Hanging by the Thread Ch. 9

Epilogue:

It had been three years since the shooting and Hazel had mostly recovered. Looking at the scene in the living room, Stella could not suppress a smile. Hazel was chasing after her two-year-old baby brother, Nicholas McKenna Taylor. Till this day, Stella still had some difficulty believing how her life had changed in the past years. Looking at the ring on her ring finger, she gave a large smile.

After Hazel had been discharged from the hospital, Mac and Stella had started going out. Three months later, Stella had gotten pregnant with little Nicky Taylor. Mac had proposed to her soon afterwards and Stella had accepted – of course. When Nicky was born, Stella had worried about how was Hazel going to adapt to her step-brother. It turned out that the worry was completely unnecessary. Hazel adored her younger brother and as soon as Nicky could walk, he began to toddle after her everywhere.

A hand snaked up behind her and she could feel Mac's breath on her neck. She glanced at the clock and found that it was close to dinnertime. Ever since they started dating, Mac would always leave the office as soon as he could. Stella still worked there, but she always left early to take care of Hazel and Nicky. She turned around and pecked Mac's lips.

'Hmm… I'm not so hungry anymore,' Mac murmured, earning a smack from Stella.

'Mac! You bad boy. Not here, not now,' Stella scolded lightly. Mac gave her a mock pout, but went out to the living room and was about to announce his arrival to the kids before his legs were immediately crushed by a little boy, while being hugged tightly by an older girl around the waist. Mac had one arm around Hazel, asking her about her day, while his other arm scooped up Nicky, allowing him to babble on about his day to him.

Stella looked at him, love evident in her eyes. Who knew Mac could be so good with kids? Her hands found her way to her stomach. She could not wait to tell Mac the good news. Taking the potatoes out of the oven, she took it to the table and grabbed Nicky as he ran past her, placing him on his chair. Soon afterwards, both Hazel and Mac came out of their respective bedrooms, with exaggerated actions of following their noses to dinner, causing Nicky to burst out laughing.

Dinner was a lively and fun affair. This was one of the times when the whole family could just be together and not worry, what with their demanding time-table and all. They always chat about everything that happened during the day and never hold anything back. As soon as dinner was over, Hazel whisked Nicky away for a shower. She had always loved helping him and Stella was more than willing to let her to do it as soon as Nicky was old enough. Packing up the dishes, she headed for the kitchen with Mac following her.

Standing side by side, they got the dishes done in no time at all. Nicky had finished his shower and Hazel was singing him to sleep. Ever since the shooting, Hazel had always been studying harder and harder. When asked, she answered that she wanted to become a CSI, just like her parents so she could put away people just like Linny Papakota. Therefore, as soon as Nicky was in bed, she went back into her room, textbook in hand. It was not often when neither Mac or Stella were on call tonight, so the two of them switched off the lights in the living room and retired to their own room.

After a long shower together, they both got into bed. Stella seemed to be fidgeting and Mac was very concerned. After they had both gotten into bed, he placed his hands on her cheeks and looked at her in the eye.

'Stella, darling. What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything, right?' Mac asked, his blue eyes looking intently at Stella's green eyes.

'Mac, I'm pregnant,' Stella told him, excitement evident in her eyes.

Mac pulled her into a fierce hug, happiness bubbling through his veins. They had wanted another child after Nicky was born and now, their wish was granted.

They spent the rest of the night in each other's arms, completely oblivious to the world outside the flat, not caring about any crimes for a night. They knew that their world would change again, but it would always be for the better.

A/N: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm soooooooo sorry for not updating earlier, but I had completely forgotten that I had already written this chapter ages ago. I was arranging my folders for Fanfiction when I found this chapter hidden down there.

I hope you like it, and many thanks to all the people who had reviewed/ alerted or favorite this fic. I love you all.

Please review this last chapter. Criticisms are much appreciated, but no flamers please.

Zoe tabbycat