A/N: This idea came from a gifset I saw on Tumblr. It's based off an episode of The West Wing called, 'Gaza'. Event's in the episode happened in here.
It is Will and Mackenzie. And they don't belong to me. Neither does the event that happens to Mac.
Entirely AU.
Read and Review. Thank you, lovelies.
His day had started out seemingly normal. He had his breakfast, left overs from the night before. He had a cup of coffee from the local Starbucks and a newspaper waiting for him in the lobby of ACN. When he got into the bullpen of News Night, there was no one there. The monitors were asleep, the lights in the conference room dimmed, evidence of the cleaning crew scattered around. It was nearing five o'clock in the morning; he sure as hell hoped no one was going to be here this early.
He opened his computer first, and then flipped on his lamp casting a warm glow in his office. His fingers clicked against the keyboard, entering his password then opening his email. He had fifteen unread emails between the time he left his apartment and getting into the office. And the one he was looking forward to sat in his inbox; the subject; Covering Gaza. It's sender? MacKenzie McHale.
Billy.
"I am not sending Elliot back there," Charlie said, turning the corner and stepping into the bullpen of News Night.
"Charlie," Will sighed. "Elliot wants to go back. He talked to his wife, she understands."
"No," Charlie denied, shaking his head. "He's not going back."
With that Charlie spun around and stormed down the hallway, passing Mackenzie on his way out. She had her notepad with her, that black folder tucked under her arm. She came up to Will and looked over her shoulder before looking back at the man who was now sitting against the desk.
"What was that all about?" Mackenzie asked, stepping toe to toe with Will.
"Charlie wants to send Elliot back into the Middle East. Gaza this time," Will sighed. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Elliot wants to go back. He talked to his wife. His wife knows this is his job. He knows-"
"I'll go," She offered quickly. Will snapped his head up, blue eyes matching brown. "I'll go to Gaza. I'll take Jim with me."
"You're not taking Jim," Will said quickly before pushing himself aside and making a beeline to his office. He held the door open, knowing Mackenzie was coming behind him.
"Who else would I take?" She asked, dropping her notepad onto a chair. She had a hand on her hip, her hip cocked to the side.
"No one, because you're not going," Will said before dropping down into his own chair. "I can't do this show without you. I can't have someone else in my ear yelling at me about the show."
"You'll have Don. You like Don," Mackenzie pointed out.
"Don just had the baby," Will tried. Mackenzie tilted her head and watched as he slammed his hands on his desk, coming around it and stepping in between her and the desk; their bodies touching. "You can't go over there, Mac, they'll take you out in a single go. You're an American. And right now, they're not liking us too much."
"They won't know I'm American when I start talking, Billy," She grated out. "Come on, Will, I've been over there before. No one knew if I was alive or dead for three weeks. I can handle this. And I'll take Jim with me. He knows what it's like over there. He was with me the last time."
"Where was he when you got stabbed?" Will asked bluntly, his hand coming to her waist, his thumb brushing over the scar that he's kissed numerous of times.
"He was being beaten," Mackenzie said darkly. "He'll take care of me, Will. He always has. Even when I came here three years ago. He was ready to stand between you and me so you could punch him instead of me."
"I'd never lay a hand on you, you know that."
"I do," Mackenzie agreed. "But he doesn't. He knows now. But not then."
Mackenzie put a hand to Will's face, forcing him to sit on the edge of his desk. "This is what I did before I came here. This is who I was before Brian came back and made you go over the deep end. I know how to be a reporter, Will. I know how to get a story."
"I hope so," Will said. "I taught you."
"Among other things," Mackenzie chided, adding a wink. She stepped into the V of his legs, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her chest into his, giving herself enough space between her and Will's face. "I will come back."
"You better," Will sighed before kissing her lightly. "Or else I'm going to have to find a new EP and that's just a bitch."
I'm sure you're sitting alone at your desk with a healthy glass of whiskey reading this. And if you're not, you're probably at the office, early, wishing you had a healthy glass of whiskey. Anyway. We landed in the evening and were immediately escorted to our hotel; a shabby thing really. Makes Motel 6 look like a palace.
This morning we're going to have breakfast with other reporters who are here to report on Gaza. They all want to know the reason for the sudden onslaught of death here; I know what it is. I want to know the effects it's having on the children. You should see them, Billy. Hundreds of kids walking the streets in nothing but old clothes and tattered shoes. It's heartbreaking.
Will leaned back in his chair, his eyes roaming the page and tilted his head back. The mentioned kids once while they were dating before and they haven't really mentioned it this time around, but he knew it was on her mind. She was a woman, and most women, at least the one's that he's dated, seem to melt at the sight of baby clothes or babies themselves. She was no different. Her step would slow while they were out shopping, when they'd pass a boutique and she'd look at the clothes, her eyes roaming them, a small smile playing at her lips.
She gave him a smile and a kiss to his cheek before yanking his hand down the street.
They never talked about. He didn't know if he wanted to.
He didn't know if she could.
"Your plane doesn't leave for another two hours," Will said wrapping his arms around Mackenzie's waist, stilling her hands at folding the blouses she was packing.
His lips trailed up her neck, his tongue edging around her ear. "Come on, Will," Mackenzie pushed.
His arms tightened around her waist. "You're going to be gone for god knows how many days and I just want to hug you."
"Hug me or do me?" Mackenzie asked, placing her hands over his.
"I can do both," Will laughed in her ear. He placed a kiss to her cheek and let her go, coming around the bed and laying down on it, a foot dipping into her bag.
Pulling his foot out, a pair of pink, lacy, underwear was hooked on his toe. "Will you stop behaving like a child? What part of my flight is in two hours don't you understand?"
"The part where you're leaving and going into another country." Will said, a smirk on his lips. He came to sit on the edge of the bed, his fingers playing with her red blouse. "This is the last time you'll be able to be with me. The last time. I'll be here and you'll be there, who will be able to satisfy you?"
"I could just ask Jim," Mac quipped back easily. He yanked her over him and then rolled her so that her back hit the sheets. She braced her arms against him, holding him away from her. "You're not jealous of Jim are you? Getting someone younger and cuter?"
"Maggie is you. Just a little more naïve," Will said, his lips attacking her throat. "And you're old enough to be her mother."
Mac smacked the back of his head, earning a groan from him into her neck. She smiled into his hair. "Come on, Billy," Mac moaned when his lips hit the point on her neck that made her stop breathing. "I really can't do this now."
"Oh but you can," He said, kissing her deeply.
She could.
And she did.
The homes here are gorgeous, the ones that are livable anyway. We drove through a town where they lived in broken homes, missing tiles, missing roofs, yet they all had a cable provider; the dish attached to their house some way. The gorgeous homes are the ones that are fully built, painted a nice color; but what I didn't know, those houses are rigged with explosives. Anyone who tried to get into them would die on the spot. The only people allowed in there are the military police. And even then, their lives are in danger.
"Will you need to come see this," It was Don at his door. The man had dark circles under his eyes. He had heard the beeping from the newsroom in here and caught the way people were moving about, but he didn't think of it.
"What is it?"
"Something you're going to want to see," Don said, not providing anymore Intel. Will's television screens were off, something he never did, but today for some reason, they stayed off.
Walking into the newsroom his heart sunk. On all of the screens was CNN's coverage of an explosion. A car was flipped over, people had cuts and bruises already on their faces; and in the corner of one of the screens he saw Jim. His eyes cut to Maggie who had a phone pressed to her ear, her eyes trained on the television screens. Will watched as Jim came further into the shot and his hand fumbling in his pocket picking out the enormous phone and pressing it to his ear.
"We can see you," Maggie said into the phone. Jim looked up and waved at the camera. "Yeah, I can see that. You have your watch on the other hand."
Jim nodded. "What's he saying?" Will asked quickly. "Ask him about Mac."
"Mac was in the other car," Maggie supplied, listening and watching. "They drove over a bomb, a land mine, she was in the car with two other reporters, one is dead, the other they don't know."
"Where is she?" Will questioned, putting his hands on his hips. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Charlie coming into the room, devastation on his face. "Where did they take her?"
"A hospital nearby. They're going to airlift her to Germany when she's stable enough," Maggie said over her shoulder, talking to Will. He nodded.
"I need a ticket. I need a plane ticket to Germany," Will said. "Someone call the airport and get me a fucking plane ticket."
He spun around only to have Tess behind him holding up a small piece of paper. "Friend of a friend works at JFK."
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Will questioned, snatching the paper out of her hand.
"You go to any window, give them this, and they'll book you on the next flight out," Tess informed him.
"Tell your friend of a friend that I owe them dinner," Will said heading for his office. "Can someone get me Lonny and get me a bag?!"
"It's done." He heard the man's voice bellowing through the newsroom. Will stuck his head out and low and behold his bodyguard was standing there in the middle with a black duffle bag. "I have it packed in case we need to get you out of the city."
Will looked at Charlie who simply nodded his head in the direction of the door. Will nodded his head and walked out of the bullpen, hearing Charlie's instructions to call with an update. He'd call when he felt ready.
Walking through the lobby he spotted Sloan, the four month old baby he had mentioned to Mac in her arms. "Where are you going?" She questioned.
"To Germany," Will said. "Mac's van was flipped over with explosives. Someone thought it was a good idea to blow up my girlfriend!"
His exclamation left Sloan in the middle of the lobby, her baby's cries snapping her out of the dread that built up in her stomach. Her best friend was hurt. The only real friend she's had in a long time was hurt. Sloan shook her head and walked to the elevators, turning around in the elevator shaft and watching as Will slipped into the car.
The food here is incredible. Do you remember that weekend you whisked me away and we ordered room service the entire weekend because the food was just that good? It's like that here. Most of it, if not all of it is grown in the fields that are on the outskirts. Every morning, before the sun comes up, they go out into the fields and pick whatever they can so they have fresh fruits and vegetables for the kitchens of the restaurants and for the outdoor market. Everything seems cheap to buy. But for these people, the people who rely on everything being stocked at all hours of the day, a piece of fruit costing seventy-five cents is worth it.
And the families who can't afford paying the seventy-five cents or even a quarter for the smaller things are forced to beg, borrow and steal what they can. It's the parent's mostly who do this for their children. It's why there are so many children wandering parentless in the streets. They have no one and are forced to fend for themselves. I talked to a man who claims he is this little town's priest, and he claims he goes into at least ten homes before lunch. Twenty more before dinner, and before the night is over he's called a few more times. The heat and the lack of water does a number to these people.
"Hey Will, your phone is ringing," Someone yelled at him, waking him up in his office. It was the night before the attack, so technically yesterday, but realistically, two days ago.
Will jerked his head forward and low and behold his phone was shining up at him, Mackenzie's picture in the face of his phone. He pressed the green button and pressed his phone to his ear, listening to the chatter on the other side.
"This is News Night 2.0, how can I help you?" Will said coyly into the phone, hearing her breathe a sigh of relief into the phone.
"Yes I'd like to order an ass kicking of the eight o'clock news anchor," Mackenzie chided into the phone. "You should be getting ready for the show."
"I've got ten minutes," Will confirmed looking at the watch she got him for his birthday. "Did you just land?"
"We've been here for a while now. I sent you an email. Did you get it?" Mackenzie asked him, her voice mumbling something to someone else on the other side.
"Not if you sent it to me recently. I haven't got a chance to read them. Hey what are you doing tomorrow morning?"
"In the next few minutes? A meeting. You know this," She said. "Why?"
"I haven't been sleeping. Figured I'd call you when I got up," Will played. "Hey, Don is waving at me like my pants are on fire. I gotta go."
"Hey, you know that message I swore you'd never find but you did anyway?"
"The Bin Laden one?" Mackenzie asked. "What about it?"
"I meant what I said." He said quietly.
"Oh Billy," Mackenzie sighed. "Go do your show and I'll call you later."
He hung up his phone and slid his phone across his desk and leaned back in his chair. He had thirty seconds to contemplate before Don busted through his door.
The walls of the German hospital were white and soulless. The beeps of the monitors could be heard down every corridor; given that it was in the middle of the night, it was a desert. No one was roaming the halls, and the fast paced click of his shoes echoed.
He rounded the corner and collided with a white coated doctor. He looked up at Will, a small smile playing at his lips.
"Mr. McAvoy?" The doctor asked his voice accent free. "I'm Doctor Fitzgerald. Your reporter was involved in a car accident in Gaza."
"Yeah. I know. That's why I'm here. And she's my girlfriend," Will corrected. He watched as the doctor's smile fade for a brief second.
"She had a visitor earlier and I just assumed he was the boyfriend. Especially when he didn't leave," Will followed the doctor to the door and he looked through the small window and saw the man in question.
Brian.
"Her left leg is broken in many different places," The doctor said, looking at Mackenzie in the bed. "Some of her ribs are cracked, two are broken; she's going to have a nasty bruise. She'll need to be looked after," The doctor instructed.
"Won't be a problem." Will said. "May I?"
The doctor nodded and he went into the room, earning a surprised look from Brian. The man stood up, vacating the seat.
"Look I didn't know you were coming," Brian started. Will held up a hand and pointed to the door. Brian nodded and left the room, leaving Will alone with Mackenzie.
Charlie. Mackenzie is fine. She's alive. Some broken bones and some gashes that are going to need to heal. I'll write more when I get a chance.
Will sent the message from his phone. He had tossed the flowers Brian brought and had them replaced with something from the local gift shop. He played the crossword, the number game, and read that day's paper all before sending Charlie the email. He had gotten texts from various people at News Nite. He had gotten emails from press people, wanting to know what happened; he didn't answer any of them. Charlie would fill them in.
His head snapped up at the sound of her moan. He sat on the edge of his chair, his hand going to hers. She moaned again, her eyes fluttering open. "Billy?"
Her voice was raw. "Hey," Will said breathlessly.
"You look like hell," She said, a small laugh coming out of her turning into a cough.
"Easy there Speed Racer," Will said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Do you remember what happened?"
"Yeah," She said, groaning at the sight of her leg lifted in a swing. "Land mine bomb."
"Yeah," Will said. "Sleep."
Billy,
I'll be coming home tomorrow and this trip has opened up my eyes. I want to come back. I want to never think of this trip again; yet I won't be able to get the sight of this place out of my mind. I'll have nightmares about it. I'll be able to report on it with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back.
I never want to do this again.
Mac was in the German hospital for a week before being transferred to a hospital in New York where she stayed for two weeks, under a pseudonym. Her ribs, even now, were black and blue, sore with any and nearly all movement. Her leg was still in a cast, but the bones surprisingly were mending quickly.
"I want to walk in," Mac said, from her spot in the wheelchair that was provided to her by the hospital.
They were in the elevator, nearly three weeks after she left, a month after she made the decision to go.
"Give me your hand," Mackenzie said as he pushed her out of the elevator shaft. "Will, give me your hand."
"Your still in a cast Mackenzie," Will reminded. "The doctor said nothing extraneous."
"Yet you still got me to scream yesterday," Mackenzie pointed out, reminding him. "Billy. Give me your hand."
His hand shot out and she placed hers in his, using him to lift herself up. She winced in pain and swayed, collapsing back into the chair. Tears sprung into her eyes, retracting her hand. The look that spread across her face was defeat. She swiped at the tears and shot her hand back out, slipping it into his.
She pulled herself up, her arm tensing once again, but she shook her head and stood straighter. She nodded her head as if giving him the go-ahead to help her around the corner and into the bullpen.
A rain of applause came the moment she stepped into the room. Jim came to her, having been home for nearly three weeks now. He wrapped his arm around her waist and steadied her, pulling her away from Will. Will gave him a small smiled and watched Mackenzie from a distanced spot.
He never wanted her to leave.
That was what this entire thing was.
Want.
I love you, Billy.