Alright, no reasons for late updates, you're just gonna have to deal with that for a while. Anyway, it's great to be working on this again. It's going to be a while between updates, you have been warned...again. ANYWHO...I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as the little bombshell that is going to be dropped in episode 101 of CSI NY! I don't want to spoil it. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimers and warnings are the same. Short, sweet, to the point.

"But they whose guilt within their bosoms lie imagine every eye beholds their blame."

-William Shakespeare

"Yo, Messer," came a female voice as he felt a slight smack on his shoulder, "be awake when somebody's talkin' to ya."

A low, tired and irritated groan emitted from the man. "Not now, Aiden. Leave me alone," he said as he rubbed his face. Suddenly, his eyes shot open and he sat up so fast his head began to spin. "Aiden?!"

"Hey there, Casanova," she said, giving him a one shake wave.

"Oh shit, if your…then Rikki …Oh my God…Lindsay…," he stumbled, too many thoughts in his mind at once. He rested his head in his hands as the memories of what had occurred in the past twenty-four hours. "Am I…?" Danny began to ask, unable to finish the dreaded question.

"…dead?" finished Aiden. "Nah, not yet anyway." She laughed a little at her old friend, but she felt sorry for him at the same time. She had never seen him this distraught, well, at least not when she was alive, but now she knew everything.

Danny looked up at her and noticed how beautiful she looked. Her brown hair was slightly blowing in the inexistent wind and the snow-white dress she wore contrasted her dark eyes perfectly. She seemed to have a golden glow around her and though she had her angelic features, Danny noticed she still had that devilish smile. "So, am I hallucinating or something?"

"No, Messer, you're in a kind of…," she said waving her hand in an attempt to find the right words, "…in between area; a place between life and death."

"But, hold on…" Danny began, but he was interrupted.

"Shush, I woke you up for a reason now listen," Aiden scolded, causing Danny to clam up in agitation. Despite this, he began to hear something, obviously the something Aiden had woken him for.

"Hey Danny," said a soft feminine voice, but it was echoing, like he was at the opposite end of a tunnel from the speaker. "Look, I'm sorry about yesterday, it's just…Danny, I'm…I'm scared, ok? There, I said it. Everything about this, about you, is scaring me."

Danny turned to Aiden with a surprised look on his face. "Lindsay?" he asked and received a nod and a smile from her. She looked up as if that was where the speaker was; Danny followed suit only to see a soft white light.

"You know I love your passion of everything you do and I know you don't like people to see your emotions. I know and love that weird sense of responsibility you have about all of the people you love."

Danny sat there, hanging on her every word.

"When I was a little girl, I was always one of those who dreamt of finding the prince that would love me and keep me out of harms way. Who knew that when I grew up, I would actually find what I was looking for? Well, maybe not the prince part…"

Danny's eyes widened and furled his eyebrows. "Hey," he said in a shocked tone. He looked to the side and shot his friend an irritated glare, as she had apparently found Lindsay's words extremely funny, before returning his gaze back to the sky.

"Don't look at me in that tone of voice, Messer," she bantered, "you ain't a prince, but I would take your motorcycled pauper ass over any pompous horse rider any day." A smile returned to his lips. That was definitely his Montana.

"But as much as I love your passion, the way you deal with the emotions that come with it is the scary part. I saw the way you acted with Ruben's death. I'm terrified of the day someone closer to you dies, like Louie or your parents…or me. I worry that you would go into such a depressed spiral that you would do something you would regret, or worse. I just wish you would open up to me. I know I said I wasn't very good at these sort of things, but at least let me try to help you. Let me help you diffuse some of that emotional energy before it destroys you."

He couldn't stand the thought of Lindsay dying and pushed the images away. She didn't deserve what he did, she was innocent and loving. He had wanted so much to run to her these past few weeks, but he didn't want to scare her away. He didn't want her to see him as weak. He had decided to do things the way he always did, ever since he was young, and push the problem away until he was numb to it. Lindsay didn't deserve to carry his burden.

"But that isn't what is scaring me most; what is, is right here in front of me. Danny, the doctors say that there is a really big chance that you won't make it through this."

Danny looked over at Aiden, but she looked away from him. She hadn't told him that part yet, and though she felt the need to tell Danny everything about what had gone on since he was shot, she knew he needed to listen to every word his 'Montana' said. She simply waved off his questioning look and pointed back up toward the sky in a silence order to listen now and get an explanation later.

"I'm trying really hard to be positive, but every time I look at you, I see you bleeding on the ground, or almost dying in the ambulance, or…or my friends lying dead on the floor of that restaurant." He could hear her voice starting to shake and it brought tears to his eyes, he never wanted to make her feel like this, not again.

"I'm going to be strong for you." Her voice was merely a whisper.

"You shouldn't have to be," he said back, knowing full well she couldn't hear him.

"Danny, I just got you back and I'm terrified of losing you again. You make me happy, Danny; you make each day exciting and worth getting up for, even if it's only to see your face.

"I don't know if you can hear me, and if you can, you don't even have to say it back if you don't want to, but I love you, Danny Messer. I know our actions say it, but I wanted to actually say it. If you don't make it through this, I just want to make sure that I physically told you what you mean to me. I love you, Danny, and I always will, no matter what happens."

Danny stood gaping at the ceiling. She loved him. His Montana LOVED him! He felt his heart jump at the words in both euphoria and fear. No one, other than Louie, had ever said they loved him, not even his mother. He could hear the sincerity in her voice and felt tears welling in his eyes. "Lindsay," he whispered.

"Don't worry, Danny, you won't be alone in this world anymore. I'm begging you to fight for me, for us. I need you here, Danny, and so does everyone else."

There was a long pause and Danny turned to Aiden. He wanted to ask her a question, but she held up her hand for silence, never taking her eyes off the ceiling. Danny suddenly felt a familiar soft, warm pressure on his forehead before hearing, "Goodbye, Cowboy. I'll be back in the morning. I love you."

Aiden lowered her hand and her head and turned to Danny. "I like her," she said in a chipper tone.

"Yeah," said Danny quietly still looking at the sky, "me, too." He hesitated before asking a question he was dreading to hear the answer to. "Aiden, what happened to me?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" she asked hesitantly. She really didn't want to be having this conversation, but when the Big Guy says it's important…

"I remember…Mac's face, Lindsay crying, and Flack holding something against my shoulder," said Danny, his eyes downcast in concentration. "Then everything went black. What happened?" he asked raising his eyes to his long-time friend.

"Rikki shot you, Danny," said Aiden quickly, wanting to get this part over with, "twice. She shot you in the shoulder and in the gut with your own gun. Don was trying to stop the bleeding and your heart stopped. He and Mac gave you CPR and got you back. Lindsay rode with you in the ambulance when your heart stopped again." Danny looked at her in shock and she her posture visibly slackened. She hadn't even gotten to the worst part yet. "You're in a coma, Messer. They don't know if you're gonna wake up."

Danny sat silent for a while, his face solemn and his eyes distant. "How is Lindsay holding up after that?"

"She's scared and tired, but so is everyone else."

"Is there anything that you can do for her, you know, make her not worry about me so much?"

"Angels can't interfere with human emotion, Danny."

"What if I kick off?"

"Sensitive way to put it, Messer," said Aiden with a smile, one which Danny did not return. "Keep the faith, man. It's a long shot, but you could still pull through this."

Danny remained silent, looking off into the distance opposite of Aiden. "Danny, you do want to pull through, don't you?!" she asked extremely concerned. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought he wouldn't want to go back.

"Maybe," he said sadly, "I'm just so tired."

"Danny, think about this!" she said. "Do you really want to leave everyone behind?"

Danny shook his head exhaustedly. "I don't know, just promise me you'll look out for her, ok?"

"You love her, don't you, Danny?" she asked.

Danny hesitated, "Yeah," he said.

"Wait, wait, wait!" yelled Aiden, trying to change the mood. "Why did you hesitate?" She got up and plopped down next to him, turning him to look at her.

"I don't know," said Danny defensively, "'I love you' is…huge. I mean, yeah, I've thought about me and her staying together…for a long time, but…" He looked into Aiden's pleading eyes and his walls broke. "Yes, I do love her," he said quietly.

"I knew it!" yelled Aiden jumping to her feet. She looked up to the ceiling again and yelled, "You hear that, Britney! I win!"

"What the hell?!" yelled Danny as he had jumped at her outburst. "Are you betting on me? In heaven?"

"Calm down, Messer," she said with her hands on her hips, "it's just verbal, nothin' won, nothin' lost." Danny just continued to look at her in shock. "What? You don't think we have fun in heaven?"

"Well, I'm sure you do but…wait, who's Britney?"

"Lindsay's angel," smiled Aiden.

Danny let a small, sad smile grace his lips. "Good, at least she has someone there for her that she can count on."

"She can count on you."

Danny let out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, just like Ruben could count on me. I'm no good to anyone, Aiden. I couldn't protect you, I couldn't protect Ruben, I shot a cop, my brother is in a coma because of me. Yeah, I'm a real reliable guy." Danny's voice was getting louder and more harsh as he continued his rant.

"Danny," said Aiden as gently yet sternly as she could, "I have been following you for years now, why haven't you told anyone you feel this way?"

"Because I can take care of this on my own," said Danny, his voice becoming cold and distant. "No one deserves to have my shit dumped on their doorstep."

"So you pushed everyone away," said Aiden, her voice beginning to rival Danny's in irritation, "you pushed her away!"

"Yes, so I can deal with this!" Danny was now on his feet, Aiden was soon to follow.

"So you are trying to deal with your problems!"

"Apparently!"

"But you need her with you!"

"YES!"

A look of shock struck Danny's face as an accomplished grin spread on Aiden's. Danny sank back to his seat and cradled his head in his hands. At the sight, Aiden's smile disappeared and she took a seat next to her friend. The seriousness resonated in the air.

"She really is good for you, ya know that?" she said softly.

"I know, Aiden…"

"So why do you push her away?" Aiden asked, placing her hand on his shoulder. It fest as if a warm light was passing from her hand into his body, bringing with it a sort of calming sensation. He shrugged her hand off and his hand dropped, though his head remained bowed.

"Because she deserves better," he said quietly. "Someone who isn't a monster."

Danny felt Aiden grab his arm quickly followed by a quick slap to the face. Danny kept his face turned away from her, but he could sense her anger. "I know you were stubborn, but I never thought you were stupid, comparing yourself with the scum you and I cleaned up everyday. You didn't tell him to ride ahead, and before you fight me on it, you told him he could ride to the corner," she said, cutting off his argument before he could start it. "You didn't send him ahead to get shot, Danny," she said turning his head to her. "You cared for him like he was your own son, you loved that boy."

"You don't get it, Aid," said Danny quietly.

Aiden sighed heavily. "No, Danny, it's you who doesn't get it…" Suddenly, the light of realization graced her face. "But I think I know someone who can get through to you."

"What are you…" started Danny.

"Wait here," she interrupted, leaving in a quick flash of silvery light. A moment later, the light returned to Danny's presence, and young child's hand in hers.

Danny sat staring at the pair, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "Hey, Danny," said the young boy happily.

Danny couldn't believe it, but was able to stutter, "R-Ruben?"

Do me a favor and tell me how I did after my long absence, k?