Chapter 2

It's been about a month since Clay has seen or spoken to Stella. He's been spun up on a few missions since then and hasn't contacted her. He figured she'd reach out first but maybe she was waiting for him. He's standing in the Tac Room storing his gear before heading home for the night. It's Thursday night around 11 pm and he's more than ready for a bit of rest.

Clay's phone buzzes in his pocket. He pulls it out to see Stella calling him. He finds it a little odd for her to be calling so late at night.

"Stella?"

"Claaaayyyyyy? Can you come get me? I don't feel very good."

"Stel? Where are you? What doesn't feel good?"

"I'm at the bar downtownnnnn. My friends d-dragged me out. I…I think someone slipped me something. I'vvvve only had one drink."

"Okay, Stel I need you to stay where you are. Whatever you do don't do outside or anywhere besides the main room of the bar. I'll be there soon. What bar are you at?"

"McDillons. It's onnnnn 9th Street."

"Hand tight. I'm on my way"

Clay quickly ends the call, grabs his keys and heads to his truck. He's glad Stella called him, although he's a little surprised he was her first choice. Well, maybe he wasn't. I guess it didn't really matter. He'd come even if he was her tenth call.

Finally, Clay pulls up to McDillons. He parks quickly and rushes to the entrance. The first thing he sees is Stella. She's sitting at the bar with a water in her hand. There's a guy hitting on her, although she's clearly not interested. His arm is on her and she slowly trying to remove it. She gets up quickly and tries to walk away but the guy doesn't let go.

Clay almost body checks the guy into the wall.

"Don't you understand when a girl is rejecting you? Get your hands off her." Clay is practically ripping the guys grip from Stella's arm.

The guy responds. "Who are you?"

"The boyfriend. Now back off." A small lie. But it worked.

The guy takes off in the other direction. Clay looks at Stella, trying to make sure she's okay. He barely gets a glance at her when she collapses in his arms. Clay almost falls to the floor as he takes all her body weight. He checks to make sure she's still breathing then grabs her purse off the stool. He puts one arm under her knees and the other under her head and carefully lifts her up and walks out of the bar.

Once he gets her securely into the passenger seat, he checks her pulse. It's slow but she's breathing okay. He walks around the truck and hops in the driver's seat. He takes out his phone and sends a quick text to Trent.

To: Trent

Hey man. In a bit of a situation with Stella. Think someone Roofied her. Could you come over and check her out? Hate to take her to the ER if I don't have to.

He stole a quick look at Stella to make sure she was still breathing. She was curled up on the right side with her breath fogging up the window. He quickly put his truck in drive and headed out onto the main road.

Trent had responded quickly with a yes. Clay was a little concerned that his teammate was still up at 12:30 pm considering the 72-hour spin up they had just finished but he had bigger problems to deal with.

After trying to balance his ex-girlfriend in his arms and the lock to his apartment he finally was able to get the door open. He gently put Stella down on the bed. Clay grabbed a trash can out of the bathroom in case she got sick and placed a glass of water on the nightstand.

He sat at the edge of the bed and look at her. Her face was a little red from the alcohol and she was out like a light. He ran his fingers through her hair. It worried him that she didn't move an inch. Trent better get here soon.

Five minutes later a knock on the door pulled Clay from his thoughts. He quickly walked to the door to let Trent in. Trent held his medic bag in his hands and Clay pointed in the direction of the bedroom.

"What happened?" Trent asked as he looked at Stella.

As Trent look out his stethoscope Clay answered, "she called around 11. She said she didn't feel right, only had one beer and asked if I could come get her. Some asshole was trying to pick her up when I arrived. She passed out a little while later and hasn't woken up since. Hasn't even twitched."

After checking her vitals Trent told Clay to let her sleep it off. "There isn't much I can do other than suggest she sleep. I'll draw some blood in case she wants to go the police but it might not hold up in court. The drug should wear off in a few hours. I'd call Jason and let him know you won't be in tomorrow."

Trent looked at me with a knowing glance. "I know you're not going to leave her until you know she's 100%."

Trent was right, of course. There was no way Clay was leaving her passed out from a drug she didn't intentionally take. "I'll text Jay. Thanks man for checking her out. I've never dealt with this before."

"No worries. Let me know how she is when she wakes up."

Clay thanked Trent and latched the door behind him. He quickly sent a text to Jason telling him what was going on. Clay then went back into the bedroom and pulled Stella's jeans off for her. He quickly covered her up. After making sure she had everything she needed he grabbed a spare blanket and pillow and laid down on the couch. He still didn't know what this meant. She called him when we thought she was in danger. That had to mean something….right?