Mistakes and Memories
Stella woke up with a start from another nightmare. She looked around the room trying to remember where she was to finally remember she was at Adam and Mackenzie's place in the spare bedroom.
She'd gotten rid of her apartment when the lease was up - moving in with Mac. Her loving but ill-advised boyfriend wanted to make sure she wasn't at their place if the man who blasted the door in came back. Inside she was pretty sure he wouldn't be returning – having made a nice mess as it was but Mac didn't want to listen to her. This was one of those things he wouldn't be swayed from.
With that thought she stood up and got presentable. She then headed towards the bathroom.
Halfway down the hall the next door over from the room she was using opened and a little head peeked out at her. Standing there was David rubbing his tired eyes.
"Bad dream?" his little voice asked.
"Yeah, how did you know?" she asked and he smiled at her.
"You were crying, I could hear it through the air vents," he stated. "You want to talk about it. That always helps me."
"I'll be fine, I just need to splash my face with cold water," Stella stated and he glared his eyes at her. In that moment the resemblance to Mac and Kenzie was uncanny. He was a younger version of them.
"Daddy said you needed to get sleep. Go back in to bed. Mommy's little baby brother or sister needs you rested," David said and she rolled her eyes. A five-year-old was giving her orders. Definitely Mac's grandson.
"I'll head back to bed after I cool down from that dream," Stella assured the boy. He didn't look convinced. "I promise."
"Okay," David said skeptically. "Good night Stella."
"Good night David," she called. He waved back before heading to his room. His door closed and she made her way to the bathroom. There she splashed her face. She eventually made her way back into the room she was using.
As she laid down her mind thought of David and Kenzie. For four years or so Mackenzie, a child herself, had been raising him alone for the most part. She'd raised a happy, intelligent young boy without much help. Her sisters were there when they could be but that wasn't all the time.
Truthfully, Stella wasn't sure if she'd be able to do it – raising a child on her own. If Mac had decided he didn't want anything to do with this baby she wouldn't have known what to do.
Her hands instantly came to rest on her stomach where her child was resting. It was a strange feeling – knowing there was a living baby currently growing within her. She didn't know if she'd be able to handle it but she knew she had to. She was determined to give this baby a better childhood than she'd had.
Eventually she must have fallen asleep with those thoughts rolling around in her head because the next thing she knew her eyes were opening to a brightly lit room. She got up and dressed herself in a dark suit and a top she knew Mac just loved her in.
Then she left the room to find herself looking at Adam who was standing in the kitchen fixing breakfast.
"Morning," he called as David came running out. "Hi."
"Hey David," she stated as he ran to the kitchen and grabbed the eggs from the refrigerator then climbed on a stool. She sat down and watched as David helped Adam make breakfast.
She smiled as David spilt half of the eggs he'd been scrambling onto the floor.
"Oops," David said before turning red. "Sorry Daddy."
"It's okay," Adam said before bending over to clean up the mess. "Hey, why don't you go see if Stella wants to try playing your game against you."
Stella saw the boy's face glow and he came over. She held out her hand to him and he led her to the game counsel. Honestly, she did try to play it but she was so lost. She'd try to hit someone she'd blow them up, she'd try to blow them up she'd shoot them; she threw herself over a cliff twice. She was really bad at it and David laughed at her attempts.
The threesome eventually ate before they all headed into work. Adam went to the lab and she took David to Mac's office. It was there she stopped in the doorway finding Mac asleep at his desk, his head resting on his forearms. A smile crept across her face.
"Stella," David whispered and she looked down at the boy who looked at her curiously. "What should we do?"
"Let's go to the lounge," she whispered and the boy consented. Then she led him to the break room where he went to the chairs. He plopped down, pulled out an MP3 player and a book.
She traveled out to the lab. There she worked on a case. After a while she felt little hands pull at her pants legs and she looked down to see David standing there.
"Can I go see mommy… I miss her," David said.
"Let's go," she whispered. "Just let me leave Mac a letter letting him know where we went so he doesn't worry."
She quickly jotted down a note, slipped into his office, sat the note in front of him then left without him stirring.
--
David sat in Stella's vehicle anxiously waiting. He'd never been very patience and he really wanted to see his mom. As soon as she'd parked he was out of the car and she had to chase after him.
"David, don't do that," Stella lectured and he saw fear in her eyes. "You could get hurt, do you understand?"
"Yes ma'am," David whispered ashamed that he'd caused her to fear for him. She sighed before ruffling his hair. Then she led him out of that parking lot to the elevator. He waited patiently for them to arrive at his mommy's floor then he bounced as they sped down that hall.
As soon as he saw his mom he ran to her.
"Hey baby," she said pulling him onto the bed next to her. He held her close not noticing Stella move to the one wall. His mom then pulled away and looked at Stella. "Shouldn't you be at work, where is dad?"
"Your dad worked him self to the point he passed out face first in his desk," Stella said and he couldn't help but smile.
--
Mac opened his eyes to the light smell of Stella's perfume in the room. He sat up, his eyes glancing this way and that trying to get his bearings. That's when he remembered he'd never gone home the night before. He'd passed out at his desk.
"That explains why my neck hurts," he mumbled with a sigh as he rubbed said neck.
"Hey boss," Adam said walking in. "I've got those lab results Stella wanted."
"Okay," Mac asked before looking up. "Why are you giving them to me if she wanted them?"
"I can't find her or David. I figure they must have gone to the hospital to see Kenzie," Adam said with a shrug but all Mac heard was that she was missing. He quickly grabbed for the phone intent on calling her but his hand instead bumped a piece of paper he didn't remember. He quickly picked it up and as his eyes skimmed the words he felt himself relax slightly.
"You're right; she's visiting Mackenzie because David was restless," Mac said with a sigh of relief. A part of him had been worried that they'd been taking as paranoid as that sounded. Then again – with what had happened to Mackenzie he had a right to be paranoid.
"Boss, they'll be fine," Adam said and Mac looked up. If you'd told Mac a year ago that Adam would be giving him parenting or relationship advice he'd have laughed at you. Now though he listened to Adam when the young man gave him advice on how to deal with Mackenzie. Adam seemed to be a pro at it.
"Which one are you talking about – David, Mackenzie, Stella, or the baby?" Mac asked and Adam smiled.
"All of the above. Stella's smart and strong – she'll protect them but if I know her she'll protect that baby with everything she has. Kenzie, she's got your will – and won't go down without a fight if she can help it. David, he's a smart boy. He'll keep himself safe long enough for the lab to come to the rescue," Adam stated. "Trust me, they will be fine."
Mac nodded as he looked at the young man. "I hope you're right," Mac stated. He sighed before looking at the young man. "Adam, take this to Stella and spend a little time with Mackenzie. I'm giving you the rest of the day off, use it."
"Thanks boss," Adam said as he grabbed the folder with the results before heading out of the lab. Mac sat at his desk doing paperwork when the lab heard this loud explosion and it shook from the shock wave.
He didn't think as he ran from his office and down the stairs, ignoring the elevators. He made it to the parking lot. There he saw a flaming car with debris all over the place and a figure lying down on the ground covered by a bunch of debris. As he moved closer Mac instantly recognized the figure and felt himself pale.
--
[Sorry its taking me so long to update… I have a new job which is taking up most of the hours in the day. I hope you like it. Who do you think the figure is? Well, thanks for reading and a special thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I'll update as soon as I can…]
