Chapter 1
It was a dark and cold Friday morning, and Mac was awakened by the lack of a person by his side. He opened his eyes and looked to his left side and indeed, Christine wasn't there. He got out of bed and looked around the bedroom – she wasn't in the room. He looked out into the adjoining bathroom, but she wasn't there either. Mac thought is was strange, because he normally was the first person to wake up in the morning. He walked down the hallway and into the living room, and there by the window was Christine. She looked out on New York's skyline with a cup of steaming coffee in her hands. Mac walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Morning Christine. What are you doing up so early? The time is only 5:30 am," Mac said and kissed the back of her neck and Christine turned around slowly. She leaned against Mac and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. She loved the sight of him in the morning, in his pajama pants, an old NAVY t-shirt, and his hair all tousled. He looked so handsome and carefree – a total contrast to when he came home from the Crime Lab late in the evenings.
"I couldn't sleep. I'm too happy to sleep. I can't get last night out of my head," Christine said and turned her head, so she could see Mac. Mac gave her a big smile, took her left hand and looked at the newly placed engagement ring. It was a simple ring of silver and with one white gemstone in the size of a pea.
He was so nervous the day he bought the ring – he had actually thought that the second time would be easier than the first time, but he was so wrong. He had the same feelings and worries now as when he bought Claire's engagement ring 18 years earlier.
Mac had decided to propose to Christine six weeks, ago after her being kidnapped. He had decided that he wouldn't postpone the proposal any longer, afraid she would disappear, just like Clair. They have lived together for little over ten month, and everything was going okay. There had been some adjustments for both of them, but they weren't bigger than they got over them quickly.
Mac thought back to last night, where he had taken Christine to her favorite restaurant. He had to pull in a lots of strings to get a reservation, because it was Valentine's Day and the restaurant was already fully booked. But he used his contacts good enough to get a table. He had given it a lot of thoughts about how to present the ring to Christine; should he hide it in the dessert, should he place it in her champagne-glass or should he be traditional and knell to her while he presented her the ring in the box? At first he thought of proposing at home after the dinner, or even on the rooftop, but he left that thought pretty quickly, because it would too similar to the way he proposed to Claire, and this should be a new beginning and a new life. Therefor he decided to go the traditional way, and before the dessert came, he got down on one knee and popped the big question.
Christine was astonished and speechless as she looked at him, and he couldn't help but thinking if it was the right place to propose. But after a minute she had regained the ability to speak. With tears rolling down her cheeks, she answered him with a mushy "yes" and threw herself in his arms. After Christine had placed herself back on the chair, Mac took the ring out of the box and placed it on her finger and gave her a long and passionate kiss.
Mac returned to the present and looked back at Christine's face and kissed her cheek.
"I have a surprise for you," Mac said with a shy smile. Christine looked at Mac with a huge smile on her face.
"I don't think, that I can handle another of your surprises Mac. The last one was pretty big," Christine said, wondering what Mac was up to. Mac chuckled and stroked her left hand, which he still held in his hand.
"Don't worry. It's not as big as the surprise last night. Close your eyes," Mac said and his eyes were shining with excitement. Christine closed her eyes and Mac led her into the study, where he placed her on the office chair. He opened the desk drawer, grabbed two pieces of rectangular papers, and gave them to Christine.
"Open your eyes," Mac said softly while he looked at Christine, a little nervous about her reaction. Christine opened her eyes, and looked at what Mac had placed in her hand. It was two airline tickets from LaGuardia Airport to Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Christine looked up at Mac.
"Mac? What's this? We're going to Chicago?" she said surprised and looked from the plane tickets to Mac.
Mac had placed himself on the desk and he looked Christine in the eyes. "We're going to Chicago. Today actually. I've taken care of it all. Philippe will manage the restaurant the three days we're in Chicago, and Jo will be acting head of the Crime Lab," Mac said quietly. Christine looked at Mac. She was completely flabbergasted, and she didn't know what to say. "I thought that you would like to see the city where I grew up in and meet my mother before we're getting married," Mac said, his voice a little uncertain.
Christine looked down at the tickets again. She had been all over the US, where she had attended several seminars about restaurant management, but she had never been in Chicago before. And now she was about to go to Chicago for the first time in her life and on he top of that, she was about to meet Mac's mother, her future mother in law.
Mac was nervous, because Christine hadn't said anything in several minutes. "Christine, what are you thinking? Don't you want to see Chicago and my mother?" He looked worryingly at Christine, thinking that it perhaps was to much for her to handle at the same time. After what had seemed like hours for Mac, but had in fact only lasted a minute, Christine looked back at Mac.
"It's just a little overwhelming. First your wonderful proposal last night and now this – a trip to your hometown and meeting your mother for the very first time. It's a lot to take in at once," Christine said quietly before she looked back at Mac. Christine saw the worry on Mac's face and gave his left knee a reassuringly squeeze. "I would love to visit Chicago and your mother with you. I'm just a little nervous about meeting your mother. What if she doesn't approve of me?" she asked, revealing her biggest fear. A smile was back on Mac's face and he squatted in front of her.
"If my mother just see a fraction of what I see in you, then you have nothing to worry about. She'll love you," Mac said reassuringly and with a big smile on his face.
Christine bent her head down and kissed Mac on his lips. When she straightened up again she tried to stifle a yawn, but it failed.
"Come back to bed with me. There's several hours before we have to leave for the airport," Mac said while looking her in the eyes. He stood up, took the tickets and placed them on the desk. Then he took hold on Christine's hands and guided her back to the bedroom and placed her on the bed. He walked to the other side of bed and lied down on his back. Christine huddled beneath the covers and snuggled into Mac, with her head resting on his chest.
"I love you Mac Taylor," Christine murmured quietly against Mac's chest. Mac kissed the top of her head and led his finger down her nose.
"I love you too Christine Whitney – soon to be Whitney-Taylor. Now go to sleep, you're tired," Mac murmured against Christine's hair.
Christine closed her eyes and slowly drifted into sleep. Mac stayed awake a little while longer, while he thought about how much he was looking forward to presenting Christine to his mother and how good it would be to see her again. He hadn't spoken to her since Christmas and he missed her. He could hear in her voice, the last time they spoke on the phone, that she was concerned about his well being after the shooting in the pharmacy. He hoped that seeing him would make her calm down and be more relaxed. It would be good to come back to Chicago again. Last time he was there was in 2007, but that trip wasn't for pleasure. He was there because of his 333-stalker – Drew Bedford. Slowly also he drifted into sleep, while he held Christine closely to him.
The next time Mac opened his eyes the time was 8:30 am. Christine was still snuggled up against him. He kissed Christine on the top of her head. "Hey sleepyhead. We have to pack and get ready. We don't want to miss our flight," he said softly. Christine snuggled closer to him and murmured something incomprehensible against his chest. Mac couldn't help but smile. "Sorry, but I didn't quite get that," he clucked. Christine lifted her head a little bit and gave Mac a kiss on his cheek.
"I said that you disturbed my sleep. I had this wonderful dream," Christine said a little grumpy before she placed her head back on Mac's chest.
Mac who had drawn lazy circles on her arm pulled her into a lovingly hug, and he kissed her on the head again. "I'm sorry, but we have to get up. I'll prepare the breakfast and you go and take a nice shower," he said and gave her one more kiss on the top of her head.
With these words, Mac got out of bed and headed towards the kitchen, and Christine snuggled deeper under the covers. "If I can't hear the water running in about two minutes, then I'll pour a bucket of ice-cold water over you," he threatened. Mac had stuck his head in the bedroom with a sly smile on his face. Quickly Christine got her head free of the covers and looked at Mac with her eyes wide open.
"You wouldn't dare," she said, doubting whether or not he would actually do it. Mac walked to her bedside and gave her a light kiss on her lips
"Try me," he simply said, grinning. And then for the second time he headed to the kitchen. Christine couldn't believe what she just heard Mac threatened her with. Goosebumps began to appear all over her body with the mere thought of being drenched with ice-cold water.
"You have one minute left. You better be going if you don't want to bath in ice-cold water," Mac yelled from the kitchen. Christine almost jumped out of the bed and ran into the bathroom. She turned the hot water on, got undressed and stepped into the shower.
While she enjoyed the feeling of the hot water on her body, she thought of what to say to Mac's mother when they would arrive at Chicago later that day. She was a little nervous about the whole thing, because this was her very first time she ever would meet a parent to her boyfriends. She hadn't been in a relationship this serious before and therefor she didn't know how to act. She looked forward to meet Mac's mother, but the fear of her not linking her was hanging like a big black cloud over her head.
Meanwhile out in the kitchen, Mac was preparing the breakfast. He was about to get the bucket out from under the sink, but in the same moment he could hear the shower be turned on. "Well... Threats always works," he said out lout to himself. He continued to prepare the coffee and the food, boiled eggs, some yoghurt, granola and some fruit.
Just as he had placed the eggs on the table, Christine came walking down the hallway. She was already in her normal clothes and her hair was dry. Mac just loved the way she smelled when she was freshly washed. "You shouldn't have made all this. The granola would have been sufficient," she said lovingly, while she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Mac just smiled at her.
"Anything for you. And remember, this isn't a normal morning like all the others. This is our first morning and breakfast as upcoming married people," he simply said.
They both took a seat at the table and began to eat their breakfast. While they were eating, they talked about what they should do and see in Chicago. Mac wanted to show Christine the neighborhood he grew up in, where he went to school and where he spent all of his free time. Furthermore he wanted to show her Chicago's most famous trade/landmarks like The Willis Tower, The Tribune Tower, Chicago Cultural Center and so on.
"Where will we stay? Have you booked a room at a hotel or something?" Christine asked excited and looked at Mac, who was taking a sip of his coffee. Mac swallowed and looked a little nervous.
"Uhm... no. I have arranged it so we can stay at my mother's place. She still lives in the house my parents lived in before my father died, and there are plenty of room for us to stay there for the weekend. I thought it was a perfect way for you two to get to know each other," he said and looked nervous at Christine. Christine looked seriously at Mac and she placed her spoon in the yoghurt.
"But Mac, what if she doesn't like me? Then we're forced to live under the same roof the entire weekend," she said nervously, afraid that she would hurt his feelings. Mac took a grab of her right hand and stroked it softly.
"Why do you think that my mother will hate you? I told you earlier this morning, that she will love you from the moment you see each other. She will see how happy you make me, and she will be very much pleased with it, because she haven't seen me really happy since before Claire died," he said reassuringly. Christine looked in Mac's eyes and saw his love for her. He was right, it was only her own fear that haunted her.
"Your right. So what shall I pack for clothes?" she asked him, trying to bring back the good mood. Mac gave her a big smile and took another bite of his melon.
"Well, you have to bring some warm clothes. You know that the city is also called "The windy city" – and it's true. The wind this time of year is freezing and I don't want you to catch a cold. And then you should also pack some formal clothes, because I will take you and my mother out on a restaurant one evening," he said with a huge smile on his face. Christine got up from the chair, walked to Mac's side of the table, placed herself in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Do you know how much I love you? I feel that you're spoiling me with this weekend trip to Chicago," she said and looked lovingly at him. Mac gave her a deep kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him.
"Yes I know, and you deserve to be spoiled with all the help you have given me after the shooting and your kidnapping. Now, if you will begin to pack, then I'll take care of the dishes. And when I'm done, I'll take a quick shower, shave and then I'll help you pack," he said warmly and lovingly. Christine gave Mac another kiss on his lips, before she got up and headed to their bedroom and started the packing, and Mac began to clean up in the kitchen.