Chapter 7: Tears

I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing

With a broken heart that's still beating

In the pain is there healing

In your name I find meaning

Mac leaves Stella with the officer to run the names while he calls his lab in order to give them the leads.

"Have you lived in Greece before?" he asks.

"No, I've lived in New York my whole life. In foster care."

"Hm… you look oddly familiar. I can't figure out why though. I recognize the eyes… and the hair."

"You've probably seen lots of people that look somewhat like me during your many years as a police officer."

"You're probably right," he sighs. "I just can't shake the feeling that I've met you before."

"Well, I've never even visited Greece before this so…"

Mac comes back inside, "Adam found little of interest during his brief search, but he's still working on it."

"How are the others?"

"Busy without us there."

"I suppose we should schedule a flight home soon."

He nods, "We'll see if there's a flight leaving two days from now."

"Here you go. It looks like they've all immigrated to the US and haven't been back to Greece since," he hands Mac a few papers.

"Anywhere that we should visit while we're here?" Stella asks.

"Well, most tourists like to go to the beaches and the islands. They're very unique, at least to Americans. And Delphi is interesting too."

"Thanks for your help," Mac hands him a business card. "We'll be in touch."

Broken

"So what did Kolovos say to you?" Mac asks when they are back at the hotel.

"I already told you. He just used more detail that I did."

"I meant when they brought him in."

"Oh… it's not important," she dismisses it.

"Obviously the officers thought it was."

"Or maybe they just thought neither of us could understand him and thought it would be polite to translate."

He sighs, "Why won't you tell me? Are you hiding something else from me?"

"No… only what he said."

Mac shakes his head at her, figuring he'll trick her into telling him later. "Now what are we going to do?"

"Well," she checks her watch, "it's about noon. We could catch a cab or bus and go up to Delphi for the afternoon. And then tomorrow we can go over to one of the islands."

"What, no shopping?" he smiles at her.

"Not right now. But we do have to get the guys something, or they'll be mad."

They leave the case file in his room before departing again to hail a taxi. "It looks like a long ride. Are you sure you don't want anything to eat before we go?" he says as he studies a map.

"I'm still full from breakfast, but if you're hungry, we can stop for a snack."

"No, I can wait until dinner."

During the drive, Stella tells Mac what the officer had said to her. "What do you think about it?"

He looks out the window for a moment before answering. "You are part Greek. There are probably hundreds of people here that share a couple characteristics with you. I mean, it could be a relative, maybe even one of your parents but… I wouldn't get your hopes up. The chance of finding them considering you don't have names is… a hundredth of a percent maybe."

"I know, Mac. I waited for years for them to come pick me up for my foster home, but they never did. I gave up when I was eight. They didn't care about me."

"I'm sure they loved you, Stella. They probably just… couldn't keep you for some reason. Maybe they couldn't afford a baby. Or maybe it was an accident and she was too young like Claire was." She turns her eyes from his in order to look out the window, sad. It takes him a few minutes to realize what he said. "I didn't mean it to come out like that."

"I know. You just meant that they didn't plan to have me and weren't prepared to care for a baby."

He takes her hand in his, "I'm glad that you're alive, Stella. You make not think that you're important but without you… I wouldn't have died eight years ago when Claire was gone. And if that didn't kill, there are plenty of other times you've saved my life. I couldn't imagine my life without you in it, Stel."

A tear falls down her cheek, and he wipes it away. "I'm sorry, Mac. I…"

"Don't you dare think for even a second that you haven't made a difference in my life. And in Danny's and Lindsay's and everyone else at the lab. And all those victims you've brought justice to."

"Mac, I've ruined it. My life is over because of him. I can't believe what I've done," Stella whispers, the full effects of her actions finally hitting her.

Mac pulls her into a hug, letting her release her emotions.

A/N: I have finally figured out when I will update to get this done before the finale... Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I can't wait for tomorrow's episode. Which reminds me... I have to go watch Castle and study for my AP Calculus test that is tomorrow. Well... keep reviewing.