* I don't own anything, CSI:NY belongs to the people who have the rights to it. Mac and Stella belong to each other. :D
What could have been… From ep.416, "Right Next Door".
Stella was standing at the hallway of her apartment building covered in a blanket a fireman gave her moments ago. Her gaze was lost in space; she emptily stared at the wall across from where she stood.
"Hey," a deep, gruff voice shook her awake.
"Hey," she replies and smiles at the man approaching. "Sprinkler systems didn't work."
She opens her arms and they hug tightly for a moment. Mac loosened his hold on her but Stella didn't seem to want to let go.
"Uh," he cleared his throat and pulled back from the hug, she gives him a quick peck on the cheek before completely letting go. "Here," he hands her a cup of store-bought coffee.
"That's perfect," she smiled and reached for the cup in his hand.
"So, I got an extra room…" Mac shyly suggests and raises his eyebrows in question.
"Thank you, Mac," she let out a deep sigh. "I think I'm better off staying at a hotel."
He looks at her with a slight defeated look showing on his usually emotionless face.
"I snore." She chuckled and Mac offers her a compassionate grin and rubs her arm.
/Damn…/ He balls up his fists in frustration.
The crime was solved and the CSIs have saved the day once again…
Mac walks to the front door of a hotel carrying 2 duffel bags, Stella walks beside him.
"You really didn't have to take me all the way to the hotel, Mac," she places a hand on his jaw and plants a soft kiss on his cheek. "You're so sweet. Thank you."
Without saying a word, Mac walks into the hotel lobby and hands over Stella's bags to the doorman. Stella walks in as well and heads towards the front desk.
"Yeah, here," Stella handed the receptionist her Driver's License for identification and records purposes.
"Alright, Ms. Stella Bonasera. Please follow me, I'll show you to your room," The receptionist emerged from behind the desk and walked to the elevators.
"Excuse me," Mac called the receptionist's attention. "She won't be needing a room for the night."
Stella threw him a confused look.
"She'll be staying with me," he eyed Stella's unchanging expression. "Thank you," he said to the doorman who opened the door for them as he picked up Stella's bags once again.
"Come on, Mac. You don't have to do this, really. I mean, I wouldn't want to impose on you and…"
"Taxi!" Mac whistled loudly and signaled for a cab. "And what? You snore?" he asked her sarcastically as he loaded her baggage into the truck of the cab.
"I don't mind, Stell. And I'd really love for you to stay with me…" he paused for a while. "Until you find your own place, that is." He felt a little embarrassed.
"Thank you," she offered him yet another thankful smile and gave him another peck on the cheek.
"Well here we are. You still got that spare key I gave you, right?"
"Yeah. Wow, your place is cleaner than mine, Mac."
"Thanks," he blushed at her unexpected compliment. "I hope you find the bed comfortable," he gestured towards the queen size bed with clean, plain white sheets.
"Isn't this your room?"
"Yes, it is."
"Then you should be the one to sleep here," she protested.
"No, Stell. I want you to sleep well at night so you're the one who's gonna sleep at the comfy mattress."
"But Mac I -"
"No, Stell. My decision is final," he stated in a firm voice. "Go get some sleep, okay? You can have your day off tomorrow."
"Thank you, Mac. Thank you so much," she walked to him and hugged his muscular frame tightly. She dug her face into his left shoulder to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.
"Make yourself comfortable, alright? This is your temporary new home. Good night, Stella." With that, Mac left her alone in his old bedroom.
"Morning, sunshine," Mac greeted Stella as the latter emerged from the master bedroom wearing a large shirt and boxers.
"Good morning, Mac. What's cookin'?" The scent of fried bacon and eggs with a hint of freshly brewed coffee lingered in the kitchen.
"Breakfast," he turned off the stove and brought two plates over to the table. "Bon apetit."
"This is great, Mac!" proclaimed Stella with much enthusiasm as she took a bite of the omelet on her plate.
"I'm glad you like it."
"I love it! You are such a great cook," she gave him two thumbs up. "Oh and Mac, I hope you don't mind I borrowed one of your shirts and boxers. I didn't have any nightwear packed so…"
"That's okay, Stell. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yeah, thanks to your comfy bed," she replied as she took another mouthful of the omelet. "Y'know, I just can't believe that I didn't get those notes from that kid next door earlier. I didn't really know what he was trying to do, I thought he was just trying to take a peek into my apartment… If only I had known that…" she finished her sentenced with a deep, remorseful sigh.
"It wasn't your fault, Stell, you gotta remember that. You thought that he made the hole on the wall to enjoy himself and you didn't notice the notes until now so there was really nothing you could do."
"Yeah, when I saw that hole I thought 'Hey, this kid's peeping on me.' But he really needed help…" her voice took on a sad tone.
"Cheer up, Stell. I'm sure the kid pretty much enjoyed what he saw on the other side of the wall anyway," Mac tried to cheer her up with a playful remark.
"Are you pulling your game on me, Taylor?" an enigmatic smile was now on her lips.
"What?," he asked in disbelief. "No," he retorted in denial.
"I think you were," she teased him. "Mac Taylor using his pro moves on me. I never thought I'd see the day." She made him blush.
"Taylor," Mac quickly picked up his phone when it rang, escaping from the mental corner Stella has pushed him into. "I'll be there in 10."
"That was Flack," he said, turning to Stella. "We have a body in Central Park. I gotta go. Make yourself at home alright?" he awkwardly walked towards Stella's new bedroom to get his clothes.
"I kinda liked it, Mac," she shouted across the hall.
"Liked what?" he shouted back.
"The Mac Taylor moves," she chuckled at the nickname she had come up with. "I'd like to see more of that stuff," she hopefully implied.
Mac came out of the master bedroom in his usual attire. He looked at Stella with a puzzled expression while hiding an optimistic smile underneath.
He came up with a witty comeback, "Is that Stella Bonasera pulling her pro moves on me?"
"Maybe," she chuckled playfully. "How about we go out for dinner later and you show me more of your pro moves, huh?"
Stunned, Mac stared at her for a good 5 seconds before responding, "Sure, I'll see you when I get home then." He smiled at her with a sparkle in his eyes and happily went off to work.
Thanks for reading! Please review! :)