CSI:New York : Who Are You? (Don Flack/OFC fanfic)

The Standoff

Stella rapped once on Mac's office door and then went inside. "Hey," she greeted. He was sitting behind his desk, elbows on the armrests of the chair, fingers steepled, looking deep in thought.

"Stella. Come in," he said somewhat absentmindedly.

"I'm in."

He realised in she was and gave her a quick smile. "What can I do for you?"

"Everything okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Uhuh," Stella said with a knowing nod, shaking her finger at him. "That response right there. A question for a question."

"You know me too well," he said.

"Is it Olivia?"

"Olivia?"

Stella playfully grinned. "Okay, can we table the question thing? Because this could go on a while and I have a crime scene to be at."

"Sorry,' Mac smiled apologetically. "Go on."

"I just passed her on the way in. She looked pissed. I come in here and find you looking just as."

"I'm not pissed, Stella. I was simply trying to give some advice, get her to open up a little."

"How'd that pan out?"

"Didn't exactly backfire," he said sounding hopeful. He waited a beat. "What do you make of her?"

Stella shrugged then folded her arms. "She's a tough cookie, a dedicated CSI. I discovered that much working the Emily Graham case with her. She can spot a white hair on a white carpet a mile off. Beats me why she hasn't been promoted by now. Mind you, her attitude could be worked on, as could her interaction with her co-workers. She can be somewhat standoffish, abrasive...although I've never had any problems with her."

Mac nodded thoughtfully. "But all in all...?"

"She's an asset to the Lab and when you hired her it was the right thing to do." Stella paused, tilting her head to one side as she looked at him. "Isn't that what you want to hear? That you didn't make a mistake in hiring her?"

"What I want to hear is the truth."

"And the truth is she's good at what she does. She can get a little passionate at times, but who can't? Is this another Danny moment?"

Mac smiled. Stella knew him only too well. They had worked side-by-side, partners for over ten years. There wasn't much either didn't know about the other, making it almost impossible to hide anything. Which was probably why they worked so well together. "I was right to hire Danny. No matter what anyone said."

"And Olivia?"

"I'm hoping to be proved right."

"You have doubts," she stated.

"I have...concerns," he amended.

"Maybe you need me to grab you a dictionary, Mac, but it's pretty much the same thing." She was smiling at him and he couldn't stop from smiling back.

"All right, all right. Thing is...how can you expect someone to let go of their past so easily? Especially when it was bad."

Stella nodded. She gave him that look, the one that he didn't need any spoken words to understand the meaning behind.

"We're not talking about me," he said quietly.

"No, but surely to give advice you have to be capable of taking heed yourself."

A shadow of a smile crossed Mac's features. They weren't Mac and Stella, partners for years for nothing. She always saw through his facade and managed to read what was on his mind, sometimes even before he'd consciously realized it himself. But his personal stuff wasn't the issue right now.

"I've suggested she talk to someone," he said.

Stella knew Olivia had personal problems and that her past had been pretty horrific. She didn't know all the details and because of employee confidentiality she respected Mac not telling her, but Stella wasn't daft; she knew how affected Olivia could get when working child cases. It hadn't been difficult to put two and two together.

"And?" she enquired.

"I think she'll be okay. The first step is always the hardest, right?"

Stella smiled slowly. "You're a damn law unto yourself, Mac Taylor."

He fought back a smile and scraped his teeth over his bottom lip like he always did, before turning his concentration to some papers on his desk. "Did you say something about a crime scene to process? And you still haven't told me what you came in here for."

"Topic shift duly noted, you're the boss," Stella nodded. "I wondered if maybe you wanted me to bring Olivia in on this one. Shooting. Possible homicide in Upper Manhattan."

"Children involved?"

There was the look again. Stella sighed sympathetically. "Mac, far be it from me to tell you how to handle the girl - "

"You'd never dream of such a thing," Mac said with a faint grin.

"Yeah, yeah," she said good-naturedly. But her demeanour quickly turned more serious. "You can't baby her, Mac. She's a grown woman. The only way for her to let go of her past is by first of all facing up to it. You have to let her find her own way. As hard as that is. I know the Emily Graham case was tragic and especially tough - "

"She worked her backbone out on that one," Mac mused.

"Like we agree, she's dedicated. It sounds crazy, but sometimes throwing yourself into the lion pit is exactly what you need to help you move on."

"Even if it might kill you?"

Stella sighed. "Don't handle her with kid gloves. First and foremost she's a detective."

"Child abuse cases are tough on her, Stella."

"They're tough on everyone. But you can't keep doing this. You're not doing her any favours by picking and choosing her cases."

"I don't - "

"You have. She looks up to you, Mac. Don't let her down."

He knew Stella was right. By only giving Olivia cases that he knew she could handle wasn't helping the problem. Not only was it insulting to her as a proficient and dedicated CSI, he was only contributing to her inability to face up to her past demons. She would end up worse off that way. He met his partner's brown-eyed gaze and slowly nodded. "Too many people have been guilty of doing just that. I have no intention of letting her down, Stella."

"Glad to hear it," Stella said. "Because take away all the bad stuff and that girl has potential."

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