Hey everyone! I hope you're still enjoy the story, I've got some ideas in mind for it that I'm really looking forward to. So, if you are still enjoying the story, please, review and let me know. If no one is enjoying it, then I can happily finish the story.
Right now I'm also writing another story, Stay With Me Baby, which is Stella/Flack story so check it out!
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Disclaimer - I do not own CSI New York or any of it's characters.
Chapter Twenty Two
It had been 3 months since Isla had been released from the hospital and finally everyone was settling into a comfortable routine. Madeline stayed home and looked after Isla, and Stella was back doing what she does best; catching killers.
A loud cry in the night made Stella jolt upright in bed. She wiped her forehead and took a deep breath. Carefully, she listened to the sounds outside of her bedroom door. She heard Isla's cries followed by Madeline's footsteps and her voice
"Looks like she's got this one covered." Stella thought to herself, laying her head back down on the pillow. She rubbed her eyes and pulled the bedcovers up to her chin. A small knock on the bedroom made Stella open up her eyes again.
"Come in." She answered wearily.
The door slowly opened and Madeline poked her head around the edge. She smiled warily, making sure that Stella really was awake. Madeline's curls were pulled up in a pony tail and she was wearing one of Stella's old NYPD polo shirts and shorts. She padded quietly across the floor, towards the bed. Stella smiled and pulled back the duvet. Madeline lay down close to Stella and covered herself in the duvet.
"Your feet are cold." Stella complained, flinching away from Madeline's toes that were edging closer to Stella's calves.
"Yeah, I know."
"If you know, then why are they still touching my legs?"
"Your legs are warm. I like it." Madeline giggled quietly. She twirled one of Stella's curls around her fingers. "Are you working in the morning?"
"Yeah" Stella yawned. She looked at the clock on the bedside table and groaned. "In six hours."
"Oh, sorry, I'll go." Madeline whispered, pulling back the bed covers.
"No it's fine. You can stay sweetie. Was it Isla that woke you up?" Stella asked, turning herself over so she could look at Madeline. The room was dark but Stella could still the look of anxiousness on her face. She raised her arm and stroked Madeline's forehead, pushing her back.
"I was already awake. I couldn't sleep." Madeline said despondently.
"What's on your mind?" Stella lifted her upper body and rested her head on her head. Her forehead furrowed with concern.
"Nothing" Madeline shrugged.
"Madeline, did you forget that I'm a detective? And your mother. I can see it in your eyes. What's bothering you?"
"I don't know. I guess I just don't want to mess everything up. Am I doing a good job? You'd tell me if I did something wrong, right?" Madeline stared up at the ceiling. The worry was clear on her face.
"Yes, I promise." Stella smiled. "But you're not, you're doing so well and I am so proud of you."
"She just cries so much. I feel like it's my fault, because I'm doing something wrong"
"Madeline, she's a baby. That's kinda what babies do." Stella comforted Madeline. She stroked the Madeline cheek with the back of her hand.
"Honey, you're doing a wonderful job. You're doing so well. Isla is happy and healthy. As a parent, that's, that's all you really want."
"But you'd tell me otherwise, right?"
"I would never tell you that you were raising your daughter wrong, Madeline, but I'm always going to be here to help guide you in the right direction."
Madeline shifted her body so that she was cuddled up to Stella. She held on to Stella's fingers and closer her eyes. The soft sound of Madeline breathing deeply soon filled the room as she fell back to sleep, a weight lifted off of her chest. Stella shortly followed and the two of them lay close in Stella's bed.
A mix of the alarm clock and Isla screaming eventually tore them both from a restful few hours of sleep. Stella clicked the alarm off and nudged Madeline to get her out of bed. If it was hard to get up in the morning before Isla came along, it was nearly impossible now. She would need lots of strong coffee to get through the day.
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"You look awful Bonasera." Danny laughed as he dropped a load of paper and a cup of coffee on her desk.
"Don't make me hit you Messer." She glared and threw a pen in his direction. "You remember what it's like to live with a 3 month old. I'm tired and I'm cranky."
"Ah c'mon Stella, you're gunna be fine. Isla will start sleeping soon."
"I hope so. I feel like I haven't slept properly since she was born. A couple nights ago she woke up almost every hour. It's excruciating."
"Yeah, you don't have to tell me about sleepless nights."
"I'm considering sound-proofing my room. My respect for Lindsay has gone up tenfold. How she managed to do this I will never know."
Stella rested her head in her hands and yawned. She closed her heavy eyes for a brief minute.
"Keeping you up, are we Stella?" Mac said, dropping her jacket on the desk in front of her.
"What? Oh, no sorry" She wiped underneath her eyes and drunk some of her coffee. "Are we going somewhere?"
"That print you found on the victims earring came back to an Olivia Taylor. She worked with the victim. Let's go pay her a visit."
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Stella was running on caffeine for the rest of the day. After picking up Olivia from work and interrogating her with Mac, she had spent the majority of the afternoon on her feet at the lab.
"Free for dinner tonight? We haven't been out for a while. It's my treat" Mac said as he walked into Stella's office.
"Uh, yeah, let me just call Madeline. I'll be ready in 15." Stella smiled.
Mac nodded and left her office. Stella picked up her phone and dialled in her home number. She twirled her hair around her finger as she waited for the call to connect.
"Hello?" Madeline answered.
"Hey honey, it's me."
"Hi mum, is everything okay?"
"Yeah everything's fine. I was going to go out for dinner, are you going to be okay without me?" Stella asked.
"I'm not 10 you know. I'll be fine. Is your boyfriend taking you out?" Madeline teased.
"What!" Stella exclaimed. "There is no boyfriend. Mac's taking me."
"Oh so your boyfriend then"
"You're funny. I'll see you tonight."
"Love you mum."
"Love you too." Stella hung up the phone and smiled, thinking about her daughter.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Within 20 minutes, Mac and Stella were sat in a small Thai restaurant ordering dinner. It was a relatively new place and not a lot of people knew about it, so they had no trouble getting a table for two.
"Cheers." Mac said, clinking glasses with Stella.
"It's been a while." Stella inhaled the sweet scent on the Rosé wine and took a sip.
"So, how are the girls?" Mac asked, bringing his own drink up to his mouth.
"Tired hopefully, I could really use a full night's sleep. But, they're wonderful. I am very lucky" Stella smiled warmly.
"Yes, you are. How's Madeline taking to parenthood?"
Stella took another drink of her wine and thought carefully about her answer. How was Madeline really taking to parenthood? Madeline seemed to be blossoming in her new role, but Stella couldn't shake the feeling of worry that Madeline had displayed last night.
"She came into my room at 3am last night after Isla woke up; she had this look on her face. I could tell she had something on her mind. She wanted to know if she was doing a good job."
The waitress placed their dinners in front of them and topped up their wine glasses. They were quiet for a few minutes while they made a start on the food.
"That seems like a rational question." Mac reasoned.
"Yeah, I guess. But she thought that every time Isla cried, it was her fault. I think it's just taking some getting used to. There are only so many times I can reassure, if she doesn't feel she's doing good, she's never going to believe it."
"She will, Stella."
It was nearly 11 o'clock by the time they left the restaurant. The streets of New York were filled with people. It wasn't far to Stella's apartment so Mac walked her home. He kept his arm around her waist protectively.
"Thanks for this Mac." Stella smiled affectionately. Mac pulled her in to a hug and kissed her cheek.
"I'll see you in the morning." Mac said, watching Stella walk up the stairs.
As Stella made her way up to the apartment door, she noticed that the light was still on. She could hear Isla crying. There had only been a couple of nights that Madeline had been left to look after Isla alone and Stella started to worry. She unlocked the door and pushed it open.
"Madeline?" Stella called out.