A/N: Hey guys! So I'm thinking about wrapping the story up, I'm not sure if anyone is still enjoying/reading it. Anyway, thank you for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI New York or any of its characters.

Chapter Eighteen

5 months went by before Stella found them a new place to live. The apartment was a lot bigger, the rent was insanely high but there was enough room for 3 people and it was a lot closer to work. It had 2 bedrooms; one for Stella and one for Madeline and the baby. It was perfect and it felt like home.

Stella was back at work full time, clocking in as much overtime as she could before the baby arrived. She also started stocking on baby things. Things like diapers, bottles and baby-grows were starting to fill up the cupboards. All paperwork had been completed and Madeline was now officially living with Stella. Everyone at work knew about the baby, and they all, Danny especially, took great delight in calling her 'Grandma'. In truth, she secretly liked it.

Madeline, who was nearly 7 months pregnant, was happily waddling around New York City. Her stomach was now huge and she felt like she was going to explode, even though she still had 2 months to go. Everything was uncomfortable but it was exciting. She had found herself a part-time job at store close to the apartment and to Stella's work. Although it made Stella extremely anxious having Madeline out of her sight for so long, she was so proud of her daughter.

Together Madeline and Stella went to all the doctor's appointments. It wasn't something Stella ever expected she would have to do but she loved every minute of it.

It was a cloudy Wednesday morning when Stella got the call that changed everything. She was sat at her desk finishing off some paper work when Mac stormed in, full speed, and threw her coat onto the desk.

"C'mon, we gotta go - now." He ordered.

He looked serious so Stella didn't question it. She picked up her coat, and slipped her arms into the sleeves. By the time she was ready to go, Mac was already half way to the elevators. She ran quickly, the heels of her boots clicking against the floor as she tried to catch up with him.

"Mac, what's going on?" Stella asked. He was starting to worry her.

"There's been an attack. Two girls were involved, both with knife injuries. One was critically injured, one needed stitches. They're both going to be fine." Mac stared straight ahead, not looking Stella in the eye.

"Okay?" She couldn't work out what he wasn't telling her.

The elevator opened out into the parking garage. They climbed into Mac's car and drove off out into the road. Mac had switched on the siren and they sped through the streets of New York.

"You gunna tell me what's going on?" Stella asked, still trying to find out what was happening. "Are we heading to the crime scene?"

"I am." Mac said as he pulled the car to a stop.

Stella looked out the window. It was the hospital. Her heart started beating, but she didn't want to get ahead of herself.

"So where am I going?" She practically whispered.

"To see Madeline, she's waiting inside in the ER. She's going to be okay Stella." Mac held onto her hand.

Before Mac had chance to further reassure her, Stella had already bolted out of the car, leaving the door open. She ran through the hospital, her heart beating so hard she could practically hear it. Stella charged up to the nurse's station and slammed her hands on the desk.

"Where's Madeline Lane, I need to see her now."

The receptionist sitting at the desk looked up at Stella and back down to her paperwork. The woman flicked through a few pieces of paper in front of her.

"If you just take a seat over there..." She sighed, gesturing towards the waiting area.

Stella dropped her NYPD badge on the desk and pushed it forward. The nurses eyes widened in shock at the sight of the shiny gold badge in front of her.

"I said now." Stella demanded. She picked up her badge and attached it back onto her belt.

"She's in room C, just down the hallway." The now blushing woman muttered; pointing towards a set of double doors behind her.

Stella ran towards the doors and pushed them open. No matter how fast she ran, it wouldn't be fast enough. Thankfully room C was one of the first rooms. She could see Madeline through the little glass window. She was all alone, lying down on a bed; tears were rolling down her face. Stella pushed open the door and ran over to the bed.

"Madeline, honey, are you okay? What happened?"

"Mum!" Madeline cried. She sat up and let Stella wrap her arms around her.

Stella didn't say anything for a few minutes. She just let Madeline cry into her. There was a cut about 3 inches long on her right for arm. It was all stitched up but it was bright red and looked sore. Stella sat Madeline back down on the bed and draped her arm over her shoulders.

"Tell me what happened?" Stella asked, holding on to Madeline tightly.

"They came out of nowhere, 2 men. Alyssa and I were un-packing some boxes at the back of the shop and they grabbed hold of her and said that we had to give them everything in the boxes." Madeline paused to catch her breath. Tears were streaming down her face. "We did, but there wasn't really anything in them and they got angry, like it was our fault. Then one of them pulled a knife out of his pocket. I ran to Alyssa and went to put my arm around her, but as I did the guy stabbed her. The edge only sliced across my arm but it went straight into Alyssa. And he stabbed her again. Then they ran away. I tried to hold her up, but I couldn't, she went pale."

Madeline was crying hard, she took several deep breaths to try and catch up with the effort of speaking. Stella rocked Madeline back and forth to try and calm her down. Stella was still holding on to her when she suddenly went limp and started shaking. Stella laid her back down on the bed and ran to the door.

"I need a doctor in here now!" Stella screamed into the hallway.

Within seconds Madeline's room was filled with doctors and nurses and Stella was back by her side. Madeline was convulsing again and had started vomiting. Doctors were quickly trying to insert various needles and drips into her arm. Everyone was talking fast, shouting instructions at each other, as if Stella wasn't even there. She was standing back against the wall. She couldn't get close to Madeline.

"We're going to have to do an emergency c-section. The baby is in distress. If we don't get it out now, it might not make it."

"Okay start prep for surgery." One of the leading doctors called out.

Stella panicked. Why wasn't anyone telling her anything? Is the baby coming now? She grabbed hold of one of the nurse's arms.

"What the hell is going on?" Stella held tightly on to the nurses' arm.

The nurse, who was looked quite young, shifted under Stella's tight grip. She glanced over at the doctor and looked down at her feet. She was obviously newly qualified and Stella's intense approach was making her nervous.

"Um, I think you should ask the doctor over there, he'll be able to explain it better."

Stella let go of the girl's arm and marched over to where the doctor was standing, looking over Madeline's chart and shouting orders.

"What's happening? Please, tell me what's going on?" Stella pleaded, trying a softer approach.

"We're putting Madeline in for an emergency caesarean section. She's being prepped right now."

"But, the baby isn't due for another 2 months?" Stella exclaimed. She kept stealing glances at Madeline. She had stopped shaking, but the nurses were still surrounding her.

"Well, we believe the stress of the attack on Madeline has also put a severe amount of pressure on the baby. The baby is distressed, and we need to get it out within the next 2 hours, if we don't both Madeline and the baby are in danger."

Stella nodded. The Doctor gave Stella a look of re-assurance and walked back over to the bed. Everything was ready for the surgery. The nurses started to wheel Madeline out of the room; Stella followed closely and held on to Madeline's hand. She tried to wrap her head round the fact that pretty soon her daughter was going to be a mother and she was going to be a grandmother. She tried to focus on life after the surgery, instead of the surgery itself. Madeline was in good hands, she was going to be fine.

When they got to the operating room, an assisting nurse handed Stella a cap, a set of scrubs and some gloves. The nurse left the room so Stella could put everything on. Stella watched through the small glass window as doctors and nurses rushed around. She took her phone out of her pocket and pulled up Mac's number. The phone rang a few times before he finally picked. She needed to make this call quick.

"Taylor." Mac said, his voice instantly comforting voice.

"Mac, I don't really have time to talk. They're, uh, prepping Madeline for surgery."

"Surgery? What kinda surgery? Stella, I thought she only needed stitches?" Mac's voice rose, he started to sound panicky which was unusual for him.

"The baby's distressed, so she's having an emergency c-section. She had another seizure and she went unconscious. I'm not sure she even knows it's happening."

"I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm nearly finished here." Mac insisted.

"Thank you Mac. I'll see you soon." Stella breathed a sigh of relief.

She clicked the phone shut and put it into her pocket. She pulled on the scrubs and gloves. A nurse opened the door and smiled at Stella.

"It's time."