CSI: New York – Family Ties

Chapter 9 – Collateral Damage

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[Mac's POV]

After finishing up with Sid I headed back up to my office but once again found myself not being able to concentrate on anything work related. My mind is once again distracted thinking about Reed; and now Stella and how things will go between them this afternoon. However it turns out, I'm sure it can't be any worse than how I've handled things so far. I know there's a fine line between being protective and over-bearing and too be honest I'm not sure which side I'd fall on. I can honestly say however that I really can't help it; Reed has become the most important thing in the world to me and I still hate the fact that I wasn't able to protect Claire they way I should have so now that I've been given a second chance with Reed I won't allow him to just slip through my fingers. I know he belongs with me and I won't allow any legal circumstances to dictate otherwise. He's my family in every sense of the word and I love him as I would my own flesh and blood.

My phone buzzing across my desk snaps me out of my mental torment and I give my head a quick shake before reaching over to pick it up. I read the caller I.D. and instantly fear the worst.

"Stella; is everything alright?" I blurt out as soon as I hit the answer button.

"Um, I think so... Maybe..." She responds and it does nothing to calm my nerves.

"What's going on?"

"Reed's not here... I was just going to wait here for him but it's been a while and I thought that maybe he might have gone back to see you so I just thought I'd check..."

"No, he's not here" I lament with a heavy sigh. "Did you try calling his cell?"

"He left it here"

"Damn it" I huff; shaking my head. "I told him to never leave the house without... Oh forget it. I'm coming home"

"Mac, I'm sure he's fine and will be back soon. Maybe he just went for a walk to clear his head or something? Or maybe he went back to Cassie's. I mean come on, where else would he go?"

"I think I might have an idea" I huff once more. "I have to go Stella, but I'll come home soon. And Stella?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you; for calling me"

"Well trust me, I debated it" she offers with a small sigh.

"I know. I love you"

"Love you"

I hang up the phone and reach for my suit jacket and throw it on; stoppingto check the pockets before I leave the office to make sure I still have the piece of paper with Kevin's address on it. Finding the scrap of paper I quickly rush downstairs to the parking garage and jump into the Avalanche to head towards Kevin's place of residence. If Reed were doing something innocent like going for walk or to Cassie's I know he would have brought his phone with him so I think I can safely assume that he's gone to see Kevin to get some answers for himself because I have yet to give him any myself.

The more I think about how things have unfolded the more I curse myself for letting it get this out of hand. I never wanted to create a rift between Reed and I; and I especially don't want him thinking that I was holding out on him about Kevin to serve my own selfish agenda. Bottom line, I was trying to protect him. I just have to hope that he can understand that.

I fly into the parking lot of the motel Kevin has been staying at and already have a bad feeling about it that I just can't shake. It's certainly not a 'family oriented' business; it's more so the kind of place that most likely rents room by the hour as well as by the month. Parking the truck right out front I quickly hop out and give myself a second to take in my surroundings; this is certainly no place for a kid I can tell that much already. I take a look around at the first floor of rooms and don't see the number I'm looking for so head up the wooden staircase to check the second floor until I finally find the room I came here for.

Stopping outside the door I take another moment to collect myself and try to calm my rapid breathing and at least attempt to push my anger aside for the time being so that I can try to act like a somewhat rationale human being. I tell myself over and over again that getting angry with Reed and forbidding him to see Kevin will only make things worse and that I need to try the more understanding approach.

Taking one final deep breath I knock loudly on the door then take a step back as I hear someone approaching to answer it.

[Stella's POV]

I hope I did the right thing telling Mac; after all he's been through to have Reed with him I can understand how his protective side can so easily overtake him at times. I'm sure Reed understands that also; well, to a degree; but there are so many other things that he doesn't understand which is why I'm starting to feel like they are going to need me as their 'middle man' so to speak. I can understand and appreciate where they both are coming from I just hope it's enough and that in the end things can go back to the way they were.

I hear the front door open and then slam hard almost right away and it causes me to jump slightly in my seat on Reed's bed.

"Mac..." I call out softly as I push myself off the bed and move towards the doorway.

"Stella!" Reed gasps as we nearly bump right into each other at the doorway to his bedroom.

"Reed, hey. I'm sorry if I startled you I was just... Well, I came here to see if you were... And then you were gone. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" he huffed, pushing past me to collapse backwards onto his bed.

[Mac's POV]

"Yeah, who's there" A deep voice bellows from inside the room and I roll my eyes.

"It's Detective Mac Taylor"

I wait a couple of seconds, then hear the chain lock slowly being removed and the door pushes open slightly as Kevin leans himself against the doorframe.

"Hey man, if you're here looking for my son, you're too late" he chides but I'm not in the mood for his games or his jokes and my anger bests me again and I'm quick to grab him by the collar of his shirt and shove him back into the door.

"Now you listen to me" I growl; only inches from his face. "I don't know what your angle is in all of this. What are you looking for? Because I seriously doubt it's just a shot at redemption. So what is it huh? Money? A little tax shelter maybe? Or did you hear I was a cop and thought you could bribe a few favours out of me? Whatever it is, if you hurt him in any way you'll be answering to me and next time I won't play so nice" I tell him firmly then offer one last shove back into the door before letting go of his shirt.

"Hey, take it easy or I'll have you charged with assault!" he huffs back at me as he straightens his shirt out. "Last I checked we live in a free country and if Reed wants to see me you're not going to stop him. And as for my angle well; I'm sorry to disappoint you Detective but I don't have one. I'd just like the chance to get to know the boy"

"You had your chance. Twice. And you blew it" I throw back at him.

"Well that's up for Reed to decide now isn't it?" He replies smugly and I drop my head and look away because I know if I look at him right now I'm probably going to hit him.

"Now;" he begins again. "Unless you have a warrant to be here; I suggest you get out of my face" He snaps back at me.

"I've got my eyes on you" I warn sternly before turning away and finally taking my leave.

"It was great seeing you again Detective. You tell Reed I said hi, alright?" he calls out as I make my way down the stairs and back to my truck. I look back up to see him leaning over the railing with a smug grin on his face that I just want to smack right off of him; but know I have to keep myself in check so I climb back inside the truck and speed out of the lot.

[Reed's POV]

I drop myself down onto my bed and quickly pull out my iPod and slide the earbuds in, as I'm not in the mood for any kind of conversation right now. I was hoping Stella would take the hint and just leave me be for now, but instead she wanders back into my room and sits down at the foot of my bed before looking up at me with an expectant glance.

"What?" I grumble with a roll of my eyes as I pull one headphone out of my ear.

"You know Mac is just trying to protect you right? He only wants what's best for you"

"Well who says he knows what's best for me?" I huff in response.

"Well, can you think of anyone in this world that knows you better and cares about you more than Mac does?" she asks softly and I just hang my head as the reality of her words sink in. It's true; Mac for the most part knows me inside and out, and I know he cares for me but he doesn't understand all of me.

"Look," she starts again as she places a hand on my knee. "I know that he can't really comprehend what this all means to you. You yourself probably haven't even had the time to process it all, am I right?" She asks and I slowly nod.

"It's just..." I begin with my voice trembling; then clear my throat before continuing. "Me and Mac we... We swore to each other after what happened last year that we'd always be honest with each other; no matter what. I didn't give him a hard time about not telling me about you two right away because I knew he just wanted to find the right way to tell me. But this? How could he not tell me this? This ismy life" I tell her as my voice finally breaks and I look away in sorrow.

"Reed, I know it's hard to understand, but I think that..."

"No you don't understand!" I snap at her with tears now welling in my eyes. "Like it or not this man is my past and nobody; not even Mac has the right to take that away from me"

"I understand that Reed but..."

"No, you don't" I whisper, shaking my head. "You can't. You don't know what it's like to go through your whole life and know next to nothing about your family and where you came from"

[Stella's POV]

My heart breaks at the sight of Reed; slightly trembling and his eyes now red from tears shed. I reach out to grab his hand so that I can explain to him that I do in fact know where he's coming from, but just as I inch myself further up the bed the sound of the front door swinging shut again causes us both to jump and Reed offers another eye roll before returning his headphones to his ears and I know the moment is lost.

"Could you leave me alone please" he mumbles and I offer a small nod before standing up from the bed and leaving his room; closing the door quietly behind me.

"Is he in there?" Mac asks in a commanding tone as he steps towards Reed's room but I quickly sidestep in front of him and cut him off.

"Yeah Mac, he's in there but just... Give him a few minutes okay?" I ask softly and Mac lets out a sigh of defeat before nodding in agreement and turning back towards the living room.

"I went to see Kevin" he huffs as he drops himself down onto the sofa.

"I figured that" I shrug as I lower myself down next to him. "What happened?"

"I don't trust him Stella. Call it instincts or whatever you want but something inside is telling me that he's not totally on the up and up. I mean why now? After all this time. He just pops up out of nowhere and decides he wants to be a family man again? I just don't get why he wants anything to do with Reed" he huffs once more; both of us unaware that Reed just entered the room.

"Cuz who would want me right?" Reed asks in a bitter tone.

"Reed!" Mac gasps in astonishment as we both turn to face him.

" I'm just damaged goods. Or in your case Mac; collateral damage right?" he continues and Mac's head drops in agony at Reed's tormenting words.

"Come on, you know that's not what I was..." Mac tries to get a word in but he's quickly interrupted once again.

"No, look I'm not going to kid myself Mac; you took me in because you loved my biological mother and you felt guilty"

"Now that is not true" Mac huffs in response. I can't even imagine how hard it is for him to hear these suggestions coming from Reed.

"Whatever, I don't want to talk about it right now. I'm out of here; and don't wait up!" Reed groans as he heads to the front door; grabs a light jacket and slams the door behind him as he exits.

"Reed!" Mac yells out but it's too late. "Damn it" he huffs as he pushes himself up from the couch.

"Mac just let him go" I lightly warn and Mac turns back at me with torment blazing in his normally kind and gentle blue eyes. "He'll be back, okay?"

"Mac..." he grumbles under his breath as he wanders back over to the sofa; slumps himself down and buries his face in his hands.

"What?" I ask softly as I place a hand on his back.

"He called me Mac" he mutters in sorrow as he finally looks up at me. "He hasn't called me that since..." he starts but then just shakes his head and looks away from me.

"Hey, look at me" I tell him softly as I place a hand on his cheek and guide his face back towards me. "He loves you, okay? He's just upset. Just give him time okay?"

Without a word spoken he simply offers a small nod before collapsing himself against me. His head rests on my chest and I wrap my arms around him and rub small circles on his back as I listen to his slow breathing and feel his chest rise and fall against me.

"He'll come around" I whisper before placing a kiss on the top of his head. "You'll see"

...

A/N: Woah, angst alert right? Sorry guys :s Just don't give up on me, okay? This story is nearly finished and I promise to put you all out of your misery with a happy ending ;)

Show some love everyone! Leave me a review and I might just be more motivated to update faster =)

And don't forget; Reed returns to the set of CSI NY for March 10th's episode! So mark your calendars ;)