Title: Family Ties

Summary: Stella, I guess the one thing I sometimes regret is not having a child of my own. Mac, you aren't alone, you know that right? SMACKED One-Shot. Based on & some spoilers from eppy 7.06 Do not Pass Go

Disclaimer: If you don't know by now you need to read my other stories! Lol

A/N: Goodness am really missing Stella these days. Mac just seems so…so wooden without her at his side! Well hope this adds some SMACKED where it's of course lacking and thanks in advance!

Note: Words in italics surrounded by double quotes taken from the eppy

"Talk to me Mac," Stella gently prods with an uncertain gaze resonating out from behind her emerald orbs. "I know you're angry."

"I'm not…okay I'm angry," he finally concedes as he slowly turns his tormented gaze back to hers, looking at the small bruise above her right eye. "Damn it Stella, why did you do it?"

"Pardon? Do What?"

"You know what! Going after that bastard alone! Why?"

"You ask me why I went after my child stealing suspect alone? This coming from a man who only a few weeks ago confessed to me that he not only went down into a basement alone with two armed and vengeful gang members but told me it was because I wasn't around and he didn't have to be careful as much," Stella's concludes with a sharp edge to her voice.

"What if something had gone wrong," Mac huffs as he slumps back down onto the couch beside her, the twinkling New York skyline peering in through the window of his apartment.

"Nothing did Mac."

"This time."

"I have always…"

"I know. I never liked your antics before and…"

"Antics?"

"Going after anyone alone."

Stella looks at Mac in surprise. "I know that's not the real Mac Taylor talking. The real Mac Taylor would never fault me for doing my job the way I always have; especially when a child's life was on the line."

"Real? How about the old Mac Taylor," he sighs.

"Old?"

"The new Mac Taylor worries more."

"Well the real Stella always has," she counters. "You haven't changed Mac and neither have I. Sorry."

"I'm sorry to," he offers with a deep frown.

"Okay so now that we are both sorry, I'll make you a deal. I promise to take a desk job and never put myself in harms away again if you do," Stella offers firmly. "Mac, it was a boy, he was five and a victim of abuse from his father who had kidnapped him. I had to get him…" she tries only to have him hold up his hand and offer her a small look of remorse.

"You don't ever have to justify your actions to me Stella. You're the boss there remember?"

"I do Mac, to you, because I care," she utters in haste. "I am sorry that I worried you so."

His fingers gently brush her face and his eyes closing momentarily. "I think I would have die if you…well had sustained more than a mere bruise."

"Mac…"

"It's okay Stella, I just worry. The boy, is he okay?"

"He is back with his mother and both are safe and out of the state," Stella relates firmly as he leans in a bit closer, her hand resting on his taut forearm. "I'm sorry if I worried you. I guess you know how it feels?" She adds lightly.

"Yeah I guess," he sighs as his elbows rest on his knees and he runs his hands over his face, through his hair and folds them over his knees.

"Want to tell me more about your case? You said it also involved a missing young man?"

"At least both parents were together on this one."

"I'm happy for that," Stella says softly. "Mac please look at me?"

Mac finally turns back to her and offers her a small smile, wanting to show her that he wasn't angry with her personally, just at the situation that still had them forced to be apart. "This is gonna kill us you know."

"Ever the optimist," Stella teases, drawing a broader smirk from his flushed lips. "We've been through a lot Mac, we'll make it past this long distance hurdle. But you won't last the rest of the night if you don't tell me about your case already."

"Okay so…" Mac agrees, as he leans back in the couch, this time looking at her square on, a slight frown developing as he starts to recall the latest details of his bizarre case.

"Case started out with Charles and Liz looking for their son. Someone's twisted idea to play a game with them. Led them to an abandoned building but when they were finally allowed to think they had found their son, it was just a decomposed body in…"

"In what?" Stella presses.

"A 1950's drag race big boy…."

"Ah yes you always wanted one of those didn't you. Said you used to dream about having one into your twenties?"

"I did. You remembered?" Mac asks in surprise.

"Why would I forget?" Stella squeezes his hand.

"Such a waste though," Mac smirks. "Aside from the body inside it wasn't in that bad of shape," Mac relates and Stella just shakes her head. "Okay it was a write off."

"More like it. And then?"

"It wasn't Jeremy. That was their son's name," Mac recalls. "I remember overhearing Danny and Lindsay talking about finding their child that way. I guess I…" Mac's voice pauses and he offers her a slight frown.

"What?"

"Just thinking about how twisted kidnapper was. What he put them through; all to show that he was in control the entire time."

"What a nightmare those parents had to go through," Stella ponders. "But that really explains why Lindsay was so tense when I talked to her earlier. And the vic in the car?"

"A missing young man named Craig Anderson," Mac informs her. "Craig was poisoned by a rare element; slow painful death, would taken a few days to die. It was diabolical to say the least."

"But you said it wasn't the son of Charles and Liz Harris."

"Yeah it was a Mrs. Anderson, she uh...lost her husband and then her son," Mac huffs. "One was bad enough."

"Even one can be too much Mac," Stella's soft voice draws his gaze back to hers. "What?"

"She had the choice to say goodbye, to see the body but…she chose not to. She took Don's word. I guess it was good enough for her."

"Not everyone has your strength Mac," she warmly praises.

"Part of that comes from you," he admits in a soft tone, making her face break into a warm smile.

"And it always will," she leans in and kisses his cheek. "Always."

Mac looks at her with a sideways glance, his face warming at her kind and loving words.

"Now how about that warehouse fire you mentioned had singed a few eyebrow hairs?" Stella asks after a few seconds of silence.

"Another dead end, literally. I can't blame Liz for wanting to get her son back at any cost but…but it was a bit too…"

"Close?" Stella arches her brows.

"At least I wasn't alone," Mac retorts.

"Gee that makes it all better Mac," Stella just shakes her head. "You in danger, facing a burning fire, whether with people ore alone is still you in danger," she reminds him. "And you get after me."

"I wasn't alone."

"What is it you always tell me? Oh yeah…semantics Mac," she smirks.

"Can I finish?" He lightly chuckles.

"By all means. Why the fire?"

"Just another way of showing he was in control," Mac sighs. "All the instructions, the makeshift lab, the snakes, the elevator, the side door. He's not telling you how to find Jeremy Harris, he's telling them how to destroy evidence."

"And until you caught this guy I'm sure it drove you crazy asking yourself why just as much as the Harris's were," Stella suggests.

"Maybe more," Mac sighs. "The killer was playing us."

"And I know how you hate to be played."

"Just forced me to want to find him faster. The dead bouncer, the shady bartender, the imprisoned fiancé…" Mac pauses once more.

"And it turned out to be a woman the entire time. I guess hell hath no fury," Stella frowns.

"Hell didn't do this; she did and very premeditated. The snake poison killed Craig in a slow and horrible way. She wanted them to suffer just as she felt she had suffered for Ryan's death. She showed no remorse and felt no pain or regret for anything she did."

"But she told Jo where he was," Stella remarks.

"I think she did it thinking we'd be too late. But luckily we got there just in the nick of time. At first he appeared dead, but a faint pulse and he was still thankfully alive. At least the Harris's got their happy ending," Mac finishes with a heavy sigh.

"The will to live mac, it's a pretty powerful force. That and the love of family."

"Family…yeah at least they are back together now. That's all that counts."

Stella listens to Mac finish telling the case but then notices another look starting to cross his sapphire shield. "Mac?" Stella's soft voice draws his gaze away from the window back to her. "What else about this case has affected you so much?"

"Just been a long day."

"Liar," Stella counters, forcing Mac to arch his brows in surprise. "You're not that tired and you know it. Come on, I don't even have to tell you when I'm involved with a case about abused, orphaned or missing children and how they affect me. But this case…Mac you…what is it?"

"I guess this case just brought up things from the past."

"Such as?" Stella continues to press.

"One of the things I sometimes regret is that Claire and I didn't have a child of our own. Maybe after today it's better though. I don't know how I could handle the loss of my own; especially learning the truth like Mrs. Anderson did. Maybe it's better to be alone."

"Mac, you might not have a child of your own, but you aren't alone. You know that right?"

"I know."

"But you don't believe that do you?"

Stella leans forward, slowly snaking her fingers in his and then giving him a small yank, pulling him sideways toward her and forcing a small chuckle from his lips.

"Ah knew you were capable of at least one smile in my company."

"Blame the kiss," Mac retorts."

"The kiss is to blame."

"I…I'm sorry," Mac frowns as he looks at her. But before she can answer, his strong hands are gently cupping her soft cheeks, his lips about to descend upon hers for a tender kiss. He presses his mouth firmly against hers for a few seconds before pulling back with smile.

"But you aren't alone Mac. As long as I am in your life you'll never be alone."

"Allow me my selfish moment?"

"You mean your Mac Taylor I'm actually human moment?" She quips and he nods in agreement. "Only if you'll let me take you someplace."

"Such as?"

"Someplace to show you that you'll never really be alone."

"Stella, I do appreciate it, but I just don't feel like going to ground zero tonight."

"Well lucky for you, that isn't what I had in mind."

"Really? Where then?" Mac arches his brows in wonder.

"Get your coat and…"

"Stella…"

"I swear Mac, I'm almost agitated with you enough to cuff you and force you to come," she teases with a broad smile. "Don't believe me?"

"Oh I believe you," he answers in haste. "A hint?"

"You won't be alone."

"Thanks," Mac deadpans with a small roll of his eyes as he continues on his way to get his coat. They head into the hallway and then the elevator, Mac's mind racing with wonder as to where they were going.

"The lab?"

"You were already there today Mac."

"But you weren't," Mac tries.

"Nice try," Stella smiles as the elevator deposits them onto the ground floor.

"A mall?"

"A mall? You want to go to a mall?"

"No, but I can't…"

"Trust me Mac," she grasps his hand as they wait for a cab. "You will enjoy tonight."

They finally get into their cab, Stella giving an address location to the driver that has Mac wondering again.

"I know that…"

"Then you won't be upset," Stella leans in closer, her lips nuzzling his ear. "No regrets," she whispers before she leaves a soft kiss on his aromatic skin and then pulls back, prompting him to look at her and offer a tender gaze.

"Maybe not tonight."

"I'll take what I can," she counters and his gives her a broader grin. "Smile number two. I am on a roll."

"Well they come pretty easily the longer I'm around you," he confesses in truth. "It's not just the kissing but that does help."

"Well if a few kisses make you smile like this, I wonder what'll happen later?" Stella arches her brows.

"Later."

"Oh you are gonna pay for that Mac," she teases.

They finally reach their destination and head toward the familiar building, hand in hand. Over the past few months, since Stella's departure, Mac has felt himself let go of his stigma about showing personal affection in public. Knowing that in a few short days or even hours, she'll be back in her world and he'll be walking down the street – alone. At least not having someone at his side that he wants to hold the hand of. There was just no one else he'd want to share his alone time with.

They head into the building and wait at the front counter until a familiar face appears.

"Hey Mac, Stella," Reed greets them. "What um brings you two here right now?"

"Dinner break right?" Mac looks at Stella first who nods and then back at Reed. "There is a place just around the corner that makes the best cheeseburgers. It's on me."

"Can't turn down a free burger. Let me get my coat and tell them I'll be back in about half hour."

Mac waits for Reed to leave before turning to Stella with a knowing glance, his hand still tightly grasping hers.

"Thank you for the reminder."

"Just because a family tie has been a bit severed doesn't mean it's lost for good. Reed is a part of Claire, Mac; with here, you'll never be alone."

Mac looks at her, his heart wanting to offer more, but his mind reminding him that they were in a very public setting and what he wants to tell her should be saved for something more private.

"Family ties are important to me," Mac offers in truth. "And to you."

"We are family," she adds, leaning in closer. "We always will be."

Mac nods in agreement just as Reed returns with his coat and ready to go. The banter quickly changes from something serious to one more light and casual, as they head out the door. Mac glances over at Reed who is telling something to Stella and making her laugh, her fiery emeralds even brighter in the cool night air. She looks over at him while Reed is distracted and winks. She's right, a formal family tie might have been severed by the cruelty of death, but as long as there were people willing to mend that tie and keep that family alive; none of them would ever be alone. And as they enter the cozy diner, Mac knows inside that it won't be long before he asks Stella if she'd like to become part of another family; that of the two of them together – permanently.

"Hungry?" Mac asks Reed as they head up to the counter.

"Hungry enough to eat a horse," Reed jokes.

"A horse huh?" Stella smiles as she looks at Mac. "Hear that Mac?"

"Well good appetites run in the family."

THE END!

A/N: Hope you all liked the Reed angle to this and thank you again in advance for reading. Please leave a note before you go and thanks again! :D

PS: For anyone reading I just updated NY Stories and hope you like it. And am hoping you all notice less updates per week which should give you all enough time to read and review my updates.

Have a good weekend SMACKIES!