Disclaimer: I do not own a single thing.

A/N: First of all, many many thanks to all the people that reviews this story. It makes me feel real good. Second, i still don't know how many chapters are left to go. Third and last, this is not beta-ed so all the mistakes are mine. Read and enjoy!

Chapter 8: Confusion

Confusion will be my epitaph.
As I crawl a cracked and broken path
If we make it we can all sit back
and laugh.
But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying,
Yes I fear tomorrow I'll be crying.

(Epitaph – King Crimson)

An angry Stella passed in front of Danny and Hawkes, still chewing insults. They didn't have time to warn Flack, who had just entered the lab, not to mess with Stella.

"Stella!" he called her and she turned around to stare at him with a killing look in her eyes.

"You don't look good" Flack said

Stella put a sarcastic smile on her face. "Don't I look good to you Flack? Why? I'm the happiest woman alive right now. Don't I seem happy to you Don?" she said putting big emphasis in the last words leaving Flack not knowing what to do or say. "'Cause I'm happy you know. It has only taken me a slap on Mac's face to finally get rid off of this office, Mac and three colleagues that, obviously, don't know how to keep their mouths closed".

And then she left, leaving behind her, a whole astonished lab.

Having regained his breath, Flack approximated his friends.

"What the hell was that? Is she really suspended?" Danny and Hawkes nodded in response.

"Why? She didn't slap Mac's face, did she?" The duo nodded again.

"Holy shit!"

"Oh yes!... and she ended the conversation with a nice 'fuck you'… By the way Hawkes, you owe me 20 bucks".

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Mac couldn't believe how things have changed in the past few months. Standing by the window, looking at the city that never sleeps, he thought about the last events. Succumbing that night to Stella's arms had been like a blow of fresh summer breeze making him feel incredibly alive and happy. But, he had a very rational mind and what had given some freedom to him turned into a great sense of guilty and treason. Claire's memory was still holding over his head, large and dark. Anyways, something was changing, and though he was afraid, he was moving on.

It was hard to know Stella and not love her. Independent, strong, smart, gorgeous, sexy… she had everything a man could desire for. And Mac was no exception. From the very first moment they had met, he had noticed she was a very special woman. His feelings went no further while he was still with Claire, but after her death, what was a deep friendship grew into something more.

Why couldn't he let go with her? The answer seemed obvious. His heart had been broken badly once, it was still healing and it sure couldn't take another break again, so it was safe to be with Lindsay, a smart, funny, good-looking girl but nothing more. It had seemed a very good plan at first but looking at peoples reactions, it didn't seem so good anymore.

His mind returned to the fight with Stella. She was right. He didn't have the right to ask her about the father of her child. But she was also wrong. He did care for her a lot. More than she would ever know. Another theme was to find the right words to show it to her without revealing too much. His heart was also a little bit disappointed. He had really wanted this child to be his.

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Stella was cleaning her desk and she was still looking angry and murmuring bad words. Who the hell did he think he was? He had not only broken her heart into million pieces but had left her without the second most important thing in her life: her work.

"So the rumours are true… You've been suspended… What happened?" Lindsay asked.

"Ask your boyfriend" Stella replied harshly.

Lindsay let go a deep sight. This was the conversation she feared the most and had been avoiding for a few days.

"Stella….I…"

"What? Don't tell me you feel sorry for me 'because you're with him and I'm not"

"Things happen"

"Yeah… things happen… sad the bad ones only happen to me."

"That's called making you a victim"

"Who died and made you so smart?" Stella's face was growing in red as she was getting more and more angry.

"I care for him" Lindsay said

"I do love him. That's a big difference. But it's not enough and, sincerely right now, I don't give a damn about it."

Rain always seemed to accompany her because it was storming when she left the NYPD building.