The Real Don Quixote: Deleted Scene #1: It's A Fine Line
Because Katycat1970 just couldn't keep her ideas to herself :p Though she's absolutely right!
This is exactly what is says on the tin. Imagine this as my DVD extras – this was simply a scene which doesn't fit into my actual story arc, but I wanted to write as an indulgence anyway, and since we need as many fics to keep us going as possible (June is too far away) I'm sharing this with you! :)
This is set after "The Real Don Quixote – Chapter 3 Pt. III: A Guy Walks Into A Bar…"
Jim and Lisa, Maggie and Don, and Neal and Kaylee had all respectively disappeared off to enjoy what remained of Valentine's day, whilst the dwindling crown of Singletons of the News Night Team were starting to head for home, relatively pissed after a night of celebrating their broadcast victory.
Charlie had been put in a taxi by Will and Jim about an hour before after he had started going on about heart-shaped penguins just after half past eleven, and so as Tamara and Tess left, Will and Mac became the only two remaining.
They had managed to get past their earlier fall out and had spent a rather enjoyable evening teasing Jim, playing drinking games with the staffers, and listening to Charlie going on about his first date with a woman called Vivian back in the 50's, or as Mac liked to call them, the Dark Ages.
All in all, they had managed to have a pleasant evening together mainly by interacting with everyone else, and not directly with each other. Now, however, they had only two choices: risk doing so, or call it a night, play it safe and go home. Even in her drunken state, Mac decided that the first option was too risky. She didn't want to spoil things.
"I think I'm going to head home too!" She spoke loudly into Will's ear over the music, finishing the rest of her drink in one swallow. He looked funnily at her for moment, as though he was processing what she had just said. The words finally sunk in and he pouted for a minute before giving a shrewd nod and doing the same.
Standing up in a rather wobbly fashion, he picked Mac's coat off the back of her chair and held it out to her. She smiled appreciatively at her and pushed herself up slowly by the arms of her chair, although she overbalanced on her heels and slumped back down again, causing will to laugh – she would almost go as far as to call it a giggle. Frowning, but trying to hide her own self-deprecating laughter, she whacked his leg with her handbag (only causing him to laugh harder) and tried again. This time she made it, although she cursed the fact that she had worn heels – this always happened! She supposed one solution would be to simply stop wearing the damn things; but then Will would have an even greater height advantage, and that just wouldn't do.
Will steadied her with a grip on her arm and helped her slip both into her coat. She turned around to find him once more trying to laugh, and she bumped him playfully on the arm.
"Let me walk you home." He suggested, hands in his pockets, looking vaguely into her eyes, his pupils wide and slightly unfocussed. "Come on, it's cold and icy, and you'll fall in those heels."
"I can just get a taxi!" She protested, feeling slightly dizzy now that she was standing.
"Mackenzie, in my life I have never known you to take a taxi unless Charlie or I put you in one. Are you really going to try and lie to me?" She tried the puppy dog eyes. "No."
"Ooft. Okay then." He raised his eyebrows in mock outrage and she finally giggled, curling her left arm around the crook of his elbow and after a moment he relented and sent her a warm, tipsy smile back, tucking her hand tight into his side.
They staggered out of the bar together, laughing whenever one of them bumped something or if Mac's heel got caught in a crack on the sidewalk. The cold, crisp February air seemed to be doing nothing to lessen the potency of the alcohol in their system – if anything it was making them feel woozier.
Mac had to pull on Will's arm to stop him walking past the door to her apartment block. "Waaaaaaaa-oh! Will! This is me."
He stumbled backwards, grabbing onto her waist, grinning goofily as she laughed and pushed the door open, waving a hello to the security guard. He let her go as she practically bounced up to the elevator to push the button.
He walked up to her, leaning on the opposite side of the elevator door to her. "What floor you on?"
"Fourteenth." She smiled at him, though she frowned thoughtfully and added, "Though, there isn't actually a thirteenth…"
"Wow. Superstitious builders?" She shrugged.
"They were finished in 2002."
The elevator pinged and Mac vaguely registered that the reason she had decided to go home when she had was because she had not wanted any stupid, drunken antics to happen between her and Will; yet here they were getting into the elevator up to her flat, and she was doing nothing to stop it. Why had she allowed this to happen?
The relaxed, fairly inebriated section of her brain argued that she would already have thought of this, and because she was drunk would just have forgotten the acceptable reason she must have come up with, which the alcohol had since made her forget. By the time she had reached the end of that line of argument, she had also forgotten why she had started it.
The car reached the "fourteenth" floor and she led the way down her corridor, occasionally bumping off a wall as she tried to walk and at the same time rummaged through her bag to fish out her keys. As she took them out, Will grabbed her elbow and gently turned her to face him. He let his hand drop until it gently curled into hers.
"I'm glad I came out tonight." He said it quietly, a small smile managing to flicker across his sombre expression.
She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that were she sober, some sort of alarm bell would be going off in her head at this moment, but the alcohol was numbing everything and so she smiled shyly back, returning the pressure on her hand.
"First happy Valentine's I've had in a long ti – well, since –" Will admitted awkwardly.
"Will, I'm going to stop you there." Mac said firmly, placing one finger just above his lips. "Not tonight. Please don't spoil this."
Although not entirely sure what "this" was, her pleading look resulted in a wider smile breaking out over his face and a relieved one spreading across hers.
"Okay. Goodnight Mackenzie." He pulled her into a slightly tipsy, definitely clumsy hug; but she fell willingly into him anyway, burying her head into the crook of his neck. They stood there for a moment, just enjoying being back in each other's arms for the second time that evening – miracles will never cease!
As Will eventually moved back, smiling still, and leaned in slightly to peck her cheek; only Mac was having a similar idea. With coordination not at its best for either party, it resulted in lips meeting lips – a jolt of electricity to the nervous system which made them magnetically drawn to each other.
Before she had realised what was happening, Mackenzie's back gently hit the door as Will's arms wound around their way around her back. Hers were on his chest and curled into the hairs at the bottom of his neck as his lips gently battled hers, causing her to moan unexpectedly and encouraging Will to draw her even closer, catching her top lip and nibbling it.
When they had no more air to continue they broke apart slightly, but only so far that Will's forehead rested against hers. They were breathing as though they had just run the New York marathon.
"I'm sorry." Will managed to whisper, his voice contradicting his words and his fingers nevertheless tapping a rhythm on her hip. Mac shook her head, trying to catch her breath.
"Don't be." There was a pause, "I'm not."
Their eyes met in that instance and her mind managed to clear itself enough to see just how torn his expression was. Reality crashed down around her and she smiled sadly, cupping his cheek with the hand that had been at his neck.
"It's okay Will. Really. Thanks for getting me back." He still looked confused and uncertain, and her heart broke a tiny bit. She laughed nervously, "Go Billy."
A resolved look formed behind his eyes, and he nodded. But he didn't leave before he leaned in once more to leave a gentle, lingering last kiss on her lips. "Happy Valentine's Day, Mac." He murmured against her lips before he was walking shakily back towards the elevator.
Mackenzie finally opened her eyes once more just in time to see him round the corner and out of her sight.
As she was struggling to fit the key into the lock she heard the elevator arrive and the doors close again.
Everyone on the News Night team woke up with a hangover the next morning.
Whether Will and Mac didn't remember the kiss outside her apartment, or simply chose not to acknowledge it, no one was any the wiser. They behaved normally towards each other; nothing unusual was noticeable.
The only thing which is certain is that sometimes we find ourselves in situations where it is a fine line between dreams and reality, and no way of proving either truth unless the moment can be recreated.
NOT cannonical for my actual story...just a deleted scene. Do with it as you wish :)