Thank you, lily moonlight for betaing this so great and so quickly. And thank you all for reviewing so much to this story!

Part four

For a few minutes Stella just looked at him in silence. Mac shifted uneasily on the cold floor as her face suddenly light up. He didn´t like the expression on Stella´s face nor that certain sparkle in her eyes she always got when she just got a really good idea. Good idea meant in that context: Bad – like 'I wish I had never got up this morning' bad – for him.

As Stella opened her mouth to let her newest idea to play with his sanity slip from her tongue, he tried to prepare himself as best he could, his eyes wide open, fearless facing the upcoming danger.

"Is there..." Stella finally spoke up just to make a little dramatic pause just to torture him before she continued: "...any woman you would like to kiss these days?"

Oh damn.

What should he answer to that question? 'I would like to kiss you right now'? Great, now he was imaging himself kissing her. 'Very helpful, Mac. Thank you!' Cursing himself, he closed his eyes for a second to pull his thoughts together. He needed a clear mind to come up with an answer which wouldn´t cost him his pride. Or worse: His best friend...

So what should he tell her without scaring her off? The truth? Or should he lie?

No lies. Mentally he shook his head. Stella would catch his lie within seconds, so lying was no option. Once again he settled for a simple: "Yes." That could mean almost everything. Much room for interpretation...

But once again Stella wasn´t satisfied with that simple answer and dug deeper: "Do I know her?"

Oh damn.

Again.

He needed to get her occupied with something other than his love life or – No, he would not even think about the possible 'Or'. Because he, Mac Taylor wouldn´t let it get so far to save them both for an emotional catastrophe! Ok, so much to his heroic ideals, now all he needed was an heroic plan...

Since they were still stuck in that stupid elevator distracting her with a juicy murder was not an option, so he decided to use his secret weapon. His humor. "I don´t know...Ever heard of Lisa Edelstein?"

"Ha-ha." she replied dryly. "I meant a woman who is within your reach."

He chuckled. "Are you trying to tell me in your sensitive way that I don´t stand a chance with Lisa?"

"You are really a smart guy!"

"Thank you."

"You´re welcome." She loved how light he was. Here, stuck with her in that damn elevator he seemed so... - Stella searched for the right word - so free, less haunted by his own sorrows that normally surrounded him like dark clouds stealing his sleep. Less stressed about closing his next case and all the paper work which always awaited him at his desk... Smiling at his playful mood, Stella shook her head slightly. "Now answer my question."

"I already did that." Mac shrugged his shoulders

"But I meant-"

"How should I know?" he cut in smirking, already knowing what she was about to say. "I´m smart but I´m not a telepath. You should confine your questions more."

"As you wish." Stella rolled her eyes but couldn´t suppress a giggle. "Is there a woman within your reach that you would like to kiss?"

Mac sighed at her determination with that subject. But did he truly believe he could distract her so easily? He should´ve known better from the start... Damn.

Skipping the inner-chat he already had before he simply answered "Yes." again.

"You do remember that Lisa is not an option, do you?" she teased him. Did she mention how much she enjoyed this?

"Yes I do, thanks for asking." he replied matter of factly then added with a satisfied smirk: "You just waste your twelfth question."

Stella bit down on her bottom lip. Damn, she really needed to pay more attention to her own words. Time to get back to the subject: "Do I know her?" she asked again.

"You really like gossip, don´t you?" Mac growled, helplessly throwing his hands in the air in capitulation.

She laughed at his sudden sense for drama. "Stop playing for time Mac. You just make me curious..." Her eyes sparkled delightedly. "And you know how I get when I´m curious."

"Unfortunately yes." he growled again.

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