Will came in about half an hour after he'd finished the broadcast. He was carrying the chicken curry with him. He leaned down and kissed her. "How are you?" he asked sitting next to her.
"Honestly, I'm worn out from today. I didn't get as much rest this afternoon as I needed to after going to the studio and the doctor's office."
"What did you do instead?"
"I stayed in bed and made lists. I also did some thinking about you."
"What about me?"
"If you aren't completely comfortable with the surgery I won't do it. I value your opinions and if you think something doesn't feel right, I know to listen to you."
"It's not that it doesn't feel right Mackenzie. It feels rushed," he admitted, dropping his fork into the take out container and setting the food on his nightstand.
"I'm not rushing into this Will. I swear to you, I'm not. I had been discussing my options with my doctor's ever since I got back from Pakistan," she admitted.
"How long Kenz?" he asked hoarsely, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.
"How long what?" she asked.
"How long has it been this bad? Why did you even take the job at News Night if you were in this kind of pain?" he shouted. She sat back a little, stunned.
"I needed to," she whispered.
"Why?"
"Because you were there," she said simply. "And because I couldn't just go back to London and sit in bed all day at my parent's house and wait for a time when I wasn't in pain. That would have driven me insane Will, and you know it."
"Yeah," he whispered, taking her hand.
"You don't need to do this though Kenz. You don't have to go back to work. You don't have to get pregnant."
"I know I don't have to. I want to. I want to work Will. I want to have children. I know we can very well afford to have me sitting at home in bed all day and wait for some imagined miracle cure to come along, but what kind of life is that?" she asked.
"It would be ok with me. You and me, here, never leaving bed," he said softly, leaning his head on her shoulder.
"I know that Will. And part of me would be perfectly happy with that too…for a while. But eventually we would both want more. We're both too…" she started, until he cut her off.
"Type A? Compulsive? Obsessive? Determined to be right?" he asked.
"Well, yes. All of those things. And driven, intelligent, concerned with the future of our country, filled with a need to make a difference. I wouldn't be the same person you fell in love with if I sat here in bed all day watching soap operas and eating chocolate."
"I suppose you're right. But you can stay in bed for a couple of months watching soap operas and eating chocolate Mac. In fact, that's exactly what you're going to need to do to recover from this surgery," he warned.
"No, it's not Will, for the first week or two perhaps. But after that I fully intend to be pushing my way through physical therapy and rehab until I am back in that office driving you and everyone else there insane."
"I look forward to it," he grinned, and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
"I called Jim. He's coming home with you tomorrow night," Mac called out to Will's retreating form as he started to get up and get undressed.
"Why is Jim coming home with me Mac? The boy has his own apartment doesn't he?"
"You know he does, but I need to go over some of these notes with him. He needs to know more about what I do Will. He can handle the day to day. He can take over run down meetings and watch over the associate producers and interns, but he doesn't know everything. He's never had to be me…and now he will. For two months," she said wearily.
"Nobody can replace you Mac" he assured her.
"That's the problem. I never prepared them all for the day I wouldn't be there and that is my fault. I didn't want to think about it, but now my attempt to hide my head in the sand has caught up with me."
"We can all pick up the slack. We've depended on you too much Mackenzie," he told her truthfully as he pulled on a t-shirt and some pajama pants and climbed back into bed with her.
"That's my job, Will. I'm supposed to be the person who keeps the whole thing running."
"Not anymore Mac. That's something that will need to be discussed when you come back. You can't keep working these hours. Not after major surgery and not if you want to get pregnant. All these changes we're making at the office to accommodate your medical leave need to become permanent," he told her in no uncertain terms. Looking at his face, she knew better than to argue.
"I know that," she said, more than a little conflicted. And she did. She understood that she had been burning the candle at both ends for far too long. And unlike years past, when she had been alone and working insane hours to avoid missing Will, now she had a home to return to at the end of the day. She was looking forward to that…and maybe some little ones running around here soon too.
Mackenzie fell asleep with that thought in her head. She heard small children with muddled American and British accents running around their apartment leaving fingerprints all over those floor-to-ceiling windows and asking for one more snack or one more story before bedtime. She startled awake just as someone began to shout out "mummy" in her dreams.
"Will?" she asked, wondering why she had woken up alone.
"I'm in here," he shouted back from the bathroom.
"What time is it?"
"Nearly nine. You slept like a log. I didn't want to wake you," he told her, coming back into the room with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"When are you leaving?"
"In about an hour. What do you want for breakfast?" he asked her, coming by the bed to ruffle her hair affectionately.
"Tea and toast please, but don't leave. I'll come with you," she assured, reaching out a hand to him so he could help her out of bed.
"Easy," he warned.
"I want to move around while I still can," she said, carefully shuffling after him toward the kitchen where they found Meggie flipping through the newspaper.
"Good morning you two!" she said cheerfully.
"Morning Meg" Will greeted as he settled Mackenzie onto the sofa.
"What do you want to do today Meggie?" Mackenzie asked cheerfully.
"Mac," Will warned.
"I didn't say we were going to train for a marathon Will. We can at least try to grab some lunch or something," she muttered.
"Easy does it you two," Will warned. He brought Mackenzie her tea and toast and left to finish getting ready.
"Please Meggie," Mackenzie pleaded. "Just for a little while? I have weeks of recovery ahead of me. I'll go mad if I have to sit here all that time."
"Just for a little while," Meggie agreed, and the two of them giggled conspiratorially.
Later that afternoon, while Meggie and Mac ate lunch at one of Mackenzie's favorite cafés, Will put his plan into motion.
"Jim!" he called out into the newsroom.
"What? I was standing three feet away from you! Did you really need to bellow?" Jim asked, juggling a six-inch tall stack of papers in his hands and checking his blackberry at the same time. Hell, the kid was never going to survive the next two months, Will thought. He was already falling apart at the seams. He couldn't let Mac see that.
"Mac wants to talk to you tonight. You are not going to bombard her with questions. You are not going to give her even the slightest reason to doubt that you can't handle this or she will never go on medical leave. Are we clear?" Will asked seriously.
"Crystal," Jim replied.
"Good. Now, where's Maggie?" Will asked.
"Why the hell would I know where Maggie is?" Jim griped. Will just rolled his eyes and glared at the young man.
"The same reason I know where Mackenzie is every second of the day," Will said knowingly. Damnit, when had he become the purveyor of relationship wisdom in this office?
"Fine. She's in Sloan's office," Jim said, giving in with a shrug.
"There. Was that so hard? Trust me Jim, it's easier to accept that your life is not your own anymore and move on," Will said wisely. Jim nodded and walked away.
"Sloan!" Will roared as he made his way up to her office.
"What?! Jesus Will, we have phones and intercoms and secretaries. Did you really have to scream bloody murder to get my attention?"
"Yes," Will answered succinctly and then grabbed Maggie's arm when she moved to leave the room.
"Nope, this involves both of you. And if I so much as hear the whisper of a rumor about what I am going to ask you two, neither of you will be employed by ACN for much longer."
They stared at him silently.
"You know what size dress and shoe Mackenzie wears, right?" he asked Sloan.
"Sure. Is this some sort of weird test of my friendship with Kenzie or something? I get an answer wrong and you won't let me see her anymore?" Sloan asked.
"No. You and Maggie are helping me plan a wedding," he announced with a grin.
"What?!" they both screamed simultaneously.
"Shut up! Do you want the whole office to know?" he asked.
"Yes!" they both shouted.
"Well then, forget I said anything," he replied and moved to exit the room. Sloan grabbed his sweater before he could go.
"Not so fast! What do you mean we're helping you plan a wedding?"
"I thought it was fairly self-explanatory. Me, Mac, minister, vows…you know… a wedding!" he said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world and not a nearly decade in the making event.
"Yeah, that part I get. Why do I need to secretly find the woman a wedding ensemble?" Sloan asked. Maggie just sat silently and watched the volleying comments between Will and Sloan.
"Because, if it were up to Mac, we would be waiting for the perfect moment and the perfect dress and well…nothing is ever perfect! But she's pretty damned close and I'll be damned if I let someone wheel her away into surgery and then won't update me on her condition because we have different fucking last names! And I want this on her damn finger before she goes into that operating room," Will yelled, slamming a box down onto Sloan's desk.
The two women stared at the gorgeous band of diamonds surrounding a single princess cut diamond set in the middle.
"It's beautiful Will…really," Maggie said quietly.
"Thank you. Now go find her something that will look good with that," he said nodding at the ring.
"How long do we have?" Sloan asked.
"Until the weekend. Sloan, I'd like you to be there to help her get ready. And I think she might want you to stand up with her, if you don't mind?" he asked, putting the ring back in his pocket.
"I'd be honored Will," Sloan said quietly.
"Sorry Maggie, but I really would just like a few people to be there…not the entire office," he said to the younger woman.
"No, I understand. I'd be happy to help Sloan shop. And anything else you guys need…please let me know," Maggie said and left the room.
"So?" Sloan asked, holding out her hand.
"What?" Will wondered.
"Credit card please?" Sloan replied.
"Oh, right," he pulled out his wallet and handed it to her.
"Try not to do too much damage Sloan."
"It's your wedding day Will. Lighten up!" she said cheerfully, and grabbed her purse and coat.
"What the hell have I done?" Will wondered.
He was siting in his office later in the day and received a call from Sloan. "Any luck?" he asked.
"I know you don't get this since all you have to do is put on a pair of nice pants and a jacket, but this takes time. I've got a couple of questions for you. Are you wearing your tux?"
"I can, that's not a problem. Next question."
"You should, you look good in a tux. Where is this going to take place?"
"I'm still working on that part, Sloan."
"Best guess, something?"
"Nice hotel, or venue, possibly a very nice restaurant, it depends on what's available."
"Is there any color you don't want her to wear?" Sloan asked.
"I want the dress to not necessarily look like a wedding dress, does that help?"
"Immensely. Back to shopping. See you later."
"Sloan."
"Yes," she replied with trepidation.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. I'll let you know what we find. Don't worry, okay."
"Okay," he said and hung up the phone.
He needed to find a location and he needed to ask Mac to marry him. He needed some help. He picked up the phone and dialed Meggie's mobile.
"Hello."
"Meggie it's Will, please don't tell Mac it's me."
"Of course, I'm happy to discuss the move with you," she said and he heard he excuse herself from the room. After a few seconds he heard, "okay, I'm on the balcony with the door closed. What may I do for you my dear boy?"
"I need your help."
"Anything," she replied.
"I'm going to ask Mac to marry me."
"Congratulations. When?"
"Tonight I think. But there's more. I've got Sloan finding her a dress for a surprise wedding next weekend. Michael will be here by then and she should be back on her feet. I want us married before she has surgery."
"You're a good man William McAvoy. We'd be honored to officially welcome you into the family, but you've been part of this family for a long time."
He wasn't expecting that and it choked him up. "Thank you, Meggie, that means a great deal more than you'll ever know."
"What can I do to help?" she asked.
"How is she feeling?"
"Pretty good, we only went out for a bite of lunch and came straight back home. She wanted to rest, her choice."
"Wow. Jim was supposed to come with me tonight so she can discuss work with him, he's going to postpone until tomorrow. When he calls to cancel would you suggest that she take the opportunity to spend a nice, quiet evening with me. Having dinner together, at the table is she feels up to it?"
"I'll take care of it. Would you like anything particular to eat?"
"You know, Meggie, I really don't care as long as it's us together."
"Don't you worry at all, I'll take care of it. Do you want me to find something to do this evening?"
"No, you don't have to leave."
"I'll make sure I'm in the guest room by the time you get home."
"Thank you for your help."
"You're welcome," she said and disconnected.
He hung up the phone and yelled, "Jim."
"Yes," he asked sticking his head inside Will's office.
"Come in and shut the door."
Jim did as he asked. "I know you're supposed to come over tonight to go over some things with Mac. You need to call and reschedule for tomorrow night."
"Okay," he said and turned to leave Will's office.
"You don't want to know why?" Will asked him.
"I've been around the two of you long enough to know that if something needs to be rescheduled there's a good reason, I don't need to know the reason, I trust you and Mac.
"You're a good man. Thank you."
"No problem." Jim went back to his desk and called Mac, asking to reschedule for tomorrow. She was happy to do so.
"Jim's not coming home with Will tonight," Mac told Meggie.
Mac seemed a little sad about that. "Why don't you use the opportunity, since you're feeling better."
"What do you mean?"
"Set up a romantic dinner for Will. Sit at the table and put candles out. He'd love it."
Mac smiled. "That would be nice. He's been great."
"We'll set it up. What would you like to eat?"
"Pizza with candlelight and wine."
"That sounds easy enough," Meggie said. "We'll find a table cloth and get the table set and surprise him.
Meggie and Mac watched the broadcast in the living room. The table was set and the pizza was to be delivered at 9:45, everything was coming together.
"I'm going to bed, are you okay out here?" Meggie asked.
"I am. Resting today helped but I'm feeling better, too. It's not been this bad in a long time. I wasn't paying attention and I let it get out of hand."
"I'm glad you realize that. Hopefully surgery will help, but you've got to take care of yourself, for both you and him."
"The bigger picture is more important, I get that now."
"Good girl," Meggie said and kissed her cheek and said, "good night."
