He walked into Peyton's house. She was nowhere in sight. He walked into the kitchen, but there was no one there either. He noticed the butcher knife was gone from the knife block. He went up the stairs and opened the bedroom door. He saw her lying on the bed with the knife in her chest…
Mac sat straight up in bed. He was sweating. He realized he had been dreaming. Stella sat up beside him. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"I had a nightmare," Mac said. He wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"Come on. Lets go back to sleep."
"I think I'll get up a while."
Mac got out of bed and got into his jeans and t-shirt. He went down the hall and looked in at Amanda. She was sleeping soundly. Mac smiled. He hoped she would be happy living with him in New York.
Mac walked on down the hall toward the kitchen. He had an eerie feeling as he neared the door. He supposed it was because he was in an unfamiliar house, but he needed some water. Mac walked into the kitchen. Just as the kitchen door closed, he saw someone behind the door. Mac whirled around that way just in time to see the man coming at him with a butcher knife. Mac grabbed his hands to keep the knife away from him.
This man was strong, however. He shoved Mac backward into the dining table. Mac hoped this didn't wake Amanda up. He realized he was fighting Peyton's killer! What had he come here for?
Mac glared at him through blazing green eyes and shoved him backward. Watson took off running back out the back door then. Mac went after him. He tackled the man at the edge of the back doorsteps and they both rolled down to the ground. They both came up to their feet and stared at each other. "You killed Peyton, didn't you?" Mac asked.
"Yeah, I did," Watson said. "Look what she did to me."
"She saved your life!"
"You call this a life?"
"What are you doing back here?"
"I came to finish the job."
Mac stared at him a moment. "You came to kill her baby?"
Watson thought he could see green fire in Mac's eyes, even in the dark. "That's 'my' baby too," Mac said, in almost a whisper. "You've met your match this time."
All of Mac's emotions came to the fore then, just at Watson tried to charge him. Mac grabbed his hand with the knife. He jerked that hand backward and heard bones pop, then he let him know what a broken nose felt like and threw him to the ground. Mac took the knife from him and knelt over him with the knife drawn back. "You killed an innocent woman because she saved your life!" Mac said. "Now you came here to murder 'my' baby?!"
"Go ahead and kill me!" Watson coaxed.
Mac glared at him. Watson was sure Mac would kill him, but then someone yelled, "NO, Mac!"
Mac looked around to see Stella standing on the porch. Mac rammed the knife into the ground and then jerked Watson up off the ground. "You're going to prison for a very long time!" Mac said. He shoved him toward the porch, where Stella was waiting with a weapon.
"Don't you move," Stella said.
Mac pulled the knife out of the ground and turned around toward the house. Stella could see something shining in Mac's eyes and on his face. She wasn't sure if it was tears. It could have been sweat. "Call Detective Perry and tell him we have this lowlife in custody," Mac said, and gave his phone to Stella.
Mac made Watson lie down on the ground and he sat on the doorstep and watched him. "What kind of person are you?" Mac asked. "What do you think you're doing coming here to kill an innocent child?"
Watson didn't say anything. Mac was furious. He didn't know what he might have done if Stella had not called to him. He wanted to think he would have driven that knife into the ground like he did, but in that moment, he didn't know what he was thinking, except that this guy had come here to kill his flesh and blood, and he had killed Peyton. Mac pressed his eyes. He couldn't believe all this had happened.
Stella gave Mac his phone back. He stood up. "They're coming," Stella said.
Mac didn't know how much longer he could contain himself. He wanted to get off alone somewhere. There was a forest here behind this house. He wanted to go out there a while.
Finally, Detective Perry and some officers arrived and took Watson into custody. Mac gave them his statement. Perry shook Mac's hand. "I'm glad you're alright," Perry said. "Nice work."
"Thanks," Mac said.
"Get some rest. We'll talk some more tomorrow."
"As long as it's in the morning. I have a funeral to go to tomorrow afternoon."
"Bright and early."
Mac walked up to the house. "Stella, I'll be back in after while," he said.
Stella looked into his eyes. "Okay," she said. She watched him walk out into the forest. She knew he was torn apart inside.
Stella went back inside. Mrs. Driscoll was in the kitchen. "Is it over?" she asked.
Stella nodded. "Yes," she said.
"Why did he come here?"
Stella looked at her a moment. "He came to…" Stella didn't even want to say it, but she didn't have to. This was a smart woman she was talking to. They both looked toward the baby's room. Stella didn't want to think what might have happened if Mac hadn't woken up with that nightmare.
When Mac finally came back to the house, Stella was sitting at the dining table in the dark waiting for him. "It's about time," she said, startling him a little.
Mac made sure the door was locked and secured. "I'm sorry I was gone so long," he said.
"You don't have to hide from me, you know."
"I'm sorry."
"No, don't apologize." Stella propped on her elbow. "You know what I want?"
"What?"
"I want my husband to come and get in bed with me."
Mac looked at Stella. He felt drained, but yet, he felt relieved at the same time. Stella came over to him. "Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked.
"I don't know what to say."
Stella put her hands on either side of his face. "I want you to come in here with me and get your mind on something else." She took his hand and led him toward the bedroom.
Mac stopped at Amanda's room. She was still sleeping. He wanted to pick her up and hold her, but he didn't want to disturb her. He went on to the bedroom. "Now, lets get in this bed and get some rest," Stella said. She pulled Mac's shirt off. "You're not injured, are you?"
"No," Mac said. "I was too mad to be injured."
Stella kissed him. "Just think, we'll get to relax the rest of the time we're here," she said.
Mac didn't know if he would relax. He wanted to go to that funeral tomorrow, but he didn't want to cause anymore sorrow in this family. He wanted to get more acquainted with Amanda before he took her to the U.S. with him too. Stella slapped his behind to get his attention back. "We're going to do it all together, right?" she asked.
Mac smiled. "Right."
"Get in that bed." Stella pushed him toward the bed. "I think I can get your mind on something else."
"I think it's already on something else," Mac said. He grabbed her and fell onto the bed.
Stella laughed. "That didn't take much effort," she said.
"Well, it's been about two days," Mac said. "I've got a lot of tension to work off."
"I'll give you a workout you'll never forget, and you won't have 'any' tension left."
Two days later, Mac and Stella boarded a plane for the U.S. with Amanda. Mrs. Driscoll drove them to the airport. "I'll send the rest of her things later," she said. She hugged Amanda. "You be a good girl. You're Grandma loves you."
"I love you too, Grandma," Amanda said.
Mac smiled. "Don't worry, she'll come to visit as often as we can," he said.
Mrs. Driscoll hugged Mac and Stella. "You take care of my little baby," she said.
"We will," Stella said.
Mac carried Amanda as they walked toward the airport. Stella listened to Mac telling Amanda about flying and everything. Stella smiled. She would finally be part of a family.