You’re talking to the cat-burglar.” Don starts meowing, even as he raids the fridge, breaking a few bottles in the process. What he eventually hands Mac is an alcopop, something cherry red and disgustingly sweet but Mac drinks it anyway, feeling the sugar coursing through his veins.
“Nice job, officer.” Mac approves. “Now give me a Dare!”
“You sure? You sure you don’t want a truth?” Don smirks.
“I’m so drunk right now, I doubt I could remember the truth.” Mac admits, with a mindless grin plastered all over his face, like he’s proud of that fact. “So hit me with a dare!”
“Oooh! Fight Club!” Don’s eyes light up and Adam intervenes.
“No! Absolutely not. If you guys want to beat the crap out of each other, you’ll have to do it when you’re sober. I’m not going to explain this to Sheldon. Or Stella!” Adam shivers and Mac and Don pause for a second before the words sink in and they also shiver.
“You’ve got to kiss Carl!os” Don announces in some Eureka moment. Mac doesn’t even hesitate before kissing a shocked Carlos squarely on the lips. Carlos’s eyes go wide but Mac steals the drink Carlos was pouring and downs it before returning to Don, triumphantly.
“If they’re playing truth or dare, we are in serious trouble.” Carlos remarks to Adam, still reeling, because that was Mac.
“Nah, it’s okay. I think they’re bored and have moved onto drinking games.” Adam looks at the shots they’re grouped in front of them in what Adam assumes was supposed to be a line.
“No. That’s not okay.” Carlos corrects him.
******
“Okay, I give up.” Adam announces to a sympathetic Carlos. “I’m exhausted, I was up all night, thinking Danny would die and then he didn’t and Mac and Don have decided to celebrate that fact by destroying their livers and acting like children. I’m not their parent. I’m not responsible for them. They’re old enough and smart enough to look after themselves and if they choose to behave like idiots, or get themselves into trouble, I am not going to stop them.”
“You sure about that?” Carlos asks, pointing towards Mac. Adam looks.
“Oh God!” Adam’s mouth falls open. “I need to call a Taxi!”
****
part nine b: hangovers and hang-ons
part nine c: hangovers and hang-ons
part ten: breakthrough, breaking point, broken