Mac had been watching Will throughout their meeting. Something was off. She couldn't figure it out. He was talking about stories and giving feedback. Maybe it was from spending so much time together that she was able to pick up some signal or sign, who knew, but she knew something was wrong.
After their meeting broke up he gathered his things and walked back to his office. She watched him walk past her. She wanted to stop him and find out but he wouldn't be comfortable talking in the conference room and with others around. She gathered her things and dropped them off in her office and then went to his.
He was sitting at his desk working, or at least it looked as if he was working. She pushed open his door and came around his desk and leaned against it, next to him.
He looked up at her but didn't say anything.
"What's wrong," she asked quietly.
He started to shake his head but her hand on his stopped him. "It's okay, tell me, please."
She was speaking to him very quietly and he was her sole focus. He'd not experienced this in a long time. If he was honest with himself, he'd missed being her sole focus.
Before he could answer her, his phone rang and someone pushed his door open. He held up his hand to the person in his office and answered his phone. When he was done with the call, he talked to the person who came in to ask him a question. When they were alone again he started to answer her and his phone beeped announcing a text message had been received.
"Tell me," she said touching his hand as he reached for the phone.
He looked up at her and said, "I don't feel well. I've got a sore throat and I'm achy. You could tell?"
Mac smiled at him and nodded. "No one else could, don't worry."
"You're sure?" he questioned.
She nodded at him. "I guess there is no getting you to go home and rest, is there?
He just looked at her. "I didn't think so. You aren't going to get any rest in here with people walking in and your phone ringing and beeping every couple of minutes."
He looked so tired to her.
"I have an idea. Do you have any sweats here?"
"I think so, why?" he asked. She could tell he was getting hoarse. She took his hand in hers and pulled him out of his chair and led him to his bathroom.
"Go change, please."
He was in his bathroom for a few minutes and when he came out he was in Adidas sweat pants and a red, long sleeved t-shirt.
"Come with me," she said leading him to her office. "Lay down," she said touching his back, gently pushing him to the couch.
Will lay on the couch while Mac opened her closet door. She brought a pillow to the couch, placed her hand on the back of Will's neck and lifted his head to put the pillow beneath him. She reached for the blanket and placed it over him, tucking him in. She sat on the edge of the couch. "I want you to rest, and if you need anything I'll be right over there."
Will watched her make a sign for her door and then tape it up. She locked her door and turned out the overhead lights. The only light still on was coming from a lamp on her desk. He closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep.
The sign on Mac's door instructed anyone who needed to talk with her to text her and she'd either meet with them outside her office, or she'd talk to them via email, or text.
She was working on her computer when he woke up, coughing. He sat up and she came over to the couch, handing him a glass of water and sat next to him, rubbing his back.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Do you have a fever?" she asked taking the water from him.
"Probably. Kind of feels like I do."
She moved his hair off of his forehead and placed her hand there. "You seem warm. Will you take some Tylenol?"
He nodded and she got up to get the medicine from her desk. She took out two pills and refilled his water glass. "Take these, please," she said handing him the water and the pills.
"Are you getting anything done with me in here?"
She smiled at him. He didn't want to bother anyone. "I'm getting lots done. I was about to go get something for lunch. May I bring you some soup?"
"Do you mind?"
She smiled at him. "Not at all. The deli down the block okay?"
"Perfect. Will you pick me up a ginger ale?"
"Are you nauseous?"
"Little bit."
"Okay, I'm going to go get us some lunch and I'll be back in a few minutes. I want you to lie here and try to relax," she said helping him lie back down and tucked his blanket back around him. She leaned down and kissed his forehead and as she was leaving his side he grabbed her hand. "What's wrong?" she asked, sitting beside him on the couch.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. You just rest and I'll be back in a few minutes."
Will had never been the typical male patient. He didn't want to bother anybody and he just plowed through his normal routine. She didn't know if it was because of his childhood or what. If she had to guess she'd guess it stemmed from the abuse and he didn't want to call attention to his self.
He'd fallen back asleep while Mac was out getting their lunch. When she'd returned she very quietly placed their lunch on her table and sat on the edge of the couch and touched his arm. Instead of waking, he took her hand in his and mumbled her name. She smiled at him and pushed his hair back off his forehead, feeling for a fever. Fortunately he was cooler than before, the Tylenol had worked to bring down his fever. His eyes popped open when she was feeling his forehead.
"Hi," she said quietly. "Feeling any better?"
He shook his head.
"I brought you some chicken and rice soup and a turkey sandwich. I wasn't sure how hungry you'd be, but I'd like you to at least try some soup. We don't want you to get dehydrated. Can you sit up?" she asked moving off the couch so he'd have room. She started across to get their lunch and he pulled her back between his legs and looked up at her. "Are you okay?"
He let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her waist, his head rested against her stomach. "Thank you."
She leaned down and kissed the top of his head, her hands on his shoulders. "You're welcome." He didn't let her go and she was not going to pull away from him.
He didn't let people see him like this; only Mac and she'd not been privy to him being this vulnerable in a long time.
"What's on the turkey sandwich?"
"Mustard, lettuce and tomatoes, pickles on the side," she replied.
"Perfect."
"Do you think you could eat some of the sandwich?"
He nodded against her stomach and then pulled back so he could look up at her.
"Good, you need to eat, it will help you feel better and then you can lay back down and rest."
"Can't. I've got to write my script."
"Will you let me write it for you?"
She used to write for him all the time. This was hard for him, letting someone else write for him.
"Would you?"
She smiled at him. "Of course I will," she said placing her hand on his cheek.
"Thanks. I think if I rest I can do the show. It won't be my best show, but I can do it."
She didn't want him to feel he had to go on if he didn't feel well. "See how you feel. If you feel up to it, I'll be right there with you, okay?"
"Okay," he said and moved his arms from around her.
She got him his soup, sandwich and ginger ale, and then sat next to him with her veggie sandwich.
He ended up eating all of his soup and half of his sandwich. She took the trash and threw it in her garbage can. "Why don't you lay back down and try to sleep some more. I'll start on your script."
"You're sure you don't mind?"
She smiled at him. He didn't want to be a bother to any one. "Of course I don't mind. If I can write for you and you sleep a while and it will make you feel better, that's what I'm going to do. I want you to feel better."
"Thank you, Mac," he said laying back on the couch. He needed to thank her properly when he was feeling better. Maybe a nice dinner out just the two of them. He liked that idea; he really liked the idea of spending time with her, alone, out of this building. They'd been closer since he'd been out of the hospital. She was the only one he'd let see him this way.
It was just before the six o'clock meeting and he'd been asleep for most of the afternoon. She'd finished his script and he needed to look it over and he needed to catch up on the stories they were going to be doing later. She sat on the side of the couch and touched his arm and said, "Will," quietly as to not scare him.
"Mac," he said stretching. "What time is it?"
"5:30. Do you feel like going to the meeting and hearing what we're doing tonight?"
"Sure."
"No, do you feel like it, if not, you can stay in here and sleep. I need you to tell me if you feel like you can do the meeting and the show."
He looked at her for a few seconds trying to decide if he felt good enough to get up. "I think so," he finally said. "Let me sit here and read the script and then we'll go to the meeting."
She got up and grabbed the script from her desk and he sat up on the couch. "Here you go. Do you want some water or anything?"
"Do you have a cold bottle of water?" he asked.
"You start reading, I'll get you one."
When she returned she handed him his water and he looked up and said, "this is really good, thank you."
"You're welcome. How's your throat?"
"Doesn't hurt like before but still scratchy. I'll go to the meeting and do the show."
"Good," she said touching his arm. "Did you finish reading?"
"Yes, I'm good with the script, I just need to catch up on the stories," he said with a smile.
She handed him a remote and let him watch while she finished prepping for the meeting.
Their meeting went fine and he was all caught up now and he'd just finished changing for the show when she walked into his office. "I rather liked the red t-shirt, not that you don't look great, I like you in Armani."
"I prefer the red t-shirt, too," he said with a smile. He seemed to be feeling better. "What are you doing after the show?"
"No plans, why?"
"Want to get take out Chinese and talk for a while?"
She wasn't sure what he was getting at but she'd spend time with him any way she could. "Sounds lovely."
"Good," he said and they walked to the studio together and as they were about to split off he said, "good show."
"Good show," she replied and walked into the control room.
She could tell he wasn't at one hundred percent but she didn't know if the audience could tell, she didn't think so, though. He made it through the show and went to change back into his sweats and t-shirt. She was waiting for him when he finished changing. "Comfy?"
He smiled at her. "Very. You ready for dinner?"
"I am. I've not had Chinese in a couple of weeks, I'm going through withdrawal."
"We can't have that," he said grabbing his briefcase and escorting her to Lonny's SUV. They stopped outside Will's current favorite Chinese place and Lonny ran in to get their food while they remained in the vehicle. He rested his head against her shoulder.
"Are you tired?"
"Little bit. I shouldn't be, I slept all day." He was being hard on himself. She took his hand in hers.
"You're sick and you needed to sleep and I'm sure you're going to sleep through the night. It's what you need to do to get better."
"I don't like being sick." He sounded like a petulant little boy.
She smiled. "I know you don't."
Lonny rejoined them and drove them to Hudson Street and walked them in, handing their food to Mac. She thanked him and they both said good night to him.
"Where do you want to eat?" she asked.
"Bedroom. That okay?"
"Sure, go on in and I'll bring the food. What do you want to drink?"
"Just water, please," he said going back to the bedroom.
She grabbed them two plates, napkins and utensils and followed him back with the food.
She hadn't been in the bedroom since they'd found him unconscious on the bathroom floor. He saw her looking at the bathroom and took the food and plates, putting them on the bed.
He took her hands in his, "are you okay?"
"You scared me to death, all the blood and you were unconscious."
"I'm sorry," he said pulling her into his arms and held her against his chest.
"No, I'm sorry," she said pulling away from him. He could see she was upset still.
"You hungry?" he asked, trying to distract her.
"Thanks, yes." She knew he was offering her a lifeline.
"Let's eat," he said handing her a plate.
They ate sitting with their backs against the headboard, sitting very close together. At one point she reached with her fork for a piece of broccoli on his plate and he smiled. This was who they were, this felt normal, this felt right, them together.
After they'd finished he put their plates on his nightstand. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked when he saw her looking at the bathroom door. He scooted down and turned onto his side, watching her.
She shook her head.
"When you're ready, we can talk about it," he said, taking her hand. "You took really good care of me today, thank you."
She turned onto her side and said, "I'm sorry you're sick."
"Do I get to lay on your couch all day tomorrow?"
"Any time you want, Billy," she said and yawned. "I'd better go or I'm going to fall asleep in a cab."
"Please stay."
"Will?"
"I really enjoyed hanging out with you all day and I don't want that to end, Mac."
"I can stay, I don't mind," she said thinking he wanted company.
"I don't just want company, Mac, I want you."
He was confusing her more and more by the moment. "What exactly are you asking for, Will?"
"I'm asking you to consider giving us another shot," he said taking her hand.
"Excuse me? You want us to date again?"
"I think that's a good place to start, don't you?" he asked.
"Why now? What's changed?"
"Today just reinforced something I'd known all along but refused to acknowledge."
"What's that?" she asked.
"How much I enjoy spending time with you, how much I trust you and want you to be the one person that knows everything. You knew something was wrong from early this morning, no one else did."
"You don't need to date me for me to know what's going on with you."
He was starting to get worried. "Do you not want to date, again?"
She smiled at him. "It's not that, I love you, I have for a long time and I want to be with you, long term. I just don't understand where this is coming from now?"
"Are you worried that today was an aberration and I won't feel this way tomorrow, or when I feel better?" he asked.
"I think you're feeling vulnerable and spending all day with me reminded you that you don't let people close to you and that scared you."
"Why do I pay a therapist?" he joked.
She sat up and said, "listen to me. I want everything with you, but I want you to feel the same way if we start dating again."
"Why do you think I don't?"
"I've been back a year and a half and most of that time you've spent angry at me. That doesn't just go away in a day's time."
"You think I'm angry? I'm not. I was at the beginning but a lot of that had to do with how the deal was done behind my back. How can I prove this to you?"
"You don't have to prove anything to me, you just have to be honest with me."
He was feeling frustrated and sat up next to her.
"Yes, today reminded me that I don't let people get too close. I liked you focusing on me, and what I needed, that I was your focus today. I liked that, I want that from you and I want to be able to focus on you and only you. I love you, and I want a future with you. Can we move forward, together?"
"Yes."
"Yes, Mac?"
She smiled at him. "Yes, Billy, we can move forward, together."
The next thing she knew his lips were on hers and his tongue was begging for entrance to her mouth. She granted him entrance and moved over so she could sit on his lap. He leaned back so she was resting against his chest with her hand in his hair holding him close to her.
He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.
"Are you okay?" Mac asked.
"As much as I love laying here kissing you, I don't want to get you sick."
"We've been hold up together pretty much all day."
"So you think you're going to get sick?" Will asked.
"There's a chance but maybe not. You, however, are sick and I want you to get better very soon, so you need to rest."
"Okay. Do you want something to sleep in, a t-shirt or something?"
"I guess sleeping naked isn't conducive to getting you to rest."
"Mac," he warned.
"Yes, please," she finally said, smiling at him.
He placed his hands on her waist and moved her off of him and got out of bed. He rummaged around in his dresser, looking for a specific t-shirt that she always used to wear.
"May I borrow some boxers to sleep in, too?" Mac asked.
"Sure," pulling a pair out and along with the t-shirt handed them to her. She got out of bed and began undressing. Will couldn't take his eyes off of her. She knew she was teasing him but she enjoyed having his complete attention, too.
"Are you going to change?" Mac asked smiling at him.
He walked over to her and kissed her. "You did that on purpose," he said smiling at her.
"I like having your attention, too. Do you need some help changing?" she offered, playing with the hem of his t-shirt.
"Love some," he said.
She took his shirt off of him and kissed his chest. "Will you be warm enough without a shirt?"
"I'll be fine."
She took off his pants, leaving him in his boxers. "Come on, I've got a spare toothbrush you can use," he said taking her into the bathroom. "It will be okay," he added.
All she could think about was finding him laying on the floor and the blood. He saw her struggling and took her into his arms. "I'm sorry I scared you."
She leaned back enough to see his face. "Never again, agreed?"
"I will try my best to never do that to you, again."
When they finished up in the bathroom they went back to the bed and he held the covers up for her to slide in with him following her.
"Come here," she said and he moved so his head was resting on her chest, his arm around her waist. Her fingers were sifting through his hair, gently rubbing his scalp.
"You're going to make me fall asleep," he mumbled.
She laughed gently, "that's the idea, sweetheart." It wasn't but a few minutes before he was asleep and then she allowed herself to fall asleep, holding him.
The next morning, he woke first and was still on her chest. He caressed her stomach and watched her begin to wake. He lifted himself off of her and kissed her.
"Mmm, Billy," she said as he pulled back.
"Good morning, sleepyhead."
"It is a good morning," she said reaching for him. He turned over and pulled her onto his chest, where she settled back down. "How are you feeling?"
He took a quick evaluation. "Good, I think all the rest worked."
"It usually does. It's hard to slow down long enough to get better though."
"Are you okay?"
She smiled. "I'm fine," she said moving so she was straddling his waist, her head lying on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and enjoyed simply holding her.
"I love you, Mac," he said stroking her hair.
"Love you, too," she said sleepily against his chest. It wasn't long until she fell asleep again.
His alarm sounded about an hour later and she reached over and cut the alarm off, and cuddled back against his chest.
"Don't want to get up?" he asked.
"I like where I am currently, thanks."
He chuckled. "How about we jump in the shower and Lonny and I will take you home to change and tonight you can come back and sleep on me again?"
"Sounds nice," she said, but still wasn't moving.
"I like you sleeping on me," he said quietly.
That made her sit up and she placed her hands on his cheeks and leaned down to kiss him and then got out of bed and held her hands out to him. "Let me remind you how much you like showering with me," she said and he took her hands and she led them into the bathroom to start another day, this time, together.
The End