Bad Nerves
They woke up in each other's arms, noticing there was a cell-phone ringing. It was Mac's. It was right on schedule. The plan had started to work its course. Mac let go of Stella's warm body, she was awake, but was still adjusting to the surroundings. The bright sun was bouncing off of her necklace, which sat on the table and shined into Stella's eyes. She turned over so the sun wasn't blinding her. Mac then picked up the phone and answered,
"Hello?" a very simple word. He already knew who it was.
"Hey Mac, are you ready to rumble?!" Danny asked excitingly. He was bouncing up and down on the bed sarcastically; Lindsay awoke and noticed him acting crazy and slapped him on the arm. Lucy was already up, playing with her toys, while she watched Spongebob Squarepants; her favorite TV show. Lindsay got up, kissed Lucy and Danny on the cheek and headed in the bathroom to get ready.
"No. You woke me and Stella up. How could you? My eyes are going to fall out of my head!" Mac said angrily; not meaning any of it. He just wanted to put on a show for Stella. He couldn't show any kind of suspiciousness what so ever. She looked at him unexpectedly and winked at him.
"Wow, you have nice acting chops, Mac. Very impressive! So, you know how everything's going down, right?" Danny asked, as he put a few crackers with cheese on them for Lucy to eat.
Lucy was very talkative since the day before, she has been imitating words and copying her parents. She tried to say thank you but ended up saying,
"Tank oo!"
Danny smiled, as he played with her curly blonde hair and said,
"Your welcome, Lu-Lu!"
That was his nickname for Lucy. It stuck since day one.
Mac stood up and looked through his suitcase, looking at the nice day. And that was a very good thing for his plan that, everyone but Stella knew about. Even their pals back in New York knew about it. She had no reason to know. At least she wouldn't know for a while.
"Yes, I do. It was my idea. I will give you the signal. Everything will work out perfectly! At least I hope so.", Mac said quietly, peering over his shoulder at moments to see what her reaction was. Stella was confused so she just rolled her eyes and shoved her face into the pillow.
"Mac, it will be fine. Trust me. I am the best man for the job. I got the two people that mean the most to me right in this room." Danny said, as he looked at Lucy, playing with her toys and saw Lindsay come out of the bathroom with a towel covering her hair and she smiled at him.
"Soon I'll know that feeling. At least, I used to know the feeling." Mac said sadly. Claire instantly popped into his mind. His face fell. He was facing the window so Stella didn't see, but she fell back to sleep again.
"Mac, Claire would want you to do this. She sees how much you're in love with her, she cares about you Mac. She wants you to be happy, trust me. Besides that, I was the one that encouraged you to ask Stella out and she said yes." Danny said, looking through his small suitcase. He didn't think he was spending this long in Jamaica and he especially didn't have fancy clothes.
"I know. I just don't want to screw this up. Everything should work out fine." Mac explained, not knowing Stella was awake and heard her say,
"What will work out fine?"
The phone nearly slipped out of his hands, his heart practically stopped. He regained his normal breathing rate and said,
"It's the Red Sox vs. Yankees game today. I hope they don't screw up. We need to win another game! "
"Oh, ok. I'm going in the shower. I'll be out in a few." Stella said, as she walked over to him. They both shared a friendly but personal kiss and she then walked into the bathroom. He heard the shower turn on and he walked outside.
"Mac, just trust me. I have to go, Lucy's being cranky. I think she needs a quick nap. Just tap on the door when you are ready." Danny said, as he picked up Lucy and put her in her play-pen for a nap.
He put on peaceful piano music that always helped Lucy fall asleep. She's really into the piano. Whenever she may see a piano, she would run over and starts tapping on it. Maybe she had musical genes. Danny and Lindsay were also into it. They also played a lot of singers they liked for her; she liked them too.
"Alright. Bye." Mac said, as he hung up and started pacing the balcony in front of the other hotel rooms. He pondered how today would work out.
Oh, today's the day. I'm going to ask the love of my life to spend the rest of her life with me. Oh, what if she says no. Ok, Mac. I have to look at this positively, she has to say yes. I don't know what I will do if she doesn't. I wish it was over already, so I can spend the rest of my time with her and not have to worry about losing her. Uh, oh! Is that her?
Mac turned around and saw Stella leaning against the hotel door, with a smirk on her face. She walked over to him and hugged him.
"You seem nervous, is anything wrong?" Stella asked, pulling him against her and held on to his shoulders and their eyes met. It made him even harder to focus and not look nervous when she did that. He couldn't resist her eyes as hot as fire and sometimes, cold as ice.
"No…everything's fine." Mac said, throwing on a fake smile, just for her. He couldn't stand to lie to her, but he wouldn't have to after today.
Stella seen through all of his fake smiles, those in the past and even now. A frown developed on her face, as she remembered on Friday, when Mac was so stressed out at his desk and remembered how his mood changed when she entered the room. She made him happy, but for some reason, she seemed like she couldn't please Mac or make him happy anymore. This made her worry. Was he going to end there relationship fair and square?
Oh, what's wrong with me? I can't even make Mac happy anymore! He seemed so stressed lately…is it because of me?
"Mac, I know you're lying. Please, tell me what's wrong." Stella pleaded, as she wished to learn what was making Mac stressed now. What it really her? Or was she paranoid again and everything was perfectly fine?
"Nothing is really wrong. I told you. I'm just nervous. I can't tell you why, it's personal." Mac said as he let go of her and leaned against the railing and looked down to the ground.
"Does it involve me in any way?" Stella asked, as she walked over next to him, then also leaned against the railing and grabbed his hand and kissed it.
"Yes. It does." Mac said shyly. He smiled when she wasn't looking. He was starting to have a positive view on the day. He wasn't going to worry anymore. What ever was going to happen, he was going to take it.
"Oh, no, please don't tell me you don't love me?!" Stella cried, jumping into his arms and he held on to her, while he felt tears fall onto his shoulder.
"Shh, it's alright. I will always love you. No way, of course I love you. What would make you think that?" Mac said slowly, as he wiped her tears away.
"You have been so stressed lately and I…I thought that, you didn't love me and I was making you unhappy!" Stella exclaimed, as she held onto Mac, her personal sanctuary. The number 1 person in her life, the number 1 person in the world she could trust in her life. Her man for life.
"Oh, Stella. You are looking at this the wrong way. You make me the happiest man alive. Don't you realize that? Everything will be fine." Mac reassured her and kissed her lips delicately.
"Ok, I trust you." Stella said, as she led him into the hotel room.
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Danny and Lindsay were next door and heard Mac and Stella's conversation outside.
"Oh, you are such a snoop, Linds. You know that?" Danny said, pushing her to the side, and pressed his ear against the door.
"Yeah, maybe, but I care for my friends…hey, you're doing it too. No fair!" Lindsay joked and punched his shoulder.
Slam!
They heard the hotel room door close.
"Ok, I think it's ok to stop listening." Lindsay said, as she sat down on the bed. Danny followed after her.
"So, do you think it will work out?" Lindsay murmured, worried about the conversation she heard.
"Yes, I know Mac well. Everything will turn out great. You watch and see. So are we ready now, because once he gives us the signal it's all uphill for now." Danny said, as he pushed he head against the back board of the bed.
"Yes, I am.", Lindsay replied, climbing onto his chest and held onto him.
"Great. Soon, our best friends will be together forever. Just like us." Danny said, smiling down at her and Lindsay smiled back in return.
Mac got out of the shower and saw Stella slipping into her red satin dress.
Wow, what a beautiful woman and she's going to be mine forever! Muahaha!
Mac slipped on his favorite green shorts and put on his New York Yankees t-shirt. Stella winked at him as she watched him get dressed. She slipped on her ruby-red heels. She walked over to him and quickly tickled his stomach for a joke. He jumped in shock. I guess he didn't like being tickled.
"Hey!" Mac exclaimed, and then tickled her stomach and she fell onto the bed laughing. He fell down aside her.
"What? I had to get you back somehow." Stella answered, as she moved her hand along his smooth face and they shared a passionate kiss.
"So, where are we going today?"
"No where special. I think we're going to eat at the hotel's restaurant with Danny and Lindsay and I don't know after that." Mac said slyly. Of course he knew what he was going to do after that.
"Oh great. That should be fun. I'm really hungry too." Stella said, while she patted her stomach.
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Danny and Lindsay got Lucy up from her nap and changed her diaper and slipped on a cute pink dress. Lindsay changed into a navy blue shirt and a black skirt with flats. Danny threw on a white shirt with jeans. He didn't want to look too formal. It was too early for that.
Knock.
"Oh, that must be them Linds. You ready?" Danny asked, looking back at his wife, as she held Lucy in arm. She nodded in agreement.
Mac and Stella were hand-in-hand when Danny and Lindsay walked out.
"Aww, aren't you guys cute?" Lindsay said, and then smirked at them. "So, who's ready to eat?"
"Me!" Stella and Mac said at the same time. They smiled at each other and followed Danny and Lindsay, with Lucy in tow, into the restaurant.
