Disclaimer: I do not own anything. If I did, though, they would've been together a long time ago. =)
A/N: I just want to say that I love reviews. Really, all reviews. Also, my writing style is one that has a lot of sentence fragments. A lot of people don't like that, which is fine. I just like to clear up that it is done on purpose. =) I really hope you enjoy it.
Detective Mac Taylor loved his job. The members of his team were quick to point out that he worked himself half to death, and that he was too stressed for his own good. But there was something about giving a voice to people who had been wronged, and who could no longer speak for themselves that really made him feel happy. He was devoted to his job, which was why he was always working doubles and sometimes triples. And it was also the reason that he was always sleeping in his office, too wrapped up in his cases to take the time to go home. Although it looked like he was just a workaholic with no life to go home to, Mac Taylor knew better— his job was his life.
No one on his team worried about his work habits more than Stella Bonasera. She was on his case almost every day– telling him he needed to rest more, to pick up a hobby, to go out once in awhile. And while a part of him wanted to take her advice, he couldn't help but argue the fact that she needed to take her own advice before he would take her seriously. Stella worked almost as much as Mac did, and they both knew it.
Besides, Mac was beginning to understand that the only way Stella would be able to get him out of the office would be if she were to start accompanying him. His feelings for Stella had always been strong. Since they met, they had been the best of friends. Recently, however, he was definitely feeling more drawn to her than ever before.
It started when he found himself thinking of her as he fell asleep at night. His mind would go over the conversations they shared that day. He would try to recall the way she laughed at his jokes and the light touches they shared– whether it was when she was handing him a case file, or when he was guiding her gently through a doorway.
Every so often they shared one of those intimate moments— she would embrace him after a difficult case and kiss his cheek or the corner of his mouth lightly before she left for home. Those nights were sleepless ones for Mac. He replayed the scenes over and over, memorizing the way she smelled, the way her soft lips felt against his face and her smooth voice whispering to him.
Those sleepless nights were steadily coming more frequently. He couldn't stop thinking about her. Eventually, he had found his way to one conclusion he was finally ready for: he was in love with Stella.
Unfortunately, before he could act on his new revelation, crime in New York City had taken a dramatic turn upwards. They were swamped every day. Today, they were dealing with what seemed at first to be a very weird, but routine, suicide regarding a CEO of a successful investment firm. The victim, Mr. Bill Getty, was found naked, sitting behind his desk in his leather chair with an empty champagne glass in front of him. Tox results showed cyanide in his system.
Stella and Mac were in his office, wrapping up the final paperwork on the case when his phone rang.
" Taylor."
"Hey Mac. Our suicide case may have just taken an interesting turn," Sid said on the other line.
"Oh yeah? What's up?" Mac was intrigued, but also tired. He was hoping to ask Stella out to dinner tonight if the case closed early.
"Well, I found some post-mortem bruising and some new scratch marks on the body that I must have missed on my preliminary exam," he said. "They're consistent with sexual activity, and my math shows that they occurred extremely close to time of death. You may have a witness to Mr. Getty's death. Or a suspect."
"Check for any DNA and epithelials we may have missed. Stella and I will go over our notes." Mac hung up. "Bad news, Stel. This case may have just turned into a homicide." She raised her eyebrows at him and groaned. "Sid found signs of sexual activity occurring close to time of death."
"I interviewed all of Mr. Getty's coworkers. Quite a few of them hinted that he may have been romantically involved with his partner, Sara Rivers," Stella pointed out, flipping through her notes. "From the sounds of it, they were inseparable. And it wasn't much of a secret that they were having sex."
"Let's bring her in," Mac replied.