I don't believe there is enough mac/stella at the moment so I've decided to indulge myself. I think there will be a series of these one shots like this so mac/stella fans, keep your eyes open. I hope this feeds you Smack appetite.
Disclaimer: Mac and Stella do not belong to me, if they did. I wouldn't be writing this story because there would be no need for it.
Mac POV
Jump
The noise of the thunder and the rain feafen my easr as I stand paralised to the spot. Watching a hostage situation is one of the worst things I've ever had to deal with in my career, especially if it is a child. She's so beautiful, full of innocence and life it makes me wonder with rage who would want to harm a little girl like that. She's eight years old and I doubt she understands what's going on. It must be even more confusing for her knowing that she's being kept hostage by her own father. I hate the world for what it is, I've never had a child and I'd like to think I will one day, son or daughter, I don't mind. I'd love to have a child of my own and yet this father infront of me, stands on Brooklyn Bridge with a gun to his own daughter's head. Her mother is hysterical in Stella's arms as I edge closer to the gun and further away from the saftey. I can hear Stella yelling for me to come back but over the noise of the storm, her voice is muted. Her beautiful voice is calling out to me, all I need is that child to be safe and I might be able to get some sleep tonight. I so badly want to listen to Stella, I really do, but I have to do this, he's already killed once so I have no doubt that he will do it again if he is not stopped. However, the fact occurs to me that, he hasn't used his gun yet, he could shoot me at any time but he hasn't which causes me to decide that perhaps he won't use it after all. Amongst Stella's shouts of protest, the child's sobbing and the mother's screaming makes me develop more of a hatred towatds this man. I stop when I hear the click of the gun as it is pointed in my direction. I hear Stella's gasp, why is she so afraid? The little girl looks at me and my eyes lock with hers, I look back to face Stella who is staring back at me in desperation. I'm risking my life when he can shoot both myself and his daughter at any second. I know how dangerous this man is, he's already killed his other two children in a random act of violence and for some reason, Stella's begging makes me all the more determined.
"Give me the gun," I say calmly to the man. It's funny, amidst all the noise and adrenaline I've forgotten what his name is, all I know is that the gun is pointed at my head, though I'd rather it was mine than the child's, I've lived my life, her's has barely begun. I look at the same gun that has been used to murder 2 young innocent children under the age of five years. Two toddlers unable to understand what they did to make Daddy so mad.
I stop moving when he takes a step towards the edge, the child is so terrified she's even too scared to cry by this point. All these strangers she's never seen before trying to gain her father's trust and lure him away from the edge. I notice that his hands are shaking and I wonder what is going through his mind at this moment in time. Maybe if I can pinpoint what is going through his head I can fix this and no one else will get hurt. I hear his wife trying in desperate attempts to persuade him to hand over her daughter and she'll do anything he wants her to. It's amazing, the sacrifices we are willing to make in life, a mother will sacrifice her own life for the sake of her daughter's. A cop will sacrifice their life in order to save the life of an innocent civilian. I have no idea at this point how things are going to happen as each second passesby, am I going deaf or is the rain getting softer?
Lightning tears through the sky, the young child quivers in terror as her father refuses to give in an accept the consequences of what he has done. Millimeter by millimeter, he edges away from me, I can't afford to move anymore, I don't want to be responsible for this little girl's death. I'm so close to them now. If I stretch out my hand I could probably reach her but I darn't. I'm so close I can practically smell the anxiety dripping from this man. What on earth has turned him into such a monster?
The thunder rolls around the black sky, illuminated by it's counterpart, the lightning. The rain feels like a million pellets pouding onto my skin like bullets froma pistol. I'm only wearing a thin cotton shirt under man bullet proof vest and it's soaked through to the bone. The tension is so thick that not even the strongest man on this earth could move it away.
At this pivitol point, my actions could change everything. It's the middle of January and I'm sure we're in minus degrees by now at this time of night, if I'm frozen the child must be in pain from the cold; she's in bare feet and only in her pajamas. Her long blond hair is sticking to her small body, her only form of insulation. I move not an inch when I hear the mother cream and Stella yell my name as I watch the man pull his daughter with him over the edge of the bridge as they plummet into the icy waters below us. Before I can rationalise my thoughts or even realise I'm actually thinking I jump…jump in right after them. The last thing I hear is Stella's scream as I hit the surface of the water. It's icy cold and the water stabs at me like a thousand knives. I can hear the gilr coughing and spluttering as she struggles to keep her head above the surface of the watery depths. I swim over to her, ignoring the motionless body of her father. He can rot in his watery grave for all I care. The child clings to me and feels as light as a feather in the water. I promise her it will be alright as she holds on to me as if her life depends on it…it probably does. The grip she has around my neck, the trust she has in me gives me the strength to carry on. I can see the shore line ahead of us, where the water breaks and meets the sand. It gets closer and closer and I see faces waiting for our docking. I kick and paddle faster and faster, fast as I can until a pair of strong arms hoist us out of the water, the child is lifted out of my arms and immediately wrapped in a blanket and placed back into the arms of her mother. I get up, shivering, and look over to the woman who now has her child, safe in her arms. She mouths a thankyou, and that's all I need to feel happy, even if everyone else think's I'm crazy.
"That was a crazy thing you did Mac, you know that?" Flack says wrapping a blanket over my shoulders. I smile and hear a frantic voice coming down the embankment, shouting my name. My eyes are still stinging from the water and I see Stella running towards me, nearly as wet as I am. In this moment I notice that the thunder has subsided that the rain has degraded to just a light drizzle.
"You idiot!" she yells in anger, slamming into my chest. I don't care if she's angry, I'm just pleased to see her. "You idiot!" she repeats, her fists hit me softly, her crying has drained her of her energy, "You idiot, Mac. You could have got yourself killed! You stupid, stupid man!" I've never been so pleased to see her in my entire life and despite her weak punches I ignore them and pull her into the strongest embrace I can manage.
"I'm sorry" I whisper as I stroke her wet hair that clings to her face. She's stopped hitting me now and now has her arms wrapped tightly around me.
"What were you thinking?" she says looking deep into my eyes, "Were you even thinking at all?" she raises her voice because I don't answer, I'm just too capitivated by her eyes, have they always been this beautiful? She stands there screaming at me. We're both so full of emotion I do the only thing I can think of that will shut her up. Before she can say another word, my lips are on hers, locked in a passionate kiss. The pent up of feelings I've had for so many years released in a matter of seconds. She doesn't pull away, infact, she responds by deepening the kiss. If I'd known I'd get this reaction, I'd jump of bridged more often. I don't want to move right now but eventually, we break for air. She stares at me, her eyes still full of fear. She slaps her hands on my chest. Ouch, she can pack a mean punch. "Don't you ever, ever do that again, Mac, do you hear me, never ever again!" she says. I just need her close to meas I prepare to say the words I thought I'd never find the courage to say again. As she waffled on muttering into my chest I place my finger over her lips to silence her.
"I love you, Stella" I say. It comes out so easily and naturally it's as if I've been saying my whole life. She doesn't respond for a while and for a second I wonder if I have just ruined our friendship forever after coming out with an ultimatum like that.
"I'm sorry I scared you" I apologise hoping she'll find it in her heart to forgive me. She pulls me in for another passionate kiss. Ill take that as a yes, then.
It's never the fall that kills you.