Meeting Mac

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: NY or any characters related to the show. Please don't sue.

A/N: In my story Peyton never existed. I don't like her anyway. I'm usually a huge fan for Mac and Stella but this one came to me and I just had to do it.

There was a knock on Mac's door. As he was walking to the door he was wondering who would be at his house. Anyone on his team would call him. He slowlt opened the door to see a woman turning to leave.

"May I help you miss?" Mac asked.

Janice froze in her tracks and slowly turned around. She said, "Hello…"

Mac just stared, he was sure he was seeing things. The woman standing in front of him looked a lot like Claire. Nut he knew Claire was dead, so who was this woman. He asked, "Who are you?"

Janice replied, "The name I was given at the hospital was Janice Dawson. I was rescued from The World Trade Center before they fell. I've forgotten most of my past but thanks to some wonderful therapy I've been remembering… I don't know how exactly to say this… but I think I'm your wife Claire."

Mac looking completely lost said, "Why don't you come in and we'll talk." He stepped aside as Janice slowly entered. Everything looked very familiar to her, she was sure if she was asked to find things she could. Mac lead her into the living room and said, "Make yourself comfortable, would you like anything to drink?"

Janice replied, "Water, thank you."

Mac went to the kitchen while Janice sat on the couch. Mac came back with two glasses of water and sat on a chair adjacent to the couch. He admitted to himself that the resemblance Janice had to Claire was uncanny. But he needed proof. He is a scientist after all.

Mac asked the question that was burning in his mind. "How could you be my wife? I searched every hospital for months, and I'd go back to the hospitals every couple of months after that, for three years. I would have found her had she been alive."

Janice was barely fazed by his comments; she had expected him to be hesitant. She replied, "I was in a coma for three months at Bellevue Hospital. When I woke the hospital staff told me what they knew; I started asking about family or friends. They said that no one had come looking for me. I can only assume that when you came with my picture it never made it to the doctors and nurses that treated me. They got me a new name, a job and even an apartment. They also set up appointments with a therapist mainly so I could just talk. The doctors were pretty sure that I'd start to remember some things eventually and they wanted me to have someone to talk to. They were right I did remember things. Having a baby as a teen, being married and other little things. I couldn't remember names or places. Many months ago I saw a picture of you in a newspaper. You looked familiar and the name was familiar. It took me awhile to do any kind of research about you but when I did, it talked about your wife and her death in the towers. I then started looking for a picture of her. I was thinking that maybe I knew you through your wife. When I found a picture it was like looking in a mirror that takes five years off your age. It took me even longer to get up the courage to come see you."

When Janice had finished Mac was struck with just how like Claire she was. Her voice, the way she talked, all a lot like Claire. But he didn't want to get his hopes up too high. Mac was starting to feel bad about what he was going to say next. "I mean no offense to you, but I need proof of who you are or could be…" Janice started to panic, he doesn't believe me, he's moved on, and he doesn't love his wife anymore.

Mac saw her panic and quickly said, "It's not that I think your lying. It's just that I want to be 100 sure you're Claire. I've tried moving on but I can't I miss her too much. You can ask my partner Stella."

Janice jumped at the mention of Stella's name, she recognized it.

Mac noticed her movement and asked, "What's wrong?"

Janice answered, "That name, Stella, its familiar. And I understand your wanting to be sure of who I might be. I have no desire to mislead you. I'll have whatever tests done that are needed."

Mac smiled, "Stella and Claire were pretty close. Stella's been a huge help these last many years. Constantly trying to get me to loosen up and move on, but never forget. I still have some of Claire's things that will have her DNA on it. I'll take a sample from one of those and a sample from you. We'll have the results in approximately two weeks. I'd like to get to know you more, and I'm sure you'd like to do the same. How about we meet for lunch tomorrow, if you want I can bring Stella too."

Janice replied, "Lunch would be great. But I'd prefer not to see Stella until we know for sure if I'm Claire or not."

"Yeah that would probably be a good idea. Stella can be a bit protective of me, and my emotions." Mac agreed.

Janice and Mac talked for a few hours before Janice left for the day. They agreed to meet at Southside Café for lunch at one in the afternoon the next day.

Janice was nervous about lunch with Mac. She didn't know what to wear. She had no idea what to talk about. She had about three hours before she had to be at the restaurant. She eventually settled on a modest pant suit, 'No need to look desperate' she thought.

Across town Mac wasn't really nervous, but he was curious who Janice really was. He'd sent the samples of DNA to have them compared. He wasn't sure if he wanted them to match or not. He'd spent almost seven years mourning Claire, now she could be back.

Lunch came and went too fast. Janice and Mac had enjoyed themselves so much that they'd wished it had lasted longer. They'd talked about themselves, their lives, their friends, and even joked around some. After lunch they hugged and went their separate ways. They made arrangements to meet a few more times that week.

A/N 2: I don't know too much about New York City as I've only been there once. But I did do research to find names of places. So I hope everything's ok. Review please…