I couldn't decide where to chapter-ise (What, it's a word!) the next section, so went with here. It's shorter than the previous chapters, but it means the next chapter is that bit longer and is the keeper of the drama.

Thanks, as always, for reviews/alerts/favourites. Apparently Casanova!Mac went down well, no? x


Finally, Mac made it to his office. An onslaught of well-wishers and pitiful looks from afar had lengthened the journey to his office by a good half-hour. A half-hour he would have much preferred to have spent in said office preparing for the day and hiding from said well-wishers.

He closed the door behind him, thankful for the level of soundproof it gave from the outside labs and halls. Hanging his jacket on the hook, he crossed to his desk and fell into his chair with a thud. "Stella…" he murmured under his breath, recalibrating the desk chair back to his own specifications.

With a cleansing breath, he began his day.

He checked over his desk for new arrivals and a method to Stella's own brand of 'filing'. He pushed up a few manila folders, flicked through a few pages and accepted defeat, leaving it to Stella to re-order for his understanding.

Opening the top left drawer to grab the letter opener, he found a definite foreign object. A bright orange and yellow parking ticket packet lay on top of the silver knife, a post-it stuck to it stating "This is down to you. You pay this, I'll get lunch. Your office, Noon. S x"

What Stella was effectively saying was 'we need to talk', but he decided to take it as free lunch with a woman who had begun to haunt his being.

The morning flew by pretty quickly thanks to having the lunch as a light at the end of the tunnel. Stella had been at a scene all morning with Danny and Flack, so they hadn't touched base since her phone calls the night before. She had tried to persuade him to leave a few days before going into work, but he refused, as usual. He wanted the normalcy to return. Needed it too.

Seeing her looped slanted handwriting on the note, he gave a smile. He'd never realised how utterly… captivating and enthralling Stella could be. Or not to the level that he know saw her, at least. The way she… smiled and laughed and melted under his touch… he had never known something so seductive.

With Claire, even when they were in their twenties, it hadn't been so completely intense. This was a downright need to see her and feel her and taste her. To have her whispering his name, quivering under his touch.

God, that woman. (A quiet voice from some dark abyss of his mind told him to be rational.)

As if on cue, Stella appeared at the door, her arms heavy with silver cartons. He jumped up from his chair and swung the glass open for her. She squeezed past, the smell of her hair dancing on his nose. "I thought it was lunch not a buffet."

"Always gotta have a choice, Mac. Alfredo or Arrabiata?"

He took a seat on one of the guest chairs as she placed the dishes on the desk, bringing water bottles from under her arm. "…Alfredo."

She passed him two cartons and bottle. "Garlic bread," she identified, sitting down with the left over dishes. "So, how was your morning?"

"Busy. Distracting."

"That can be good," she nodded, peeling off a lid. She toyed at her pasta with her fork, twisting and spinning the tubes absent-mindedly as a silence enveloped them. "Listen, Mac, about yesterday… and Chicago…"

"Stella-"

"No, we have to talk-"

"Stella," he warned again, this time pointing to the door. Stella looked up and followed his direction, seeing Aaron behind the glass.

"Aaron!" she called as he slowly opened the door, his eyes unblinking and hard. "What are- what are you doing here?"

"I thought I would treat you to lunch, but…"

Stella's gaze quickly flicked between the two men in her life, every word missing from her vocabulary. Did he hear? What was there to hear, though? Two minutes later and he'd have heard everything. Oh God, her mind groaned, her stomach turning to lead. She could feel her cheeks rising in temperature as a blush grew over her skin.

"You still can," Mac interjected, his voice somewhat hurried to break the silence. "This is only from Henri's…"

"Would you not mind?" Aaron smiled.

She breathed. She hadn't realised she hadn't been, but that first breath burned at her lungs, her heart fluttering madly in her chest. "Okay, firstly," Stella said with her hands on her hips, trying to keep her voice neutral but light. "'only from Henri's'? Secondly, I am actually here."

Aaron laughed, "I'm sorry, I just wanted to spend some time with you. No offence, Mac."

"None taken. I suppose I have been monopolising her a bit this last week."

"That's fine, and I am sorry about your Mom," Aaron said. Mac's gaze dropped to his lap as he nodded. Aaron continued, "I just want to invoke boyfriend rights."

"As you should," he said with a wave of his hand. The way his gut twisted as he watched Aaron lean over and place a gentle kiss on Stella's lips made him double over and digging his elbows into his knees.

Stella's cheeks flushed ruby as her heart sank to her boots. Some girlfriend she was. Her boyfriend was kissing her in front of her... male equivalent of 'mistress'. Either way, she didn't deserve Aaron's love. She cleared her throat and shot a side glance to Mac.

"Sorry, was that weird for you? Kissing you in front of your boss?" Aaron smiled, running a hand down her arm to and taking her hand in his. "You've gone bright red."

She laughed nervously, "Come on. Let's go if we're going," she spun him around and placed her palms on his back, gently pushing him towards the door. "I'll see you later," she announced pointedly, staring at Mac with dark wide eyes. Their discussion was far from over, and all the more important now.

"You okay?" Aaron asked as they walked to a restaurant. He stroked a thumb over her knuckles of their conjoined hands.

In the short walk from the station, Stella had talked herself into a stupor. She was furious with Aaron for just turning up at the office; for blurring the boundaries between work and play that she fought so hard to keep separate. For kissing her in front of Mac!

But…deep down she knew she wasn't angry with Aaron at all; she was seething with herself. She was abusing his trust and loyalty and his love. She was doing it right under his nose.

She was such a hive of emotions; guilt being the most prominent. But with even that, the excitement was overwhelming. The midnight trysts with Mac; the meetings in secret… even his new found semi-'bad boy' image was excruciatingly exciting.

She told herself that by keeping such a close proximity, she was there to catch him from his eventual fall from the dizzying heights of denial. Secretly she just found it incredibly sexy.

She was nearing forty, for God's sake. This wasn't the behaviour of someone 'her age', and certainly not when one half of the couple was in the throes of grief and definitely not himself. But she'd never felt anything like this before. Not with Aaron, not with Frankie and not even with any of her sexually-peaking college boyfriends. The way Mac would look at her sometimes... Those green eyes she had watched for years convey the passion he felt for victims and cases now looked at her with levels she only imagined he possessed. It was levels of seduction and eroticism she thought only existed in the pages of trashy chick-lit.

"Hey, where are you?" Aaron asked, his voice breaking her from her reverie. He stopped and turned to face her, brushing a rogue curl behind her ear.

"Oh, you know…" she said, trying to find a genuine smile that didn't betray her.

"Yeah, I think I do," he smiled, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Xx

"How'd it go?" Mac asked, watching Stella climb the last step and come to a stop by him. He took in her appearance, gauging her reaction. He couldn't tell if she was exhausted, pissed or heartbroken.

"I hate doing this to him," she whispered with threatening tears, her lips set in a tight line.

He bit back a smile. She hadn't said she wanted it to stop.