TITLE: "Positive Thinking" 

AUTHOR: Imogen Freeman 

DATE: 7/2/01

EMAIL: imfree_80@yahoo.com

Disclaimer- No, sorry, the rumours are not true; they
did not sell me Stingers. But, if they did, I would
share it with all of you.

Authour's note- Have you ever wondered if a single
event would change your life? Well, I did, with
Stingers of course, and this is the result. Some
scenes I created, but most would be vaguely familiar
to regular viewers. Especially from the end of the
2000 season. 
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"Man, this is the worst day of my life," Carlo told
Pete dismally. His girlfriend had just died from an
illegal operation. Pete did his best to console him,
but couldn't find the right words. Instead they sat on
the park bench in silence.
Pete thought about those words. 'The worst day of
my life'. He understood how Carlo felt, if he had been
feeling 1/10 of what Pete had felt on the worst day of
his life. 
He thought back; it wasn't that long ago. The
events were still fresh in his mind, as he guessed
they would be for some time.

*

(SOME MONTHS EARLIER)
He strode towards Mac hesitantly. She was sitting
in her car, in the hospital carpark. He could already
see the tears streaming down her face. If he wasn't
already worried, which he was, he definitely was now.
She then uttered those terrible words to him
through her tears, "it's positive, Pete," before he
took her in her arms. Pete struggled to comprehend
that this would mean the end of Mac, that she would
eventually die. He couldn't hold in the tears as they
cried into each other's shoulders.

*

(PRESENT)
Pete had reassured Carlo that he would catch the
bodgy doctor. Mac had already approved them doing the
case, and they had started to gather their evidence.
Mac was even going in to catch this guy, and in her
condition, Pete wasn't too sure how he felt about
this.
He also wished that Mac would confide in Angie,
Oscar and Danni with her situation. Mac told Pete it
was simple: she didn't want them to be worried. He
could understand that, but thought they had a right to
know.

*

For Mac it was business as usual. She was somewhat
concerned about her role in the latest sting, although
she trusted her team completely. She knew that they
would come through for her, and they wouldn't let her
down.
The plan was simple. She would meet the doctor,
prepare for the operation to remove her kidney before
saying the code words, "can you give me a minute?",
when her team would come to her rescue.
Once the sting was complete, she had arranged to
take Pete out for dinner. They had been eating in alot
lately, his place and hers, so they were going to go
out. Mac hadn't been up to doing much lately. She had
been feeling tired and run-down, but that was only to
be expected in her situation. The others figured it
was just stress, combined with the cold winter.
Mac smiled to herself. Despite the enormity of her
medical condition, she was happy. Her relationship
with Pete was terrific. Although it was no longer of a
physical nature, they were now closer than they had
ever been. She had been confiding in Pete alot lately,
and she knew that eventually she would have to tell
the others, and she knew that Pete would support her
through that.

*

Pete was at the hospital. It seemed that Carlo had
been causing trouble there. He was apologising to the
blond nurse, who had introduced herself as Collette.
Did he sense something between them? It had been so
long he had almost forgotten what it felt like.
They were interrupted by the ringing of a mobile
phone. "Sorry," Pete told her. "It's probably work."
"Yeah?" he answered. On the other end he could hear
Angie. She sounded concerned.
"Ang? That you? What's up?"
"We lost her, Pete. She left the tracker."
"You *lost* her? How could you *lose* her?"
"It's ok, Pete. We almost got to her in time."
"Almost?"
"Yeah, he made the incision, that's all we can tell
so far."
"Where are you now?"
"On our way to the hospital. How about you?"
"I'm already here," he said, noticing Collette's
unusual stare.
"Meet you there. Bye"
Pete hung up the phone, saying to Collette, "a
friend of mine's on her way in."
The next few minutes passed slowly, as Pete waited
for the ambulance. Suddenly, there she was. She hardly
filled the large hospital bed, and Angie was walking
along beside her.
"Mac? Mac?" Pete looked for a response.
"She's still sedated from the procedure," the
paramedic told him.
A doctor appeared, consulting the other medical
staff, before asking for Collette's assistance with
the patient.
Pete and Angie would have to wait for Mac there, in
the depressing waiting room. Pete suddenly remembered
something. "Wait!" he called down the hall.
The doctor and Collette stopped, and Pete ran to
them. "Do you have that doctor/paitent confidentiality
thing?" he asked breathlessly.
The doctor nodded.
"There's something you should know," he told them.
"She has HIV."
"Thamk you," the doctor said, before hurrying to
catch up with his patient. 

**

By the time Mac was wheeled back, Oscar and Danni
had arrived as well. They all followed the doctor into
the hospital room. He predicted that it would be a
while before Mac woke up, since she was still partly
sedated from the original operation and had to be
further sedated after being brought to the hospital.
The news, however, was good. There would be no
permanent damage, and she still had both kidneys. They
were all happy to see her, even though she was still
asleep. They talked around her for three more hours,
until Collette came in and requested they leave.
Pete decided to stay until Mac woke up. Collette
busied herself around the bed, fixing the chart, as
Mac slowly began to wake.
"Pete?"
"Hey, Mac, how are you feeling?"
"Tired. What happened?"
"You almost had one of your kidneys removed,"
Collette interjected.
Mac took a moment to absorb this information before
asking, "Did we get him? Have you told Carlo?"
Pete told her that the doctor was safely behind
bars, and that Carlo had been notified.
"Nurse, can I still take my other medicine? I'm HIV
positive."
"I'll just go check with the doctor," Collette told
her, before leaving the room. As she left, she saw him
pick up the patients' hand.
"I'm so sorry, we were meant to be going out for
dinner tonight," she told him.
"Well, technically we *are* out..." Pete replied
humorously. "Although, I'm not sure of the quality of
the food in this fine establishment..."

**

THREE WEEKS LATER...
Mac heard the mobile phone ring, so she checked her
bag. Sure enough, it was hers. She saw the familiar
number appear on the screen, along with the familiar
name. "HOLLESTER". Mac ignored it. She knew what it
was about.
It was about Angie's informant committing suicide.
Mac knew she shouldn't have pushed Angie so hard, so
she couldn't help feeling partly responsible for his
death. But she had to show them that she was still
capable of doing her job. After her stay in hospital,
she had decided to tell her unit about her
"condition". They were upset, but glad she told them.
She stood up and made her way back to the main
building of the hospital, winding her way to find
Oscar's room. She sat and talked with him for a while,
before his eyes grew heavier and he was struggling to
stay awake. Mac could now begin to see just how much
this injury had taken out of him.

*

Mac called by HQ on her way home. She knew she
would have to confront Bill sooner or later.
After they had spoke, Mac got up to leave.
"I don't suppose you'd care to join me for dinner,"
he asked nervously.
"Oh, Bill, now's not a good time. Plus, I already
have plans."
"That's fine, maybe some other time," he suggested,
knowing it would never happen.
Mac smiled, noddded and left him standing in the
centre of his office, content with the knowledge that
she would soon be at Pete's. She knew he would
understand her problems.