Is it too late to call her back?
Summary: When two unidentified people gravely injured Stella, Mac finally figured that time was too short, and a person should treasure every minute they had with someone they love. He finally confessed his love for Stella, but was it too late?
'Stella. You'll be alright. You hear me Stella? You'll be alright. Just hang on for me.' Mac told Stella urgently, as she seemed to be on the edge of being unconscious. Stella did all she could to keep her eyes open, but her attempts were futile, her eyes closed as the EMT put her on the bus and raced her to Trinity General.
Mac buried his head in his hands. It was just like before, when Claire had died, only this time, he knew that Stella still had a chance of living. He clung onto this thought like his lifeline. Don saw his anguished expression and came over him.
'Mac…' Don started but was cut off by Mac.
'I'm going to the hospital,' mumbled Mac, pushing Don away and headed towards the car.
'Mac, listen to me. You are in no state to drive at all. Be a good boy and sit in my car, I'll take you there.' Don insisted.
Mac gave in a withering glare at the term "good boy", but he was too tired to argue. He went to Don's car and sat down inside.
This worried Don more than anything. He knew that Mac would never normally agree to these ideas of his willingly. His lack of argument made Don positive that there was something between his good friend Mac and the woman who was like his sister, Stella Bonasera.
Thinking of Stella, Don sighed. She was just like the older sister that he never had, someone whom he needed to protect, but also someone that he could turn to when he needed her. What wouldn't he give to be able break down now, and have someone to comfort him. But when he saw Mac's face, he knew that Mac must have been even more affected than him. That's why he had to put on a strong face, to sound like the reasonable guy.
Putting on the siren, Mac and Don rushed to the hospital. When they got there, a nurse coolly told them that Stella was still in surgery, and they are definitely not allowed in, even when they flashed their NYPD badges at her.
Don sank into a seat, defeated. Mac continued to pace around, his expression murderous. Don knew that Mac was tempted to slam his gun onto the table in the reception and demand to see Stella. He got up and gently led him over to the hard, plastic chairs in the waiting area.
'Mac, losing your temper in here is not gonna help at all. You have to calm down, Stella will be alright. She's strong, she'll pull through.' Don told Mac, trying to reassure Mac and doing it for himself at the same time.
'What if she doesn't?' Mac whispered. 'What if she doesn't?'
'Mac, listen to me. Stella will be fine. She is strong and she is a fighter. She will not just leave you like this. You hear me? She won't go.' Don stood up and told Mac, his voice ringing out strongly, but Mac's expression remained just as broken.
Suddenly, the door leading to the emergency room was flung open, and a eighteen year old girl was pushed into a surgery room, with a nineteen year old boy rushing after her.
Seeing the cops in the room, the boy turned to them, his eyes pleading them to help.
'Sir! My sister was shot, you have to help me!' The boy pleaded them.
Mac was still depressed, and looked as if he did not even hear her, but Don stood up immediately.
'Sure thing. Just give me a sec.' Don answered, picking up his phone and calling for Lindsay and Danny to come down, one to wait with Mac and the other one to solve the crime.
'Alright, first, tell me your name.' Don asked, getting ready to write everything in his black notebook.
'My name is Benjamin Knight. That is my sister Kaityln Knight. She's just eighteen, sir. You have to save her.' Benjamin answered, tears swimming in his eyes.
'Don't worry, Ben, I'm sure she will be fine. Now can you tell me what happened?' Don asked.
'We were coming out of an alley, and there was this guy that started coming after us. We were scared, so we hurried up. I didn't see it, but he must have had pulled out his gun, because the next thing I know, my sister was on the ground with blood coming out of her chest.' Ben answered, his voice still shaky.
'Alright Ben. Where and where was your sister shot?' Don asked, just as Danny and Lindsay arrived Lindsay immediately went to Mac and did all she could to cheer him up slightly as Danny carried over his silver briefcase.
'It was in an alley behind a club called, um, 'Punk's Bar', on Broadway. There is always a couple of dustbins in there and a back door from Riverdale building leads there.' Ben answered, and Danny took off for the crime scene immediately.
Don suddenly realized that the crime scene was only a couple blocks away from where Stella was shot. According to the time that Kaitlyn Knight was brought in, their shooter may have been the same person.
'Ben, this is very important. Did you see the man that did this to your sister?' Don asked urgently.
'uhh… yeah. He was about 5 foot 4, um… blondish brown hair, tanned skin, and there was a small tattoo on his neck. It looked kind of like a small dragon.' Ben answered, just as the doctors who were working on Kaitlyn came out.
Ben rushed over to them immediately, demanding to know where was his sister. The doctor assured him that his sister was going to be fine, and took him to see his sister. After another hour, the doctors working on Stella had finally came out.
Mac literally raced over to the doctor and asked, wait no, demanded to know what was Stella's condition, with Don and Lindsay hot on his heels. The doctor told them that Stella's condition was stable, but she had a long road of recovery ahead of her.
The doctor took them to the front of Stella's room and left. Mac was about to barge through the door when Don held him back. Telling him that Stella would still need her rest, that he would have to be quiet, and they would let him be alone with her first.
Mac went into the room, hearing the steady beep of the monitors in the room gave him chills, but it reassured him slightly that Stella was still alright. He sat down next to her and held on her hands tightly. Tears started leaking out of his eyes when the thought of losing her was still possible.
'Stella, you can't leave me. I need you, Stella. Come back to me.' Mac whispered, squeezing her hands tightly, looking for the slightest flicker in her face, but there was none, she just remained as still as ever, without the slightest trace of movement.
A/N: Uh oh, what will happen to Stella? And are the two crimes related? Please review and tell me what you think.
Criticisms are much appreciated, but no flamers please. If you have any ideas you want me to add in, you can put it in your reviews or PM me. I'll try my best to put them in.
All mistakes are mine, since my beta is still having her exams and can't beta for me. So if you spot any mistakes, just PM me or bear with it.
Zoe tabbycat
