Secrets || Danny

They waited in Mac's room. "What a relief huh? Glad he's ok. Well we found Jordan Calaveras's location. He's in Long Island in an old abandoned house. We checked his last known whereabouts, he likes hanging out at movie theaters and he likes broadway shows. But we couldn't find him." Danny said.

Stella nodded. "We'll find him eventually. It's what we do,"she pointed out.

Danny nodded. "Yeah and we're good at it, question is how much time will it be before he gets too far ahead of us? That won't give us much of a chance to track him down." he pointed out.

Stella nodded and shrugged. "We can't afford to think like that if we plan to catch him,"she said, looking back at Danny and the team. "We've caught jerks like this before, it's our job. We can do it."

Adam nodded. "We will catch him, Danny. We always do. We're the best in the business. Did u get an address to that abandoned house?" he asked. Danny nodded. "Sure did. 212 E 47th Street, Long Island. Don, u think u could get unis out there to track this son of a bitch down?" he asked.

Don nodded, quickly scribbling the address down in his notebook before yanking out his cell phone. "Sure can. I'll have them call me if they get anything,"he said.

Danny nodded. "Sounds good, I don't really feel like thinking about that bastard right now, I just wanna stay here until Mac is given the green light to go home. If I have to I'll sleep here." he added.

Stella offered Danny a bit of a smile. "Make yourself comfortable then and I'll buy you a sleeping bag. Doc says he probably won't be let out for a few days so they can monitor his status and be sure he's alright before they give him about a month or two off duty,"she replied, offering him a seat beside her at Mac's bedside.

Danny sighed and couldn't refuse Stella's offer to sit by Mac's bedside. He looked at his boss, hooked up to oxygen, and IV's. "With all he's gone through, he should be given a year off. I know deep down he can hear us right now. He's probably chuckling inside." he said, smiling.

Stella smiled, chuckling a little herself. "He's a hard-ass Marine. Do you really think we could convince him to take a year off?"she said, joking a bit.

Danny got serious for a minute, nodding at Stella. "No way in hell. He would wanna get back on his feet ASAP and catch those perps with us. He doesn't like sitting on the sidelines, it's not what he does. He likes being in the spotlight." he said.

Stella smirked a bit at the end of Danny's little speech. "I wouldn't say he likes being in the spotlight, I would say he likes doing his job. He hates when he can't do his job, especially if someone is keeping him from doing it,"she pointed out.

Danny nodded and rubbed his already tired eyes. "Yeah. Yeah he does his job really well." he said, glancing over at his watch. "I'm exhausted, this Calaveras scumbag has really put us through hell. Not really sure how else to react to that, I'm really not in the mood, nor do I really give a damn right now." he added.

Stella nodded, sighed, and put a hand on Danny's arm. "I don't blame you and trust me, I feel the same way. It's a hell of a way to bring Mac back to the team, but he's alive and he's going to be fine. That's the important part."

Danny smiled. "Yeah I'm glad he is, Stell. I wanna thank u for coming with me in that ambulance, I couldn't have done that by myself. And I know Mac would've wanted u to be there anyway. Had to see if I could put my medical skills to good use and I think I did pretty well, considering." he said.

Stella smirked a bit at that. "It's fine Danny. You couldn't have kept me out of there if you wanted to,"she told him.

Danny yawned. "Thanks, Stella. I don't think anyone could've stopped u from coming along anyway. This is the part I hate. Waiting." he said. He then got a call from Don who was outside in the main lobby. "Don, any word on our suspect Jordan Calaveras?" he asked.

Stella nodded, yawning herself and shifting in an attempt to get comfortable for the long haul. This was her least favorite part as well. Waiting. It just killed her, if you'll excuse the bad pun. The doctor had said he'd be fine, but she still worried. He'd been so exhausted the last time he spoke to her after he'd woken up after the treatment, she just didn't know how much Mac could take. Although, she knew he could take a lot, because she'd seen him do it. It was just the simple fact that no one knew just how much was too much for the former Marine and now senior detective.

Don sighed. "Yeah we found him lurking around the crime lab, looking in to see if anyone was there. I had a few of my boys pick him up, he's in custody at the Precinct, Danny." he said. Danny sighed. "Wow, that's great, Don. Now if only I could get my hands on him. I'll let Stella know, thanks Don." he said.

Stella sighed softly, finally managing to make herself as comfortable as she could in the chairs at the hospital.

Danny smiled. "They got him, Stell. He's in custody at the precinct. I guess that makes me feel a bit better about what just happened." he said.

Stella let out a breath of relief. "Well, he's caught. That's what's important. Now we don't have to worry about where he is and if he's going to strike again,"she pointed out reasonably.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, me either. That's the nature of this business u know? We always have to watch our backs. I guess that's why we're so damn good at what we do. U know, we take the most dangerous people off the streets, but it doesn't make it any easier when we have to confront the parents and families of those that had their lives taken away. Or in Mac's case, had their lives changed." he said.

Stella sighed. "Mac once told me something that I know is true as anything he's ever said. He said, "It never gets any easier. Hell, the first time...was one time too many." He's right, he's damn right. This work never gets easier and the first time you have to tell anyone that their daughter or son, their wife or husband, or maybe their best friend, was murdered or had their life changed on a level like this...it's already one time too many for anyone."

Danny nodded in agreement. "Mac's right, u know? That's why he's such a damn good cop. That's the part I dread about this job, Stell. Having to put more pain into the families of those that were killed by a cold blooded murderer, I don't know how we do it. U know, when Mac got shot in that pharmacy, and I saw the blood from where Mac was laying, I wanted to find that person that did that to him and kill him. But I knew that wouldn't solve anything." he said.