This story is the follow-up to "It Only Took One Kiss To Know" and it's sort of a 'never ending story' - at least a long runner. Sort of following the characters through the year... Contrary to my other stories, I'm going to write this one chapter by chapter - so it's not finished yet and I have no idea how long it will be or where it might take us. Might also depend on how you like it ;-)
Please review quickly, I will update already on Thursday - I know this doesn't sound like the typical Valentine's story (that's because it isn't), but since it's V-day on Thursday, so it will be in the story. And if you don't see this chapter before I post the second one - would you review this first chapter BEFORE you read the second??? I'm just too curious about how this plot and the TBC work and I can only know that if you tell me :-)
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It's still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die
The world will always welcome lovers
As time goes by
(from the title song of the movie "Casablanca")
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Chapter 1 – Burning Heat
The next morning, Stella woke up from a muffled noise on the other side of the room. Trying to remember where she was, she sleepily blinked into the darkness.
"Mac??"
He slowly approached the bed and kissed her lightly on the forehead.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep, I'll be back in an hour, promise," he whispered quietly.
Stella narrowed her eyes and peeked for the alarm clock on the nightstand. It said 5:15 a.m. She didn't really want to think about it or actually know what this was about, but somehow she had to ask.
"And where exactly are you going at this time?"
"You know, I always wake up at 4:30 a.m., ever since I've been a Marine, it's just training. Can't break the habit… So I get up then, go running, then get the morning paper and something to eat and well, usually go to work early then," Mac explained.
Stella shot him another look as if she wanted to examine his mental state. Then she made an unidentifiable grumbling sound, pulled the blanket up to her nose and rolled over to the other side.
XXXXX
After he returned from his morning run, Mac silently slipped back into the room and tiptoed over to the bathroom where he took a nice refreshing shower. Then he returned to the bed and sat down next to the still soundly asleep Stella. His attempt to get her attention by tenderly brushing his fingers along her left arm was answered by an unwilling noise.
"Hey sleepy, you wanna get up now?" he softly whispered in her ear.
"No!" she determinedly returned and tried to pull her arm away from his touch and back under the blanket.
"Come on, Stella… A nice, warm shower is waiting for you. I even put the bath robe on the heater so it's nice and comfortable for you. How about that?"
Stella turned around reluctantly and blinked a few times to look at him. She had to grin against her will when she noticed that he wasn't wearing anything as he was sitting next to her on her side of the bed. She eyed him briefly. One could wake up to worse views, that much was for sure. She gave him another pensive look.
"Will you get the robe for me so I can wear it on the way to the bathroom?" she asked in a slightly whining tone. "I'm feeling a little cold…"
This was merely an excuse to ogle him walking over to the bathroom – and back – undressed, but considering the fact that she was also undressed under the blankets, it didn't seem too unbelievable.
"Sure, I'll be right back," Mac therefore smiled at her and got up to return to the bathroom while Stella's eyes followed him with a satisfied look. Not bad… really not bad.
XXXXX
"You stay with me?" she playfully looked at him when she dropped the bathing coat in front of the shower and stepped inside.
"Well, I already showered, but who am I to reject such an offer?" Mac smiled back. "And besides, I have to make sure you're not getting cold again, right?"
"Very unselfish," Stella chuckled.
"Want me to soap your back?" he asked.
"Uhum…"
Mac took the bottle of shampoo, put a little in his hands and rubbed them until there was a nice amount of foam. Then he gently put it on her back and started to distribute it everywhere. Stella closed her eyes and enjoyed the soft and tender touches. When his hands started moving to her front and lower body, she reluctantly interrupted.
"Mac…"
"What is it?" he softly asked as he turned her around to kiss her wet lips.
"We can't… There… there are no condoms left," she shrugged.
He sighed as he realized what she was talking about.
"Yeah, you're right. Too bad…"
"See now why I said it wasn't a good idea to try to make balloon animals out of condoms?" she joked.
"Hey, the last one was a perfect caterpillar in motion!" Mac exclaimed.
"Yeah right…" Stella teased him. "It looked like a snake that had swallowed a bowling ball. But either way, I'm afraid you'll have to behave yourself until later."
With that she gently pushed his hands back and stepped out of the shower to towel herself. Mac followed her and started rubbing her back.
"Hopefully not too much later…" he whispered into her ear from behind, his warm breath tingling her neck.
"We'll see…" she whispered back.
XXXXX
"I hope you had an unforgettable stay with us at the Waldorf Astoria," Mac's friend, the general manager of the hotel, said as they were thanking him for the hospitality he had shown them.
Stella was wondering if she saw a little wink at Mac when he said that, but Mac just thanked him for the nice room and told him they would have to meet some time.
"I'll drop you off at your place so that you can change clothes and we'll meet back at the lab, okay?" he asked as he held the door of the cab open for her. Since they had taken a limo the evening before, neither of them had a car available.
"Sure, sounds good."
XXXXX
Half an hour later, Mac opened the door to his office with a groan after looking at the load of paper work on his desk. He grabbed for his cell phone and dialed a number.
"What's up?" Stella replied on the other end of the line.
"Did you see your desk yet?" he asked with a slightly desperate undertone in his voice.
"No, I'm still looking for it. But I'm sure it hasto be somewhere here under all these files…" she sarcastically returned.
"Wanna take off?"
"We were only out for one week – and that was between Christmas and New Years… Doesn't anybody work here besides us? And where does all this paper work come from anyway? It's holiday season for God's sake…" Stella cursed instead of an answer.
"Hey Stella?" Mac softly interrupted.
"What?"
"Dinner tonight at my place and some kitsch movie afterwards? You pick…"
"Alright, but don't even think about working late," she teasingly warned him. "I don't like being stood up."
"Wouldn't think about that for a second," he promised seriously.
XXXXX
The following weeks passed, Stella and Mac were regularly seeing each other, always careful that nobody would notice what was going on between them. Partly out of concern what the department would say, but mainly because they weren't willing to share it with anyone. It was their sweet little secret and for the moment, they planned on keeping it this way. Everything went more or less regularly and normally and nobody seemed to notice. Both of them had nearly gotten used to playing innocent on the job and whenever possible, they enjoyed being together.
Until things suddenly took an almost dramatic turn…
XXXXX
"I'm sorry, I have to go. Seems Lindsay needs some help at a scene, I'll be back as soon as I can," Mac announced after he ended a phone call late at night.
"Want me to come with you?" Stella asked half-heartedly from her side of the bed. Not that she was really looking forward to trading her warm bed for a crime scene in a cold February night, but somehow she felt the obligation to at least ask.
"And how would I explain your showing up in the middle of the night?" Mac winked at her, indicating with a motion of his right hand that she should stay in bed.
Stella thankfully pulled the covers closer to her chest.
"Be careful!"
"I will," Mac said and kissed her softly on the lips before he reached for his jacket and left the bedroom.
XXXXX
Thirty minutes later, Stella awakened from the sound of her ringing cell phone.
"I knew I should have gone right with him…" she grumbled while she reached for it on the nightstand next to her.
"Bonasera?" she answered the phone. "Hey Lindsay, what's up?"
"Stella, hi. Sorry to wake you, but would you happen to know where I can find Mac?" Lindsay replied slightly out of breath.
Mac?? I thought he is…
Stella immediately sat up in bed. What was going on here?
"How come you think I would know where to find him in the middle of the night?" she wondered slightly annoyed and concerned.
"Ah, I don't know, it's just …"
"Why don't you try his cell?" Stella interrupted, knowing that Mac had it with him. After all he only left half an hour ago. And as far as he had told her, Lindsay was awaiting him – but of course she couldn't tell her that.
"That's the thing, I've been trying to call him for over 20 minutes, he doesn't respond. I thought you might know if he had plans tonight so that he wouldn't be available or so…"
What??? How is that possible, I thought she called him?!? If not her, then who the hell did and where is he now?
Stella reacted with a mixture of total concern and anger, unsure whether Mac had lied to her about the call or if something had happened to him. For a moment she let herself drown in a whiff of panic, then she pulled herself together and tried to focus again.
"Hold on, I'll be with you in 15 minutes," she replies, professionalism coming first. "Where are you and what happened?"
Lindsay gave her the address and briefly told her about a fire in a retirement home. Firefighters were still trying to extinguish the fire, a few people had been saved from the burning building, but it was to be expected that there were several victims inside who didn't make it.
When Stella arrived at the scene, she saw Hawkes talking with Lindsay and a man in a firefighter uniform who seemed to be the one in charge. She cleared her throat and tried to suppress her worries about Mac before she approached the group.
"Stella Bonasera, New York Crime Lab. What have we got here?" she introduced herself.
"Division Commander Alcott, nice to meet you," her vis-à-vis greeted her back. "We can't say how the fire started yet, but that might be yours to find out later anyway. For now, my men stopped the fire and are currently going in to make sure there are no hot spots where the fire can come up again and to secure the building. I can only let you in when and if they say it's safe to go."
"Alright," Stella agreed. "Any information on victims yet?"
"Twenty-two people got out alive, either on their own when the fire started or they were saved by my guys. Some of them have minor injuries like light burn wounds or lacerations, all of them have more or less severe smoke poisoning. As far as we can say for now, none of them in critical condition. According to information we got from the manager of the facility, fourteen people are reported missing – two members of the nursing staff and twelve residents. We can't say for sure if all of them were in the building when the fire started, but if they were…" he paused and turned around to look at the smoking house.
Stella nodded. "I see… You will let us know when we can start processing the scene?"
"Sure, Detective," he nodded back and turned to leave.
"So," Lindsay interrupted Stella's thoughts, "heard from Mac yet?"
Stella briefly froze.
Mac… Where was he?
TBC
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Okay - stop! Review first, then move on ;-) Thanks!!! Love you guys, xxxlittlesheepxxx