This idea came into my mind last night and I thought it would be a cute little Mac and Stella fic. Enjoy!

Title: Welcome Home, Mac

Rated: K

Summary: Stella waits for Mac to return home. Story set into the future, read and you'll understand what I mean. SMacked

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY or any of its characters.


Stella gazed outside the window as rain thrust itself towards the ground. These were the days that she liked, the days that brought cool, refreshing rain and allowed her to put down a case file for a moment and admire the beauty of nature. It allowed her to think. And today was one of those days she enjoyed most.

She admired the rain knocking on her window and the stillness of her home. The peacefulness helped clear her mind from all but one thought: Mac. He was still at work, while she was at home, waiting. But he would be home soon, she knew that. For when the clock struck six this evening, he would walk through the door and greet her with a kiss and a hug.

She turned her gaze away from the window and looked at phone. Even though he was coming home in forty five minutes, she couldn't help feeling impatient. She had to call him, just to check in on him. She walked away from her place by the window and sat down on the couch in her living room, pressing the phone tightly to her ear as she dialed his number.

"Stella?"

She smiled at the sound of Mac's voice. "Hi," she managed to whisper.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yes, everything's fine. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Everything's well at the crime lab and I'm doing fine. I'm heading to my car now, so I should be home in about twenty minutes. I'm assuming that was the next question you were going to ask me?"

"You've got me all figured out," she said with a laugh. "I'll see you in twenty minutes then."

"I love you, Stel."

Smiling wider than before, she said, "I love you too." She put the phone back and smiled to the rain falling lightly outside the window. He would be home earlier today. He was only twenty minutes away from being within her reach. Only twenty minutes away until they could see each other again.

A new voice made Stella take her gaze away from the window. "Is daddy going to be home soon?" asked six year old Caitlyn Taylor.

Stella nodded to her daughter. "He'll be home in twenty minutes." She could tell that she was also wishing for Mac to be home, he had been working late hours for the past month and Caitlyn hadn't been able to spend time with her father. Stella would see Mac at work and they would talk, but she hadn't spent that much time with Mac outside of work either. She got up from the couch and took Caitlyn's hand. "How about we bake a cake for daddy?"

Caitlyn's face lit up and she nodded. They hurried into the kitchen and gathered the supplies they would need to make Mac a chocolate cake. Stella turned on the radio so the house wouldn't seem as quiet when Mac came home, and before they knew it, the front door was opening and Mac was walking into the kitchen…

"Daddy!" Caitlyn exclaimed. As she ran over to him, he pulled her into a hug. Stella hurried over to them and gave him a quick hug.

"Welcome home," she said.

"It's nice to be home," he said.

Caitlyn was pulling Mac closer to the kitchen table. "Daddy, look what we made for you!"

Mac glanced over at the table and then back at Stella. "You may have been coming home from work," Stella said, "but that doesn't mean you can't celebrate."

"Thank you," he said, giving her the hug and kiss he would always give her when he came home from work. He knelt down in front of Caitlyn. "And thank you too."

Caitlyn smiled.

Stella clapped her hands together. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's eat!"

Mac laughed, and together, they took their seats at the table. Tonight, they would be together as a family. And as they enjoyed their cake—for that night, their dessert would be their dinner—the rain finally stopped, revealing the brilliant glow of the sun down on the city of New York.


Very short story, hope you liked it! Review please!