AN: Again sorry it took to long, we are getting holidays next week, so we are writing class tests and tests, so I'm a bit busy.
Anyway here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter Six
The sun that fell through the window woke Mac up.
He looked down, expecting to still find Stella still sleeping in his lap, but she wasn't there. He stood up slightly panicked and began to search the apartment for her.
He was already starting to worry again, when he entered the kitchen and found a note. "Sorry. Help yourself to breakfast. We'll see each other at work. Stella"
Mac felt his anger return.
What the hell was she doing? Where had she gone? She was going to be the death of him.
He made it to work in record time, after checking the labs and her office he found her in the morgue.
She was sitting on the floor, holding the hand of Aletheia Gerold, just staring off into the distance.
The morgue felt colder than normal and the fact that Stella had opened the freezer, didn't exactly help matters.
"Stella what are you doing? Trying to freeze yourself to death again? Yesterday walking around the city, today sitting beside an open freezer?"
"I'm not cold", She replied stubornly.
She really wasn't, after she first saw the body, it seemed to her that she couldn't feel any basic human emotion like pain, cold and hunger anymore.
"Yeah, sure", answered Mac sarcastically.
"Really", said Stella.
Mac frowned he had never seen her like this before! He just wanted to help her. He just wasn't sure how.
Walking over he sat down next to her. "Stella, what are you doing here?"
"She's my sister, she shouldn't be alone", whispered Stella grasping the dead womans hand harder.
She wasn't sure herself why she was here. The woman was dead, it wasn't as if she could change anything by being here. But she couldn't let go. Holding her hand somehow she felt closer to her family than ever before.
"How do you know?", asked Mac.
"I just do", She didn't know how to describe how she felt, but she just had the feeling that they belonged together. That they were family.
Mac and Stella sat on the floor in silence.
Mac sighed.
They look so much alike. It couldn't be coincidence... Was she really Stellas sister?
Macs voice broke the silence."Her name is Aletheia Gerold."
"What?", asked Stella looking over at her parnter.
"Flack found her identidy last night, her name is Aletheia Gerold."
He had expected her to be angry, because he hadn't told her sooner, but she wasn't.
She turned reaching out touching the woman's face gently. "Aletheia", she whispered.
Stella turned towards him and was shocked to discover there were tears running down her face. She quickly wept them away.
"It's ok Stella, it's going to be alright."
Alright? How can he say that! She's dead! Someone f killed her! It's all over!
Whatever you say it won't change a thing... You can't let this get to you! It doesn't matter anyway...
"It's not. She's dead.", Stellas voice was flat and ripped of all kind of emotions.
"Stella?", asked Mac softly.
Stella turned towards him and he was shocked to discover there were tears running down her face.
"It's ok Stella, it's going to be alright."
He wasn't sure what to do. Should he reach out for her or would that only make it worse? It seemed to him like she always knew what to do to help him, but the other way around he sometimes had no clue.
"Alright? How can you say that! She's dead! Someone f killed her! Whatever you say, it won't change the fact that she is dead... " She tried to control her anger. It wasn't Mac's fault why was she so angry at him?
"I promise we'll find whoever is responsible for this", whispered Mac.
He didn't know how to react to her anger. He knew she wasn't really angry at him.
"Aiden said they wanted to interview the husband today."
"She's married?", asked Stella surprised.
"She has a daughter too", told Mac her.
She has a family? A real family! I have a family?
"I want to meet them", Stella stood up.
"I don't think that's such a good idea." Mac commented as he pushed himself to his feet.
Stella looked at him her anger returning.
"Why not? I want to see them! Her daughter is my niece right? I'm her aunt! And her husband he knew my sister! Maybe he even knows my family, my parents! And you don't think I should see him?", Stella made her way to the door of the morgue.
"Stella, Stella wait I didn't mean it like that", he ran after her grabbing her wrist.
Why won't she listen to me? I just want her to understand!
"Who do you think you are? Don't you understand what this means for me?" She struggeled against his grib, but he didn't let go.
"Let go of me!", screamed Stella.
"Stella just listen to me please!", Mac said to her calmly but without letting go of her wrist.
"You don't have any idea how I feel", she yelled at him.
"Damn it, Stella listen to me. Just think, he has just been told that his wife is dead. What do you think his reaction is going to be if you suddenly walk into that room?", he tried not to show how hurt he was by her words.
She had to admit he had a point. "But I want to see them...", she had stopped screaming and her voice was barely a whisper, she felt the hurt and the loss returning.
"I know you are emotional about this-"
"Do you really think emotional is the right word?", interrupted Stella her anger rising again.
"Look I know this is hard for you, but you have to think about her family too. What about you watch from observation room?"
He's right! Stop being so damn egoistic! Get a grip! You are too damn emotional!
She took a deep breath trying to control her anger.
This wasn't just about her. A man had lost his wife, a child had lost its mother.
She looked up at him with an unspoken apology in her eyes.
"OK. I will watch, just watch."
Mac nodded and the two of them made their way to the elevator.
Stella looked though the mirror of the interview room.
Mac had left, he wanted proof that Aletheia really was Stellas sister. Stella knew it in her heart, but Mac needed evidence, so he decided to run her DNA against Aletheias.
On the other side there was a man sitting on the table, he seemed tired and it looked like he had been crying.
Is that him? The husband of my sister? My brother in law...
Stella noticed how attractive he was. He had short brown hair and brown eyes and he looked like he worked out. Her sister was lucky to have him.
The CSI part of her brain told her that he was a possible suspect, but her heart had already ruled this possibility out.
"I may introduce Tomas Gerold and his daughter Lilian", said Aiden stepping into the room with a little girl in her arms.
"Aiden, hi", said Stella. She looked at the little girl.
She was sleeping, her little hands gripping a litlle stuffed animal. She was wearing a pink babygrow with some flowers on it which matched the pacifier she had in her mouth.
Even though her eyes were closed, Stella would have bet her eyes were the same green as her mothers and her own.
She really looked a lot like her mother, her whole face seemed to be the mirror image and her brown hair already seemed to have the same.
Lilian...She looks like an angel.
"Hi Stella, I'm glad to see you. How are you doing?", asked Aiden still concerned for her friend.
"Fine", said Stella dismissing the question. "Can I hold her?", she asked quietly.
"Yeah sure", said Aiden, giving her the baby.
Stella carefully wrapped her arms around the child.
Such a small human being...
She took her finger and touched the small hands and to her surprise Lilian grabbed her finger and curled her hand around it.
Stella smiled, lost in the moment.
After a while she stepped to the mirror again, looking at the man sitting there devastated. That's your dad, isn't it, little Lilian?
Danny and Flack stepped into the interview room.
"Mr Tomas Gerold?", asked Flack.
"Have you found my wife? Can I see her? Is she alright?", his eyes shot up looking hopefully at Danny, who glanced over to Flack.
That's the part he hated most about the job.
Every day they had to tell people that someone close to them, a loved one, a mother, a wife, a child had died and it never got any easier.
"I'm Detective Flack this is Danny Messer with the crime lab", explained Flack, preparing himself for what he was about to say next.
Tomas Gerold looked from Flack to Danny. "She's dead, isn't she?", his voice sounded hollow.
"Yes, I'm sorry", Danny looked over to the mirror, where Stella was standing with Lilian in her arms.
"No,no,no, she can't be dead! I need her! Lilian needs her!", he started crying.
Stella couldn't take it, she had to turn away from the mirror.
In this moment she wanted nothing more than to switch places with her sister.
She has a family and loved ones, someone who needs her and cares for her. She has people who miss her and me?
The only thing I have is a job, someone could easily replace me. I have no one, no one would miss me, why did she have to die? Why couldn't it have been me?
Her attention was drawn back to the interview, when Flack and Danny stepped into the room.
"We have to ask you a few questions", said Flack.
"Yeah, yeah...", he looked up again and tried to pull himself together.
"When did you last see your wife?", asked Danny.
"Monday, when I left for my trip", he answered, "why did I go? If I had stayed here then this wouldn't have happened!"
"You shouldn't blame yourself for that, it could have happend anyway", said Danny.
Could it? Maybe he's right, if he had stayed they would both be dead or they could both be dead, maybe... Guess we will never know... Now all that counts now is the evidence and first of all I have to concentrate on the interview at hand.
"You came back Wednesday evening? Is that right?", asked Flack, Tomas just nodded. "Can you please tell me what happened?"
"I came back from the airport, it was around six... I think. When I came home the front door wasn't locked, I didn't think anything of it, sometimes Aletheia forgets to lock the door. But when, when I went in...", he had to stop.
He took a deep breath as emotions threatened to overwhelm him.
"It was a mess, the hallway mirror was broken and there were books lying everywhere, the vase was broken and the flowers were all over the floor... then I heard Lilian crying. I went up to Lilians room and called for Aletheia, but she didn't answer...", he had to take another break trying to compose himself.
"I picked Lilian up and started searching for Aletheia, but she... she wasn't there, she was gone...", he started crying again.
Flack waited a moment to give him the time he needed to pull himself together.
"At that's when you called the police?"
Tomas nodded. "Can I please go?"
"Yeah, we will get back at you if we have anymore questions", said Danny.
Behind the mirror Stella stood frozen. Thinking for the umpteenth time how unfair this whole situation was.
She did her best not to cry again as she looked down at the little girl in her arms.
"No, it isn't fair! You will never know your mummy, all you are going to have is your dad and some photos..."
"Stella", Aiden touched her shoulder smiling sadly. "I need her back."
Stella just took a last glance at Lilians face and then gave her to Aiden.
Aiden left the room with Lilian, leaving Stella alone with her thoughts.
AN:As usually special thanks to my beta readers fruitbat00 and stella-taylor and to everyone who wrote a review. Also to everyone who read the story and was too lazy to write a review.
littlesheep thanks you and I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long!
chili-peppers seems like quite some people have twins. That's so cool!
hotcher well glad I made you happy then. ;)
picchic I can't remember that episode with Sara, when was it? Well maybe I should bring Katy back then.
Laura I fooled quite a lot of people there. Here's the next chapter.