Author's Note: A quick oneshot inspired by Episode 4.05. A different writing style for me, but I like experimenting. Please Review, no flames allowed!

He sits on a ledge, his feet dangling beneath him in the cool wind. He hears footsteps behind him but doesn't turn around, too wrapped up in his own thoughts to care. She sits beside him with a sigh and he knows who it is immediately and for a long time, neither one of them speaks.

"I'm sorry," She finally whispers, sincerity in her voice. He wants to smile, but he can't. He knows that she never liked her, though she would smile and keep her façade perfect. He also knows that she's truly sorry to see him like this, upset at how someone could do this to him.

"I think I always saw it coming." He answers back, voice as normal as he could manage. He finally turns to her, seeing her smile encouragingly at him. He smiles back before turning back to the nighttime sky. "I always knew her heart was in London. I just never saw this coming."

"Even if you did, I'm sure you would have blocked it as sort of your own way to keep it from happening." He laughs at this, thinking that she sounds like the department psychologists. She laughs with him, shaking her head and letting her hand rest gently on his shoulder. "Everything happens for a reason, Mac."

He nods slowly, absorbing her words. It was thanks to her that he'd found Peyton. She'd drug him out of his faceless shell and reintroduced him to the world. He owed her everything. There was a part of him that didn't miss Peyton, that had always known that no matter what happened, they wouldn't have the fairy tale ending. Maybe he didn't want a fairy tale ending. Maybe he didn't want to be a Knight In Shining armor. Maybe he just wanted to be… him. He looks at her, seeing her eyes stare back at him, waiting for him to speak. "Stella.." His voice sounds tired, weary. "I sometimes wonder if it's worth it."

"If what's worth it?" A confused expression crosses her pretty features as she frowns, before realizing what he means before he even explains. "Oh, Mac. Of course it is. It was worth it with Claire, wasn't it?"

He feels a slight twinge at the sound of Claire's name. Just because he'd moved on, didn't mean it didn't still hurt. "Yes, it was worth it. But she isn't here, is she? It was worth it with Peyton, but she isn't here. Is it really, truly worth it?"

She stares at him for several minutes, her mind working to find some words that could comfort him. But there would be no comforting him, she knows this, so she tries to answer truthfully, the way she really feels. "I think.. If you'd truly loved Peyton, you wouldn't have let her go like that. You didn't have that choice with Claire. Mac.. I think your problem is.. You just haven't found the right one yet. And you might not. But if you do, it will be worth it. And then some." She knows he likes the brutal truth and so she speaks truthfully. There is never a guarantee that one will find the right person for them. They can only hope, and work to try and find the right one. But she knew from experience that if you let looking for the right one consume your life, you really wouldn't find them.

He smiles at her, the first real smile in a very long time. "Thank you, Stella. I know I can always count on you." He puts an arm around her and pulls her into a tight, one armed hug. They stay like this for awhile until he tells her he's tired, and going home. She tells him goodnight with the smile that deceives everyone and waits until he's long gone before she speaks again, her voice a faint whisper, yet a scream above the noisy city.

"And maybe the right one, is standing right in front of you."

-Fin-