Hi all,
well here it is Leese, I've finally finished it after days of 
promising to do so!!!
Sorry if it doesn't flow smoothly, too many thoughts on the one 
topic!!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy and I'll be back soon with another.

Choices~
Author: Louise
Email: lj_brown2@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: I do not own Stingers, etc. etc. etc.

The factory~
Mac appeared in the doorway to her office, "Danni, can I see you for 
a moment?"
"Yep," Danni replied quietly as she stood from her chair making her 
way to Mac's office. She closed the door behind her and took a seat 
opposite Mac.
"Now, Danni," Mac began looking up at her smiling. "We can either 
discuss your plans for maternity leave now, or you can wait until a 
new head of undercover is appointed and discuss it with them."
"Who will that be?"
"Ah, at this stage, Pete looks to be the front-runner for the job," 
she replied with a smile.
Danni looked up at Mac, tears appearing in her eyes, "Mac, maternity 
leave won't be necessary."
"Why…have you decided to leave the force?" Mac asked with a confused 
look.
"No, um, last week, when I was off sick,"
"Yeah," Mac replied nodding her head, urging Danni to continue.
"I had a miscarriage."
"Oh, Danni…I'm sorry…why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Danni wiped her eyes with a tissue, "I just wanted to forget all 
about it…It's probably for the best. I mean, I would have been a 
single mother, not to mention the difficulties of working in the 
force." Danni forced herself to half smile.
"What about the father? How does he feel about the news?" Danni was 
shocked by this question. Obviously Pete hadn't told Mac.
"It was only a one nighter, it didn't mean anything. Anyway, I think 
his heart belongs to someone else." The phone interrupted their 
discussion, although Danni seemed to be relieved that she didn't have 
to answer any more difficult questions.
"Sorry…Danni, if you want to talk later, my door's open."
Danni stood, heading for the door, "yeah, thanks Mac."
"Mackenzie," said Mac into the phone.
"…Right, okay. I'll be right in. Bye."

As soon as Danni heard Mac's car leave the factory, she walked over 
to Pete who was in the locker room.
"Why didn't you tell Mac about the baby?"
Pete turned around sharply to face her, "you didn't tell her, did 
you?"
"No Pete, relax. It's your place to tell her."
"I was going to tell her, I just, I never found the right moment to 
bring it up...Anyway, doesn't matter now, does it?"
Danni rolled her eyes, "Mac has a right to know, even though there is 
no longer a baby."
"What's the point? You know what she's like…once I tell her, she'll 
never talk to me again!"
"Pete, I know. But it'd hurt Mac more if the news came from somewhere 
else. All it takes is a few rumours. She's better off hearing it from 
you."

Pete followed Mac into her office upon her return from headquarters 
and closed the door behind him. "So, what is it?"
"An adoption case. There have been reports of eight babies who were 
supposed to be legally adopted, but went missing shortly after birth, 
only to be adopted illegally."
"How?"
Mac handed Pete the file, "whoever is behind this, has paid off 
nurses who have easy access to newborns. They then deliver the babies 
to the organisers who have already lined up couples to adopt the 
children."
"Any leads?"
"A nurse has come forward as an informant and is being interviewed 
now."
Pete nodded, "how come you're not there for the interview?"
"We need to organise who's going in so we can immediately get 
started."
"And that'd be?" Pete asked with a grin.
Mac smiled, "you for starters."
"And…" he urged her.
"I don't think it'd be a good idea for Danni - "
Pete cut in, "yeah, too soon after the miscarriage."
"How do you know?" Mac asked suspiciously.
"Know what?" Pete didn't realise what he had said.
"That Danni had a miscarriage." Mac waited for Pete's response, but 
he didn't answer her. "Pete…" she urged.
Eventually he spoke, "ah, she told me." Pete started heading out the 
door, but decided against it and made his way back to where Mac was 
standing.
"Mac, if we really want this relationship to work, we should be 
honest with one another, right?"
Mac looked at Pete strangely, "yeah, but Pete, we really shouldn't be 
discussing it here."
"I want to…I need to tell you this now before I get too chicken." 
Pete was determined to eventually get it off his chest.
"Okay then, what is it?"
Pete hesitated for a moment but continued, "a couple of months ago, 
Danni and I had a one night stand, and, well…"
Mac looked sharply into Pete's eyes, realising what this was leading 
to, following her earlier discussion with Danni; Mac hearing Danni's 
line again, "it was only a one nighter, it didn't mean anything."
"You were the father of Danni's baby?" Mac shook her head in 
disbelief.
"Yeah." Was all Pete could say at that stage, sensing Mac's anger, 
and most of all hurt in her tone of voice.
Mac leant up against her desk, arms folded, "how long have you known 
about this?"
"Nearly two weeks…Mac, I wanted to tell you so many times, but I knew 
you would be angry at me!"
"Well Pete, congratulations…you've managed to get me even more pissed 
off than you could have imagined!" Mac dropped her line of sight from 
Pete to the floor. 
Pete lifted Mac's chin up so their eyes met, "when Danni told me 
about the miscarriage last week, I wasn't going to tell you at all, I 
thought what would be the point? But then I realised you mean more to 
me than the world and I want to share my life with you." Mac pushed 
passed him and moved behind her desk to sit down. She didn't want to 
hear this, they had an important case to do.
Without looking up, she spoke, "I have a briefing to organise, so if 
you don't mind…"
Pete understood she needed time to herself, so he quietly walked out 
and shut the door behind him. 

Mac was almost finished the brief. "Ange, you and Pete will be going 
in as a married couple seeking to adopt a newborn, okay?"
"But Mac, you've given me the next week off to look after Sam, 
starting from tomorrow!" Angie said confused.
Mac looked up at her, "ah, yeah, sorry Ange I forgot." She glanced 
over at Pete momentarily before continuing, "well, looks like I'm it…
Oscar, you're on surveillance with Danni." Mac stopped as she heard 
her mobile ringing. "That's all," she said retreating to her office.

"Mackenzie…you've got their names…right…yeah, I'll organise a meeting 
ASAP…thanks, bye." Mac hung up the phone just as Pete walked into her 
office. He waited a few minutes before speaking.
"You seemed a bit apprehensive to do the job."
Mac shrugged, "I just have a few things that need doing in case I get 
offered the homicide job."
"Bullshit!"
"It's the truth Pete. I'm not the one who's been telling lies!" She 
levelled Pete's gaze, waiting for his reply.
"I never lied to you…I just didn't tell you…"
"The truth!" She finished his sentence. "That constitutes lying."
Pete rolled his eyes, "it's not as if sleeping with Danni meant 
anything."
"That's not what bothers me, Pete. You didn't think I would get 
suspicious once Danni had the baby and you'd be looking after it 
regularly?"
"Oh, Mac, come off it! I was waiting for the right moment to tell 
you."
"What, once Danni was in labour?"
"This is ridiculous! Why are we wasting our time fighting about 
something that is now in the past?"
Mac shook her head, "because I don't know if I can trust you!"
"Mac, I made a mistake, I know that. Don't you think it's time we 
moved on from this?" Pete put a hand to Mac's cheek, trying to draw 
her in for a kiss, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Come in," Mac called out, pulling away from Pete. It was Oscar.
"The house is all set to go."
"Right, I'll just finish up here and we'll get going."

Cover house~
Mac got off the phone as Pete was bringing in the last of the 
suitcases from the car.
"So, is the meeting all organised?" Asked Pete, pointing to the phone 
that was still in Mac's hand.
"Yeah, 10.30 tomorrow morning." Mac replied without looking at Pete. 
From that, Pete got the hint that Mac was still angry with him, but 
instead of leaving their conversation at that, Pete decided to 
discuss what they had earlier that day.
"When are you going to get over the fact that I only told you about 
Danni's baby today?" 
Mac walked away, refusing to answer his question, but was pulled back 
instantly by Pete. "Ah, shit Pete!" Mac said grabbing her arm where 
Pete's hand had been.
"I'm sorry Mac, but I don't want you walking away from our 
relationship again without even trying to move passed this," Pete 
said in a determined voice.
"Try and move passed what exactly…the fact that you slept with 
another colleague of ours…that you kept it a secret from me…or that 
you didn't tell me about the baby until now?"
Pete saw the opportunity for a sarcastic remark and didn't hold 
back, "can I pick d, all of the above?"
Mac gave a small smile before thumping Pete in the chest, trying to 
hold back tears. "Pete, whenever I begin to feel safe and happy in a 
relationship, that it is actually going somewhere, something always 
gets in the way. I'm sick of it!"
"Come on Mac, that's not true."
"Think about it Pete. First, Bernie splits us up, then Bill gets 
blown to pieces and now finding out that you and Danni had a 
relationship where you got her pregnant."
"Mac, it wasn't a `relationship'!"
"I know, I know. It was a `one nighter'!" Mac replied looking down at 
her watch. "Look Pete, I'm tired. I think I might get an early night 
tonight."
Pete nodded, "okay…I'll ah, finish up down here, but I won't be long."
"I don't think it would be a good idea for us to sleep together, for 
tonight at least," Mac said as she headed up the stairs.

The next morning, the doorbell rang clearly into the house, "they're 
a punctual couple," Pete remarked as he went into the entrance. 
Moments later he reappeared in the living room, followed by a couple 
in their early forties. "Glenn, Sharon, this is my wife Sophie. 
Sophie, this is the Merchins."
"Yes, we spoke on the phone yesterday evening," greeted Sharon.
"We did indeed," replied Mac. "Can I get you a cup of tea…coffee?"
"No, we're fine, thankyou."
Glenn cleared his throat, ready to discuss business, "so, you're 
after a newborn?"
"Yeah, we've been through adoption agencies but we've gotten nowhere. 
Been on one waiting list for four and a half years now," replied 
Pete, grabbing hold of Mac's hand and holding it supportively.
"Good news, you won't have to wait that long," Glenn said with much 
certainty. "One of our clients should be going into labour within a 
couple of days or so."
Mac raised her eyebrows, "wow! We should have come to you sooner."
"Our clients trust us. We have ways of preventing adopted children 
from accessing their true background information. Therefore, our 
business is quite popular."
"Right, so what do we have to do to start the process?" Pete asked, 
leaning forward in anticipation.
Glenn pulled out a couple of pieces of paper and handed them to Mac 
and Pete, "here's some paperwork the two of you need to fill out and 
drop around to us tomorrow morning." He stood, followed by his 
wife. "We now have to organise things at the other end, so we'll 
leave you to it." Pete and Mac shook hands with Glenn and Sharon 
before they left. As soon as they were out the door, Mac got onto her 
phone, "Oscar, can you follow the Merchins…thanks, bye."

Royal Women's
Danni and Oscar stopped in the hospital car park just as a nurse was 
making her way to meet the Merchins. "Better get the camera ready," 
Oscar said with a grin spread across his face.
Danni grabbed it from the case and held it to her face, focussing in 
on the three targets. "They are certainly discussing some kind of 
business arrangement," Danni said, pointing out the body language.
"Well, well, well…look what Glenn has just pulled from his jacket." 
Stated Oscar, ensuring Danni was taking a photo.
"I would have thought money would be exchanged after they've received 
the baby?"
Oscar shrugged, "maybe it's a down payment to ensure her silence." 
Danni continued to take photos as Oscar let Mac know what was 
happening.

Merchin's house~
Mac and Pete tapped lightly on the door, papers in hand. 
"Sophie, Daniel. Hi, come in," greeted Sharon. "Oh good, you've 
completed the paper work?" She said indicating the papers in Mac's 
grasp.
"Yes, here," replied Mac handing them over.
Sharon continued to smile as she ushered Mac and Pete to take a 
seat. "We've just had some wonderful news," she began as Glenn joined 
them quietly. "You are the proud parents of a baby girl."
"Already?" Mac asked with raised eyebrows. 
"Yes. I know you probably feel it's sudden, but you were our only 
clients to adopt at the moment."
"After four and a half years of waiting with no results, one day does 
seem pretty darn sudden!" Pete said with a smile.
Sharon looked down at her watch, "you'll be pleased to know that you 
can meet her very soon."
"At the hospital?" Asked Mac.
"No, here."

Oscar's car~
"Here we go," said Oscar looking at the same nurse they saw yesterday 
with the Merchins, now carrying a small baby in her arms, running to 
her car. Danni pulled the camera out again and started taking more 
photographs. 
"No prizes for guessing where she's headed!"
Oscar's phone rang, "Hello…yeah we know, we're following her now…yeah 
not too far off…bye."
"What did Mac say?"
"That they are expecting the baby `very soon'."
Oscar and Danni watched as the nurse pulled into the Merchin's drive 
way and lifted the baby capsule out. The nurse spoke for a few 
moments with Sharon and handed the baby over after receiving the 
money. When the nurse had gone, Sharon disappeared back into the 
house.

Merchin's house~
Sharon slowly walked back into the living room, holding the sleeping 
baby and handed her over to Mac. Mac held her gently, smiling, "she's 
so adorable…and tiny." She looked back at Pete who was also smiling, 
but upon realising what had happened between them over the past few 
days, she avoided his eyes and looked back down at the baby.
"So, have you picked a name yet?" Glenn asked Pete.
"Ah, no we weren't really expecting this!" Pete replied walking over 
to nurse the tiny baby. 
"Well, you better hurry because we'll need the details so we can 
organise the birth certificate."
Mac spoke as she handed Pete the baby, "what about Lauren?"
"Yeah I like the sound of that," Pete nodded.
"Okay then, I'll get the certificate organised and drop it around to 
you sometime tomorrow…How does that sound?"
"No worries, sounds good."
Mac stood, "we should get going. Quite a few things to organise…
Thankyou for helping us."
"Our pleasure. Oh, and we'll receive the payment tomorrow upon 
presentation of the birth certificate."
"Bye," replied Pete and Mac as they both walked out of the house.

Danni watched on as Pete cuddled the baby into him, to keep her warm 
from the cold air. Tears began swelling in her eyes as she reflected 
on the loss of her baby. Pete's baby. 
"Oscar, can we go?" Asked Danni as she started sobbing 
uncontrollably. Oscar didn't know what to do. He and Angie were the 
only ones who didn't know about the pregnancy, or about Danni and 
Pete.
"Is everything alright Danni?" He asked as he grabbed her shoulder 
supportively.
She shook her head, "no, but can we just get out of here?"
"Yeah, sure," he replied starting the ignition. As he pulled out from 
the kerb, he looked back at Danni who was still upset about 
something, then into his rear view mirror to see Pete placing the 
baby into her capsule. Something was going on, he thought to himself.

Cover house~
Mac came back from her meeting at headquarters only to find Pete 
asleep on the sofa holding Lauren who was also sleeping soundly. She 
couldn't help but smile to herself as she continued to watch for a 
few more minutes. Mac disappeared upstairs to get out of her work 
clothes and by the time she came back down, Pete was awake.
"How long have you been back?" He asked while yawning.
"About five minutes."
Pete nodded as he looked down at the baby. "How did the meeting go 
with the selection committee…did you get the job?"
"Yeah…but I turned it down."
"What?" Pete exclaimed, causing the baby to stir. "Why did you do 
that?"
"I'm enjoying undercover too much. Besides I couldn't leave you with 
the ferret, could I?"
Pete looked surprised, "I thought you were putting in a good word for 
me?"
"The brass decided against it. Thought you had too many disciplinary 
problems…Anyway, the decision has been made and it is final."
Pete looked up from the baby, "what about us then?"
Mac levelled his gaze, "it won't work, Pete."
"Bullshit. You said yourself, we were good together!"
"Yeah we `were'."
"We still are."
Mac rolled her eyes. "What about Danni? We can't exactly have a 
relationship right under her nose so soon after she lost your baby. 
It wouldn't be fair on her."
"Mac, I slept with Danni once. That's all it was. I don't have any 
feelings for her."
"But she might have feelings for you."
"If she did she would have told me."
Mac smiled at the vision in front of her once again, "you'd make a 
great father!"
Pete scoffed, "yeah, one day maybe…lucky it's longer than what I 
thought a couple of weeks ago."
"Do you want a drink?" Mac asked as she opened the bottle of red 
beside her, not wanting to discuss that topic any longer.
"Yeah, thanks."

After they had finished drinking the two bottles of wine, Mac decided 
to put Lauren into bed. Pete followed her into the spare bedroom and 
leant over her shoulder a she placed Lauren into the bassinet.  Mac 
began breathing deeper as she felt Pete's warm breath on her neck. 
Her whole body tingling inside. She grabbed blindly behind her, 
feeling the back of Pete's head and he needed no further invitation 
to kiss her. 
"Pete, we can't…we have to stop!"
"Yes we can," he spun her around to face him, drawing her in with 
their lips meeting hesitantly. Mac pulled away as quickly as their 
lips met and left Pete standing by the bassinet as she walked away.

Mac opened the door to the Merchin's who were on time as 
usual. "Morning Glenn, Sharon, come in."
"How are you after night one?" Asked Sharon, noticing the bags under 
Mac's eyes.
"Fine…we were actually expecting Lauren to wake up more than she did. 
Other than that, we're all well."
"That's lovely to hear."
Pete appeared with a bag, handing it to Glenn, "here's the fifty 
thousand you required."
"Thankyou," he replied, pulling out a piece of paper. "And here is 
Lauren's birth certificate."
Mac looked at it thoroughly, "well, this looks like the real thing!" 

Van~
"That's the signal," said Danni.
Oscar grabbed his radio, "code three. Move in now!"

Royal Women's~
Mac approached the nurse's station in the maternity ward accompanied 
by two uniformed officers.
"I'm looking for nurse McAullife?"
The nurse at the desk looked around "She's just over there," she said 
pointing in the direction of a nurse talking to visitors of a 
patient. The nurse looked up to see police officers approaching her. 
She turned to run the other way but was stopped by orderlies wheeling 
a patient out of her room.
"Elizabeth McAullife, you are arrested for the abduction of new born 
babies and for assisting in the black market adoption scheme. Do you 
understand your charges?"
The nurse nodded in reply. "Get her out of here," Mac said to the two 
officers.

The factory~
Pete walked into Mac's office and sat down for a few moments before 
either of them spoke. 
"So," they both started simultaneously. Mac nodded her head for Pete 
to continue.
"Where's Lauren, ah…the baby, now?"
"With the couple who were originally adopting her."
They looked at one another, knowing what needed to be said, but not 
knowing how to say it.
"Mac, I don't want to lose you again…don't let some mistake that I 
was stupid enough to allow to happen ruin the chance for us to be 
together and to be happy!"
Mac stood and walked in front of where Pete was sitting. "I don't 
want that either. But I think you really need to have some time to 
think about what you really want…who you really want."
"I already know who that is, Mac, and so do you!" Pete stated as he 
stood, placing a hand on her cheek. Mac closed her eyes at his soft 
touch and opened tham only to find him walking out of her office.
"Just think about it some more Pete so it is a definite decision, one 
you won't regret," she said to his back as it disappeared into the 
darkness.