Sorry it took me so long, I had a lot of fun writing this hope you enjoy it just as much.
I do not own the newsroom
CHAPTER 4
KNOCK, KNOCK
Will woke up with a start, his bedside clock read 8:57AM -he rubbed his eyes
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK
"What is it?" He yelled to the door, throwing his covers and getting up from his bed
"Come outside!" Kate yelled
Will opened the door to find his sister holding a glass of wine, she did not look good.
"What are you doing?" Kate asked
"I was trying to sleep" Will said pointing his bed
"What are –I mean with Mackenzie and you know it" She said pointing him with her finger
"Maybe you should take it easy with that wine is 9 AM" Will said trying to take away her glass
"Oh, you're going to tell me what to do?" Kate said keeping her glass away from Will "No. I am going to ask you again, what are you doing with Mackenzie?" She poked his chest "You're being stupid! You are being so fucking stupid, you idiot! You love Mackenzie, and you're letting her go? Fuck you, you stupid!"
"Oookay you really need to stop drinking, since when do you talk like this?" Will said snorting
"It's not funny, Billy". Kate said shaking her head
"Ok, fine". Will raised his hands in defense
"What are you doing?" She asked again
"Look it's not going to work out with us, we have too many problems". Will said
"I got news for you, Mike and I, we've had plenty of problems! In fact we're having one right now! But I'm not about to lose the war for a few battles!" She said raising her arms -miraculously not spilling any wine "You know what you're problem is? Somewhere in the back of your mind you think that she'll always be there if you want to get back together, but you know what? She won't! 'Cause she's fucking perfect! And some lucky guy is going to see that and make it work with her instead of moping around like you do, wasting time!"
"Kate" Will grabbed her shoulders trying to calm her down
"I want to see her!" Kate snapped
"What?"
"I want to see Mackenzie! I haven't seen her in four years because of you!"
"Are you insane?" Will asked
"I want to see her, William. I am not joking, you bring her home today!"
"I'm not gonna to do that!"
"You're going to ask her here or so help me God I will burst into the newsroom and drag her from her office!"
"Are you serious?" Will asked incredulous
"Wanna bet?" Kate said angrily
"What's gotten into you?" Kate turned around without answering, leaving Will dumbfounded. "Hey! If I bring her here tonight you better get it together!"
"I will" Kate said without turning
"You would not believe the last couple of days I've had" Will said putting his hands on his face "I mean after the broadcast on Monday- you saw it right?"
Dr. Habib nodded
"Well after the broadcast I've received a hundred new death threats –which of course is to be expected; but yesterday they trashed my car!" Will said standing up
"Are you ok?" Will started pacing around the office and the doctor followed him with his eyes.
"I don't care -I can buy a new one" Dr. Habib didn't mean the car but let Will keep on talking anyway "Monday night my sister Kate calls me –she 'left' her husband and so she's staying with me -but then it turns out she didn't really leave him, she's waiting for him to come get her –if that makes sense. Last night she yells at me for not forgiving Mackenzie and this morning she forces me to bring her home tonight –the woman has lost any sense of reality. And to top it all off I found out that Mackenzie didn't even get the message!" Will had been talking really fast and when he finished he had to catch his breath.
"What message?"
Will froze, he had been so caught up in his story that he forgot no one knew about the voicemail "what?"
"What message? You said that Mackenzie didn't get the message, what message?"
"Doesn't matter" Will said waving it off
"It does matter, you said 'to top it all off' that means it's what matters most to you, what message?" Dr. Habib asked reclining on his sofa
Will sighed rubbing his forehead, he walked to the couch and sat down "The night we got bin Laden –I was high during that broadcast" Will looked up, expecting a reaction from the young doctor but he gave none "and when Mackenzie found out she of course didn't want to let me go on –so I asked her, to please let me do the show, I told her that I wouldn't let her down and she accepted" Will smiled. "I think I gave one of the best shows of my life that night and emotions were running high and so when I got home I called her but I got her voicemail" Will cradled his face in his hands "and I just had to tell her" Will sighed "I had to tell her"
"Tell her what?"
"That I love her" Will breathed
"You told her you love her on a voicemail?" Dr. Habib asked raising his eyebrows
"A voicemail she didn't get"
"And you just found out about that?"
"Yes" Will nodded
"You should have told me about this voicemail sooner. This means that since May you thought what? Didn't you wonder why she never mentioned the voicemail?"
"I made the stupid mistake of telling her that if the answer was no, not to mention it at work."
"What do you mean 'if the answer was no'?"
Will sighed taking again his head in his hands "I asked her if we could try again"
"My God, why would you ask that on a voicemail?"
"A voicemail she didn't get" Will emphasized
"And how did you find out she didn't get it?"
"I can't really give any details –it has to do with my work, but basically I asked her about it and she denied ever hearing it"
"So she knows you left her a message?"
"She knows about the message but she doesn't know what it says –although it didn't took her long to realize its basic content" Will said with a smirk.
"So she knows you said something important?" Dr. Habib asked
"Yes, she pestered me about it all Monday night"
"And you haven't told her what it said?"
Will shook his head
"Why?"
"I'm not- I don't think I'm ready to tell her –all this time I've hated myself for leaving that message in the first place, and now that I know she didn't get it…"
"But you were able to tell her four months ago, what's changed?"
"I-" Will didn't know what to say
"You're scared. You're scared she might reject you again" Dr. Habib stated
"I honestly think you don't understand how hard this is for me" Will said shaking his head
"You should have told me about this message, Will. Don't you see? Dr. Habib asked leaning forward on his sofa "Everything I've said about how you can't take betrayal is true but since May you've added rejection to that"
Mackenzie woke up that rainy Wednesday morning with a slight hangover from last night; she tried to stay hydrated, even taking a bottle of water with her into work.
She went straight to her office, finishing reading the reports that were going to be presented to her during the pitching in a few hours. The first to arrive as always was Jim -he waived at her from outside her office and started to work. The second person to arrive was Jennifer or Jenny as she liked to be called. Mackenzie went to welcome her and took her to the control room where Herb taught her the basics while Mac taught her how the graphics system worked and in no time she became familiarized with the software.
Will wasn't in a good mood when he came into the newsroom, she could see in his face that he obviously hadn't slept much. The pitching meeting flowed easily, they were all more confident knowing that they didn't have to worry about ratings or Will getting fired, they were putting together a true news show tonight.
After the show Mackenzie had to stay for a little longer correcting some of the reports that the new interns had given her, they were getting to be a lot of work and the whole thing made her feel like a school teacher. Her phone rang
"Hi Dad" Mackenzie smiled into the phone
"Hi darling, how are you?" Her father asked
"I'm fine, just a little stuck at work at the moment. Why are you calling so late?"
"Oh nothing, your mum went to sleep and I just felt like calling you"
"Is she giving you a hard time?" Mackenzie laughed
"Yes, the woman won't let me eat anything I like!"
"It's for your own good, Dad! You need to stick to the diet" Mackenzie reprimanded him
"I'll do my best, dearie. Are you still coming on Saturday?"
"Yes, of course" Mackenzie heard some rustling over the phone
"Oh, dear! I woke up your mum" Mackenzie laughed
"Who the bloody hell are you calling so late, John?" Mackenzie heard her mum in the background
"Our daughter, go back to sleep!" Her father yelled,
"I want to talk to her!" Her mother retorted, Mackenzie couldn't help but laugh at the two of them. After some more rustling "Darling, how are you? Have you eaten?" Her mother asked in that sweet voice of hers.
"Yes, mum. I'm ok. I haven't eaten yet but everything's fine" Mackenzie reassured her
"I saw the Monday broadcast, darling. Such a good job, I'm so proud of you"
"Thank you so much, I knew you'd like it" Mackenzie smiled
"You just keep fighting that Tea Party, dear. Those are not true Republicans!"
"I will, don't you worry, Mum"
"Penny, I was the one that rang her, give me the telephone back!" Mackenzie heard her father say
"I'm talking to her, now!" Her mum countered "Well, dear your father wants the telephone back, and it is quite late. I love you, and I hope to see you on Saturday"
"Love you too, Mum" Mackenzie replied
"Here, take it" her mother said
"Hi again, dearie. I just wanted to say goodbye" Her father said
Mackenzie heard a knock on her door "Come in" she said without looking up
"Bye Dad, I'll see you both on Saturday. Love you" Mac said into the phone
"Love you too, Mackenzie" Her father hung up the phone
"What are you still doing here?"
Mackenzie looked up to find Will standing in front of her desk. "Uh- I'm reading the reports from the new interns -they need a lot of corrections" She said while putting her phone away
"Ok, but you can do that tomorrow morning, right?" Will asked awkwardly swaying on his feet
"Well yes" Mac said "But I can also do them now" she rationalized
"No you can't" Will said
"Of course I can" Mackenzie said confused
"No you can't, 'cause you're coming to dinner at my place" Will said without looking at her eyes
"What?"
"Kate wants you to come to dinner" Mackenzie opened her mouth to say something but Will kept talking "She wants to see you -she cooked that pasta you love so much" Will said huffing.
Again Mackenzie opened her mouth "I'll wait for you in the lobby" Will quickly said, turning to leave
Mackenzie remained seated; she had not expected that at all. Will had just invited her to dinner, at his place –yeah but at the request of his sister, she reminded herself. Still, she was having dinner at Will's apartment.
Mac shut down her computer and gathered her things, she was feeling rather nervous about having dinner with Will, but the thought of seeing Kate calmed her. She had always liked Kate, from the moment she met her she was nothing but kind to her. She shut down her lights, closed her office door and got into the lift.
"Hurry it up, Mac" Will called to her from her living room
Mac scrambled to organize everything in her backpack, the towel was a major obstacle and she kept pushing it to make it fit.
"I'm sorry Will. I thought that meeting wasn't going to take so long" Mac yelled back "I thought I'd have time to come back here and pack" Mackenzie kept pushing the towel -she should have packed it first. She decided then to throw everything out and put the towel in the bottom.
"We're leaving two hours late Mackenzie, could you finish already? It's only for two days, how many clothes do you need?"
She was finally able to zip up her bag and went outside to find Will sitting on her couch.
"Do you have sunscreen?" She asked
"No, I don't think so" Will shook his head
"I can't find mine" Mackenzie said
"I'm sure my sister has some on the house" Will said standing up "Let's go" He said taking Mackenzie's bag from her.
Mackenzie turned off the lights and closed her apartment. Will was holding the elevator. They got into his car.
The drive to The Hamptons took them a little less than two hours, being a Sunday and this late at night the roads were mostly empty; it was close to 1am by the time they arrived. The house was very beautiful, two stories, a lovely patio with a pool and a fence surrounded by stunning pine trees and bushes.
Will was on the phone "Kate, we're outside" he said
In no time a blonde woman and a very tall brown-haired man came outside of the house. Will and Mac both got out of the car, and while Will went to get the bags from the trunk she was left to greet these strangers.
Feeling rather nervous to be meeting Will's family like this, Mac waved a little as they came towards her. "Hi, I'm Mackenzie"
"I'm Kate" the woman went to give her a hug "Billy has told me all about you" she said holding onto her arms, a huge smile on her face that Mac couldn't help but return. "He's crazy about you" she said with a wink, Kate let her go and turned to the man next to her "This is my husband Mike" She said grabbing his arm
"Nice to meet you Mackenzie" He said shaking her hand
"Nice to meet you too" Mac smiled
Will was coming with their two bags and Mike went to him, both men hugged each other tightly and Kate took Mackenzie's hand, taking her inside the house.
"Ok, we need to be real quiet, 'cause the girls are all asleep" Kate indicated.
"How many are there?" Mac asked
"Her three best friends. Today was a hassle; they have a lot of energy" Kate whispered as they tiptoed up the stairs. They took a left and Kate showed her a lovely room with a queen bed, all warm colors and its own bathroom.
"So…" Kate started saying "There's this little problem with the AC, well not the AC, it works fine, but the thing is that the remote got lost yesterday and it turns on when you plug it, but you can't change the temperature"
"Ok, so it's going to be cold" Mac deduced
Kate nodded "That's why I put you so many covers and if you want more they're in the hall closet just take as many as you want" Kate assured her
"I'm sure we'll be ok" Mac smiled "Thank you"
Will stepped into the room with their bags
"Ok well I'm sure you're tired so I'll leave you to it" Kate started to leave
"Night, Kate" Will said to his sister
"Night, Billy" Kate closed the door
Will dropped the bags on the bed and kissed Mac holding her around her waist.
"I think we're going to have a great time" Will said kissing her again
"Me too" Mackenzie yawned "I'll go put on my PJs" She went to get her bag and started undressing and Will did the same.
"Oh, the remote of the AC's lost so we can't change the temperature" Mac explained as she settled on the left side of the bed.
Will huffed "Are you serious?" he got into bed as well
"Yes, so you have to hold me or I'll get cold" Mackenzie put her arms around him
"Is this some sort of trick you're pulling?" Will laughed "Did you hide the remote to get me to cuddle with you?"
"No, I'm serious, Will. Your sister told me" she said holding him tighter
"You know, all you had to do is ask, you didn't have to go through all this trouble" Will said holding her against his chest
"I'm not making it up!" Mac slapped him
"Be quiet, there are children sleeping" Will chastised her
"I'm not making it up" she whispered this time
"Ok, ok, I believe you" Will said smiling
Mackenzie slept soundly through the night; she always did when she slept with Will. In the morning they woke up to the smell of bacon. Will was first in the shower as he knew Mac liked to sleep a little more.
She felt a kiss on her cheek "Morning beautiful" he smelled like soap and she hugged him keeping her eyes close and breathing him in. She let him go, got up from the bed and went to shower. As she came out of the bathroom in her swimsuit, she was delighted with Will's red face. She put on a t-shirt and blue jean shorts on top of her bikini and they went downstairs, Will was holding her hand.
"Good morning" Will called to the crowed dining room, the food looked absolutely incredible, there were pancakes, bacon and eggs, orange juice, coffee and her eyes landed on a huge fruit salad bowl that Kate was just setting on the table.
The big rectangular table fit them all together. At the end sat Mike, next to him Kate took her seat and next to her two girls, across from them there were other two girls and she guessed that the one next to Mike was Melissa; her blonde curls giving her away.
Will took out the chair next to the other girl and Mackenzie took a seat.
"Uncle Billy!" she had guessed right, Melissa threw her arms around Will's neck and hugged him fiercely
"Happy Birthday Mel!" Will hugged her back "You're getting old, how many years is it, 30?" Will mocked her
"I'm 14!" Melissa corrected him, giving him a stern look
"My God, fourteen" Will said soundly kissing her on her cheek
Will returned to his seat, brushing her shoulder as he passed her by.
"Grab whatever you like" Kate said smiling at her
"Thank you, the food looks delicious" Mac smiled back grabbing some fruit salad and a couple of pancakes.
"You're English?" Melissa asked her as Will served her some orange juice
"No, she's American" Will answered before she had time to turn her head towards the girl
"My parents are English but I was born here" she elaborated
"Cool, I like your accent" Melissa smiled
"Thank you" Mac felt her face getting warm
"I like it too" Will smiled at her
They finished eating and all the adults helped pick up the table while the girls went to the pool. In the kitchen, Mike started washing the dishes as Will and she dried them. Kate took everything and put it in the right cupboards as they didn't know where everything went. They looked so much like each other Mackenzie noted, their eyes and noses, obviously their hair -she wondered how they were as children.
They had the radio on and sometimes Mike and Kate would sing along to the songs, they made a great duo. For most of the songs they already had some sort of nonverbal agreement on who would sing which verse and they joined together in the chorus, it was quite lovely. Will would make fun of Kate for missing the high notes and she would push him and keep singing anyway.
Suddenly, Will grabbed her around her waist and they danced together while Mike and Kate sang. She couldn't stop laughing as he made her twirl and twirl, she was getting dizzy and when he stopped, she stumbled against him and he caught her in his arms, the most beautiful smile plastered all over his face.
Something built up in her in that instant, but she couldn't put it into words. She saw his warm blue eyes staring at her and it was too much.
They all went outside to the pool to find the girls playing volleyball, Mike had to go into town to buy the meat they were going to eat the next day. Kate sat on the lounge chair while Mackenzie and Will went for a walk around the terrains of the house.
"I like your sister" Mackenzie said to Will
"I'm glad you like her" Will said putting his arm around her shoulder
"And her husband" Mac said snuggling closer to Will
"Mike? Yeah he's an amazing guy. She's known him her whole life"
"Really?" Mac turned to look at him
"Yeah. They started dating in high school, can you believe that? I remember him coming to our house all nervous for their first date -I put the poor guy through hell!" Will said snorting
"Oh God, Will. It's awkward enough being a teenager"
"Hey! He was dating my little sister. What was I supposed to do?"
"I guess you're right" Mac said
They returned to the pool were Kate was sitting on the edge. All the girls were swimming in the bottom of the pool when suddenly one of them came up triumphantly with a quarter in her hand
"I got it!" the girl said handing the quarter to Kate
"Ok, now turn around all of you -close your eyes, no picking!" Kate said holding the coin in her hand. The girls did as she commanded and they all went to the other side of the pool covering their eyes. Kate tossed the coin to the center of the pool and waited until it sank, Mackenzie watched marveled.
"Ok, now!" all the girls turned around and dived into the pool searching for the coin.
Mackenzie sat next to Kate watching the girls swim around searching for the quarter.
"How did you come up with that?" Mac asked
"I don't know –had some change in my pocket" Kate shrugged her shoulders and Mackenzie laughed
This time, Melissa came up victorious.
Mike finally came back with enough meat to last a week.
"Thank you, honey" Kate said to Mike
"I'll just leave this in the freezer and then we'll go to the beach" Mike said kissing his wife and going into the kitchen.
They all gathered their things and got into the cars, Will's niece wanted to ride with them and she took her friend Emma with her. They were both in the back singing along to the songs on the radio when Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" started playing, they all sang together, Mackenzie couldn't stop laughing at Will.
They finally made it to the beach and it turned out that Kate did have sunscreen
"Of course, I have to give the girls back to their parents tanned not sunburned" Kate laughed giving her the bottle.
Will was settled between her legs, his back was to her chest, and she rested her chin in the curve between his neck and shoulder. His hands rested on her knees and moved against the sensitive skin while she had her hands together over his stomach. The sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky and the sand felt very warm against her skin.
The girls were all in the ocean, Mike had a surfing board and he took each of the girls on the board. Kate was swimming too.
"Let's go in, ok?" Will proposed, standing up and offering his hand
"Why don't you go in?" Mac said
"Aw, come on, come with me" Will said again offering his hand
"I don't really feel like it"
"Why? Aren't you hot in this sun? Come on"
"Will I don't want to"
"Why?"
"I don't know how to swim"
"Sure you do, there's a pool in your gym where you swim sometimes" Will said bemused
"Well then, I just don't want to"
"Really, why?" Will asked sweetly
Mackenzie had just ran out of excuses so she just might as well tell him "Jellyfish" she whispered
"I'm sorry" Will made a gesture that he hadn't heard her
"Jellyfish! I don't like the ocean, there are jellyfish in it!"
"Are you serious?" Will asked taken aback
"Yes" Mackenzie sighed "When I was a little girl I went to the beach with my parents and a Jellyfish stung me, I've never felt a more agonizing pain"
"You don't need to worry about jellyfish here, look at the girls out there, they're having so much fun" Will said pointing to where the girls, Mike and Kate were. "Are you going to let a stupid jellyfish that stung you years ago, take away your enjoyment of the sea?"
"I—uh". Mackenzie didn't know how to answer to that, she bit her lip and looked behind Will where the girls were, they were all laughing and swimming, they were having a great time "You're right!" She realized taking Will's hand and standing up
"That's my girl!" Will said kissing her on her cheek
As they walked down the beach the girls, Mike and Kate were coming back.
"We're gonna go buy them some ice scream, you guys want anything?" Mike asked them as they passed each other on the sand
"I don't. You?" Will asked Mac
"No thank you, Mike" she replied. They kept walking towards the ocean, the waves were crashing and the wind was blowing her ponytail.
The water was really cold as they both made their way to deeper waters -Will was walking behind her, keeping his hands on her waist. When the water reached her chest they stopped and Mackenzie turned around to face him putting her arms around his neck. Will lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him.
"Ok, new rule -when we're in the ocean you have to stay like this with me" Will said
"Oh really? Don't I get to swim around?" Mackenzie asked biting her lips
"No" Will shook his head
"No even for a bit, what about that part you said about enjoying the sea?" Mac said pouting.
"You get 2 minutes tops, then you have to come back" Will conceded
"Ok, I can live with that" Mac smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. There it was again, the same intense feeling she felt this morning, she felt like her chest was going to burst.
They all went back to the house and played board games, then Kate came into the room with a cake and they sang Happy Birthday to Melissa.
The next day, 4th of July Mackenzie asked if she could help Kate in the kitchen while the guys grilled some steaks and hot dogs out in the patio.
"Ok I'm going to let you do the BBQ sauce" Kate smiled
"You make the BBQ sauce?"
"Yes, you've never made it?"
"No, I buy it" Mackenzie laughed
"Well, I'm going to teach you how to make it, it's really easy. You don't have a problem chopping onions do you?"
"I'll start crying like crazy but I'll do it" Mackenzie said
"Do you wear glasses?" Kate asked
"No" Mackenzie shook her head
"You can have my reading glasses. It won't stop you crying completely, but it helps" Kate said as she went to her purse and handed her the glasses.
Mackenzie started chopping the onions, Kate was right, it did help but her eyes started watering a couple of minutes later.
"Where did you learn to cook like this?" Mackenzie asked
"Oh, I just taught myself" Kate said while mashing some potatoes "my mother was an amazing cook but she didn't really take the time to teach me, although I do admit I must get it from her" Kate smiled
"I've always wanted to learn but I don't have the time or the skills to actually be a decent cook" Mackenzie said accommodating the glasses back on her face, her vision a little bit fuzzy.
"I would tell you it just takes practice, but I don't really believe that, sorry. Although, you're doing a great job with those onions give yourself some credit"
"Not just yet, let's wait and see how this sauce turns out" Mackenzie grinned
"You make him really happy" Kate said out of nowhere
Mackenzie stared at Kate who was still mashing the potatoes "He makes me happy too"
"I'm serious, I can't remember the last time he was smiling like he does with you" Kate said looking down to her bowl of almost mashed potatoes.
Mackenzie didn't know what to say to that so she concentrated on finishing with the onions
"Will told me you've been with Mike since high school" Mackenzie looked up from her handiwork
"Yes, I've actually pretty much known him my whole life, he was –is, my best friend. We were friends, and I didn't see him as anything else until he confessed he was in love with me!" Kate said then she scrunch up her face "God, I was such an ass to him, I had no idea, I went to him with all my problems, I cried to him over guys –Gosh the poor man took everything I threw at him" Kate said taking a deep breath
"How did you know you were in love with him?" Mackenzie asked
"I think I always knew, I just didn't realize it" Kate said
"The food was absolutely delicious, honey" Mike said holding Kate's hand and kissing it.
The BBQ sauce turned out ok, if Mackenzie thought so herself. By the time they finished eating it was almost 3pm which meant that the match was about to start.
"Are you seriously going to spend this beautiful day hashed up in here watching some soccer game?" Kate asked Mike and Mackenzie
"Please don't call it soccer" Mike pleaded "It's football, and it's not 'some soccer game' it's the World Cup!"
"Fine, World Cup. But seriously Mike, look outside" Kate said pointing to the sliding doors where you could see the pool. Melissa sat on Emma's shoulders and they were trying to knock the other two girls' team down.
"They're having their fun, I'm having mine" Mike said pointing at his own chest "Kate, I told you I was going to watch this game, it's Italy against Germany. My country against Germany" He said pointing at his chest again
"You're second generation Italian Mike, don't give me that crap!" Kate said raising her arms.
"Once Italian always Italian" he said proudly
Kate rolled her eyes while Will stood with an amused face beside her.
"And what about you, Mac? Is not your country" Will asked her
"Who said I was watching because it's my country, Will?" She raised her eyebrows "It's football, I was raised by English, this can't seem like a surprise to you"
"I never understood soccer" Will commented to his sister
"Don't call it soccer" Mike repeated
"Baseball on the other hand…"
"Shut up!" Mackenzie and Mike yelled at the same time
In the end Will and Kate went into the kitchen, and they would come out every time, she and Mike screamed -which was quite often, the game was incredibly close, so closed they had to go to time extra and at the last two minutes Italy scored two goals, winning the game and taking them to the finals.
Mackenzie got out from the lift, Will stood reclined against a wall, Lonny was beside him and they waited for her to reach them. He opened the door for her and they all got into Kate's car.
Well, next up: Dinner with Kate
Any thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated