A/N: sorry for letting you wait again xD

Chapter 5: Time to Stay

It has been ten hours since Stella had arrived at the hospital. The whole CSI team sat in the waiting room, hoping her best friend and boss would survive.

Lindsay was playing with Lucy, her already 5 year old daughter. She had red eyes from crying and could only speak with a raspy voice. Danny sat near them and laughed each time Lucy beat up her mom.

Sheldon and Sid were studying some files from a case they worked on and tried not to think about who was lying in surgery still.

Adam slept in a chair near the Messer's and snorted a little bit. He cared the most about Mac, because he had been his mentor for years and had helped whenever he could.

Stella sat down on the ground near the door. It was all her fault. If she hadn't decided to come to New York, it wouldn't have come to this. Mac had married Jessica and all would have been fine.

She sighed. Everything was completely crazy. What if Mac was dying? Who would bury him? His mother? Alone?

But she didn't want to think about it right now. The best that she could do was thinking that all would be going good. Everything will be fine, she said to herself.

Then she remembered what Mac told her the first time he cared about her after a hard case:

"That's what partners do. We take care of each other. And nobody can take that away. Remember that always, Stella."

And now she had to take care for Mac. She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Her thoughts drifted away. Before she could realize what was happening, she fell into a deep sleep.

Later she woke up, right when a doctor in her mid-thirties walked over to them. She had a patient record in her hands.

"Family of…" she looked on the record. "Detective Mac Taylor?"

Everybody looked to Stella now. She watched every ones eyes before standing up and giving the doctor a sign.

"Hello. And you are the wife?"

Stella smiled a bit. "No, best friend."

"Well then… I'm Doctor Isabel Johnston. Would you come with me, please? The others can visit him later."

As Doctor Johnston walked through the door and entered a big hall, she looked at Stella carefully.

"Before you visit him, I have to say: He's not awake. So… if you wanna talk, you have to come again later. And… If he wakes up, call me or a nurse."

Stella nodded and sighed. She hated being in the hospital. It was so clean, sterile… and white. So pure white, it hurt when you looked at it longer than one or two seconds.

She followed the lively Doctor and when the reached the room with the number "8433". Stella smiled as she noticed that it was Mac's badge number.

The doctor opened the door quietly and led her through. Then she closed it behind her, Stella was alone.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

The noise burned in her mind. As Stella stepped next to the bed, she looked down on Mac's now peaceful face. As he had been never shot.

She sat down in a plastic chair and took Mac's hand in hers. It was cold, very cold. As cold as the walls and the room itself.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when he started to cough.

"Hey Mac…" she whispered.

He slowly opened his eyes.

"Hey…"

"Are you alright?"

"If you don't mention… that I was shot… yes…" he croaked.

She smiled.

"Hey, don't tease me."

He grinned a bit, but was too weak to say more. He closed his eyes again and breathed slowly. From outside you could here a loud noise. Then the whole team stormed in with the doctor behind. As they saw Mac being awake, they were suddenly very quiet.

The doctor came over.

"Hello. Do you know who you are?"

Mac raised his eyebrows and thought for a moment.

"I think… McKenna Boyd Taylor II, named Mac."

Behind them there was a laugh, as they heard Mac's full name. Nobody had known about it.

"And do you know where you are?"

"In hospital, I think."

"And you know why?"

"I've been shot in the chest, twice. On in the right lung, the other right near my heart. Maybe one centimetre away."

They all stared at him, but he didn't give any explanations.

"Good. I'll come later to look after you again. And call if you need something."

Mac nodded. As she was away, he made a face. As he looked up again, there was Lucy trying to hug him.

She came over, climbed on the bed and threw her little arms around his neck.

"Uncle Mac?" she said with her tiny voice. "Are you okay? Mum had been crying the whole night. What happened?"

But Mac was asleep already, too tired of being awake, seeing the faces of his friends being so worried.

He knew that they were okay, that Jessica didn't try to hurt them as well. As he slept, he had a dream about his wife. Not about Claire, even if he loved her more than ever. No, he dreamed about Stella.

Stella.

A/N: *sings* Review! Review! Review!