Disclaimer: I still don't own...

Author's notes: I'm so sorry. Real Life has been a pain in the behind, and I've still got two more exam papers to go... the lack of muse didn't help much either. I'm so sorry for posting so late...but anyway, chapter 7 is up. Hope you all enjoy. :)

8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8

Chapter 7 – The Breaking of the Storm

Taylor, a newborn, nestled safely in his new mother's arms.

Taylor, aged three, being carried by Shawn so he could blow out the candles on his birthday cake.

Taylor, aged six, holding a soccer ball under his arm, standing next to Jesse, both boys covered in mud and grass stains that would be hell to wash out.

Taylor, aged nine, grinning at the camera in a family photo of Shawn and his siblings at what was apparently Shayla and Jesse's primary school graduation, judging from the outfits they were wearing in the shot.

And there were so many more… Awed by the images captured by the camera of a devoted father, Mac respectfully replaced the photographs that he had removed from the album and closed the book. This was more than sufficient proof in his book – and it didn't hurt that Social Services had verified the authenticity of Berenson's documents – that Taylor was indeed, Shawn Berenson's adopted son. Adam was still working on the papers that the Gianettis had given him, though, and Mac knew that despite what his gut was telling him, he had to wait until the results came back before he brought Taylor back home to the family who was waiting for him. It didn't seem fair, but…

A knock on his door signaled the arrival of Stella, and Taylor by her side. The young boy was clearly delighted to see Mac again, and he greeted the detective very enthusiastically, leaping at Mac and hugging him – though he was careful not to whack Mac with his cast.

"Hi, Mac! Where did you go?" Taylor's brown eye shone happily. "Danny's been showing me how to play Pokemon Mystery Dungeon on the DS – he found out I liked Pokemon from Jane in the DNA lab."

Well. And what had happened to the timid kid who had once before been terrified by everything and everyone in the lab? Amused, Mac gently directed the boy over to his desk, seating him in the chair.

Taylor looked very different from when Mac had first seen him in the hospital just – was it really only two days ago? It felt like he had known the boy for weeks, and all of them had fallen in love with his unfailing spirit and gentle nature. Of course, physically he hadn't healed as much as he should have – there was still bruising around his left eye, and his right eye was swollen almost-shut without the bandage to cover it up, and his cast and nose fracture would take time to heal as well. But still, he seemed to be healing emotionally, where it counted, so Mac wasn't about to complain.

"What's this?" Taylor looked curiously at the photo album on the table. His good eye widened, and he blinked. "Are those photos?"

Mac hastily tried to cover up the book without making it seem like he was trying to hide it, moving some files over the book while pointing Taylor's attention over to another subject. Stella raised an eyebrow, but followed his lead.

"Hey, why don't you head down to the vending machines downstairs and pick out some tooth poison that you like?" she suggested, bringing some spare change out of her pocket. The young boy looked at her uncertainly, but then he nodded and took the money, sliding off Mac's seat and trotting obediently out of the office. Mac waved a little as he disappeared from sight before turning to his coworker.

Once he had explained the situation, Stella's eyes shone. "So Shayla was telling the truth. Taylor is her brother. He's got a father and a brother, and two sisters. He'll be so glad to hear that, Mac."

Mac could guess, and he said so, but added somberly: "Still gotta wait for the results from QD on the documents the Gianettis gave us, Stella."

"But -"

"But we have to be fair," Mac reminded her gently. "If not, we'd be making assumptions, and we know that isn't acceptable."

Stella muttered something under her breath about rules and former Marines that didn't somehow sound complimentary, but Mac let it slide. He glanced at his watch. Taylor had been gone a few minutes. Maybe he was having problems working the vending machine.

Danny chose that moment to poke his head in. "Hey. Where's our little guy? Lindsay and I have been looking all over for him. We thought he might like to head to the McD's across the street and get a burger or something."

"We sent him down to the vending machines a few minutes ago," Stella replied. She smiled fondly. "He did mention a fondness for cheeseburgers, didn't he?"

"Said he could eat three in one sitting, and still have room for fries, a sundae, and a drink," Danny reported to Mac. "Lindsay doesn't believe it, so we're taking bets. We thought we'd feed him while he proves what he can do one way or another…kill two birds with one stone, and all that."

Mac's cellphone rang then, and he answered it automatically. Flack's voice greeted him from the other end of the line.

"Hey, Mac. I think we got something here. A man just checked his friend into the hospital, something to do with his buddy being stabbed by some kids a couple nights back. Sound familiar? They're both homeless, but the injury was bad enough that he needed real help. Better get Taylor over to the hospital, see if he remembers this guy, or if the guy remembers him."

Instantly alert, Mac nodded, even though Flack couldn't see him. "On our way, Flack." He looked at his team. "Lindsay – we're going to the hospital. Danny, do me a favor and go find Taylor, please."

The young man nodded and left, Stella following him. Lindsay scurried off to fetch her kit and Mac's, promising to meet him downstairs in five minutes. However, Mac had only just gotten his suit coat on when Stella came back in, a little flustered.

"Taylor's not at the vending machines, Mac. I asked around and no one remembers seeing him there." The curly-haired woman looked a little worried. "Do you think he got lost on the way down?"

"Maybe," allowed Mac, sensing that this was not a good time to tell Stella that he doubted the boy had lost his way. Danny had taken him around, and Taylor had proved to have a fantastic sense of direction, memorizing the layout of the lab faster than even Mac himself had when they had first shifted here – and that was saying something, seeing as Mac was a former Marine. "Where's Danny?"

"Looking for Taylor," answered Stella. "Mac, you don't think…I mean -" she paused, then went on, "He's okay, right? I mean, what could possibly happen to him here? This is the police station. No one could snatch him from under our noses…"

Lindsay joined them, was updated on the situation, and they were all starting to get slightly worried when Danny came back, holding a slightly confused Taylor by the hand, with Sheldon just behind both of them.

"Thank goodness," breathed Stella, wiping the worry off her face with a smile as they entered.

Hawkes looked sheepishly at his friends. "The machine was out of Snickers, so I brought Taylor across the street to the 7 Eleven we have there. Then we saw a man running a shell game, and we lost track of time. I'm sorry." He grinned down at Taylor. "On the other hand, this kid has a great eye on him. Six and a half out of ten times, he knew where the pea was."

That didn't sound right. "Six and a half?" repeated Mac, relieved that the boy was safe after all.

"Half 'cause I chose the right shell, then Hawkes convinced me to pick a different one," Taylor explained earnestly. He looked at Mac. "You've got your coat on," he observed. "Are you going somewhere?"

Mac nodded. "We're headed to the hospital, Taylor," he explained. "We need you to see if you can identify a man who's just been brought in. We think he might be the man whose stabbing you witnessed."

"Oh." Taylor nodded at once, straightening slightly. "Okay, sure. So…you mean he didn't die?"

There was hope in the young voice, peppered by a hint of fear and Mac knew that he was remembering the actual stabbing. No young eyes should ever have to witness such violence, he thought, wondering once again why Taylor had been there in the first place. He just couldn't see Taylor being mixed up with the Tanglewood Boys, and yet…

But that could wait for another time. He reached out and took Taylor's hand from Danny's, then led the boy towards the elevators again. They needed to get to the hospital right now, and see if they couldn't clear up another piece of Taylor's puzzle.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8

The hospital was crowded when they got there. Mac had to circle a few times before a parking spot became available. Technically, he could have pulled rank with his shield, but he didn't feel it was necessary – Flack had the man they needed to see with him, he'd said they were waiting in the hospital waiting room. Taylor and Lindsay followed him as he led the way, to where the lanky cop was seated, long legs bent awkwardly due to the low hospital waiting room couch. He could have stretched them out, but had chosen to sit up instead with a Starbucks cup in his hand. Next to him was a man, with sandy blond hair, and a worried expression on his face. He was somewhat grimy, but had removed his cap at the sight of Lindsay approaching, proving that chivalry and manners weren't completely dead just yet.

"This is Detective Taylor and Monroe from the crime lab," Flack introduced them as they came to a halt in front of him. "And this is the boy I mentioned earlier – the witness to your buddy's stabbing." He turned his blue gaze back to his co-workers. "This is Joe. He says he doesn't have a last name. His buddy Al is in surgery right now."

"Al didn't do anything wrong," Joe defended his friend. "I don't know the how and when and what of it all, but I know Al, and he's a good guy. Don't go pinning anything on him just cause he's homeless," he warned with a glint in his eye. Mac felt a surge of respect for the man; he had lost his home but not his pride.

"Sir, we know that Al is the victim in this case," he said, his tone polite, not accusing. "We just have to check something out."

"The nurse took this picture of him, as per hospital procedure," Flack put in. He held it out for Taylor to see. "Is this the man you saw Tiger stabbing?"

Taylor hesitated, but he looked at the photograph and his eyes widened almost instantly. "That's him," he exclaimed softly. He looked at Mac. "It's the same man."

"All right," Mac responded, "Good work, Taylor." Now they had a positive victim ID, their jobs would be slightly easier. He nodded to Lindsay and made a sign that she should take Taylor off somewhere while he asked Joe a few more questions. The young boy was trembling, and Mac had a feeling that it wasn't beneficial to have him stay, especially since Al's stabbing seemed to be the only concrete thing he could recall…having to face the actual man from his memories had to be slightly traumatizing to say the least.

But at last they were making some progress. Mac watched as Lindsay settled Taylor with a male nurse near the other end of the hall, just outside a supply closet that the nurse had emerged from. Something seemed off, but Taylor accepted the young man readily enough, looking down at the floor, subdued.

The detective frowned. He didn't understand the dread he felt in his gut…

"Mac?" Lindsay approached him again, kit in hand. "So…what do we do now?"

"Al should be out of surgery soon," Mac said, trying to wrench his mind back to the case. However, his mind defied him – it continued to ponder what had seemed so off about that nurse… The former Marine froze.

"Lindsay," he exclaimed, swinging around to stare at the space where the little boy had last been, "Why did that nurse have on a uniform with the logo of a different hospital on his breast pocket?"

Shit. Crap. Hell. Taylor was gone, but he couldn't have been taken far. "Lindsay, you take the stairs," Mac ordered, pointing. "Flack, with me! We can't let them leave this hospital!"

He'd promised Taylor's family that he would get the boy back to them safely, and Mac wasn't about to let anyone or anything stop him from keeping his promise.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8

Tar-rah! Please press the pretty purple button, and say "The Dark is Rising" in your review to show you read the author's notes...however short they may be. :)

RK9.