*** I own nothing. Just borrowing the the characters for a while. Please read and review. Be aware this story contains some content that is at times graphic. If descriptions of rape or the aftermath bother you, don't read!***
"Take Danny with you, Stella. This guy is dangerous and the last thing I need is someone getting hurt," Mac stated firmly to his stubborn second-in-command.
"I'm a big girl, Mac, I don't need Danny to protect me!" Stella argued.
"You're taking Danny or I'm pulling you off the case. Understood?" Mac ground out somewhat angrily.
"FINE!" Stella snapped over her shoulder as she stormed from his office. "Daniel Messer, let's go!"
"Give me a second! I need to finish running these samples. I'll meet you at the truck in 5 minutes," Danny told her hoping that she wouldn't snap on him the way she had on Mac just a moment before or worse leave without him.
"If you're not there in 5, I'm leaving you here," she snapped hurriedly as she got into the elevator.
"Mac ain't gonna like this," Danny mumbled to the closed doors. He sighed heavily knowing that she wouldn't wait and returned to the samples.
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As predicted, Stella left Danny at the lab and rushed to her crime scene of the latest victim of their serial killer and rapists. The moment she arrived she realized that disobeying Mac's direct orders had been a foolish idea and now wished that she had waited on Danny to come alone. The suspect and his accomplice were waiting at the crime scene.
Stella hadn't lied to Mac when she told him she could protect herself, she had shot and killed the last man that tried to harm her. This time however she was outnumbered and her efforts didn't stand much of a chance. They quickly overpowered Stella and tossed her in the trunk of their car.
When the car started to move, Stella tried her best to remain awake and listen for clues as to where they might be taking her. But the harsh stopping and starting caused her to repeatedly pound against the floor of the trunk, her arms and legs bound with tight rope. Not long after the trip start, she fell unconscious.
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Stella awoke several hours later to a swift kick in the ribs. She was jerked from the floor and stripped of every once of clothing. Her head was pounding and she was painfully aware of what the dark eyed man they were calling James was going to do to her. She tried to cover herself with her arms, and was rewarded with a harsh smack across the face. "Don't you dare hide from me, Bitch!" James bit out harshly. "We are gonna have us some fun tonight!"
Pushing her down and a hard bed, James quickly stripped off his pants, exposing a budging erection. Stella quickly rolled trying her best to get away from the man, but he grabbed her and struck her ribs a second time before tying her to the bedpost by her wrists with metal packing ties. He then climbed on top of her and forced himself between her thighs. She struggled briefly, causing the ties to dig painfully into her wrists. Not even checking to see if she was ready, he thrust hard and fast into her, causing what she was sure was tearing in her vaginal wall. She yelped in pain and James smacked her, yanking her hair to keep her quiet. "Say another thing and I'll make sure I break every rib in your body. Understood?"
Stella nodded and tried her best to bite back the moans of pain as the man continued to drive into her hard and fast. After what seemed like an eternity he finally finished inside of her and pulled out. Pulling his pants back on, he kicked her once more in the ribs and then left her alone, still strapped to the bed.
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Mac realized later that afternoon that Stella hadn't returned to his office. Finding Danny in the break room he asked about the case. "Is Stella still upset with me for making her take you along?"
Danny looked uncomfortable and Mac quickly noticed, but waited to see what was wrong with the young CSI. An angry Stella Bonasera was enough to make even the toughest man uncomfortable. "Mac, Stella left without me several hours ago and no one has seen or heard from her. I tried her cell and her apartment, no answer at either. And the gps on her truck says she still at the crime scene. But even Stell doesn't take this long to process a scene. I think she might be in trouble."
"Take Sheldon and go look around the crime scene. See if you can find anything that might tell us where Stella is. I'm going to try and track to cell phone and hope they kept it with them."
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Two days past without even a small trace of evidence as to where the suspects had taken Stella. Mac was beginning to worry that perhaps they might not find her in time. Danny rushed into Mac's office with a paper with results from the scan that Adam had run. "Mac, I think we found her!"
Mac heart rate more than doubled with Danny's words. "Let's go!"
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The past two days had been horrible for Stella. Bound to the same bed in which she had been strapped to when she first arrived, she had been beaten and raped multiple times by multiple men. Unable to get up to wash, eat or use to bathroom, she was forced to lay in her own feces and urine, not to mention the urine of the men who had found it amusing to pee on her. She had barely eaten and she was quickly losing the ability to fight off the many men who came to have their way with her.
When James returned to her late in the afternoon, Stella tried her best to keep her face neutral and obeyed when he told her to open her legs. He then used the same metal straps he had used for her arms to tie her legs painfully apart and into the air, and attach them to a hook that hung from the ceiling. He then proceeded to rape her again, this time getting deeper penetration and causing Stella to cry out from pain.
Just as James started round two, Mac and Don burst into the room from the closed door and startled not only James but also an extremely frightened Stella. Don jerked James off and quickly cuffed him, not even bothering to grab his pants before dragging the man from the room. Mac quickly unhooked the metal tie and gently settled Stella's legs on the bed. Stella's whimpers let Mac know just how much she had been through the past few days. Sid entered the room a few moments later with a soft blanket, which he draped across Stella's body. Stella continued to whimper softly, her body trembling from both cold and the lack of food. Tucking the blanket around her, Mac managed to make eye contact with his best friend and smiled slightly. "Let's get you out of here and get you home."
"Mac…..I….I'm…..sss….sorry," Stella forced out between what was quickly becoming sobs.
"Breathe, Stella, just breathe. Sid is going to cut your arms loose and then we'll talk about getting you moved to the car." Mac stroked her oily curls as he spoke, doing his best to calm her already frazzled nerves.
Stella's body trembled with every touch and it made Sid sick to his stomach to think about what these men had done to her. He worked quickly and was able to free one of her badly cut wrists. Stella let out a gasp of pain as Sid finished and lowered her second arm to her side. "It h…..hurts…" she whispered between short breaths.
Sid felt her should and quickly realized that all the jerking and thrusting had caused her left shoulder to come out of its socket. Sid looked at Mac, "Her shoulder is badly dislocated, and She has major vaginal tearing, and is in shock. We need to take her to the hospital. I'm just not sure that I can provide the medical care that she needs."
Stella whimpered at the mention of a hospital, "No, Mac, please!" Mac smiled softly and lifted her gently into his arms. Sid helped him wrap Stella in the blanket and Mac carried her to his SUV, placing her tenderly in the backseat. Stella repeated her plea a second time as Mac fastened the seatbelt around her.
"I heard you, Sweetheart. But I want to make sure that you are able to return to the field when you get ready to. We'll be home before you know it," Mac explained to her gently.
"I want to go home, Mac," Stella insisted again through her tears.
Leaning down so that his face was just inches from hers, Mac brushed her forehead with a tender kiss. "I know you do, and I will get you home as quickly as I can. Trust me?" Stella nodded weakly and tried her best to put on a brave face.
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