Thank you all for the lovely reviews, I'm pleased you are enjoying this. I'm on holiday at the moment with not much internet access, but it does give me lots of opportunity to write!

I don't own CSI NY, otherwise there would be Smacked babies by now, and please review, they really help me and I'll reply to them all.

Stella appeared in the doorway slightly flustered to see Mac, frowning to himself as he looked deep in thought whilst sitting in the chair. As if the same thought had struck them both they smiled at one another and put whatever they were thinking out their heads.

"I got the antiseptic." Stella said.

"I stayed still."

"Well we both achieved something then." Stella smirked at him and poured them some tea, "I know your a coffee man but you shouldn't drink it at this time of night," Stella said sternly.

"Jeez Stel, you're acting like my Mom." Mac muttered, annoyed he clearly wasn't allowed his beloved coffee.

"I'm just looking after you, someone has to."

"Thanks." Mac said and she looked at him to see a genuine smile playing on his lips.

"Right," She said as she handed him some tea, "sit on the sofa so I can clean you up."

"You are so bossy." Mac said, but did as he was told with no resistance.

"No I'm not, you just need to be told what to do." She knelt in the space on the sofa next to Mac with the first aid kit next to her. As Stella started dabbing at the large cut with an antiseptic soaked cloth she said, "God Mac, he must have hit you pretty hard, this cut is nasty." Mac just shrugged, Yes, he had been hit extremely hard by a man twice his size and was indeed in pain, but he wasn't going to say that to Stella! As some of the antiseptic went into the deepest part of the cut Mac jerked out of the way, "Ow!" He said "how much do you want to put on?"

"Enough so you don't get an infection and then die, or even worse, have to stay off work." Stella relied dryly, "Now sit back down." As he screwed his face up she said gently, "Sorry, I'm nearly done, I'm sure this really hurts." He smiled, grateful for the sympathy he didn't want to admit he needed. "Done. I can't really bandage up your head though," She said with a laugh, "but I do want to bandage up your hand, that cut looks nasty too and I can't believe how much you've grazed it."

As she continued to patch up Mac he said, "Thanks Stel, I really appreciate you looking after me. It's nice to know I won't get an infection and like you said, I can't miss work, so dying is definitely not an option." They laughed lightly then Stella said seriously, "Seriously Mac, you should take a break, you look exhausted, not just now, you've been looking tired for a while now."

Mac sighed, "I don't think that would help Stel." Coincidently he yawned as he spoke and Stella noticed the dark bags under his tired eyes, "I haven't been sleeping all that well recently."

"Why didn't you say?" Stella asked as she sat down next to him.

"It's not really a big deal." He said trying to shrug it off.

"Yes it is Mac, I worry about you." She reached for his hand and held it tightly as she looked into his eyes. There was a moments silence which Stella broke by saying quickly, "I'm going to bandage this." She sighed, "what's brought it on Mac?"

"I don't know." He said genuinely. Stella took his injured hand in her left and gently dabbed at the large graze with the cloth.

"You know what I do when I can't sleep, apart from call you," she said with a laugh, "I go to the window and sit on the ledge."

She took a bandage out of the box and started to wrap it around Mac's hand, not taking her eyes off what she was doing, "I look at all the stars and see what shapes they make up. Sometimes they make shapes of things that remind me of other stuff or sometimes they don't make anything, so you have to try and see what they are trying to say. Like last time I did this it was a clear night and all the stars were really bright. The ones that were brightest made up a heart shape, and when I looked at them it made me feel better because when you see a heart you think of."

Stella finished bandaging Mac's hand and as she tied it off, she looked up at him and they both said in coincidental unison, "love."

They looked at each other straight in the eyes, Stella still had Mac's bandaged hand in her own. They moved a little closer to each other, not moving their gaze.

"Your hand's done." Stella said quietly.

"Thanks."

"Does it still hurt?"

"A little."

Stella hadn't released Mac's hand, not that Mac had protested, and brought it up to her lips and gently kissed it.

"Better?" She said with a shy smile.

"Much." Mac replied smiling back at her.

"I better put this stuff away," Stella said and with slight reluctance, she let go of Mac's hand and stood up and cleared the various first aid items up.

"You never finished your story." Mac said to her.

"It's stupid really." Stella said, busying herself with tidying up.

"No its not, I want to hear the rest of it."

"It just made me feel better because the heart reminded me of everything that was positive in my life", she glanced at Mac then quickly turned away, annoyed to find she was blushing slightly, "and other shapes like that that remind me of happy things make me feel better so when I try to sleep again, I feel better. See, it doesn't even make sense."
"It makes perfect sense Stel." Mac said with a warm smile. She turned back to him and said, "I need to put this back at reception."

"Will you let me make you tea this time?"

Stella laughed, "I suppose, but none of this weak tea crap Taylor, I know what your like with tea!"

Mac laughed too, "Don't push it Bonasera or I might make it with that herbal stuff I know you like so much." Stella stuck her tongue out as she left, leaving Mac with a smile on his face and an unnerving feeling that despite his pounding head and stinging hand, he actually felt very, very good.