"Come on, Mac. It's already 11:15 p.m. on New Years Eve! We have to at least get to the end of Lindsay and Danny's party. If we don't make an appearence, they'll kill us!" Stella poked her head into Mac's office.

"I have a gun, and I'm the boss. I win," Mac continued typing in the report on his laptop, glancing at Stella for only a moment.

"I have a gun too, and I'll shoot you if you don't move it," Stella smile eerily.

"Threat or promise?" Mac laughed, closing out of the report that was finally complete. "Let me just grab my jacket."

"Alright, I have to run back to the locker room and switch out of these heels. Meet me there in say...2 minutes?" she didn't wait for an answer.

Stella moved quickly through the emptied halls. Even though criminals never slept, Mac had given everyone the night off, letting them party it up before having to come in early the next day.

She entered the locker room and veered right to her locker. Once the combination was entered, Stella pulled hard in a downward direction, her lock turning lose from its closed position.

After switching from her heels to her UGG boots, Stella slipped on her hat and mittens and shut her locker, clicking the actual lock back to its original position. As she reached for the door, Mac pushed it open, hitting her smack dab in the middle of the forehead.

"Oh," Stella gasped stumbling backwards, clutching her head.

"Sorry!" Mac apologized several times, cupping his hand over hers.

"It's fine, let's just get outta here." Stella gave him a small smile, butterflies fluttering in her stomach from his gentle, caring grip.

"Alright," Mac nodded in agreement.

The pair headed to the elevators, Mac pressing the 'down' arrow when they got there.

"Ya know, it might be faster to take the stairs," Stella mentioned in a pleading tone.

"Is Stella Bonasera afraid of the elevator?" Mac joked.

"Only in wintry weather. Ya never know what the snow could do to the power!" She grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the stairs.

Once outside, Stella headed in the direction of Central Park.

"Where are you going?" Mac questioned, stopping in his spot.

"I'm taking the long way to their place. It's so beautiful in the park during winter." She only looked halfway back, smiling, then continued walking.

Mac caught up with her, "You're crazy, but I won't let you go through here alone."

"Thanks," Stella laughed, playfully punching Mac's shoulder.

Mac laughed too along with her, but inside, his heart felt a twang of happiness. He had a duty, a duty to protect his partner, during and off work hours.

"Ya know the best part about this park?" Stella looked up.

"What?" Mac looked up to, questioningly.

"The trees give you a clear view of the sky. I've always dreamed of strolling through the park with the man I love, linking hands, laughing, just having a great time!" Stella looked to him, but then looked back up quickly.

Mac's heart leapt in his chest, 'What was that look? Does she mean me?' Thoughts were now consuming him, but what brought him back to reality was the icy coldness of snow hitting the back of his neck.

"What the hell?" he whipped around.

"Gotcha!" Stella giggled, ducking behind a tree.

"Seriously? A snowball fight? How old are we?"

"Not old enough to not play in the snow!" Stella fired another snowball in his direction, hitting him midchest.

"Oh, Stella...It's on!" Mac grabbed some snow from the side of the path and packed it into a ball in his hands. "Come out, come out, where ever you are!" he mimicked.

"Not a chance," he heard her voice call from a good distance down the path. He was soon jogging, watching the ground for ice patches and the trees for Stella.

And then another snowball flew and hit him in the shoulder.

"Are you afraid to come out?" Mac called.

"Not at all," Stella jumped out from behind a tree, only 8 feet from where Mac stood.

Mac whipped his snowball, hitting Stella's hip.

"Woah, not cool, Mac Taylor, not cool at all!" But a smile still shown brightly on her face.

"So you can hit me, but I can't hit you?" Mac acted stern.

"Exactly," Stella backed toward the snow bank, but slipped on a patch of ice and landed on her butt. "Ow!" she yelped.

"Stella!" Mac ran over to her, "You ok?"

"Yeah, just help me up!" Stella reached her hand out to him.

Mac grabbed it, but once he saw the look in her eyes, realized it was a mistake.

Within seconds, Mac was headed face first into the snow bank only a foot from where he was. After he flipped over, he saw Stella coming at him. She jumped on top of him, pinning his arms into the snow.

"I'm stronger than Mac Taylor!" her voice rang out in a sing songy tune.

"You wish!" he rolled her over, now having his body on top of hers, pinning her arms down into the wintry blanket of fluff.

"Oh no, I'm so helpless! Someone save me!" Stella sarcasticly raised her voice.

The two wrestled in the snow, one trying to overpower the other, but in the end, Mac was a bit stronger than Stella. He lay on tope of her, flicking snow onto her face.

"Mac!" she screeched, "That's so cold!"

"It's snow, what do you expect?" he laughed, but then stopped. He rolled off of her and laid on his side facing her.

"Ya know, we can't show up at their party drenched from the snow!"

"You're right," Stella rolled onto her side, now closer to him.

"Back to my place to dry off? It's only 11:25 p.m." Mac asked.

"Sure!" Stella sat up, brushing Mac's cheek in the process. "Sorry!" she blurted, blushing.

"It's ok, Stell," Mac smiled, getting up.

The two veered off the path and through the trees in the direction of Mac's house.

Once at Mac's place, they went into his bedroom.

"Here, you can throw this on while I throw our clothes in the dryer," he threw her his NYPD sweatpants and a white wife beater.

"Thanks!" she nodded.

"No problem. The switch for the fireplace is on the wall by the couch, once you get out there after you've changed. Just flick it up, and it'll switch on! That'll keep ya warm."

Stella smiled and headed to the bathroom down the hall to change.

Mac found his NYPD t-shirt from a few years back and grabbed a pair of basketball shorts out of his drawer. Within a minute, he was changed and headed down the hall to knock on the bathroom door. As his hand went up, the door opened. Stella, her hair still wet, walked out.

"Hm, those look pretty good on you," Mac laughed.

"I know, but thanks!" Stella danced out of the bathroom and down the hall towards the living room.

Mac only laughed and grabbed her wet clothes off the sink. "Do these have to be dried any special way?" He fumbled with her clothes, trying to find the tags.

"Nope, not those ones!" She called.

"Good!" Mac bundles them back up in his hands and walked into the laundry room. Once the clothes were in and started, Mac headed out to his kitchen.

"Hot cocoa?" he pulled out 4 packets.

"Yes, please!" she smiled.

"Made with milk or water?"

"Milk! Water gives it no extra flavor!" Her face contorted a bit.

"Agreed," he nodded. He filled a measuring cup with milk and set it in the microwave, pressing the appropriate time, and then hitting start. He did this again after hers was made.

"Hurry up, Mac! I'm freezing out here!" Stella yelled, shivering evident in her voice.

"I'm coming!" he called back to her, grabbing the two mugs and walking over to the couch, set them on the table. He plopped down next to her, pulling her closer.

She looked at him, confusion showing in her eyes.

"My blankets have all gone M.I.A., and the hot cocoa alone isn't going to keep you warm!"

She nodded, grabbing the mug and laying back against his chest.

"Thanks Mac," she sipped the drink, "this is delicious!"

"You're welcome!" he smiled, sipping his own. He soon placed his cup back down on the table and draped his one arm over her shoulder, the other tucked at his side.

"So how long are the clothes going to take?" Stella asked, setting her cup back down and looking up to him.

"The dryer said about 20 minutes. Gives us enough time to get back in them and head over!"

Stella smiled, "But what are we going to do in those 20 minutes while we wait?"

"That's a good question," he leaned forward, his face only inches from her.

Stella, feeling a built up tension, stretched her neck a little bit further, her lips meeting his.

A kiss. Gentle, yet passionate.

They pulled back, boths eyes making contact with the others, trying to read their reaction without words.

And then their lips met again, this time longer, with more of a roughness to them.

Stella rolled over, climbing on to Mac more than she already was. He pulled her close, continuing the kiss.

When the need for air became to much, both pulled away again.

"Stella..."

"Mac..."

Nothing more was said.

Soon clothes were being discarded in a quick, yet loving fashion. Their bodies intertwined, and they became one.

His member entered her, slowly at the start, but soon picked up pace as they embraced each other more and more.

Soft moans were heard between them, and their lips met every so often, reassuring each other that what was happening was right, was needed.

As soon as Mac felt the pressure to release himself, he pulled out from Stella.

She gripped his shoulder, "It's ok, Mac. No need to shy away."

And with a loving kiss, he was back inside her.

They both reached their climax, their bodies arching with excitement, and as soon as it had started, it was over.

Mac lifted Stella from him, scooted his body over, and let her lay next to him.

"Did we just..." Stella whispered.

"Yes..." Mac answered, questioning what she was going to say next.

"Good..." she smiled.

After seeing her smile, he smile too.

"Well, that killed the twenty minutes we were waiting through," Mac joked, hearing the dryer beep that it was done.

"Wow, Mac!" Stella punched him in the chest, "Way to ruin the moment!"

"I do have one thing to say to you, Stella Bonasera."

"What's that?" she lifted her head, staring him directly in the eyes.

"I love you," he pulled her close and kissed her.

"I love you, too, Mac Taylor," she grinned, kissing him again.

And with that, the two got up, grabbed their clothes from the dryer, got dressed and headed out. They walked back through the park, linked hand in hand, just as Stella had wanted. Her wish had come true on this wonderful New Years Eve.