Chapter 12: Stay with You
"These streets
Turn me inside out
Everything shines
But leaves me empty still
And I'll burn this lonely house down
If you run with me
If you run with me"
"Was I right?" Flack asks, sitting across from her as they eat a quick lunch.
"About what?"
"How was it last night?"
She looks at him, confused. "Why do you want to know, Don? The only thing we fought about was when to move the wedding to."
"That's not what I meant, and you know it, Bonasera. When is the wedding now? 2010?"
"No, I wanted it the weekend before Valentine's Day. He wanted it to move back two weeks so we wouldn't have to deal with New Years. I won."
"So?"
"What're you talking about?"
"The sex."
"I have to disagree with you; it was second best."
"What was best then?" Don smiles.
"First time with him. How would you know this anyway? All your girlfriends dump you and never come back."
"Read it in a magazine. Don't laugh."
Stella laughs anyway.
"I'll stay with you
The walls will fall before we do
Take my hand now
We'll run forever
I can feel the storm inside you
I'll stay with you"
"How'd court go?"
"Awful, but somehow they found him guilty. I think they did it just to get it over with; the DA had everyone so confused."
"Been feeling okay?"
"Fine. Why?" Stella asks.
"No reason."
"What about you?"
"Same as usual," he shrugs.
"Well, we have all weekend to do nothing. Where shall we start?"
"Catching up on sleep."
"Good idea. But first I have to grab a snack."
Mac digs in his wallet and hands her three dollars. "Here, get whatever you want in the vending machine on our way out."
"Only three dollars?" Stella complains.
"Yes, you can buy at least three items," he leads her to the machines. She gets two bags of chips and a candy bar. He takes the bag of chips she offers, "How can you eat this junk and be so skinny?"
"No idea. It's not like you're out of shape."
"But I still have to exercise if I eat a lot of junk food."
"You think I don't?"
He nods, "I've known you forever and see how you eat everyday. You probably haven't gained five pounds since you graduated high school."
"Some things don't change."
"Fooled by my own desires
I twist my fate
Just to feel you
But you turn me toward the light
And you're one with me
Will you run with me?"
Mac and Stella sleep for a couple hours. She wakes first, and while trying to get up, manages to wake him. "Sorry."
"Time to get up anyway."
"Just so we can sleep again later."
"I'm ready to talk about it."
"About what?"
"What I said. What do you want to know?"
"Why did – or do – you want me to stop taking it?"
"I want kids, Stella. And you might not think so, but I'm getting old. Time's running out for me."
"I'm sorry, Mac. But I didn't – and don't – want to be pregnant, or far enough along that I'm showing, at out wedding."
"I get that now; you want a perfect wedding."
"I never thought I'd find the right man who was in love with me. Then the man I've dreamt about for a decade asked me to be his wife. I just want something in my life to go right," Stella explains. "What exactly did you do with my pills?"
"I hid – wait! You went all this time without protection?" he asks, worried.
She doesn't answer right away. "I haven't been with any other men this time."
"Stella."
"Yes, and it came back to get me."
"I'll stay with you
The walls will fall before we do
Take my hand now
We'll run forever
I can feel the storm inside you
I'll stay with you"
"What exactly do you mean?"
"You got your wish: I'm pregnant."
"How far?"
"Beginning of the month, I assume."
"I'm sorry, Stella. I forgot I never gave them back to you. I feel really bad," Mac apologizes, holding her hands in his.
"It'll only be three months at the wedding. I shouldn't be showing that much. It'll be fine."
"You could always have an abortion."
Her arms immediately cover her stomach, and she shakes her head, "No."
"Okay. We could fly to Vegas."
"No."
"I have to be honest with you like you were with me after I woke up from the coma, Stella. I saw the pregnancy test boxes in the trash this morning and suspected something."
"Oh."
"Is this what made you so mad? Me wanting you to stop taking your birth control?"
"Partly, because you wouldn't listen to what I had to say. But more what you said when I refused."
"I really, really did not mean that. I just wanted to hurt you because you hurt me. And you're the most beautiful woman I know. We'll have beautiful children, assuming they get your genes and not mine. Can you ever forgive me?"
"I already have. What took you two months to be able to talk to me about this?"
"Claire was trying to get pregnant when the towers fell. It reminded me of her. I still miss her."
"Now come in from this storm
I taste you sweet and warm
Take what you need
Take what you need
From me"
"We have an announcement to make," Mac says New Years Eve. They were all gathered at Hawkes' apartment, bored out of their minds with an hour left to go.
"What is it?" Danny asks excitedly.
He takes Stella's hand, "I'm going to be a father."
"You're pregnant?" Danny bursts out.
"Yes, Danny," Stella smiles.
"How far along?" Hawkes asks.
"Two months."
"When will you find out the gender?" Lindsay questions.
"After we get back from the honeymoon."
"Don't ask me to baby-sit until he's potty trained," Flack warns. They all laugh.
"Who said it'll be a boy?" Stella smirks.
"What do you two want?"
"Girl," Stella says.
At the same time, Mac says, "Boy."
They look at each other. Mac breaks down first, "A girl would be fine though. But you'd better give me at least one boy."
"If I remember what my bio teacher said all those years ago, the male is the one who decides the sex of the baby by giving an X or a Y. Females can only give X's. You should know this, Mac."
"So what's the lab do about this?"
"She'll work desk and interrogation for the rest of her term."
"And now I regret letting you doing this to me."
"Why does everyone blame the man?"
"Wake up this world
Wake up tonight
And run with me
Run to me now"
"Nervous?" Hawkes asks.
Stella looks at herself in the mirror again, making sure she looked perfect. "A little."
"Don't be. You both need each other."
"I've dreamt of this day since we met. I always thought we belonged with each other, and now I'm scared to marry him."
"What will go wrong, Stella?" he stands beside her.
"I don't know. Ever since that first night together, I've felt that even though we're together, and as much s we want it, we won't get happily ever after. I have this feeling something will go wrong after the wedding, whether something happens to one of us or we can't have kids because I get injured or whatever."
"Stella, he'll never leave you unless his life is taken. But it won't because you've got his back. You'll get through the pregnancy and have as many kids as you want," Sheldon assures.
"I'll stay with him forever, no matter what happens," Stella kisses his cheek before heading to the doors on her way down the aisle.
"I'll stay with you
The walls will fall before we do
Take my hand now
We'll run forever
I can feel the storm inside you
I'll stay with you"
A/N: GooGoo Dolls. Everything's perfect again... Air planes are dangerous (hint, hint). And may I remind you again of CHARACTER DEATHS. So I'll post the last chapter like Friday. I'm really hungry 'cause I only had half a bowl of soup for dinner. My mom made tacos, which I don't eat, at least hers, because she made them once every week like two years ago and I got sick of them. Oh, and I have to write another English paper; this one's a personal narrative, and I finally came up with a good experience: last year at a dance competition, my jazz dance was a disaster, but we thought it was funny how bad we did. And we ended up getting a gold with flying shoes and everything. It's a funny story. I need to go study the explorer people like Columbus and Cortes and a whole bunch of other people I don't care to know about for Western Civ. Stupid tests. And I have a trig quiz.