Disclaimer: CSI:NY does NOT belong to me. The only characters that belong to me are Alexis and Emma. And this is a slightly AU story. Hope that's not a problem with anyone. And I hope people like this story!
Spoilers: None…maybe borrowed concepts, but that's about it!
Summary: What do we get when we give Detective Mac Taylor a niece? A little drama but mostly a whole lot of fun!
Chapter 2:
The next thing Mac knew he was being awakened by a blaring alarm. Groaning he rolled over and smacked his clock. He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes, remembering why he was so tired. His niece had been sobbing last night. He got out of bed and padded down the hall and opened the door to her room.
He stepped inside and made his way to her bed, which he found empty. Confused, he looked around the room and sighed with relief to hear the shower going. He was somewhat surprised that she was already in the shower before him.
"Hey Lex?" he called out.
"Yeah?" she answered.
"Want some breakfast before we head out?" he asked, moving closer to the bathroom door.
"Eggs and a muffin would be good," she requested. "Please," she added.
Mac smiled to himself and answered her. As he left the room he pulled her door shut and went to his room. Fortunately, his apartment happened to have two showers so he quickly got in and out. He thumbed through his closet and briefly wondered what Stella was doing at the same time. Selecting a dark suit with a light blue shirt to go under it, he dressed as he heard Alexis moving around in her room.
Soon a knock sounded on his door. "Uncle Mac?" Alexis asked through the door. "We better hurry if we want to eat before leaving."
"I'm done," he said opening the door. He grabbed his suit jacket and a tie to match his shirt. He'll just put it on when he got to work.
"Is this okay for me to shadow you guys in?" Alexis asked, worried she was dressed in the wrong thing. She had found her suit neatly packed away at the bottom of her bag this morning.
"It's perfect, very professional," Mac assured her. In a way, she reminded him of Stella. This thought brought a smile to his face.
"Uncle Mac?" she questioned. "We're going to be late."
"Oh right," he snapped out of his thoughts and quickly moved about the apartment, scrambling eggs and setting muffins out. They had just enough time if they didn't do the dishes and brushed their teeth at the office. He had a few toothbrushes there anyway.
Soon they had finished breakfast and hurriedly set the dishes in the sink. Making a dash out the door and down the stairs, they were soon on their way to the crime lab. Alexis was feeling better this morning, despite feeling tired, and turned on the radio to sing with her favorite songs.
Mac rolled his eyes good-naturedly realizing this is what he was going to be putting up with while his niece got back on her feet. "Hey, have you decided what you're going to do while in college?"
Alexis turned the radio down a bit and turned to face him. "Well, I want to see when I get there. The kinds of friends I'll make, how long it takes me to get to school from your place, things like that," she smiled. "If I make good friends, maybe I'll see if they want to find an apartment together."
"You're welcome to stay with me while you're in school," Mac offered. "And Julliard is only a train away. It won't take you long at all."
"Thanks Uncle Mac but are you sure I wouldn't be imposing?" Alexis asked just to make sure.
"You'll be fine," he reassured her.
"So what's the deal with you and Stella?" Alexis asked slyly. She thought they'd be a great couple. They were very in tune with each other.
"What deal? We just work together and happen to be best friends," Mac explained.
"No, I think there's more," she argued. "Haven't you thought of moving on?" she asked gently.
"Well, I have," Mac started, "and I did go on a date but it was a disaster cause I wasn't focusing on my date."
Alexis hid her grin. "Why's that?"
Mac blushed and cleared his throat, pulling up in front of the crime lab. "Why do you want to know so much?"
"Because I have no love life of my own right now and I want to see my favorite uncle happy!" she grinned.
"I was thinking of," he paused for effect, "someone I work with."
"That's not very vague. There's only three women in this department that work with you, personally." She counted them out on her fingers. "Stella, Aiden, and this other woman that I happened to see while we passed her office."
"Oh, Jane Parsons," Mac mentioned. "And no, it's not her."
"Someone even closer?" she probed as they got out of the car.
Mac laughed and came over to her, slinging his tie around his neck. "Come on kiddo. I'll let you know later."
She rolled her eyes and wrapped an arm around her uncle's arm. They smiled and waved to some people on their way up to his office. "Please tell me now," she begged as he unlocked his office door.
"Nope. Later," he replied. He turned to face her as he tried to do his tie without a mirror.
"What's later?" asked Stella as she poked her head in.
"Nothing," Alexis said with a knowing smile. She knew deep down that it was Stella; he just wanted to string her along. She wanted to get him to admit it.
Stella shrugged then looked over at Mac who was struggling. "Need some help?" she asked, crossing the room and swatting his hands away. She swiftly did the appropriate motions of tying a tie and soon she stepped back slightly to admire her handiwork. "There."
"Thanks," Mac said with a slight blush. His phone soon rang to save him from embarrassment and while he answered it, Stella stepped back to stand next to Alexis. They watched curiously as his facial expression changed from one of light-heartedness to one of professional seriousness. "We'll be right there."
Stella immediately turned professional as she turned on her heels and headed to grab her jacket out of her locker. Returning, she finished putting it on and pulled her hair out of the jacket.
"We have another vic found with that baby," Mac said gruffly. This case was seriously pissing him off. He left the girls in a rush before they snapped out of their daze and ran after him.
Arriving at the scene, Mac flashed his badge at the officer in charge and he lifted the crime tape to let Mac and Stella under. Seeing the younger girl, he dropped the tape back down and called to Mac. "Is she with you guys?"
Mac looked back and nodded. "She's shadowing us." He waited for his niece to catch up to them and the three headed inside the building. The sight they found was not pleasant. Stella immediately went to work photographing the crime scene before she went about collecting evidence.
"What can I do to help?" Alexis asked, eager to get a first-hand experience on this.
Mac looked at her and motioned to the crib. "Go check on the baby, then we'll decide what to do from there." He went about his work, flashing his flashlight about the room trying to spot anything unusual or similar to the last case.
Stella finished collecting evidence and straightened to her full height. "Find anything?" she asked, sealing the manila envelope.
Mac shook his head while looking through the bookcase. "Nothing."
Alexis returned with a baby girl who was chewing on her hand. "Look what I found," she said with a smile.
Stella smiled at the little baby, immediately falling in love with her. "She's adorable!" She held her arms out and Alexis passed her over. "Do we have a name on the vic or this baby?"
"A blanket in the nursery said her name is Emma," Alexis offered.
"No name on the vic," Mac answered, searching the victim for identity. He stood up. "What are we going to do with the baby?"
"I'd like to take care of her," Stella said softly, keeping eye contact with the baby. "I don't want her to end up in the system like I was."
Mac watched her interact with the baby. "Are you sure you can handle this?" he packed his stuff up and stripped off his gloves.
Stella nodded as the baby grabbed some hair in her tiny fist. Pulling her hair out of Emma's grip, she looked up at Mac. "Maybe Alexis can baby-sit her while we're at work."
Alexis laughed. "I'll be happy too. But what about when I start school?"
"I'll work on that," Stella answered. "When do you start school?"
"Two weeks," Alexis told her. "I'll go get a bag ready for Emma while you two talk," she said, sensing her uncle had something to say to his partner.
Once Alexis left the room, Mac walked over and placed his hand gently on the baby's head. Emma reached out towards Mac and he took her awkwardly. "She is really cute," he admitted shyly.
Stella smiled and brushed her hand over Emma's hair. "She is," she confirmed. "Thanks Mac."
He made eye contact and nodded. "Don't let her get in the way of your work," he warned. "I can't lose my best partner."
Stella looked down. "I won't." She looked back up as Alexis returned to the room.
"Here's a bunch of her stuff," she said, handing the bag to Stella who shouldered it and accepted Emma back from Mac.
"Thanks Alexis," Stella said. She adjusted Emma on her hip and followed Mac out with Alexis behind.
"So that's all that you do?" Alexis asked as they headed back outside. "Take pictures and collect evidence?"
Stella nodded. "And when we find something through the evidence and pictures, that's when we follow what it says. We always listen to the evidence," she explained.
Back at the offices, Alexis watched Emma in Mac's office while he and Stella were in the labs processing their evidence. Alexis dug around in her backpack before finding her iPod. She glanced around and noticed her uncle had a laptop as well as a desktop. She plugged her iPod in the laptop, clicked a few keys and soon had music filling the room.
"Stella," Mac started as he studied the slide in the microscope. "I've been meaning to tell you something."
Stella glanced up from her work before returning her gaze back down to the evidence she was studying. "What's that?" she adjusted the magnifying glass she was working under for a better view.
Mac gulped before continuing. "I just want to let you know that…that I'm ready to move on with my life," he stuttered out.
Stella stopped what she was doing, never knowing Mac Taylor to stutter. She looked over at him. "Are you sure?" she asked gently. She didn't want to get her hopes up but was curious if that meant moving on with her.
"I'm sure," he answered, this time more sure of himself. He paused in his work and faced her. "I'd like to take you and the girls out to dinner, if that's alright with you."
Stella smiled softly. "I'd like that very much," she answered, hoping he couldn't read her excitement. She had been waiting for this moment for a year now.
"I hope you don't mind the girls coming," Mac said. "I feel that they should be included as well."
"I understand, and it's not a problem," Stella said somewhat giddy. She held his gaze awhile longer before blushing and clearing her throat. "I should finish this," she gestured to the evidence.
Mac nodded. "Me too," he said getting back to his work.
Soon they had enough finished that they could send the rest to Aiden and Danny who had been informed of the case when they got back. The two detectives cleaned up and headed for his office with ridiculous smiles spread across their faces.
When they arrived at his office, they paused before entering. The watched as Alexis danced around the office with Emma in her arms, making the little baby laugh. Stella and Mac looked at each other, cracking up as they entered.
"Cute, Lex…very cute," Mac commented as he steered clear of his dancing niece so as to not interrupt her. He sat down at his desk and leaned back.
"Anything come out of the evidence?" Alexis asked, still moving to the music coming from her iPod.
"Enough to send over to Aiden and Danny," Stella commented, taking one of the chairs in front of Mac's desk. She watched Alexis and Emma for a moment before holding her arms out in a silent request for the baby.
Alexis passed Emma over and continued dancing and singing. She didn't care that the whole office could see her.
"Lex, when do you go on the Today Show?" Mac asked, grabbing the girl's attention.
"Next Wednesday," she answered. "Can you guys make it?"
Mac looked at Stella who was cooing at Emma. "Stell?" he asked in an amused tone. "Do you think we can make time to attend the Today Show with my niece?"
Stella winked. "I think we can manage that."
"Good," Alexis said. "I'd have to do something about you two if you couldn't," she teased. She watched them for a minute before deciding something was different between them. Her uncle almost seemed like he was floating on a cloud. "What's up with you guys?" she asked, stopping her dance moves to plant her hands on her hips.
Mac cleared his throat. "I told Stella that I'm ready to move on. And I think that should answer our conversation from this morning," he added with a pointed look.
Alexis grinned. "I'm so happy for you!" she clapped her hands like a little girl, which caused Emma to do the same. "So where does this leave the two of you?"
"We're all going out to dinner after work," Mac informed her, watching as she started dancing to the latest song on her list, Ciara's 1, 2 Step. He raised an eyebrow at his niece, who shrugged and kept dancing.
"Let her have her fun," Stella said, making faces at Emma. She glanced at Mac as she let Emma hold her fingers as support as she pulled herself up on Stella's lap.
Mac shook his head smiling as his cell rang. He answered and carried on a short conversation with the person on the other end. "Well, case closed. Aiden said it's a simple case of abandonment. The baby just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time…same with the victims."
"But why were they being killed?" Stella asked, still not getting the connection.
"Is this Usher?" Mac asked incredulously.
Alexis nodded surprised her uncle knew who Usher is.
"Mac," Stella said in a warning tone.
"They were being killed because the parents of the baby didn't want anyone to take care of her. I guess they wanted their baby dead," Mac continued. "You might want to go through the proper channels of adoption. And I want you to stay with Alexis and me in case the parents decide to come after you."
Stella looked at him in shock, as did Alexis. "You think they'd do that?"
"We need to find them and apprehend them!" Alexis stated firmly. "I don't want Stella getting killed."
"I know," Mac said. "Flack is taking care of it as we speak."
"Why didn't we go after them ourselves?" Stella wanted to know.
"Because I didn't want them to know their baby is still alive, that she's still thriving and will be taken care of," Mac explained.
"Please tell me you sent Danny with Flack," Stella added.
Mac nodded. "Of course."
"Psychos," Alexis muttered under her breath. "I can't believe they even became parents," she ranted.
Stella smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, there are people like that in the world."