So this is the second installment. I really hope you all enjoy it. And thanks again for the reviews for 'Greek Salad'. I really love them :D

And I don't own anything.

Andie

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Carrot Cake

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Achoo!

The sneeze left her nostrils before she even had a chance to prepare. The fact that she had to sneeze had barely registered when she felt the small tingling sensation in the back of her nose, creeping up like a cat on a bird.

Hoping that it went unnoticed, Stella quickly got back to work. She watched the computer screen zoom the through the possible fingerprints matches to the one she lifted from her crime scene.

The case she was currently working on was one that was full of missteps and confusing leads. She and Flack had been on it for weeks and up until this point, there were running out of leads to follow. It wasn't until she came across a fingerprint that was missed in the initial processing of the crime scene, did she begin seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

Just as the computer beeped signaling a match, she felt the familiar sensation in nose once again. Being prepared this time, she quickly turned her head to the side.

Achoo!

The power of the sneeze caused the hair on her head to bounce heavily, leaving behind curls in her face, blinding her vision.

Raising a hand, she brushed them out of her face just to find that she was no longer in the AV lab alone.

"Adam?" she questioned, surprised to find the younger man there. It wasn't until she saw his expression, one of shock and disgust, did she realize what had happened.

"Oh my gosh Adam, did I sneeze on you?" she asked, already feeling bad.

Adam quickly recovered from his initial surprise and began shaking his head. "Oh no, you didn't, I mean you did but it's not a problem," he said, stumbling over his words. "Besides, the old baby could always use a new a coat of paint," he added, running a hand over his stomach.

Stella stared at the younger man, trying her best not to roll her eyes. Within the short time span that Adam entered the room, Stella could already feel the headache starting to form in her temple, pushing against the walls in her skull like the steady beat of a drum.

Noticing the blank stare he was receiving, Adam brushed away any hope he had for a reaction to his joke and turned his attention to the computer screen. "Is that the fingerprint from the Benton crime scene?"

Stella turned her attention back to the screen. "Yup, and it seems to belong to an Anthony…" she trailed off as the all familiar sensation hit her once more.

Achoo!

This time, the magnitude of the was the sneeze was so great; it attracted the attention of many other personnel in the lab, including an all too familiar face who happen to be walking by at the exact moment.

"Stella?" Mac questioned from the doorway.

"Hey Mac," she said simply, even though the congestion in her system could be heard the moment the words left her mouth.

Not turning to see him, Stella focused her attention on the files in front of her, trying her best to seem as normal as possible.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked, moving into the room.

"Yeah, I'm fine Mac," she said, again not turning around.

Her statement caused Adam to snort loudly in disbelief.

Both Mac and Stella's head shot toward Adam, each with different expressions. Stella's read along the lines of I know you didn't just do that while Mac's was more of a you better leave while you still can look.

Deciding Mac's was probably the better option; Adam swiftly turned around and headed out of the room as quickly as he could.

Shaking his head lightly in amusement, Mac turned back to Stella, who was currently trying her best to focus on the computer screen but was failing miserably.

"Stella, you should go home before whatever you have gets worse."

"Mac," she responded, growing frustrated. "I'm fine okay. I can manage the rest of my shift."

"Stella, I really think it's better it you…"

"Mac, please, just let me finish processing the evidence from the scene. I'll leave after that."

"No Stella," he replied, remained perfectly calm. He knew that her illness was the true reason behind her assertiveness.

"Mac," she stared to protest.

"Stella, take it as an order from your boss," he told her.

Knowing that after he played the 'I'm your boss' card there was nothing she could do, Stella stood from her chair with an aggravated sigh. Gathering her files together hastily, she made her way out of the room. As she walked past him, Mac could feel the heat radiating from her.

After she was gone from the room, Adam appeared from around the corner.

He looked at Mac and let out a nervous chuckle. "That was close huh? She looked like she wanted to bite our heads off."

Mac eyed the younger man for a moment. "Not mine Adam, just yours," he told her before leaving the room as well.

Alone the room, Adam unconsciously brought his hands to his neck. "Yup, still attached."

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Stella sat alone on her couch, wrapped in a thick wool blanket and surrounded by dirty tissues. She had the TV on but she was barely paying attention to it. Instead, she sat sulking in the fact the she was in her current situation.

Stella had hated a lot of things in the world; murderers, thieves, criminals in general, people who took advantage of others and so many other things. But sometimes she felt like more than anything, she hated being sick. In her mind, being sick was a sign of weakness. She hated having to rely on someone else to take care of her and help her do things she could normally do on her own.

She was also the type of person who hated taking medicine. She always believed that taking medicine would weaken her body's natural ability to fight off germs and that was unacceptable for her.

So there she sat, alone and struggling to maintain a sense of sanity when there was a knock at the front door.

Curious to the surprise visitor, she slowly moved from her position, removing the blanket and brushing off the tissues. She slowly made her way to the door and eyed the peephole.

A light chuckle escaped her face when she saw Mac's face on the other side of the door. Unlocking the locks on the door, she opened the door to see him with a paper bag in each hand.

"Mac, what are you doing here?"

He shrugged lightly. "Figured you could use a few things."

"Mac, you shouldn't have. I feel fine," she tried to tell him even though it was a pure lie.

"Is that why there's a dirty tissue on your hair?" he asked, slightly amused.

Quickly bringing her hand up to her hair, she felt the tissue and quickly removed from her hair and stuffed it into her pocket.

"Okay, I'll admit that my nose is a little runny, but you still shouldn't have Mac."

"But I did so are you going to let me in or make me stand here all day?" he asked with a smirk.

Rolling her eyes, Stella couldn't help but smile as she moved aside to let him in the apartment.

Moving past her, Mac made his way into the familiar apartment, and headed straight towards the living room. He sat the bags on the coffee table and motioned to the couch.

"Sit," he told her.

Knowing there was no reason to protest, Stella did as she was told and sat on the couch, trying to brush off the tissues everywhere. "I was in the middle of cleaning," she told him as she wrapped herself back in her blanket.

"Of course you were," he said with a chuckle.

"So, what did you bring me?" she asked, laying her head back on the back of the couch.

"Well," Mac started, reaching into one of the bags. "I've the things essential to relieving a cold. First, cold medicine," he said, pulling out the small box.

As much as she wanted to argue that she didn't need medicine, she knew it would fall upon deaf ears so she instead she decided to remain silent.

"I've also got a hearty sized helping of chicken soup," he continued, pulling out the large container.

Looking back towards the table, she smiled at the thought. "Thank you Mac. I appreciate it," she told him before motioning towards the other bag. "What's in there?"

Mac smiled at her before moving towards the bag. "Something special," he said simply.

"What?" she asked, her curiosity growing.

Smiling once more, Mac reached in the bag and pulled out the large box.

Forgetting for a moment that she was sick, Stella removed the blanket so that she could move forward and see through the clear plastic that covered the top. Her eyes widened when she realized exactly what was in the box.

"Carrot cake?"

Mac nodded. "Carrot cake."

"You remembered," Stella said, half in a whisper for she was in complete shock.

"I did," he told her. "I remember it was the first year we started working together. I remember you telling me how you're all time favorite foster mother, Ms. Julie, would always bake carrot cake for you when you were sick and it would always make you feel better. I figured maybe it would still work."

At that moment, Stella didn't know if it was the fact that Mac had remembered that little detail of her life or she was just that sick, but she couldn't control the sudden rush of emotion that hit her like a brick.

The tears slowly appeared in her eyes and began streaming down her face. She looked up at Mac to see him watching her, worried to the reason she was crying.

"Are you okay Stella?"

Knowing that her words wouldn't work, Stella stood from the sofa and moved towards Mac. When she reached him, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug.

Mac immediately relaxed him her arms, engulfing her in the same manner.

Leaning her head back, she looked up at him. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome," he replied in the same tone.

After returning her head to his shoulder, Stella seemed to be feeling better. From the moment on, she wondered if it was because of the fact that she had a full carrot cake on her coffee table or the fact that she was in the arms of a certain someone.

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Two Weeks Later

Adam made his way into Mac's office, armed with the results of the recent DNA test he was asked to run.

He pushed opened the door with his mouth open, prepared to start his findings with a typical 'Adam joke'. However, before he could, another sound interrupted him.

Achoo!

Adam watched his boss blow his nose on a tissue. "Wow boss, seems something's going around. I better start running before it catches me," he commented with a chuckle.

He stopped however when he noticed the death stare that Mac was currently giving him.

Realizing that his best option was to leave, Adam hastily placed the file he had been carrying on the man's desk and then backed out of the room.

Once he was completely out, he let out the breath he had been holding since he saw Mac's expression.

Preparing to head back to the DNA lab, he noticed Stella heading towards Mac's office.

"Hey Stell, you might not want to go in there," he told her, holding up his hands.

"Why not?"

"I think he's got that cold you had a couple weeks ago. He doesn't have his usual jolly personality."

Stella chucked before placing a hand on Adam's shoulder. "Okay Adam, two things. First, there are a lot of words that describe Mac Taylor but jolly is definitely not one of them. And second, I've got the cure right here," she said, motioning to the box in her hand.

Adam looked at it and read the words displayed on the top.

"Carrot cake?" he questioned.

Stella nodded with a smirk. "Carrot cake."