There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somedays we just have to choose

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. They belong solely to CBS and Anthony Zuiker and crew. If I did own CSI NY, Stella wouldn't have left. She and Mac would be married, Jess would still be alive, and Danny and Lindsay would've gotten together sooner, also Aiden wouldn't have died, she and Hawkes would be dating. Enjoy.

Her curls bounced in the wind. She was pissed and unhappy. Nothing was going to go wrong. Hopefully. She had been waiting for quite awhile. Waiting for him to return home. He hadn't returned any of her calls or messages for the last three hours. For three freaking hours, she waited. Waited at that posh restaurant for him. People had been trickling in quickly. She looked like an idiot for sitting there by herself, sipping her water. Finally, she had given up hope on him and left. Paying for the service.

She didn't bother leaving a very good tip. The busboy that waited her table was a bit creepy. And perverted. Her phone was in her hand, typing the digits she knew by heart. And the dial tone rang and rang and rang. No one answered on the other end; just empty ringing. Her shoulders sagged as she hailed a cab. Within a few minutes, a cab pulled up in front of her and she climbed in, listing off her address. While it pulled out into the raging traffic, she leaned against the seat, wishing she could die.

Those couples there. They were watching her, with pity. Like they knew how if felt to be stood up. Most of them probably did, though. As the cabby pulled up in front of her apartment building, she was already hurrying out of the cab, tossing money through the window, and telling him to keep the change. Her feet carried her to her apartment. She unlocked the door and stumbled in.

He must've set me up to look like a fool, she mused. No! Maybe he had a case that needed tending to. That was more probable. Her thoughts seared her brain as she tried to describe what he must've been doing other than sitting with her. Maybe he found someone, her brain taunted.

"No," she said, shaking her mass of curly hair. "Mac wouldn't stand me up for that. He'd tell me. Right?"

She was so hopeless in her opinion. So she dialed up a number.

"Hello?" a groggy voice questioned.

"Hey."

"What's up, Stella?"

"Nothing."

"Liar. Spill. Now."

"He didn't come."

"Oh. I'm so sorry."

"It doesn't matter. I'll forget about it. Go back to sleeping with Don."

"This is more important."

"No it's not. And you are sleeping with Don!"

"I never said that."

"You didn't deny it though."

"Ugh!"

"I knew it!"

"How did this topic pop up? Let's get back to the matter at hand."

"I'm fine. Maybe he got called to a case and couldn't call."

"For three hours?"

"Yes."

"That is complete and utter bullshit, Stella. We both know that he would've called. I'll talk to Don and find out if there are any cases. Doubtful, though. Don or I would have been paged."

"You're right," said Stella, sighing. "I guess I wanted to believe what I wanted."

"I'm saying what he did is right, but... Give him a chance to explain himself. If he doesn't than he lost an important woman."

"You are one of my best friends. Thank you."

"No problem, Stel. And just so you know. There were no cases. That excuse is out the window."

"Thanks, Jess. For everything."

"I'm always here to help."

They hung up and Stella changed into her pajamas. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun. She grabbed the remote and pressed down on the button for a new channel. This wasn't the first time he hadn't come. This was the fourth time. First time: case. Second time: unexpected meeting. Third: mother in town. For the third, she had called his mother and asked if she was in New York. His mother was still in Chicago.

Maybe he doesn't like me, she thought. Her thoughts drifted around her mind, picking up the pace. The taunts taking place. She'd never felt so insecure. But that was diminishing. Her confidence and hope were slowly getting crushed under an anvil of depressing thoughts. It was a tornado in her head. The taunts howling through her mind; never stopping until they damaged everything in their path. She was slowly breaking and no one noticed.

His cell phone pulled him away from his happy dreams. The phone was vibrating on his nightstand. Shit. As he scrolled through his missed calls, he noticed about a dozen from the same number. Stella's number. As he went through his messages he had about two dozen from Stella. The last two really stung.

The first one said:

I get it if you didn't want to go out with me. But you didn't have to act like such a bastard. You could've called or texted me that you weren't interested. Anything would've been better than sitting here like a moron waiting for someone to come. Someone who chose not to come. But you didn't call or text. I sat there dealing with that dumbass busboy's shit. He was eyeballing me. And honestly, I was repulsed. I waited three hours for you to come. And you didn't. It doesn't matter now. And it won't ever again. I'm tired of this bullshit. I just want you to know something though. Four times you stood me up. Four times I let it happen. Well, I'm done now.

Rot in hell, you sick bastard.

-S

He gulped after reading that one. His mind doing a whirlwind. Now he read the very last message.

It said:

I'm done with this shit. Jess told me that no cases were assigned that were so important for you to drop your date, me by the way, and leave her without calling or texting back. I waited three hours for this. But in a combined total of all the set ups: probably fourteen hours in all. Jess told me not to get mad, that you probably had a good excuse. Doubtful. You can't say anything about a case. Right now I'm thinking you found someone and decided not to tell me about it. If you found someone, you could've told me. I hate you right now.

Bye.

-S

Mac groaned internally. He had forgot to tell her that he was hanging out with an old family friend. It didn't slip his mind that she was pissed, but it did slip his mind to tell her he found someone he liked. Really and truly.

Of course that wouldn't make up for the shitty way he left her stranded. A voice to his right moaned and a flushed body pressed up against his back. Mac put his phone back on the nightstand. He was going to have to tell Stella the truth of why he didn't make it to their date.

Stella was sobbing as she fell asleep. The voices in her head were killing her. The next day was going to be torture. Or maybe not. Maybe, just maybe, she could change that.

A/N: I really hope you guys like this. Please review and tell me if I should go on. I really like where my imagination is taking me and I hope you guys say I should continue. Have a great day.