Disclaimer - I do not own CSI New York or any of the characters.

I just want to thank you all for the nice reviews on the story! I'm not sure how long this story will go on for but I have a few idea's for it!

Don't forget, if you read it - review it! Becky xo

Chapter Four

For a few seconds, they just stood there, staring at each other. Mac was standing behind Madeline looking directly at Stella, but he couldn't catch her eye. Lindsay was the first to come out into the lobby, she then gestured to Danny who got everyone to come out into the lobby.

Seconds turned into minutes, and they felt like the longest minutes of Stella's life. She knew everyone was watching, but she was frozen. Madeline's eyes started to tear up. Stella took the first step and walked towards her daughter. She felt like she could breathe again.

Stella pulled her daughter into her chest and held her tight. Madeline wrapped her arms round her mother's back. They both stood there, holding each other and sobbing. Stella felt a rush of maternal love, something she hadn't felt in a long time. She was overcome with the urge to protect her daughter. She hugged her tighter; she didn't want to let her go.

Madeline was the first to drop her arms; she pulled away from Stella and wiped her eyes.

"Okay" said Stella, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Let me see you, properly."

Madeline took a step backwards. She felt incredibly uncomfortable with everyone staring at her.

"You're beautiful." Stella whispered, smiling, the tears welling up again.

Madeline laughed and hugged her mother.

"Thanks." She said shyly.

Stella looked carefully at her daughter. They had the same eyes and hair. She also had Stella's cheekbones. Madeline was wearing a pink floral top tucked into short high-waist denim shorts, with grey ankle boots. Her hair was down, hanging just below her rib cage and dark and curly. She had feather earrings and a small gold stud in her nose.

Madeline pulled at the ends of her hair. She looked over her mother, her biological mother. Not the mother who had raised, the one who had been there to teach her how to walk, who had spent hours making costumes for the school plays, who held her when her boyfriend cheated on her. Stella was never there. Madeline had always known that her mother had given her up when she was a baby. It didn't bother her until the past few months. She just wanted to know why. Why had Stella kept so much distance?

Stella glanced around at her colleagues; they all looked as surprised as each other. Once she had gotten over the initial shock of seeing Madeline standing there, Stella's brain quickly switched from 'mother' to 'detective'. Madeline wasn't supposed to be here for another hour. Either there was a huge miscommunication along the line, or someone wasn't telling the truth.

"Madeline, why are you here?" Stella asked, breaking the silence.

"Why, don't you want me here?" Madeline replied, starting to get defensive. Seeing Stella had made her strangely angry and abandoned. It felt like she was going to explode with emotion.

"No, no of course not! I'm so happy to see you! It's just that you weren't supposed to be here for another hour?"

"So I may have got my timings a little bit wrong, it's no big deal." She shrugged.

"Yes, actually, it is a big deal! It's not safe for you to be going round on your own, in a city you don't know!" Stella felt her voice begin to rise; she concentrated hard to control it.

"Oh, so now you're going to be a mother." Madeline shouted, dropping her arms down by her sides.

Everyone saw the look on Stella's face. It was a very familiar look, usually seen when she was interrogating suspects. Quickly, they all scuttled back to their various offices and lab's, everyone expect for Mac who jumped in before it got ugly.

"Madeline..." he started, taking a step forward, but Stella interrupted him.

"No, Mac don't. It's okay. She's right." Stella sighed, holding her hand against her furrowed brow.

"I came early because I didn't think you would show up. I thought you'd try and keep me a secret. I wanted to surprise you, to see if you really actually wanted me here." Madeline yelled; the tears were now streaming down her face.

"Madeline, I did what I thought was best. We all agreed that I would stay away, for your sake. I wanted you to grow up in a stable home, with parent's who could be there for you every step of the way. It wasn't because I didn't want you!" Stella yelled back.

"Okay, both of you, into my office. You can scream and shout all you want in there, but not out here." Mac raised his voice, gesturing for Madeline to walk forwards.

He put his hand on Stella's lower back and started walking her towards his office.

"I'm so sorry Mac." She muttered in his ear.