This story is part of lilacmermaids April challenge:
"Three Things Challenge! Send me an ask and I'll give you 3 Things that you must include in your fic in some way. "
I'll reveal the "things" at the end to not give any hints where the story might go up front.
Surprise
Monday, July 12, 2010
Will groaned. An annoying noise had woken him up at this unearthly hour and a careful glance towards the windows confirmed that the world outside was still clad in the morning haze. Still his phone was ringing and he clumsily reached for it, answering with a grumpy „What?"
„I am sorry, Sir, it's Mike. There's a woman here to see you, a Ms. McHale?"
Will closed his eyes and slammed his head back into the pillow. What did she want here? Sighing he finally replied to the doorman who was still waiting for an answer. „Send her up."
Grumbling he got out of bed and quickly went to the bathroom to splash some water into his face and put on sweats and a t-shirt. When the elevator doors opened he was already standing in the living room, waiting for Mac.
„What brings you here so fucking early in the morning? You do know that I have the day off?"
Seeing his mussed morning hair and the casual clothes that reminded her of the mornings they had spent together in the past Mac swallowed hard, but then she put on a cheery smile. „I just came here to wish you a happy birthday and give you your present."
Will rolled his eyes. „Thanks for reminding me what day it is... There actually was a reason why I took the day off work today."
„Who would have thought? Anyway, this is a milestone birthday, Will, you're turning 50!" She saw him involuntarily flinch and laughed. „Don't worry, you still look like 49."
„Thank you!" Will groaned dryly, but then his curiosity got the better of him. „So, where is it?"
„Where's what?"
He knew she was putting him off on purpose and ground his teeth. „My birthday present that apparently has to be delivered at dawn..."
Knowing that Will was always moody when waking up early Mac smiled mischievously. „Oh, that's not here, I'll have to take you to it. Go take a shower and get dressed, jeans and a sweater will be fine. I'll make some coffee in the meantime."
„You... you can't just come here and take over my day! What if I have plans? And why are you so fucking chipper this early in the morning anyway? It's barely 7 o'clock!"
She laughed again. „You don't have any plans, don't pretend. Remember, I know how you usually spend your birthdays... Sitting on the couch, watching sports and feasting on fast food and beer... Not today, Mr. McAvoy."
Mac saw his irritation and knew that he would love to just throw her out, but she was also certain that in the end he would go along out of sheer curiosity, so she turned around, walked into the kitchen and started on the coffee. When he sighed she knew she had won and true enough he turned around to go to his bedroom.
When he came back about fifteen minutes later, wearing comfortable, faded denims and a Yankees' sweatshirt, Mac was reading the morning paper while drinking her coffee, a cup for him already waiting. „You dress nice, Will. Here, that's for you."
„Thanks. Any news in there?"
„Nothing we didn't know last night already. So, are you up for some fun?"
Will raised his eyebrows. „What exactly is it that you have planned, Mac?"
„You'll see..." She winked at him. „Drink up and then let's go. And wear a baseball cap, we don't need everybody recognizing you."
„Where the hell are you taking me?" Will was really curious by now but was unable to make any sense of this whole venture, so he had no other choice but to go along. Also deep inside he was beginning to appreciate Mac making the effort to do something for him on this day; however, he was certainly not about to let her know that.
On leaving the building Mac turned right and started walking, so Will strolled along, really starting to get into it by now. Nevertheless he was more than surprised when she headed for the nearest subway entrance. „We're taking the sub?"
„Yep. Come along, old man." Grinning at him she started walking down the steps. Following her he shook his head, not being able to remember the last time he had used the train, but it must have been when he and Mac still had been together and he hadn't been the hot shot anchor he was today.
Now he found that he was actually enjoying watching the people, though the train was packed due to the morning hour. Kids on their way to school, businessmen, street musicians and artists on the way to their performance spot, tourists starting a day of sightseeing – A wide kaleidoscope of folk resembling the diversity of the city.
Being caught up in his surroundings he hadn't paid any attention to where they were actually going so far. Turning to Mac he saw her looking at him with a satisfied smile as if she knew what he was thinking. „You're not going to tell me where we're going?"
„Nope." Her smile widened. „You'll have to figure that one out for yourself..."
„Mmmh... Let's see..." Will liked a challenge and kicked his brain into a higher gear. „We're on the N line going south, and already crossed the East River, so we must be in Brooklyn by now. I don't assume you take me to see the Brooklyn Bridge or the Botanical Garden? Maybe the Brooklyn Museum?"
Mac bit her lip to stifle a laugh. „No, go on..."
Will thought hard about what else was there to do in Brooklyn and suddenly his eyes went big, carefully observed by his companion whose smile by now resulted in crinkles around her eyes. „Are we going to... You didn't... Really? Coney Island?"
„And the Sherlock Holmes Award for unparalleled deductive powers goes to Will McAvoy!" Mac beamed at him, but then just waited for his reaction, seeing that he tried to get his head around this surprise.
Will couldn't believe that Mac obviously had remembered a conversation they'd had about six months into their relationship, in which he had admitted to her that one of his greatest wishes as a child had been going to a state or country fair to ride the merry-go-rounds, especially the ferris wheel, and enjoy foods like cotton candy, roasted almonds or caramel apples. However his father had never allowed them to go to such a frivolous, money-wasting event. And now she was just giving him a day he had always wanted but never experienced in his childhood for his birthday?
His eyes went soft and he could just whisper „Mac... I can't believe... How do you even remember that?"
Her face turned serious for a moment. „I remember everything, Billy..." Taking his hand she gave it a short squeeze and then her smile came back. „And I think today is the perfect day to ride the ferris wheel, don't you?"
Will just looked at her for a moment, still not quite believing that she would do that for him. „Yeah... I guess it is..." Then he grinned, feeling the beginnings of an excited tingle in his gut. „Can't wait to get there."
Mac returned his grin and the rest of the ride they spent in an amicable silence.
When they reached their destination they stepped out of the subway station where both of them came to an sudden stop.
„Well, maybe it's not quite the perfect day for the ferris wheel?"
Unlike an hour earlier in Manhattan here the sun wasn't shining but a rather thick fog had fallen upon this part of the city. Mac however only gave him a challenging look and started walking down Stillway Ave to get to the beach front.
„Since when are you such a sissy? Let's go!"
Grinning Will followed her, quickly gaining on her and closing up. „So where do we go first?"
„I don't know, everything's up to you. We'll do whatever you want, it's your day. Do you want to start with the ferris wheel or leave that as highlight for the end? But of course we don't have to limit it to one ride, whatever you want."
„Okay, then let's start with the Wonder Wheel!" Will took the lead now and Mac could sense his excitement, watching him almost mix some little jumps into his steps, and followed him with a satisfied grin, just happy that apparently her birthday gift found his approval.
With the weather not really reflecting a sunny July morning and it being a Monday, not many people were to be found on Coney Island, so there were no queues in front of the rides, and they could immediately enter one of the cars of the Wonder Wheel which they luckily didn't have to share with other visitors.
After pausing for about five minutes half way up they proceeded further and stopped again on the top, but instead of enjoying the view across the city and the ocean they were surrounded by a fog thick as pea soup. Suddenly Mac started to giggle and when Will looked at her questioningly she burst into outright laughter.
„I'm sorry, Will, I'm sorry..." She desperately fought for a straight face. „It's really not funny, it's just... When I planned this day I never imagined your first ride on the ferris wheel to be this... well, limited, I guess... I'm so sorry about the foggy weather." She softly nudged his side and rested her head on his shoulder for just a short moment in the process, but when she wanted to sit up again Will put his arm around her shoulder and held her in place.
„It doesn't matter, Mac, this is perfect." He sighed contentedly and looked out into the fog.
„Yeah... Still, you're missing out on the whole experience. Maybe we can try this again later."
After another ten minutes they were down on the ground again and opted for the Spook-A-Rama next, where Mac maybe did act a little more scared than necessary to have an excuse to press her face into his shoulder, before they proceeded to ride the bumper cars.
Will loved every minute of it and felt like a kid again, chasing his girlfriend – no wait, just friend, he reminded himself – to crash into her car.
Mac dealt out as many hits as she had to take and just enjoyed watching Will at the same time. It was so long ago that she had seen him like this - relaxed, happy, giddy with excitement - and she only hoped that he would show this side of his more often in the future.
Afterwards she dragged him to a vendor where she bought two caramel apples. Sitting down on a bench to enjoy the snack Will grinned at Mac. „That was fun, what's next? How about we go to the New York Aquarium?"
Mac gave him a stern look. „I don't think so... Do I need to say 'jellyfish'?
Will chuckled. Sometimes she really made it so easy... „Okay then... What about the Cyclone Roller Coaster?"
Standing up he reached out for her hand to pull her up which she accepted with slight surprise. Not letting go off her he lead the way from Deno's Wonder World to their next stop where they took a couple of rides on the famous coaster ride.
Stumbling out of their car again Will noticed that Mac was a little pale. „Are you alright? You don't look so good...?"
She smiled weekly and linked her arm with his. „I think I should have eaten that caramel apple after riding the Cyclone, not before... I'm actually feeling a bit queasy right now, could we just walk a little, please?"
„Sure, let's go down to the the Boardwalk, come on."
For the next couple of hours they strolled along the beach, occasionally sitting down on a bench to enjoy the sun that had burned through the fog in the meantime and, after Mac's stomach had calmed down, ate the obligatory cotton candy and then some ice cream.
A little later Will shot a stuffed teddy bear for Mac, which turned into a kind of awkward situation when she insisted on paying for the shots, as the whole day was her invitation. After a slightly heated discussion she finally agreed to let him pay as a thank you, if he in return would allow her to name the bear 'Billy'.
Swallowing hard he just looked at her for a moment, not knowing what to make of this, before mumbling „If you'd like to..."
Satisfied she accepted the cream-colored stuffed animal and held it tightly to her chest. „It's getting late, Will, almost time to go home. What do you say, one last ride on the ferris wheel?"
His eyes lit up and he eagerly nodded, so they went back to where they had started their day on Coney Island. Unfortunately they had to share the car with an older couple, but on the other hand with the sun being out the view was incredible this time.
When they stopped at the highest point again Will took a deep breath, taking in the scenery before his eyes, before lowering his head down to Mac's ear and quietly whispering „Thank you so much, Mac. I can't believe that you did this for me. This was one of the best birthdays I've ever had."
In response she just took his hand and squeezed it. „It's not over yet, Billy, just enjoy." Not letting go off her hand he leaned his head against hers and hummed in agreement, which made Mac close her eyes – screw the view – to better savour the moment and his closeness she had missed for so long.
Back down on earth they slowly started heading back to the subway station, but when they passed a photo booth they couldn't resist to take a series of pictures which they split up between them as a memory of this day, though Will was sure he would never forget it anyway. He couldn't remember anybody ever giving him such a thoughtful gift, fulfilling a lifelong dream of his and willingly sacrificing an entire day, even a work day, in the process.
When they arrived at his apartment block Will stopped in front of the entrance and turned around to look at Mac.
„Thank you, MacKenzie, that was a truly wonderful day. I... I..." He broke off, unsure how he wanted to finish the sentence, while she just looked at him with a tender smile.
„Just say what you're feeling..."
Will's eyes locked with hers and she could see the longing in them, but finally he sighed. „I can't, Mac... Not yet anyway, I'm sorry... But I do want you to know how much I appreciate everything you did today..."
His heart bled seeing the wounded expression that appeared in her eyes, but then she covered it with a half smile. „I understand, Billy, don't worry... Now come on, I'll take you up to your apartment to officially end your magic day."
He nodded and together they stepped into the elevator, Will being so caught up in his thoughts that he missed the questioning look Mac gave Frank, the doorman on duty, who answered with a confirming nod.
Secretly smiling to herself she stood next to Will while he was pondering over whether it would be a good idea to invite her in for a final drink. He was just about to start to speak when the elevator doors opened.
„Surprise!"
Charlie, Gary, Maggie, Sloan, Tess and Tamara were standing in the living room which was now decorated with balloons and party streamers, a huge cake with vast number of candles and a '50' written in frosting in their middle and champagne flutes in their hands.
Will was stunned and unbelievingly turned to Mac. „How...? What...? How did you do that?"
She just smiled. „Happy birthday, Billy. The rest of the gang will come down after the show, they'll do it with a skeleton crew tonight, and Elliot and Don will be coming over when they are finished. They all love you and I just wanted you to see that."
„But... I can't believe this... How did you pull that off?"
„Remember? You put Charlie on the visitor's white list, so he, Maggie and Sloan came over here earlier to set everything up. I hope you're okay with that?"
Looking at her he gave her a wide smile. „Like I said before, it's perfect. Thank you!" With this he stepped closer and pulled her in for a tight hug, before letting go and stepping into the apartment to say hello to his friends.
Mac stayed a little behind and reveled in the scene of Will mingling with his staff and friends.
Maybe, maybe one day... Today had been a good start.
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The 3 things lilacmermaid assigned for this story were:
A milestone birthday
Caramel apples
Foggy weather
Maybe tbc later, not sure yet.