Danny climbed the three flights to his floor slowly, tripping and stumbling half a dozen times from exhaustion and shock before he made it.

Mac had stayed with him at the hospital and Flack had shown up too to wait with him for his parents. After explaining the situation as best as he could to Mr. and Mrs. Messer, Mac had headed back to the lab. Danny and Flack had stuck around for about another half hour, but finally his mother’s tears and hugs and father’s silent and useless anger had gotten to be too much and Flack took him at home. The detective had offered to come up with Danny and watch the re-run of the Yankees game (and keep on eye on him) but Danny had cited exhaustion and sent Flack home to his own bed. He loved his best friend for proving once more that he had Danny’s back, but he really did just need some sleep at the moment.

When he finally got to the top of his landing his shins, wrists and palms were aching and he was out of breathe again. The actually-not-so-bad pain of his body piled on top of his internal anguish made him want to cry some more. But he just closed his eyes, gripped the railing tight and took four deep, steadying breathes till he’d calmed down. Then he resumed his clumsy walk down the hall and around the corner towards his apartment door.

He stopped dead as his door came into view though.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, with her back against his door, was Aiden Burn. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she was wearing loose, faded jeans and a plain grey t-shirt. She had headphones on and Danny could hear the faint, tinny sounds of what he thought might be Queen. She was just sitting there, reading a battered paperback, her full lips pursed in concentration, not yet noticing him standing ten yards away. Danny realized he’d forgotten just how gorgeous she was and how much he loved her, and did start crying again at the misery of seeing one of his best friends for the first time in months on this goddamned night.

He lurched forward, tears spilling unheeded down his face, and dropped to his knees beside her. Aiden jumped out of skin and for a second he thought she was going to kung fu him on reflex, but he had her pulled between his knees and was hugging her before she had a chance to drop her book.

Danny pressed his wet face into her neck and demanded in a shaky voice, “Oh fuck, Aid, where have you been?”

Even though he had inadvertently pinned her arms to her sides, Aiden got her headphones off and twisted in his arms till she was holding him just as much as he was holding her.

“Danny. Danny, Jesus, are you okay?”

He sniffed and pulled away slightly. He said in a confused, hurt little boy voice, “You didn’t hear?”

“’Bout your brother?”

“…Yeah.”

Aiden reached up and stroked the sides of his face, brushing away the tears, and gently said, “I heard. That’s why I’m here. Stella called me. What happened? Are you okay?”

Danny’s face creased as he tried to push away another wave of sobs and he shook his head slowly. Aiden sighed, got her feet under her, and forced him to stand up, making no attempts to move from his embrace. She got his keys off him, unlocked the door and helped him walk to the couch. She left the lights off, figuring Danny would be pretty embarrassed by the amount of emotion he was showing and just sat with him; rubbing his back and smoothing his hair back from his face while he cried.

When the tears had slowed, she tried talking to him again.

“You okay, Messer?”

“No. Th-they beat ‘em real bad, Aid,” he said in a tight, hushed voice. Then, “Where’ve you been? I-I tried callin’ you but you never picked up and when I went to your apartment your neighbour tole me you moved out…Where’d you go? Why’d you leave me like that, huhn?”

He knew he was being pathetic and needy, but he didn’t give a shit. He’s brother was as good as dead, his parents were devastated, everyone at the lab knew about his screwed up past and he was just so fucking tired.

“Oh man, Danny, I know. And I’m so sorry,” Aiden said softly. “I took a position in Chicago with a museum. I just…I just couldn’t do it anymore. I needed a break. From everythin’…Even you.”

Danny pulled from her embrace and hung his head, sobbing even harder now. Nobody wanted him. He thought he might sick at the realization. Louie had pushed him away – literally and emotionally – fifteen years ago, hurting him so badly. And even though it’d been to protect him, Danny had only lost him again. And now it turned out that Aiden Burn was doing the very same thing, only with her it was for real.

Aiden touched his shoulder. “Danny, no. No, that’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean?” Danny asked angrily, yanking away from her hand. “Didja have to get away from me? Not the lab in general. Me. Danny Messer. Did you?”

“…Yes.”

“Jesus.”

“But it’s not like how you think,” Aiden said firmly, grasping his arm and pulling him closer. He tried to fight her, but he was so tired and his muscles felt so drained that after a moment and weak struggling, he just gave up and leaned into her warm, soft body. Felt better there anyway, broken heart or not. She wrapped her arms around his chest from behind and spoke quietly but steadily in his ear, making sure he got every word.

“I had to leave CSI. I had to leave that job and what I saw and who I was becomin’, okay? And…and yeah, I hadta leave you, and Don and Stella and Hawkes and Adam and Mac. And don’t you dare think that I never think ‘bout you or don’t miss you like hell every damn day and night ‘cause I do. I left…I left you and wouldn’t let you find me again ‘cause I think for sure you’d hate me.”

Danny groaned and tipped his head back onto her shoulder. He grabbed his wrists and pulled to make her tighten her hold around him.

“I never hated ya, Burn. I jus’…jus’ missed ya.”

He felt her press a kiss to his temple and almost cracked a smile.

“I miss you too, Danny…I never meant to cause you any sorrow and I never meant to cause you any pain.”

“What, you think quotin’ Prince lyrics is gonna make me feel better?”

“I dunno. Is it workin’?”

“…Maybe,” he admitted grudgingly. Danny knew she was smirking at that.

“So then…this mean you forgive me?”

“I forgave him, I can forgive anybody anythin’,” he said darkly.

“’Him’…Louie?”

Danny nodded.

“You wanna tell me ‘bout it? Stella just gave me the facts. Why don’t you fill in the rest?”

He did, haltingly, and by the time he was finished, he had turned in Aiden’s arms and she was lying on her back on the couch with him sprawled on top. When he was done talking (and crying) he wondered if maybe he was too heavy and made to shift off her, but she just tightened her arms, slipped one hand under his suede jacket and t-shirt and started stroking the soft skin of the small of his back.

“I’m sorry, Danny. Losin’ a brother, no matter how close or distant, is real hard.”

Danny nodded and closed his eyes. She had four brother of her own, one of which was serving time in Sing-Sing and another one that was killed by a drunk driver when she was eighteen and Tom was twenty. If anyone understood right now it was Aiden.

She shifted slightly and sighed under him and he suddenly became aware of her curvy figure pressed against his own body, her warm hand on his bare skin and the way his hips were almost cradled between her thighs. He almost tried to pull away, this time for different, though almost just as embarrassing reasons, when she distracted him by speaking again.

“I came in from Chicago last night to see my old man and brothers, and you, I was gonna call you in the mornin’, but then I gotta call from Stel and came here.”

“Were you waitin’ long?”

“An hour.”

She paused. “I’m sorry it took me this long to come back, Danny. I just…It’s just…”

Danny lifted his head from the crook of her neck and studied her beautiful face in the yellowy city light coming through the window.

“S’alright, Aiden. Drop it, ‘kay? I don’t really wanna go through anymore Oprah or Hallmark moments tonight.”

She paused and gave him that all too familiar look of challenge she used to always deal him whenever they didn’t quite agree on something. Seeing it made him smile a little. And being this close to her made him notice yet again how kissable her lips were.

“Alright,” she said, giving in. “But we will discuss at some point.”

“How long’re you stayin’?” Danny asked tentatively.

“…However long you need me to.” She put the hand not under his shirt on the back on his head and guided it back down to her collarbone. Danny hazily noticed she smelled like art plaster and vanilla.

“Will, um, will you come to-to the hospital wit’ me in the mornin’? Please?”

“Of course. But for now let’s just lie here a while, okay? Maybe sleep some.”

“Aid, I…I love my brother, I really do,” he said, hating how it felt like an overdue confession. He was already fading fast though, almost asleep as he spoke.

“I know you do. He loves you too, Danny. I know it. And I do too, I love ya, okay? Sleep now.”

Danny passed out a minute later, wishing he’d had the energy to say he loved her back. Oh well. She did say that she’d be sticking around as long as he needed her, that she’d go to the hospital with him later. He’d tell her in the morning.