Stella

Today was Wednesday and I had decided to go to the hair salon for a new color. Of course, I would keep my curls! Nothing could ever convince me to get rid of them. I was a bit tired of my usual color though—the roots were starting to show. I had gone a bit darker this time with a darker shade of brown and a hint of rust. I actually liked it very much—I just hoped that everyone else would too. I couldn't wait to hear what Mac would say—if he wasn't too busy with his work, of course! The man was a working machine, he never stopped! I would tell him many times to relax and take a break, that he would kill himself working too hard but he never listened, of course. The man was so stubborn! Sometimes, he would even get me angry working that much. I didn't like to see him like this, working over time almost everyday, tired like a dog. Sometimes I would think that he slept at the lab since he was in his office so early in the morning. I had never seen anybody else so devoted to his work. He would tell me on many occasions to stop telling him what to do because I was as bad as him. I would always defend myself saying that at least I didn't sleep in my office and that I didn't look like a zombie every morning. Most of the time, I won. I liked winning with Mac on those subjects because he was always right on everything else. Mac Taylor knew everything! I always told him he was a smartass, that no one could ever fool him. He was the smartest guy I knew.

Once my hair was all dry, I thanked the hairdresser, paid her and got out the door. It was my day off today but I didn't know quite what to do—I was actually bored. I didn't know what else to do so I decided to go to the lab to work on some paperwork I needed to do for next week. I knew that Mac would give me a smart remark but I had work that needed to be done. I couldn't be blamed for that right?

I got into my vehicle and drove to the lab which wasn't too far away from the hair salon. I took my purse and entered the building. I went directly to Mac's office, even if I knew he would have a big grin on his face seeing me here today. He was sitting there as always, his eyes fixed to papers in front of him. I smiled and pushed the glass door open. To much of my surprise, he didn't react, not even lifting his head, not even a glance. I frowned and cleared my throat but still nothing. "Uh, am I disturbing any important thing?" I asked, arms folded. That's when he noticed me and tried to smile. "Oh, hey," he said. "I'm sorry, I was deep into paperwork." I smirked. "Yeah, I can see that. So, uh, you've got nothing to tell me?"

"Oh!" he finally realized. "It's your day off today. So what are you doing here then?"

"I came to work on some paperwork. It's due next week and I haven't even started yet; my fault."

"Oh, it's okay then," he replied, taking another glance at his papers. "I'll let you do that then."

A curve was drawn on the side of my mouth. "So you didn't notice anything else?" I asked.

He frowned and looked up at me. "What?"

I pointed up at my hair. "Changed the color. You like it?"

"Oh, yeah," he said. "It's beautiful. Sorry I didn't notice."

"T's okay," I replied. "Most men don't notice those kinds of things. I'm glad you like it."

He grinned and went back to his paperwork. I rolled my eyes and sighed. I at least expected having a short conversation with him. "Is there something botherin' ya?" I asked.

That's when I caught his attention. He ran his hands over his face and sighed. "Yes, actually."

I frowned and sat down on one of the visitor's chairs. "What is it, Mac? It looks serious. You're scaring me."

"Well it's a great thing you sat down," he said with a small curve on the side of his mouth. That comforted me—at least it wasn't a bad news. "Well what, Mac?" I shouted. "Don't keep me in suspense!"

"I don't know how to tell you this—you probably won't believe me. I guess I can give it a try. You know, it's been huge news for me too, of course and I had a lot of trouble believing it but..."

"Tell me!" I yelled. "You're killing me! What is it?" I was on the edge of my seat, begging him to tell me the news. He took a deep breath and looked into my green eyes. "Claire's alive."

My jaw dropped, my purse fell to the ground and my eyes widened in surprise. "Wait a minute..."

"It's okay," he said, leaning back on his chair. "I'll give you time. I know it's pretty hard to believe."

"But..." I babbled. "Y-you're telling me that Claire is alive? Like Claire, your wife? Claire Conrad-Taylor?"

He nodded. "How's that possible?"

"Well, I don't know all the details right now," he admitted. "The thing I know is that she's now in a hospital in Texas. I don't know what kind of condition she's in at the moment but I can't wait to see her."

"Yeah, you must be very happy," I said, feeling a tear rolling down my cheek. I got up from my chair and gave him a hug. "What if she doesn't remember me though?" he suddenly said. "What if she's amnesiac?"

"Oh come on Mac!" I shouted. "You're stressing yourself for nothing! I'm sure she's alright!"

"Yeah but after all these years? If she remembered me, she would've asked to see me earlier."

I wrapped my hands around his face and looked right into his beautiful blue eyes. "I'm sure there's a good explanation, Mac. You'll see she'll be all right. And you two will live happily for the rest of your life. I'm so happy for you, Mac. And I'm happy to find back a good friend."

He smiled and held me tight against him. "Could you please come with me at the hospital tomorrow then?"

My knees almost fell to the ground as he asked me that question. "Uh..." I didn't know what to answer—tomorrow seemed so fast. I still had a hard time believing it... "Well yeah, sure," I finally said without thinking.

Going with him at a hospital where his wife was would be kind of hard. He would be going through emotions a lot and I would have to be a great supporter—especially if something unexpected happened.

"So when do you want to leave tomorrow?" I asked him.

"Well we could leave around six, whadaya think?"

"Sure."

"I can't wait to see her," he said with sparkling eyes. "I've missed her so much."

"Yeah I know," I replied, still deep in my thoughts. "So you'll pick me up at my place?"

He nodded. "You better go back home and start packing. I don't know how much time we'll be there. It depends on a lot of things."

"Yeah, I understand. Well I guess I'll bring the paperwork home. I have some packing to do."

He smiled and gave me a small tap in the back. "Thanks for accepting to come with me. I really appreciate it."

"No problem," I replied. "But uh, when will you have time to pack your stuff?"

"Oh don't worry about me," he said. "I'll stay up all night. I haven't been sleeping these days anyway."

"You haven't been sleeping your entire life!" I commented. "How will you drive tomorrow?"

"I'm used to it. I'll manage, trust me."

"Yeah well you'll let me drive too," I said. "I don't want to get in an accident. I don't need that."

He chuckled. "Stop worrying and go home."

I smiled, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and went directly to my office to grab all the paperwork I needed for tonight. I had a lot to do tonight and would have to find some time to sleep through that. I left the building and drove to my place. I entered my apartment, threw my papers on the counter and went to my bedroom to start packing. I would need a lot since I didn't know how long I would be there. I packed every possible thing; lots of clothes, shoes, all my makeup, my hair products, my jewelleries, my toothbrush, my iPod, my laptop, some snacks, everything! I also went to the bank to get some money. I was officially done with all my packing around five. Of course, I decided to go to the mall and make some shopping—it was still an occasion and I still had some place into my luggage. I also wanted to buy a little something for Claire. I knew she liked shopping at Tiffany's just like me—I remembered when we used to shop together for hours! We were actually very wild together in malls. Claire was as much a shopaholic as I was. Sometimes, when he was bored, Mac came with us and browsed around. He found it very funny to see us so happy and excited in the shops.

It was nine p.m. when I got back home. I was actually tired—my feet and my back hurt. I put the new stuff in my luggage, took a refreshing shower, put on my nightgown and went to the living room to finally start working. I had a lot of paperwork to do which discouraged me—and I found all the possible excuses not to do it. My stomach started to growl so I decided to jump into the bag of chips I had just bought—that and a few cookies. I was well aware that it wasn't the best meal to take before going to bed but hey! I needed some energy to do all that work!