Chapter Two

Stella clicked the phone shut, just as Lindsay walked into the bathroom.

"Stell? Flack said you were acting strange, is everything okay?" Lindsay asked. Stella could hear the tone of concern in her friend's voice.

"Fine, everything's fine." She replied with what she hoped was a convincing smile. "I'll see you later, okay." And with that she walked out of the room.

Later that day, a text came through on Stella's phone.

"She said her plane gets in at half 1 on Friday, so if you can, meet her at the airport at 2. She said thank you, but don't worry about the money."

It was Thursday today, so she didn't have long to get ready. It was too late notice to take a week off work, but she could talk to Mac and see what time she could get off. Her stomach filled with butterflies. There wasn't space for an 18 year old in her apartment. She walked into her office and sat down at her desk, resting her head in her hands.

An over-whelming feeling of guilt hit her. The last time Stella had actually seen her daughter was when she was 4 years old. Their relationship wasn't great. Every year Stella would send birthday and Christmas cards and presents. She'd send emails and letters in the months between but they were very rarely answered.

While Stella was still the girl's mother, it was the baby's father's parents that had raised her. Stella was 18 and on an exchange programme in England, living in a hostel there for 3 months. She met Cameron in a local store in the first few days. It was a whirlwind romance. They went on a few dates, and then they'd spent the night together. Halfway through her trip, she realised her period was late and a pregnancy test confirmed her worst fears. After talking to Cameron and his parents, they all decided that the best thing to do would be to let Cameron's parent's be the child's guardians.

When Stella had the baby, a little girl, she was handed over to her new guardians almost straight away. As soon as Stella was free to leave, she flew back to New York and so it had stayed that way. Stella still spoke to Cameron when necessary, but it was rare and they only ever spoke about their daughter. Stella did her best to keep her distance. It was extremely difficult but she knew it was for the best.

Stella's thoughts were interrupted when Mac Taylor walked into her office.

"Stella, what are you doing?" Mac questioned, looking down at Stella, who was now lying with her head on the desk.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, startled.

"Sleeping on the job?" He said with a smile.

"Oh no, of course not. Listen, Mac, I need a favour." She said, rising from her desk.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I have a, uh, unexpected visitor coming tomorrow, is there any chance I can get the rest of the day off to get everything ready?"

"Yeah, no problem, do you need to take tomorrow off too?"

"Not the whole day, I need to be at the airport at 2. It won't take long; I'll leave at 1:15."

"Stella, after everything you do for us you can take the whole week off if you need too."

"No. No way. I need to be working."

"Well, if you're sure." Mac answered, turning his back on Stella and leaving the room.

Stella resumed her position and laid her head back onto the desk.