"So, are we going to talk about the other night? Or just pretend it was a figment our imaginations?"

Mac had tried to sneak out of the office without letting her see him. The show was over and everyone had made their way to get drinks at Hang Chews.

"I don't really know what there is to talk about, Will."

"You were out having dinner with Sloan. I was having dinner with Nina Howard. Things pretty much went to shit from there."

She sighed. She had been having a terrible week. Her father was sick and her focus was off. Charlie Skinner reamed her out at a rundown meeting. Sloan offered her girl talk at a new restaurant that had just opened. Feeling the need to let off some steam, Mac gladly accepted the offer. But in retrospect, she wished she would have just gone home and taken a bath or read a book or anything else. Anything else would have been better than seeing Nina Howard's hand holding his. Sloan was mid story when that Ungodly scene played out before her. When her eyes fixed on something else in the distance, Sloan stopped and looked at whatever could be more interesting than her monologue on how badly the Euro was kicking the US dollars ass. It was then that she saw what had Mac so engaged.

"Oh shit."

"Mac, don't do anything..." She got up from the table before another word could escape Sloan's mouth.

"...crazy. Oh, here we go..." She whispered to herself before tossing the napkin on her lap and running after her friend.

Will seem startled when he saw Mac coming towards their table. Seeing that Nina's face was turned in the other direction, he quickly squeezed her hand

"Remain calm."

"Really? Are you out of your fucking mind, Will?"

"Mac, I know your hurting. I...I tried. I tried so hard to keep this from hurting you. It wasn't my intention. I'm stuck, Mac. I want to move on. I want to be a whole person again. I'm so tired of mourning the death of us. I don't want to punish you, but I don't want to punish myself, so I had a connection with Nina. I took a chance at having some semblance of a life with...someone. I'm sorry."

She stood there for a moment, trying to keep herself from blinking. If she blinked, tears would fall. And she didn't want him to feel sorry for her. She wanted him to love and be loved the way he deserved. Mac knew deep down this is was what he deserved, what she deserved was to feel her heart break. Mackenzie took a breath, unfolded her arms and stepped forward to close the gap between the two if them. She took a moment to look into his eyes, the eyes of a man she loved beyond words or definition. She put a hand up to touch his face, her thumb tracing the lines that she hasn't remembered being there when they had first met. Before she had ruined the life they could have had together.

"Just be happy, Billy." Mac smiled sadly and repeated, "just be happy." As if to convince herself that this is what she needed to do.

Will saw the tears and felt his heart immediately rise to his throat. As she turned to walk away, he felt the loss in his chest. They were never going to be the same. Mackenzie cried the whole cab ride home.

The next day, Will came into his office early. He had some catching up to do from the day before and he wanted a moment to check in on her. He didn't get any sleep the night before. He even said no when Nina had asked him if he wanted to come over. The guilt ate at him. And there she was. She walked in with sunglasses, which she never wore especially when it was raining by buckets outside. From his office, he followed her with his eyes as she made a beeline to her office without a hello or good morning to the staff in the bustling newsroom around her. He knocked on her door, a very unusual experience for him.

She looked up through her reading glasses, eyes blood shot and faked a smile.

"Morning." She whispered, attempting to obtain some normalcy.

"Morning. Do you have a minute?" Also uncharacteristic for Will.

"Sure." She was still writing, unable to make eye contact.

"Mac, I just wanted to make sure we were okay. I know our personal relationship is on the rocks, but professionally...I just want to make sure we can do this."

She was quiet for a moment.

"Will, we're fine." Still not looking up, she switched from her writing to her e-mail, appearing to look busy when all she was really doing was swirling the cursor to avoid any and all eye contact.

"Mackenzie, do we need to talk this out more?"

She took a minute. She took off her glasses and looked at him finally.

"Will, I think I'm just about done with talking about this. We're both adults. This doesn't need to be episode of Maury Povich. Lets just do our jobs, shall we?"

"Yeah, you're right. It's just..."

"Will. Please! I can't..." He nodded, understanding that was becoming too much of an ache. Will was about to leave when he heard her voice softly.

"My dad...he's sick. "

"What?"

"My dad...is sick. I'm flying to London to be with my family. I'm going to be for two weeks."

"When?"

"This evening."

"Were you going to tell me?"

"I'm telling you now."

"I'm sorry, Mac." He whispered.

She felt his sympathy and although the apology was probably aimed at her father's ailment, she took a stab that there was probably more to it than that.

"It's okay. You haven't done anything wrong here. This is me." Mackenzie stood up from her desk.

"I have to get things ready for Jim. He'll being taking my place."

Will looked down, trying to think of what actions to take next. She looked so fragile to him at this point. It was unsettling for someone who was usually so strong. His guilt ate him that he had taken any part in her pain.

"Mackenzie..."

He didn't know if there was an end to his sentence, but he did know that he needed to buy some more time, they needed more time.

And then it happened. He knew how to take action. Will walked over to her and turned her to face him. With a deep breath, he wrapped her arms around her. Will knew he taken her off guard and made her nervous by the sound of her thumping heart beat. It took her moment, but she eventually hugged him back and he exhaled deeply. Mac tucked her head into the most comfortable place she knew, the intersection of his neck and shoulder and she breathed him in. Cigarettes. Scotch. Mint gum. It was Will. It was the man she loved. He felt bold. Maybe not bold, maybe desperate. He moved his hand from her waist to her hair and gently slid a loose strand behind her ear. Mackenzie closed her eyes to prevent the tears from falling, much to no avail. He could feel her cries and on instinct took her face in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe the tears from her cheeks. Seeing her cry, broke him. Immediately he felt a swell of emotions, hitting him in waves. Sadness, grief, and this overwhelming love for Mac, his Mackenzie. And in this moment, Will forgot he was supposed to be mad at her. Their history dissolved and it was just Mac and Will. No Nina, no Brian. It was if they were alone for the first time in years.

Will closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers. It was soft, almost timid at first. If it had lasted for ten seconds, it could have been misconstrued as a kiss between two good friends. But this was Will and Mackenzie. It kept going. It was like he had lit a match and thrown in onto gasoline, igniting a fire in both of them. And once the fire started, it could not be contained. They expressed with their lips the sadness, the anger, the loss they could not say with words. His lips were demanding, his hands roamed her body, trying to remember every contour. When they finally came up for air, lips bruised and chapped from desperate kisses, she stared at him unsure of what to say or what to do.

"Call me when you return?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. I can do that."

He left her there, speechless.