Author: Susan
Disclaimer: Don't own any of these characters and hopefully will not disgrace their personalities in my writing!
A/N: This will end up being Mac/Stella and Danny/Lindsay. There's just somewhat of a journey to get to the love part. Bear with me and please R & R. Feedback makes the world go round!
Love's Journey
Detective Don Flack is pacing the roof wondering what in the world is taking the CSI's so long. He's got a teenage jumper on the edge and the girl's psychiatrist is getting nowhere. Flack seems to think to himself that it's no wonder the girls wants to jump. This chick with her soothing voice is enough to make him consider jumping himself.
Mac and Stella come out of the roof doorway slowly and Flack puts up a hand to slow them even more. Mac looks over the situation and says, "What do we got?" Stella feels her heart rate jump about 20 points when she sees the young blond girl standing on the pillar waving her hands at the woman who must be the psychiatrist. Flack explains to the CSI's that the girl is Ashley Cordell, a 16 year old runaway from a single parent home who was prostituting herself and had been beaten up by a client the night before. Stella feels her heart breaking as Flack continues, "Apparently the guy got pretty rough and now she has decided she can't handle that lifestyle and she can't go back home so she is threatening to jump. "I swear ta God Mac, you gotta do somethin'. This psychiatrist and her damned soothing voice is making me want to jump!" Mac tells the officer guarding the door to the roof that Danny and Lindsay should be on their way from another case and to not let them bumble through the door.
Mac takes a step forward and Stella eases up behind him. He quietly asks the psychiatrist what her name is. "I'm Melinda Abbott and I have been Ashley's counselor for two years and she has never done anything like this and………" Mac puts up a hand. "Ms. Abbott, go over there with Detective Flack and take a rest. I'll take it from here." Melinda Abbott starts to protest and Stella adds in, "This is non-negotiable Melinda. Step back."
"Ashley, my name is Det. Mac Taylor and I'm not going to come any closer right now. I just want to talk to you. I want to help you."
"Mr. Taylor you can't help me now. It's too late. I'm just tired. Tired of all this and I'm done. I'm going to solve a lot of problems for my Mom and for everyone else too." Ashley says in a voice that is entirely too calm. Mac inches a step closer. "Call me Mac. It's shorter. Can I ask you a question?" Ashley for the first time makes eye contact with Mac. "What?" she says looking at him and sizing him up.
"Ashley, if I have to call your Mom later this afternoon and tell her that you have jumped off of a building and splattered your brains all over the sidewalk, do you honestly think that is going to solve a problem?" Mac watched her as she flinched at his directness about the brains splattering. He is well aware that she hasn't thought this through very well. He glances back at Stella who nods that she's gotten the message too. Before she can form an answer, Mac continues, "And another thing to consider is that this building is only 4 stories high. What if it doesn't kill you?" Ashley's eyes get really large. "What?" she says looking behind her. Mac inches another step closer and motions for Stella to stay put. "Ashley, I'm not trying to scare you. I just want you to think this through. Four stories is not necessarily enough to kill you. You could do some severe damage and injury and then still live and then someone has to take care of you. How's that - not only for your Mom, but for you to have to depend on someone else?" Mac says quietly but firmly. He sees realization flicker in Ashley's face. Mac slowly continues, "I know that what happened to you last night was horrible. If you will let me, I can catch this guy and put him away where he can't hurt you anymore." Ashley snorts, "No you can't. I gave it to him. I just didn't know he was going to be so rough and then after all that crap he only gave me $50. But he paid me. Job done. That's not illegal."
Mac inches a step closer and as Ashley backs up he puts a hand up quickly. "Ashley! Listen to me! You are a minor, what he did is considered rape and assault and I can go after him. I can only do something if you will help me though." Ashley begins to let tears slide down her cheeks simply from hearing a man with a kind voice. How long has it been since she's heard anything like that. Mac continues, "I know that you don't trust people and I know that people have hurt you. You don't know me, Ashley, but I keep my word. You can trust me. I will help you. My partner, Stella, she wants to help you. If you will let us, we will do everything we can to help you and keep you safe."
Stella breathes a small breath of relief because she can see that Mac is getting through to this troubled young girl. She admires seeing Mac in this kind of role. He could be the tenderest man in the world when it came to hurting girls or women. She tries to focus on Ashley and the situation rather than Mac and his talents!
Ashley contemplates what Mac is telling her. She wants to trust this man so bad. She knows it would devastate her mother if she killed herself and she can't stop thinking about what Mac has said. What if she doesn't die? She looks at Mac and watches his eyes. She thinks to herself that his eyes are not hard like most of the men she's seen. Definitely not like any of the nasty men who'd been her clients in the past few weeks. This detective, this Mac, his eyes seem almost sad.
"Ashley, I'm asking you to trust me." Mac says quietly. "Let me walk up to you and take your hand and help you down. We can sit down and talk this through. Let's just come down from there and let all of these other people go home." Ashley chews her bottom lip and looks at Mac intently. She looks at the beautiful woman behind him who is ever so slightly nodding her head at her.
"Ok, I'll come down, but I swear to God if you lie to me, I'm coming right back up here and I won't hesitate to jump." Ashley says trying to sound tough. Mac looks her directly in the eye and says, "I won't let you down."
Ashley starts down from the pillar she is standing on to come down to the ledge and step off. Mac starts toward her to help her because there is not a lot of room and the pillar is high. Ashley tries to sit down on the pillar to come down and loses her balance. She wobbles on the edge and Mac reaches to grab her. She panics and pulls Mac hard trying to hang on and he tries his best to hold on to her and swing her around. Mac can vaguely hear Flack yelling his name and Stella screaming as he realizes that they are both going to fall. He makes a split second decision to shove Ashley back toward the roof as he feels himself go over the ledge. In the split second he is falling he sees Danny and Lindsay on the ground running toward him and screaming. Then everything goes black…………..
Well, there was obviously no romance yet and no Danny and Lindsay yet. Does Mac live or die? This may be a fairly complex story and though I'd prefer it to be short, I don't know that it can be. This idea has been looming in my head for quite some time and frankly, I was scared to write it. I don't want to have the characters out of character and just am not sure how this is going to fly. Stick with me to get the storyline set up and the romance will come. PLEASE R&R and pass the word out! I can do so much better with feedback! The next Chapter will be up later tonight I hope! I'm already working on it! Let me know what you think!