'Hey boss we're all going for a drink if you fancy coming?'

'I'm not sure Danny I've got so much paperwork to finish' he gestured to the mountain of files currently stack on his desk to prove his point 'I've fallen behind lately with all the cases we've had on go'

'Oh come on Mac it'll be fun and I may even buy the first round' Jo laughed as she breezed into the office grabbing his coat from the stand holding it out for him to take the expression on her face telling him he wasn't about to win this one, he never did when Jo got involved. Admitting defeat he sighed closing the file he'd been reading before he'd been interrupted.

'Ok Ok I'll come but only for a bit' he turned to look at her directly 'and I'm holding you to that offer, first rounds on you'

'Deal'

'Right we'll I'm going to go round up everyone else. I'll see you two down O'Brian's in a bit' making his escape he quickly set off in search of his wife eager to get out of the place as quickly as possible.

'You ready to go?' as he took her in properly for the first time since she'd entered his office the answer to his question was obvious. She had her coat on already and seemed eager to get going. Laughing at her childlike excitement he quickly took his cost from her and switched the lights off 'Come on let's get this over with'

'Oh Mac' she playfully slapped his arm 'it won't be that bad plus you'll be with me' she flashed him a cheeky grin linking her arms in his she gently pulled him towards the elevators.

Several hours later and they were all sat in a corner booth talking about anything and everything besides work. It was times like these as he watched his makeshift family laughing and joking together that he really noticed Stella's absence. It had been over a year since she had left but every so often he found himself thinking about her and how things used to be. They'd been best friends for well over ten years; she'd been there for him in his darkest moments when Claire had died and now they were reduced to brief call every now and again when they could manage to fit it in, which presently wasn't very often.

Looking around the table again he briefly caught Jo's eye. He realised as he watched her laugh at something Adam had said that for all his wallowing in the past he was missing what was right in front of him. Whatever hole had been left by Stella's departure had quickly been filled by Jo and as much as he missed Stella he couldn't imagine Jo not being a part of the family they had created. Sensing Jo's eyes on him he realised she was studying him trying to figure out what was going through his head. It was one of the things he loved about her but also one of the things that infuriated him most about her. She always seemed to know exactly when she was needed and what if anything she needed to do to make things better. It did however mean that she often overlooked her own needs in favour of tending to everyone else's. She was distracted from her observations by Flack who was discreetly turning her in the direction of the bar pointing out it was her round again. He watched their progression to the bar and made a mental note to keep a closer eye on just how much they were drinking as neither of them seemed to be able to walk in a straight line and from where he was sitting the bar seemed to be the only think holding Flack upright something Jo seemed to be finding particularly amusing.

A few more rounds and a karaoke session, which he had thankfully been able to avoid participating in, later everyone seemed to be extremely merry and more relaxed than he'd seen them in a while. Flack and Jo were particularly merry, not long after their little trip to the bar he'd discovered they were engaged in a competition to see who could handle their alcohol better, something in his opinion they were currently both failing at. He was also well aware that Danny had instigated their little rivalry and was currently enjoying every minute of it.

'Looks like someone's enjoying themselves huh' Hawke's motioned towards Flack, Jo, Danny and Adam who had relocated to the pool table in the corner of the bar.

'Yeah'

'Going to be some sore heads in the morning I reckon' It amazed Mac that certain members of the group were still standing to be honest and as he watched Adam attempt to set up the pool table he realised Jo and Flack weren't the only ones he needed to keep an eye on. Thankfully Lindsey seemed to be in total control and having just joined the group took over from Adam after instructing him to sit down and drink some water. Stumbling back to the table Mac watched as he slumped into his seat and began to close his eyes 'Right I think I might get going. One of us needs to be alert in the morning'

'Alright night' he turned to face Adam 'actually do you think you could drop him home on your way. I think he's done for the night'

'Sure no problem Mac. Come on Adam lets go home. See you guys' he waved over at the table receiving an enthusiastic 'bye Doc' in return. 'I don't think he's the only one who should be calling it a night' Mac's attention was drawn back to the pool table just in time to see Flack send the ball shooting off the table and bounce along the floor to the amusement of the other three who seemed content to stand back and watch as he frantically scrambled around the floor trying to pick it up. Eventually Lindsey took pity on him and picked the ball up, which only made the others laugh harder, except Flack who now seemed to be sulking. Realising Hawkes was right he gathered everyone's thinks up and headed towards the table.

'I think it's about time I got going' he turned to Flack and Jo 'Come on I'll drop you two home on the way'

'You sure you can handle these two on your own Mac, I mean you just saw what happened right'

'Yeah I'll be fine you two get off and say hi to that gorgeous goddaughter of mine for me'

'Will do night Mac night Flack night Jo'

'Night' after watching them leave he turned his attention back to his charges both of which still seemed to be hung up on Flacks earlier mishap 'right then you two time to go home'

It turned out to be harder to get them both home safely than he had imagined. After several stumbles he had finally managed to get them to the car twenty minutes after he'd suggested leaving and now as he sat outside Flack's apartment he was faced with another problem. Flack seemed incapable of standing let alone walking up to his apartment unaided and Jo was currently dozing in the front seat. Making sure the car was securely locked he set about helping Flack in looking back as they entered the building to make sure Jo was ok. It wasn't an ideal situation and if he could have thought of another option other then waking her there was no way he'd leave her in the car alone but to be honest at this point she would probably only add to the problems he was facing.

Flack was extremely uncooperative when drunk and it took him a lot longer to get him settled than he had liked. He had left Jo outside in the car alone for a lot longer than he was comfortable with. Locking the door with the spare key he had he quickly made his way back outside relieved to find she was still sound asleep in the passenger seat in exactly the same position he had left her. When they finally reached her apartment he was reluctant to wake her. Despite the unnatural position she seemed to have gotten herself into she looked so peaceful, the glow o the streetlight illuminating her features making her look even more beautiful

'Jo' he shook her gently watching as she stirred slightly 'Come on we're home' opening her eyes slightly he could see the confusion written all over her face 'Come on I'll help you up to your apartment'

Compared to Flack Jo was easy to get upstairs, getting into her apartment however proved tricky. If he thought her desk was a mess it was nothing compared to the inside of her bag. Eventually after emptying the entire contents on the landing floor she finally found them. He started to pick up the contents of her bag when he noticed her struggling to open the door taking the keys of her he quickly made light work of the lock and directed her to her bedroom before returning for her things. Returning to her room he was thankful to find her asleep, covering her with a blanket on the foot of her bed. He checked in on Ellie to make sure they hadn't woke her up, which by some miracle they hadn't before heading to the living room and settling down on the settee. Unlike with Flack he didn't have a spare key to Jo's apartment and he had no idea where she kept one so he was staying put tonight. He had to admit he was exhausted the past few weeks were finally beginning to catch up with him, as he drifted off to sleep he couldn't help but smile despite everything he was happy and could attribute most of his new found happiness to one woman, Jo.