Mac woke up to someone nudging him in the side. He felt like he could not wake up even though he wanted to. Whoever was trying to wake him up was very insistent but they were not saying anything. He finally got his eyes open slightly and realized he was sitting up against the wall. "MMM!" someone said as though their mouth was covered.

Mac looked up and it was Christine trying to wake him up. She was tied to another chair and her mouth was tied, and she was crying. Mac finally got himself awake and started to reach for the tape on her mouth but his hands were chained to the wall. He pulled at the chains but he could not move his hands far enough to help her. He looked at Christine. "I can't," he said still groggy from whatever they had given him.

Christine could not lean down to him because her hands were tied around the back of the chair. "Lean over here as far as you can," Mac said. "I'll get it with my teeth."

Christine leaned over to him and Mac started attempting to get the tape with his teeth. "Ow!" Christine said through the tape as Mac pinched her.

"Sorry," he said and tried again. This time he got hold of the tape and pulled it off her mouth.

"Oh, that was terrible," Christine said. She looked at Mac. "It would have been incredibly sexy if we weren't here."

Mac sighed. "How did we get here?"

"After they had you asleep, they loaded us in a van and brought us here."

Mac wished his could rub his face but he could not. He blew out a deep breath. "I can't believe this," he said.

"Who is that other woman?" Christine asked. "Who is the blond?"

"The blond is Ella McBride."

"The woman who was obsessed with you?"

"Yes."

"And who is the other one? Did you date her?"

"No. I worked with her." Mac frowned. "I can't believe this."

"Mac, who is she?"

Mac looked at her. "It's…Stella."

Christine stared at him a moment. "Stella? The woman who worked with you all those years?"

"Yes. Christine, I don't know what is going on here unless Stella is undercover trying to find somebody or…this can't be happening. She can't be doing this."

"She sure did look like she was part of it to me. She didn't mind letting her give you that drug to knock you out."

Mac sighed. "I can't believe this," he said. "I would have thought it was anybody but her."

"You never had a relationship with Stella, did you?"

"No. We were just friends." Mac pulled at his hands but the shackles were tight around his wrists. He looked at Christine. "No matter what happens, you remember that I love you."

Christine started to cry. "Don't say that," she said. "It sounds like you're giving up."

"I'm not I just want you to know that I love you."

"I love you too."

Mac looked around the room they were in. It was a small white room with one window that was up too far for him to see out. There was no furniture except the chair that Christine was sitting in. "Can you see out that window?" he asked.

Christine looked. "No. It's white stained glass. It's dark out there anyway."

"Does it look like it will raise?"

Christine shook her head. "No. It's a solid window."

Mac frowned. "Well, she definitely wouldn't put me somewhere that I could figure out how to get away."

"And she would know how to set this up like this. Mac, if the others discover that we're gone, won't they think Quinn is behind this?"

Mac considered that. "I don't know. Jo might. Our meeting with Quinn was not very pleasant but they will figure out that she didn't do it."

"Why are they keeping us here?" Christine asked. "What could they possibly want?"

"I don't know. I guess we will have to wait and find out."

Christine was cuffed to the chair so she had no hope of getting loose unless she had a key. Mac looked down at his belt and opened the key pouch but the handcuff key was not there. "Do you have bobby pins in your hair?" he asked.

"Yes, but I can't get them," Christine said.

Mac smiled. "Well, do you want to fall over here in my lap so I can get one with my mouth?" he asked.

"Mac, I do not see anything humorous about this."

"Well, get over here and fall over in my lap so I can fish through your hair with my tongue and find a bobby pin."

Christine rolled her eyes. She knew he was just trying to keep her from being so scared. She started moving the chair she was sitting in and finally got it turned around so she could fall in his lap. "Are you sure this will work?" she asked.

"Well, it's worth a try," Mac said.

"Oh, I hope you're right."

Christine closed her eyes and tilted her chair over and landed in Mac's lap. The chair did not feel too good to his legs and it was between him and her as she was on her side. Mac leaned over and searched for a bobby pin in her hair. He finally got his teeth on it and pulled it from her hair. "I got it," he said with the pin in his teeth.

"Now for the hard part," Christine said.

"I don't know." Mac bent over and put the bobby pin in her hand. "Hold it there. I'm going to take it with my hand and then I will try to pick the lock on your cuffs."

Christine felt Mac's breath on her hands as he put the bobby pin in her hand. Since her hands were closer to his hand, he reached up and got the pin from her hand. "Just be still now," Mac said.

Mac began to work on the handcuff lock and soon they heard it click. "Got one side," he said.

Christine jerked her hands around in front of her and rubbed her left wrist. Then she got up and got the chair off of Mac. "Take this and get the other one off," he said.

Christine took the bobby pin and started working on the lock. "I have never picked a lock in my life," she said. "I have no idea what I am doing."

"Just keep trying," Mac said.

Christine kept trying until she finally got the cuff off. Then she got over to Mac's shackles and started working on that lock. "Mac, I don't know if I can pick this one," she said.

"Just try," Mac said.

Then they heard someone opening the door. Christine gasped and sat down beside Mac. The door opened and Stella came in along with Ella. "How did you get out of that chair?" Stella asked.

"I helped her!" Mac snapped. "How could you be involved in something like this!?"

"You have always had such a perfect life, Mac."

Mac could not believe what he heard. "What?"

"You always loved Claire so much and now, you've found someone else who will be showered with endless love from you. You didn't even invite me to the wedding."

Mac frowned. "I'm sorry."

Stella smiled. "You're sorry," she said. "You're not sorry."

"Stella, what happened to you?"

"A lot of things, Mac. I went down there thinking that I could make a difference in the world. All I got was a lot of trouble and the boot."

"What? You were fired?"

"Yeah. For being too rough with a suspect."

Mac frowned. He knew how many times he had been in hot water because of something that Stella had done. "That does not explain why you're doing this," he said.

"Well, do you know why I left New York?" Stella asked.

"No. I guess I don't. I thought it was because you wanted to live somewhere else."

Stella laughed. "Are you really that naïve?" she asked.

"Okay, then why?"

"Because I was in love with you and I was tired of being face to face with you every day of my life wanting you and couldn't have you."

"That is ridiculous. You said you didn't want anything like that."

"Oh I know what I said. I just didn't want you to think that I was after you but when you came all the way to Greece after me, that just did something to me and then there was nothing. After Jess died, well, you probably know what happened."

"Why don't you enlighten me?" Mac asked.

"It doesn't matter now, but I knew you would never want me so I just left. But when I heard that you were getting married…that was just too much for me. Lindsay told me. I guess she didn't know that that would push me over the edge."

"This is crazy! You can't be serious!"

"I am very serious, and now that I know what kind of love you have for Christine…and I know because I saw it with Claire. You don't give your love easily so I know there is a deep love for her if you married her."

Mac's frown deepened. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Stella walked over to him and squatted in front of him. "I mean that you're going to do whatever I want you to do," she said. "Because I know you wouldn't want anything to happen to…Christine."

Mac tried to lunge at her but of course, he could not. "Ooooh, look how angry that made him," Stella teased. "I always loved it when you got angry. Those intense eyes are so beautiful."

Christine could not believe what she was hearing. "He's not going to do anything for you!" she declared.

"Oh yes he will," Stella said. "To save you, he will."

Mac glared at her. "You won't get away with this," he said. "My team will figure this out. They won't be fooled!"

"Yes they will. They're going to think that I came here on a case. They would never think that Stella Bonasera would change to the…dark side." She leaned toward Mac to kiss him but he turned his face. She laughed at him and then stood up.

Stella took her gun out of the holster and aimed it at Christine. "Get up," she said.

"Leave her alone!" Mac yelled.

"I was hoping you would say that. It just lets me know I'm right." She looked at Christine again. "I said get up!"

Christine stood up slowly. "Now, move over here," Stella said.

Mac watched at Christine moved over to Stella. "Don't hurt her, Stella!" he said.

"Oh don't worry, Mac. As long as you do what we tell you, she will be safe. We're just going to have a girl to girl talk." Christine gasped as Stella grabbed her by the hair.

Mac jerked at the shackles. "You're right," Ella said. "He does have beautiful eyes when he's angry, and he's even more handsome."

They took Christine from the room and Mac heard the door lock. "Stella! If you hurt her, I will kill you!" he yelled.

Stella looked at Christine. "See? I knew that's the attitude he would have," she said.

They went down the hall to another room and took Christine inside. There was a large wooden chair in this room with restraints for the arms and legs as well as the body and even a head restraint. Christine thought it looked like an electric chair. "NO!" she screamed and tried to get away from them but she could not. Stella slapped her and finally got her in the chair.

Mac heard Christine scream. "Christine!" he yelled. He felt like his heart was being torn out. He pulled at the shackles and turned around to pull at them even though his arms were crossed. It was no use…he could not get loose. He could not believe this was happening but then his head started hurting. He lay down in the floor and held his head.

When Stella and Ella returned to the room, Mac was lying in the floor half passed out. "What's wrong with him?" Stella asked.

"I don't know," Ella answered.

Mac looked up at them but his vision was blurred a little and his ears were ringing. "What did you do to her?" he asked.

"We're going to show you," Stella said. She unlocked the shackles while Ella held the gun on Mac. "Get up."

"I can't," Mac said.

"Yes you can, now get up."

Mac's eyes were watering and when he sat up, his head seemed to hurt even worse and the tears streamed down his face. He felt sick and thought maybe he could throw up all over them. "Get up!" Stella demanded.

Mac looked at her a moment and then started trying to get up. He leaned on the wall feeling dizzy now. "What is wrong with you?" Stella asked.

Mac realized they did not know he was struck by lightning…but he did not know why they did not know it. Maybe they did not know what that could do to a person. "I was struck by lightning," he said trying to keep his eyes from losing focus.

Stella looked at Ella. "Did you know about this?" she asked.

"No," Ella replied.

"Never mind, you're going in there anyway!" Stella said. She grabbed Mac by the arm and they led him down the hallway to the room where Christine was now strapped into that electric chair.

When Mac saw Christine in that chair, he thought he would collapse, but he did throw up. "What did you do to him!" Christine said.

"He's sick," Stella replied. "He says he was struck by lightning."

Christine stared at Mac. "He's having a headache," she said. "He needs his medicine. You can't treat him like this! He cared about both of you! And this is how you treat him?"

"You just simmer down!"

"Don't tell me to simmer down! You're hurting him! You've already hurt him by taking things that meant a lot to him!"

"You mean you're not even jealous of him keeping things that remind him of another woman that he loved the way he loves you?"

"NO I'm not!"

Mac glared at Stella even though he could barely see. "No I don't!" he said. "Christine is not the same person! I love her for who she is, not because I love her the same as I did Claire!"

"Whatever. I see you're over your bout of sickness now so take a good look at your new true love," Stella said. "If you don't do what we say, or if you try to give a hint of what's going on, I'll fry her right where she is sitting."

Mac thought his rage would explode inside him. "NO!" he yelled and shoved Stella against the wall.

Ella was shocked as he turned toward her but she held the gun up at him and pulled the hammer back. "Don't move," she said.

Mac glared at her but he had to stop. Stella got back to her feet and she was furious now. "You're going to pay for that," she said.

Mac waited to see what she would do to him. She walked over to him and kneed him in the groin before he even knew what she was doing and then she brought her knee up into his face. Mac hit the floor unconscious because his body had been screaming for sleep anyway. "Mac!" Christine cried.

Christine watched as they dragged Mac from the room. She cried as they locked the door back. She knew that Mac had to have his medication or he would sleep for hours but she thought maybe that would give the team time to find them. She wondered what they intended to make Mac do but she hoped they could find a way out of there before they made him do anything.

Mac slept the rest of the night and the next morning, Stella came in to get him up, but he was not awake. "Wake up," she demanded and nudged his leg with her foot. "Wake up!"

Mac was lying in the floor on a sleeping bag that they had put him on when they shackled him to the wall again. He did not even move. Stella was angry now. She turned to Ella. "Why didn't you find all this out before we kidnapped them?" she asked. "If he can't do anything but sleep, he's no good to us."

"I didn't know about this," Ella said. "I'm sorry. How could I find this out? Why didn't 'you' find it out?"

"We'll have to ask her how to get him up."

They went down to the room where Christine was and went in. "How do you get him to wake up?" Stella asked.

"Why should I tell you?" Christine asked.

Stella leaned down in her face. "You don't want me to get rough with you," she said. "Now, how do you get him up?"

Christine did not want to but she did not want to make things worse. "You have to just set him up and talk to him until he wakes up," she said. "Once he's awake, he's fine."

"You better not be lying."

Stella went back down to the room Mac was in. She got him by the collars and pulled him up. "Wake up, Mac!" she said and slapped him. "Wake up!" She shook him. She was getting more furious by the minute. "Wake up!"

Mac started to move his head a little. "Wake up, Mac!" Stella said again.

"I'm awake," Mac said sleepily.

"No you're not! Wake up!"

Mac could hear Stella talking but he was dreaming that it was Christine. Stella kept shaking him until he opened his eyes a little. "Wake up," she said.

Mac finally got awake enough to realize that she was not Christine, and then he remembered where he was. He looked around him. "Christine," he said. "Where is she?"

"There you are," Stella said. "Finally. Now, today, our plans are going to get into action." She held Mac's face and pushed his head against the wall. "Are you listening in there?"

Mac stared at her still feeling incredibly sleepy. "Yes, I hear you," he said.

"Good. Because today, you're going to do something that you never thought you would," Stella said.

Mac leaned against the wall and watched Stella and Ella go out the door. Ella stopped a moment and looked at him before she went out but then went on. Mac remembered what had happened now and he remembered where Christine was…in an electric chair. He sat there wondering how he could get out of this situation but he was so sleepy, he finally lay down and gave in.

Christine sat there in that chair wondering what she could do to get out of there and she wondered if Mac was okay. She knew that he would sleep all day if he did not get his medication. It was one of the effects the lightning had on his body. No one knew why it occurred, it just did. She wished they would let her stay with him. He had several problems that he would be faced with and she wanted to help him. She knew she was not far from the room that Mac was in…as a matter of fact, she thought she was in the next room. She could not move at all because she was restrained in the chair but she thought maybe she could yell at him. She wondered if those two would leave any time today…and she also wondered where they were. They had blindfolded her while they were on the way there so that she would not know where they were going.

Stella came back in there where Christine was. "Well, now, I have to get going," Stella said as she took out a needle.

Christine stared at it as Stella drew something out of a bottle and then came over to her. "No," Christine said.

"Don't worry. You'll sleep for a while and you'll never know that you're restrained."

Christine could do nothing as she gave her the shot. "Why are you doing this?" she asked before the drug could take effect.

"I just feel like it," Stella replied.

That was the last thing Christine knew…

Stella went out of that room and locked the door. "Stay here," she said to Ella. "They're looking for you, so you need to stay hidden. Don't go in there where Mac is. He's dangerous even if he is sick."

"I know that," Ella said.

"Good. I have to get going."

Ella watched Stella leave and then she sat down. She was not sure she liked this plan. She had not wanted to kill Mac or Christine. She had just wanted to take Mac away from Christine but she knew he would never love her. Stella was right: Mac did not give his love easily. If he married Christine, he truly loved her. She looked in at Mac who was still lying there sleeping. She was not sure she liked this plan anymore but it was too late…she was already in it.