HEY :)
SO HERE'S THE CHALLENGE I'M SETTING MY SELF - TO WRITE A STORY WHERE MAC AND JO ARE NOT INJURED, HURT OR KIDNAPPED AT ALL. AND I'M GOING TO DO IT. LOL! IT WILL BE MOSTLY ANGST/ ROMANCE, BUT CENTRED AROUND SEASON 8 EPISODE 10. CLEAN SWEEP. SO THAT CASE WILL BE HAPPENING AND I KNOW I SAID NO ACTION, BUT I'M GOING TO PUT A LITTLE IN, JUST TO ADD TO THE ANGST. THE MAIN THREAD THOUGH, WILL BE HOW MAC AND JO DEAL WITH THEIR GROWING FEELINGS TOWARD ONE ANOTHER. . . AND I MANAGED TO GET THE FIRST CHAPTER UP TONIGHT :) . . .SO HERE WE GO.
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…...DYING TO HOLD YOU...
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…...CHAPTER 1....
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Jo wandered around her apartment, more bored than she'd ever felt in her life. She slumped back down on the couch and checked the clock. It was 19:00 on a Friday evening. At least she only had the weekend left. Thank God. She was back at work on Monday. Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. She frowned. Who can that be? Quickly, she rose from the couch and walked to her front door. She looked through the peep hole and smiled. "Mac."
After her ordeal with John Travis a couple of weeks back, Mac had insisted on stayed at her apartment for five days to take care of her. She'd tried to convince him that she was fine but each time, night fell the memories returned and with them the terrifying thoughts of what could have happened to her if she'd been too injured to shoot Travis dead. She'd tried not to let the fear show, but Mac saw right through her. He was there for her, shaking her awake at night when she had the nightmares. He was there when she felt like crap and just wanted to veg out in her apartment. He wasn't going to let that happen, so he'd drag her out to Central Park every day and bought her a hot dog and ice cream. They'd also spent time most evenings together. He'd taken her to the cinema a few times, and a couple of nights ago they'd gone to the fun fair down at Battery Park. There was a whole new side to Mac Taylor, Jo hadn't seen before and she liked it.
Jo unlocked the door and swung it open. "Hey. What are you doing here?"
Mac walked into the apartment and through to her kitchen with several bags in his hand. "I left work early. Thought I would cook us a meal tonight."
She followed him into the kitchen. "You didn't have to do that."
Mac glanced back at her, suddenly distracted for several seconds by her deep, brown eyes. He felt his pulse quicken and quickly looked away. "I . . . wanted to."
Jo tried to peek in the bags as he dumped them on the counter. "So what are we having?" she asked, with that adorable grin on her face.
Mac cleared his throat. "Uh. . ." He reached into one of the bags and brought out the Braising Steak and a large ripe Avocado.
Jo's eyes brightened.
"We're cooking Black Bean Chilli and Avocado Salsa." He answered.
Her eyes flashed back at his. "I love Chilli and Avocado."
He smiled back at her. "I know."
She frowned, tried to rack her brains. How does he know?
"You told me once."
"Oh . . ." It was like he'd read her mind. ". . . Did I?"
"Yea." He finished emptying the rest of the ingredients on the kitchen counter. "When we went out and celebrated Danny's birthday."
"That was nearly a year ago."
"I have a good memory. You know that." he answered quickly, avoiding her gaze.
She smiled. "Yea. I do." She leaned back from the counter and walked toward him. "Okay. Let me help."
Mac looked back at her. "No. You're relaxing with a glass of wine and I'm cooking the meal."
She sighed heavily. "Mac. I've been bored for hours. "Let me do something. How about a chop the Avocado." She reached out to grab it.
"Oh no you don't." Mac gripped her wrist. "If I let you anywhere near that Avocado, you'll end up eating it." he chuckled.
She laughed back. "I will not. Now let me have it." She tried to get to it, but Mac reached out and grasped her other wrist.
Before he knew what was happening, he had her pinned against the wall in the corner of the kitchen.
Their eyes locked on each other like steel to magnet.
Never in her life had she seen such desperate desire in a man's eyes. Desperate and raw . . . so raw, it excited her. She struggled for equilibrium and lost, when he wrapped her tightly against him. All she felt now was his nearness, his hardness and it sent her tummy tumbling as the sexual attraction suddenly speared through her. She loved how he felt against her. She loved the feel of his hands on her.
Lately, it seemed that all he could do was look at her and a tension coiled so tight inside it made his chest ache. Touching her right here, right now, that ache had suddenly intensified to a need he couldn't control. The heat, the desire swept through him and he lowered his head until his lips were inches from hers.
For an immeasurable moment they just stood there staring into each others eyes, then she saw him relent to the heat between them.
Hungry to taste her, he kissed her lips first.
She threaded her fingers into his hair, then clutched his shoulders, inflamed with hunger, as he deepened the kiss.
When she groaned his name it sent erotic sensations cascading through him. Oh God. No, No, No. He heaved a breath to try and regain control and forced himself to pull away.
They were both breathing raggedly as they stared back at each other in shock.
Ah crap. What have I done? Mac quickly dropped his hands to his side and backed away. "I . . . I should go." He whirled around and headed out of the kitchen.
Jo pushed herself from the wall and hurried after him. "Mac wait. You can't just leave . . ."
He turned back to her and gently pressed his finger to her lips. "I have to leave, or we're both going to end up . . ." Damn it. "We're going to forget this happened okay?"
Her eye's widened. "You want to forget this happened?"
"Yes." Without another word, he spun back around and tore across the room and out the door.
Jo waited, hoped, prayed he'd come back, but he didn't.
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Mac walked up to the body and glanced across at Don. "Well this is a great start to a Monday morning."
Don nodded. "Hope you skipped breakfast." He glanced back down at the burnt remains. "Let me introduce you to Ryan Richards. 25 years old."
"How do you know?" Mac asked.
"There's his driving license." Don pointed.
Mac knelt down and took a closer look at the singed driving licence. He gazed back at what was left of Ryan Richards. "He was drenched in accelerants and was allowed to burn for quite sometime."
"Someone wanted the fire to do as much damage as possible."
Mac glanced back at Don. "Someone wanted to destroy the evidence." Mac got to his feet and checked the cordoned off area was secure. Then he and Don started to walk back up the Alley
"What do we know about this guy?" Mac asked
"It turns out Richards was a rising star on the cage fighting circuit." Don answered.
Mac raised his eye brows. "I've seen a few matches. It's a brutal sport."
"It's an excuse for two grown men to beat the bloody pulp out of each other is what it is."
Mac stopped and looked back at Don. "So you're not a fan?"
Don turned back and smiled. "I didn't say that."
Mac rolled his eyes and started walking again.
Don continued. "Now I'm hearing that Richards absolutely annihilated his toughest competitor at an event last night. A muscle head named Petrov. Put himself in prime position to win the title next month, so this guy was on the verge to some serious fame."
They both stopped at the top of the Alley. Mac glanced back at Don. "Success could put a target on his back." Mac looked down the narrow alley. "With the state of the remains, it could take some time for Sid to determine a C.O.D, if he can at all. Until then we wont know if Richards died here, or was burned and dumped here."
Don scanned the area. "I'll start whacking the bushes. See if anyone was itching for a death match with our fighter outside the cage."
"Okay. Let me know what you get." Mac started to walk off.
"Mac."
He turned back to Don. "Yea?"
"How's Jo?"
Even the sound of her name, got Mac's pulse racing like a freight train. "She's uh. . . She's fine. She's back at work today." he answered quickly.
"Uh huh?" A smile crept across Don's face. "Did you two enjoy the fun fair down at Battery Park Wednesday night? Oh and . . . I'm sure she loved the restaurant you took her to on Thursday. "
Oh crap! Mac stared sternly back at Don. "I've just been helping her get back on her feet. . ." He glanced up the street and sighed. " . . . after the crap she went through with that Sonofabitch Travis." he muttered angrily.
Suddenly Don didn't feel much like teasing Mac any more. His smile faded. "She's okay though right?" he repeated, this time with a trace of concern in his voice.
"She's fine Don. I wouldn't have let her come back today if she wasn't. She's tough. You know that." He assured him. Mac quickly turned and walked away, not giving Don a chance to say another word.
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Mac spent the next couple of hours back at the department trying to keep himself busy. Trying not to think about that amazing kiss, he and Jo shared on Friday night. They'd both been avoiding each other like the plaque since she turned up at work this morning. He'd breathed a little easier when he saw her disappear in the elevator with Danny an hour ago. She was busy helping him wrap up a case back at the station. He pushed out a breath and spent the next fifteen minutes forcing himself to to focus. He had Ryan Richards address now, but he'd been unable to find any additional information on him. He heard a tap on his door and looked up.
Sheldon walked in. "We've finished at the Crime Scene Mac."
"What did you find?" he asked.
"Well we know what type of accelerant started the fire. It was Gasoline."
"Gasoline?"
Mac's eyes flashed to the door. Jo walked in avoiding his gaze.
"Is this the accelerant you found on Ryan Richards body?" She asked Sheldon.
"It sure is."
"I just took a look at the body myself when Sid was taking it into the morgue." She frowned. "What kept it burning so long?"
"It's called 'the wick effect'". Mac answered.
Jo sighed inwardly and slowly turned to Mac, forcing herself to meet his gaze. "The Wick Effect?"
He gazed at her for a couple of seconds before continuing. "Yes. It's when clothing acts like a wick of a candle, turned inside out."
"I remember now. It feeds the flames with a continuous supply of fuel in the form of melting human fat." Jo finished.
"It's particularly effective, and particularly disgusting." Sheldon concluded.
Mac tore his eyes from Jo. "Did you find anything else?"
Sheldon held up the plastic dish in his hand.
Jo frowned, as she looked in the container. "You found metal fragments."
"Yes. I'm going to the lab to run them through G.M.S."
"I want the results as soon as you have them."
"Sure Mac."
"And. . . Close the door on you way out." He added quickly.
Quickly, Jo looked back at Mac.
Sheldon shifted his eyes from Mac to Jo. "Okay." He frowned inwardly, then disappeared out of his office, closing the door behind him.
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Jo jumped in before Mac had a chance to say anything.
"Danny and I have wrapped up the Hillview case. I'll go and help Sheldon with the metal fragments." She started to walk to his door.
"Jo wait a minute."
She slowed to a stop, blew out a long breath and turned back to him. "Yes."
Mac was suddenly stuck for words. Crap. What the hell am I suppose to say?
Jo was feeling more frustrated by the second. She needed to get out of here. "Look. I'll just be in with Sheldon if you want me."
He dashed around the desk and across his office so fast, she didn't even manage to grab the door handle, before he slammed to a stop in front of it.
He glanced quickly down the corridor, before meeting her defiant gaze. "Okay. We just. . . need to clear the air here."
She crossed her arms and stared back at him. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about."
Mac raised his eyebrows. "What?"
"I said, I have no idea. . ."
"I know what you said Jo." he interrupted, feeling suddenly agitated. His breath stalled in his throat when he saw the hurt flicker in her eye's. It was the same look she'd given him Friday night. And Immediately he recalled in his mind what he'd said to her in the heat of the moment.
'We're going to forget this happened okay?'
'You want to forget this happened?'
'Yes.'
He sighed inwardly. "Oh God."
She faked a frown.
God. She was throwing this back in his face. "Look. We need to talk."
"About what?"
He raised his voice. "Okay! That's enough Jo. I get it!"
Jo stared angrily at him. "You want to talk about what happened now? I thought we were suppose to forget about it Mac!"
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Lindsay slowed to a stop up the corridor when she heard shouts coming from Mac's office. Her eyes widened. My God. Jo and Mac are arguing? They never argue.
Danny wandered out of the lab and saw Lindsay standing in the corridor. He walked up to her."Hey Linds. Are you free? We can go get some lunch."
"Shhh Danny." She pulled him to the edge of the glass panelling. "Can you hear that? Mac's got Jo in his office and they're arguing like crazy."
Suddenly he heard Jo shouting. His eyes flashed back at Lindsay. "What's going on?"
"I don't know. I can't hear that clearly from here, but If I move up the corridor any further, they'll spot me." Lindsay gazed back at Danny. "I think Mac just said. 'Okay. That's enough Jo. I get it.' He was pretty angry."
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Jo continued to stare defiantly at Mac. "I've forgotten about what happened Friday night already! It meant nothing!"
Mac's eye's widened. "Nothing?!"
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Danny quickly looked back at Lindsay. "Friday night?"
Lindsay's eye's flashed back at his. "Oh my God. What happened Friday night?"
Adam walked up to Lindsay and Danny. "What's going on?"
Danny pulled Adam back against the glass panelling. "Shhh. We're trying to listen here." he whispered.
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Jo released a long, pent up breath and tried to get to the door. "We can't talk about this now."
Mac shifted his eyes back along the corridor. He couldn't see anyone so he took a step toward her and brought his hands to her shoulders. "Look me in the eye and tell me it meant nothing Jo?"
Slowly she met his intense gaze "You answer it first."
My God. Why had he asked that damn question and what the hell was he doing touching her now. He let go of her shoulders. God he was a jerk. His method of establishing professional distance had been as effective as teats on a boar.
For the longest moment they stood there. Both of them refusing to answer the damn question.
Mac let out a resigned breath. "You're right. We can't talk about this now."
Jo sighed heavily and looked away.
Mac pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. "This is Ryan Richards address. He's married to a Lisa Richards. I need you to go and talk. See if you can find out if Ryan had any enemies."
"Fine." she murmured.
"Look Jo. . ."
"Mac. Just move away from the door and let me go back to work!"
Mac pushed out a long, forlorn breath and stepped away from the door.
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Lindsay heard Mac's door come bursting open. "Oh God." She pulled Danny and Adam back up the corridor and they dived into the tech lab.
Lindsay peeked back down the corridor and saw Jo tear out of Mac's office and disappear into the lift. She released a heavy sigh and turned back to Danny and Adam. "Jo looks really upset. This is bad."