A/N: Oh I hope I still have readers. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing albeit the reviews are a bit on the down slope.

I have decided to stretch this to… well, you'll find out at the end of the chapter. Thanks!

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He sauntered over beside Stella and looked up. "My Mommy used to be a teacher in Cawifornia," he explained. "But we moved here to New York and…" he looked up again to his mother, unsure of what to say next.

Stella took it from there. "I'm a Mommy," she proudly said. "A mommy to Dylan here and his future little sister," she touched her bulging belly. "I stay at home, do household chores, take care of my kids and my husband," she glanced at Mac.

"But he's a big person," Carrie giggled. Stella laughed at that too.

"Well, you're right," she walked over to Carrie and said, "he's one big baby, alright." Mac glared at her and smiled. "But I'm not only a mommy. I'm also a wife. I take care of my husband. I take care of my home and family." She walked back to the front of the class. "This is what I do. And I'm sure your moms are the same. They have their own jobs as well as being a mom and a wife."

"Is it hard?" LaKisha asked. "My mommy said that Miss Opwah said that being a mommy is hard work."

"Yes, it is hard," Stella admitted. "I wake up early to make breakfast and snacks for Dylan to take to school. Then I prepare the things my husband needs for work. After that, I clean the house, do some laundry." She glanced at Mac, "But sometimes Mac does some chores for me."

Bettina raised her hand, "Why do you do it, Mrs. Taylor?"

She smiled at her question. "Because I love it. I absolutely love being a mom and a wife. I didn't grow up with someone to call 'mom', unlike all of you – I don't want my son… or any of you to go through that," she said, holding back tears. Mac walked over to her and held her hand. "I know that I'm making my family happy. With that, I'm happy, too."

They saw Miss Simmons smiling. "I don't need to be paid in cash or whatever because I know that my baby boy and my incredible husband love me," she paused and looked at her family affectionately. "And that's all I need," she finished.

Dylan hugged her legs and looked at her with pure love in his eyes. Some of the little girls in the class got a little teary-eyed, reminding themselves to thank their own mothers once they come home.

One little boy raised his hand and asked, "Before you became a mommy… were you also a defectif?"

"Why yes, I was," she answered. "I worked with Mac for a long time in the NYPD crime lab."

"You also had the shiny thing?" Maggie asked, excitedly. Stella nodded.

She went on, "Then I worked at a university in California, like Dylan said earlier, as a teacher. Then I came back to New York a mommy." She caught Mac's eye knowingly. "And quite frankly, that is the best decision I've done in my life."

Their teacher stood up and took control, "Well, that's really nice, Mrs. Taylor. Very inspiring, I might add." She walked up to the front of the class and addressed the couple, "Do you have anything to add? Before the kids go to their drawing time."

Mac stood up and said to the class, "Kids, you have great lives ahead of you. You have wonderful parents who support and love you very much. Just be the best that you can be and work hard to reach your dreams. Can you promise Detective Taylor that?"

"Yeeeees!" they all said, some of them standing up – Jonas, saluting.

"And guys," Stella said to finish the talk, "when you get home today, give your mommy and daddy a big ole hug and thank them for being there for you." The long chorus of agreement was repeated; this time, met with more enthusiasm.

The returned to their seats at the back of the room as Miss Simmons started to distribute pieces of paper for the kids to draw on. They all took out their crayons from their bags and waited for instruction. Stella was watching closely, absently rubbing her stomach. "I am getting big," she said to herself, smiling.

And as if reading her mind, Mac took her hand and said, "You're beautiful." She placed her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"Okay boysies and girlsies," the teacher said, handing out the last of the papers, "I want you to draw your favorite thing you've seen or done today. It can be a drawing of Detective Taylor's badge or draw a picture of your mom." She smiled at the parents and continued, "After all, we all like to show how thankful we are to Detective and Missus Taylor for sharing their time with is, right?"

"Yes, Miss Simmins," some of the children said; the others just nodded excitedly and then dug into the crayons.

She walked over to the Taylors and explained that they could keep the drawings afterwards. "It's something from them to you." Stella couldn't stop smiling. "The kids really enjoyed today. Maybe we could have you back some other time?"

"We would love to," Mac answered for the both of them.

"Miss Simmons, thank you very much for inviting us over and for taking care of Dylan for us," Stella said, shaking her hand.

A little while later, a yellow crayon was raised and Maggie said, "I'm finished, Miss Simmins!" She stood up and walked over to the adults at the back. "See! I made a picture of the shiny thing!" She proudly held the piece of paper in front of her, smiling widely at Stella and then at Mac. "You like it?"

Mac took the paper in his hands and looked at the swirls of yellow and blue and black to pick out the detail. Sure, it wasn't perfect but he could see how much Maggie was enthralled by his badge. "I love it, Maggie," he replied and she giggled. She walked back to her desk shared with Ernie. He stood up next.

He drew a picture of the mounted police. It was a tall man beside a horse. Upon closer look, he even drew his father's badge number with colored pencils. He scribbled "Thank You" at the bottom of the page. Smiling, he handed it over to Stella.

The rest of the kids gave them their finished drawings: several drawings of the 'shiny thing', the 'invistible' ink, the stamp thing, and there were also pictures of their mommies and daddies. But Dylan drew something different.

When class ended, the kids went over to hug both Mac and Stella before they ran outside to their parents or guardians. The adults promised Miss Simmons copies of the pictures they took.

In the car, Stella was browsing through the drawings the children gave them until she saw what Dylan did. She showed it to Mac and then to their son and asked, "Dylan, can you tell me what this is?"

It was a pink circle with green squiggles near the edge. Dylan giggled and pointed out, "That's Bumpy, Mommy!" Stella took another look and got it. "See? You're wearing pink and the green lines. That's my favorite today."

Stella reached out and took Dylan's soft little hand in her own. "That's my favorite, too," she said. "You were really good today, Dylan honey." And that's when the baby in her tummy began to kick. She let go of his hand to clamp on her stomach. She bit her lip as a contraction surged through her.

Mac noticed her look of pain. "Are you okay, Stella?" he asked, keeping his eye on the road. They stopped at a red light and he turned to look at her. She was clutching her belly and was shaking her head as if saying "no". He unclipped his seat belt and hers. "What's the matter, sweetie? Talk to me."

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