Chapter 6: You're Beautiful

"My life is brilliant
My life is brilliant
My love is pure
I saw an angel
Of that I'm sure
She smiled at me on the subway
She was with another man
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan"

Remember when we met?" Stella asks as they watch some romantic comedy on TV in his apartment after a long day at work.

"How could I forget, Stella?" Mac smiles as she climbs into his lap. He wraps his arm around her as she leans her head on his shoulder.

Mac headed to his office with a cup of coffee in one hand and a pile of folders under his other arm, the résumé of a woman hoping to transfer from Narcotics on top. He was meeting her this morning to interview her for a job as a CSI alongside him.

Detective Taylor walked into his office, not noticing the woman already inside. He stopped dead in his tracks in front of his desk. The woman applying, Stella Bonasera, was sitting in his chair behind his desk like it was no big deal.

"You must be Miss Bonasera," he held out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Detective Mac Taylor."

She shook his hand, "Call me Stella. Sorry I was in your chair and all. I was just wondering what it felt like to be the boss."

"It's alright," Mac smiled at her. "Have a seat."

Fifteen minutes later Stella had the job. "When can you start?"

"Right now or tomorrow if you want," she said.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow at eight-thirty," Mac shook her hand again and watched her curls bounce around her head as she left.

"You're the only one who has ever sat in my chair, ever dared to sit in the boss's chair," Mac laughs.

"Yeah, I was quite mischievous. I always got in trouble at the orphanage when I was little," Stella remarks.

"You still are," he teases.

"But you still love me," she grins.


"You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You're beautiful, it's true
I saw your face in a crowded place
And I don't know what to do
'Cause I'll never be with you"

"When did you realize I loved you?" Stella asks.

"That day you kissed me in the lab last year. I was working the case where the bride died with Danny," Mac recalls. "I couldn't stop smiling after you kissed me." Stella laughs.

"Why did you become a detective?"

"I wanted to be a Marine, because I wanted to protect our country and be like my father, despite my mom telling me I would die in battle like my dad. When I came back I still wanted to protect our country. What better way than to put away criminals since I had already served in the military?" Mac tells her.

"Why New York City? Why not Chicago or somewhere else close to your family?" Stella yawns sleepily.

"New York has the most crimes, highest crime rate; however you want to say it. I needed to get away from my mom for awhile too, and there were no openings. Plus NYPD cops are the most feared in the world," he smirks. "How come you never left New York after all your bad memories here as a kid?"

"It's home. No matter how much I hate it here, I still love this stupid city. And I never did find my friend. No evidence was found that she was killed so there's still hope she's out there." Mac glances at her confusedly. "I looked it up in the records. One of the first things I did on the job, because no one at the orphanage would tell me anything. I still check it periodically to see if anything has been found."

"Ah, a cold case that haunts you even though you weren't working on it?" he smiles.

"Something like that. I can't help but blame myself for her disappearance."

"You're falling asleep. Time for bed, Stel," Mac lifts her up, carrying her to the bed.

"I can't help that you make a good pillow," Stella teases.

And so the two fall asleep in each others' arms never expecting what fate had in store for them the next day.


"Yeah, she caught my eye
As we walked on by
She could see from my face that I was
Flying high
And I don't think that I'll see her again
But we shared a moment that will last till the end"

Five hearts since she got her cast on Stella sat on a park bench waiting for a suspect to come up to her. They knew he would, and then the others would come out and surround him. But something didn't feel right. She had no idea why because she had done this so many times before.

"Hello, what's a beautiful lady like yourself doing here all alone on a day like this?" a man, whom she recognized from the photos as Ralph Peterson, says, sitting beside her on the bench.

"It's my day off so I thought I'd enjoy the warm weather while I could," she smiles nervously.

"What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a detective."

"Oh, should I be afraid?" he teases.

"Not unless you've done something wrong."

"I see you have no ring on your finger. How could someone as gorgeous as you not be married?" he asks, putting a hand on her knee.

"With my work schedule there's little time for a personal life," she cringes as the man slides his hand up a little on her leg.

"Did you hurt your arm on a case?"

"No, actually my partner and I got in a big fight, and he grabbed my arm to keep me from leaving and ended up breaking my wrist."

"Got any plans for tonight?" the man asks. "Who's Mac?"

"My partner. No."

"Why did he write 'love you' on your cast?" Ralph wraps an arm around her shoulders.

Mac couldn't take it anymore. Stepping out from behind the tree closest to Stella he fires. But just at that moment Stella moves her arm up a little, into the path of the bullet. It goes through her arm leaving a hole in it, blood pouring out, and hits Ralph in the shoulder.

Ralph takes a knife from his pocket and stabs Stella in the stomach. He runs, leaving Stella there to bleed to death. Lindsay and Flack run after him with a few uniforms as Mac runs to Stella hoping to save her.


"You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You're beautiful, it's true
I saw your face in a crowded place
And I don't know what to do
'Cause I'll never be with you"

"Stella, hold on. Help's on the way. Just a few more minutes, Stel," Mac tells her. He had tied a tourniquet around her arm to slow the bleeding and was holding his shirt to the wound around the knife in her stomach, applying pressure to keep the blood from leaving her body. Mac knew not to pull the knife out, or she would definitely die from blood loss before the ambulance arrived.

"I'm not going anywhere, Mac. I won't leave you," she says, her head resting in his lap.

"God, I can't live without you, Stella. You're my everything," he whispers to her as an ambulance pulls up. "Don't leave me."

"I won't."

The paramedics put her on the gurney and load her in the back. Mac climbs in behind them. "I'm her friend and partner," he explains to their questioning looks. They nod approval.

Stella grabs his hand with the one the paramedic is not attending to with the gun shot wound. "This is my fault. I should have gotten you away from him before shooting. I'm so sorry," he squeezes her fingers in reassurance. "Hang in there."

"Δεν είναι το ελάττωμά σας, Mac. Πρόκειται να είμαι εντάξει," Stella tells him in her native tongue.

"Do you understand her? What language is that?" one paramedic asks.

"Greek, I believe. And no, I don't know exactly what she's saying, but I've got an idea. She said not to blame myself for this; she'll be okay," Mac says, and Stella nods.

"I'm afraid not. There's not much we can do to help. She's lost too much blood already."

"No, Stella. You can't leave me," Mac tells her as her eyes flutter closed. She opens them, and a tear escapes from both of their eyes.

"Λυπάμαι, Mac. Αντίο. Σας αγαπώ," Stella whispers in Greek, closing her eyes again. "I love you, Mac," she repeats in English as her body shakes with her last breath.

"I love you too, Stella. Goodbye," Mac whispers back, tears falling down his cheeks. He puts his bloodstained hand on her cheek and kisses her one last time.


"You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You're beautiful, it's true
There must be an angel with a smile on her face
When she thought up that I should be with you
But it's time to face the truth
I will never be with you"

A/N: James Blunt "You're Beautiful." Thanks to Pandy Roxy Chick for betaing and for everyone else who read and/or reviewed this story. I'm so sorry I killed Stella. I was almost crying when I wrote this. I'm starting to get worried with all the Mac/Peyton rumors. I mean, I know Stella is probably still not over Frankie but… Mac and Stella just have to be together eventually when they're both healed.