Author's Note: Again inspired by a prompt from LilacMermaid on LiveJournal. "One of them has a reaction to something no one else knew they were allergic to." Thanks again for the inspiration. Oh, and just in case Epi-Pen has another name internationally it is a single-dose epinephrine injection that comes in a plastic case that sort of looks like a pen. You carry it around with you if you have a serious allergy. And no, I don't always intend to make Mackenzie suffer in my fics…it just kinda happens. Something has to give Will a kick in the pants! Still don't own The Newsroom!
He was going to talk to her today. He was sure of it. Of course, he had been saying that every morning for the last three weeks. Every day since he had been released from the hospital he would give himself the same speech. 'You are going to talk to Mackenzie today. You are going to figure out what the hell to do about whatever it is that is going on between you two. ' Ok, so he wasn't very good at pep talks. This one sure as hell hadn't inspired any action.
Nearly the whole day had come and gone again, and here he was, getting ready to go on air and he still hadn't managed to speak to Mackenzie about anything non-work related all day. He was pretty sure their relationship was actually moving backwards at this point. At least they used to share the occasional discussion about weekend plans or office gossip. For the last couple of weeks they barely spoke unless necessary. What the hell were they doing?
No McAvoy, what the hell are you doing? You've been putting the poor woman through the wringer for months because you thought she rejected you and now, when you finally realize she hasn't, you can't bring yourself to speak to her?
He was sitting in his office brooding when he heard the commotion. What the hell was all the yelling about? They had to be on the air in thirty minutes.
He stuck his head out into the newsroom and saw the few people remaining there rushing for the control room. What now? He really didn't need this…he was trying to give himself another pep talk here people…give a man a break!
But it was Jim yelling Mackenzie's name over and over that got his attention. He sprinted toward the control room faster than one would have thought a man his age could.
Jim looked like he was trying to pull Mackenzie out of her chair and, for just a moment Will had the urge to pull her out of his grasp. Until he realized Mackenzie was gasping for breath.
"Everyone stop!" Will shouted out to the frenzied crowd of people in the small room. "Where's her purse?"
"What the hell, Will! We're trying to help her. Somebody call 911!" Jim shouted right back at him.
"No, I said everyone stop! Just shut the hell up for a second and listen to me! Where is Mackenzie's purse?!" Will said.
"I'll check her office" Maggie said and headed out of the control room.
"Mackenzie, listen to me. I sent Maggie to find your purse. Is that where it is? Is your Epi-Pen in your purse? Just grab my hand if that's right" Will had grabbed her face and forced her to look at him. She responded by grasping his hand forcefully.
"She's allergic…to what?" Jim asked. "I spent two years with her in a war zone. Shouldn't this have come up at some point, you know, for safety's sake?"
"She's allergic to kiwi, Jim. Not something she probably worried about a lot in the middle of the desert" Will responded.
Maggie returned holding Mac's purse and her briefcase. Will grabbed the purse and dumped its contents onto the floor. By this time, Mackenzie's wheezing was getting worse and she was beginning to flail her hands around in panic.
"I know Mac…I'm hurrying…I promise" he said as he rummaged through the items on the floor. Finding what he was looking for he grabbed the Epi-Pen and removed its cap.
"Hold her arms still Jim, I don't need her knocking this thing out of my hand before I can use it" Will ordered. He pulled Mackenzie's skirt a little further up her thigh and jabbed the needle into her.
"Just a minute or two now, Kenz. Just try to relax. Let the medication work" Will spoke softly to her as she seemed to slump forward in the chair. Will grabbed her before she could fall.
"Jim, tell Charlie we're going to a taped package. There's no way we can go live in twenty minutes" Will looked over toward Jim, who had now let go of Mac and let her fall forward into Will.
"Everyone out. Give us a few minutes ok? And someone figure out where the hell she got that kiwi. If it's in something around here that she ate accidentally I want to know what it is before this happens again, ok?" Will said as he held Mackenzie upright in her chair.
"I think that's my fault Will" Maggie whispered from behind him. "I think she grabbed my water bottle by accident. I was sitting right next to her. I hate drinking plain water. I add lemon, strawberry, kiwi…whatever I have on hand to make it taste better. I'm sorry, I had no idea."
"It's ok Maggie. You had no way of knowing. Let's just make sure your bottles or Mackenzie's are very clearly marked from now on, ok?" Will replied to her.
As most of the staff left the control room, Charlie looked in to see what had happened to NewsNight.
"Hey, I just got word we're going to a taped segment…no new show tonight. What the hell happened Will?" Charlie asked.
"Mackenzie had an anaphylactic reaction. We're just trying to get ourselves together here. Aren't we Mac? You can start talking any time now Mackenzie. Stop trying to scare the hell out of two old guys here?" Will was trying to force her to sit upright on her own now.
"What happened?" she asked Will quietly.
"Apparently Maggie really wants your job. She tried to kill you with kiwi water" he told her.
"Whoops…guess I should be a little more careful about making sure my water is, in fact, my water" Mackenzie replied.
"Yeah, that would be a really good idea Kenz. You nearly gave me a heart attack. We'd need two ambulances then."
"What, no! No ambulance. I'm fine. Obviously you found my epinephrine. There's nothing they can do for me at the hospital that you haven't already done. Thank you, by the way" she whispered this last part quietly to him, grabbing his hand.
"I'd say, my pleasure, but it wasn't really a joy Mackenzie. You've got to be more careful. And you've got to make sure more than one person knows that you have a life-threatening allergy and that there's an Epi-Pen in your purse. What would have happened if I hadn't been here? Or if I was on the air and no one came to get me?"
And that's when the reality of the situation smacked him in the face. If this had happened just an hour later he would have been in the middle of the broadcast. Would anyone have thought to interrupt a live show to tell him there was something wrong with Mackenzie? She probably would have died before paramedics could have even reached her.
Suddenly, the adrenaline that had kept him upright through all this completely left his body and he slumped to the floor. Charlie made a grab for him and eased him against a wall.
"That, my boy, is what some people would call being hit by the brick wall of love. You just realized she might not be here forever" Charlie whispered to him. Will just looked between Charlie and Mackenzie and then dropped his head into his hands, shaking.
"I think I'll leave you kids alone for a bit. I guess there's no show tonight, so have a good evening you two." And with that, Charlie Skinner left the control room and headed upstairs to find some bourbon. He didn't plan on drinking it all though. If those two didn't figure things out soon, he fully intended to lock them in a hotel room for the weekend with an entire bottle of Booker's and see what happened.
"Will, are you alright?" Mackenzie asked as she slowly made her way over to where Will was still seated against the wall. He had been staring at his hands for the last couple of minutes and it was beginning to worry her.
"No, I'm not alright Mackenzie!" he practically shouted at her. He looked up at her startled face. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to yell. Come here."
He reached his hand out to her and pulled her down into his lap. He directed her head toward his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her.
"Are you alright? Does your chest feel tight…anymore trouble catching your breath?" Will asked her.
"No, I'm good. I think my left thigh is going to have one hell of a bruise later, but that seems a small price to pay. I'm sorry I scared you. It's just…it's not like I'm allergic to peanuts or milk or something you come in contact with on a regular basis. I never really think to tell anyone about it…I guess I should."
"Yeah, you should Kenz. I know we spend a fair amount of time together these days, but I'm not there all the time anymore. Someone else needs to know." As he said this he rested his head against hers.
"You haven't called me Kenz in a long time" she whispered to him. "I like it."
"I like it too. I miss you. I'm sorry we haven't talked in a while. I really have been trying to figure out what to say to you. Now that I know you never heard what I said in that message. Well, I've just been trying to decide how we do this."
"How we do what Will? Talk? We're doing it right now. I'm not really that terrifying am I?" Mackenzie asked him quietly.
"You have no idea. You scare me to death sometimes Mackenzie. And not just when you accidentally eat kiwi."
"I don't mean to."
"I know you don't, my dear. That's what I love about you. Now come on, help an old man off the floor. We're at least going to call your doctor. Make sure he knows about this and calls in an order for another Epi-Pen. Then, you and I are going to have dinner and talk about a few things."
As they walked toward the elevators hand in hand Jim caught sight of them out of the corner of his eye.
"Maybe we should have given her some kiwi fifteen months ago" Jim said quietly as he watched them go.