Chapter 4

Sara hurried down the alleyway, knowing that her father would kill her if he knew she was taking this shortcut. She cautiously looked over her shoulder, scared that evry footstep she heard was her father's, or somebody else coming to catch her.

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Mac tried his best to get back into his office without anyone noticing he'd been away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Stella in Adam's lab. Although it was a quick glance, he could still tell that she was heading straight for him. Random excuses ran through his head, anything to ward her off…

"Been somewhere interesting, Mac?"

"Uh…I had a, uh,…I had to go out for a coffee, running low on sleep, needed to get some energy, you know…" His voice trailed off as he saw Stella's disbelieving stare.

"Mac, I had hoped that we had a relationship where we could talk to each other, and confide. Obviously, I've been mistaken."

Mac cringed; she knew exactly how to make him feel guilty. He sighed.

"Can we talk about this in private?"

Stella shrugged her shoulders and walked into Mac's office as he held the door open for her. She sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

"I have a daughter."

Stella didn't even blink at this sudden revelation.

"I have my reasons for keeping her secret. For one thing, she's pretty wild, but…I couldn't bear for anyone to talk about her because…she just reminds me so much of Claire."

Stella nodded. She had always known how hard it was for Mac to even think about Claire, and that anything related to her or her death would drive him over the edge.

"I was in a meeting with her principal just now. She skipped school for the seventh time this month, and I've lost count of how many this year. Since her mother's death, she's just been completely uncontrollable. I just don't know what to do with her. In fact, I really need to go check up on her. Make sure she hasn't gone wild and cut up all of my work clothes again."

Mac laughed as he reminisced about the time he'd come home from work and found Sara cutting up all of his shirts and ties. As he thought about it, he suddenly stopped laughing. Sara had been pretty upset last night. She wouldn't do it again, would she?

"Can I come?" asked Stella suddenly. "I want to meet her."

"I guess," shrugged Mac. "She hates almost everyone though, so don't take it personally." Stella laughed and followed Mac out of the office.

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Mac inserted his keys into the lock and opened the door. There was silence in the apartment. He looked in Sara's room. It was empty.

"Sara?" he called out anxiously.

Stella and Mac looked all over the apartment. It was completely empty.

"I'll call the Flack, have him put out an Amber Alert," said Stella. "Do you think she was taken?"

"No way," said Mac. "Her sax is gone. She's ran away. Trust me, an Amber Alert is completely pointless. If Sara doesn't want to be found, we won't ever find her."

A/N: Please R+R as I haven't had ANY reviews yet.

P.S. I need suggestions for the name of a Jazz Band that Sara is in.