Hahaha! Cliffy, eh? I know… none of you find that amusing… except for me, of course. I even told my friend I was leaving that last chapter as a cliffhanger and told her exactly how I wrote it and she said, "Ha! Your followers are going to kill you! And then Mac'll have to find your body!" Lol… her and I got a good kick out of that, as you can probably tell… And a little sorry in advance. This is the shortest of the chapters as of current, but I saw it as a good place to leave off. ;)

~ Chapter Ten: Crossroads ~

He looked with wide eyes at her, not realizing he was holding his breath.

She looked back at him and he watched as she looked blankly at the blood on her hands before she collapsed on the floor.

What the hell had just happened? He stared down at the gun in his hands and he dropped it, taking two steps back to lean back against the wall, his eyes fixed on his shaking hands. He finally let out that breath shakily, nearly coughing it out as he stared at her…

He hadn't fired a gun in six years. Six years… Six years since he'd killed someone in self-defense.

He looked to her and then at the phone. Then his gaze returned to her body once more..

He hesitated before he walked over, kneeling down at her side to check for a pulse.

Nothing. He found nothing. Dead eyes and no pulse. Rachel was dead. And he'd shot her.

He had to brace himself with one of his hands firmly laid on the floor as he felt the world around him sway for a moment. Shaking his head, he stood, grabbing the phone. Who had she called?

Checking the recent calls list, Jo's number was displayed in those strange white roman numerals. His eyes went wide again. "Jo…" he breathed. Without a second thought, he hit the 'call back' button as his eyes found the gun on the floor again.

His heart was pounding in his chest as he stood there, trying to steady his breathing and closing his eyes as he let the ringing of the phone soothe his adrenaline.

That adrenaline he knew from before he was taken… Of feet pounding on the pavement and an identification yell and an order to stop, of being face to face with touchy suspects that were shifty and wanted to make a run for it although they knew he was quicker than them and could see their moves before they made them, of standing in the lab searching for answers that were just beyond the edges of the clearing in to the thick fog…

The adrenaline of being an officer and a detective and a CSI.

"Hello?" Jo's voice was hesitant as she answered.

Yeah… Detective would do fine, bitch, he growled in his mind as he thought about how Rachel and Lilly had treated him and about how he was through with it all. "It's fine, Jo. I'm fine… She's dead… I shot her. I'm fine…"

ooOOoo

Jo had just finished calling Adam to tell him to trace Mac's cell when she got another call.

She hesitated to answer when she saw Mac's caller ID flash across the screen.

"Hello?" she answered. She nearly flinched when she heard her own hesitation evident in her voice.

"It's fine, Jo. I'm fine… She's dead… I shot her. I'm fine…"

She nearly didn't believe her ears. "Mac? Mac? Oh my God! What the hell happened? Are you ok?" she gushed all her questions when she heard his voice and one of her hands raced nervously through her hair as she took in a deep breath, relieved.

"Yeah, it's me! I promise… And I'm fine! I'm fine, I promise! Rachel… she… she just came at me and… and I got to the gun and… and…"

The shock in Mac's voice shocked Jo herself. She had to remember it had been six years. "Mac… are you really ok?" she asked gently.

"What?" Mac asked, sounding distracted. "Oh… yeah, I… I think I'm alright… yeah."

Jo listened, concerned. "Let me call Adam back and see if he can't get us an exact location on where you are and we'll come and get you. Hang tight, Mac. You'll be fine," she told him.

There was a small moment of hesitation before Mac responded, "Yeah… Thanks. I'll be here."

She put Mac on hold and quickly called Adam back and told him what happened.

Ellie joined her after a moment, letting out a sigh. Then she saw the troubled look on her mother's face. "Mom… you alright?"

Jo nodded and looked over at her. "Yeah… Mac called me back. He said he was fine and that he shot Rachel. She's dead… but…," she couldn't finish and ended up shaking her head a bit with a frown.

"You don't believe him, do you?" Ellie asked.

Jo shook her head again. "It's been six years for him, Ellie. I don't think he could ever fully recover from whatever the hell they did to him," she pointed out.

Ellie nodded, pausing for a moment to try and decided if it was better to leave it or say more. She decided it best to just leave the matter lay for the moment and forced a small smile, giving her mom a reassuring pat on the arm. "Well, why don't you tell Don the news? He's waiting for you at the precinct and I'm sure Adam will have something by then."

Jo nodded and smiled weakly, just realizing she still had Mac on hold. "I'll call you when we have him picked up," she said.

Ellie nodded. "I'll be here – and, Mom?" she quickly jogged after her mom as she headed for the door.

Jo stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

Ellie took a deep breath. "Bring him back. Bring him back safe."

Now it was Jo's turn to force a small smile. "We will."