Disclaimer: Not mine. Bruckheimer, CBS, etc.own them, though if they were mine Stella and Mac would soooo be together.
Pairing: Mac and Stella
Rating: K
Spoilers: Minor for season 2 and 3
Author: Traci
Summary: It's Christmas Eve so why is Stella home alone eating ice cream and watching 'chick flicks'?
Author Note: Merry Christmas to all!!!
The Magic of Christmas
Peyton sighed as she sat next to Mac on his couch.
"What's the matter?" he asked, sliding his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close.
But she resisted and sat up, facing him. "Why are you here?"
Mac stared at her for a moment. "It's my place…"
Peyton shook her head. "You have looked at your watch no less than ten times in the last two hours. If you have somewhere else to be…"
"It's not that. It's just that, well."
"Stella," she answered for him. "It's always about Stella." Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for something she was not sure she wanted to hear. "You love her."
"Well, yeah. But not how you think."
Tears began to pool in her eyes. "It is how I think. But I think you haven't figured it out yet. You drop everything whenever Stella calls. That day in the hallway, when you pushed my hand away, it wasn't because you didn't want anyone to know. It was because you didn't want Stella to know."
"Peyton, it's not like that with Stella. We're friends. We've been friends for a very long time. She was there when Claire died. She kept me from completely closing myself off. She saved…" Mac stopped.
"She saved you. She saved you because she was the only one you trusted enough to let in. She still is." She stood up and grabbed her coat. "This isn't exactly the Christmas Eve I had imagined but it's better to find out now and walk away while I still can."
In an instant Mac was up grabbing her arm. "Peyton, I care about you."
She gave him a small smile. "But you love Stella." She swallowed hard and pulled her arm away from Mac's grasp. "And right now I'm breaking the tradition you two have of spending Christmas together. Go to her. You, more than most of us, know how quickly loved ones can be taken away. Don't waste anymore time." Placing a kiss just to the side of his mouth, she turned and walked out of his life.
Stella dug out another spoonful of cookie dough ice cream and glanced at the clock. When Mac had finally confided in her about his dating Peyton the other week, she had both been happy for him and devastated. She had then spent the better part of the day mentally chiding herself for being selfish. Mac was happy. He had found someone who made him happy and she had to accept that it wasn't her.
The mantle clock chimed 10:00 and still no call from Mac. She sighed. He had someone now. He didn't need her anymore. Heck, she had killed her last boyfriend so why would he have even wanted to chance it with her?
Picking up the phone, she dialed another familiar number. It rang three times before the voicemail picked up. "Hey, Flack, it's just me. Nothing important. Merry Christmas." Lindsey was back in Montana for awhile and Danny was at a large family dinner.
"Looks like it you and me tonight," she mumbled as 'Love Actually' began.
About halfway through the movie, there was a soft knock at her door. Unraveling herself from the blanket, Stella walked over and looked through the hole to see who it was. There was another knock as she hesitated then slowly opened the door with a smile.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey. I was, um, in the neighborhood and…"
Stella laughed and stepped aside to let her visitor in. "Mac, you live on the other side of town."
"Yeah, I guess lying isn't something I do well." He smiled back at her. "I just… I couldn't break tradition," he softly admitted.
Stella closed the door and faced him. "You're starting a new tradition with Peyton. It's okay."
He took a step closer to her, trying to read what her eyes were really saying. "That doesn't mean you can't still be part of it."
With a sigh, she brushed passed him and sat back down on the couch. "Mac, it might mean just that."
Mac sat beside her. "Why? It was never an issue when Claire was… alive."
She smiled softly at him. "That's because Claire and I became fast friends and she knew I wasn't a threat because you were already married to her. Mac, it's different when people are just dating and Peyton doesn't deserve to have to feel uncomfortable around me because we have a history and a friendship that can feel like a threat to many." She looked down at her hands. "That was one of the problems Frankie had. He couldn't understand or accept that you and I are such good friends."
His hand quickly covered hers. "I'm sorry, Stel. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."
Shaking her head, she looked at him again. "Why are you here anyway? And where is Peyton?"
"She left," he told her in a voice barely above a whisper.
"Family?"
"No. Left. Broke up with me."
"Mac! What happened? I thought things were going well for you two." She stood up, went to the kitchen and returned with a hot tea for him.
He laughed. "'Love Actually'? Never thought of you as a chick flick kind of girl."
Stella stuck her tongue out at him. "I am still a girl, you know. I can have my chick flick moments if I want." Handing him the mug, she sat back and waited.
"Stel, have you ever wondered if…" He paused. "If our friendship is…"
"More than just friendship?" she finished for him. She nodded. "Yeah."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"It's not exactly a conversation you randomly bring up," she chuckled.
Mac shook his head thoughtfully. "No, I guess it's not."
"What did Peyton say to you?"
"Paraphrasing, she couldn't compete with you."
"What did you say to Peyton to make her think that?" Stella pushed.
Mac placed the mug on a coaster and relaxed a bit. "Nothing that I can think."
"Mac."
"I kept watching the time wanting to at least call you."
She handed him her phone. "Call her. I'm sure she'd be willing to talk. Apologize."
He stared at the phone in his hand. "What if I don't want to?"
Laughing, Stella stood up to give him privacy. "Are you turning into a two-year old?"
But Mac wasn't laughing back. Placing the phone on the table, he stood up and faced Stella. "I mean, what if I was wrong? What if Peyton isn't the one I want to…"
There was a very loud knock on Stella's door.
She ignored it. Her heart pounded. Ed McMahon could be there with a check for ten million dollars and she didn't care. She needed to know. "You want to what?"
Another knock.
"You'd better get that," he whispered and sat down again.
Blinking once, she wished whoever it was would just go away.
"Stella? You in there?"
Mac looked at her questioningly.
"I called Flack earlier. I figured you wouldn't be stopping by and everyone else is either away or with family…" She walked to the door and opened it.
"Geez, Stella, your message scared me. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Don," she admitted.
He then saw Mac on the couch. "Hey."
"Hi, Flack." He sipped his tea.
Flack looked back at Stella. "The tone of your voice… Are you sure you're okay?" He wasn't sure if he was interrupting something or not but he was sure of Stella's secret feeling for Mac. The thought of Mac breaking it to Stella that he had proposed to Peyton or something ran through his mind but he saw no evidence of tears on her face.
"Really, Don. Thank you for coming over, though. Would you like some coffee or tea or something?"
"Uh, actually I have to get back to my family's party. I was just worried and you didn't answer your cell."
"It never rang."
He nodded and glanced back at Mac briefly. "You can call if you need anything," he told her.
"I know. Thank you again." She opened the door for him. "I'm sorry you left your party."
"Eh, I needed the break. Having four sisters that never shut up will do that to you. Merry Christmas, Stella," he said, giving her a tight hug.
"Merry Christmas, Don."
She shut the door and sat on the couch beside Mac once again.
"He's a good friend."
Nodding, she replied, "Yes, he is."
"A lot of guys could see him as competition," he commented.
"Flack?" she laughed. "He's that annoying kid brother I never had."
Mac smiled yet his eyes reflected the seriousness of their earlier conversation.
"Mac, what were you trying to say earlier?"
Taking a moment to gather his courage and thoughts, he took her hands in his and found her eyes. "Stella, I'm not sure Peyton was ever the woman I really wanted to share everything with. On my birthday, Peyton and I had dinner and had a wonderful time but all the while I kept wondering what you would surprise me with this year. Halloween? I missed you coming over with an armful of cheesy horror movies, making popcorn and forcing me to watch some installment of Friday the 13th. And Thanksgiving." He sighed. "It wasn't the same without you there."
Stella's eyes glistened with forming tears. "Are you saying what I hope you're saying?"
"If you're hoping I'm saying I want to give us a chance, then yes. But if you're not comfortable with that or you don't…"
He was cut off when her lips pressed against his and her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer. Without hesitation, he quickly deepened the kiss.
Breaking for need of oxygen, they shyly smiled at each other.
"I take that as a yes, you want to give us a try?" Mac grinned. "If not, that's the best rejection I've ever gotten."
Stella laughed and kissed him again. "That is a yes, Mac Taylor."
Snuggling close together on her couch, Mac pulled the blanket over them, pulled Stella even closer and, together, finished watching 'Love Actually' as a gentle snow blanketed the New York streets outside. Mac and Stella finally had their real-life happy ending.