Disclaimer - I do not own CSI New York or any of it's characters.

Chapter Nine

"Well this is...uh...different." Stella said when she got to the crime scene; she lifted her takeaway coffee cup to her mouth and threw back the last mouthful.

"Yeah, it's quite the wake-up call." Lindsay laughed "Sorry about this morning, I was desperate. So, how's Baby Bonasera?"

"Hmmm, that's clever. She's at home, asleep, recovering from an emotional break-down last night. Oh, to be 18 again." Stella sighed, crouching down on the ground.

"That bad, huh?" Lindsay asked, frowning slightly.

"It's just a lot to deal with. I've never seen any cry so much Linds! Everything seems fine and then suddenly it's like the world is falling around her ears and I don't know why."

Together they processed the crime scene. Stella tried to concentrate on what she was doing but her mind kept wandering back to Madeline. She was worried that Madeline would wake up and feel abandoned again. Just as she was finishing up, her phone rang.

"Bonasera" she answered.

"Where are you?" a panicked voice said on the other end of the line.

"Madeline?" Stella questioned.

"Stella, where are you?"

"Madeline, calm down. I had to go to work, I'm coming right back. I'll bring some breakfast up, okay?" Stella said, reassuring her daughter.

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too kiddo." And Stella hung up the phone.

Stella walked over to where Lindsay was standing.

"That girl will push me over the edge. If you're done with me here, I have to head off. I have a small scale nightmare tearing through my apartment."

Stella said goodbye to Lindsay and got her stuff together. On her way home she stopped by a local bakery to pick up some fresh bread, pastries and coffee. She felt an intense amount of pressure to hurry home. Stella paused for a brief moment and took a deep breath. Madeline was due to fly back to England on Friday and it was only Monday. This was going to be a long week.

Before Stella had even walked into the apartment, she could hear Madeline pacing around inside. She took another deep breath and unlocked the door. Madeline was standing in the hallway. She's gotten dressed and she was biting her nails.

"Hey, what's up honey?" Stella asked as she shut the door behind her.

"Nothing" Madeline shrugged her shoulders. "I just got worried when I woke and you'd gone. I was having a nightmare."

"Oh, we'll you're awake now." Stella smiled. She put the coffee and breakfast foods on the table and gave Madeline a hug. "Hey, can you get the plates down from the top cabinet?" Stella asked.

Stella watched as Madeline got up onto her tiptoes to reach the plates. As she stretched upwards her t-shirt lifted up, revealing her hip bones and part of her stomach. Just above the waistband of her shorts Stella noticed a strange dark shadow on each of Madeline's hips. They were bruises. Madeline put the plates down on the table and looked up to see Stella was staring at her, she was frowning slightly.

"What?" Madeline asked.

It took Stella by surprised, she'd been caught.

"Oh nothing" Stella smiled. "Madeline, do you think you could, uh, pass me a larger plate so I can lay these out?"

Madeline rolled her eyes, but walked over to the cabinet anyway. Stella watched Madeline again, this time more closely. The bruises showed again. Stella studied them. Each bruise was roughly the same size, they didn't look like handprints but they were far too symmetrical to be there by accident. Stella was left with a dilemma. She had to decide whether she would question Madeline about the bruises, or just leave her be.

For once, Stella was unsure how to go about questioning. She knew that anything she said could make Madeline flip out and then she would just shut down completely. After weighing up the pros and cons, Stella decided that she would talk to Madeline after breakfast.

Together they sat and ate breakfast quietly, only occasionally talking. Stella sipped on her coffee and tried to build up the courage to mention the bruises. She thought up a new tactic.

"Last week I worked on a case where a girl was found dead in the park, and she was completely covered in bruises and her ribs were broken. That's what killed her, a rib pierced her heart. Her boyfriend did it to her." Stella said, trying to keep her voice as casual as possible, as if she was just making conversation. She kept her eyes locked on Madeline's face, watching for her reaction.

Madeline didn't look up once, she nodded her head in the right places but she stared down at her plate. Her chewing slowed down and she shifted in her seat. Obviously this was making her uncomfortable.

"That's horrible." Madeline eventually whispered.

Stella thought she saw tears well up in Madeline's eyes, but when she blinked, they were gone. This suddenly felt like an interrogation.

"Yeah, yeah it is." Stella said. She raised an eyebrow and continued to study Madeline's behaviour.

She took another sip of coffee. "So, how'd you get the bruises?"

Madeline shifted again; Stella could almost hear Madeline's thought's turning through her head. Madeline sat up straight. The room filled with tension. Madeline pushed back her chair and stood up.

"Bruises? Which ones do you need an explanation for?" Madeline said. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"This one" she started as she took her arm out of her sleeve. "I got a month ago. I fell off a curb and landed on a rock. I keep knocking it so it won't heal properly." She pointed to a small, yellowing bruise above her elbow.

Madeline turned round and pulled up her top. Stella could see a light bruise on her ribs. "This bruise came from when I got hit with a hockey stick."

She turned back around. Stella could see a mix of anger and upset in Madeline's face. Stella began to think that she'd gone the wrong way about asking.

"And these," Madeline pulled up her shirt. "These came after I walked into the kitchen counter. Are you happy now?" Madeline shouted.

Madeline took several deep breaths, she looked like she wanted to storm out of the room, but she didn't.

"Honey I was just worried. I've seen bruises like that before and they're usually on victims! The hockey stick bruise I get, and the one from where you fell makes sense. But the one's on your hips? Madeline, they're practically identical. What happened? And this time, the truth." Stella was now shouting back.

"It was an accident Stella!" Madeline yelled.

This time she did leave. She grabbed her phone off of the table and locked herself in the bathroom. Stella took a deep breath and leant back in her chair.

"And another one bites the dust..." Stella said out loud.