Because I Knew You
Chapter 1: A Thousand Miles
"Making my way downtown
Walking fast, faces pass and I'm homebound
Staring blankly ahead just making my way
Just making a way through the crowd
And I need you
And I miss you
And now I wonder"
"I'm going to go see how Flack is doing, see if we have more information yet," Mac says, taking off his gloves. "You okay here by yourself?"
Stella lifts her head from her intent work analyzing the blood spatter. "Yeah, go ahead."
"Be careful. The killer could still be around somewhere."
"When am I not careful?" she jokes lightly, returning to her work.
They knew the woman was shot in the back of the head and had possibly been raped. Stella unwillingly had gotten out of bed that morning an hour early when Mac called her, telling her of the dead body. According to the vic's liver temperature, she had only been dead two hours. Despite the fact that she had not had her coffee yet this morning and was, therefore, not fully awake, Stella still felt it was her duty to bring justice to the poor woman.
Alone now in the alleyway, Stella completes her task with the blood drops, measuring each one, and decides to search the dumpster right next to the victim. First she fingerprints it and finds nothing. Then she puts on a pair of coveralls and climbs into the garbage, knowing she'd be taking another shower when she returned to the lab. Digging around, she wonders why Mac hasn't returned yet; it had been almost twenty minutes since he left. Unsuccessful again, Stella climbs to the edge of the dumpster, preparing to get out. Looking around, again worried Mac had run into the killer, she spots him across the street talking to a restaurant owner. Glancing the opposite direction, Stella spots a figure, something looking like a remote, possibly from a remote controlled car, in his hand. She bends down, preparing to jump out to see what he's up to. The man presses the button on the remote, hurrying away so he is not discovered. Stella, just hitting the pavement with her feet, hands on the ledge, goes flying through the air as the bomb explodes. As her head hits the brick wall across from the dumpster, she blacks out.
"Stella," Mac screams, running across the street to save his partner. She doesn't answer. "No, Stella, don't die on me. Hang in there for me," he squeezes her hand.
"If I could fall into the sky
Do you think time would pass me by?
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles
If I could just see you tonight"
"Come on, Stella, wake up," Mac begs, cradling her in his arms. He had gone over body as thoroughly as he could without being too nosy to figure out her injuries: cuts all over, major ones being on her forehead, cheek, shoulder, forearm, two on her stomach, and on a leg, along with two burns, one on her stomach, not so severe, but the other on her leg didn't look too good. He also suspected she'd have some nasty bruises on her back and a bump on the back of her head. Sitting on the ground in the alley, away from the debris, he rocks back and forth, waiting, hoping. "Don't you dare leave me, Stel."
"Excuse me, sir, can I help you? We can put her in my restaurant," the manager he had been speaking to when the bomb went off says.
Mac stands, bringing Stella up with him, not sure of the best way to carry her without hurting her. Flack and two uniforms block traffic so they can cross.
As they reach the other side, Mac hears a tiny voice. "Mac?"
He looks down at the woman in his arms and can't help the smile that spreads across his face, "You're okay."
"I don't feel okay."
"Get her some water," Mac tells the guy. "Well, you're alive, not exactly okay."
"How long was I out?" she asks before taking a drink from the water he offers her.
"Five minutes or so. The paramedics must be busy today; you need to get to the hospital."
"I have a first aid kit," Flack says, holding one from one of their Escalades up.
Mac takes it and covers the visible cuts on her face first after washing them off. He looks at her, unsure what to do next. "Do you have a private room?" He picks her up and follows the manager to his office.
"I have an undershirt on," she says, letting him take off her sweater. She lifts up the shirt to expose the other cuts and burn, all of which he covers with the gauze pads.
"What should I do about you leg?" he pulls her pant leg up a little. "I think I can roll this one up." He does so and covers that wound. Carefully he touches the area around the burn, and she doesn't flinch in pain. "Can you feel that?"
She shakes her head.
"It's always times like these
When I think of you
And I wonder if you ever think of me
'Cause everything's so wrong
And I don't belong living in your precious memory
'Cause I need you
And I miss you
And now I wonder"
Mac watches while the paramedics treat each of her cuts and burns, feeling her pain when she squeezes his hand every few minutes when it hurt. He stays by her side while she is brought into the hospital, never leaving. She is looked at by a doctor, who puts a few stitches in two of the cuts, one on her stomach and the other on her leg, and patches her back up with gauze pads before undressing the burns. On the second degree burn on her stomach, he puts cream, then dresses it again. He spends longer on her leg where he must pull bits of cloth from her pants out of the burn. Carefully he cares for the burn and finishes with her physically.
A nurse comes in, "We can scan her now."
"Take her up," the doctor says, leaving.
"Scan her for what?" Mac looks at her worriedly.
"Nothing major, we just need to check for head injuries because she hit the wall pretty hard. Mainly a concussion."
The nurse lets Mac into the room with the computer where the data would show up before getting Stella ready. "Just hold still."
"She looks like she had a minor concussion, little damage; she'll be fine in a few days," the brain specialist says, smiling.
"Can I talk to her now?" Mac asks.
"Yes, we'll take her back to the room first."
Sitting beside her again, Mac whispers, "I'm sorry, Stella."
"You didn't do anything, Mac. I'll be fine."
"If I had been there, maybe I could have saved you," he brushes a curl from her face.
"Before the bomb went off, I… I saw someone," Stella says quietly.
"If I could fall into the sky
Do you think time would pass me by?
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles
If I could just see you tonight"
"I should have suspected something; he had a remote in his hands," she tells him.
"It's okay. You didn't know there was a bomb under the dumpster. Hell, I was sitting right next to it by the body and didn't even notice it."
"You still saved me, Mac, even if you weren't there to move me away from the bomb. You attempted to stop the bleeding. I'm freezing in here," Stella pulls the blanket closer to her.
"I'm just glad it wasn't worse."
"Did they say how long they are keeping me?"
"This evening. I called Lindsay earlier and asked her to get you some clothes since the old ones you had on are not in good condition."
"She doesn't have a key, Mac," she says, still shivering.
"She'll be here in five minutes to take mine for now," he stands up. "I'll go get you another blanket. Anything else?"
"Can you have Lindsay bring me a hot tea back with the clothes? I'll pay her back; I don't care where it's from."
"I'm sure she'll come in to see you, Stella." Five minutes later he returns with a blanket and Lindsay.
"Are you okay?" she asks.
"I'm fine, just really sore from hitting the wall behind me."
"Do you need anything else besides the tea?"
"No. Thanks, Linds," Stella says as she leaves.
"I've been thinking, Stella, why don't you stay with me, at least for a few days? I'll help you so you don't pull any stitches or hurt yourself more," Mac suggests. "I mean, if you're not uncomfortable being with me outside of work."
"Okay, if you're sure."
"I insist. I'll stop by your place on the way home so you can get some clothes and stuff."
"Thanks, Mac."
"And I, I don't want to let you know
I, I drown in your memory
I, I don't want to let this go
I, I don't…
Making my way downtown
Walking fast, faces pass and I'm homebound
Staring blankly ahead just making my way
Just making a way through the crowd
And I still need you
And I still miss you
And now I wonder"
"The guest room is a mess; you can just sleep in my bed, and I'll use the couch," Mac sets her bag on the bed, going to meet her in the kitchen.
She really didn't want to take his bed away from him, but knew it was useless to argue. "Thanks." She hands him a plate, getting one for herself in the kitchen.
Mac hands her a napkin before getting his own pizza slice from the box. "Come on, we'll eat on the couch," he grabs the box and some more napkins before leading her there. "Water, coke, wine, beer, milk?" he asks as she sits down.
"Water's fine." He comes back with two bottles and hands her one. Fifteen minutes later Mona Lisa Smile comes on. Stella leans into him, her back to his chest. An hour later he can tell she's asleep. For the third time that day, Mac lifts her and carries her to his bed, covering her up. He watches as she curls up into a ball for warmth. Then he realizes he should change for bed and does so. Without thinking, he climbs right into the bed next to her.
Stella moves around, searching for a comfortable position. Her arm hits something hard and warm, and she opens her eyes. "Mac?"
He opens his eyes, barely making out her outline in the dark. "I'm so sorry, Stella. I must be so used to getting into bed I didn't notice what I was doing. Here I'll move. I'm really sorry; I didn't mean to."
"It's okay; you're nice and warm. Stay here," she whispers.
"You sure you're okay with this?"
"If you are. I'll stay on my side, you on yours, okay?"
"Yes."
"And just so you know, I move a lot in my sleep."
"I'll just leave you on the floor if you fall off," Mac chuckles.
"If I could fall into the sky
Do you think time would pass me by?
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles
If I could just see you
If I could fall into the sky
Do you think time would pass me by?
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles
If I could just see you
If I could just hold you
Tonight"
A/N: Vanessa Carlton. Would have posted sooner, but I was waiting for alerts to work again. I'll update Monday or Tuesday. The songs used throughout the story remind me of Mac and Stella. And somehow, if they ever do start dating on the show, not just our imaginations, I don't think they're going to have a happy ending. I'm still undecided on the ending for this story. Hope you enjoy it.
