The Secret Ch.11

'Katie!' Mac exclaimed as he went into her room quickly. The sight of the blood flowing out of the gash on her wrists was frightening, and briefly, he wondered why did she do it, but there was no time to dwell on it. He had to get her to the hospital now. He called for Stella, but there was no response, it took another couple of seconds before he remembered that Stella was at work today. He cursed and lifted Katie up, taking her to the avalanche and drove to the hospital immediately.

From the amount of blood in the room, he could tell she had not manage to cut through any arteries and blood vessels, but the cut was still quite deep. If left unattended, she could die. He floored on the gas pedal, put on the sirens and reached the hospital within minutes.

Hearing the commotions, some doctors came out with a stretcher. Among them was Doctor Robinson. Seeing the young girl on a stretcher again broke her heart, when she had only been out of the facility's care for about a week. Shouting orders to the other doctors, they rushed her to the trauma unit. Mac collapsed down on a chair and buried his head and his hand. His elbow touched the phone that he kept in his pocket and he looked up. It was time to make the one phone call that he was dreading, a phone call to Stella.

*The Secret*

Humming a tune as she walked along the corridors of the crime lab, Stella gave a grin to herself. Her daughter was fine, the person whom she had loved for a long time was finally with her, and she knew that he would never be like Frankie or Drew, attempting to harm her in any way. She settled down in front of her computer screen and got ready to hunt down more criminals. After fifteen minutes of working, her phone rang. The caller ID brought a smile to her lips as she answered it.

'Hey Mac. Missed me already?' Stella teased.

'Hey Stell. I need you to come down to Trinity General.' Mac's voice was unusually grave. The tone immediately brought all of Stella's sense on alert.

'What's wrong, Mac?' Stella asked, slipping on her jacket, walking out of the lab and signaling to Danny that she was leaving all at the same time. She knew that Mac was not pretending something was wrong, something was definitely wrong.

'It's Katie.' Two simple words penetrated her ears. It was only two words; two simple words were all it took to bring her whole world crumbling down again. She raced to the hospital and when she burst through the door, her cheeks were red and eyes were wild. She spotted Mac and went over to him immediately.

'What happened?' She whispered. Mac told her everything, how he found Katie and how he took her to the hospital and assured her that she did not cut any arteries or major blood vessels.

Dr. Robinson came out of the room at that moment. Spotting both Mac and Stella, she made her way over to them. 'Detectives, Katie is fine. There will certainly be scarring on the cut, and if not careful, the wound may get infected, but otherwise, there are no major damage done physically.' She answered their unasked question.

'And mentally?' Stella whispered, dreading the response.

'Unfortunately, Katie is refusing to speak at all. Physically? She will heal soon, but mentally, it is a long road.' Dr. Robinson told them, looking at them carefully, letting them understand the severity of Katie's problem were not physical, but mental.

'Which room is she in?' Mac asked.

'302.' Dr. Robinson answered. As soon as the last word exited her mouth, Mac and Stella headed towards the room where Katie was waiting for them.

Heading into the room, Stella and Mac found Katie curled up on her bed, the tears still streaming down her face. Her hand was bandaged by a large piece of dressing and Katie was clutching at it.

Stella literally flew over to her, and Mac went to her other side. Katie snuggled into her mother's embrace, and Stella signaled to Mac to let her have a few moments with her daughter. However, the warning glint in Stella eyes warned him to never blame himself for what happened.

*The Secret*

Stella let Katie cry it out, cry it all out. It had hurt her to see her own baby girl so sad. In her heart, she blamed Matthew Garter for doing what he did, and causing Katie to become so depressed, for causing her to even contemplate suicide. Hugging her tightly, Stella murmured soothingly in her ears. It did not matter what she was saying, all it mattered was to let Katie know that she was nearby.

After a long time, Katie's crying started to subside and after a couple of hiccups, she seemed to have calmed down slightly. Stella loosened her hug on Katie slightly, thinking that she would want to lie down, but Katie gave a whimper immediately and tightened her grip on her mother.

Stella hugged her tight again immediately, her heart aching for her daughter. She would give anything to take away all the pain that her daughter is going through. This is the thing Stella hated the most, being helpless. Her only daughter was going through unimaginable pain, and she could do nothing but to hold her and comfort her.

After some time, Katie's breathing evened out and Stella saw that she had finally fallen into a rather disturbed sleep. Her limbs were still twitching and her brows furrowing. Placing her back down on the bed gently, Stella placed a kiss on her forehead. She was about to leave when Katie shifted, keeping a tight clutch on her mother's arms.

Stella sat back down immediately. She did not care if she was tired and grouchy for work in the morning. Her daughter needed her, and she would be there fore her. She began stroking her hair and soon fell asleep herself.

A/N: I know, I am such a horrid person. I should have updated more often, but schoolwork is harsh. I know this chapter is probably not up to my usual standard, but I hope you will still like it.

Reviews are much appreciated. No flamers please, but criticisms are very welcomed

Also, my beta is still having her exams, so any mistakes are mine, if you should spot any, either PM me or just bear with me.

Zoe tabbycat