"Um, excuse me sir, but who are you?"
The words that escaped from Stella's mouth seemed to echo in Mac's ears. He couldn't answer right away and just stood there, thinking if Stella was joking, or if she was for real.
"I'm Mac! Mac Taylor! Your husband, Stella, we've been married for five years!" He paused to take a breath and held up his hand, showing the wedding band, "See?"
Stella just sat there, her face formed a confused and quite scared look.
Then Mac remembered, her ring had to be taken off during the surgery; it must have been with the nurses or someone. He glanced at her empty, slender hands and found no ring to match his own.
"See, I'm not married," she scoffed, "I don't even know why I'm in this place..." she started to say while drifting off.
"You were shot, in the head to be precise, Stella. You've been asleep for the past week." Mac said. And then he asked one more time.
"Stella, don't you remember me?" he said, softly.
He stood there, in complete shock, and looked at the same Stella he had always been with. But he could feel it. That feeling he deeply hoped would not come between the two of them, the idea that Stella may have totally forgotten who he was.
"Uh...OK, Mack, whoever you are, I don't see why you're so interested in me, how you even know me or why you're even here!" she yelled.
He just sighed, obviously giving up and began to sit down. He felt his police badge bump against his skin and thought of an idea.
"You see this?" he held up the badge to Stella for her to see, "you have one of your own. You're a detective, Stella, that's how we met! You're with the NYPD and have always been for the past years. Do you remember that?" he asked, a with a tone of hope in his voice.
He studied Stella's face, seeing her eyes trying to focus on the badge, as if trying to remember a cloudy memory in her washed-out mind. Her lips were shaking, trying to say words that would help her remember even a single thought from her past.
"I do...remember something about an Academy. I went there, for some reason, that Academy. We had uniforms, and the teachers were really strict...and...we had guns. I remember the guns..." she sighed, "I remember something about it, but I can't tell if it's reality or a dream?" she said.
Her face grew weary, Mac could tell she was frustrated at herself. He remembers how that felt, how she would always beat herself up if she couldn't fulfill her high standards. It was something Stella was accustomed to, it was in her blood. It had been her weakest point in this entire conversation Mac had with her, and he took advantage of that.
"You remember that Academy, Stella?" Mac asked her.
"Yes. Yes I do, but was it real?" She asked him.
"It was, and I can help you remember all those things you've experienced in the past. Let me help you, Stella, just trust me and I can help you bring back some memories of the past." he said, trying to encourage her.
Stella was on the verge of tears trying to get rid of the feeling of forgetfulness. It was an awful feeling, and she couldn't remember anyone that could help her. Except this man, a man she just met that day.
"You'll help me remember that place? That place with the guns and the uniforms?" Stella asked.
"Everything about it," Mac said with a smile.
Stella smiled back but her eyebrows furrowed in while she wondered, "How would you know?"
"I went there to become what I am today, a CSI." Mac said.
"You did?" Stella exclaimed, with excitement in her voice.
"Yeah, I did. It was awful most of the time, but I remember the good times." he said, still smiling.
"Huh...good." Stella smiled, "'Cause I only remember the good times, too."
They smiled at each other for a moment, but Stella looked down and broke Mac's glance towards her. It was silent for a few seconds, but Mac thought he'd just do something courteous to Stella.
"How about we start this over, huh?" Mac asked.
"What do you mean?" Stella said, confused.
Mac held out his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Mac Taylor."
Stella reached out and grabbed his hand, "I'm...uh..."she paused and stuttered, "you seem to know my name, what is it?" she asked, embarrassed.
"Stella," he told her.
"Stella, huh, I like that name," she responded with a smile.
"Hi, Mac Taylor, my name's Stella."
A/N: Ending on quite a happy note, there...hehe:) Hope you liked it, and let me know what you think!
