kathierif_fic (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kathierif_fic) wrote2010-07-30 01:38 am
kathierif_fic) wrote2010-07-30 01:38 am
Fic: A Bad Taste In Your Mouth (One Blood, One Life) (CSI:NY AU, gen, FRM) 4/7
Title: A Bad Taste In Your Mouth (One Blood, One Life)
Author: Kathie (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kathierif_fic)
Fandom: CSI:NY
Pairing: none. This is gen. OMG.
Rating: FRM
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
4.
“Are you okay? You’re quiet,” Mac murmured as he ran his hands along Danny’s tense shoulders.
Danny shrugged. “Nothing to say,” he muttered and tugged at the bandage on his hand. He was spared from saying anything else by a soft knock on the door.
“Okay,” Mac said before stepping back from Danny. “Now get undressed.”
“What?” Danny squeaked before coughing uncomfortably.
“You heard me,” Mac said and went to answer the door. Danny turned to glare at him while yanking at his shirt and dropping it onto a chair.
“Why do you want me to take off my clothes?”
“To make sure nobody else gets a shot at you,” Mac explained and closed the door again. “Off with those pants.”
Danny blushed uncomfortably, but he stiffly stepped out of his sweatpants and folded them carelessly.
“Come here,” Mac said and ran an appreciating gaze over Danny’s body while putting the bag he had been handed on the table. The Nightwatch emblem was embroidered onto the black fabric.
Danny bit his lip, but he followed the order without protesting.
Mac nodded. “You’ve never been a real Donor,” he said. It wasn’t a question, and Danny didn’t answer. “So I think you’re unfamiliar with this procedure.”
Danny nodded and watched as Mac pulled several rolls of dark, thick fabric out of the bag.
“Vampires prefer a few spots on your body to feed,” Mac explained. “The neck. The inside of your wrist.” Mac’s fingertips brushed against Danny’s forearm, and if he’d noticed the scars at the hollow of Danny’s throat, he didn’t comment on them. And, Danny knew, there was no way the vampire could have missed these scars – not with Danny standing in just a pair of underwear in front of him. The vampire had already proven that he was a good observer and quick to pick up even the smallest clues.
“The inside of your thighs,” Mac continued and glanced down.
“So what are you going to do about that?” Danny wanted to know.
“This.”
Mac kneeled down and started wrapping the heavy bandages around one of Danny’s thighs. “I’m protecting what’s mine. You’re still injured, and the smell of your blood...it’s distracting, and not just for me.”
“You’re turning me into a mummy?” Danny asked suspiciously.
Mac gave him a grin, showing the pointy teeth that were so characteristic for his kind. “Yeah, I am,” he agreed. “Or a special present.”
“Great,” Danny grumbled, but he didn’t move while Mac carefully wrapped him up and finally fastened the high collar around Danny’s neck.
“I can’t move,” Danny complained when Mac was done.
“You’ll learn,” Mac promised and handed him his pants and his shirt. Danny wrinkled his nose, but he took them and put them on without voicing a single word of protest.
“It’s not that bad, actually,” Mac continued. “I know that Don skates and plays hockey and basketball and everything.”
Danny tried to shake his head in disbelief, but he gave up quickly when he suddenly felt as if he couldn’t breathe anymore. “You let him play hockey and I can’t go to work?”
“We didn’t let him be a cop either,” Mac pointed out mildly. “Although he really wanted that.”
“Huh,” Danny said.
“Come on,” Mac said finally and put his hand on Danny’s elbow. “The sun will come up soon, and I want to know you safe and settled in.”
“I have to stay with you? I can’t go back to my place?” Danny wanted to know.
“For now,” Mac said. “And at least until your hand is healed. We don’t want any surprises, Danny.”
Danny sighed and slipped into his shoes.
“It doesn’t have to be permanent,” Mac promised, but again, Danny didn’t reply.
~*+*~
The apartment was pitch black, which wasn’t surprising since it didn’t have many windows. Danny shivered slightly as he tiptoed across the length of the living room, his shoes in his hand and his breath held. It was a nice apartment, spacious and certainly big enough for four people, and It was tidy and it hadn’t taken Danny long to figure out that each of the three men already living here had contributed to the design and look of the place. Mac was the one who preferred dark wooden furniture, Hawkes, who had taken a look at Danny’s injured hand and had assured them that it would heal cleanly, liked light-colored wooden shelves that were almost breaking down under the weight of his books, and Don…Danny shook his head slightly as his thoughts went to the other Donor. As much as he hated being forced into the life of a Donor, he had found an almost instant liking to the quick-witted taller man.
However, it wasn’t enough to keep him here, grounded in this apartment until his hand was healed and the vampires could be sure that he was docile and obedient. He had been here only a few short hours and already he was feeling restless and itched to be free. He found the bandages and the collar stifling and had taken the first opportunity to rip the bandages off and loosening the collar, but it hadn’t been enough to make him settle down on the unfamiliar bed and go to sleep. A glance at his watch had confirmed that it was almost noon when he’d finally given up and had decided to sneak out. Unfortunately, he couldn’t take off the collar completely, but just loosening it had helped him ease his breathing.
The darkness and the silence of the apartment had convinced him that everybody else was asleep, and he’d taken his chance to get his freedom back.
He just wasn’t cut out for this life, and Mac Taylor just had to accept that, he thought while pulling the door closed behind himself, double-checking to make sure it was really locked. On his socks, he went to the elevator, and only then did he put his shoes on.
Stepping out of the building, he had to stop for a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the brightness of daylight. Squinting his eyes, he felt tears of pain tickle the back of his lids, and he sighed as the tension in his shoulders eased.
He hated being locked up.
He didn’t think Mac would be happy with him for doing this, but if he was honest, he couldn’t bring himself to care. He needed the fresh air and his freedom to survive, and that was more important to him than the disapproval of a bloodsucker – a vampire, he mentally corrected himself – he barely knew.
“Thought I might find you here,” an amused voice said, right behind him, and Danny whirled around with a surprised yelp, his hand instinctively going to his belt, trying to pull his gun out of his holster.
His hand came up empty. He hadn’t gotten his weapon back when he’d been released into Mac’s care, and the blood shot into his face and warmed it with embarrassment when he realized what he’d been doing.
Flack laughed. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologized and lifted both hands. He was wearing only one glove and that omnipresent collar, together with jeans and a long-sleeved sweatshirt. A pair of sunglasses was perched on the tip of his nose, and Danny couldn’t tell if he had bandages wrapped all around his body or not.
“Are you gonna tell them that I tried to sneak out?” he blurted out, the first thing that came to his mind. Immediately, he bit the tip of his tongue. He’d given himself away, and now Flack would drag him back to the apartment and Danny would be punished, just because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut and it was too late now to come up with a good excuse for him being outside.
Don laughed again and pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Depends,” he said, his voice serious. “Were you planning on sneaking back in later?”
Danny shifted from one foot to the other. This was his chance to try to redeem himself, limit the damage he’d done by not thinking.
“I don’t know,” he admitted and looked away. “Probably. I mean…there’s not a lot of places I could go.”
“You like being a cop.”
It wasn’t a question, but Danny still nodded.
“Why d you like it that much?” Don turned and indicated that Danny should walk with him.
Danny shrugged.
“To serve and protect, huh?” Don said when Danny didn’t reply. “That’s what you like. Why you do it. Not the salary.”
Danny bristled visibly. “The salary is okay.”
Don waved him off. “My old man was a cop, I know what the salary is like,” he explained. “Who knows, if I wasn’t doing this, maybe I would’ve become one, too.”
“Didn’t you ever want to, you know. Run away; do what you want to do instead of what you’re getting told?” Danny asked. His eyes slowly got used to the daylight, and he could see his surroundings more clearly now.
Don shrugged. “Once or twice, in the beginning,” he admitted. “But it’s not that bad, being a Donor. Mac and Sheldon…they’re both good people.”
“I still don’t get how you can just throw away your own life like this,” Danny muttered and kicked at the ground.
“Maybe if you give this a chance,” Don pointed out. “It’s not like we’re slaves or anything. And I didn’t throw away my life at all. I like it.”
“Let me ask you something,” Danny said and stopped. “How long have you been a Donor?”
Don calmly looked at him. “Since I was seventeen.”
“How can you be so sure that you couldn’t have a better life without vampires?” Danny demanded to know.
Don shrugged. “I can’t,” he replied. “Not a hundred percent. On the other side, how do you know that being a Donor is – how did you put it, the life of a walking lunchbox?” His blue eyes were suddenly icy. “Your job was to serve and protect,” he pointed out. “Then what’s wrong with serving and protecting a vampire?”
Danny had no answer for that.
Don waited a few heartbeats and finally sighed. “Come on,” he said. “I want to show you something.”
“What?”
“You’ll see.” Don grinned. “How good are you at shootin’ hoops?”
~*+*~
Don wasn’t surprised when he stepped through the door, still tugging at the glove covering his left hand, and found Mac waiting for them, but Danny froze and hunched u his shoulders defensively.
“Mac,” Don called out and put his hand gently on Danny’s shoulder. “I took Danny to see some of the kids here.”
Mac nodded, his gaze wandering over the two of them. Danny still didn’t meet his eyes, and Don was frowning at Mac, as if he wanted to will the vampire to play along with whatever scheme Don had come up with. Something else was wrong, too, he thought, and when Danny took a step toward him, propelled forward by Don’s hand on his back, he quickly realized what it was.
Danny moved easily, with a fluid grace that a part of Mac admired, but there was only one reason why Danny was able to move like that. He’d taken off the protective bandages, leaving only his injured hand wrapped. Mac felt the prick of irritation at the back of his mind, but he clenched his teeth tightly. His Donor was walking around unprotected, except for the collar, but even that one wasn’t tightened properly anymore. Even the best Donors needed time to get used to the attire and this was just Danny’s second day, he told himself firmly, besides, he had been with Don the entire time and hadn’t run off.
“Danny was really good with some of these kids,” Don said with a small smile. “You remember Alex? He’s fifteen, you brought him in a few months ago, he was in an attack?”
Mac nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off of Danny who squirmed uncomfortably under his intense stare.
“He talked to Danny. We have a description now,” Don revealed with grim satisfaction.
Mac nodded again. “Good work, Danny,” he praised, deciding to let the unwrapping slide this time. He would take care of it later, put the wrappings back on his Donor and talk to him about their importance, he decided.
Danny’s tongue slipped out to wet his bottom lip slightly. “Mac?” he asked hesitantly. He had some trouble addressing the vampire by name. Something in him insisted to call him ‘Mr. Taylor’ or ‘sir’.
“Yes?” Mac prompted and tilted his head slightly to the side, and Danny took a deep breath. “Can I…can I go to the precinct, catch up with my old partner, pick up a few of my things? I’m sure she’s worried about where I disappeared to, and I’d really like my phone back.”
Mac tilted his head to the other side. “Of course,” he said slowly. “But…” He reached out and tugged carefully on Danny’s collar. “First, we’ll fix this.”
Danny swallowed, but he let Mac tighten the collar around his throat, and when Mac pulled a pair of thin gloves from his pockets, he took them without a single word of protest. He was, Mac thought absent-mindedly, picking his fights and apparently had decided that fighting Mac on the subject of proper protection wasn’t worth it.
Finally, Mac nodded his satisfaction, and Danny turned toward Don. “You wanna come?” he asked. “Meet her?”
Don nodded. “Sure,” he said easily, “unless I’m needed…?”
“No, you go,” Mac assured him quickly. “You have a phone; I know how to get a hold of you if I need to.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s time for me to go to work anyways,” he added. “I’ll see you two in the morning.”
He brushed his fingers awkwardly against Danny’s elbow and squeezed Don’s wrist briefly before abruptly turning around to flag down a cab.
“Huh,” Danny said after a moment of silence. “I almost expected him to say something like ‘don’t go with strangers’ or ‘look both ways before crossing the street’ there.”
Don laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “He’s not supposed to treat us like children,” he replied. “He’s worried because he likes us and because he depends on us, that’s all.”
“Yeah,” Danny murmured. “But it’s still weird, you know?” He frowned. “Vampires are crazy.”
“Yes,” Don agreed easily. “But not all of them are a bad kind of crazy.”
Danny wasn’t so sure about that, but he just ducked his head and pushed his hands into his pockets.
“Come on,” Don said, his voice quiet. “Let’s get going. You wanna call ahead; make sure your partner is around?”
Danny nodded, and Don handed him his phone without waiting for Danny to ask.
~*+*~
“Detective Taylor.” Mac frowned at the file in front of him, the phone pressed between his shoulder and his ear.
“Detective? Officer Lindsay Monroe.” The voice on the other end of the line was female, young and sounded nervous.
“What can I do for you, Officer?” Mac asked calmly.
“I called the Nightwatch to get your name,” she hastened to explain. “I was told that you’re the vampire Danny Messer was…um…assigned to.”
Mac’s attention snapped away from the case file in front of him. “That’s true,” he said with forced calmness as he sat up straight in his chair. A small knot of dread started to form at the pit of his stomach.
“Danny called me earlier, to meet up,” she said. “But he never made it. He gave me a number, to call in case something came up, but nobody is answering it.”
It had, the analytical part of Mac’s brain supplied, to be Don’s cell phone number, and if Don didn’t answer his phone, something bad must have happened. Don always answered his phone, in case Mac or Sheldon or one of the kids he worked with needed him.
He could hear Officer Monroe swallow. “I think it would be better if you came here,” she said hesitantly before giving him an address. In addition to her nervousness, something close to fear made her voice tremble slightly.
“I’m on my way,” Mac promised. He was out of his chair and halfway to the elevator before the phone came to rest completely on its cradle.
His thoughts were focused on his two Donors, and the cold knowledge that something had happened to them.
TBC
Author: Kathie (
kathierif_fic)Fandom: CSI:NY
Pairing: none. This is gen. OMG.
Rating: FRM
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
4.
“Are you okay? You’re quiet,” Mac murmured as he ran his hands along Danny’s tense shoulders.
Danny shrugged. “Nothing to say,” he muttered and tugged at the bandage on his hand. He was spared from saying anything else by a soft knock on the door.
“Okay,” Mac said before stepping back from Danny. “Now get undressed.”
“What?” Danny squeaked before coughing uncomfortably.
“You heard me,” Mac said and went to answer the door. Danny turned to glare at him while yanking at his shirt and dropping it onto a chair.
“Why do you want me to take off my clothes?”
“To make sure nobody else gets a shot at you,” Mac explained and closed the door again. “Off with those pants.”
Danny blushed uncomfortably, but he stiffly stepped out of his sweatpants and folded them carelessly.
“Come here,” Mac said and ran an appreciating gaze over Danny’s body while putting the bag he had been handed on the table. The Nightwatch emblem was embroidered onto the black fabric.
Danny bit his lip, but he followed the order without protesting.
Mac nodded. “You’ve never been a real Donor,” he said. It wasn’t a question, and Danny didn’t answer. “So I think you’re unfamiliar with this procedure.”
Danny nodded and watched as Mac pulled several rolls of dark, thick fabric out of the bag.
“Vampires prefer a few spots on your body to feed,” Mac explained. “The neck. The inside of your wrist.” Mac’s fingertips brushed against Danny’s forearm, and if he’d noticed the scars at the hollow of Danny’s throat, he didn’t comment on them. And, Danny knew, there was no way the vampire could have missed these scars – not with Danny standing in just a pair of underwear in front of him. The vampire had already proven that he was a good observer and quick to pick up even the smallest clues.
“The inside of your thighs,” Mac continued and glanced down.
“So what are you going to do about that?” Danny wanted to know.
“This.”
Mac kneeled down and started wrapping the heavy bandages around one of Danny’s thighs. “I’m protecting what’s mine. You’re still injured, and the smell of your blood...it’s distracting, and not just for me.”
“You’re turning me into a mummy?” Danny asked suspiciously.
Mac gave him a grin, showing the pointy teeth that were so characteristic for his kind. “Yeah, I am,” he agreed. “Or a special present.”
“Great,” Danny grumbled, but he didn’t move while Mac carefully wrapped him up and finally fastened the high collar around Danny’s neck.
“I can’t move,” Danny complained when Mac was done.
“You’ll learn,” Mac promised and handed him his pants and his shirt. Danny wrinkled his nose, but he took them and put them on without voicing a single word of protest.
“It’s not that bad, actually,” Mac continued. “I know that Don skates and plays hockey and basketball and everything.”
Danny tried to shake his head in disbelief, but he gave up quickly when he suddenly felt as if he couldn’t breathe anymore. “You let him play hockey and I can’t go to work?”
“We didn’t let him be a cop either,” Mac pointed out mildly. “Although he really wanted that.”
“Huh,” Danny said.
“Come on,” Mac said finally and put his hand on Danny’s elbow. “The sun will come up soon, and I want to know you safe and settled in.”
“I have to stay with you? I can’t go back to my place?” Danny wanted to know.
“For now,” Mac said. “And at least until your hand is healed. We don’t want any surprises, Danny.”
Danny sighed and slipped into his shoes.
“It doesn’t have to be permanent,” Mac promised, but again, Danny didn’t reply.
~*+*~
The apartment was pitch black, which wasn’t surprising since it didn’t have many windows. Danny shivered slightly as he tiptoed across the length of the living room, his shoes in his hand and his breath held. It was a nice apartment, spacious and certainly big enough for four people, and It was tidy and it hadn’t taken Danny long to figure out that each of the three men already living here had contributed to the design and look of the place. Mac was the one who preferred dark wooden furniture, Hawkes, who had taken a look at Danny’s injured hand and had assured them that it would heal cleanly, liked light-colored wooden shelves that were almost breaking down under the weight of his books, and Don…Danny shook his head slightly as his thoughts went to the other Donor. As much as he hated being forced into the life of a Donor, he had found an almost instant liking to the quick-witted taller man.
However, it wasn’t enough to keep him here, grounded in this apartment until his hand was healed and the vampires could be sure that he was docile and obedient. He had been here only a few short hours and already he was feeling restless and itched to be free. He found the bandages and the collar stifling and had taken the first opportunity to rip the bandages off and loosening the collar, but it hadn’t been enough to make him settle down on the unfamiliar bed and go to sleep. A glance at his watch had confirmed that it was almost noon when he’d finally given up and had decided to sneak out. Unfortunately, he couldn’t take off the collar completely, but just loosening it had helped him ease his breathing.
The darkness and the silence of the apartment had convinced him that everybody else was asleep, and he’d taken his chance to get his freedom back.
He just wasn’t cut out for this life, and Mac Taylor just had to accept that, he thought while pulling the door closed behind himself, double-checking to make sure it was really locked. On his socks, he went to the elevator, and only then did he put his shoes on.
Stepping out of the building, he had to stop for a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the brightness of daylight. Squinting his eyes, he felt tears of pain tickle the back of his lids, and he sighed as the tension in his shoulders eased.
He hated being locked up.
He didn’t think Mac would be happy with him for doing this, but if he was honest, he couldn’t bring himself to care. He needed the fresh air and his freedom to survive, and that was more important to him than the disapproval of a bloodsucker – a vampire, he mentally corrected himself – he barely knew.
“Thought I might find you here,” an amused voice said, right behind him, and Danny whirled around with a surprised yelp, his hand instinctively going to his belt, trying to pull his gun out of his holster.
His hand came up empty. He hadn’t gotten his weapon back when he’d been released into Mac’s care, and the blood shot into his face and warmed it with embarrassment when he realized what he’d been doing.
Flack laughed. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologized and lifted both hands. He was wearing only one glove and that omnipresent collar, together with jeans and a long-sleeved sweatshirt. A pair of sunglasses was perched on the tip of his nose, and Danny couldn’t tell if he had bandages wrapped all around his body or not.
“Are you gonna tell them that I tried to sneak out?” he blurted out, the first thing that came to his mind. Immediately, he bit the tip of his tongue. He’d given himself away, and now Flack would drag him back to the apartment and Danny would be punished, just because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut and it was too late now to come up with a good excuse for him being outside.
Don laughed again and pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Depends,” he said, his voice serious. “Were you planning on sneaking back in later?”
Danny shifted from one foot to the other. This was his chance to try to redeem himself, limit the damage he’d done by not thinking.
“I don’t know,” he admitted and looked away. “Probably. I mean…there’s not a lot of places I could go.”
“You like being a cop.”
It wasn’t a question, but Danny still nodded.
“Why d you like it that much?” Don turned and indicated that Danny should walk with him.
Danny shrugged.
“To serve and protect, huh?” Don said when Danny didn’t reply. “That’s what you like. Why you do it. Not the salary.”
Danny bristled visibly. “The salary is okay.”
Don waved him off. “My old man was a cop, I know what the salary is like,” he explained. “Who knows, if I wasn’t doing this, maybe I would’ve become one, too.”
“Didn’t you ever want to, you know. Run away; do what you want to do instead of what you’re getting told?” Danny asked. His eyes slowly got used to the daylight, and he could see his surroundings more clearly now.
Don shrugged. “Once or twice, in the beginning,” he admitted. “But it’s not that bad, being a Donor. Mac and Sheldon…they’re both good people.”
“I still don’t get how you can just throw away your own life like this,” Danny muttered and kicked at the ground.
“Maybe if you give this a chance,” Don pointed out. “It’s not like we’re slaves or anything. And I didn’t throw away my life at all. I like it.”
“Let me ask you something,” Danny said and stopped. “How long have you been a Donor?”
Don calmly looked at him. “Since I was seventeen.”
“How can you be so sure that you couldn’t have a better life without vampires?” Danny demanded to know.
Don shrugged. “I can’t,” he replied. “Not a hundred percent. On the other side, how do you know that being a Donor is – how did you put it, the life of a walking lunchbox?” His blue eyes were suddenly icy. “Your job was to serve and protect,” he pointed out. “Then what’s wrong with serving and protecting a vampire?”
Danny had no answer for that.
Don waited a few heartbeats and finally sighed. “Come on,” he said. “I want to show you something.”
“What?”
“You’ll see.” Don grinned. “How good are you at shootin’ hoops?”
~*+*~
Don wasn’t surprised when he stepped through the door, still tugging at the glove covering his left hand, and found Mac waiting for them, but Danny froze and hunched u his shoulders defensively.
“Mac,” Don called out and put his hand gently on Danny’s shoulder. “I took Danny to see some of the kids here.”
Mac nodded, his gaze wandering over the two of them. Danny still didn’t meet his eyes, and Don was frowning at Mac, as if he wanted to will the vampire to play along with whatever scheme Don had come up with. Something else was wrong, too, he thought, and when Danny took a step toward him, propelled forward by Don’s hand on his back, he quickly realized what it was.
Danny moved easily, with a fluid grace that a part of Mac admired, but there was only one reason why Danny was able to move like that. He’d taken off the protective bandages, leaving only his injured hand wrapped. Mac felt the prick of irritation at the back of his mind, but he clenched his teeth tightly. His Donor was walking around unprotected, except for the collar, but even that one wasn’t tightened properly anymore. Even the best Donors needed time to get used to the attire and this was just Danny’s second day, he told himself firmly, besides, he had been with Don the entire time and hadn’t run off.
“Danny was really good with some of these kids,” Don said with a small smile. “You remember Alex? He’s fifteen, you brought him in a few months ago, he was in an attack?”
Mac nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off of Danny who squirmed uncomfortably under his intense stare.
“He talked to Danny. We have a description now,” Don revealed with grim satisfaction.
Mac nodded again. “Good work, Danny,” he praised, deciding to let the unwrapping slide this time. He would take care of it later, put the wrappings back on his Donor and talk to him about their importance, he decided.
Danny’s tongue slipped out to wet his bottom lip slightly. “Mac?” he asked hesitantly. He had some trouble addressing the vampire by name. Something in him insisted to call him ‘Mr. Taylor’ or ‘sir’.
“Yes?” Mac prompted and tilted his head slightly to the side, and Danny took a deep breath. “Can I…can I go to the precinct, catch up with my old partner, pick up a few of my things? I’m sure she’s worried about where I disappeared to, and I’d really like my phone back.”
Mac tilted his head to the other side. “Of course,” he said slowly. “But…” He reached out and tugged carefully on Danny’s collar. “First, we’ll fix this.”
Danny swallowed, but he let Mac tighten the collar around his throat, and when Mac pulled a pair of thin gloves from his pockets, he took them without a single word of protest. He was, Mac thought absent-mindedly, picking his fights and apparently had decided that fighting Mac on the subject of proper protection wasn’t worth it.
Finally, Mac nodded his satisfaction, and Danny turned toward Don. “You wanna come?” he asked. “Meet her?”
Don nodded. “Sure,” he said easily, “unless I’m needed…?”
“No, you go,” Mac assured him quickly. “You have a phone; I know how to get a hold of you if I need to.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s time for me to go to work anyways,” he added. “I’ll see you two in the morning.”
He brushed his fingers awkwardly against Danny’s elbow and squeezed Don’s wrist briefly before abruptly turning around to flag down a cab.
“Huh,” Danny said after a moment of silence. “I almost expected him to say something like ‘don’t go with strangers’ or ‘look both ways before crossing the street’ there.”
Don laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “He’s not supposed to treat us like children,” he replied. “He’s worried because he likes us and because he depends on us, that’s all.”
“Yeah,” Danny murmured. “But it’s still weird, you know?” He frowned. “Vampires are crazy.”
“Yes,” Don agreed easily. “But not all of them are a bad kind of crazy.”
Danny wasn’t so sure about that, but he just ducked his head and pushed his hands into his pockets.
“Come on,” Don said, his voice quiet. “Let’s get going. You wanna call ahead; make sure your partner is around?”
Danny nodded, and Don handed him his phone without waiting for Danny to ask.
~*+*~
“Detective Taylor.” Mac frowned at the file in front of him, the phone pressed between his shoulder and his ear.
“Detective? Officer Lindsay Monroe.” The voice on the other end of the line was female, young and sounded nervous.
“What can I do for you, Officer?” Mac asked calmly.
“I called the Nightwatch to get your name,” she hastened to explain. “I was told that you’re the vampire Danny Messer was…um…assigned to.”
Mac’s attention snapped away from the case file in front of him. “That’s true,” he said with forced calmness as he sat up straight in his chair. A small knot of dread started to form at the pit of his stomach.
“Danny called me earlier, to meet up,” she said. “But he never made it. He gave me a number, to call in case something came up, but nobody is answering it.”
It had, the analytical part of Mac’s brain supplied, to be Don’s cell phone number, and if Don didn’t answer his phone, something bad must have happened. Don always answered his phone, in case Mac or Sheldon or one of the kids he worked with needed him.
He could hear Officer Monroe swallow. “I think it would be better if you came here,” she said hesitantly before giving him an address. In addition to her nervousness, something close to fear made her voice tremble slightly.
“I’m on my way,” Mac promised. He was out of his chair and halfway to the elevator before the phone came to rest completely on its cradle.
His thoughts were focused on his two Donors, and the cold knowledge that something had happened to them.
TBC