Chapter one - Red

The weather forecast had said it would be cold, but it wasn't. It was just warm enough to walk outside without a jacket, which was exactly how Danny Messer liked the temperature best. The air smelt like freshly fallen autumn leaves and roses. The roses he had just bought and was now about to give to his girlfriend, to be precise.

"Hey," he greeted her. She turned around and smiled.

"Hey yourself," she said, eyeing the roses.

"These are for you," he unnecessarily told her, handing her the red bouquet. He watched her as she smelt them and smiled gratefully.

"Thanks. They are very beautiful."

"So are you. I'm glad you came."

"Of course I came."

"Want to go for a walk?" he asked her, offering her his hand. She nodded and took it.

They walked in silence for a while, just happy to be in each other's presence. Things had been rather hectic at work for both of them lately, and this was one of the rare moments they could spend together this week. Danny looked at her as they walked through the park. Her cheeks and lips were both red, her cheeks from the chilly wind and her lips from her lipstick. He wanted to kiss her and stopped walking. She turned to him and their lips met in a gentle kiss.

The shot came out of nowhere. A gun was triggered once – twice – three times. Danny forced Lindsay down on the ground, but there came no more shots. People were screaming but Danny didn't hear them. He could just look at Lindsay, who was lying on the ground, clutching her stomach, eyes closed in pain.

Time seemed to stop as Danny leapt up and ran towards her, calling her name. There was blood everywhere. Her blood. On her shirt, on the grass, on her hands, on his hands. The roses he had given her only minutes ago lay scattered around them, just like the pieces of his heart. He faintly registered the sounds of an approaching ambulance but he thought he could've just imagined it. He just kept saying her name, asking her to open her eyes, asking her to do something – anything – to let him know she was still with him. Finally she opened her eyes slightly, moaning his name.

"Danny…"

"It's okay, honey, you're going to get through this, okay?"

She closed her eyes again and her grip on his hand loosened.

"Lindsay! Stay with me, Lindsay, you have to stay with me now… Help is on its way, please just hang in there!"

"Sir?"

He looked up. The ambulance had arrived.

"Sir, we're going to take her to the hospital. Are you okay, sir?"

Danny nodded, but didn't let go of Lindsay's hand, even as the paramedics lay her on a stretcher and in the ambulance. He didn't let go of her hand as they drove to the hospital, even though the paramedics told him they would take care of her. He just shook his head and kept his eyes trained on Lindsay's face. He didn't let go of her hand in the hospital, not until the doctors told him that Lindsay needed surgery and took her away. It was only then that he let her hand go and allowed the tears that had gathered in his eyes to fall. When he had calmed down a little he retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and hit number 3 on speed dial.

"Bonasera."

"Stella," Danny said, his voice cracking.

"Danny?"

"Yeah, I…" He choked back a sob.

"Danny, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

It was the second time someone had asked him that today. No, he was not okay. Someone shot his girlfriend, for heaven's sake!

"I'm fine, it's not me… It's Lindsay… She got shot, someone shot Lindsay."

"What? Oh my god, Danny, where are you? What happened?"

He gave her the address of the hospital.

"Alright, I'm on my way."

Danny flipped his phone shut and closed his eyes. He couldn't help but ask himself questions, even though he knew he didn't have the answers to them. Why was Lindsay shot? Who had shot Lindsay?

Twenty minutes later Stella and Mac arrived.

"Danny!"

He looked up and was greeted by Stella and Mac's worried faces.

"What happened?" Mac asked.

"We… Lindsay and I… We were walking through Central Park, and suddenly I hear three shots, so I push her down on the ground… When the shots had stopped I looked at her, there was all this blood… So much blood. Mac, I just don't know what to do when I lose her! She everything to me, she's my world.."

Until then, Mac hadn't known of Danny and Lindsay's relationship, they had all suspected something, but they had no idea it was that serious already. He didn't know what to say. Should he say it'd be all right? He didn't know. What if Lindsay really would… not make it? Thankfully for Mac Stella helped him out.

"Danny, don't think like that. Where exactly was she shot?"

"Her stomach, she was shot in her stomach. That's not… That's not deadly, is it?"

"Well for that we'll have to wait for the doctors, but for now you should try to calm down. If she was shot in the stomach there's a good chance she'll make it, unless…"

"Unless she's lost too much blood already," Danny finished. Stella nodded.

One hour later, the doctors finally came out of surgery, walking towards the three crime scene investigators.

"You are here for miss Monroe?"

They nodded and the doctor looked at his chart.

"Well, she has been lucky. No vital organs were hit, and we've managed to stop the bleeding. We've retrieved the bullet, and it looks like the wound will heal just fine. If everything goes well, she should be ready to go home in a week or so."

Danny sighed, relief washing over him. Lindsay was going to be okay.

"Can I see her?"

The doctor nodded.

"She's in room 312. That's down the hall to the left."

Danny nodded in thanks and took off to Lindsay's room. He stopped after he'd entered the room. She looked so small in that hospital bed, so vulnerable. The only time he'd seen her that way was when she was testifying back in Montana, but then she had still tried to hide her vulnerability. He slowly approached her bed and sat down next to it.

"The doctor just talked to me, Linds, he says you're going to be okay," he whispered to her sleeping form.

"You'll probably be ready to go home in about a week. You can stay with me for a while, when you're recovering. And when you're totally healed, you owe me a date."

He chuckled.

"I think Mac knows about us. That's my fault, I'm sorry. I just didn't know what to do, so I called Stella… She brought Mac with her to the hospital. I kinda broke down in front of them. It doesn't matter to me, though; all that matters is that you're going to be okay… I was so scared, scared that you wouldn't make it out of there alive, that the shot had killed you…"

"Danny…"

He looked up and smiled, despite the tears in his eyes. He had to be strong for her, he wouldn't cry.

"Hey there, Montana. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Well, I've been better, but it's not too bad."

"Good. The doctors say you should be able to go home in a week."

"I know, I heard you," Lindsay said, smiling.

"Oh. I thought you were sleeping."

"It's okay. You're sweet."

"Don't tell Don," he winked.

Lindsay chuckled. "I won't," she promised. "Your secret is safe with me."

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"Mac!"

Mac turned around and saw detective Don Flack approaching him.

"Hey. Any news on Lindsay's shooter?"

Flack nodded.

"Ray Michaels. He turned himself in. The bullet's a match."

"Motive?"

"Yeah, he says it was an accident," Flack made quote marks with his fingers at the word accident. "He thought Lindsay was his ex. Lauren Green. She cheated on him with his best friend; he didn't mean to hurt anyone, yadda yadda, he just wanted to scare her but then he saw what he thought was Lauren with another man and shot her. We've arrested him already."

"Okay. Thanks for coming here to tell me."

"No problem. I gotta go, though, I'll see you later."

Mac nodded his goodbye and dialed Danny's number. He should know that Lindsay hadn't been the intended victim, as he was still a bit scared that someone would try to kill Lindsay again.
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"Okay, thanks for telling me, Mac."

"No problem. Tell Lindsay to get better soon, and that she's got two weeks of sick leave, starting when she gets home."

"Sure. I will. Bye."

Danny put his cell phone back in his pocket and turned to Lindsay.

"They got the shooter. He thought you were his ex, who had cheated on him. When he saw you with me, yet another man in his eyes, he got so mad that he shot at you. He turned himself in."

Lindsay just nodded, not knowing what to say. It surely felt weird to got shot because someone thought you were someone else.

"So that means I can go back to my own apartment without risking getting shot again."

Danny hesitated. He had actually been looking forward to Lindsay staying in his apartment.

"Yeah, sure."

"What's wrong?" Lindsay asked, noticing the hesitation in his voice.

"Nothing, it's just that… I was actually kinda looking forward to… living together for a while."

Lindsay smiled and looked at her hands.

"Yeah, me too."

"You know, you could still come. I mean, for recovery and all. If you'd get hurt you wouldn't be alone."

"Well, it would of course be better for my recovery, right?"

He nodded, and they both grinned.

"Then let's do it."

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The doctors released Lindsay eight days later, and she was ready to go home. Well, home, she was going to Danny's apartment for a while. They both knew there was no medical reason for Lindsay to stay at Danny's, but they both wanted to. Danny had been thinking of asking Lindsay to move in, but he thought that it would probably be too soon, so this was a nice solution for both of them. If they got tired of each other Lindsay would just go back to her apartment, and it worked out great they could always make it permanent.

"You ready?"

"Yup, let's go."

They walked out of the hospital together, the red autumn leaves on the floor creating a red carpet for just the two of them. They both knew they were going to have a great week – or more.

A/N: Please review
Oh, and if you have an idea for a color, you can always tell me. I think I know what I'm going to write in each chapter, but ideas are always welcome!