Good evening! Welcome to day 15 and part two :D Thank you for the lovely reviews! Thank you Hawk for your comment about hostages 101 that was great :D Thank you also to PatriciaF, SmackedCaskett, ChibiDawn23, 2NYwLove and Lizbet2008!

Quick note about the story with Holly's birth - I should have made it clearer, sorry for any confusion: Holly is born in June, but Mac and Stella discover Stella's pregnant at Christmas after she's injured, so they think of Holly as their Christmas miracle, even though she's 'delivered' in June :D

Previously: Mac and Hawkes have been taken hostage in a bodega along with the owner, after an attempted robbery went wrong...

Voices in the crowd shrieked as the shots rang out. Stella broke away from the uniforms at the tape and ran towards Flack.

'Stell, get outta here,' Flack yelled as the SWAT team surged forward into the bodega.

'Mac's in there,' she cried, her voice almost cracking.

'I know, Stell.' He grabbed her and pulled her back behind a squad car. 'But there's nothing you can do right now. You know that as well as I do.'

Anguish darkened her eyes as she spun around to face him. 'What the hell happened, Don?'

He told her and watched her cover her face with her hands. 'Stell, I'm sorry, it was just… really, really crappy luck.'

'What do I tell Holly if…'

Flack took hold of her hands. 'You're not going to have to tell Holly anything. Her dad's going to get out of this.'

Her lips pressed together, almost no colour in them, Stella shook her head and Flack felt bleak.

'Hang in there, Mac's going to be fine, OK?'

More shouts from the bodega, more noise. Flack kept hold of Stella's arm, dividing his attention between her and the situation inside. She was rigid with tension, her gaze locked on the bodega.

Finally, the SWAT team leader emerged, followed closely by the two perps surrounded by more armed personnel. Stella inhaled sharply. There'd been no calls for medical assistance, not yet. That had to be a good sign…

At long last, SWAT gave the all-clear and Stella flew towards the bodega. Finally, the sight she longed for – Mac walking out of there, between Hawkes and a man she didn't recognise. The two other men moved discreetly away as she ran straight into Mac's arms.

'Oh, Mac…' She buried her face in his neck and he held onto her silently, his fingers stroking her hair, their hearts beating fast together.

Once she felt secure enough to, Stella pulled away to study him – dishevelled, a rip to his jacket and a bleeding wound to his head.

'What happened?' she demanded, cupping his face with one hand while she touched the gash on his forehead with gentle fingers.

'Diving out of the way of a bullet,' he said, sheepishly and Stella pursed her lips, shaking her head in despair.

'What have I told you about playing the hero, Mac Taylor? No, don't answer that,' she pressed a fingertip to his lips, and he lowered his eyes. 'You need to have that injury seen to.'

'We need to head across town to Holly's carol concert as soon as I've given my statement,' he said, but Stella stood firm.

'Honey, you are not attending a pre-school carol concert with blood running down your forehead.'

And to that, Mac had no argument to give.

A little later, Stella and he slipped into their seats at Holly's carol concert, only a minute or two late and with Mac respectably band-aided. Just in time to see Holly walk onto the stage, radiating a confidence far greater than her four years as she stepped forward for her solo.

And if anyone noticed that Holly's parents held each other's hands maybe a little more tightly than usual, no one said anything.

Thank you very much for reading! Please do send a review, they make my day :D Lily x