Nightmare

Written by: HoshiHikari

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI NY

Summary: Stella's son gets abducted. As she waits anxiously for the kidnappers' to call, she ponders how she is going to find Mac, who had gone undercover, and break the news to him. Little does she know, her husband already knows about the kidnapping as he had participated in the abduction of his own child.

Parings: Mac and Stella

Chapter 1 3 minutes and 27 seconds

~12:30PM~

How did that song go again? The song that described measuring a year spent around friends by using cups of coffee, laughter and strife among other things? The song that spelled out the joys of my life which I've come to cherish on a day in day out basis? The same song that measured exactly how long he had been away from our child and I since the day he accepted the task of going undercover despite my downright protest. And I had protested vehemently but to no avail. I had tried reasoning, making threats and even pointed out the negative effects that going undercover would have on the growth of our child, yet nothing I could say could dissuade him from his decision. He was stubborn like that. Once he made up his mind, there was absolutely no one and nothing that could alter his decision. The worst part was not only had he closed the conversation before it even fully begun, he had refused to give me any details regarding the mission, giving me the standard line that it was top secret, top secret even from his partner, best friend and wife. All he had said was that he was the only one the chief trusted to pull off this undercover job and that whenever he returned, as he had been sent to go undercover for an undisclosed amount of time, he had promised that he would do whatever it takes to make it up to me and our son. I had pointed out that the only way to make it up would be if he didn't go, but of course not going was not an option. Not really wanting to part from my husband for who knows how long with a fight, I had reluctantly agreed on the condition that he promised to abandon the mission if his life became threatened. Now after five hundred something thousand six hundred or so minutes had passed, since my husband had gone undercover, I had regretted ever letting him go, especially because not only did I not know when the undercover job would end, I also didn't know where he was, whom he was with and what type of activities he had or will participate in.

I swear I'm going to kill you Mac for abandoning me, abandoning our child for a full year without giving a proper explanation! Going undercover does not excuse anything! I thought to myself. My frustration heightens when the pen that I had been using to write my report on the latest case snapped in half.

"Cursing Mac again?" Danny asked as he stepped into my office with a frown.

"I would never wish ill to the one I love." I said, placing down the broken pen and then looked up at the younger man with a stern gaze.

"Right." Danny said with disbelief. "We all know you're having a bad day because of the difficulty of solving the latest case which also happens to be the one where the offender was stupid enough to leave his bloody print all over the wall and then not wipe it down."

"What do you want Messer?" Stella asked annoyed.

"I want to take the wife of my boss out for lunch." He replied as though it was the most obvious answer.

"Not hungry."

"Oh come on Stella, its 12:30, it's time for food."

"Not hungry. Besides I have to wrap up this case before 2 so that I can pick up Adrian from school at 2:30."

"You won't be getting anything done with an empty stomach, let alone when your thoughts are focused on Mac."

"I'm not thinking about Mac."

"Of course you are, after all it's been exactly a year since he's gone undercover. I know you're still fuming about…"

"Only fuming a little."

"A little?" Danny repeated. "C'mon Stella, let me take you out to lunch. I promise that after some comfort food, you'll feel slightly better."

"Comfort food?"

"Yeah, comfort food. I promise we'll be back by 1 so that you'll have plenty of time to wrap up the paperwork for today's case that could have been solved by an amateur."

"An amateur wouldn't know what to look for."

"So you're saying Adrian wouldn't have been able to solve that case?"

"Of course he would be able to. He's different, he's special. He..."

"needs his mom to eat on a regular basis. Stella, Mac's not here right now and we all know how difficult it is for you especially on today, but you have to stay strong for your son. He's needs you and you just absolutely can't break down right now because…"

"Danny?" Stella interrupted.

"Hmm?"

"You're a father. Would you have left Lucy to go undercover and left Lindsay with…"

"You mean if I would have done what Mac did?"

Stella nodded.

"I honesty don't know. My gut would have said no, but since Mac went I'm not sure anymore. We all know Mac wouldn't have gone undercover unless it was absolutely necessary. Where ever he is, whoever he's with and whatever he's doing must really be important in order for him to leave the two of you like this."

"I know but that doesn't make the situation easier."

"I suppose not. There's nothing we can do but wait for his return. In the meantime you have to take care of yourself and taking care of yourself means eating three meals a day."

"Fine. We can grab a quick lunch only because I know you're right."

~12:50PM~

"DAMN IT!" I screamed as I slammed down the phone in rage. I was seething in anger. I couldn't believe how the deal had fallen through, just like that with one simple phone call. The same deal that I had abandoned everything to go undercover for and had spent months upon months trying to make sure nothing went wrong so that the deal could be made smoothly which in turn would mean that I could arrest everyone, be done with this and return home to my family by tonight. But no, the deal had to fall through, and it had to fall through an hour before completion. I was absolutely livid about this sudden turn of events for many reasons and had no problems of outwardly showing it.

"Something wrong?" A voice spoke up from behind me. I turned and glared at the monstrous man who had just spoken.

"The deal's fallen through." I replied. "Ryan couldn't hold down his temper. The girl's dead."

"Drake is not going to be happy about this." The skinny man who was standing next to the first speaker said.

"You think I don't know that?" I yelled back. "Drake's going to be pissed and we're going to be dead because of this slip up."

"Not necessarily." The monstrous man rubbed his hands together. "It isn't our fault that the deal fell through."

"Drake's not going to care, Pete." The skinny man addressed the monstrous man. "The deal fell through. That's all that matters."

Pete swore loudly, knowing that the other man was right.

"I say we take this into our own hands." The skinny man said calmly.

"What do you mean, Evan?" I asked.

"Well we don't have to meet up with Drake until 4PM so we still have plenty of time to right this wrong."

"How so?" I pressed on.

"We kill Ryan, abduct his kid and give the boy to Drake. He won't know the difference He just needs a child." Evan stated.

"What?" I questioned with disbelief, not knowing if my ears heard correctly. "Child adduction? Did you just suggest kidnapping?"

"I like it." Pete spoke up. "This way we'll get out revenge on Ryan and still not end up dead because of Drake."

"Yeah kidnapping. Something wrong about that?" Evan asked.

"I don't do abductions." I stated softly.

"Oh c'mon, Mac, what's the difference? You're in the business of transporting abducted children. The act of kidnapping isn't much different."

"It is. There's so much more involved in it. Being the middle man's better. You don't have to do the dirty work yet you get paid just as much." I retorted.

And I get to know who's doing the kidnapping and who's selling the children into the black market. I added silently to myself. Makes my job much easier when I arrest all of you.

"Well I'm telling you, kidnapping is just as easy as transporting. I've done it several times before and…" Evan started, only to be interrupted by me.

"You've kidnapped children before?" I asked. "How many? When?"

"Several and it has been years now." Evan replied. "I prefer transporting. Like you said Mac, we get paid just as much and don't have to do the dirty work."

"Name one." I demanded.

"Ever hear of Amber Reynolds?" Evan said with a shrug.

My eyes flashed in anger. Of course I knew Amber Reynolds. She was a 5 year old girl who had been gruesomely murdered after the ransom fell through. She had also been one of the files I had piled under unsolved.

"Yeah, she was on the news several years ago."

"Well that was me. I've done a couple of others…"

"Like who?" I questioned again.

"Charlie Baker, Steven Crane, Laura Hamilton…" Pete ticked off each name as he counted them. The anger that welled up inside was becoming unbearable. These were all cases that had been listed under unsolved.

"Point is Evan's got a lot of experience."

"I can't take all the credit. You were there to help me pull it off Pete."

"That's right. And you better not forget it Evan." Pete said waiving a finger back and froth.

"I take it this will be your first Mac? Do not to worry. You're working with professionals." Evan said, coming up to me and slapping my back hard. "You just do what we tell you to and everything will turn out fine."

Despite wanting to reveal myself now so that I wouldn't have to add child abductor to my lengthy resume, I knew I couldn't. I had just stepped into much more then I signed up for when I agreed to go undercover and now knowing what was going to happen, I just couldn't back out and let it unravel before me, knowing that I'll probably be killed and the plan would continue anyway. No, my best option was to participate and then do my best to protect and eventually rescue the child.

"Very well, tell me what to do."

~2:08PM~

"Damn it!" The pen in my hand broke once more under my frustrated grip. I couldn't concentrate because my mind kept wandering to Mac instead of the case at hand. Now I was late. It was 2:08 PM which meant that I should have left the office 8 minutes ago so that I could pick up Adrian from school.

Adrian's a big boy now. I reminded myself. He's 8 and he'll be on school grounds. Arriving a few minutes late isn't going to make a big difference. Go on Stella, just finish the last two sentences and then head out. Just two more sentences and then you can drop this off at Sinclair's desk and not have to worry about this case ever again.

Picking up what felt like the fifth pen, I hastily finished writing the last few words of the case. Gathering the paperwork in hand, I grabbed my jacket and then headed for Sinclair's office. Seeing that the chief was engrossed in his own set of paperwork, I knocked once and then entered his office.

"Stella." The chief greeted, placing down his own pen and looked up at me.

"Here's the last bit of paperwork for Carlson's case." I placed it on top of his paperwork. The chief didn't look at it, instead he held his gaze on me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's been exactly a year now, right?" The chief asked. 'How are you holding up?"

"As good as any single parent would." I ground out, unable to keep the blame out of my voice. After all, the chief was the main reason why Mac was away.

"Stella, if I had known that this undercover case would have taken so long, I wouldn't have sent Mac. I had expected a month or two months at the most but if I had known…"

"I don't think you'll want to go there chief." I interrupted. "Now if I wasn't already running late with picking up Adrian from school, then I would gladly entertain you with my thoughts on the matter."

"Stella, I do feel responsible for the situation that…"

"Not now Chief." I interrupted again. "I've got to pick up my son from school."

"Yes, of course." Sinclair conceded. "Say hello to Adrian for me."

"Will do." I replied, spinning around and headed out of his office without saying bidding goodbye.

~2:30PM~

Walt Disney had been right all those years ago. It really is a small world after all. The picture of 8 year old Dexter Wilson that I now held in my hand was all the proof I needed. Dexter was Ryan's son and he was also the child who sat on the right of my son at school. For all I know, the two boys could be friends.

"The school bell's going to ring at any minute now. When it does, there will be two minutes of chaos as children rush out of the building and parents rush in." Evan was saying in the driver's seat. "You join the crowd of parents Mac. When you spot the kid, grab him and go. It's as simple as that."

"Got it." I mumbled just as the school bell rang. Swinging the passenger door open, I stepped nervously out of the white unmarked delivery truck. It wasn't just because of the crime that I was about to commit that caused me to be so nervous as being an officer for so long, I did know how to cover my tracks if I needed to, but my nervousness and anxiety was heighten by the fact that I was in such proximity with my own son. Finding a spot that was near the shade and away from where the other parents were standing, I searched the area for any signs of Dexter, hoping against hope that I wouldn't bump into my son, or worst yet, Stella.

The force of something running into my side at full force nearly knocked me over. Slowly I turned around and froze. The thing that had rammed into me was a little boy with green eyes, olive skin and short curly golden brown hair.

"Adrian." I acknowledge in a whispered breath. Before I knew it, the boy had tugged me onto my knees and swung his arms around me, giving me a tight hug.

"Daddy!" Adrian said with excitement. "Daddy! You're here!"

My eyes darted everywhere as I returned my son's hug. My grip on him unconsciously tightened for a split second when I noticed Pete leave the truck and head over to us at a brisk pace. In a desperate act to distant myself from my son, I shoved him away from me. Adrian's eyes grew wide as he fell on his bottom.

"Daddy!" Adrian cried out again as I hastily stood up again and took a few steps away from him just as Pete came into hearing distance. I looked behind my son at Pete to see if he had heard what the child had said. Pete's face remained expressionless as he grab Adrian from behind and lifted him off the ground.

"DADDY!" Adrian yelled out again. "DADDY!"

At that moment I wanted to do nothing more then lounge at Pete but had to keep reminding myself that my son was in his hands. If I was going to do anything irrational right now, I might jeopardize both our lives.

"Pete that's not the right chi…"

"Little tough one?" Pete interrupted.

"DADDY! DADDY!" Adrian screamed again.

"Your daddy's not going to help you." Pete hissed. He grabbed what appeared to be a wet cloth from his pocket and stuffed it into the child's mouth, muffling the noises that Adrian was making.

I watched helplessly as my son tried to struggle out of the monstrous man's arms.

Help him. Help your son Mac. You can't seriously do nothing while you watch him get kidnapped can you? One voice spoke up in my head.

How? How can I help him without blowing my cover? How can I help him without getting myself killed and my son kidnapped? How can I help him without turning this school into a shooting arena? Another voice questioned.

The first voice didn't get a chance to reply when Pete spoke up again.

"C'mon Mac! Get over here now!" Pete yelled out me, bringing my attention back onto the fact that he and my son were already running towards the truck. Immediately I raced after them, catching up just as Pete stepped into the back of the truck and slammed the door behind him, immediately concealing any signs that a kidnap had just occurred. Hastily I yanked open the passenger door and got into the truck. The door had barely closed behind me when Evan began to pull away from the school It was only when we were a few blocks away did the magnitude of what just happened fully hit me.

I just kidnapped my own son. Stella is so going to murder me.

~2:33PM~

I cursed loudly as I heard the school bell ring from a block away. I was late and stuck at a red light.

"This is all your fault Mac. If you hadn't gone undercover for so long, or undercover at all, then my mind wouldn't be constantly stuck thinking about you. And if I wasn't thinking about you so much, I wouldn't have not been able to focus on doing that paperwork and if I had been able to finish the paperwork on time, I wouldn't be late and I would have picked up our son already. Why did you have to go and…" I trialed off since I could have sworn that I had caught a glimpse of Mac in the passenger seat of a white truck just as the truck made a left turn. "See you've occupied my mind so much that I'm seeing you everywhere! I hate that. I hate…"

A honk from the car behind alerted me of the light change. Quickly I pressed my foot on the pedal and drove towards the school. Not caring about anything but picking up my son as quickly as possible, I parked in the red zone that was right in front of the school and flashed the emergency lights. Finding a nice spot by the other parents, I glanced down at my watch and notice that I had arrived 3 minutes and 27 seconds later then the ringing of the school bell. Knowing that 3 minutes and 27 seconds wasn't going to make a big difference, I settled down and waited to pick up my son from school.

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