Disclaimer: I do things for cash…not this though… ; )
"Get down!" There was a booming shout from across the street, several policemen grabbing their hand weapons and preparing to fire. The road was open, the midsection completely taped off by the officers, the crime scene on one side just outside the entrance to one of the top hotels in the city.
The CSIs were all around the entrance, scurrying to bag as much evidence as possible as the cry went out, all of them remaining as low to the floor as possible except Stella. She was facing the wall, determinedly plucking the only bullet they had found from the marble archway, refusing to give up despite the panic around her.
A man dressed in black, presumably the killer returning to the scene, leant out of the car window as the vehicle ploughed through the sectioned off area, the crime-tape attaching itself to the front bumper and the window screen. Shots were fired from the automatic carried in his arms, more shots signifying the various attempts to shoot out the protected tyres of the vehicle.
"Stella, get down!" Mac yelled at his colleague and friend, his concern clearly visible in his voice. He tried to move closer to her, anxious of being injured but more worried for her health. She was a clear target where she stood relentlessly retrieving the bullet with no apparent self-concern.
Stella spun around, ready to drop to the floor as the bullet was placed hastily in a small evidence bag. Another round of shots were fired, this time aimed more accurately in their direction. Stella let off a half-squeal, the noise getting stuck in her throat as she struggled with the numbing pain dispersing from her stomach.
Mac jumped up, carefully pulling Stella to the ground and shielding her body as the final round was used up, hitting several vehicles a little further on down the road, setting off a series of car alarms, only adding to the tense and panicked atmosphere.
He lay with his back to the road, his arm slung over Stella as she lay in front of him to prevent any further shots from reaching her, putting himself directly in danger if the gunman was to continue the attack.
"Get a paramedic!" Mac commanded harshly, his tone strong and indicating that there was no time to spare. Only a second later he demanded hurriedly, "Now!"
Stella's hands covered the single entrance wound as she writhed in pain on the floor, constantly moving in an attempt to rid herself of the acute yet dulling pain in her stomach. Mac took her hand in his, trying to prevent her from touching the wound as he pulled off his own shirt, already lightly coated in her blood from covering her in defence, and pressed the garment securely over the injury.
"Stay with me, Stella," Mac pleaded in a soft whisper, one hand still covering hers. He leant further forward, pressing a light kiss to her forehead, murmuring to reassure them both, "You're going to be fine, just stay with me."
"Mac, it hurts!" Stella breathed out heavily. She knew she didn't need to tell him that; he'd already experience enough in his life to know what her body was going through, but somehow to be able to hear herself speak was comforting and she knew it would comfort him too. They needed each other and they couldn't deny it.
"I know, Stel. The ambulance is on its way. Everything's going to be fine, just hang in there." Mac maintained eye contact with her, constantly reassuring her.
Danny ran into the road, flagging down the ambulance to bring the paramedics directly to Stella so that they wouldn't waste time looking for the casualty. Two paramedics hurried from the back of the ambulance, bringing the trolley with them. They lowered it to the floor as they reached Stella's side. With help from Mac she was lifted onto the stretcher, all the time the pressure still applied to her injury.
"Only one person in the ambulance with her please," one of the men requested as the trolley was laid securely in the emergency vehicle.
Mac turned to the others, all gathered around the back of the vehicle along with some of the officers who knew Stella well and were equally concerned. "Finish processing the evidence; find the bastard who did this to her."
They nodded in understand, immediately accepting that Mac would be the one to travel with her. Lindsay looked up at their boss almost pleadingly, needing more reassurance than that; things like this could never be that simple to her.
"Can't we follow in the car behind?" Lindsay requested quietly.
Knowing it was no time for a discussion let alone an argument Mac simply nodded, taking his seat next to Stella's stretcher, his hand remaining over the bleeding bullet-hole.
"How's she doing?" Danny asked, his voice thick with emotion. He held his hands on his hips, pacing slightly in front of Mac, unable to keep still.
Mac rose from his seat in the waiting area, now wearing a spare t-shirt that one of the hospital staff had found for him, answering, "She's been taken straight through to the operating theatre- the bullet's still inside."
"Where…where was she hit?" Lindsay asked nervously, her voice faltering.
"Stomach," Mac answered simply. No one commented on the glossy-tinge to his eyes as he held back tears clearly threatening to fall. He was scared to lose the woman he loved, so frightened that he had cried with her in the ambulance.
A nurse approached slowly, clipboard in hand and a kind smile firmly printed on her face. "Are you with Ms Bonasera?" She asked knowingly, having seen Mac arrive with the patient and refuse to leave until it was entirely necessary.
Mac nodded slowly, Flack confirming for the woman verbally, "Yeah, we work with Stella. What are the doctors saying?"
"We're hopeful," the nurse replied carefully, moving swiftly on to the purpose of her interruption, "We need details of her next of kin, so we can contact him or her; we need to collect background information on Ms Bonasera to avoid complications."
Everyone looked to Mac; him obviously knowing Stella the best so most likely to know the details of her parents of siblings. Mac surprised them when he responded instead in a low tone, "I'm her next of kin."
"What about her parents?" Hawkes interjected. In their line of work they knew that blood relatives were always preferable over spouses, then friends and finally colleagues. However none of them except Mac understood Stella's home life and knew that she had been brought up in an orphanage.
Mac repeated strongly, "I'm her next of kin." He led the nurse away from the group so that they wouldn't overhear the conversation. Stella always kept her past private and he had no intention to betray her decision. "She has no relatives…I'm her closest friend; I've known her for the past ten years- there's no one closer to her."
"Alright," the nurse nodded, offering him a friendly smile, "I understand. Please can you fill in these forms for me; your details and Ms Bonasera's? Once you've completed them if you leave them at the desk."
Mac nodded again, accepting the clipboard she passed to him and headed back to his seat, picking up a pen that lay on one of the various tables around the waiting room.
"Ms Bonasera's very tired," the nurse said sternly. Her focus remained on the clipboard in her hands, updating her on Stella's medical process since being admitted the previous afternoon. "The doctor doesn't want any visitors disrupting her rest."
Mac held his hands on his hips, growing increasingly frustrated at the situation. He turned away from the nurse, muttering something beneath his breath as he paced agitatedly in the corridor outside Stella's private ward. "I just want to sit with her; I promise I won't disrupt her recovery."
"How are you related to Ms Bonasera?" the nurse asked, her tone soften as she saw the desperation etched into Mac's features.
"I'm her closest friend- we've been working together for over a decade…we're family," Mac explained as simply as possibly, still clearly irritated by the situation. "I'm her next of kin; I don't see why I can't just sit with her."
"Fine," the nurse finally gave in, giving Mac a kind smile as his grave expression lifted. "However if any of my staff report to me that you're bothering Ms Bonasera I will have you removed and will refuse any more visitors until she has fully recovered. Is that understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," Mac nodded politely, a small smile gracing his face at his achievement. He stepped towards Stella's room, silently opening the door and entering, letting the glass panel swing shut behind him.
Stella lay on her back in the bed, her eyes shut lightly as slept soundly. Her bouncy brunette curls spilled out onto her pillow, framing her sun-kissed face perfectly. Her hands rested softly on top of the sheets that tucked up around her over her chest, various leads connected to one hand to monitor her heart rate and other statistics.
Mac gently took her bare hand in his, linking their fingers as he pulled up the chair at her bedside. He watched her painless expression lovingly, his eyes adoring her as he sat in silence, staring at her in a state of tranquillity.
Minutes turned into hours and finally Stella awoke, her eyes flickering open unsurely as she glanced around the almost unfamiliar surroundings. She had been conscious when she was transported into the room, but after that fell into a deep sleep; that was almost a full twenty-four hours ago now.
Gently Stella squeezed Mac's hand that still lay in hers; bringing him back from the daze he had fallen into. Their eyes met for a prolonged moment, neither wanting to break the contact as they shared a mutual smile, equally happy to see each other.
"Hey," Stella murmured softly, unable to find anything else to say.
"Hey," Mac echoed. He paused, swallowing heavily to relieve himself of his dry mouth before asking with concern, "How are you feeling?"
"Better," Stella confirmed with a slight nod. "Thank you," she spoke after a moment.
"For what?" Mac asked in mild confusion. He frowned slightly, as he always did when something puzzled him, an almost far-off look forming on his face.
"For being here with me…for staying with me…for saving my life." Tears were welling in the corners of her eyes, showing her true emotion. She pulled her hand back from his to wipe away the tiny beads of salty water.
Mac averted his eyes, scared to face her as he began, "Yesterday…in the ambulance…I meant everything I said…"
"About being scared beyond anything you could ever imagine," Stella teased him playfully, "Or about loving me more than life itself?"
"Both," Mac said with a shy smile. He looked up and met her eye again as he told her, "But especially the latter. I love you, Stella Bonasera."
"I love you too, Mac Taylor," Stella grinned, reaching out to take his hand again. He gingerly lifted her hand towards his lips, kissing her palm delicately; leaving a trail of butterfly kisses leading up to the tips of her fingers.
"If all it took for you to admit that was for me to be shot in the stomach I would have aggravated a gun-wielding maniac a hell of a long time ago," Stella beamed, her heart fluttering at his gentle affections.
Mac raised his eyebrows incredulously at the comment, murmuring, "I'd be concerned for your mental health if I didn't know you so well."
"Shush," Stella hushed him good-naturedly, tugging lightly on his hand to direct him to move closer.
He shuffled the chair closer to the bed, leaning forward to meet her in a sweet kiss.
"Detective Taylor," the nurse said firmly from the doorway, "What did I say about not disturbing my patient?"
Stella was quick to defend him, "He was just giving me a little tender loving care." Her eyes shone happily as she looked between the nurse who was smiling gently where she stood, and Mac who was blushing lightly.
"Let's try and keep that to a minimum for now," the nurse warned them, turning to leave, "These walls are made of transparent glass."
Mac spent as much time as possible with Stella, which overall didn't amount to enough to satisfy him between dispatch paging him all day and Stella insisting that he returned home for sleep at night. It was only on the rare occasion that things slowed down at the lab that he could take the time off to stay at her side.
It was a week since the shooting when Mac next managed to make an uninterrupted visit, bringing with him a bouquet of flowers and a selection of foods from a nearby take-out Chinese restaurant.
Stella greeted Mac with a long kiss, pushing herself into a sitting position in her bed. Her hands came up to cup Mac's face, pressing one more quick kiss to his lips as they parted. Mac smiled contentedly, presenting her with the flowers and carefully placing the food on his usual seat.
"Thank you, Mac," Stella grinned, "This is just what I needed." She moved to lay the flowers on the bedside table, ready for water as soon as the next nurse came in. She patted the space beside her on the bed.
Mac perched next to her, his hand finding hers on top of the covers. He leant in to capture her lips again, their eyes slipping shut in sync. Stella moaned softly, nipping at Mac's lower lip as he pulled away. He muttered breathlessly, "I spoke to your doctor; you should be free to leave in a couple of days."
"But I need more bed-rest at home, don't I?" Stella deduced knowingly, letting out a low chuckle of laughter.
"I was thinking…how'd you like staying at my place for a while? Just so I can keep an eye on you; make sure you're alright. I'll try and bring home some of my work as well so you can help me out if you get bored."
Should I continue? Hmmm...the questions of life, eh?
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