Title: One for the Team
By: A.S. Kessler
Pairing: gen
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own it. Not making any money on it. Just for fun.
Summary: The team learns what happens when you mess with Tanglewood.

***

PROLOGUE-

Mac paced around the interrogation room, file folder in hand. "Waved your rights to an attorney..." he commented, then nodded. He glanced over the folder's contents. Once he was satisfied he had absolutely everything he needed, he sat down in the chair directly across from the perp.

"Tell you what," Mac said in typical irritated Mac-tone. "Let me start this story for you..."

CHAPTER ONE -

"Stella? Have you seen that stack of papers I had by the copier?" Mac poked his head into the break room where Stella had just poured herself a cup of coffee and snagged a pastry from the box on the counter.

She took a sip, savoring the taste and the effect the caffeine had when it hit her system, then nodded. "Big stack? Yeah, I saw it there about an hour ago. Why?"

"It's missing," Mac told her. "I just wondered if you had picked it up."

She shook her head. "Nope, sorry, I don't have it. Something important?"

Mac shrugged. "There were two stacks there. One was a list of things to run through CODIS. The other was a list of things I needed to fax out to the precincts."

She took a bite of the pastry, then held up a finger as a thought crossed her mind. That always happened when she had a full mouth. She swallowed and asked, "Have you checked with Danny? I saw him breeze through here about a half hour ago."

"Danny? Is he back here?" Then Mac thought about it. "No, of course he's back here. Why not? I just told him to go home three hours ago." Mac tried not to let his irritation show, but it was difficult. Over the last few months, Danny Messer had been a virtual whirlwind. Every single time Mac turned around, Messer was doing something, had just done something or was getting ready to. He'd taken every dumpster detail that had come up; he'd climbed around, crawled into or just plain worked through whatever anyone tossed his way. It was as if pulling the man's promotion had caused a complete 180 degree turn. But Mac wasn't sure Danny wasn't heading for a huge crash. And he wasn't the only one who noticed. The more he dealt with Danny Messer, the more frustrated he became.

Stella grinned. "Of course you did. Danny Messer, the human boomerang. We have a bet going on what he's going to have first: stroke, heart attack, ulcer or nervous breakdown. Want in?"

Mac just shot her a look that said in no uncertain terms that he didn't particularly find the prospect amusing. "Pass," he said tightly.

Danny chose that moment to round the corner. He headed straight for the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of the dark aromatic liquid. He had a folder under his arm.

Stella grinned at him. "You really think you need anymore caffeine, Danny?" she asked.

Danny's blue eyes flitted over to Stella and he studied the woman for a minute while he sipped his coffee. "Why not?" he finally asked.

"You're hyper."

"I'm not hyper," he told her. "What's wrong with wantin' to get some work done around here?"

Her eyebrow went up at his comment. "Nothing. It's just that..."

Mac interrupted. "Danny, I had a stack of papers by the copier. Two different sets of papers. Have you seen them?"

Danny nodded. "Yes sir. I faxed out the bulletins to the precincts already and ran the other group through CODIS. You have a hit on one; it's on your desk. I also ran trace on the white powder found on Suzanne Fuller's jacket; came back as powdered sugar, flour and baking soda, which makes sense because she works in a bakery. Oh, and this came off the fax." He handed Mac the folder.

Mac stared at the younger man, stunned. Finally, he reached out and took the folder. "Danny? Are you on drugs?"

Now Danny's eyebrow went up. "I took two Tylenol around one am this mornin'. Does that count?"

"I'm serious, Danny."

"I am too, sir," Danny held his tone. He felt his temper and his frustration building and he fought it tooth and nail to keep it under control. Ever since Mac had pulled him from the promotion grid, he'd busted his ass at work. He'd come early, stayed late, did his job and followed Mac's instructions to the letter. Mac would tell him to go home; he went home. Mac hadn't told him how LONG he had to STAY home, so usually Danny caught a nap and returned a few hours later. And this had been going on for awhile. At first, Danny had just brought in a few changes of clothing and had been sleeping in the locker room. Mac had found out about that only recently. Lately it seemed that Mac went out of his way to make sure Danny left the building at least once a day. "I'll piss in a cup if you want me to," he offered.

Danny Messer had worked around chemicals and lab equipment long enough to know that he couldn't fool a drug test. Mac figured that if he was offering to be tested, the likelihood of him actually using amphetamines was slim.

"That won't be necessary, Danny. Not yet." Mac paused. As uptight as Danny had been lately, the only time he saw the younger man seem to relax and slow down was when Mac complimented him for something. Mac hadn't had much reason of late to compliment Danny on anything, but he took the opportunity this time. "Thank you for doing that," he added. "The CODIS search, the element breakdown and the faxing. I appreciate it."

Sure enough, Danny nodded and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. He nodded his head toward the folder that Mac now held. "I think you better look at that," he said.

Mac flipped the manila folder open and looked at the bulletin that was inside. He frowned again, then looked over at Stella. His gaze finally fell back on Danny. "Did you read this?" he asked.

Danny's only reply was another nod.

"Mac, what is it?" Stella asked. She pushed off from where she was leaning against the counter and went over to look. Mac held the folder out for her perusal.

Sonny Sassone was out of prison.

CHAPTER TWO -

"That was one seriously dead body," Aiden quipped as she, Mac and Danny walked through what was left of the bakery. The bakery had burned out and was mostly a shell of charred wood and glass display cases. The fire had been set to cover the murder and the CSI's didn't hold out much hope for evidence but they went through it anyway. The two others in the building with them were the fire inspector and Detective Don Flack.

"As opposed to an unserious dead body," Danny remarked as he squatted down behind a glass counter.

"All right you two," Mac commented at length. "More snoop; less chat. Find me some evidence," he added. "Cause. Prints. Surveillence. A bullet or two would be nice."

"Mac?" Aiden called. "This looks like it could be accelerant." She motioned him over. The fire inspector headed over also. Both nodded at her discovery: a small metal cannister about the size of a soda can, filled with ash. Aiden took a careful sniff then held the can out at arms length. "Whew... I'll say," she remarked. "Alcohol, by guess." She dropped the cannister into a ziplock bag and assured the fire inspector that he'd get first crack at it after the CSIs. Murder before arson.

Meanwhile, Danny had discovered a small metal box behind the counter with a slot in the top. The little tiny airline luggage sized padlock had been broken and the box was upside down. Danny eased into his cream colored gloves and turned the box over slowly. Both hinges broke open and what was left of the contents spilled onto the floor. Business cards. Danny bagged all the cards for future sorting; this would at least tell them which business customers frequented the bakery. He stepped around the cash register and headed for the back where the body had been discovered.

The back of the bakery received the most damage from the fire. Danny stepped around timbers that he swore would collapse if someone sneezed too hard and started looking through the ash and debris for any sign of a gun, bullet or shell casing. The victim, Suzanne Fuller, was the store owner. She had been shot four times before the criminals tried to cover their deed by setting fire to the whole store. The robbery/homicide had gone down late the night before as she was closing.

Danny frowned as he studied all the materials, soot and ash on the ground. Finding a bullet in the mess would be next to impossible; a gun would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Then it hit him: when you want to find a needle, use a magnet! He went to retrieve the telescopic magnet from the kit that he'd brought and started sweeping it over the ground near where firefighters had found the body. His first find was a set of keys for the store. His second was a gold mine: a small caliber hand gun. He bagged the pistol then looked up when he heard footsteps headed into the back. He turned to see Mac tiptoe his way thorugh the debris into the room.

As much as Mac Taylor didn't want to have to ask Danny to put in anymore time than he already was lately, the cartridge in his hand needed a talented touch. "How are you at film restoration?" Mac asked him. "There was a tape in the security camera, but it's pretty well fr..."

A crack sounded in the room which caused both men to freeze momentarily. From the front of the store, Don's voice called out, "I'm not sure it's a good idea for you two to be back there." Sure enough, another groan sounded throughout the back of the building. Danny looked over just as a huge support beam started to fall, and it was headed directly toward...

"MAC!" Danny shouted. He launched himself at his supervisor and caught him in a full tackle mid-section. Mac stumbled backwards, having not been prepared for the onslaught by his subordinate. He and Danny fell back through the doorway into the store. Just as they hit the floor, the entire room behind them came crashing down.

"Holy timbers!" Aiden yelled as she and Don both ran to aid the two male CSIs. "You two okay?"

By the time they reached the pair, Danny had rolled off Mac and was trying to untangle himself from the stray debris that landed on both men from the collapse. Don offered Mac a hand up.

"I'm okay," Mac told them. "Danny?"

Danny nodded and frisked his pockets for both the magnet and the baggie with the gun in it. Of the two, he'd lost the least important: the magnet. "Okay, who sneezed," he commented at length. He held up the baggie with the pistol in it for Mac's perusal. "I'm fine. One gun, as requested. I lost the magnet though," he added. "You can take the three bucks out of my next paycheck."

"I think it's time we left, detectives," the fire inspector told the team. "Evidence or no evidence, this building isn't structurally safe."

Danny arched an eyebrow at the man, then looked at what was left of the room he and Mac had just been standing in. "Gee, ya think?" he muttered.

Mac checked himself over, then did his own self-frisking for the tape. Fortunately, he hadn't lost that in the collapse. "Okay, let's pack it up," Mac said. "When the teams come in to level this place, we'll get everything shipped over crate and barrel. We can go thorugh it all then if we need to. Hopefully, what we've found will be enough." He closed up the second case they'd brought and waited for his team.

Don headed out first, followed by Aiden, then Danny. Mac and the fire inspector would leave last. As he stepped out, something caught Danny's eye and he stopped. "Aiden?" he called. "Pass back the camera. I want a few quick shots."

"Danny," Mac's tone indicated he expected the man to move out as requested.

Danny held up his hand. "This'll only take a sec, Mac and what I want is right here."

Aiden handed in the camera and Danny snapped off twelve quick shots before he stepped outside. Mac looked at the section of a booth that had caught Danny's attention. The top was carved up by various people who had been in the bakery. Several initials and designs were etched into the top: typical graffiti. Mac looked to Danny to explain himself further.

Danny shrugged. "Might be nothin'," he admitted. "But it couldn't hurt to have some shots of that if we need a reference later."

Mac nodded and let it drop for the moment. They had harder evidence in hand: a tape, albiet a fairly singed one, a can of accelerant which may or may not still have prints on it, and a gun.

Mac drove as the three CSIs headed back to the precinct. Don headed off separately in another direction and the fire inspector waited outside for his own people. Danny sat in silence during the ride. He'd opted for the back seat, grateful to have Mac behind the wheel instead of Aiden. He knew that Mac would be more concerned with the evidence. Danny was certain of what he'd seen carved into the table and he knew the pictures would back him up. The murder was a message.

CHAPTER THREE -

"Hey Picasso, your pics are done!" Aiden Burn swung into the room and tossed a folder on the table next to where Danny was working with the security camera film. When Danny didn't look up, flich, react or otherwise jump at the sound of the folder slapping against the table, Aiden reached out with one finger and poked him. Still, he didn't move. A frown crossed her features and the brown-haired CSI slipped her fingers over the inside of Danny's wrist, feeling for a pulse.

"I'm tryin' to work here," Danny's voice gravelled out.

Aiden grinned, then nodded. "I know. I am too. I was just checking."

Finally, Danny pulled his eyes from the film and looked over. "Checking what? If I have a pulse?"

She nodded and flashed him a sweet smile. "Can't have you dying here; paperwork's hell and I'd lose the bet."

It was Danny's turn to give her a knowing nod. "That's right. You've got... ulcer, right?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

Danny just gave her a 'pul-ease' look and turned back to the tape. "Thanks for pickin those up for me," he said. "Appreciate it." He nudged his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose with the knuckle of one gloved hand and moved another inch of tape along.

Aiden opened the folder and looked the pictures over, since it was apparent that Danny wasn't willing to stop the tape reconstruction long enough to check out his own images. The photos were of a booth top, carved with intricate graffiti, initials and other what-nots. In several of the pictures, Danny had seemed to zoom in on one particular symbol: that of a 'T' and a 'W'. The bottom of the T was the top corner of the W, which gave the two letters the appearance of one design. Beneath it was a date. "T-W," Aiden said, her voice carrying a questioning tone. "That mean something to you?"

"Maybe."

"There's a date next to it," Aiden pointed out. "Same date as the murder. Think it means something?"

"Maybe."

"You say 'maybe' one more time and I'm gonna smack you upside the head," Aiden warned. Sure enough, the fact that he was tuning her out became abundantly clear when he uttered the word once more. As promised, Aiden reached over and smacked the back of his head.

"Ow, Aiden!" Danny looked up.

"You know," she started to say, "the option of 'Aiden kicking Danny's ass' isn't listed among reasons for your breakdown, but I'm tempted to add it." She shoved a photo of the initials under his nose. "What are those initials and why did you happen to shoot those? Was it the date that caught your eye? We're partners; it'd be nice if you'd talk to me."

Danny looked around the lab to make sure nobody else was in earshot. "It's a theory, nothing more," Danny finally told her. "You know how Mac hates it when I follow my gut? So I'm doin' it his way now. I'm processing the evidence first. So what if I think Tanglewood's involved."

"Tanglewood?" Aiden's brown eyes sparked. "Tanglewood as in the gang? As in Sonny Sassone, the guy who just got busted out of prison? That Tanglewood?"

Danny studied her patiently. "You know any other Tanglewoods?"

"You gotta tell this to Mac," Aiden told him. She was surprised when Danny adamantly shook his head no.

"Mac doesn't want theory," he told her. "He wants facts. We have a possible murder weapon. We have the tape, if I ever get a chance to get it restored..." his last dig was to her bothering him but she seemed to let it slide. "We have the cannister that you found. Those are what Mac is interested in. He's not interested in my half-baked theories."

"Half-baked. That's cute," Aiden ignored his bad pun. She doubted he realized what he'd said. "So, when are you gonna tell him?"

"One of two times. Either he asks for my theory, which will happen when hell freezes over, or when we've run out of the evidence potentials. Now do you mind? He wants this tape."

"Can I assume then that this means you're NOT going home tonight? Again."

Danny flashed her a smile. "Do me a huge favor? Put another pot of coffee on."

Aiden shook her head in frustration. Danny could be so hard-headed at times. Still, his dedication was amazing, not to mention somewhat nauseating. "Okay," she patted his back lightly. "But Mac's gonna throw you out if he finds you here late again."

"That's the trick," Danny told her. "He's gotta FIND me to throw me out."

CHAPTER FOUR -

"I suppose it's futile to tell you to go home," Mac said when he found Danny lurking in the lab at two am, his nose still glued to the surveillence footage repair.

"I've almost got this, Mac," Danny said tightly. Of course, he'd been telling Aiden that until she left around nine, and Stella afterward until she left around eleven. The phrase was the same; only the names changed.

"And after?"

Danny risked a glance up at his boss. "And after, I still gotta process the pistol; match it to the slugs they pulled from the vic..."

"I processed the gun, Danny," Mac told him. "And before you open your mouth again, Aiden processed the cannister and turned it over to the fire department. How much longer, exactly, do you have on that tape until it's viewable?"

Danny glanced at the small bit of security footage in his hands. Finally, he set it on the lab counter, pulled his gloves off, pushed his glasses up onto his forehead and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. He was very tired, although he'd rather be dropped off the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in handcuffs than admit it to Mac. However, his boss didn't miss much.

"Danny, go home," Mac told him.

Danny looked up and over at Mac. He opened his mouth to say something and closed it when his internal 'shut up' sensor went off. Admitting he was tired or consenting to go home would be admitting defeat when he was trying to finish. At the same time, arguing that with Mac wouldn't bode well either. Fortunately he was spared the decision when Mac's cell phone went off.

"Taylor." Mac's expression never changed but the way his eyes sparked, Danny could tell that something was up. "I'll be right there." Mac turned to see Danny stand and grab for his jacket. Mac had a case and Danny was assuming he would go with him. Mac had other ideas. "Where do you think you're going?"

"With you," Danny replied. "You got another call, right?"

Mac nodded but pointed to the chair. "Sit," he said. "Stay. Finish that tape and go get some sleep. I don't want to see you for eight hours." He headed out of the lab, satisfied that he wouldn't see Daniel Messer for eight hours and if he did, the man's head would roll.

Danny grinned at Mac's back. In his own fatigue, Mac had failed to mention one key word: home. Mac didn't want to see him for eight hours. No problem. Danny knew he could recharge himself with four solid hours of sleep and find enough hiding places in the lab to work without Mac finding him. He pulled on a new pair of gloves and turned back to the tape with renewed enthusiasm. A sly smirk crossed his features. Score: Danny eight. Mac three.

By the time Mac arrived back at the station, Stella had already arrived. A quick search of the department showed absolutely no sign of Danny, but there was a tape in a clear bag on his desk. Stella swung into Mac's office with two large Starbucks cups. "Mornin' Mac," she said cheerfully. "Heard you had a case really early this morning. Thought I'd bring you a jolt." She handed him one of the cups.

Mac nodded. "Thanks Stella. Yeah, call came in around two thirty this morning. Two employees of a donut shop were found shot and the place was trashed. The evidence I got, which wasn't much, is in the lab. Two bakeries in one week," he mused.

Stella shrugged. "Maybe someone doesn't like sweets?" she suggested.

Mac picked up the bag with the tape in it. "Wonder what time he got this done?"

"I don't know," Stella admitted. She hadn't seen any sign of Danny since she arrived but that didn't necessarily mean anything. "For a change, I haven't seen him this morning."

Mac nodded. "I looked around; he's not here. I told him to go home and get some sleep," he replied. "Said I didn't want to see him for eight hours."

Stella smiled. "Which means he'll be back here in five," she replied. "Wanna check out the tape? I'll bring the popcorn."

Mac nodded. Minutes later, he and Stella were in a room with the audio visual equipment. The tape was playing the footage from the security camera that was mounted near the door to the back section of the shop. It showed the whole front section of the bakery. The picture was sporatic at best, grainy and it lost the full field of vision often. Stella found herself squinting at it by the time it was done. Four men of indeterminate height had came in from the back of the store. One immediately shot the victim - Suzanne Fuller - four times. Two of the men dragged the body to the back while the other two proceeded to rob and trash the front of the store. All four wore hoods of some kind. Something caught Mac's eye. "Freeze it," he said. The image stopped at a blurred section. "Back it up, frame by frame."

The image clicked back to one of the men in the booth near the door. He was wearing a baseball jacket and sweatshirt hood with a cap over it, and he was writing or carving something into the table top just as the other two from the back came running into the front again. The distortion from the camera grew worse as the four made a dash out the front door. Seconds later, the images went black. Mac backed it up once more to the man at the booth.

Stella made a face. "Not a very good tape, Mac," she told him. "Did you actually see anything?"

"Yes and no," Mac told her as he froze the image again. "We've gotten better reflections from lenses and corneas, although I'm surprised Danny got the tape this clear. It was pretty well cooked. There was nothing that I saw worth a freeze and zoom except this... this guy here..." he tapped the monitor where the frozen image of the perp at the booth filled the screen "...is writing something. Danny took pictures of one of the booths before the building came down on our heads and I think that from the camera angle..." He turned himself in alignment with the image from the monitor to double-check what he remembered from actually being in the shop. "This is the table that Danny photographed."

"It wasn't burned?" Stella asked.

Mac shook his head. "Front of the store was crispy but wasn't as bad as the back. The booth was right next to the front door, here," he pointed, "so it faired better."

Stella smiled. "Well then? Let's go look at some pictures."

CHAPTER FIVE -

A search of the lab came up empty for the folder holding the pictures that Danny had taken. Mac and Stella began to process he evidence that he had collected from the second homicide at the donut shop. As they worked, Aiden came in and flashed them both a smile.

"Early morning for you two," she said. "Is this the first homicide stuff?" She snagged her lab coat from the rack and slid into it.

Mac looked up and gave his young subordinate a slight smile. "Good morning Aiden. No, actually, this is the second homicide evidence; the one that I went on around two am. Have you seen the pictures that Danny took from the first one?"

Aiden nodded. "Yeah, Mac. In fact, I'm the one that picked them up because Picasso Messer was too busy playing with the surveillence tape. Did that show anything?"

Mac nodded. "Yeah, I think so but I need those pictures to confirm it. Any idea what Danny did with them?"

Aiden shrugged. "I dunno. Want me to wake him up and ask him?" She leaned across the table and picked up one of the photos that Mac had taken of the graffiti covered interior walls. Derogatory slogans about police officers littered the walls, along with several symbols and numbers.

Mac shot a glance at Stella, who fought to hide the knowing smirk that crossed her features. "Danny's... here?" Mac asked Aiden. "He didn't go home?"

"Oh he's here somewhere," she assured her boss.

Mac looked at his watch. It was nine eighteen in the morning. If Danny had gone to sleep within an hour of the call coming in, that would put it at roughly three am, which would have given the CSI approximately six hours of sleep, give or take. "Wake him," Mac looked at Aiden. "Find him, wake him, tell him to shower and change and meet me here with those pictures."

"Sure thing," Aiden replied as she set the picture down and shrugged out of her lab coat.

As Aiden started for the door, Stella piped up. "Aiden? You know where he is?" Aiden turned and flashed Stella a knowing smile. "Mac searched the place," Stella added. "I'm curious now... where is he?"

Aiden grinned. "He's sacked out under my desk. I almost stepped on him this morning."

Mac looked patiently up at the ceiling. He'd actually looked under Danny's desk, but he hadn't considered Aiden's. "Aiden," his tone suggested he'd had his fill of things. "Go step on him."

Danny walked into the lab in a clean light green shirt, clean but rumpled black trousers and suit coat and a towel over his head which all but completely obscured his face. He handed Mac a folder wordlessly.

Mac arched an eyebrow as he took the folder. He knew he'd hate himself for asking but he did anyway. "What's with the towel?"

Danny shrugged. "You said you didn't want to see me for eight hours. It's only been six and a half."

Mac yanked the towel off of Danny's head and launched it across the table to where the lab coats were hanging along the wall. "I also told you to go home and you didn't. I'm entitled to change my mind. I'm the boss."

"Yes sir."

Mac fought back a smile, then turned serious again as he glanced over the folder that Danny had handed him. He flipped through the dozen photos and pulled out several. He arranged those along center of the table in a row, then laid the ones he took from the second scene underneath. One thing matched.

"T.W.?" Stella asked. "Are those initials?"

"Could very well be," Mac said. "Running those initials is going to come up with a mighty long list."

Danny looked at the second set of prints; the ones Mac had taken last night. Sure enough, the symbols were the same. If that was the case, then the message was clear. Danny was sure of it now. "What if they..." Danny couldn't get his thought out. As soon as he spoke, the fire alarm sounded in the building.

Mac looked at his two detectives. "Let's go."

"I got the front," Stella called and headed in that direction. Mac headed toward the rear of the building with Danny on his heels.

"Mac, I have a theory about this," Danny told him. "I think..."

Mac stopped him. "Hold that thought until we get the building cleared, Danny," he said. The two men reached the back door, which was already open. The staff in the rear of the building had already started to evacuate into the small parking area and they headed across the street to the staging area for a headcount. "G'wan, Danny," Mac told him. "You know where to meet."

Danny stepped into the lot and waited. Mac remained inside; as the man in charge, he'd be the last person out of the building. Danny knew it. So did they. He looked around the area for any signs of people who didn't belong there. With the building in evactuation, it would be hard to single out two or three people from all the rest. Smoke poured from over the top of the buildingand Danny heard someone say something about a squad car being burned out front. Fire department sirens wailed and radios cracked out reports. It was noisy... chaotic.

Mac stepped out of the rear door, his cell phone to one ear. "Back's clear," he told the person on the other end. He glanced over and saw Danny standing right by the door, waiting. "Messer, you're supposed to be..."

Out front, a boom sounded the explosion of the gas tank. Danny saw a blur of movement and had only one chance to do something. He charged at Mac and put his boss between himself and the building.

Hot, firey pain ripped into his shoulder and rear end. He hadn't heard the cracking pop that he knew sounded; it was muffled by the noises out front. Danny sagged against Mac for a minute, waiting for more. Nothing else happened. A few seconds later, Stella and Don Flack headed over. "Mac?" Stella called. "Everyone's accounted for except you and Danny."

As soon as it had begun, it was over. Mac gave Danny a puzzled look and pushed the younger CSI off of him. He glanced over at Stella. "Okay, good," Mac told her. He then turned an angry glare on Danny. "Do you mind following instructions and protocol and join your colleagues across the street while I find out what the hell's going on?"

Danny swallowed hard. He felt light-headed and his body was on fire. Mac hadn't heard either; he didn't know what had just gone down. And he was going to get ripped for not following protocol? To hell with THAT. "Sure Mac. Sorry for delaying you." He gave Don a glance and started toward the others, determined to not fall over. As Stella went with Mac to talk with the fire department, Don jogged over by Danny.

"You okay?" the dark haired detective asked his friend.

"I'm fine," Danny lied.

"You sure?" Don asked again. "You're limping. What was that all about?"

"Just... taking one for the team," Danny told him. "Well, two actually."

Don stopped him. "Two, what?"

Danny shook his head as the all-clear sounded and people started to head back inside. Don's phone rang and he went to answer it. As Danny started limping back inside, Don covered the mouthpiece. "We're not finished with this conversation, Messer," the detective told him.

Danny headed for the lab. He never made it.

CHAPTER SIX -

"He's coming around."

Mac's voice was the first one Danny heard, followed by the rhythmic blip of the monitor calling out his heart rate. He felt like a radio with all the wires connected to him. His eyes fluttered open and he saw four blurs standing around. His glasses were nowhere to be had but he had a nice gash over his eye where he'd landed on them. "Doesn't anybody work around here?" His own voice sounded hoarse and his throat was sore.

The shortest dark-haired blur at the foot of his bed reached out and rubbed the top of his foot through the covers. "We're all waitin' on you to keep us in line," Aiden's voice sounded. "How dare you scare us half to death."

"Only half?" Danny muttered. "Gotta try harder."

Mac was sitting at Danny's bedside; he had been since the man was found on the floor outside the lab, shot twice. Danny had taken two small round bullets: one to his shoulder which had lodged near his right shoulderblade and one high on his rear end, near his hip. Neither had hit anything major but the combination of blood loss, fatigue and pain had caused him to collapse. "Danny," Mac said slowly. "Outside the department... when you shoved me into the building... that's when...?"

Danny nodded. "I got the message."

Mac glanced at Stella. Both their faces formed into a frown. "Message?" Stella asked.

"The pictures," Danny explained. "The initials T.W. They weren't initials... it stood for Tanglewood." He glanced at Mac again. "It's all connected," he continued. "The donut shops... traditionally cop hang-outs. The letters? A message. The timing, planned. It was a game to them. The first shop, strike one. The second, strike two. The fire was a means to clear the building for strike three. Sonny Sassone was gunnin' for you. I just got in his way."

Mac resisted the urge to groan. Danny had been trying to tell him that before the alarms went off. Now it made perfect sense. "Danny," he said slowly. "I can duck as well as the next man. Next time... just yell." He rested his hand on Danny's arm. "But Danny? Thank you. I... " he shook his head, still amazed at what the younger man had done for him. "Thank you. I owe you my life."

"Just... one for the team, Mac," Danny said quietly. "I'm trying."

Mac smiled. "I know you are, Danny. And we're going to knock heads and disagree from time to time. Hell, Stella and I do it every other week." He glanced at the curly haired woman and flashed her a knowing smile. She gave one right back. "You had a rough run, Danny, but you're doing okay. Just..." he glanced over at Don and Aiden. He'd use one of their words this time. "... chill."

Danny flashed everyone a smile at that. A nurse poked her head into the room and threatened the visitors with banishment if they didn't let Mr. Messer get some rest. Stella and Aiden each gave Danny a reassuring pat and started out. Mac stopped Don. "Flack," he said. "I want every rock in this city turned upside down until they're found." Don knew exactly which 'they' Mac referred to. "Nobody, but nobody does this to one of my crew and gets away with it," he added. "Bring 'em in."

FIN

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