A/N: I am switching it up a bit in this chapter. The first part is Mac's POV and the second part Will's instead of the reverse like the first two chapters. Thank you soooo much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I really appreciate them. Hope you like this one! Let me know what you think please and thank you.


"She's up in the sky and the sky is on fire. She set the whole neighborhood to life. Then the people they'll read out all their names. Run away, run away, run away…" ~Alabaster, Foals


"Mac, you need to let go of my arm. I learned how to walk a long time ago."

Mac ignored Will's comment and kept a steadfast grip on his arm while the pair walked through the elevator doors into Will's apartment. This not letting go was just one small step in Mac's plan.

Step one, if you will. She would show Will she still cared about him in any way he would let her.

Step two, If Will hadn't gotten the hint after a small amount of time she would confess her present tense feelings for him.

Then in her best case scenario that would be followed by…

Step three, true love finds a way to win.

Mackenzie was also aware that somewhere in between there she needed to find the balls to actually say the words and deal with the potential fallout. As much as the optimistic part of her wanted to believe that things would go in her favor realistically, she knew how much and how deeply she had hurt Will. It was a possibility that he might not ever want to try again with her no matter what she said. Ugh. That was horrifying for Mackenzie to think about. Finding the courage to say it anyway she would call that step one and a half.

Mackenzie was not particularly looking forward to step one and a half.

"You don't know, Will. Maybe I am holding on because I need the help walking." Mackenzie looked over at Will with what she hoped was a playful smile. She had been in his apartment for about a minute and a bolt of nervous energy was already striking her insides. She wouldn't be surprised if her attempt at a playful smile came off more forced and deer in headlights than flirty and adorable.

"That's a pretty weak rebuttal. Only one of us was in the hospital." Will reminded.

"I was there too."

"Let me rephrase. Only one of us was required to be in the hospital."

"Fine, Fine you win." Mackenzie conceded.

Will and Mac made there way into his living room as they went back and forth. The second their conversation ceased the silence turned awkward and oppressive. They were in the middle of the living room and both were clearly at a loss of what should come next. She looked at Will hoping he would take the reins and let her follow his lead on this one. She had made it here. He had agreed to let her stay. She just had no fucking idea what should come next. Will stared at Mackenzie and she stared right back.

She saw that there were questions dancing in his eyes and Mac wished for the millionth time that she could know exactly what Will was thinking. He looked so unbearably handsome when he was all intense and focused on her. His piercing blue eyes, his confident stance, and the fact that he was always sexy to her was an intoxicating combination. It all made Mac extremely nervous and all of a sudden she was erupting with words, with anything she could think to say or ask to end the silence.

"Well, here we are. Are you hungry? Do you want something to drink? Do you need to sit? Fancy a bit of rest? Can I bring you a book? We could watch a movie. You can even choose, maybe something old and fun, lighthearted."

"Mac, breathe. You sound like a crazy person. One thought at a time, okay." Will said with a smirk on his face.

Suddenly Mac was determined to wipe that smirk right off his face. Why in the hell did Will seem so calm about everything and she could not seem to get her shit together about being her with him? This was not going to work.

Ha! She knew exactly how to turn the tables on him.

"What suddenly you can't keep up with me, Billy?" Mackenzie moved closer so she could nudge Will with her elbow. This time she knew her smile hit the mark as she saw Will's eyes spark in delight.

"Oh I absolutely can keep up. In order, I am not hungry. I can get myself some water. I will sit after I retrieve said water. I absolutely don't need a nap, or (In British accent) 'bit of rest'. I don't think my brain is quite up for a book, and so in conclusion, sure lets watch a movie because frankly as nice as your eyes are I was getting a little tired of our staring contest."

"Good Job, old man. I stand corrected."

"Old man? Old man, you say? I am going to make you pay for that one." Will promised. The laugh that followed from him bordered on maniacal.

"Prove it." Mackenzie paused before adding. "Oh, and your eyes aren't so awful either especially when they get all indignant because I called you very, very, old."

Ah, banter. This was comfortable for the two of them. She had never met anyone who could keep up with her like Will did. It was upping Mackenzie's confidence by the second.

"You said yourself I am choosing the movie. It's going to be fun torturing you." Will smiled.

"Kinky, Billy… I will get us some water and you go plot my viewing demise."

Ha! Let him think about that comment while she was gone.

She walked to the kitchen and made quick work of getting two water bottles. Mac then happily made her way to Will's couch. She turned and glanced at what was paused on the screen. Her beaming smile dropped in an instant.

"No, seriously, Will. How to Succeed In Business?" Mackenzie whined.

"Yep. Without Really Trying. I was watching Mad Men a few nights ago in the hospital and seeing Robert Morse made me think of this gem."

"But Will, there is just so much singing. And I understand that it is a musical, that's the point, but it's just too much. Plus, it's so mod, so sixties, and there are so many colors. Too many if you ask me."

"When did we switch roles? You sound like the old curmudgeon. Are you telling me princess optimistic doesn't like color? Or singing for that matter?"

"You know I don't like this movie. Couldn't we compromise? There have been a few very interesting documentaries I haven't had the time to check out and I think you would enjoy them, truly."

"No way. You wanted lighthearted and it doesn't get lighter hearted than this..."

"Wait, you didn't let me finish. I was going to follow that totally reasonable request by complimenting you on how young and virile you look." Mac knew it was a long shot, but the flattery worked for her in both her short and long term goals with Will.

"Decent try, but sorry standard playground rules apply. You said my choice and there are no take backs. Don't worry. You're going to love it this time."

"I have already seen it. With you, mind you, and I just listed my very valid complaints."

"Yes, but now you can re-see it and see how wrong all of your complaints actually are."

"Oh, Shut up, Will."

"Is that your way of telling me to start the movie?"

"I suppose. Just remember if I close my eyes and you hear a light snoring that's just my way of letting you know how much I am really enjoying this clusterfuck of bright colors of song and dance numbers."

Will laughed and she loved that after all this time and everything they had been through the gravely sound still led to a little fluttering in her heart. She plopped herself down on the couch as close to Will as she thought she could get away with. When he pressed play on the remote a second later they were close enough that their shoulders brushed against each others. Despite the movie choice, Mac knew that this was a much better start to the evening than she could have hoped for.


"You know my planned really backfired." Will observed. "You are insufferable when watching something that does not entertain you."

Thirty minutes into the movie and Will was really questioning his choice of film. This was supposed to be playful retribution to force Mac to sit through this musical again. Instead, he felt like the one being punished. Actually, it was more akin to being pestered by a very tenacious puppy. She was a gorgeous puppy to be sure, which he would admit helped. However, it didn't alleviate how annoying she was with her relentless picking apart of every aspect she saw on screen.

"That is not exactly new information for you, Will." Mac reminded. "I have seen many a movie with you.'

"Touché," There he capitulated. Maybe that would lead to her being quiet for a little bit.

"But like I was saying who names their child Pierpont Finch? He never stood a chance." Mackenzie questioned.

Nope, no such luck. Well, at least all this nonsense was coming from Mac's lilting voice. If anyone else had been going on like she had, he would have kicked them out by now. He then turned to face her. He watched her lips as she spoke and had the overwhelming urge to kiss her senseless. Whether it was to shut her up, or because he was always on the verge of wanting to kiss her, he couldn't say.

He leaned in closer to her, just a slight turn and tilt of his head, on instinct. However, before he could follow through that twisted dark voice he couldn't seem to kill, started whispering those ugly B words in his head. Words like Brian, and betrayal. He instantly straightened up and away from her. Will caught the disappointed look that flitted over Mac's face and that made it all just a little more painful.

"Good thing he found the book, then." Will eventually answered. He tried to get them back on a more neutral, less dangerous path.

"And another thing! Rosemary should have found out Finch's game long before she did. Give me a strong female character over this lady any day. Oh a devoted secretary with an ambitious business man, what a ground breaker in storytelling."

Will had to applaud Mac for her quick recovery. A quick crack in her voice was the only signal Will had that she was affected from the moment they almost just had. He was happy she was playing along and ignoring it. Even if meant more film analysis from her.

"Mac, it was made in the sixties."

"So what, His Girl Friday, was made in the forties and portrays a much better female role model. Give me Hildy over Rosemary any day."

"His Girl Friday isn't even a musical, its apples and oranges."

"The fact that it is not a musical is just another point in its favor. We should have watched that!"

"Mac, watch the movie we are already watching please."

"Fine, but if you start singing along again expect me to tape it and blackmail you with it later."

"You mean to tell me you can't send an email correctly, but you know how to operate the voice recorder on your phone?" Will rebutted.

"Will, Watch the movie."

"I am just saying…"

_._

The screen faded to black and Will looked over at Mac. Somehow she had managed to stop talking and fall asleep through all the singing and dancing. Her head had found its way to his shoulder about a minute after she had nodded off. Will could have moved her then, but he liked the pressure of her head on his shoulder. He liked having Mac close.

Now that the movie was over he felt he was beginning to like her closeness a little too much. Enough to be entertaining thoughts of allowing himself to fall asleep and hope that when he woke up he would be all snuggled and tangled with her on the couch and somehow everything would be fine in the end. You know like always happened in the movies. Yeah and maybe, he would wake up and have selective memory loss and finally be able to forgive her and they would live happily ever after. Not exactly likely, but how he wished it was that easy.

Will knew then what he needed to do. This situation was getting out of his control. He indulged for one more moment, turned his head slightly and inhaled Mac's green apple shampoo. Then he gently brushed her hair back from her face and began to wake her up.

"Mac, wake up its over."

"Billy," she mumbled, half asleep she curled deeper into his shoulder.

"Yeah. Come on Mac, time for bed."

"Mmm Hmm, I Love you, Will." Mackenzie sleepily replied before shutting her eyes again as she attempted to burrow into Will's chest.

"What!?" Will nearly shouted.

Will watched as Mac extricated herself from his shoulder and looked at him in the eyes. He could tell he had startled her and she was only now fully awake. Will literally saw on her face as she realized what she had said to him. He immediately wished he could take back his loud reaction but hearing her say I love you after all this time just shocked him and that was what had come out of his mouth.

It was one thing for him to know that he still loved her, it was quite another to hear the words from her lips. There were only two options it was either just a sleepy mistake or she meant it. Either way was terrifying to Will.

"Shit." Mackenzie whispered.

"It's okay, you weren't awake. Forget it. "

Will knew he needed to play the whole thing off. He wasn't ready for anything else, but when she looked at him like that all gorgeous and wistful it made him want to be ready. Fuck, he really wanted to be ready for her.

"No! Actually, maybe this happened for a reason. I have been chickening out about something and I have never been accused of being a chicken." Mac began.

"Really Mac, let's just go to bed. It's late." Will pleaded.

"No, Damn it! I meant my sleepy mutterings. I do love you, still. I love you whether you want to hear it or not."

Mac looked near tears and Will knew this is exactly why he didn't want to go down this path right now. Nothing he could say would be what she wanted to hear and he really did hate hurting her.

"Not, really, really not." Will muttered.

"God that is just… cruel. I know I probably deserve it but…"

"I am not trying to hurt you. I am not, Mackenzie." Will heard too late how harsh he sounded.

Will felt like a huge ass. He was just thinking about how much he hated hurting her and then three seconds later he went and hurt her. This pattern happened far too much for his liking these days.

"You can't hate me, or I wouldn't be here. We wouldn't have been able to work so well together, or sit on your couch and joke about some silly stupid movie. So what is it, you're just over me? Are you just perfectly content with friendship? Is that it? Am I embarrassing myself? Let me know Will!"

"I haven't been perfectly content in over 4 years." Will blurted out. Fuck. He was really on an asshole role.

"And here we go again. Listen, Will if what you want is another apology. I can do that…"

"I shouldn't have said that, it was a low blow. I am tired of the low blows, I don't want to be that guy, but that is the reason, the only reason, I don't want to have this conversation now. I am all over the damn place." Will tried to explain.

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"Damn it, Mac! It means I still fucking love you!"

Will was really batting a thousand tonight.

To be continued…