Here's the 2nd. and last chapter of this short fic. Hope you like the ending. :)

Disclaimer: Yet again, I do not own CSI: NY.

Stella had gotten in the elevator to go home when she got the idea to text Mac. I gotta make him squirm. After what he did today, he needs a little more punishment.

She sends him the message. Oh, I wish I could see the look on his face. He probably has his hands clenched and turning white by now.

The drive to her apartment wasn't too bad. Traffic was pretty smooth for New York. At least something is going good for me today.

She parks in her parking spot and goes into her apartment complex. There's a new sign on the elevator. 'Closed for repairs.' Of course it is. Just one more thing that's gone wrong today.

Huffing, she climbs a few flights of stair to her apartment and almost passes out. Her door is open. What the hell? Her gun is drawn instinctually. She searches her apartment for the culprit. When she goes into her kitchen an arm goes around her neck; a knife is now at her throat. There's a little trickle of blood as the knife makes a small scratch.

"Hi Toots. Surprised to see me?" The voice rings through her ears. It's Steven. Oh my God, Mac was right.

"Steven, what the hell are you doing here?" Struggling.

"You should have listened to Mac," He sneers Mac's name, "He was right all along. 'Once a crook always a crook.'" Stella gasps.

"How did you know that?"

"Because," his hand reaches into Stella's pocket and grabs her phone, "You're bugged."

"You wired my phone! You bastard!" Stella tries to wiggle free, but the knife just scratches deeper.

"Hey, I don't want to hurt you. Just wanted some valuables. You know what they say, the best discount is the five fingered kind."

"Let me go! Take what you want, I'll just arrest you later anyway."

"I'll be glad to have you handcuff me darling." His words make Stella's skin crawl. She feels like throwing up. Mac's right, I am stupid.

Without hesitation Stella is thrown to the floor. She gasps and quickly gets back to her feet. She reaches for her gun, but it's not there. Then she realizes it's pointed at her head.

"I'm good, aren't I? Didn't even know I had it. Tsk, tsk." Steven says arrogantly. He is so full of himself. I wish I had my gun. I'd teach him some manners.

Stella stands immobilized. There's nothing she can do. He has her gun, and her kitchen knife.

"Grab that chair and sit on it. Don't move or you won't have a head."

She does as he asks. Out of nowhere Steven pulls out rope and ties her to the chair.

"Before I go I think I'm going to have a little fun first."

He puts the gun on her countertop. The knife is his weapon of choice, along with his fist. The first blow surprises Stella. He punches her in the face a few times, an evil smile across his face. His fists leave little marks. After he's done, he grabs the knife.

"This is my favorite part." His words make Stella cringe. Steven just smiles in delight.

Stella watches in horror as the knife etches into her arm. She grits her teeth and tries to look tough, but she's in pain. Steven's smile gets wider.

He proceeds to cut her; her hands, her arms, even her cheek. She keeps as calm of a face as she can. After a short while he tires of his little game. Gladly her body is not badly hurt; just her pride.

"You're no fun." He frowns. Obviously he's mad she's a strong woman.

Steven leaves Stella roped to the chair as he grabs a bag. She figures it's full of her jewelry and whatever else he could find. Bastard.

"Bye Toots. I would say see you later, but I don't think I want to." He leans over and kisses Stella's mouth. Her stomach feels queasy and she almost throws up.

Steven grins and walks out her door. As soon as he's gone Stella starts working on the ropes. It takes her about half an hour, but she finally breaks free.

Her legs are wobbly. She tries to walk, but collapses on the ground. Her eyes shoot around horrified. Where's my phone? Where's my phone? Her mind still isn't thinking straight, because if it was she'd see Steven had slipped it back into her pocket.

Stella lays down on her side in defeat and realizes something is poking her. She puts her hand in her pocket and realizes it's her cell phone. She calls Mac. He answers and she starts to cry. It feels so good just to hear your voice, Mac.

He asks if she's okay and it breaks her heart. He's concerned about me; even after everything that happened today.

Mac asks her if she needs an ambulance, and she says no. It's the last thing she remembers before she passes out.

XXOXX

Sirens are blaring as Mac speeds toward Stella's apartment. All the way there he keeps calling her cell, but there's no answer.

"I'm coming Stella, I'm coming. Hold on. Don't leave me." Tears fall from his chin. He's afraid he's already lost her. That bastard, Steven. He did this, I'm sure of it. When I get my hands on him I'm going to kill him. Make the son of a bitch suffer. Knuckles turning white on the steering wheel.

When he gets to her apartment he barely shuts off his truck before he jumps out of the door. He runs through the doors of the complex. The elevator is closed.

"Damn it!"

His feet stumble over each other as he runs full speed up the stairs. He almost knocks over an elderly woman. She curses at him in a foreign language when he doesn't apologize.

When he gets to Stella's door he's out of breath, but he's not concerned for himself. Stella's in danger.

The door creeks as he steps in. He draws his gun just in case.

"Stella?" No answer.

"Stell?" Still no answer.

As he steps into the kitchen he gasps. Stella is lying unconscious on the floor. She's pretty badly beaten. Trickles of blood all over her usually perfect body.

"Oh my God. Stella? Are you alright? Stella? Wake up, it's me." He gently nudges her. Relief takes over as she starts to stir.

"Stella?" She hears his voice and goes rigid.

"Stella?" He tries again. This time she responds, but not in the way he thought she would. She starts to claw at his bare skin.

"No! No! Leave me alone!" She's screaming for her life.

"Stella! Stella it's me, Mac. It's okay." He takes her into his arms and doesn't let go. She fights him for a second longer, then gives in.

"I thought you were Steven." She sobs. He rocks her gently and cradles her.

"I know. It's going to be okay. I'm here now. He can't hurt you anymore." He tries to sooth her, and it works. Her body goes limp in his. She's finally given up being strong. Her tears dampen his shirt. They just keep coming like a waterfall. He's broken her. She's completely traumatized.

"It's okay Stell. Are you badly hurt?" She shakes her head.

"I'm going to get up now, okay? I'll be right back. Just going to get a damp rag and some bandages." Stella nods, she's still in shock.

Mac sprints to her bathroom and back to her kitchen in record time. Before Stella can barely blink he's back to tend to her wounds. He gently and lovingly wipes her blood away. Next he bandages her cuts, except for the ones on her face. Tears still sliding down her cheeks uncontrollably, but she's no longer sobbing.

He sensually wipes away her tears with his fingers. Stella looks at him, and his heart breaks. What if I hadn't answered because I was still mad at her? Would I have lost her forever? Stella is thinking the same thing.

"Mac. Thank you. I'm sorry about earlier. You were right; I am stupid."

"Don't say that. You are not stupid, okay?" He takes her head in his hands, cradling her chin. She starts to advance towards his lips, and their hearts skip a beat. Their lips meet for the first time. It starts out tender and gentle, but quickly turns passionate and lust filled. Mac backs off and looks confused, which in turn confuses Stella.

"What is it? Did I do something wrong?" Her voice comes off defeated. Mac's heart shatters again.

"No, no, of course not," He pauses and Stella's eyes meet his. Her eyes filled with sadness and betrayal. "I just don't know if we should do this just yet."

"Why not Mac?"

"Because of what just happened to you."
"I'm a big girl, Mac. Don't you want this to happen?" Her eyes search his.

"Of course I do, but are you sure-" He gets cut off by an extremely passionate kiss. Stella's hands move to his chest and his to her neck.

"Don't fight me, Mac. I've wanted this for a long time. Besides, you'll never win." They both smile and lustfully taste each other's mouths. Their hands move to very intimate places, making each of them moan in pleasure.

Stella gasps as Mac whisks her up and carries her into the bedroom. She lets out a girly squeal of delight.

They proceed to take each other's clothes off; their hands continue to search each other's bodies. Their clothes are completely shed when Mac straddles her.

"You know, I usually like to be on top, but I'll make an exception because I'm not really up to par."

Mac grins a lustful smile. "Why am I not surprised?"

They continue to search others bodies and plant warm kisses. When they can't stand to wait any longer, they start to make love. Their bodies are finally one after all of these years. They each let out pleasure filled sounds as they reach their respective highs. Ecstasy, pure ecstasy.

When they are both completely spent, Mac collapses next to Stella. Their chests expand and contract quickly; their hearts beating faster than ever before. Stella is the first to speak.

"That was amazing. You were amazing."

"And so were you. You're wonderful Stella."

"So are you." They look at each other and smile.

There's silence for a little while, but it's not awkward; they're still trying to catch their breath. Again, Stella is the first one to speak.

"I love you too much to stay mad at you. You were right anyway." She didn't realize what she had said. She loves me?

"Well I love you too. I'm not mad anymore either. Actually I think I was just scared…and jealous. Gladly we don't fight very often, but when we do it's pretty bad." His words make Stella realize that she had just confessed. She had said her feelings towards him out loud. He loves me? Did I just confess? Did he just confess?

Mac puts his arms around Stella in a warm, loving embrace. She nuzzles into his chest, and he kisses her forehead.

"So does this mean we're an item now?" Mac asks.

"I guess it does." They smile.

Mac always makes me feel better; even on my worst of days, Stella thinks.

They fall into an exhausted sleep in each other's arms. Both of them sleep all through the night for the first time in years.

Yay! Happy SMacked ending, of course. You didn't really think I'd let Stella get too hurt, did you? I didn't want her wounds to be too bad. I'm not a mean person, honest. :) Please review, since you read it. I'd appreciate it. :D