"Great show, tonight!" Mac congratulated Will from the control room as he wound up the evening's news broadcast. He waited for the other shoe to drop as he leaned back in the chair and loosened his tie. "What did the rest of the message say, Will?" This last question whispered in his ear.
It had become a bit of routine over the last week or so. After every broadcast Mac would ask about the message and Will would ignore her. Will couldn't see Mac in the control room but he was pretty sure that if he could she'd be batting her eyelashes at him and chewing on her bottom lip, imploring him to open up. He really didn't know how to do that…at least without the benefit of an altered state.
He hadn't yet found a way to forgive Mac for ripping out his heart four years ago. He'd been head over heels and on the verge of proposing when she dropped the bombshell that she'd cheated on him but that she'd ended it when she realized she was in love with Will.
The break-up had devastated both of them. Will had regressed from a respected newsman to an "infotainment" personality. A bevy of leggy, blond women filled his evenings. Mac fled to Afghanistan and Pakistan, embedding herself as a reporter with American troops.
Charlie Skinner had come calling a year or so ago. He had offered Mac a chance to come back to the U.S. and produce a news show again. He didn't tell her it was Will's show until she was in his office in New York. Her heart jumped into her throat. The thought of seeing him again filled her with equal parts dread and delicious anticipation. Despite twenty-four months in a war zone and a scar from a vicious knife attack she was not "over" Will McAvoy and knew maybe it wasn't a great idea. But she wanted to work in a newsroom again and Charlie was so convincing.
Will for his part had accepted her return to "his" newsroom with all the aplomb of a nuclear explosion. The situation was as volatile as a Molotov cocktail. But Mac's passion for re-storing the integrity of the nightly news broadcast had won over all the staff -Will included. Together they'd re-built a program they could all be proud of.
It didn't take a psych degree for the NewsNight staff to see that perhaps Will and Mac had some unresolved feelings. He'd admitted as much to Mac over voicemail under the influence of "medical" marijuana. But half of the message had been garbled leaving Mac wondering.
Will had changed from his suit after the broadcast into jeans and a sweater. He was looking out over the New York skyline from his office, finishing a cigarette when Mac strode purposefully into his office. "Even if you won't share the rest of your message with me, I have a message of my own for you, Billy." Will turned to face her as she closed the gap between them. She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and leaned in to kiss him. It was a long, slow, suggestive kiss and when she broke it she whispered into his parted lips "I love you, Billy. I never stopped. If and when you can find a way to forgive me I'll be waiting." Then she turned and made for the door. She stopped with her hand on the door knob when she heard Will say "when" quietly. "Pardon?" she asked turning back to face him. "I said when not if" Will replied. A soft smile creased Mac's face and then she turned around again and left his office.