Finding Stella asleep in her cell and still suffering from a small fever, Mac headed to the hospital to see Peyton.

He walked into her room to find her watching him.

"Did you arrest Stella?" she asked, her eyes full of sympathy for him.

Mac nodded while settling into a chair beside her bed. "Danny, Lindsay and Hawkes are still working on the evidence from the scene."

She reached out and took his hand. "I know this is hard for you, Mac. I'm so sorry. If I wasn't so sure I wouldn't have said anything. I just don't know why she'd do it." She felt his hand tense in hers.

"She didn't do this, Peyton. I've known Stella for a long time. She is not capable of cold-blooded murder."

"She killed her boyfriend with no problem," Peyton muttered.

Mac pulled his hand back.

Peyton closed her eyes, realizing what she had said and knowing there was no way to take it back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"Don't make me choose between the two of you, Peyton. Stella's been there for me when no one else could or would be. You knew that going into this."

"I know." Tears rolled down her face. "It's just… I know who I saw and you are choosing to believe her over me."

"I'm waiting for the evidence."

"And what if the evidence points to Stella? What then?"

He merely studied her in silence.

"No. No, this can't be right," Danny mumbled.

Lindsay walked over to him. "What?" She glanced at the prints report. "It has to be wrong."

Danny thought for a moment. "I'll have Hawkes try. Maybe he'll catch something we missed."

"Danny, don't you find it odd that there's still a fingerprint on the bullet in the first place?" Lindsay asked.

He shrugged. "Yeah, but it is what it is."

"I guess."

Peyton had just fallen asleep when Mac felt his phone vibrate. With one last glance at his girlfriend, he walked out of the room. "What did you find, Danny?"

"Um, Mac…"

"What is it?"

"You need to get down here."

"The evidence is pointing to Stella, isn't it?"

When Danny didn't respond, Mac continued. "I'll be right there."

Looking back into Peyton's room, he prayed that he hadn't been wrong about Stella all through the years.

"Do it again," Mac insisted.

Lindsay saw Danny flinch. "Mac, we ran it twice already," she told him. "Even Hawkes did a comparison. The partial print on the bullet from Peyton has enough similarities to Stella's… "

"I don't care. Do it again."

"Mac…" Danny started.

"I said do it again," he yelled.

Hawkes stopped just inside the doorway.

Mac turned to him. "Tell me ballistics don't match."

"They don't," he told him. "At least not her police issue Glock. I'm waiting for Flack to bring me her personal gun."

"Taylor!" shouted the commissioner as he opened the door to the lab. "Your office. Now!"

Mac handed the file back to Lindsay and silently walked out.

"What the hell is going on?"

Mac calmly sat at his desk. "She didn't do it."

"Didn't she? Peyton identified her as the shooter. A witness put her at the scene and I'm guessing by your reaction in there that the evidence also points to Stella." The commissioner sighed and sat down. "Look, Mac, I like Stella too but you're the one who always talks about evidence. If the evidence is there…"

Shaking his head, Mac had no answer. "I just know she wouldn't do this."

"Then I suggest you hurry up and find the answer some way. The brass wants to rush this along. It's an election year, after all, and Stella has just been set up as the perfect poster child to show the voters how the police department is willing to treat their own as they would any other criminal." He stood up, opened the door then paused. "I'm sorry about this, Taylor."

"Thank you."

Mac walked into the lab hoping that Jane Parsons would at least be able to confirm that the unknown DNA sample found at the scene didn't match Stella's. That would at least give him something.

Jane looked up from the report and sighed. "I'm sorry Mac," she said, handing him the report. "I ran it twice to be sure." She paused. "How is Stella doing?"

Shaking his head, Mac sat down across from her desk. "Not too well. She's hiding it as usual but… I'm really worried about this one. We don't seem to be getting a break anywhere."

"How's Peyton?"

He smiled. "She's going to be fine. They want to keep her a few days just to be safe though." Mac's cell phone rang. He listened to the other person then looked at Jane and hung up.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Flack said her personal gun wasn't in her apartment. He even checked the safe."

Jane sighed and looked at Mac. "Whoever is trying to frame her is doing a really good job."

"Stella?"

The mass of brown curls moved a bit but then settled again.

Mac smiled and gently touched her shoulder. "Stella."

"Mmph, Mac, I'm not ready to get up yet," she mumbled.

With a bigger smile, he sat on the edge of her cot. She was still running a slight fever, he noticed and slowly his smile turned to concern once again. Stella should be home, in bed resting not locked up like some common criminal.

"Stella, I need to talk to you."

Slowly she turned over to face him then, remembering where she was, groaned and struggled to sit up. "Based on your voice and expression I'm guessing this isn't going to be good news." She shifted so as to be able to lean back against the wall, Mac moved to do the same.

"Stel, what medications have you been taking for this flu or anything else?"

"Um, just your basic Tylenol and cough medicine. Nothing else. Why? What's going on, Mac?"

With their shoulders touching, he leaned a bit more against her. "No, it's not good. Besides the witness at the scene, Peyton has ID'd you as the shooter as well and, well, they matched your DNA with the blood found at the scene."

She closed her eyes, willing the whole nightmare to go away. "Just my luck I would have cut my hand with a knife earlier, huh? So I guess we can't always trust the evidence after all." She opened her eyes again and looked at him with tears. "Mac, I don't know what else I can say or do. I didn't do it but… How is Peyton?"

"She's going to be just fine. Quite frankly I'm more worried about you right now." He slid an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "I don't know how, but I'm going to prove you didn't do it."

Suddenly she sat up straight. "What about gun residue? They processed me and if I had shot the gun, I would have the residue on my hand!"

"They did run it and you did have residue. You did target practice earlier that day, remember?"

She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. "Right."

"Are you feeling any better? Sheldon said your fever is at least holding steady."

"He brings me Tylenol every four hours on the dot. Don't worry about me, Mac. Just please find out what's going on."

"I will," he told her. "I promise." Feeling her drift away into sleep, he kissed her along the hairline then gently laid her down on the cot. "If it's the last thing I do, I will clear you, Stella."

Tbc…..