And Worse In The Morning

Stella sobbed into Lindsey's lap as Mac talked with the officer. Normally she would be strong in situations like this, but she couldn't, she'd lost her baby boy not a day after bringing him into this world not to mention her hormones were still playing tricks with her mind. "Why? Why would they take my beautiful baby boy?" She lifted her head from her friends lap, her eyes were sore and puffy as she rubbed the last of the tears she would let herself cry that moment. She had to stay strong, for herself and for Mac.

Lindsey didn't know what to say, she couldn't find any words that would console a women who'd lost her child. "It's going to be alright Stella, I'm sure the police will have no trouble finding whoever took him." 'That it? That's all I could come up with for one of my best friends?' She thought before giving Stella a comforting hug and lightly rubbing circles onto her back.

"Thanks Lindsey, you always know what to say." Stella looked anxiously toward Mac as he tensed the muscles in his jaw and clenched his fists into balls released them and started over. That was his angry look. That's what he would do when he was mad or couldn't deal with something.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Mac said trying to sound patient. He wasn't.

Don sighed looking Mac over. "Mac, you know the deal, you can't be involved in the case, you're family." He patted his friend on the shoulder showing his support. "Don't worry about it, take Stella out and by the time you get back we'll have solved it." Don smiled his signature smile.

Mac nodded. "You're right, find my son Don." He took Stella's hand lightly before leading her out. "Let's go for a drive. Lunch?" he gritted his teeth, how could he be acting so calm? Because he was a good actor that's how, he was great at hiding his feelings. Right now he needed to make sure Stella was alright.

"There's nothin' here Don." Danny slide his hands through his hair and looked perplexed.

"There's always something Messer." Don growled before turning to a few police officers and ordering them to take a look around outside for any information as to where the kidnapper may have gone.


After about an hour of combing through the small room Danny and Lindsey were annoyed to say the least that they came up with nothing. And just as they were about to give up Lindsey lifted her teezers that held a small piece of dirt that had some green mashed into it. "Got it!" she chirped loudly in triumph.

"Thank the maker." Danny gave her a huge bear hug. "Tell me it's a finger print."

"It's dirt."

"Dirt?" Danny pressed his forehead against the cool wall. "You got me excited about dirt?"

"Well, it's a start." Lindsey plopped the dirt into a small clear baggy. "At least we can maybe find where he was before he was here."

"What makes you think it's a guy?"

Lindsey shrugged "Because. Guys are jerks." She found her way out of the apartment deciding it was time to take her little find to the lab.


Mac had rented a room at a local motel. It was late and he decided he check up on Don one last time that day. He keyed in the numbers and glanced one last time into the room where his wife was half asleep holding a baby blanket. He sat down on the ratty couch the motel decided to use for only God knows what reason.

"Hello?" Don's sigh was heavy. It was probably the fifth time that hour Mac was calling.

"Any updates?" Mac asked hopefully just like the last few calls had been.

"No." Don was a little annoyed and a lot tired. "And there won't be any if you keep calling because I can't get my work done with you nagging me, Mac."

Whoa, he wasn't in a good mood. "I get the point." Mac would've slammed the phone down angrily if he hadn't been using a cell phone. He clicked the button as menacingly as possible he was even tempted to make a slamming noise but decided against it. How come it seemed everyone was so calm about this? His son could be dead and everyone was acting as if he'd received a mere bump.Before he knew it he was asleep in a wonderful dreamland.


"Hey Dad." The sixteen year old punched his father playfully in the shoulder. "Football, baseball or basefoot!" the boy laughed at the joke he'd made.

"Baseball, your old man can't take anymore football." Mac's eyes lit up in this dream and he wrapped an arm around his son's broad shoulders.

The sixteen year old laughed and punched his father in the stomach. "Aw come'on. All it is is throwing the ball back and forth."

"Yeah, but you know I can't handle that." Mac laughed playfully.

Suddenly his son morphed into an adult. Mac would've guessed about thirty. "Dad, you've become so inactive since it happened."

"Since what happened?" Mac felt tears prick at the back of his eyes and before he knew it there were tears streaming down his face like a steady river.

"You know… Since Mom died."

"Died?" Everything began to have a red tint to it and the room spun, he glanced down at his hands that were now catching his tears. Before he knew it the tears turned to a bloody downpour.


Mac didn't fall in his horrible nightmare, he just awoke because of nothing. He glanced at the clock. 6:55am. Great, he'd fallen asleep without Stella. "Stella, You awake?" Mac asked quietly poking his head in the door way. She wasn't in there. He picked up his phone and heard a ring from behind him. It was Stella's phone sitting on the coffee table. "That wasn't there last night." That's it, he'd page her, she always carried her pager. His heart sunk when her heard the low beep of her pager from his pocket. What was going on? He pulled it out along with a crinkled piece of paper. "No…"