Title: Anytime

Author: AllOverTheWorld

Ships: friendSHIP.

Summary: Mac will always be there for Stella, this is one of those times. They understand each other better than anyone and because of that they know exactly how to handle each other, how to care just enough.

Authors Note: I am dealing with MAJOR writers block for Come Home as well as the new story I am working on. So to try and end it I was watching a few episodes of CSI: NY and stumbled across this line, said by Mac to a murderer. It served as the base point for this one shot and I would like to stress the word base point. Enjoy.

"Right now I'd give a years pay to be alone in this room with you for two minutes. But because that's never going to happen I'm going to send you to a place where you can never hurt Jesse again."

-Mac Taylor (Season 3 Episode 10)

Mac was trying very hard to finish this paperwork, really he was. However on this particular, case free, afternoon he was finding that very hard. Not because he'd rather be in the field (it was raining cats and dogs for crying out loud, and not because he'd rather be at home, his next door neighbors had a particularly active sex life. No, he was having a hard time focusing on the documents before him because Stella wasn't here. Sure, it was only eight thirty in the morning but never in all their years as partners had he ever known her to be late, ever.

He had, not five minutes ago, toyed with the idea of calling her. His finger had rested lightly on the green call button, her speed dial number already entered, but after a moment of consideration he had decided against it. Stella deserved her privacy, Mac knew that much. However Mac also knew quite a few other things about his partner.

For example he knew that besides himself, not one male had stepped foot inside her apartment. He knew that she never carried her back-up weapon on her right ankle, only her left. He knew that when she was doing paper work, she played Elton John and would talk to anyone until she was done. He also knew that if there was one thing that Stella would never let him do, it was worry about her. She always called, even if she was only going to be three minutes late, he always received a call.

Deciding to act upon his instinct he reached for his phone, at the same time the door to his office swung open and there stood Stella. She looked stressed, but there was something more going on. She was wearing more make up on her face than usual and the way she winced when in hailing, he could tell she was trying to hide it, lead him to suspect that something was wrong.

"Sorry I'm late." She said, forcing a sharp laugh "I overslept, first time in a while I've done that."

It was forced, every last word of what she had just said was forced, and thus a lie. It killed Mac to know this, to know that she wasn't telling him something. He wanted to know why her right arm was held a little bit closer to her body than normal. He wanted to know why she was wearing more make up and why she was giving all the signs of bruised (if not cracked) ribs. However he trusted her, he trusted her to tell him when she was ready.

He would give her until tonight, he decided. If she didn't tell him why she was late, the truth this time, than he would ask her "That's alright, you didn't call though." He said, probing ever so slightly.

Stella stiffened, the action almost unnoticed but this was Mac we're talking about "I was in such a rush, to get here, I forgot." It was a crap lie, Stella thought but so far he had either believed the last one, or just wasn't asking.

She suspected the latter and for his silence she was grateful.

"I've got more paperwork than you do." She said, another forced smile "So I'll be in my office."

Mac nodded, not able to say anything for fear of outright asking her what was wrong. So instead he watched as she disappeared into the confines of her own office. As he watched he let out a long sigh, he wasn't sure what he thought about the entire situation.

Something was wrong, he knew that.

She was probably injured, that was a intelligent assumption.

Why wasn't she telling him?

To that question Mac had no answers, only guesses. His best, and most educated, guess based on all of his years of working with Stella, was that she was embarrassed. Glancing back down at the papers that sat before him, he decided that, for the time being, he would have to push wondering thoughts of Stella aside and focus on the case file before him.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The sun had sunk below the horizon, or at least that horizon which was visible from the glass windows of Mac's office. Danny and Lindsey had gone home, the nanny they had for Lucy took self defense classes at a local gym every Monday night at seven thirty. Adam had a date tonight, or at least that's what the office gossip that he had overheard, had said. Flack hadn't been around the lab today, busy in court and Hawkes had decided to give Sid a hand with a John Doe autopsy that had been a special request of the Bronxs Crime Lab. This left him and Stella alone, well except for the few members of the night shift who were beginning to trickle in.

Stella had been curiously absent from his office all day, even refusing his offer for lunch at around one thirty. Now it was pushing seven and Mac decided that if he was going to ask her what was wrong, he might as well do it bearing dinner for them both. So after notifying a member of night staff where he would be, it would only take ten minutes, he dipped out of the office to get food.

Exactly ten minutes later Mac stepped across the threshold of the elevator and reentered the thirty fourth floor of the crime lab. The immediate vicinity was void of people as he walked towards Stella's office, which (to no great surprise) was still occupied. Knocking gently on the glass door Mac saw Stella jump slightly before realizing who it was and what he was carrying.

"You didn't have to bring dinner Mac." She said simply

"I wanted to." He replied as he set down the paper bag which contained two servings of orange chicken with a side of vegetable fried rice.

Stella knew why he was here, there was literally no avoiding this very moment and she had tried to think of any way out of it "How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching across the table to grab her wallet but instead knocking over her opened bottle of water.

Cursing under her breath Stella rose quickly and bent over to retrieve the bottle, exposing about three inches about her waist line as she did so. Mac had been watching her every move and the sight of her usually olive toned skin darken by a smattering of bruises made a very powerful anger boil up inside of him "Stella." He said through gritted teeth.

Too little too late Stella realized what had just happened and setting the water bottle down on her desk she pulled down the hem of her shirt "It's nothing." She said, not looking at Mac.

Mac paused and took a deep breath, this anger was not directed at Stella, he needed her to know that, no it was at whoever did that to her "Stella." He repeated his voice softer as he stood up from his own chair "It's not nothing."

He reached out with one hand, slow, to give her time to back away if she wanted to, but she didn't. So he continued and gently pulled the bottom of her shirt up so he could see the full extent of the bruising to her body. The bruise he had caught sight of snaked across her left hip bone and stopped a few inches short of her navel. It was dark purple in color, tinged with multiple shades of green and yellow.

"Who did this to you?" he asked, letting go of her shirt so that her bruise was once again covered.

"I never saw them." She whispered, as she did so using her left hand to pull up the sleeve of her right arm.

Mac watched as centimeter by centimeter another hideous bruise was exposed, this one in the distinct shape of a hand "Them." Mac repeated, his mind beginning to spin as horrible images raced around in his mind.

Stella nodded "I was walking to the subway." She started "It was still dark but I had all that paperwork to do so I figured I get in early and get a head start."

Mac nodded, trying to keep his breathing steady but hearing the quiver in Stella's voice as she spoke, and the slight tremble in her hands was making that increasingly difficult.

"There was a block where the street lights were out and the sidewalks were practically empty. There was one guy on the other side of the street but he had his head phones in. I was walking past this alley when someone pushes me. I stumble sideways into the alley and then-" she broke off, unwanted tears springing to her eyes.

Without thinking about what he's doing, because the gesture just feels right, Mac wraps one arm around her shoulders and pulls her into him. Her head comes to resting sideway on his shoulder, so she is looking out at the empty lab and she continues her story "One of them grabbed my bag and dumped the contents out, they grabbed my wallet and phone off of the ground. I tried to fight back Mac." She said looking up at him with pleading eyes.

"I know you did." He replied

Stella nodded, hearing those words from Mac's lips helped, but only a little "There were four of them, one that had pushed me into the alley, one that grabbed my purse and two had me pushed up against the wall. I tried to scream but one of them had their hand pressed to my mouth." An involuntary shiver went down her spine as she spoke "I bit down as hard as I could and kneed one of them in the groin but the second one, he had a scar on his left cheek, in the shape of a half moon and he, he-" she broke off again, turning her head so that her forehead was resting on Mac's shoulder.

Wrapping a second arm around her shoulder's Mac asked "Did they-?" he asked, purposefully not saying that last two words, not wanting to….

"The one who had me against the wall slammed me against the garbage bin next to me and twisted my wrist behind me. His hand-"she stuttered "he tried to, you know."

Bile rose in Mac's throat as she said the words.

"It was then that they saw my badge and gun, it scared them shitless. The one holding my against the wall yelled 'she's a cop' and they all just took off."

At this point Stella was shaking in Mac's arms and the tears were flowing quite freely down into his jacket, but he didn't mind. Action's spurred on by something other than his own thoughts brought Mac to raise on of his hands and place it lightly on the base of her neck, cradling her against him. This was, by far, the most intimate they had ever been but it was not awkward or uncomfortable. It was simply him providing his best friend with the temporary feeling of protection that she needed right now.

"Do you want to file a report?" he asked

She shook her head and although it was muffled it sounded like her reasoning was something along the lines of "don't want trouble."

Pulling herself out of his embrace Stella wiped a few stray tears away from her eyes and said "I've ruined your jacket."

Mac glanced down at the spot where Stella's tears had landed on his jacket "It'll come out." He said and watched as she sat down again.

"You should let me pay for dry cleaning."

"Not going to happen." Mac replied, shaking his head "What was the name of the street you were on?" he asked

Stella glanced up at him "Why?" she asked

"Just interested." He said

So she told him.

The rest of the evening was spent in a comfortable silence, sometimes interjected with a small comment or two about the day's work. Finally Mac offered to drive her home, seeing as her car was still in the shop and it would ease his mind to know she got home safe.

Thankfully she agreed and half an hour later Mac pulled up at her apartment building. There was a pause in which Stella gathered her things before turning to look at Mac "Thank you." She said.

He knew that the words meant more than just for the ride home, he knew that she meant for knowing her so well, for being her shoulder to cry on, for not forcing her to file a report "Anytime." Mac replied and Stella knew, as she stepped out of the car, that he would always be there for her, anytime.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The next day Stella arrived to work on time and popped her head into Mac's office. He looked tired, something she was used to seeing and also, she noted, there was a fresh set of cuts across his right knuckles "Morning." She said, then fixing on his hand she asked "What happened?"

Mac glanced down at his knuckles then up at Stella, debating between telling her the truth and not. He opted not to, not because he enjoyed lying to her but because she didn't need to know. She had had her closure last night, with him, anything beyond that was unnecessary "I was moving a box of stuff from my storage closet to the bedroom and I scraped my hand against the wall." He explained

She didn't believe him, but she let it go, she didn't know why she didn't ask him for the truth but she didn't.

As she walked out of his office, Mac realized two things, one, that the familiar sparkle in Stella's eye was back. And two, she would never need to know that he had driven around all night, even walked the streets for a while, looking for a kid with a half moon scar on his left cheek. She didn't need to know that he had pinned the kid against the wall and thrust his badge in the kids face. She didn't need to know that he had told the kid if he, or any of his friends, ever messed with anyone, ever again, they would spend the rest of their lives in jail. All of that she didn't need to know because he knew that she knew one thing, he would always be there for her and to him, that was all that mattered.

Thoughts?

Comments?

Concerns?

I hope that you enjoyed this one shot and I would love to hear your feedback, I always welcome constructive criticism. Whether it be for grammar, word usage or how to better write SMACked.

Thanks,

AllOverTheWorld