A/N: Don't own them or make money off of them, so play nice. Also, don't own Ava, she belongs to Lisa, (And Flack! LOL) she's from an AMAZING AU CSI: NY I definitely recommend checking out! Just search "Who Wants To Live Forever" by Tessastardean.
Mac surveyed his apartment with detailed scrutiny. He almost didn't recognize it with all the Christmas decorations. Mac turned as he heard a knock at the door and moved to let the person in. He laughed as he saw the young man laden with packages and bags of more decorations. Reed had definitely inherited Claire's love of decorating for the holiday, almost to the point of overkill.
"Reed, I really don't think my apartment can hold any more decorations. All the light reflecting off the tinsel is giving me a headache." Mac grabbed some of the wrapped packages, walking into the living room to put them under the small tree that gave off an aroma of something akin to a pine tree air freshener.
"Oh c'mon Mac, it's once a year. You need to let loose and live a little."
Mac raised an eyebrow at Reed, clearly not convinced.
"Besides, these aren't for here; I still have to finish decorating my apartment. I just wanted to drop off the presents early before Christmas Eve tomorrow night. I won't get a chance to stop by sooner; work over at the Times has been hectic."
"Still enjoying the job as much as when you started?" Mac had felt a swell of pride when he found out that the New York Times had hired Reed on as a writer for the paper and to also run an online news blog after the ordeal with the cabbie killer.
Reed grinned at Mac, "More than I could have ever imagined."
Smiling, Mac looked down at the names on the packages as he placed them under the tree, the lights blinking cheerfully. "Reed, why do you have a present here for Stella?"
Reed looked up as he was sorting through his decorations. "What? Oh, I got some small gifts as a thank you to your team for helping save my life."
"Yeah, Danny mentioned something about that. But why is Stella's here? Why didn't you just leave it for her at the lab like the others?"
Reed bit his lower lip, another thing that Claire used to do when she knew she was caught. Mac was surprised the memory didn't sting as much anymore.
"Ok, spill it. What'd you do?"
"In all honesty I haven't done anything. But I was hoping you'd invite her over tomorrow night for Christmas Eve dinner."
Mac looked at the hopeful look on Reed's face. He had contemplated asking her if she wanted to come over. It would be the first time in years that they weren't working at the lab over the holiday. He hated the idea of her sitting at home by herself, or worse, spending it with someone else, someone who wasn't him.
Sometime between Stella's close call with the HIV infection and her apartment catching fire, Mac had finally stopped trying to deny how he felt about her. She had become more than just his partner and best friend. All her energy and drive had brought calm to his life that he didn't think he'd find again. Not after Claire.
"Why exactly do you want me to invite Stella over for Christmas?"
"C'mon Mac. Why do you think I was so convinced she was Claire at first?"
"You said so yourself, you saw her coming from my home, the address the adoption agency gave you. So of course it'd be natural to assume that she was the person you were looking for."
Reed shook his head in disagreement. "No, that's NOT why."
Mac tilted his head, trying to figure out where Reed was going with this.
"You want to know the real reason I thought she was Claire? It's the look in your eyes you get whenever you're around her. They light up when you're around her. She's the only person I've ever seen you do that with. Even that British chick Peyton, you looked happy, but it still didn't compare to when you're around Stella."
"That's quite an observation."
Reed shrugged in response. "It's just what I've noticed being around you guys. Besides, I'm a reporter, I'm paid to be observant, find the truth even when it's hidden."
Mac chuckled at that. "Well if you ever get tired of that, I think you'd be a great asset to the Crime lab."
Reed grinned in response. "So?"
Mac raised his eyebrow at him, "So what?"
"Are you going to ask her?"
"She probably already has plans since we have tomorrow off."
"You said it yourself, she doesn't have any family, the closest thing she has is you guys from the lab."
Mac nodded slowly, weighing his options. Sinclair had finally given his team a break from the insanity of the lab. Danny and Lindsay were on their way to Montana to see her parents, Adam and Jess were with her family over in Jersey, and Flack was going to play "tour guide" to the new girl Ava from LA that he had a crush on. Hawkes was with his family over in Boston and Sid of course was with his family. Even if she didn't feel the same way about him, there's no reason they couldn't spend Christmas together as friends.
"Besides Mac, would you really want her spending Christmas alone? Or even worse, at some random bar or party? Somewhere you're not to keep an eye on her?"
"Don't you have work or something to get back to?"
Reed laughed, knowing he had discovered Mac's secret. "Yeah I do, gotta finish up a blog my editor wants out by tomorrow morning. Seriously though Mac, please ask her?"
"We'll see. Now get going. I'll see you tomorrow night alright?"
Nodding, Reed grabbed up the remaining bags of decorations, letting himself out the door. When he knew Mac wasn't near the door, he quickly grabbed the tape and the mistletoe he had hidden under a package of tinsel. Surveying his work he headed to the subway, pulling out his phone as he walked down the street. He waited for the other end to pick up. "Hey Messer, yeah, tell Lindsay the plan has been put into motion. Yeah, got it all set up. Hey man, have fun out in Montana! Yeah, Merry Christmas to you guys too!"
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Mac stood by the window in his living room, watching the setting sun as it broke through the dark clouds coming in. Looked like there was going to be snow for the holiday. Finally, deciding on a course of action, he picked up his phone, sending off a text message quickly before setting it down on the coffee table. He walked into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator. He heard his phone beep signaling a reply text message. Sitting down on the couch he grabbed the phone and laughed out loud as he read the reply.
M Taylor says: Dinner, my treat? Take out ok?
S Bonasera says: Thai ok with you? Can you pick up a movie too? And no more crime "dramas," my sides still hurt from laughing at that last one you picked out
Mac dialed the number for Stella's favorite Thai food place, Taste of Thai, and within minutes had their orders placed. He would pick it up on the way over to her apartment after getting a movie. Smiling to himself he grabbed his heavy coat and headed out the door, never noticing the newest addition to his door frame.
Twenty minutes later Mac was knocking on her door, a box full of Thai food in one arm and a selection of movies in the other. Stella always liked having a choice. He could hear her walking to the door, pausing to check to see who was there; even though she knew he was on his way. He silently cursed Frankie for instilling that fear in her. There was no trace of that fear though when she opened the door for him, her eyes sparkling.
"Mac! Perfect timing, I'm starving."
He couldn't help but return her infectious smile. "Good, because I got your favorites, the spicy noodles made medium, not hot, the rice, the Pad Thai, the bbq chicken and the salad with the peanut dressing. I even got you the iced coffee I know you like so much."
"You know how to spoil a girl."
Mac had followed Stella into her apartment, setting the food down on the kitchen counter as he made his way through the kitchen, grabbing plates and utensils with a practiced ease. Stella couldn't help but notice how at home he seemed in the room, how right it felt, them having dinner together.
"Stella?"
Suddenly Mac was directly in front of her. She shook her head, realizing she had been daydreaming. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"
Mac tilted his head slightly, studying the woman in front of him. "You sure you're ok? You were really deep in thought for a few minutes. I was just listing the movies I rented; it's your pick tonight. I got Imposter, Monty Python, Batman Begins or Serendipity."
Stella thought about it for a moment. "That's a tough choice, but I'm going to have to go with Batman Begins. There's something about Batman that I love. The dark soul, protecting the innocent people of Gotham, catching the bad guys. Ever since I was a little girl I used to dream about finding my own Bruce Wayne. I didn't care about the whole being rich thing, just who he was was always so attractive. But then again," Stella said with a laugh, "John Cusack is pretty good looking too."
Grinning as they walked into the living room with the food and drinks, Mac added, "So Batman then?"
Already busy taking a bite of the salad, Stella nodded in agreement. They spread out the meal on the coffee table as Mac put the DVD into the player. After getting the movie started he sat down next to Stella, close enough so they were just barely touching. They were silent as they dug into the food, watching as the movie came on the screen. After the last carton was emptied, Mac took a moment to look around the living room, noticing the lack of Christmas decorations.
"Waiting until the last minute to decorate for Christmas?"
Stella cast her eyes over at Mac and shrugged. "Didn't really see any point to decorate this year. I don't have anyone coming over or anything. I mean everyone's got their plans with family this year since we actually got the day off, so I might just relax with a good book and a glass of wine."
Mac turned his body so he was facing her, his arm stretched out on the couch behind her. "I have a better idea, why don't you come over tomorrow night and have Christmas Eve dinner with me and Reed? He'd love for you to be there, made me promise to ask you." He watched as something akin to disappointment flit across her face.
"I can't impose like that on you. It should be a family thing for the two of you, a chance to spend some time with each other. Our job is so demanding, who knows when you'll get the chance again."
He placed his hand on her shoulder, his thumb brushing against the warm skin of her neck. "You're my best friend; you can't get much closer to family than that." He kept his eyes locked with her, trying to convey the sincerity of his words.
Finally a small smile tugged at the corner of Stella's mouth before it turned into a beaming smile. "Ok you win, I'll be there. What time do you want me over?"
Her smile was contagious as he returned the grin, "We're having dinner at six so you can come anytime you want before that. You can even bring a book over earlier if you want, I'll supply the wine. You could keep me company while I make dinner. Reed has to be at the Times until a little after five, so if traffic cooperates he'll be there just in time."
Stella nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan. I can come over around lunch, maybe pick up some sandwiches from that deli down the street you like so much."
Still grinning, Mac watched as she turned back to watch Batman, moving her body slightly closer, leaning into his arm still on the back of the couch. He casually turned back to the movie as he let his arm drop lower so it was wrapped around her, pulling her closer until she was leaning against his shoulder.
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The movie was almost over; Batman was fighting Ra's al Ghul. Mac looked over at Stella. She had fallen asleep some time before, still leaning against him. He chuckled softly as he heard her start to snore softly.
"Told you I snore," she said in a sleepy voice, snuggling closer to him.
Mac laughed at that, turning his attention back to the movie. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep. I can let myself out when the movie's over."
Stella yawned again, her voice quieter as sleep began to overtake her again. "You know I never told you Mac, but you're my Batman. But you're smarter so you use a field kit instead of a utility belt…" Her voice faded off as she fell back asleep.
Mac's eyes widened as he remembered what she had said earlier about Batman and Bruce Wayne. A small smile crossed his lips as he realized the implication of what she told him.
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Stella awoke suddenly sitting up. For a moment she was disoriented, trying to figure out where she fell asleep. Glancing around she realized she had fallen asleep on her couch. She looked down at the blanket covering her that she knew hadn't been anywhere near the couch last night. Glancing around she saw that all the dirty dishes and cartons had been removed from the coffee table; left in its place was a single orange rose. She picked up the rose and looked at it, studying it, smelling its sweet fragrance. She had read something just recently about the meaning of different colors of roses, but for the life of her she couldn't remember what the article had said about orange ones. Shaking herself out of her musing, she got up and stretched before looking at the clock on the wall. Just a little after eight. Looking out the window to the city she could see the dark clouds sitting over the city. With any luck it'd be a white Christmas. The smell of freshly brewing coffee quickly pulled her away from the window back into the kitchen. Her coffee maker had been set to brew at eight, something she definitely knew she hadn't done. She saw her favorite coffee mug sitting on her counter, a piece of paper inside it. As she pulled it out, she immediately recognized the familiar scrawl. She poured herself a cup of coffee and read the note as she took a sip, allowing the warmth and the taste to help wake her up.
Stell, guess we both were tired. It's about five-thirty right now, I fell asleep as well. Give me a call when you wake up and are heading over. Feel free to come whenever you like. Oh, check your cupboard, there's a bag in there with some bagels for you. Enjoy your rose.
Mac
PS, you do snore!
Stella laughed out loud as she read the last line on the note. She looked over to the coffee table again, the rose laying there. Her curiosity finally got the better of her. She grabbed her laptop, the bag of bagels and her coffee and went back into the living room. Within minutes her fingers were flying across the keyboard as she searched the meaning of the orange rose. Soon she found a site with the information.
"Being a literal mixture of the colors yellow and red, orange roses were often seen as a bridge between the feelings of friendship symbolized by yellow roses, and love associated with red roses. Giving a bouquet of orange roses could be a sign of emerging romantic feelings and the desire to move a relationship beyond the stage of friendship."
Stella reread the passage a few times. Could Mac really have known the meaning of the color of rose he gave her? He wasn't one to do anything hasty, but did he know the meaning or just that she liked the color orange?
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Mac moved around the kitchen with ease. He was grateful that his mom had insisted he learned to cook as a young child. He checked the oven to see that the ham was browning nicely. He looked up at the clock and frowned. It was past one; Stella should have called or come over by now. As if on cue his phone rang, looking down at the caller ID he saw it was her.
"Hey, where are you?"
"I'm a block away, just got the sandwiches so I'll be up in a few minutes."
"Sounds good. Just let yourself in."
Mac ended the call, placing the cell phone back on the counter. Looking around he checked to make sure everything was in its place. Satisfied with what he saw he walked over to the window and looked out. It was beginning to lightly snow, the flakes lazily drifting down to the street below as people hurried to their destinations. Mac turned as he heard the front door open.
"Mac?"
"In the living room."
He smiled as he watched her walk into the room carrying some brightly wrapped packages and a bag with food, eyes darting around to take in all the decorations.
"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said Reed liked to decorate!" She placed the bag of food on the coffee table and bent down to take the presents and place them under the tree, her fingers brushing across the ornaments that adorned the small tree, a small smile on her face.
"Yeah, I almost need sunglasses in here just to be able to see."
Stella laughed as she stood up. "So is there anything I can do to help out with the food? It smells great by the way."
Mac shook his head, "No, I have everything taken care of. It's nothing fancy for dinner. The ham's in the oven. It'll be a few hours before it's done. The rest of the stuff doesn't take long at all, if you want to help later with the salad and a few other things then maybe I'll let you."
"Well then, let's eat! I got you your usual; the pastrami with mustard on whole wheat."
"What do you want to drink? I have juice, soda, tea, coffee…"
"Tea would be great actually. Oh, and thank you for the coffee and the bagels you left this morning. And the rose." She watched Mac for a reaction, trying to figure out what he'd really meant with the rose.
Mac just shrugged, blushing slightly, "It was no big deal. I just thought it'd be nice. And as I was leaving your apartment I could smell the bagels from the place around the corner and couldn't resist." Mac looked up, his eyes coming to rest on hers. They both stood there for a moment, neither one moving. Finally it was Mac that broke the eye contact as he turned to the TV. "Do you want to watch a movie or something? Or we can just watch whatever's on, though I think it's pretty much all Christmas specials…"
"A movie's good."
"Why don't you pick something out and I'll get the drinks."
Stella looked through his movies though she knew them all by heart. A lot of history documentaries, things having to do with military. He also had the movies he had rented last night. She picked up the box for Imposter and read the back of the cover. Seemed almost like a sci fi version of being a CSI. Taking out the DVD she placed it into the player just as Mac walked back into the room with two steaming mugs of tea.
"So what'd you pick?" He asked as he placed the mugs on the table.
Stella grinned at him. "You'll just have to wait and see."
A knowing smile formed as he looked at her. "Let me guess, Imposter?" His smile grew as he saw her surprise. "The case to the DVD is sitting on the player and it's open. Lucky guess."
Stella laughed, "Good to know your observation skills are as good as ever."
Smiling as he sat down on the couch he replied, "Well someone has to try and keep up with you. You really are one of the best CSI investigators I've ever worked with Stell, if not the best."
Stella blushed as she sat down next to him on the couch, not sure what to say in response to that. She was saved as the previews ended and the movie started, drawing their attention to the screen.
This time, after the food was finished, Stella moved straight to lean against Mac, both enjoying the comfort of being close to each other. Some time later Mac got up to check on the food cooking, not wanting to burn anything. After making sure everything was going as planned he came and sat back down on the couch, immediately moving his arm so Stella could lean against him as they finished the movie.
As the credits started rolling, they both stood up, stretching a little. Mac turned to look at Stella, "Still up to help with the rest of the dinner?"
She grinned back at him. "If you think I'm letting you do all the work then you're sadly mistaken."
They walked into the kitchen, Mac immediately going to the refrigerator and pulling out the remaining items for the rest of the dinner; potatoes for mashed potatoes, cranberry, yams, items for salad, and even home-made gravy from a secret recipe handed down through generations of Taylor's. Stella laughed as he told her, watching him as he set out the items with flourish while pretending to hide the ingredient names from her. Soon they were busy at work, both moving around each other with a practiced ease.
A while later, Mac glanced at the clock, just a few minutes before five. He looked back down at the gravy that was bubbling. The real secret was to let it cool off a bit, congeal and then reheat it right before dinner. He picked up the spoon he had been using to stir the gravy. Scooping up a bit of it he turned to Stella who was currently putting together the ingredients for the salad. "Hey Stell…try this."
Stella turned around to look at Mac. "So this is the famed Taylor gravy, whose recipe has been passed on from generation to generation?" He held out the spoon to her lips as she tasted it. "Ok, I concede, definitely the best gravy I've ever tried." Mac placed the spoon back down on the counter as he turned back to look at her again.
"Oh hey Stell, you have a little…" Mac reached over and brushed his thumb against her upper lip where there was just a small trace of gravy. Their eyes locked as Stella took a sharp intake of breath at the contact. Neither one moved as they stood there, absorbed in each other. The sound of the front door opening brought them out of their musings as Reed walked into the room.
"Hey Mac, sorry I'm late, traffic was crazy…" He stopped as he walked into the kitchen, seeing Mac and Stella standing close. "Detective Bonasera! I'm glad you were able to come."
"Please Reed, call me Stella. How was work? Mac said you were down at the Times finishing up some things?"
"Yeah, just finished up the blog about the proposed transportation strike next week. There's been a lot of talk about it. Should end up being a big story. But enough about work, let's eat. The food smells great Mac."
"Well thank Stella then too, she helped me out with a lot of it." With that they grabbed the steaming plates piled with food and brought them to the table.
Time flew by as they relaxed and ate, Reed telling them funny stories about his childhood. Mac even told some stories about Claire and their first year of marriage. He told them about the time his parents had been down from Chicago to visit for the first time since the wedding. She had been a nervous wreck trying to make sure everything was perfect, and in her haste to get everything done, the "fool-proof" casserole she had made ended up being a block of charcoal, much to her dismay. But in the end Mac saved the day by picking up pizzas and they had had the best time ever, just sitting around and talking and laughing.
Stella sat back and watched as the two men talked. She was really happy that they had found each other and were able to get to know each other better. It had seemed to really help Mac, finding out that there was still a bit of Claire left in the world. That she wasn't completely lost to him, but lived on in Reed. She was surprised at how natural this felt; her, Mac and Reed just sitting around eating dinner. She had been worried that she might feel like she was intruding, but never once had she felt like she was. She was shaken out of her musings when she heard the chairs being pushed back from the table. She looked up at Mac who was holding his hand out to her.
"I'd say it's time we open some presents, don't you Stella?"
She flashed a smile at him, taking his hand as he helped her up. "Sounds great to me!"
Reed smiled to himself as he watched Mac lead her into the living room, their hands still entwined.
Mac let go as he bent down by the tree, picking up a few presents, handing one to Stella and one to Reed. Stella looked down at the package, seeing who it was from. She looked up, catching Reed's eye. "Reed, you didn't have to get me anything."
Reed just shrugged, "It's nothing big, just wanted to get you something small as a way of saying thank you for helping save my life with the whole 'cabbie killer' debacle."
"Hey, you're family; of course we'd do whatever we could to get you out of there safe."
Reed couldn't respond, he just shrugged again. "I wanted to do something. Like I said it's nothing fancy, just something I thought you might like."
Smiling, Stella pulled the wrapping paper off the package while Reed started to open his gift from Mac. She pulled a wrapped antique frame out of the box and just stared down at the picture. It was of her and Mac standing next to each other. He was wearing one of those rare smiles that went all the way to his eyes, and she was laughing. He had his arm loosely wrapped around her shoulder and she had been holding onto the lapel of his jacket. She looked up at Reed, "when was this taken?"
He looked up from unwrapping his present, having paused to watch her open hers. "Uh it was when I was kind of following you, when I thought you were Claire. I found this picture I had taken one day and thought I'd give it to you. I thought it was a great picture of you two. I hope that's ok."
Stella nodded, her eyes shining. "Of course it's ok. I love it. Thank you Reed."
He grinned at her and went back to opening his present. Stella looked over at Mac as he watched the younger man open the gift. Mac turned and caught her gaze, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Their gazes were diverted when they heard the young man exclaim, "Mac, you did way too much! You know this is one of the top of the line laptops right?"
Mac chuckled. "Actually it's a bit better. Had one of our tech guys Adam help me customize it. Figured after your old one was trashed you should get a better one."
"I was going to eventually, had some money I started saving and everything. Really Mac, you didn't have to do this."
Now it was Mac's turn to shrug. "Now you can use that money for something else. Just do me a favor and enjoy it."
"Thank you," Reed replied. "Oh wait Mac; I got something for you too!" He reached over by the tree and pulled out a package.
Mac looked questioningly at Reed then Stella. "I thought I said you didn't need to get me anything Reed."
"I thought it was something that should be done. I hope you don't mind."
Mac pulled out a photo book with a picture of Claire on the cover. Inside were bound pages showing pictures of the life of Claire; pictures of her growing up, her and Mac's wedding, and other various pictures with friends, Stella was even in some of them. He looked up at Reed, shock on his face. "How did you do this?"
"Some from those pictures you gave me to look at, then I did some investigation with the resources at the Times. Got in touch with some people. Had a friend who owed me a favor so he helped me with the actual printing of the book. You don't mind do you?"
Mac could only shake his head, unable to speak. He pulled Reed to him, hugging him tightly, his eyes shining.
A bit later Reed glanced at his watch before starting to stand up. Stella glanced at him as he gathered his belongings. "Sorry to cut out but it's getting late and I promised my parents I'd be there for Christmas brunch tomorrow and that means I gotta get up early to make it to their house on time. Mac, thanks again for everything, really."
Mac stood and grabbed the young man into a fierce hug. He whispered his thanks into the younger man's ear. Stella stood up as well as they all walked to the door. Stella followed Reed to the outside of the door, hugging him. "Thanks for letting me crash the party. It was great to see you. Don't be a stranger alright?"
Reed nodded in response as she pulled back to stand next Mac in the doorway. Reed glanced up at the frame of the door, a large smile growing on his face as he just looked between the two detectives. Stella cocked her head, confused at his look. She looked over to Mac, trying to understand what was going on.
He looked over at her before pointing up above their head. She glanced up and saw it, the mistletoe that Reed had put up the night before.
"Hey you guys, you're standing under mistletoe." Reed watched with amusement as the two detectives just stared back at him before glancing at each other. "C'mon. It's tradition."
"I don't think that's a good idea, I'm her boss."
Reed looked over to Stella who had taken on an unreadable expression then back to Mac. For a moment he was going to argue with Mac but when he saw him shake his head slightly, Reed knew better than to argue. Saying his goodnight he headed down the hall. Mac watched until he was out of sight then turned to Stella only to find her back inside the apartment, gathering up her belongings.
"Stella…" Mac started to say. He could see she was upset and it was simmering just beneath the surface
"Sorry Mac, didn't realize it was getting so late and we don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about me being here. I'm going to get going too. Going to try and go into the office tomorrow and catch up on some paperwork so I want to get some sleep tonight."
"Stella wait, let me explain about what just happened out there."
"No Mac that's ok, you don't owe me an explanation. I probably shouldn't have even come here tonight. I mean with Peyton I guess it was ok for you to be friendly with her since she didn't technically work for you and all…"
Mac watched with amusement as his suspicions were confirmed. She was upset that she thought he didn't want to kiss her, meaning she was as interested in him as he was in her. He decided to let her go on for a minute more before he did something that surprised both of them.
"…But really Mac is kissing me that horrible of a thought to you that you couldn't even do it for the sake of tradition?" She still wasn't looking at him, she was sitting on his couch and her eyes were on her bag as she was furiously digging through it trying to find her keys so she could escape. All of a sudden he grabbed her and pulled her up to face him as his lips came crashing down on hers. For a moment she was too stunned to do anything, but soon her lips had a mind of their own as she was kissing him back with equal fervor. He wrapped one arm around her waist pulling her even closer while the other hand was running through her hair. Her hands were not idle either; she had on hand on the back of his neck, her fingers running through the short hairs; the other hand was fisted in the collar of his shirt. He nipped her bottom lip before running his tongue along the wound to soothe the sting, asking for permission to deepen the kiss. Stella moaned in approval as she allowed him access, tilting her head to further deepen the kiss. His hand had moved from its earlier position in her hair down the side of her face to where it was now currently residing, along the side of her neck, his thumb brushing against the warm, soft skin. Finally the need for oxygen overcame the need for each other and they pulled back. Stella rested her forehead against his warm neck as they both caught their breath, while Mac wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Wow," Stella whispered when her breathing had finally slowed back down. She could feel Mac's smile as he placed a kiss against the top of her head. "I just have one question for you."
"Oh yeah? What's that?"
"Why on earth did we wait so long to do that?"
Mac chuckled, the vibrations traveling through Stella. "I was wondering the same exact thing. But I think the timing was perfect. Neither of us would want to rush into something without being completely ready for it. We were both getting over past relationships and I think we're both to the point where we're ready for the next step."
Stella nodded, she knew Mac was right. "I just can't help but wonder if things would've gone differently if we'd started this sooner, before Peyton, before…before…"
"Before Frankie?" Mac nodded. "I wish you had never had to experience that, to deal with that, but that's in the past and if any good's come out of it, it's made you an even stronger person which is just another thing I love about you."
Stella pulled back to look Mac in the eyes. "You love me?"
He grinned back at her. "I would've thought it'd be fairly obvious, wouldn't it?"
She returned his grin. "Yeah I guess so. But it's still nice to hear."
"Well then, I Mac Taylor love you Stella Bonasera." And with that he brought his lips back down to hers, this time the kiss was slow, both pouring all the love they felt for the other into the kiss. After a while they pulled back and stood by the window. Stella had her back to Mac as they stood there, arms wrapped around each other as they watched the snow falling outside. "You know there's no way I'm letting you go out in the cold the way it's snowing out there now."
Stella smiled as his arms tightened possessively around her waist. "Well then, you'll just have to find some way to keep me warm tonight."
"I think that can be arranged," Mac replied, placing a kiss on the side of her neck.
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The next morning dawned clear and crisp. The clouds had cleared out leaving a bright blue sky and a blanket of white covering the city. Inside Mac's apartment he was propped up on his elbow watching the woman next to him as she slept. Her mass of curls partially covering her face. His fingers were running up and down her bare arm as it rested on top of the sheets.
She let out a little sigh as he tucked the mass of curls behind her ear so he could see her face better while she slept. Leaning down he placed a chaste kiss on the tip of her nose. He pulled back as he felt her stir.
"Hey," she said sleepily. "What time is it?"
"A little after eight. You can go back to sleep if you want. I didn't mean to wake you up."
She smiled as she stretched, the sheet wrapped around her shifted down her body, exposing more of her skin to his delight.
"How long have you been awake?"
"Awhile."
"Were you watching me sleep?"
Mac blushed as he nodded, "Does that make you uncomfortable?"
She shook her head, "Actually I think it's sweet."
Mac just grinned in response. "Oh, Merry Christmas by the way." He was silent for a moment, his fingers tracing up and down her arm. "Did you get everything on your list this year?"
Stella looked Mac in the eyes, "Everything I could possibly have dreamed of. I got you."
"Well you can have me for as long as you want, however long that may be."
"Forever sounds pretty good to me," she mused, leaning in to kiss him.
"I think I could live with that," he replied before pulling her under him to show her just how much he liked the idea.