The Secret Ch.8

'Hey baby girl, I'm back,' Stella told Katie lovingly as she entered the room. She was so glad that she was bearing good news as she went into the room. Mac had taken a detour to the nearest coffee stand to get two cups of coffee, letting Stella have some time alone with Katie.

'The bastard who did this to you is not going to be able to touch you again, baby girl,' Stella whispered. She looked carefully at Katie for a sign, any sign that showed that she could hear her, like maybe a twitch of a finger, but there were none. Disappointed, Stella sat back down on the edge of the bed just as Mac came in, holding two steaming cups of brown liquid.

'Thanks, Mac,' Stella said gratefully as Mac handed her coffee to her. She took a sip and felt the warmth flow through her veins.

'Penny for your thoughts?' Mac asked her, noting her troubled look.

'I'm fine, Mac,' Stella answered, still trying to keep up her brave act. Seeing the steely glint in her eyes, Mac decided not to push the topic any further. Sitting down, he decided to ask the question that has been bothering him for a long time.

'Stella, why didn't you tell any of us about Katie before?' Mac asked.

Stella gave a weak smile, and was prepared to give her rehearsed answer, about how she was not ashamed of Katie, but she just had an issue with trust and when she got to trust the rest of the team, she couldn't just waltz in and tell them she had an eleven year old daughter, but seeing true concern in Mac's eyes, she decided to give the true answer.

'Believe me, Mac, I am not ashamed of Katie. She is just the best girl anyone can wish for, but I am ashamed of how James left me as soon as he knew about my little girl. I just couldn't let her go through what I had gone through at that time, the pain that you feel when someone that she thought cared about her, the person that she thought was family, was going to leave her, all alone.' Stella answered softly, with a bit of difficulty. This was something that she had never admitted to anyone, and the words felt a bit foreign in her mouth. When she looked at Mac, he could recognize that look in her eyes, begging for assurance that he would never leave the two of them.

'I will never leave you, Stella. I promise,' Mac vowed as he drew her closer. Stella relaxed into his embrace and refused to leave.

Outside, Lindsay, Danny, Sheldon, Adam, Sid and Don were standing there, smirking at the scene that was unraveling in the room. They high-fived each other and left quietly without disturbing the couple in the room.

~The Secret

Checking the vitals of the young girl laying on the bed, Doctor Robinson gave a small smile. She had seen Detective Bonasera next to Katie every single day, unlike a lot of other parents. Even with her hectic hours, she would still find time to spend with Katie. She was touched by the obvious love that Stella had for Katie, and was glad that Katie was making good prognosis.

'Detective Bonasera, Katie is making remarkable improvement. Her brain activity increased quite a bit, and she can breathe on her own now.' Doctor Robinson told a relieved Stella. 'She would probably wake up in a day or two.'

'Thank you, doctor,' Stella answered sincerely. Giving Stella a smile, Doctor Robinson walked away, presumably to check on some other patients. Stella walked back into Katie's room, a big smile on her face.

'You are making good progress, Katie Cat. The doctor thinks that you can be back with me in a couple of days,' Stella told her softly, tracing small circles on Katie's palm.

'Remember Detective Taylor? The man I have always told you about? He promised that he would never leave us. I trust him, Katie, and I love him. I really hope that you would too. Do wake up soon. You've had a nice, long nap. It's time for you to get up now.'

Mac walked into the hospital room at that very moment, noting that Katie's ventilator was already taken away. He was glad that it was so. He loved Stella, and even though he had never spent any time with Katie, he already saw her as his daughter. From all the photos and stories of Katie, Mac felt that he already knew the girl. Seeing her hooked up to all sort of monitors and ventilators was heartbreaking, and now that some of them were finally taken away, a heavy weight also fell off his shoulders. He smiled at Stella.

'How is she?' Mac asked.

'Getting better,' replied Stella. 'She can breathe on her own now and the doctor said that she would probably wake up soon.'

'That's good to hear,' Mac answered, sitting down next to Stella, allowing her head to fall onto his shoulder. Stella sighed contentedly. She only wish that this was happening in an apartment that belonged to them, instead of being in a hospital, with Katie lying on a hospital bed, hooked up to all sorts of monitors, unconscious.

They stayed in the room for another couple of hours together with Katie. After a short lunch, Mac had to go back to the lab and Stella decided to go with him, hoping to take her mind off things. They left the room with a promise to return as soon as their shifts were over.

*The Secret*

Walking back into the lab, Stella felt a wave of comfort hit her. The lab was her second home, and although her first one would no longer be the same, the fact that her second home was intact gave her a small feeling of stability.

She settled down in her office that she shared with Lindsay. Upon seeing the huge mountain of paperwork that was stacked on her desk, she gave a huge sigh. However, she believed that it would be well worth it. With less paperwork on his desk, Mac would be able to get more much-needed rests. She sat down, and started to work. As soon as their shifts ended, Mac and Stella both left their office under the astonished stares of the lab tech, who could not believe their eyes. Their boss actually left at a decent hour for a whole week.

*The Secret*

The hospital room was extremely quiet. Stella had fallen asleep while Mac read over case reports that the lab was dealing with. He stopped once in a while to look at his girls. Both of them were relaxed and peaceful, and Mac could not hold back a smile.

His smile was suddenly replaced by a small frown. His attention was suddenly captured by a small twitch on Katie's face. He placed the case reports down on the chair that he was sitting on and went over to Katie's side. There was no mistaking it. Katie's face had twitched and her hands were moving ever so slightly. He did not want to wake Stella as he hoped to let her rest for as long as it was possible, but he did promise to wake her if anything happened, so he had no choice but to rouse her.

'Stella, wake up,' Mac whispered urgently, patting her shoulder gently.

'What?' Stella asked, opening her eyes sleepily.

'Look at Katie,' Mac replied simply.

That immediately got Stella's attention. She was wide awake within minutes and looked closely at her daughter, fearing that there was something wrong, and then she saw it – a slight movement on Katie's face.

She sat down with Mac next to the bed and watched Katie intently. After half an hour, Katie's eyelids flickered open.

'Mama?' Katie murmured weakly.

A/N: I'm soooooo sorry for not updating earlier, but I had gotten sick and the schoolwork just kept piling up. I got a free period today, so I used it to update this story. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter.

As usual, PLEASE REVIEW! Criticisms are much appreciated, but no flamers please.

Special thanks to Bianca tabbycat who agreed to beta this story for me.

This chapter is dedicated to all those who reviewed this story. I love you all.

Zoe tabbycat.