Thank you so much for the reviews! I am glad you think it is an interesting idea. I've gone back and watched some episodes again and there is just more and more that makes me wonder (some of their interactions through out Red Team III and how quickly their argument in Election Night turns personal as opposed to about work...as if maybe they were just picking up from a previous argument?) I hope to keep you guys interested and enjoying the story. It is all drafted but still a WIP so if you have good ideas I might have to drop them into future chapters! There will be some angst because how can you avoid it with these two? But it will not be for another few chapters until we get closer to the Fall.
And that was that.
For the next hour they talked about the show and the staff. It had been nice. Since Will had begun seeing Nina more regularly he and Mac had not spent much time together outside of work and with the growth of the Genoa investigation Mackenzie's time at work had been in even more demand than normal. As a result she suddenly realized that she and Will had barely had a decent one on one conversation since before the holidays.
As she tried to contain her laughter and chastise him for a snide observation about Neil versus Sloan in a competition of geekdom she found herself wondering if it was possible to miss someone you saw almost every day. Because that's what it felt like, as if she was only just now seeing him again after a long time apart. She had missed him and even if she wasn't at all sure what he was trying to say earlier, she was just thankful for the easy conversation between them now.
Shortly after 11 Don and Sloan joined them and all were pleasantly surprised that, instead of making his departure, Will had followed when Sloan had suggested moving to consolidate their conversation with the rest of the staff.
Mac had gone home after 2 and found it difficult to fall asleep, eventually nodding off to a late night black and white movie on the television.
The weekend and most of the following week passed without any discernible difference from Will. Maybe he was coming in a little earlier? Maybe he was lingering a little later at the end of the show? Or maybe that was just a return to his normal 'pre-Nina' habits.
Mac didn't have much time to give it much thought as she prepped for and went through what seemed would be the final Red Team meeting. She knew Jerry was frustrated but she was honestly happy to have it off her plate. If Charlie wasn't 100% sold, neither was she and she was happier not having to weigh the risks and merits of airing the story.
Everything seemed so normal and her relief at finally being done with Genoa was so great that Mackenzie was almost able to forget about Will's admission at the bar.
That is, until Wednesday at 11:55 at night when her phone rang with Will's name appearing on the screen. She hesitated before picking up the phone; late night phone calls from Will were not unheard of, in fact they had been common place until the past 6 months when Will began seeing Nina. Seeing his name on the screen again revived the feeling from Friday night that she had been missing him without even realizing it.
She bit her lip and picked up the phone, "Hello?"
"How are we going to balance our coverage of Trayvon Martin?" He launched without preamble.
"How do you mean?" Mackenzie leaned back against her headboard.
She could hear the wind in the background and could imagine Will standing or maybe pacing on his balcony looking over the city. "I mean at what point is this a relevant news story which is a window to a greater national debate about race and gun control versus just another sensationalized dead teenager?"
Mackenzie bit her lip, "Do you think we've been covering it too much?"
"Not necessarily." he took a long pause, "But if we want to continue to talk about it I wonder if we should start thinking of more constructive ways to frame the conversation."
Mac nodded "That's a good point. Tomorrow let's pull in Martin and Kendra and assign them to start investigating relevant angles." She reached over to her nightstand and scribbled a reminder on her notepad.
"Good. Good, that'll be a good place to start." Will was murmured, seemingly satisfied.
With the issue resolved she waited for him to say goodnight but after a long moment and he remained quiet she felt compelled to fill the void.
"Was there something else?"
She heard him shuffle and the open and close of the sliding door, "No. Not really."
"Not really?" She asked, eyebrows climbing her forehead in disbelief.
"I was going to ask if you were going to Hang Chews tomorrow night but then I realized it wasn't worth asking because you probably won't decide until after the broadcast anyway." He explained all too casually.
Mackenzie bit her lip, smiling slightly, "Actually I already know that I won't be. I'm going to a screening of some documentary at Columbia with Sloan."
"Oh, yeah. Of course. I think she actually mentioned that, isn't that the thing she set up for her Intro to Econ undergrad class? Try not to have too much fun with that." He teased.
Mac rolled her eyes, "I'm not half as bad at economics as I used to be you know."
Will chuckled, "Yeah. Okay, I look forward to your deep insights." He paused, breathing into the phone, "Well, I won't keep you any later. Good night Mac."
"Billy?" She spoke softly, hoping to interrupt him before he hung up.
"Yeah?" came the equally quiet reply.
"I'm going with Sloan tomorrow night but I'll probably go to the bar on Friday night." She explained, even though he never asked.
There was a protracted pause before Will replied warmly, "Good night Mackenzie."
He disconnected the call without acknowledging her statement but she smiled as she hung put down her phone and something in his tone told her that he probably was too.
