A/N: Hey, guys. Here's chapter 10, in which Mac the bonehead finally makes contact. Hope you enjoy it.

The response to this story has been overwhelming -- thank you SO much for all the lovely reviews. I'm SO glad you're enjoying this. As always, reviews are welcomed (are my characterizations ok? I've been wondering this...) but please no flames! Also as always, I don't own them. Sad.

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Chapter 10: Complications

The ringing of a phone woke her. Groaning, Lindsay, without opening her eyes or moving from her place in Danny's hospital bed, reached into her pocket, and grabbed it, flipping it open without checking the ID.

Figuring it was either Flack or Hawkes, she answered, "What's wrong? I thought you found her?"

There was silence on the other end. "Lindsay?"

Suddenly she was wide awake. "Mac?" She asked incredulously. Why was Mac calling her? "Do we have a case?"

He chuckled briefly. "No, Linds, I'm in London, remember?"

Now she did. And she also remembered her anger. "Oh. Yeah. What can I do for you then?" Her tone was noticeably cooler, and he hesitated, obviously surprised.

"Well… I got this message from a patrol cop, and it sounded like he was either describing you or Stella, so I was wondering what was going on over there. And since you're answering your phone and Stella's doesn't appear to be on…" Mac trailed off.

Lindsay didn't say anything for a minute, looking down at Danny sleeping next to her. "I can't say anything, Mac. Maybe you should try Flack or Hawkes."

"Lindsay, what's going on?" Mac's tone had shifted into "Boss", but Lindsay was unmoved.

"Mac, I honestly can't tell you anything. Or won't tell you anything. Either way, try either Hawkes or Flack. But don't try Danny or Adam; they need their rest." She considered stopping there, then threw in, "Doctor's orders." Just before snapping her phone shut, ending the call.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. Bringing her hand down, she saw Danny's blue eyes staring up at her. She smiled softly. "I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean to wake you."

He smiled. "Doesn't matter." His voice was gravelly with sleep. "Who 'as 'at?" She sighed again, then looked at her phone. "It was Mac," she admitted.

He came awake quickly. "And you didn't let me have the phone to yell at 'im?!" He asked, angrily. She pushed him back down to the pillows and settled her head on his chest to keep him from moving again. "No, baby, I didn't. I did, however, refuse to give him any information about anything. And I told him not to call you or Adam cuz you needed your rest on the Doctor's orders just before hanging up on him." She said smugly.

He thought about this, then smirked. "He's gonna be freakin' out, Montana. Nice one."

"I thought so too. Now go back to sleep, cowboy."

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By unspoken agreement, Hawkes sat in the back of the car with Stella. She was still crying and hadn't said anything else by the time they reached her apartment. They parked the car, then walked Stella up to her apartment. She let them all in, dropped her keys on the table, then stood there, staring vacantly around her.

Hawkes took over. Moving to stand in front of Stella, he lifted her chin to look her directly in the eyes. Speaking softly and clearly, he said, "Stella, you should go have a shower. Don and I will be here, and we'll make some dinner. Then you can go to bed. Ok?"

She nodded, looking lost, then moved in the direction of her bathroom. The men watched her go, almost unbearably sad.

Flack shifted restlessly as he took off his jacket and tie. "Did you think it'd be this bad?" he asked Hawkes.

Sheldon shook his head. "No. I think she's just pulled in really far, as a defense mechanism. She'll snap out of it. But until then, she shouldn't be alone. And she shouldn't be at work."

A few minutes later, both men were in Stella's kitchen, trying to figure out where things were while trying to put together a meal when Flack's cell phone rang. He grabbed it, flipped it open, and put it to his ear quickly, trying not to burn the eggs he was scrambling.

"'lo?" He mumbled, focused on his task.

"Flack?"

He jerked in surprise, dropping the phone, then swore as he burned himself on the pan trying to save it from going flying. "Shit. Hawkes, can you take over here? I gotta take this." Mac, he mouthed, and Sheldon's eyes widened as he nodded.

Picking the phone back up, he said, "Mac? Still there?"

"Yeah. What just happened?"

"Burned myself," Flack said shortly. "Whadaya need, Mac? I'm in the middle of something here."

"Is Stella with you?"

Flack flinched. "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, I got a message from a patrol officer, about a woman that works for me. Seeing as I already called Lindsay and all she would tell me was to call you and that Danny and Adam were off limits since they were resting on Doctor's orders – what's that about, anyway? -- before hanging up on me, I decided to take her advice and call you. So I'll ask you again, is Stella there?"

"Yeah." Flack answered.

"Put her on, please."

"She's in the shower." Flack was beginning to enjoy this, making Mac work for what he wanted.

Mac sighed. He couldn't understand why both Flack and Lindsay would be angry. Maybe Internal Affairs was hassling them about the bomb he'd made. "Is Hawkes there too? I thought I heard you say his name."

"Yup, he's here too."

"Ok… can I talk to him?"

"No can do, Mac. He's eating right now."

"Ok, what is going on?" Mac asked, beginning to get angry himself.

"Why would you ask a question like that, Mac?" Flack said, his ire audible in his voice.

Mac sighed and decided to drop it for the time being. "Look, would you just have Stella call me when she gets out of the shower?"

"I'll tell her you called, Mac," Flack replied, lying through his teeth. "Whether she calls you back or not is her decision. Nice talking to you, Mac, I gotta go." With that, Flack savagely flipped the phone closed, ignoring Mac's attempted "Wait --!" and glared at it. Relaying the conversation to Hawkes, who was not in fact eating yet, made both men smile, as they both knew that Mac was now likely very angry with them, and very worried. Served him right, by their estimation.

A few minutes later, the men were putting food on the table when Stella came out dressed in flannel pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt. She looked at the table. "Breakfast?"

The men grinned. "Yeah, we thought breakfast for dinner was a great idea," Flack answered.

"Plus, it was the only thing we were certain we could make safely," Hawkes said with an embarrassed laugh. "Turns out neither of us cook very well."

Stella gave a small smile that didn't reach her eyes and sat down. "Thanks guys," she said softly. "This looks good." Flack and Hawkes sat down with her, and they ate quietly, with no conversation. Stella didn't eat much, but they were satisfied that she'd at least eaten something, and didn't force the issue. As soon as they were done, Hawkes stood up and pulled Stella up too. "Go get some sleep. Don and I'll clean up."

She hesitated for a second, then started toward her bedroom. At the doorway, she turned back. "Guys?" She said hesitantly. They looked at her. "Would you… I mean… I really don't want to be alone right now…" she trailed off uncertainly. They understood immediately. "We're not going anywhere, Stella." Hawkes said firmly, and Flack nodded in agreement. "Thanks," she whispered. "There are some blankets in the closet by the door…" and she turned and went into her room, not closing the door.

Flack and Hawkes finished the dishes in silence, both men lost in their own thoughts, with an ear tuned to Stella in case she needed them. When they'd finished, Flack gestured for Hawkes to follow him into Stella's living room.

"Flip you for the couch?" he whispered.

"Nah, thanks, I'm gonna sit in the kitchen for a while. I have a feeling that she's gonna need at least one of us near her," Hawkes whispered back.

Flack nodded. "Ok. Wanna take shifts?"

"Sure. I got first. I'll wake you up in a couple of hours, ok?"

Flack nodded again and started making up the couch as Hawkes walked back into the kitchen. Opening a book he'd pulled off of Stella's shelves, he sat down to keep his vigil.

About an hour later, Hawkes had to get up to stretch. He padded softly to the bedroom door to check on Stella, only to find her staring at the ceiling.

"Stel?" he said quietly. "You ok?"

She didn't look at him, only shook her head mutely. He walked over to the bed and crouched down next to it. She smiled gratefully, but patted the edge of her bed. "You sure?" He didn't want to push too many of her boundaries. She nodded, and he shifted to sit on the edge of her bed at her waist.

"What's wrong, Stella?" he whispered.

She sighed deeply, and Hawkes noticed that there were tears running from the corner of her face down into her ears. He reached out and brushed one away. "Hey, it's ok, we're here," he whispered reassuringly.

"I know," she said so softly he almost didn't hear it. "But why isn't Mac?" Sheldon allowed none of the anger that was now burning through him to surface. He knew she wasn't discounting his presence there; just questioning why her best friend had seemingly abandoned her. "I don't know, hun. I really don't. I wish I did," he said, his soft voice full of regret.

She nodded and looked at him for the first time. "I… I feel so… empty, Sheldon. So broken. So weak," she said hesitantly. "I feel like I'm crumbling under the weight of being the strong person that everyone sees in me. I don't feel strong. I feel small, and brittle and fragile…" her words trailed off as her silent tears began to hitch her breath into sobs. Sheldon moved further onto her bed and gathered her up in his arms. The catharsis has begun, he thought, as her sobs began to grow louder.