[A Second Chance at a Family – Chapter 1]

Description: How would life be different for Mac and Reed if Reed didn't have the perfect adoptive family? The following is a story about exactly that.

With a little bit of "SMacked" along the way ;)
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"Mac that's him! That's the kid who's been following me!" Stella shouts as we walk out onto the street. I look ahead and she points at a young boy in a hooded sweatshirt. He notices us and makes a run for it. I quickly bolt down the street, unaware of what's in store for me, and why this boy has been stalking my partner. Little did I know that this very moment would change my life as I knew it forever...

He's young and a fast runner as he darts in front of traffic, nearly getting himself struck by a car in the process. I can keep up, but barely as I too dart across the busy street. Finally I catch a break when the boy runs into a bike messenger and falls to the ground. I reach down and yank him from the ground by the back of his sweater. I push him against the brick building behind us and hold my hand on his chest to keep him still. Stella catches up and I begin to demand answers from the frightened boy I hold captive.

"Why are you following her? Huh!" I begin shouting, slightly enraged, and tired from chase. "What do you want?" I shout again as the boy flinches at the sound of my raised voice.

Stella can see the fear in the boy's face and she takes a softer approach, seeing that I am only scaring him from answering. "Who are you?" she asks softly.

"I'm Reed Garret alright!" The boy finally manages. "I just wanted to talk to you" he admits, as he hangs his head, still unable to look at Mac.

"Why?" She asks, confused.

"Are you Claire Conrad?" he asks with his voice shaking.

My heart nearly stops when I hear the name. "You mean Claire Conrad Taylor?" Stella looks at me and is in almost as much shock as I am. The young boy merely nods his head to answer my question. "She was my wife" I respond, still unaware as to what this boy wants from us. I release my grip from his chest and he takes a moment to slow his racing heart by taking a deep breath. "What do you know about Claire?" I demand.

"Nothing..." he softly remarks with a frightened expression on his face. "Just that... she's my mother."

I feel my heart sink to my stomach. I wondered if this day would ever come. Still, nothing could prepare me for this moment. As I look into the sad and curious eyes of the young man in front of me I swallow the hard lump in my through and let out a sigh as I know that what I have to tell him is going to shatter his hopes and dreams of finding his mother.

"Listen, I'm sorry if I was rough with you there, I didn't hurt you did I?" I ask, genuinely concerned.

The boy only shakes his head. I'm glad I didn't hurt him, yet I still feel guilty for putting my hands on him. I'm always a little too quick to react to situations. Thank God for my partner, Stella. She keeps me in check, and out of trouble.

"Can we go somewhere and talk?" I ask the boy, which he responds with a nod. I turn to Stella and without having to say a word she just offers me a smile and tells me she'll see me in the morning, as she turns to catch a cab.

We walk down the street in silence. I'm trying to do the math in my head, and figure he must be about 17 by now. I watch him as he walks with his head hanging slightly, and hands in the pockets of his baggy sweater. His shoes are very worn and tattered, and I can't help but wonder what kind of life this boy has, and if it has something to do with the reason he came looking for Claire.

We finally reach a small diner as we stop outside the door and I open it for him. He walks inside and slides into a booth. I follow, sitting down across from him. I settle in my seat and let out a heavy sigh as I watch Reed nervously play with his fingers. "You're mother..." I begin. "Claire, she... she died on 9/11. I'm sorry." as the words leave my mouth; Reed's eyes begin to water as he hangs his head once again. He puts his hands onto his head and runs his fingers through his curly brown hair in frustration. He looks up at me once again and I feel my heart breaking inside as I look at his pain filled eyes.

"And that woman I've been following?" he manages to ask.

"That's Stella, she's my partner. We're both crime scene investigators."

"I got an address from the adoption agency. When I went to check it out I saw her leaving the apartment."

"Saturday" I reply. "It was my birthday; she had stopped by to bring me a gift. Why didn't you just talk to her?"

"I was scared I guess" the boy replied quietly, his voice a little less shaky than earlier.

"What about your family? You're parents. Do they know you're here?" I ask in concern.

He chuckles slightly "I down have a family" he responds in a bitter tone.

Slightly confused I raise an eyebrow and question him further "But you said the adoption agency. You were adopted were you not?"

"I was... When I was 5 my adoptive mother was killed in an accident. My adoptive father had already walked out on us a year earlier. I was placed in the foster care system. Everybody wants a baby; nobody wants some bratty little kid. I moved around a lot between different foster homes. Some were okay, others weren't. When I was 14 I thought I caught a break, I finally tracked down my adoptive father. He had a new family, and 3 children. He said he never wanted to adopt me, he wanted children of his own."

He looked up at me again this time tears filled his eyes. I feel a heavy strain on my heart again. "Reed, I'm so sorry" is all I manage to come up with.

He scoffs and places his hands on the table in front of him as he pushes himself up from his seat. "Thanks for the soda" he mumbles.

"Wait! Wait!" I stress as I hold my arm out so he can't walk past me.

"Look, detective" he starts with a scowl "I have somewhere I'm supposed to be right now, I have to go alright?"

I'm not sure I believe him, but right now I'm not sure what to make of any of this. I reach into my pocket on the inside of my jacket and hand him my card. "Here's my number, you can call me anytime. If you need anything, or, if you just wanna talk."

"Yeah thanks but no thanks. I don't need you're pity. You're not even related to me. Besides, cops don't seem to like me very much anyway."

And with that the young boy walks out of the diner. I'm tempted to chase after him, but know it won't do any good. He needs time to cool off and collect his thoughts, I tell myself. I linger in the diner a while longer and finish my coffee while my head tries to sort out tonight's events. What do I do now? Do I look for him? Do I leave him be? What do I know about kids? Nothing. Claire and I never planned on having any. I always thought it was guilt about giving up Reed that made her not want kids, like maybe she felt she didn't deserve a second chance with children. Claire would have been a great mother. It was too bad she had Reed so young; she thought she did the best thing by giving him up for adoption. She wanted him to have a chance at a better life, unfortunately that's not the hand he was dealt.

I finally reach home and sigh as I enter the apartment. It's dark and empty, as it always is when I return home. I hang up my jacket and make my way toward my bedroom where I collapse onto my bed. I'm tired but know I won't get much sleep. I can't stop thinking about Reed.

...

The sun peers in through my bedroom window and forces me awake. I look at my watch to see that it's 6:15 a.m. The last time I remember looking at it last night it was 3:30, so I'm thankful that I got at least some sleep. After a quick shower and shave I'm off to the lab.

I reach my office and find Stella waiting for me when I arrive. "You're here early" I tell her in surprise.

"How'd it go with Reed?" She asks with a glum tone. She knows this was hard on me, and him of course.

"Not so good I'm afraid. I told him about his mother, and before we could get too far he was practically running for the door."

"I'm sure he'll come around Mac, he just needs time"

"I don't now Stella... He's been through a lot. He's a foster kid, and a pretty bitter one."

"What?" Stella asks in shock. "When you told me about him before you said he was adopted"

"He was" I reply softly. "His adoptive father left, and his mother died when he was young"

"Oh Mac, that's awful"

"I know, I know. This is not what Claire wanted for him. She wanted to give him what she couldn't, a family. I don't know what to do Stella. This kid doesn't want anything to do with me."

"Of course he says that Mac, but you can't believe that. He's a scared kid. Both of his mothers died and his father left him. He's not going to trust again easily. But you have to do something Mac. Trust me, I know what it's like to grow up in the system. I'm lucky I had someone to look out for me. Reed needs that too."

"You're right" I comply, resting my hands on the back of my head. I don't know how I'll get through this. Thank God for Stella. She's the one person I can turn to for anything. My best friend.

"So, do you know where he lives?" She asks me.

I only shake my head.

"Hmmm..." she sighs.

"He made a comment..." I begin as I pace my office floor. "He said that cops don't seem to like him. Must've had some run ins. Maybe he's in the system?" I turn to Stella and she makes her way to my desk and starts typing at my computer.

"Here he is" she exclaims after a few short moments. "Nothing major in here, just a couple counts of public mischief, and... oh wait a minute, here's one from just a couple weeks ago. Looks like he upped his game to a B and E."

"What? Really?! He doesn't seem the type, but then again I guess I don't know him that well."

"Don't rush to judgements too quickly Mac, take a look to where he was caught breaking in to."

I walk over to the desk and read the description on the computer screen "New York City Adoption Agency Records Building. Well I guess that explains how he got my address."

"He clearly went through a lot of trouble to find you Mac. He may have come looking for his mother, but the reality is, you're the closest thing to a family he's got."

"I don't know Stella... I don't know what I'm doing. What am I gonna do with him?"

"Well, why don't you start by trying to be his friend. Seems like he could use a good one of those. Get to know him a little. See where things go from there."

"Does it give a last known address?" I finally cave.

"Yep, here you go" she scrolls down on his record to the last known address and Mac jots it down on a piece of paper.

"You're sure about this?" I ask her, still not entirely convinced I'm doing the right thing.

"Yes! Trust me." She smiles.

"Alright, alright you win." I reply with a smile as I feel my blackberry buzzing in my pocket and pull it out to read the message. "I'll check on him later on, for now looks like you and I have a 419 in Central Park, let's get going."

I head to the crime scene and somehow manage to keep my brain mostly focussed on work. As my day nears its end, I put a few finishing touches on the case files on my desk and grab my jacket as I head out of the office.

As I climb into my truck and start making my way towards the address I had scribbled down this morning, I begin to feel this nervous, uneasy feeling in my stomach as I near my destination. What am I going to say to him? Is he even going to listen? Ugh, I need Stella...

...

I reach the apartment building and let out a heavy sigh while I remain sitting in the truck. I linger in the truck for a while, trying to convince myself to just go inside. Suddenly I feel my blackberry buzzing in my pocket again. I reach for my phone and pull it out to read the message: "Mac, everything will be fine, but you've got to give it a chance – Stella."

I can only smile as I tuck my phone back into my pocket. I knew she'd come through for me. Always does. That gives me the final push I needed to get out of the truck and walk into the building.

It's pretty rundown, and not exactly in the best neighbourhood. The ceiling leaks and there are large white buckets all down the hallway to catch the dripping water. I finally reach the door I'm looking for, take a deep breath, and knock...

After a few moments the door swings open, and Reed stands on the other side, still wearing the same clothes as the previous day. He has a shocked but confused expression on his face as he sees me standing before him.

"Detective Taylor?"

"Reed, please. Call me Mac."

"Something I can do for you Mac?"

"I'm sorry if yesterday didn't go exactly like you planned it. I truly am. I know that couldn't have been easy for you to hear, and I wish it didn't have to be this way." I feel that hard lump in my throat again, and can't help but notice that he's just as nervous and uncomfortable as I am.

"Yeah, well, like I said yesterday, I don't need anybody to feel sorry for me." He shoots back at me as he begins to shut the door.

Stella is right, I have to tell myself. He's just scared. I quickly raise my arm up and grab the door before it's able to slam in my face.

"Wait! Look, Reed, that's not why I'm here. I'm here because I thought we could try and get to know each other a little bit. I know I wasn't what you came looking for, and I'm not your father, but if you'd let me, I'd like to have a shot at being your friend. What do you say? I think it's what your mother would have wanted." I tell him in truth.

Reed hangs his head and stares at the floor, but has yet to offer me a response, so I try again.

"We could get some dinner. Or just go for a walk and talk if you'd rather. How 'bout it?"

**What do you think so far? Please review and let me know your thoughts, if you want this story to continue or not. Thanks XD**