Heyy Folks! So we're reading Romeo and Juliet in class right now, and it totally inspired me to write this! It's not going to seem much like the play right now, but you'll see the similarities later on.

Disclaimer- I do not own CSI New York because I am not Jerry Bruckheimer. I don't own Romeo and Juliet because I am not William Shakespeare... obviously.

So.. without further ado, my story :)

10 Years Ago…

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Mrs. Cantrell."

"Stella." She corrected the officer.

She'd heard these words many times in the past few days. "I need you to tell me, is there anyone that would want to hurt your husband, anyone at all?" She'd also heard that too many times.

She knew that this meant they still had no leads on her husband's case. "No, he was a good man." She said the same thing each time, never changing her story.

"Mommy?"

"Not now Linds."

"But I know something!" She said rather enthusiastically. Stella turned her head quickly towards her five year old daughter. "Mr. Taylor did it!"

"What? Linds, honey, Mr. Taylor was Daddy's best friend." She turned back to the officer, "The Taylors are the only other family that she really knows, I'm sorry."

"A five year old's testimony wouldn't hold up in court very well anyways." The officer told her. "I'm afraid that even if she knew what she was talking about we couldn't act on it."

"But they fought!" Lindsay yelled with tears in her eyes, "And there was a knife!"

"I think this is enough for today, we're going to leave." She picked up her crying daughter to comfort her.

"Thank you for coming in, once again."

"Yeah," She said, "And if you find anything, please give me a call." They turned and walked towards the exit of the precinct.

"I want Daddy back, Mommy!" She screamed.

"Me too, honey, me too."

Later That Day…

Stella sat at home in the dark, doing nothing. This had become a regular occurrence for her, since Mike had died. It had only been three days but she noticed that the dishes were starting to stack up on the counter, and the mail on the table. The phone sat next to her on the bed so that when the police called she could answer immediately. A friend of Lindsay's parents had taken her in for the night so she could focus on funeral arrangements, but not much of that was going on.

Suddenly, the phone rang. She picked up before the first ring even finished, "Hello?" She answered quickly.

"Stella? It's Claire. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I was just hoping you were the cops, you know, calling to tell me something."

"Look, come over for dinner tonight. Try to get your mind off of it."

"I don't know, Claire." But she suddenly had a brilliant thought. What if her daughter was actually right about Mac killing Mike? This dinner could get her in their house, just to check it out. There was no reason why not. "Actually that sounds like a great idea." She said.

"Be here at seven, and bring Lindsay. I'm sure Danny would love to play with her."

"I'll try my best." She hung up with a plan.

Around Seven…

Stella arrived at the house right on time. It was across town, and the house Lindsay was at was right in the middle. This couldn't have been any easier.

Before they entered she pulled Lindsay aside, "I don't want you mentioning anything you said to that policeman earlier, you got it?" She looked at her with harsh eyes and Lindsay nodded quickly. "Okay, you wanna ring the doorbell?"

"Yeah!" She jumped.

Mac answered the door with warm eyes welcoming them in. "Hey, Stell." He smiled, giving her a hug as well.

"Lindsay!" A little voice came from behind.

"Danny!" The little girl beamed as she ran to her playmate. Stella smiled in a way that she hadn't been able to in a while.

"Not so fast Danny." Mac said, gesturing towards Stella.

"Hi, Mrs. Cantrell." He said politely before sprinting up the stairs with Lindsay close behind. Stella shook her head still smiling.

"Come on, food's in the kitchen."

"What are we having?"

"Lasagna, Claire makes the best."

"Stella!" Claire said then ran to her giving her a comforting hug. "I feel like I haven't seen you in over a century."

"It's been awhile." She agreed. She looked around for any evidence of the murder. "Your house looks so different."

"Really? We haven't added anything, I don't think."

"These flowers weren't here before." She said.

"And we'd like the keep them here," Mac said as he stepped in between her and the flowers, "knowing how you have a 'brown thumb' as opposed to a 'green' one, I think it's best if you stay away." He said trying to make a joke, but she knew he was covering something. Claire was cracking up in the background.

"Mommy?" Danny said coming into the room with something red smeared all over him. Stella frowned.

"What happened to you?" Claire asked.

"I spilled the water cup from my paint brush."

"You were painting!" She said. "Oh, dear. Mac can you go clean the room up, because I'm sure it's all over in there too." She said annoyed. "I'm sorry, Stell. It will only be a minute."

They both left the room to clean up their child's mess. A golden opportunity was given to her! She dashed toward the flowers and shuffled through the large vase. Something shiny caught her eye. A knife! Her daughter was right, Mac had killed her husband and he wasn't getting away with it.

"What ya got there?" He said darkly sneaking up from behind her.

"It was you! You killed him! You son of a bitch!" She screamed.

He covered her mouth, preventing her from talking. He then grabbed the knife out of her hand. "You go to the cops about this and I swear to God, Lindsay will be next."

That terrified her, so she nodded.

"Now I suggest you get out of my house." He whispered and unclasped her mouth.

"I was already on my way." She said coldly.

She grabbed Lindsay and walked out of the house without saying goodbye to Claire or Danny. She cried and felt helpless but she didn't want to lose Lindsay so she kept her mouth shut.

This is what started the feud between the Cantrells and Taylors, things haven't been the same since.

Yes? ... No? ... Should I continue?

Review please? :)

-Emily :))))